Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Adventures in Cooking Our CSA Share: Motivation

Nothing like a big box of fresh goodies to motivate us:  Mama has headed to the office, gingerly, and I have located relevant recipes.  I think we'll be having garlic scape pesto, stewed rhubarb (thank you, Karen!), and one-pot pasta, plus strawberries (if there are enough, I might make an Eton Mess for Bud) and salads and some boiled greens.  Oh yeah, and steak.

  • Strawberries
  • Basil (NOT IN FRIDGE, PLACE THE STEMS OF YOUR BUNCH IN A JAR OF WATER ON THE COUNTER)
  • Collards (wrap in damp paper towel and keep in crisper)
  • Red Curly Kale (wrap in damp paper towel and keep in crisper)
  • Spinach (wrap in damp paper towel and keep in crisper)
  • Garlic Scapes (keep in crisper)
  • Rhubarb (keep in crisper)
  • Lettuce (wrap in damp paper towel and keep in crisper)
  • Pasture Raised Black Angus Steaks
  • Old Chatham Camembert Cheese
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Stewed Rhubarb via Deborah Madison
1 1/2 pounds rhubarb, chopped into short pieces. 
1/2 cup sugar or honey or to taste. 
3 cloves
Grated zest and juice of one orange or lemon or 2 tangerines. 

Cook in heavy pot about 10 minutes...until rhubarb has broken down. Fish out cloves. Serve with yogurt and walnuts (Sew and Sow's favorite.)
From Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.


Garlic Scape Pesto a la Smithsonian Magazine

Combine one cup chopped scapes, ¼ cup pine nuts, a half cup of olive oil, ¼ cup Parmesan, salt and pepper into a food processor. The best part about scape pesto? It doesn’t oxidize and turn brown like basil pesto, so it has a longer shelf life in your refrigerator.

Smithsonian via Food52


One-Pot Pasta a la Martha Stewart
    • 12 ounces pasta like linguine
    • 12 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or aquartered if large
    • 1 onion, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
    • 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
    • 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes (optional)
    • 2 sprigs basil, plus torn leaves for garnish
    • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
    • Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
    • 4 1/2 cups water
    • Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving

Combine pasta, tomatoes, onion, garlic, red-pepper flakes, basil, oil, 2 teaspoons salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and water in a large straight-sided skillet. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil mixture, stirring and turning pasta frequently with tongs, until pasta is al dente and water has nearly evaporated, about 9 minutes.Season to taste with salt and pepper, divide among 4 bowls, and garnish with basil. Serve with oil and Parmesan.




Sunday, June 15, 2014

Adventures in Cooking Our CSA Share: Fishing for Compliments

Our CSA share isn't only produce but includes cheeses and meats sourced locally.  This week we received fish, some wild Alaskan halibut (don't ask me how they sourced that locally.)  Mama pan seared it in olive oil, with some lemon and various spices--one filet got a Penzey's seasoned salt coating, another got a Wildtree Scampi blend, while the last was bathed in teriyaki.

And the kids loved all three!  (Yes, I know, Bud eats sushi so this shouldn't be a surprise, but he doesn't like plain ol' fish.)

Shocking.

So, now I think we can say they'll eat halibut, Chilean sea bass, mahi-mahi, cod/scrod, sole, haddock, hake, catfish, and maybe tilapia.

(Of course, on the seafood watch list, several of those are either good or bad choices depending on their source.)

Slow Family Weekend

You've heard of Slow Food or Slow Medicine?  Well, we were practicing "Slow Family" this weekend.  Mama's back is acting up--at first we thought it was a hamstring pull, but a trip to the doctor confirmed it was a back issue.  Too much driving?  Too much sitting?  End-of-school stress?  She's already on the mend, with the help of meds and some PT on Saturday morning.

So we haven't been doing too much.  She and I watched both "Bletchley Circle" and Reds 2 on Friday, enjoying them both immensely.  We also started the ABC family drama, "Switched at Birth," that includes several deaf characters and lots of ASL--the show was recommended by my ASL teacher so that I can practice watching someone sign, in addition to practicing myself.

As a family, we watched The Addams Family, which inspired my long movie list posting earlier.  Both Mama and I fell asleep watching.  We've also watched parts of several World Cup games.

And then this morning, to give Mama a change of scenery and to test her activity level, we all went to the movies today to see How to Train Your Dragon 2 because we loved the first one.  This one was as visually stunning and more weighty, with a sad death towards the end.  I cried.  But we still loved it.

To go along with all of this, we've ordered out Chinese, eaten the leftovers, gotten take-out from Bloodroot, and I made chili.

All in all, a good weekend.

Even the cats think so--they love having a warm Mama to cuddle against all day!


Saturday, June 14, 2014

Summer Fun: Movies We Can Watch Together

 With a tv downstairs and a summer of evenings ahead, we've made lists about playing games, cooking together, and also watching movies.  But what movies?  Always in search of new ones to enjoy together, I asked my FB friends today and searched around Pinterest.  Below are the movie titles (in alphabetical order) I compiled, more on the older side than recent, like The Lego Movie or How to Train Your Dragon, mainly because we see those when they're out or catch them on dvd not long after, so I don't need help remembering them.  And it doesn't include some of the obvious ones like Harry Potter, Star Wars, Miyazaki films, or Disney movies.  Of course, there is no way we'll see them all (and some I don't necessarily want to see), but it's a good reference when searching Netflix and Amazon Prime.  (FYI, almost everyone who sent suggestions knows that my kids are going into fourth grade and have seen all of the HP films, as an idea of where they're at--i.e. older than stuff like Rugrats but not quite 16 Candles.)

UPDATE:  I'm continually adding new films to this list as friends recommend them.  And I included the How To Train Your Dragon 2 image because we saw it today and really liked it, even with the SPOILER sad part.

*Indicates I haven't seen it.

  • Andre*
  • Addams Family Movie
  • Adventures in Babysitting
  • Adventures of Tintin*
  • Anne of Green Gables
  • Babe
  • Back to the Future
  • Beetlejuice
  • Beethoven*
  • Big
  • Black Beauty*
  • Black Stallion*
  • Brady Bunch: The Movie
  • Caspar*
  • Castle in the Sky
  • Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
  • Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
  • Clash of the Titans
  • Clue
  • Dark Crystal
  • Dr. Doolittle*
  • Dolphin's Tale
  • Escape to Witch Mountain
  • ET
  • Fern Gully
  • Finding Neverland
  • Flash Gordon
  • Flight of Dragons
  • Flight of the Navigator*
  • Fly Away Home*
  • Footloose
  • Free Willy
  • Ghostbusters
  • Golden Compass*
  • Goonies
  • Gremlins
  • Harriet the Spy*
  • Heidi
  • Home Alone*
  • Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
  • Hook
  • Hugo*
  • Incredible Journey*
  • Incredible Shrinking Woman
  • Indian in the Cupbaord*
  • Iron Giant*
  • Jaws
  • Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer*
  • Jumanji
  • Jurassic Park
  • Karate Kid
  • Labyrinth
  • Ladyhawke
  • Land Before Time*
  • Last Unicorn
  • Legend
  • Matilda*
  • Miracle Worker
  • Mrs. Doubtfire*
  • Muppet Movie
  • Muppet Treasure Island*
  • Nauiscaa of the Valley of the Winds
  • Never-Ending Story
  • Newsies*
  • October Sky*
  • Parent Trap
  • Paulie*
  • Pee Wee's Big Adventure
  • Perfect Game*
  • Pharlap*
  • Pollyanna
  • Popeye
  • Princess Bride
  • Raiders of the Lost Ark
  • Sandlot*
  • Secret Garden
  • Secret of Kells
  • Secret of NIMH
  • Secret of Roan Inish
  • Secret World of Arietty
  • Short Circuit*
  • Slipper and the Rose*
  • Space Camp
  • Spaceballs
  • Spirited Away
  • Stuart Little
  • Superman
  • Swiss Family Robinson*
  • Time Bandits
  • Tron*
  • War Games
  • Water Horse
  • Whale Rider
  • Where the Red Fern Grows*
  • Who Framed Roger Rabbit*
  • Willow

Friday, June 13, 2014

Sending Love

Sending love to a few people:

  • a friend
  • a teacher
May you and your families be comforted on this difficult journey.

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Happy Birthday to You Two

A very big happy birthday to Dr. Goo!!

And to his dad, Gong.

Hope this is a great year for you both.  We love you.

Dip Into This

Had this dip at a party recently. Incredible!!!  The daughter of the woman who made it says she didn't use canned beans and probably uses more olive oil.  YUM!!

White Bean Dip with Rosemary and Lemon
  • 1 (15 1/2 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
  • 2 medium cloves garlic, peeled
  • 2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice and 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest from 1 lemon
  • 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 2 teaspoons finely minced fresh rosemary
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
    
  Place beans, garlic, and lemon juice in the food processor.  Pulse until beans are roughly chopped.  With motor running, slowly pour 1/4 cup of oil and process until smooth.  Transfer mixture to a small bowl.  Stir in rosemary, lemon zest, and remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. Season with salt and peper to taste.  Serve immediately or store up to 3 days in refrigerator.

My Inner Marlee Matlin?

My ASL class is going really well.  I enjoy the one-on-one format so that I can go at my own speed.  We do a few units each class, from Learning American Sign Language, covering about 75 new words.  Because of my childhood knowledge of signed English, I usually know at least half of the words or more, with some minor changes (ASL is a living language and changes often.)  So we're going pretty fast.  Though I do have the tendency to reverse hands or directions (can I blame that on cross-eye dominance?)  I'm better at signing than reading my teacher's signs and so she suggested I watch videos on ASLU. 

More entertaining is Marlee Matlin in "The L Word."

Learning to Be Legolas

Or Merida.  Or Katniss.

Last night, I sat in the old wooden lodge at the local camp for my first archery facilitator lesson as the wind danced in the trees.  It never rained, but we never went up to the range.  It was all rules and procedures we have to memorize for our Level 1 certification as archery instructors with US Archery.  I haven't studied for a test in 16 year!  Can you come up with a funny sentence for this?

Stance
Notch
Set
Set-Up
Draw
Anchor
Hold
Aim
Release
Follow-Through

I did learn something fascinating:  I am left-eye dominant and, because I am right-handed, this is cross-dominance.  This means I should shoot the bow left-handed, meaning holding the bow in my right hand and pulling back the string with my left.  About 25% of the population is cross-dominant, and apparently the majority of them are women.  I checked Mama last night and she has no real dominance, Bud is right-dominant, but Sis is also cross-dominant--left-handed and right-eyed.  So she should shoot right handed!  If you want to check yourself, here are some tests (we used the Miles test, where you create a small opening with your hands and focus on something in the distance.)  I'd love to think this opposition explains my poor spatial reasoning and sense of direction, but I imagine it doesn't have anything to do with anything else beyond which hand to shoot with.

Tonight, regardless of weather unless there's lightning, we'll be up on the range, learning how to set up, shoot, and encourage young archers.  Then we'll take the aforementioned test and, hopefully, next fall I can teach our Juniors troop about archery.


Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Rainy-Day Roses

Most of the blossoms in our garden are rotting on their stems because of days of moisture, but these roses, which I neglected to cut back, love it.

Monday, June 9, 2014

Adventures in Cooking Our CSA Share: What is Mibuna?

If you have any ideas or recipes for our list below, please share.  Especially with the mibuna???  And I know what I would do with the cilantro . . . . 

Greenhouse Tomatoes- NEVER IN FRIDGE! Keep on Counter.

Cameo Apples- delicious, keep in fridge for up to 3 weeks

Radishes- remove tops and keep roots in fridge for up to 2 weeks

Yellow Swiss Chard- large bunch of leaves with bright yellow stalks- wrap in damp paper towel and keep in crisper for up to 1 week

Baby Lettuce- red and green small heads, wrap in damp paper towel and keep in crisper for up to 1 week

Mibuna- small bunch of light green, oval shaped leaves, wrap in damp paper towel and keep in crisper for up to 1 week

Cilantro- small bunch of fragrant leaves, wrap in damp paper towel and keep in crisper for up to 1 week

Red Pac Choi- Small Heads, look like boo choy, reddish tinge on oval shaped leaves, wrap in damp paper towel and keep in crisper for up to 1 week

Rhubarb- Reddish stalks, looks like celery, keep in fridge for up to 2 weeks

Wild Alaskan Halibut Fillets
Bogart, a raw cow's milk cheese similar to parmesan or a dry cheddar

Rainy Day Monday

It's a chilly, rainy Monday here in CT, perfect for all of the baking I have to do for our Brownie troop's "fly up" to Juniors tonight and for the "pinks" I planted in the yard yesterday, a gift from the hospice volunteer luncheon on Friday.  There is usually wonderful food at that luncheon; this year my favorite was a pear, walnut, feta, and cranberry salad with a blush wine vinaigrette.  But this rain isn't really salad weather . . . .

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Brownies

Makes 24 brownies

One 12 oz. package (2 cups) Semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided
½ cup butter
3 eggs
1 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup chopped nuts (optional)

In large, heavy saucepan over low heat, melt 1 cup chocolate chips and butter (for best results, melt butter then add chocolate chips and melt—prevents chocolate sticking to saucepan); stir until smooth. Remove from heat. Add eggs; stir well. Add flour sugar, baking soda, and vanilla; stir well. Stir in remaining (unmelted) chocolate chips and nuts, if desired. Spread into greased 13 x 9 inch baking pan. Bake in preheated 350°F oven for 18-22 minutes or until set. Cool completely. Cut into 2-inch squares.

Nestle Chocolate Chip bag

Adventures in Cooking Our CSA Share: Beets

With Russian kale stewing like collard greens and raw carrots to dip in hummus and chicken sausage pasta for the main course, we decided to make a cold beet salad, either our favorite vinegary Greek beet salad or our favorite Ethiopian beet and potato salad.  Since we didn't have potatoes, we went with the former.

And it was good.

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Cooking Beets

Remove tops from beets and store them in refrigerator.

To cook beets, boil them (starting in cold, salted water) until tender (about 30-45 minutes.)  Then skin them (most easily under cold running water.)  Now they're ready for salad.


Greek Beet and Garlic Salad
2 pounds of fresh red beets or 2 cans of sliced beets (discard liquid)
2 -3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup of red wine vinegar
sea salt (optional)

fresh ground pepper (optional)

Combine ingredients and refrigerate a few hours.

About.Greekfood

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Key Sir (Ethiopian Beet and Potato Salad)

1/2 onion, chopped (I think our favorite restaurant uses red onions)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 lb red potatoes
 1 lb beets

Directions:

Combine onion, lemon juice, oil and jalapeno in large bowl. Set aside. Cook potatoes and beets in separate large pans of boiling salted water until just tender, about 30 minutes for potatoes and 45 minutes for beets.

Drain. Cool slightly. Peel and cut into 1/2 inch cubes. Add beets and potatoes to lemon mixture and toss to coat. Can be served warm or at room temperature.

Recipe Circus

Friday, June 6, 2014

D-Day Remembrance

It is the 70th anniversary of the invasion at Normandy.   We remember the Allied men and women on this day in particular and honor their service and sacrifice.

While my maternal grandfather was in the US Army at the time, he did not participate in the landing.  I think he was in North Africa or perhaps in Italy, though he was in France later, I believe.

We talked about it at dinner tonight; they know of Hitler, the Nazis, and Anne Frank, as well as the Blitz.  But they didn't realize there weren't global positioning systems and satellites to help find the enemy and help with the war effort; they didn't know you could have a soldier overseas and not know where he was or even if he were dead.  Another world for them, even having stood inside the bombed out church of St. Dunstan in the East in London.  When they're ready, they can read all about D-Dayin the "TimesMachine" original edition.

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Swamped

It's been one of those weeks.

Actually, it's been three.

And I'd say there's at least one more, but probably more like two.

All good, just busy.

And then it will be summer.  And potentially even busier.

Adventures in Cooking Our CSA Share: Dressing It Up

We have lots of greens in our CSA box this week, plus the ones we already had.  And I'm looking for new salad dressing recipes.

So I asked my friends, who replied:



I do variations on this:

Olive oil
Lemon juice
Minced garlic
Pepper
Mustard (optional)

For salad accompaning Asian food:
Canola or other neutral oil
Dollop of sesame or peanut oil
Dollop Miso or soy sauce to taste.
Rice vinegar

Enjoy!

SR

-=-=-=-=-=-


4 carrots
½ white onion
¼ cup chopped ginger or a little more if you really like ginger like me
2 tablespoons white miso paste
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons raw honey or coconut palm sugar
3 tablespoons dark toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup water
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Instructions

Throw everything in a high speed blender and blend until smooth


TFN


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Orange-Infused Olive Oil

You can find bottles T Whole Food and the like. I just drizzle a bit of vinegar and oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Perfect for summer. Also try maple syrup as a sweetener in any vinaigrette recipe...nice change.

Sew and Sow


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Honey-Lime Vinaigrette:
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Juice of 1 lime

1 Tbsp. honey
Salt and pepper, to taste


LN


-=-=-=-=-=-=-
balsamic dressing: oil, balsamic vinegar, French mustard (with lots of seeds—not much of this because consistency of dressing is liquid), garlic

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

2/3 cup salad oil
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon oregano
¼ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon dried mustard

Mix together all ingredients. Keep refrigerated.
MA

-=-=-=-=-=-

From Ina Garten . . . . 

1/4 c. olive oil
2 T. red wine vinegar
4 t. Dijon
1 t. Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients together.

Supposed to be for a lentil salad but delicious on lettuce!
CM

-=-=-=-=-=-

I make essentially what CM wrote often, but of course with crushed garlic added. Another go-to is a very easy "Salad Verde" from my mom's old BH&G Salad cookbook, though I don't have the measurements memorized:

Rub salad bowl with cut clove of garlic.
Whisk in bottom of bowl pinches of salt, paprika, and dry mustard.
Add oil (calls for veg oil; I sometimes use olive or extra virgin), maybe about 1/4 C.
Add cleaned greens and toss to coat.
Sprinkle over top fresh lemon juice and vinegar (calls for white; I sometimes use red wine, especially if I've used olive oil).
Toss to coat. Season with s&p to taste.

MC

-=-=-=-=-

Then I looked at the funny little plastic dressing bottle we've had for decades but rarely use.  Think we will now:

Traditional French Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
6 tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

-=-=-=-=-=-

Traditional Italian Vinaigrette
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

-=-=-=-=-=

Balsamic Vinaigrette

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons canola/vegetable oil (or olive)
1 tablespoons finely chopped basil
pinch minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Sesame-Ginger Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
1/2 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
4 tablespoons canola/vegetable oil (or olive)

-=-=-=-=-=

Chili-Lime Vinaigrette
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red chilies
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
4 tablespoons canola/vegetable oil (or olive)
1 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro (no way)
salt to taste

-=-=-=-=-=-=

Finally, I also found these on my blog:


Vinaigrette -
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup sugar
2 t. Dijon mustard (I used spicy brown)
1 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper

-=-=-=-=-=-
Another Vinaigrette

1 clove garlic, minced
 1/4 cup olive oil
 3 tablespoons lemon juice
 5 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
 salt and ground black pepper to taste

-=-=-=-=-=-
Bloodroot Marinated Tofu Salad Dressing
1/2 cup grapeseed oil
1/4 cup tamari (we had soy sauce)
2 tablespoons roasted sesame oil (we had regular sesame oil)
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar (we had rice vinegar)
squeeze of half a lemon

-=-=-=-=-=-

Orange Poppy Seed Dressing for Salad
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
dash salt
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
3 tablespoons orange juice
3/4 cup vegetable oil

-=-=-=-=-=-

Miss B's Caesar Salad Dressing

2 Cloves fresh garlic minced
1 1/2 cups mayo
1/4 cup fresh parmesen cheese
2 Tbsp fresh, lemon juice
2 Teaspoons worchestershire sauce
2 Teaspoons Djon mustard
(I added some anchovie paste...don't know how much)

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Hospice: Beginnings and Endings

I have a new hospice patient, a delightful and talkative British woman in her 90s.   She's pretty vibrant, for hospice, but has advanced dementia.  She doesn't remember that her husband is dead and doesn't understand why he doesn't visit her.  She is so sad.  And it's no sure continually reminding her that he died.  My job, as visitor, will be to distract and entertain her as best as I can.

Thoughts and Prayers

Sending love and healing to our friend Diane in Illinois who was in a motorcycle accident.  She'll recover but will need lots of time and care to heal.

Sending thoughts and prayers to Texas where the outlook for my cousin David grows dimmer.  His chance of recovery of any sort, much less a full recovery, from basilar thrombosis (and now double pneumonia) is doubtful.  All I can think of is his 8 year-old daughter.


Tuesday, June 3, 2014

Adventures in Cooking Our CSA Share: Our First Box, 2014

Here we go!

  • Candy Crisp Apples (keep in fridge)
  • Green House Beefsteak Tomatoes (NEVER IN FRIDGE!)
  • Bunched Beets (remove tops and keep in fridge)
  • Bunched Carrots (remove tops and keep in fridge)
  • Caraflex Cabbage Leaves (wrap in damp paper towel and keep in crisper)
  • Baby Lettuce Heads (wrap in damp paper towel and keep in crisper)
  • Red Russian Kale (wrap in damp paper towel and keep in crisper)
  • Bunched Spinach (wrap in damp paper towel and keep in crisper)
  • Fresh Oregano ( keep in crisper)
  • Our Full Season Omnivores will be receiving 1 Whole Chicken and 2 Packs of Chicken Sausages
  • Our Full Season Cheese of the week is: Batch 35

The kids are already balking somewhat at all of the lettuce, especially because we still have romaine, arugula, green leaf, and frisee!   It's going to be salad days for me for sure.

We'll saute or stir fry the kale, spinach, and cabbage separately, probably roast the beets and eat the carrots raw.  I'm thinking we'll have to dry most of the oregano for later.

Otherwise, we're a bit in a quandry about the tomatoes.  Neither Sis nor I will eat them raw, but I'm not sure they're the kind you cut up into a salad (for Mama or Bud) or soup.  That leaves a BLT or Gommie and Pop's favorite dill pickle, red onion, bacon, cheddar, and tomato broiled sandwich (though now that we think on it, we wonder if there even is a tomato?)

The chicken, sausages, cheese, and eggs are pretty easy.

Going to be some good eats here this week.

I'll let you know what we do.  Any suggestions are most welcome.

Pies in the Sky


  1. Apple
  2. Cherry
  3. Blueberry
  4. Lemon meringue
  5. Fresh strawberry
  6. Chocolate chess
  7. Buttermilk
  8. Chicken pot
  9. Shepherd's
Nine kinds of pie.  We named them as we sampled slices of the first three while watching "Harold and the Purple Crayon," who mentions his nine favorite kinds of pie.  We even had a tenth--fisherman's pie, Bud's choice.  

We were watching "old" television.  No, not Brady Bunch (Rest in Peace, "Alice"), Addams Family, Gilligan's Island, even Facts of Life or Little House on the Prairie.  Not my childhood television, but theirs.  We reminisced over episodes of Thomas the Tank Engine, Fireman Sam, Signing Times, Mama Mirabelle's Home Movies, and especially Elmo, the Wild Wild West episode.  Which leaves Miss Spider, Little Bear, Caillou (Mama hates this show), Imagination Movers, and many others for later.  They don't remember most of them but delighted in watching.  For mama and I, it felt so long ago.  What will we remember in another half dozen years of these days?  

Regardless, I hope there's pie.