This evening, after a day of heavy rain, I took these pictures of my remaining roses.

As you know, I have a thing for roses, especially with raindrops on them.  Soon I will be cutting them back to the 14 inches of stems, in preparation for the winter season.  Their exquisite beauty continues to amaze me.

I want to share a recipe that I tried recently.  I think it is a most delicious recipe, and an unusual combination.  I found it in my "Southern Living Farmers Market Cookbook".  The flavors of the sausage and the sweet potatoes, blend perfectly and make a great combination, especially with the lemon-garlic mayonnaise sauce.  We think this is an exceptionally good and easy recipe.

Recipe;

Sweet Potato Squares With Lemon-Garlic Mayonnaise

2 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled(I did not peel them) cut into 32 (1 inch) cubes
2 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 pound spicy smoked sausage(I used sweet sausage) cut into pieces
32 wooden sticks(I used plastic sticks from the grocery store).
Lemon-garlic mayo
Garnish; fresh thyme sprigs

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Place sweet potato cubes on a lightly greased 15 x 10 inch jelly roll pan.  Drizzle potatoes with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Toss to coat.
Bake at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes, turning cubes twice. (I baked them at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.)
Cook sausage in a large nonstick skillet over med. high heat 3 -4 minutes on each side, or until browned.  Drain on paper towels.
Place 1 sausage slice on top(or underneath) of 1 sweet potato cube; secure with a pick.  Repeat with remaining sausage and sweet potato pieces.  Serve with garlic-mayonnaise sauce.

Yield; 8 appetizer servings.

Lemon-Garlic Mayonnaise

1 cup of mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley(I used parsley flakes)
2 tsp. minced garlic(I used 1 tsp. of Peter's garlic powder)
1 tsp. lemon zest
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. salt

Stir together all ingredients.  Store in airtight container in refrigerator up to 7 days.  Yield; 1 cup

Just in case you are looking for a dish to take to an event, or one to share for dinner.  I served this recipe for dinner, with steamed broccoli and cole slaw.

A little something for you this evening.