Beach Party . . .

My best friend's birthday is coming!  To celebrate, she and her fiancé planned a party on the beach.  Her request?  My seven layer dip.

That's also code for: "Can you please make your famous salsas and your homemade tortilla chips, too?"

The answer is always, "YES!" for her.  I quickly got busy in the kitchen with fresh ingredients.

My seven layer dip for the birthday girl.

My homemade salsas: spicy on the left for those who like to blow their noses while eating.  And a mild on the right, for the wimps.

I like to cook.  It’s my favorite way to procrastinate when I have a big looming writing deadline; or when my characters aren’t talking to me; or when I can’t re-read the same scene yet again.  

Cooking feels like art and leisure to me.  And I like art and leisure, especially on my own terms.  And especially when I can get creative.

Also for her birthday, I wanted to make my Best Friend something sweet and unpredictable, so I tried my hand at peanut brittle!  Brown sugar, light corn syrup, coconut oil, peanuts & cashews, and fresh rosemary and cayenne pepper for the creative "twist".

The beach party was so much fun!  In fact, I had such good time, I forgot to take pictures of the food.

My hubs and our precious God Baby :-)

So many fun, beautiful people.

Everyone loved the seven layer dip, the salsas, the chips, AND the peanut brittle.  People happily took some home for later.

It was a great, relaxing day!

Happy Birthday, Best Friend!

~SS