You know what they say - if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen! Cochran and I love the heat and working in the kitchen at night, but we also love the sun and sunflowers! I've been chirping Starry, Starry Night while we were making our featured recipe tonight. Vincent van Gogh (considered the greatest Dutch painter after Rembrandt) also loved sunflowers and starry nights. He believed yellow represented happiness, and in Dutch literature, the sunflower is a symbol of devotion and loyalty. Between 1881 and 1890, Van Gogh painted almost 900 paintings! The Sunflowers series (11 paintings) and Starry Nights are two of his most famous paintings. Singer/songwriter Don McLean wrote Starry, Starry Night based on the painting and the artist.
We also love raisins, which is one of the ingredients in our recipe. Raisins are grapes that are dried in the sun! Over 500 million pounds of raisins are sold each year in the United States, and 99.5% of the raisins produced are grown in California. Also look for raisin juice and raisin paste in some of the foods you buy at the store! YUMMY!!
BROCCOLI CRUNCH
Two bunches of broccoli florets, chopped
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
10 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1 small red onion, minced
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp. white vinegar
Combine first six ingredients. Blend mayonnaise, sugar, and vinegar; mix into salad mixture when ready to serve.
ENJOY!
"Keep your face to the sunshine
and you cannot see the shadow.
It's what sunflowers do."
and you cannot see the shadow.
It's what sunflowers do."
- Helen Keller
