A Memorable Weekend

For some reason I've procrastinated putting up this post.  I think it's because so much went on last weekend that I'm just now recovering from it, and am just now letting my mind get back to the present.  Last weekend we made a trip up to Northern KY (Taylor Mill, for those of you "in the know") for my 13th HS Reunion.  My graduating class was an astounding 43 people, and less than 1/10th of us attended the reunion.  Pretty sad, huh?! :)  Nevermind - I am thrilled at the 10 of us who were there.  Some of these people I haven't seen in 13 years; others in about 10, and a few (lucky ones) I've seen this past year.  We had a great time just sitting around talking, laughing, and trying to figure out where our other 33 classmates might be.   I honestly felt like I was in some kind of time warp, because I felt like 13 years hadn't passed since I was sitting in the lunch room with these people. 

Emily & Brad, Jenny, Andrea, Drew, John, Melissa, Jennifer, and Josh - it was GREAT to see you all!  I definitely think we should try for a 15-year reunion!!  And John, thanks for the face.

After slightly recovering from a late night, we had a going-away party for Jono & Kirstin, John, Julianne (again) and Janna at Starbucks.  I am so thankful for the people who work at Commerce, because they really are a wonderful group of people.  I tell Keith all the time how lucky he is to work with such great individuals.  A bad day for him is typically a "normal" day for me. 

Thanks you all (and to those of you not in the picture too - Jan, Juanell, etc) for making Keith's job so great, and for caring about your customers the way that you do! 

For the love of IKEA.

This past weekend the boys and I made a trip up to Cincinnati for a little whirlwind vacation.  We were only away for maybe 30 hours or so, but it was a great time.  We had several places that were "must-stops" since we were only going to be there a short time. 

First we got to see our awesome friend, Kristin, whom I haven't seen since last fall.  It was great to catch up with a precious friend.  While we were visiting at Starbucks, G$ decided to eat some dirt.  That was his first dirt experience, and hopefully it will be his last, but I'm not going to bank on it.  Since the place we were planning to go for dinner had an hour-long wait, we decided to make Graeter's our dinner.  Smart.  To continue the sugar-high, we then hit up our old friend Tim Horton's for some delicious Timbits.  Thank you, Tim, for the Blueberry glazed!  YUM.  We went back to the hotel and decided to take G for a dip in the pool.  It was super fun, although I think he wanted to swim on his own instead of being contained in the float. 

Saturday we enjoyed a lovely (FREE!) breakfast at the hotel and headed nextdoor to IKEA.  This was the star, and the reason for, the trip.  Keith has never actually experienced IKEA before, except for the 2 times he used their restroom - once in Malaysia, the other in Burbank, CA.  Yep.  We've been wanting to get a shelf or shelves for our kitchen for me to store my ever-growing collection of cookbooks.  We dont' have a ton of cabinet space, and some of the books are simply too big.  We had seen several online that we liked, but once we got there, we knew we had to have this one:

I absolutely love it, and it is perfectly functional.  Thanks to Keith for putting it together and hanging it, without busting a hole in the wall. :)

We also found a cute little chair for G for the living room, now that he's getting to be such a big, big, boy.  He seemed to approve (pardon the paci).

He has loved having his very own chair (and he knows it's his!).  He climbs in and out of this thing all day long.  He's really into "reading" right now, so he will bring one book after another out and throw it in the chair and climb up.  It's pretty cute, if I do say so.

We also hit up the outlet mall a few exits up, where we found some great deals, and then we headed straight to our cherished TJ's.  We have so many favorite things we buy here - can't wait until there is one in Lexington.  Finally we stopped at Mio's Pizza, which took me back to my high school days.  I have lots of memories at this place, so it was nice to think back on them. 

Speaking of high school, we're off to Cincy again tomorrow for my high school reunion: Lucky #13!!!  Can't wait to see some of my dear friends.

What goes around comes back around....

My love of farm-fresh vegetables has definitely been passed down to me from my parents.  When I was in about 2nd or 3rd grade, we were lucky enough to have a garden at our apartment complex.  I'm sure you're picturing some kind of flower box contraption on our deck "filled" with 2 - 3 plants, but this was East Tennessee, and we had land.  It really amazes me once I think back to it, because it was such a unique situation, but behind the pool was a massive garden area, where many of the tenants could plant several rows of whatever they wanted.  We had about 5 -6 rows all total: 4 rows of green beans, plus okra, zucchini and yellow squash, tomatoes, and cucumbers.  I remember it all so vividly, mainly because we ate green beans, okra, squash, tomatoes, and cucumbers at almost every meal for an entire summer.  I always like to remind (i.e. give her a hard time) my mom that one night for dinner we had zucchini casserole, boiled squash, and zucchini bread.  I love the stuff, but that was a bit much!  My mom was warned that if she ever brought squash or cucumbers to church to give away, people would run in the other direction.  If you've ever seen how much one single squash or cucumber plant can produce, you'll understand. 

Though that was the only year we've ever had a garden, we've been lucky enough to find half-runner green beans every year.  My mom and I (and my dad, if we were lucky) would spend an entire weekend stringing, breaking, and then canning beans.  The process was long, tedious, and hot, but we were always so thankful to be eating green beans in December!  I have many memories of breaking green beans.  We broke beans outside, we broke them inside, we broke them on a car-ride from North Carolina to Northern KY, we broke beans while watching a horse auction at Keeneland, and I could go on.  I'm sure I would always complain, but I always did it.  It seemed to take a lifetime to get all those strings off those beans!

And that brings me up to the present.  The past 2 weeks in our CSA we've received green beans.  Luckily for me (and Keith) these are stringless beans, so it just requires breaking them.  I don't have the tools for canning, so I decided to freeze them instead, so that we can enjoy them in Winter.  I couldn't help but laugh as I stood there with my green beans, breaking them into the pot.  Can't wait until G$ is old enough to help his momma! :)

Santa's Got a Brand New Bag, aka Mama's Got a Brand New Toy

Upon Keith's urging (and I'm actually being serious here), I just got this BEEYOUTEEFUL Spinning Wheel.  It's used, but very gently used. 

Can't wait to get some instruction from experts like Jan & Sara!!! 

It's called the Schacht Ladybug - it's a very light & portable wheel, and each wheel comes with its very own ladybug tucked away somewhere for the owner to find.  LOVE.

I'm in a Pickle

Okay, okay, I'm not in a pickle, but I love pickles, and after years and years of wanting to make my own, I finally made a quick version this past week.  Some background is needed, I think.  My Aunt Ann & her mother, Virginia, canned the most heavenly pickles I have ever had.  Virginia was part of The Oakdale Club, and while they produced many quilts during their time, they also produced some mighty delicious food.  The ladies of the Club compiled their many recipes into a cookbook that sits in my cabinet today (Virginia gave me a copy she used).  I refer to this cookbook all the time, and many of my family's favorite recipes come from the pages of this precious book.  One of the recipes in this cookbook is for pickles - the ones Ann & Virginia would make.  They picked their own cucumbers from Virginia's garden, and I've never seen anything like them.  Whenever we would go to visit them in Statesville, I would look forward to enjoying those pickles.  Ever since I had those, I've been a bit obsessed with pickles.  They are a food I crave on regular basis, and I can put down a jar in no time. 

Since I haven't found any perfect pickling cucumbers, but our CSA box has been loaded down with larger cukes, I decided to try to find a quick recipe to satisfy my desire to make pickles.  I found a great recipe, and tweaked it only the slightest bit to remind myself of Ann & Virginia's pickles.  They turned out pretty good.  I think Keith was shocked.  And that's why I love to cook. 

Quick Pickle Recipe
Ingredients:
1/2 C white or cider vinegar (just eyeball it)
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp whole mustard seed
1 tsp salt
1 clove garlic, smashed
2 TBSP chopped fresh dill, or 1 tsp dried dill
1 bay leaf
4 kirby cucumbers, sliced about 1/2 inch thick on an angle
optional: 1 jalapeno or serrano chile, pierced with a knife
Directions:

Heat small saucepan over medium high heat. Add vinegar, sugar, mustard seed, salt, and garlic to the pan and cook until it begins to simmer and the sugar dissolves. Toss the dill, bay leaf, jalapeno (if using) and sliced cucumbers together in a heat-proof bowl. Pour the simmering liquid over the cucumbers and stir to evenly coat. Allow to cool to room temperature or chill before serving.

In other food-related news, apparently mango juice makes for a very posh hair styling product.  At least that's what this goober tells me.  You too can look like THIS!

Garden Gazpacho & a Treat (of course!)

So the whole computer issue has really slowed me down in blogging.  It's frustrating, really, but that's okay.  Here I am again.  This past week I found myself needing a good recipe to use several veggies from our CSA.  Our fridge is a pretty good size, but each week when we get our box, I wonder where on earth I'm going to store all these things!  So I needed to move some produce.  I settled upon an easy, healthy, no-cook gazpacho.  I basically used Ina's recipe, but added/changed some things.  CSA items used:  2 regular cukes, 1 green bell pepper, 2 cloved of garlic, and about 5 large cherry tomatoes.  I also added a splash of Worcestershire sauce, and garnished with cilantro and lime juice.  This soup definitely gets better with age, but it was really lovely and refreshing on a hot summer night.  And we ate this with some nice crusty french bread.  YUM.

Since we were going to have such a healthy dinner, I decided we needed a treat for later.  That's fair, right?  So I perused countless blogs and other food websites thinking about what I'd like to make.  Then I saw it.  From Lexington's own BraveTart.  City Slicker S'mores.  Yes, please and thank you.

For about the past 3 months, I've walked past the s'mores "stand" in Kroger.  They have it all there for you: the Graham crackers, marshmallows, and choclate bars.  They stare at me every time I walk past.  And there's no getting around this particular area.  I have to walk past.  But I've been trying to be "good."  But not eating some delicious s'mores doesn't mean I haven't thought about them.

So when I saw Stella's recipe, I knew this was my chance to actually make something totally from scratch that I would really enjoy.  I didn't actually use her recipes (at least, not exactly), because she weighs everything out, and that was just going to take too long that day.  So I chose this Graham cracker recipe and Alton's marshmallow recipe, only with the addition of liquid smoke.  I need to do a better job with the Graham crackers.  I don't think I rolled them out thin enough.  Truthfully, I should've had a ruler/measuring tape out and figured out exactly what 1/8 inch looks like, but I was in a hurry.  They were tasty, but not perfect.  Honestly I'll probably try BraveTart's recipe next time.

I've made marshmallows several times before, but I think this was my best batch.  They were delicious.  I should've added a couple more drops of the liquid smoke so that the flavor would have been a little more distinct, but I was SCKEEERED to have my marshmallows taste gross.  They do require effort, after all!  If you've ever wanted to try to make your own, please do.  They don't compare to what you get in the bag.  And they're easy (if you have a stand mixer, that is).  I can pop these things like candy, I tell ya!

Anyways, back to the S'mores.  I also made a simple chocolate ganache of semi-sweet chocolate and heavy whipping cream.  I assembled them and heated 'em up in the microwave for about 7 seconds (10 was too long, I found out) to get that warm, gooey mess that screams S'MORES!  You can't eat these puppies without utensils and some napkins nearby.  But I'd say they were worth the mess.  Keith didn't complain either.

I'll say it.  I want S'more...

Not enough time!!!

So my computer was only able to be used for the weekend, and then I had to bring it back in to our IT guys to have it worked on some more.  Apparently dropping a computer can cause quite a few "hiccups."  Go figure.  Anyways, over the past few weeks I've had quite a few things I've wanted to blog about, but I haven't been able, because of my lack of working computer at home.  So, I have lots of things in my head, but of course, not much time, to post.  I'm sure you all need a tissue because this news brings tears to your eyes.  Basically I just wanted to let my 1-2 readers know that I'm here, and will post more soon. 

On a side note, I was just discussing with my mom that there's just not enough time in the week!  I mean, maybe if I didn't come to work 4 days I might be able to start checking off the plethora of baked goods, yarn projects, etc, that I want to tackle....not to mention that laundry that seems to continue to pile up!  I participate in this awesome knitting & crochet community called Ravelry.  This place is an addiction, for sure, but it's also a great resource.  I've been adding projects to my queue, and I'm suddenly beginning to feel overwhelmed.  It's hard to know which project to start first, or what I can wait on until later.  I realize it's only July, but in my mind, Christmas is right around the corner, and I have gifts to make!!!  This is the same way with baking.  I'm sure Jan knows my pain all too well.  There are so many recipes I want to try, and I just don't know where to begin! 

All of this to say, maybe I'll decide to tackle my baking queue soon - so be on the lookout for some yummies!!! :)

...well, that is if I get my laptop back..... :)

Ooh, just realized I can post a gratuitous picture of one item I've been able to check off my queue:  Chevron mitts.   Can't wait for my hands to be all toasty roasty in the winter!!