In Search of Wonder

Cucumber Salad with Creamy Parlsey Mint Vinegarette

My garden is producing so many cucumbers! We eat them just like that, with a bit of salt and pepper. Today, though, I had 8 in my veggie bowl, and I know that they wouldn't all get eaten just like that, so I came up with a delicious salad using 4 items from my garden! Cukes, red onions, parsley, and mint. I used organic olive oil and red wine vinegar and homemade yogurt from local raw milk. Here is the recipe (please forgive the approximate amounts):

3 cucumbers, sliced

1 very small red onion, or 1/4 regular sized one, sliced thinly

handful parsley, minced

handful mint, minced

1-2 T red wine vinegar

2-3 T olive oil

3 T plain yogurt

1/4-1/2 t garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

Place cukes and onions in a medium sized bowl. In a small bowl, add minced fresh herbs, salt and pepper, garlic powder, and vinegar. Whisk together till combined, then add olive oil in a thin stream (still whisking) till incorporated. Add yogurt and whisk till all combined, nice and creamy. Pour dressing over cukes and onions, mix well (I used a rubber spatula) and transfer to a serving bowl. Refrigerate till ready to eat. Enjoy!

Posted in: on Monday, June 15, 2009 at at 5:58 PM 3 comments

Blahg

As you may have noticed, there hasn't been much blogging from my neck of the woods lately. Can't explain why, no excuses, I just haven't been doing it. Sorry.

Summer is here, the kids are home from school. We are doing summer stuff, like library visits (Danny Jr got his first ever library card! It was a proud moment in our lives, especially to see how doggone cute and serious he was while signing the application and the card), reading, swimming, visiting friends, and walk/jogging. I decided to start doing the couch to 5K training, and rallied up some friends to join in. Today was the second official Club C2/5K meeting and I got a tummy bug. Blek.

Sophia is in Girl Scout camp - a day camp here in town - M-Th this week. She loves it so much! We used to worry so much about her - she never was confident enough to enjoy social activities, sports, and all things that consisted of being away from home (and Mom). Now, after forcing her (as she LOVES to point out) into soccer and basketball (both of which she DOMINATED in), we can barely keep her from wanting to do everything social. She has certainly blossomed!

Olivia and I stayed up really late Sunday night, just talking about this and that, nothing in particular. It was so nice to talk with no one else around. She is such a great young lady. I am very proud of the person she is becoming - she has a seriously huge heart! And as wacky and wild as she is, she is quite level headed when it comes to issues outside of the home (like school, bullies, children from broken homes, etc.- she *gets* so much).

Danny Jr is starting Kinder in the fall. Wow. Where on Earth has the time gone?????? A chapter in our lives is very quickly coming to and end, and "Book 2" is about to begin. My baby, the last of my three precious ones, is embracing his big-boyness and is so ready to start school. I can't imagine what life will be like when I have to be out there, working and balancing kids, career, and home. Wow. Talk about changes!!!!

I am in the early planning stages of creating a business, one which will be full swing when school starts - not giving any details, but I am certainly asking for prayers and positive thoughts. Just know that you will know what it is when the time comes to reveal it! : ) Till then, thank you!

It was nice catching up, hope all is well with you - I am off to do some home stuff, since I am here and not somewhere else. Peace out, y'all!!!!!

Posted in: on Tuesday, June 9, 2009 at at 10:08 AM 0 comments

Ketchup

I mean....catch up....

We had some Turducken (that is really Turkey with a duck and a chicken).

Olivia had her last art show of the year. She painted this bird with acrylics.
And this beautiful flower with watercolors.

Rosie laid her first egg on Friday. It's the little blue one. The next day, Snow White laid an unusually large egg. It's the brown one. The rest of the hens lay eggs the size of the last one, some white and some light peach in color.

It's so cute! I am so proud of Rosalina. She is the sweetest chicken. She looked wiped out that day. I can so identify!

We went to play at the river last week. The kids had a blast! They are little fishies! That's DJ diving in.

Oooowee that was so much fun!!!!

I have missed blogging, missed you! I went through a little spell of funkiness, will blog about that really soon! Till then, have a lovely week! XOXXOXO

Posted in: on Sunday, May 17, 2009 at at 8:56 PM 4 comments

Another food to prepare with Swiss Chard

Mexican Beans with Chorizo and Greens

This was taken from Rick Bayless' cookbook, Mexican Everyday.

I love him, I love his recipes, and his passion for Mexican cooking. I attended a demonstration/book signing when he was promoting the book. See this post.

Back to the food, this is comfort food at its best.

Posted in: on Saturday, May 2, 2009 at at 4:11 PM 0 comments

A Shout out to my GFF's!

That would be to my Gluten Free Friends - not that you have no gluten, but that you can't eat it. I catered a small breakfast this morning and one of the expected attendees is incredibly limited at gatherings that offer food. She usually brings her own food, but we wanted her to come and eat and not worry. I immediately had an idea for a gluten free egg casserole - something similar to the popular pot luck fare that uses bread as a filler. I used potatoes to add bulk, which turned out to be a delicious alternative that even my family loved. They never like breakfast casserole, so that was good news.

Gluten Free Egg Casserole

(makes 20 good sized servings)

15 eggs

1 pint heavy cream

1 lb pork sausage

5 small potatoes, baked in microwave

1 lg red pepper, chopped

6-8 oz spinach or chard torn into bite sized pieces

1 onion, chopped

1-2 c shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Cook sausage in a large skillet till done, add onions and peppers and cook for a couple of minutes, till they soften a bit. Add the greens and cover, cook 2 more minutes till they wilt down. (*I did this the night before and stuck it in the fridge till the morning, but that was to work with the time I had. You can do it right away, or the night before).

Whisk eggs with cream then add the meat/veggie mixture and shredded cheese (*I used a bit of cheddar and some medium white cheese from my bag of cheese ends) and season with salt and pepper to taste - I went with about 1t salt and 1/2 t pepper. Spray a jelly roll pan or half sheet pan with non-stick spray and pour egg mixture in. Check to make sure everything is pretty even. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

I served this with fresh fruit and some gluten free corn bread which was a surprisingly good match.

Here is my Swiss chard patch. This is what I used in the recipe. It is so good.

Have a nice weekend! Peace out, yo!

Posted in: on at at 3:48 PM 2 comments

Hymn

When I was growing up, I was one of those who attended church once or maybe twice a year, and usually it was under duress. I wasn't raised with church a part of my life. I could recite the Lord's Prayer, say the Rosary, and a couple of lines from the Apostle's Creed. I recited them, never fully understanding the meanings of any of it. The music in church, to me, was the same - I could sing along with no clue of what I was singing. As I grew up, I left church altogether, attending only for weddings and funerals. I say I left it, but I never was really...there. As an adult, after my second child was born, I was invited to a contemporary, Christian, non-denominational church and began my new life as a Christian. My whole life changed, definitely for the better - for the greatest, best journey of my life.

This church that I have attended since 2002, being contemporary, presents music that is upbeat and joyful - meaningful songs you would hear on Christian radio stations. I never spent time in a traditional setting, singing hymns, learning them, hearing the words and understanding them. Occasionally, our incredibly talented band throws in a hymn, and when they do, while most folks around me are singing along without looking at the words on the projector, I am reading the words with fresh eyes, hearing the lyrics, new to my ears, mind and heart. Hymns are a new experience for me.

Sunday, we sang a song that I had heard before but never understood - I recognized the tune but never experienced......it is so hard to put this to words - it felt like I was washed clean - goosebumps covered my arms and legs, my heart felt like it was filled to the brim - with the love of my Savior, with love FOR my Savior. The song is Come Now Fount, and here are the lyrics:

Come thou fount of every blessing
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace
Streams of mercy, never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise

Teach me some melodious sonnet
Sung by flaming tongues above
Praise His name! I'm fixed upon it
Name of God's redeeming love

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be
Let Thy goodness like a fetter
Bind my wandering heart to Thee

Prone to wander Lord, I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Here's my heart, O take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above

Here's my heart, O take and seal it
Seal it for Thy courts above

Posted in: on Tuesday, April 28, 2009 at at 8:29 AM 2 comments

Our week

Man, we have had quite a week, actually 9 days and counting. It all started last Monday when Sophia came home after school with a fever and chills. She stayed home with that fever till yesterday, which was, count 'em, 8 days. We took her to the Dr twice, neither time with a diagnosis. They said it wasn't the flu (according to the test) but in every sense of the word, every symptom that could be experienced, it was the flu. Maybe it was a super-bug, a new version of the flu that hasn't made it to diagnosis yet, who knows. Anyways, this picture was taken of Sophia on her 8th birthday. We had no party, no cake, no meal. She went from sleeping on the porch to laying on the couch and back and forth all day. She has had no appetite and has lost at least 4 pounds. Thankfully, today her fever has stayed away. Her appetite is returning, and soon she will be eating birthday cake. She may even get to go to school tomorrow!
Meanwhile, with our animal family, the midnight marauder has been coming around. It was getting into our chicken feed, got around our first solution (a container with a locking lid) - we brought the food up onto the porch and locked it up. Sunday night, it pulled the fencing back from the frame of the babies' chicken cage and got ahold of Sissy. Here she is, the poor baby. Her toes on her left foot were all torn off at the 2nd "knuckle" - one is still hanging by a thread, and I am afraid to take it off the rest of the way. I will let nature take its course and let it fall off on its own. The varmint also got her right wing - she only has about a half inch of wing left. Luckily, no skin was broken on her body (besides the wing and foot) so, systemically she is healthy still. Her wing and foot are healing nicely, and she is eating and peeing and pooping. She also thinks that we are her mommy as we have held her in our hands since yesterday when we found her. She even got a warm bath in the sink, healing ointment on her wounds, and lots of TLC and snuggling.
We have set traps out on many occasions, but this doggone critter has been smart enough to eat the bait and not set the trap off. Last night, we tied a few bones to the inside rear panel of the cage and it worked! Here is the pesky raccoon in its defeat. My dear neighbor, Tony, picked him up a little while ago to release somewhere far, far away.
My goodness, he is so cute. Too bad he's such a trouble maker.

We are looking forward to having a better week, what with Sophia on the mend and the raccoon gone. Maybe we'll even get some sleep tonight!

Love to all...