Friday, June 26, 2015

Weekly Recipes 4

While I visited with Barb and her family I made dinner several nights just to share recipes.  Her kitchen is an excellent place to cook and I like that. She, like me, is an ex-vegetarian who now eats good, local meat.  It was fun to cook for her family.  They like unique dishes just like me.

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Quinoa Tabbouleh with chickpeas-It was delicious; light and refreshing, a perfect summer dish.  Simple ingredients all tossed together:

1 cup cooked quinoa
1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
½ pound Persian cucumbers or 2 hothouse cucumbers (if using hothouse, seed the cucumbers first), sliced
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup finely chopped green onion, white and green parts
1 cup chopped fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 cup chopped mint leaves
⅓ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (about 2 large lemons)
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

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And I made these black bean burritos with sweet potato added in. They were so yummy; I could have eaten 3 or 4 but I kept it to one.  It's all about eating good food in small quantities.


Once we returned home I made this kid-friendly dish (crock pot enchiladas) on a very busy day so dinner would be ready when the family walked through the door.  I was gone-off to hear music at the Gentleman of the Road tour-and it was fantastic! even though it was a little strange to be away from the family, off doing my own thing at our sacred dinner hour. Every once in while you need to surprise them with a twist.  I made them dinner so they would still love me while I was gone.

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Another day I made this berry tart which also turned out great. Barb sent me home with a few pie shells so I didn't have to make the dough, which made it simple.

What did you create this week?

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Happy Father's Day.


I miss my Dad. I can say it a billion times in a day and it still doesn't change the fact that he's gone. And to all that say he's not really gone I say I can't really have a deep conversation with him, ask him advice and get an actual answer, have him pull me into a deep and warm hug.

I miss him everyday; no more or no less than I do on Father's Day.  We spent the day celebrating my husband; church together, dinner out, and a few interesting kid gifts to celebrate his art of parenting with style. We've been blessed with a gorgeous day weather-wise so we could spend part of the day outdoors, basking in the sunshine.

My husband had a good long chat with his dad, who is an amazing father and grandfather and I'm grateful we have him in our lives but it's that small act of making the phone call that I miss today.  I love you dad.  I wish you were still here.

You would be amazed at how Kaylee has grown into this amazing women off doing her own thing, creating stories of her own. You would be proud of her writing talent.  You would love to see Tristan's big smile and his off-beat, unique look at the world.  You would be surprised at the struggle he is going through finding what he wants to do with his life.  He would love your authentic questions and talent with drawing people in to your circle. He would have a good friend and trusted advisor in you. Groovy Girl would make you smile while you watched her dance, sing, and general entertain those around her.  Her joyful personality would make you proud even as she enters these snippy teen years. It would force you to reminisce about someone else you knew who got a little fiesty in their teen years.  You would do it with humor and grace.

Thank you for all the times you made me feel special Dad.  The notes, the backgammon games, the shoulder rubs, and the laughter.  You made my day many times and I wish you were still here to share our daily lives and since you are not I will make due with my memories.

Happy Father's Day. Hug them while you have them.  So if you've made it through the day without calling or talking to your dad-that's all it takes, one phone call. Go do it.

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

A trip to the bakery


My friend, Barb and her family, own a bakery in Indiana and for the last 2 years Groovy Girl and I have traveled the 5 1/2 hours east to visit her and work in the bakery.  Her uncle owns a strawberry farm and the bakery is attached. It's hard to figure out which draws more; the bakery or the u-pick farm and garden center.

It's strawberry season and this past weekend it was strawberry fest on the farm.  They were super busy which in turn makes the bakery busy. As we worked in the back making strawberry donuts and buckwheat pancakes with strawberry syrup we could see the line wind several times through the store and out into the parking lot.  It was crazy!

It's a serious working vacation.  I get to spend time with my friends and help at the same time.  The only time they are not busy is late December, January, and February, right when I'm in school so we make this work. And my back can tell you I worked really hard this week.  I made batch after batch of steamy donuts; measuring out and weighing the ingredients, mixing it, pouring it into the donut hopper so it can drop perfectly into the hot grease where it is a perfect circle of dough.  It makes its way down the small converyer belt; frying and turning to create a golden orb (with the ever important hole) and then tossed into a bowl of sugar and laid out on a tray to be sold.  I made trays, and trays, and trays + +.

I now dream about making donuts. Last year I didn't make quite as many and we were not here for as long.  I'm also a year older and I didn't sleep well this week; I woke up this morning with a terrible pain in my lower back.  Barb and I did about 45 minutes of yoga; deep stretching with modifications for my back and my heart. She's a trained yoga instructor as well. I don't know how she does it all! We did kayak which is one of my favorite things to do but it's been off/on rainy for days and our kayak venture was cut very short.

We did prepare delicious dinners together as well but that is another blog post.  If you get a chance to stop in Hobart, IN be sure to stop by Marilyn's Bakery (her mother started the bakery in 1986). You won't be disappointed and if it happens to be strawberry season you might just glimpse me in the back pouring and dipping donuts.  I need a vacation to help me recover from this intense working...vacation?!


Monday, June 8, 2015

Weekly Recipes 3

In my constant search for new and different foods to lay at our table I made this delicious (say the kids) chicken recipe this week:


Grilled Lemongrass Chicken with Ginger Rice
{weeknight gluten free by Kristine Kidd}
*we are not gluten-free; I only used regular ingredients where it specifies gluten-free

Shallot, 2 T, minced
gluten-free tamari, 2 T.
Sugar, 1 1/2 T.
Asian fish sauce, 1 1/2 T.
Lemongrass stalks, 1 fat or 2 thin, peeled and minced, or 2 tsp lemon zest
vegetable oil, 1 T.
Asian chile sauce, 1/2 tsp
kosher salt, 1/2 tsp
skinless, boneless chicken thighs, 1 1/2 pounds

Ginger Rice
Fresh ginger, 1 1/2 T., minced
kosher salt, 1/8 tsp
uncooked brown basmati or jasmine rice, 1 cup
Gluten-free tamari, 2 tsp
chopped green onions for garnish

1. In a bowl, mix the shallot, 2 T. tamari, sugar, fish sauce, lemongrass, oil, chili sauce, and salt.  Cut any excess fat from the chidken.  Add the chicken to the bowl and toss to coat.  Let the chicken marinate while preparing the rice.
2. To make the ginger rice, in a small saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups water, the ginger, and salt to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 30 minutes.  Turn off the heat and let stand for at least 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork, then mix in the tamari.
3. Meanwhile, prepare the grill for direct-heat cooking over high heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade and add to the grill rack, cover and cook until springy to the touch and cooked through, about 6 minutes per side.
4. Divide the rice among 4 warmed plates. Top with the chicken, sprinkle green onions, and serve right away.

My normal habit of not reading the recipe all the way through was a problem here-I did not know about the GRILL-I cooked the chicken in my huge cast iron skillet, added marinade in, put the lid on and let it cook/steam to done.  Also my kids would balk if I cut green onions over the top so avoided that step altogether.  My son said the chicken was wonderful, flavorful, and tender.  I made this meal just so he would eat something while the rest of us were out of town for 2 days.  Over-mothering, yes, but he weighs next to nothing so I do what I have to to get food into him.

Plus I made this amazing rhubarb recipe.  They are tart and just the perfect size!

How was your week of cooking?


Friday, June 5, 2015

Playing Dress-up

My friends V and A and I have been on a quest to hone down our wardrobes and clear away the clutter.  They already live in pretty clutter free houses so that one may be mostly for me.  Part of the quest has us looking at posts about the 10 item wardrobe and one that A sent us about the art of dressing up.

I work at a school where our teachers dress nicely and our principal wears a dress or a skirt every day!  But after watching this video it made me take it to a new level. Of course it is summer so it's easy when I can stay in my pj's for the first part of the morning and then linger over what exactly to wear.

Shoes have been a big discussion in this quest as it can be easy to throw on a skirt and a blouse or a flowered sundress but having the RIGHT shoes to match and make it still look dressy is harder.  Flip Flops do not count as dressy attire.

The first day I did this I was going to a musical gathering and I tossed on a pair of skinny jeans, a black & white striped 3-quarter length T, and a black cropped blazer.  It was chilly out and I quickly added my gray suede boots but it was the perfect fit.  In this debate with A and V, I've thrown out shoe ideas of sandals cute clogs, Chuck Taylor's, and even little white sneakers like my mom wore in the 50's.


Of course there are a plethora of fancy sandal choices as well. And Birks have hit it big as the new "it" shoe wear.  It's time the world paid more attention to just what the hippies were (are) saying, wearing, and doing...
Dress it up a bit more just for yourself.  The compliments are just the icing on the cake.

Here's the video that started us on this journey: