Random good food

OK, so I admit, I've been delinquent with my posts.

So here's what I made for supper tonight. I was super hungry after doing a little shopping. Shopping tends to stress me out a little, but it was all good. Bought a pair of non-baggy pants two sizes lower, Yay! So this is a picture of my sandwich, as I was just discussing.

It was pretty awesome. Wilted greens, thick sliced heirloom tomato, Wisconsin Havarti cheese, avocado, whole grain gluten-free bread. And it took like five minutes to make.

 

Here is the glamour shot, with some of Brian's homemade garlic pickles. Not fancy, but good.

 

Last night, I was in the mood for comfort food, so I made potato leek soup, and that was super nummy! I'm sorry I didn't take any pictures because I really really also wanted a a bath in my whirlpool tub, and that took precedence. I guess I can be selfish sometimes. :) 

Ingredients: one onion sliced thin, one leek sliced thin & rinsed well, some olive oil, butter, three stalks of celery chopped, 3 medium potatoes diced.

Simmer on the stove while taking a luxurious bath. When the soup is done, use an immersion blender to mix. Best left chunky. Do not overmix. Enjoy!


Finally, here are some pictures of food Mom and I made for dinner this weekend. The green stuff is spigarelli. It tastes like broccoli. We just added butter and salt.

 

... a simple fruit salad...

...and pork roasted with root veggies...

and a glass of wine... (not pictured).

 

 

Here's wishing you the good, simple, tasty life! 

Fun Day with the Family at Ren Fest

My cousin Carmen invited me to tag along with the family to the Renaissance Festival today. And since she's long past the days of ganging up with my brother Steve and chasing me and her sister Becky with junebugs, of course I said yes. (She actually turned out to be a more normal adult than me.) Plus I love her kids to pieces, and her husband Tom is pretty funny too. And also my aunt Ole (mom's sister) decided to come with. Ole practically raised Amanda- she provided all of her child care from 0-5 years old, and then some. Needless to say, Amanda considers her more like a Grandma than a great aunt.

Since there was so many of us; we took two cars. I was pretty psyched when Carissa and Jenna chose the "Girlz Rule" car (mine). Though I  admit, I was saddened that they didn't know any of the words to the Def Leppard or Bon Jovi songs. Good thing they are still young.

We started at Mermaids Cove. The line was super long and slow, so we had high hopes. Turns out the mermaids were very boring -maybe the guys would disagree- but we had fun chatting with each other. Jenna wanted a picture with me in front of one of the mermaids tanks, so here where are, enjoying the beautiful day.

Carissa and Matthew wanted me to walk through The Secret Garden trail with them. Couldn't say no to those faces...

 

Then it was time for Zilch the TorySteller (story-teller)- my favorite! This was the family, right before we all started laughing. (Nearest to farthest: Carmen, Carissa, Ole, Jenna, Matthew, Tom)

 

Jenna bought this decorative head thingie- and kindly modelled it for me. She is pretty much the only one in the family who actually likes getting her picture taken.

 

Carissa obliges, but only cause she likes me.

 

And Matthew insists on making silly faces.

 

 

More fun....

 

Jenna and I were taking pictures of everyone eating, especially her dad, because they looked so funny. I was super nice and deleted all of mine. After we laughed hysterically at them.

 

Carissa wants to be a herpetologist when she grows up, so she was extremely happy to get to touch the lizards and snakes.

 

This lady asked I wanted to touch her lizard, and when I said "Um, no thanks," she looked very offended that I would pass on this once in a lifetime opportunity. She liked Carissa though.

 

This snake was so long it didn't even fit in the picture. I didn't pet it either, but no one was offended by that.

 

 

Taking a break in the shade. Probably discussing how unrealistic the jousting is when no one falls bleeding off their horse.

I love this picture of Carissa and Ole. Aren't they cute?

Jenna and Carmen, being pickles. Carmen is a good mom to be in a pickle like this, just to make her kid happy.

We had a lot of fun, and we completely wore Ole out. Good times with the family on a Sunday. That's what its all about.

Birthday wishes, from Duffy's Patio

Very relaxed, finally, after a long exciting weekend, with just the right amount of socializing. One thing I am sure of, is how incredibly blessed I am to have wonderful people in my life that I care very much about. Life is short; my birthday wish is that we didn't have to ever be reminded of that. And that we remember to live life to the fullest, and appreciate the people in our lives.

I'm too tired to tell stories that will captivate or entertain you, so instead I leave you with some pictures from my birthday bbq celebration on my deck -which I have dubbed Duffy's Patio and Pub- that runs the length of my house. It was a lovely evening: seranaded by crickets and sounds of boats on the river, filled with good food, pitchers of white sangria, and plenty of laughter with friends & their families, by candlelight.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Threshing Bee weekend up north

This weekend, I packed up my car and my best friend Teresa, and headed up north. WAY up north- as in almost Canada. Road trip!

Its about a six hour drive altogether, give or take. Good thing neither of us tend to run short of words to say. We played lots of tunes along the way- The Eagles, Johny Cash, Flogging Molly, Def Leppard, and even Frank Sinatra.

We stayed overnight in Bemidji with Sue and Brian. Teresa, Sue, and I went to high school together, and we've known Brian for more than 20 years. We had a great time catching up and having a beverage or two, chatting until late in the evening.

In the morning, Brian got up and made us coffee and omelets to order. He's really good at making omelets. Then, we headed out to the garage to see the model T that he is restoring, and to the garden, where he loaded us up with tomatoes and jalapenos to bring to John for salsa makin'.

It was time to hit the road again, to go see John at the Northland Threshing Bee in Statcona.  Teresa has known John since forever, when they used to beat each other up in martial arts. :) And I've known him since my freshman year in college. He's one of the nicest people I know, and that's saying alot, 'cause I know lots of high quality people.

Anyhoo, I was super excited about going to the Threshing Bee. For starters, I'd never been to one before. For those of you who aren't familiar, its kinda like an old-time farming exhibit, where they have demonstrations of things like soap making, blacksmithing, weaving on looms, steam engines, and more. There is also an old schoolhouse and an old store. And of course there's lefse and rumagrot and potato dumplings, cause there's lot of good Norwegians up there.

 

My favorites are the demos of the big equipment like the thresher and the saw mill.











John and his dad and his brother Earl run this saw mill, which has been in the family for a very long time. Its amazing to watch them feed in a giant log and have it come out in these beautiful boards. Might not sound like it to you, but I thought it was fascinating to watch.

I also love the tractors. Go ahead; make fun of me. Tractors remind me of my Grandpa Johnson, who farmed his whole life. He was an incredible man- unwavering in character, dependable, honest, and quiet (yes, I realize that last trait bypassed my generation.) Its been a number of years since he's passed, but I miss him dearly.

They had two tractor parades on Saturday. I was so excited!

I really wanted to ride on one. Here I am on John's dads tractor.






That totally made my day. We watched the second parade with his dad, and brother, and brother-in-law. I got to hear lots of stories about life on the farm, up north. And every one I met was so incredibly nice. You hear about people in small towns not taking kindly to strangers, but everywhere we went, we were welcomed with open arms. It was such a fun day!



Here's a picture of me and Teresa looking adorable. It was pretty windy out (that's what hats are for), and a tiny bit overcast, but perfect for walking around.




It also happened to be John's birthday that day- so after the Bee, we headed across the field to the cabin- they call it Camp. They built this place, and it is very impressive inside, with vaulted ceilings and a loft, a bunk room, a nice sized kitchen, and a common room where the whole family fits comfortably. John's awesome mom and sister Angie joined us there, and we ate a wonderful dinner of ham and grilled veggies and potato dumplings. Everyone was so warm and kind, it felt like being at home.

When it was getting closer to sundown, Teresa and Earl and I hopped on the front of the ATV, and John hopped on the back, to drive to the woods and change out the video cards in the cameras, and see the hunting stands. It was beautiful back there.

We were having a great time. Hopefully, years from now, we'll be able to laugh about what happened next, but I can't yet, because it's still too fresh in my mind. The short version is that John fell off the back of the ATV, was knocked out cold, and we ended the evening in the hospital. Thank God everything turned out okay! (Except for the concussion and a sore back.) Good thing he is pretty tough.

Teresa and I stayed with her folks in Williams that night, and hung out with her brother Mike, sister-in-law Nettie, and their 3 year old son Pete, the next day. Mike made us all sausage, eggs, and pancakes for breakfast before church. I really enjoyed getting to know Nettie, and Pete is such a cool kid. He wanted to see my pictures from the Threshing Bee, so he climbed up on my lap, and looked at them for the longest time, pretty much having a comment for all of them. (I think he should go to the Bee next year).

After church we went to Nettie's folks place to see the log home that Mike built, and to pick some eggplants, and see the chickens. It was a nice relaxing way to spend the morning.

There was just enough time before lunch, for Teresa's dad Larry to show me how to drive the tractor.





I got to drive it into the woods to clear the trail. It was pretty exciting for me, even though I was super cautious and was driving about the speed of molasses. I'm sure the local 7 year old boys would be laughing if they saw me driving that slowly. ;)

We headed back to the Cities after lunch, with a car full of stuff (tomatoes, eggplants, apples, jars of Brian's garlic pickles and salsa, a couple of souvenir cedar planks from the Threshing Bee) and a bunch of new memories to to hold onto.

A pancake and ukulele send-off

So today was the last full day at home before it's time to bring Amanda back to St. Kate's for her sophomore year of college. As I was going downstairs, I poked my head in her room, and saw her asleep on her bed with her cell phone next to her and her laptop still open in front of her, holding onto her stuffed unicorn.

I made pancakes for breakfast, because she loves pancakes. It was an unruly looking stack, but there were only a few leftover. (She also loves leftover pancakes.)

Having her home this summer has been great. Though I don't understand why every room in the house has been strewn with her belongings. Was she marking her territory?

Here's her stuffed cat Cheetoh, and her blanket, on the living room sofa. She loves that cat, but honestly it freaks me out. She keeps taking pictures of it with my cell phone and re-setting the default home screen to Cheetoh pictures.

 

My dining room table appears to have grown a ukulele, a bag of corn chips, a portable file folder, and various other items. None of which are mine. Except for the candle centerpiece.

 

Amanda's room- the storm before the calm. I told her that anything still out when she leaves will get shoved in her closet. (and miraculously, a couple hours later, the floor was clear!)  

It is a bittersweet thing- watching your child grow up. As a parent, your goal is to raise them to become kind, caring, productive members of society. You do your best, you make some mistakes, and then you hold your breath. The process is an amazing roller coaster of epic proportions; it is heart-wrenching when they suffer, joy-filled when they are happy.

There is no greater responsibility and no greater privilege. I have been a single parent for most of my daughter's life, but I have not been alone. My friends, family, and church have stepped in when needed and been god-parents and mentors to my daughter. The network of people who have grown to love  and care for her, has grown far beyond our tight circle of just me and her.

I can't wait to see what's ahead in my weird, nerdy, funny, creative, smart, wonderful (and sometimes exasperating) daughter's life as she navigates the world of growing into an adult. I am so grateful for this crazy journey.

And tomorrow night when I come home to my (relatively) peaceful house, I may sigh in relief for the new year starting, but I'll surely also miss the slight chaos that thoughtfully reminds me of just how blessed I've been.

Accidentally Delicious

On my drive home tonight, I was thinking about the CSA veggies in my fridge that still need to be eaten. Frankly, it just seemed like more work, on top of work. Which led me to thinking, maybe we should just go out to eat tonight. But here's the deal- no place I could think of eating near our house sounded better than the fresh tomatoes and bell peppers I had waiting at home. So I decided to cook pasta. Yay pasta! (This is my face, thinking about things that make me happy.)

Let's get chopping, Mr. Red Pepper, and Mr. Fresh Tomato.

Because I was tired, I left the skin on, but you won't do that. You will drop them in boiling water and peel the skin, because that is what people who are serious about good food do. Then again, I try not to get too serious about stuff like food. So I let it be. I also added some onion and garlic that I roasted the other night, because oven-roasting makes your food taste amazing. TIP: when you roast veggies, make extra, and save some.

Then I made fresh broccoli, because it is one of the veggies Amanda likes, and I thought it'd be nice to make her something she likes. I also made her some pre-made fresh egg pasta, because even though I need to eat the gluten-free stuff, there is no reason she should always have to settle every time. It's easy enough to have separate pots of boiling salted water. And I snuck in some extra flavor and nutrition by boiling her pasta in the broccoli water. Shhh, don't tell...

She likes very simple seasoning, so I just added real butter, salt, and pepper. She went back for seconds, which she almost never does.

 Meanwhile, I added some pinot noir to my sauce, because it was handy. And the sauce needed a little something. I knew this, because I taste my food as I cook it. I drained my gluten-free shells, tossed them in the sauce, and shredded some Parmesan cheese on top with my micro-planer. I just need to tell you right now, that I love my micro-planer- I am not exaggerating. It takes things like fresh nutmeg, or hard cheeses, and it makes it fluffy and amazing. And see how it sparkles in the light? Sigh. (OK, I may be exaggerating ever so slightly.)

And this was my finished meal. I am so glad we didn't eat out. Plus. it gave me the opportunity to watch "So You think You Can Dance" at home with my daughter, and that's priceless. (<hanging out with your 19 year old the week before she heads back to college.)  

P.S. Vote for Cole! :)