Recipes – This Old House 2

A glorious October

Despite predictions that New England would have a drab fall foliage season due to the drought we experienced over the summer months, there’s been plenty of beautiful color. My walks and hikes with Kai have been fragrant with crunching leaves underfoot, the strong scent of pine needles along some of my favorite paths, the swirling breezy wiffs of autumn that always bring me back to childhood and fond memories – leaf pile making and jumping in. “Dog shows” on the front lawn with neighborhood kids and their pets. Making little trails in the leaves with rakes for my breyer model horses – For in the ‘burbs’ there was no room for real horses.

In our yard there are three shrub varieties that are beautiful this time of year… If you’re looking to add color to yours, these are a great addition.

Flaming azalea…

CrapeMyrtle –

And Snowball Viburnum – in spring months the flowers of this shrub are wonderfully fragrant.

Out on the trails and around the farm, the golden hues have been intoxicating…

Sometimes kai and I traverse a town instead of beach or woods walks. The Town of Essex does a spooktacular job during Halloween season, one of our favorite strolls.

The grands continue to bring me so much joy, and the holidays come alive again in a whole new way when we get to share it with them, and see their excitement and wonder and thrill –

Another joy of mine is getting to witness my kids become loving and engaged parents. Daughter K has her second child due in January – grand No. 4!

Two simple recipes Susan Branch has shared weaved into her art –

We had a celebrity visit here on the farm a few days ago…. If you know, you know. Well the picture helps if you don’t know 🙂

The Mister and I have visited a few farm markets, this month was the last hurrah for the farm market season and we took advantage… We are sixty-ish now and it shows, but those smiles and lines and gray hairs represent a lot of living that I am grateful for. Amen… and Amen again.

Up at the barn, it’s blanket season! Max is now about 30 years old, we don’t want the old boy to have to work his body too hard to stay warm… and Leah, bred for show… doesn’t grow a strong winter coat so we give her a boost as well.

I am tempted to dive into the tangle of current events, so much of it alarming… but I think I’ll leave this post as a reminder that there are many many things to be thankful for, and our peace is worthy of protection. Keep doing all the things you do to make the world a better place, even the smallest acts of kindness send a ripple out into the world. Hug those you love, love on them well and tell them often. Take care of yourself, too.

Cheers to hope for the future, from our moms, who are still with us, (so thankful for that)…. to you. To all of us! 🥂

Till soon –

Heaven is Here

Pardon the poor spacing in various places here… wordpress can be maddening and I’m done wrangling it for the day 🙂

It’s late August and fall is knocking on the door with cooler nights and the leaves on some trees are actually starting to turn. Around the farm with not enough rain, our tomato plants, grape vines, raspberry bushes and so on petered out early.

Molly and Lacey eating breakfast

The girls at the EggPlant enjoying some free range

With current events what they are, I’ve been distancing myself more often so that I can enjoy my time on this earth as best I can, and the people I love that are in it. We live in remarkable times, both good and bad. Here’s some of the good….

A dear friend of mine posted this a few nights ago. He has had some remarkable adventures, some incredible highs and some very deep sorrows but he always finds his way to a better place regardless. With his musings he brings me and anyone else lucky enough to read or hear his stories along for the ride. I keep telling him he needs to retire and write a memoir… he’s my modern day Charles Kuralt. Michael, I hope you’ll forgive me for sharing.

“On a late August evening where the calendar said summer, but the air had that hint of Autumn; I went down to Lynnie Lou’s Ice cream in Naples, New York for the last “Car Cruise Night” of the Year. It’s a summer staple every Wednesday night in June, July and August and I’d yet to make it to one this summer.

Aside from the ice cream (peach sundaes were plentiful), the fare was burgers, fries and rings along with music and joyous, exuberant (but very bad) Karaoke. The crowd was decidedly older (as am I) but the evening and night were perfect. Everywhere I looked people were smiling, having a grand old time whether eating, looking at the cars, getting ice cream, bravely doing Karaoke, dancing or just chatting with friends.

All sorts of old 50’s cars…. some Corvettes and old pickup trucks…. even a 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona, complete with a huge rear spoiler and dressed in a can’t miss me color of “Hemi Orange.” Occasionally one of these old beauty’s would fire up…..go for a spin and head up Rt. 21 with tires squealing and glass pack mufflers echoing a sound I had not heard in years. A sound of my youth. Lynn the owner of the ice cream stand was cooking away at the grill singing to the music while young high school kids waited on the many hungry customers in line for a burger.

Scenes like tonight take place all over small towns across America. Sitting there soaking it all in on a perfect summer night I was as content as I’d ever been. The line from Field of Dreams came to mind where the numerous ball players ask Ray Kinsella…. “Is this heaven?” Tonight if I’d been asked that question I’d have answered…… “No its Naples!”

There are small towns that dot the landscape of America all across this great land….and I’m very happy that I chose this one. Thanks, Lynnie Lou’s for a special evening that made me feel right at home (and oh, I really do think this is heaven.)”

I’ve been painting more of my “tiny painting series” in preparation for our upcoming artisan market. This is our 10th year of collaboration to put on this show, and I am so grateful for all the volunteers who come together to help us make it happen… and especially my market partner, Linda, who is more organized than I will ever be. We make a good team and that is such a gift. With over 90 quality artisan vendors and some really awesome food selections, it takes a village.

Mia’s Rocks… My granddaughter and I picked some rocks on the beach in Maine and we made this heart at waters edge. I painted it as a keepsake ❤️

This is a scene another dear friend took while on his boat watching fireworks… he has already collected this tiny painting, a reminder for him of a wonderful night he spent with his wife and friends in his favorite place.. on the water in a boat he’s restored.

When the season from summer to fall begins to change I spend more time in the kitchen and begin the hunt for new-to-me fall recipes. Having good food on the table for my family brings me tremendous satisfaction. The cleaning up part, not so much, LOL. I also bring out the big binder full of recipes I’ve been collecting since my early 20’s – many of which are from family and friends, some of whom have departed. The handwritten ones are my favorites…. and each time I make their dishes it feels a little like bringing those loved ones back into my kitchen to say hello.

My daughter brought this home from first grade class and it’s a wonderful bread to have on the counter in fall months.

Aunt Ro was a wonderful cook who could whip up a big four course meal for the whole extended family – If you like Brushetta, this is a good recipe. She left us last year in her 90’s.

Marge was the mother of a man I dated briefly. We became life long friends and she also lived into her 90’s. Marge was a fountain of optimism, I always enjoyed time spent with her, her enthusiasm for life and good old common sense were golden rays of sunshine even on the dreariest of days . She loved horses and dogs, too… and the state of Montana, which she and her husband visited whenever they could travel out west to visit a few of their sons.

Till soon, friends –

The Old Days

“Back in the old days”….. funny when you realize you’re old enough to say that.

Growing up on Staten Island in the shadow of the Big Apple, I knew from a very young age I was meant for a more countrified life. And so I set my sights on getting out of the ‘burbs as soon as possible. In my case that was 19 years of age with an old abandoned race horse I had adopted, with not a pot to piss in, really, except for a few important things – a Ford pinto my father had handed down to me, my mother’s support to attend college and a job opportunity on my aunt’s horse farm to work off that old horses board and my own.

All these many moons later, I did manage to build the countrified life complete with horses, dogs, chickens, goats, rabbits, fish etc. etc. and this family I cherish beyond the beyond. But I won’t deny, and I wouldn’t have believed it when I was a teenager…. there are things I cherish about my time growing up in those ‘burbs. Our streets were safe and we played all kinds of games with the neighborhood crew. Stores were walking distance, the ice cream truck came regularly. Family lived nearby and we visited frequently.

A facebook page devoted to Staten Island in Days Gone By has been a joy to follow, with many people either still on Island or having moved on long ago like myself… reminiscing about some of those wonderful things you find in a community such as the one we grew up in. The thing about Staten Island is….. it was once truly a beautiful place years ago, a respite from city life and employment, a safe place to raise families. It does still have it’s charm… but sadly, poor zoning and corruption have allowed horrendous overdevelopment and many of the old green spaces and beautiful neighborhoods are being destroyed by truly ugly housing developments. An example is the farm house I grew up in on a pretty green lot.. now demolished and all the tall oaks and old lilac and white and purple mulberry trees long gone. In their place are two duplexes with zero curb appeal. No greenery.

Anyway… on that facebook page a popular deli was highlighted… Silvestro’s. My mom remembers it was a very busy place that sometimes was hard to get into because no parking spaces could be found on her way home from work and we weren’t exactly easy walking distance. On that facebook page old neighbors, friends and patrons of that deli happily reminisced about the deli, and in particular… its famous potato salad.

I grew up with a whole lot of kids in our neighborhood and school system and one boy in particular was an old soul, the kind of kid you just knew was going to be a very decent man in life. For me that was Charlie. From the time we were in grade school chasing each other on bikes or walking home from school talking about whatever thing seemed important at the time… to the weekends when I’d come home from college and Connecticut life to visit mom… Charlie would occasionally stop in to say hello if he saw my car parked out in front of 14 Miller. He was a steady friend, a childhood rock in a sea of rambling pebbles. That was before cell phones and texting and facebook, etc… so people didn’t have the ease of staying in touch the way we do now, if we so choose. I lost track of Charlie when life on the Island for my family drew to a close, but I didn’t ever forget him.

Facebook does have some great traits… one of them being reconnecting people, and keeping friends and family in touch. And so Charlie and I caught up with each other’s lives and it’s no surprise he is a loving father and husband, a career police officer and trucker.

So… that potato salad. I discovered through that deli facebook post on that Old Staten Island page… that for a while it had been Charlie’s grandparents deli, something I did not know back in the day…. and he shared with the rest of us that famous potato salad recipe. His grandmother kept it in a jar on top of her refrigerator at home and made it for the Deli and her family. I made it last week… notice she didn’t measure ingredients. As Charlie describes it.. she added a little of this and a little of that until it tasted just right…. And so I did the same.

IT.. IS… DELICIOUS. Simple and simply good. In honor of a dear old friend, Charlie.. and his grandparents beloved deli, Silvestro’s on Staten Island…. I’ll share it with you, too.

Till soon –

All creatures great and small

I knew from a very young age my life would need to revolve around animals. Growing up in a suburb on Staten Island, there weren’t many farms, although I did eventually work on a few. I’m trying to remember the first animal I brought home with me… there were many, much to my mom’s chagrin. A pigeon with a broken wing… a few cats over the years… a few dogs too… a sick baby goat from the Staten Island Zoo, mice, hamsters, parakeets. My kids were bitten by the same bug, although perhaps not as intensely as me. I thought I would be a veterinarian… however some of the gore involved…and to witness so much of the abuses, turned out to be too much.

Farm life suits me well, and animal advocacy. So this is what I built my life into. At 60 years of age, I do feel the wear and tear of the physical work that has gone into it and continues… but I wouldn’t trade it for any other thing.

Yesterday we got a lot done around here… my son has begun the haying process… and we pray for four days of dry warm weather. The hay needs to be cut, then tethered into rows, then hopefully the breezes and sun dry it out good, then bale it, stack it on a truck and store it in the lofts.

Meanwhile, we did a little pony ride aboard my mini horse, Lacey. She was a trooper. The pony saddle is really too big for a mini but for these toddler years it’s workable. We may bring a pony home for the grands at some point. When I think of that I ask myself… do I really want to add to my work load around here?

We also gave our blind mini horse, Molly, her summer hair cut. Her coat is very thick and we help her to be more comfortable as the weather warms up with a clip job. For the same reason I wouldn’t ever be a hairdresser, I won’t ever be great with the clipping of a dog or horse, but I do it as necessary around here.

My girl rode her horse, Leah… and our old boy Max’s picture is below just because. At 29 years old, he’s doing great. This is what I wish every horse’s retirement looked like after a life of service to humans.

Meanwhile… just down the road a piece… we visited a thrift and rescue/rehab facility in the next town over… There aren’t a lot of places where you can visit with Tortoises, parrots, goats, peacocks, lizards, snakes, frogs and other creatures and then shop in a huge thrift store, all proceeds of which benefit the creatures in their care, and then some. The kids picked out a toy and books after visiting with the animals. A morning well spent and a great cause supported. My kind of day.

This is a great bread recipe for those of us who are a bit intimidated by the bread making process… It came out delicious and wasn’t hard to make!

These are my two loaves… the recipe below makes 2!

One more thing and I’m off to the barn for morning chores….

This… a thousand times… this.

The Peace of Wild Things

It’s hard to find the balance when it comes to how much news to digest right now in this current whirlwind of upheaval. How to react and not react, to take some kind of action or to let it go, to remain silent or speak up. I tend to speak up. A lot. Trying for balance though…. Let go or be dragged is one of my little mantras… little quotes I use when I’m feeling the weight of it all to remind myself when I need to do just that. Also… keeping an open mind when you find your thoughts are completely at odds with those of others you respect and even love. Right now in particular, that can be a hard thing and some folks are losing relationships they valued for decades because of it.

In my older years (I’ve just arrived in my 61st year) as some of the responsibilities and pulls of a younger life wane, I take to the woods or beaches more often to ground myself and for better health. I’ve heard the term “forest bathing” but I’m not sure it’s that for me, exactly. The peace is in the trek and the observance of nature and its beauty… especially with my dog, Kai. He is a gentle timid soul who has known abuses I’ll never understand fully. But since coming to me as a 2 year old, he’s learned trust and love and to be (mostly) comfortable in his own skin. We are definitely a team… with my significant hearing loss, he is my ears on the trails and our surroundings. Having gone through this transformation with Kai, our bond is a strong one and I am forever grateful he’s in my life, and for the rescuer who trusted him with me.

Speaking of “Older”…. you’ve probably heard the saying… aging is not for sissies. And maybe you’re at the age where you can relate. Inevitably, we all experience a breaking down of this or that, some worse than others. If we’re lucky, we get to keep going, reasonably sound, for a while to come. Not everyone is that lucky and we never know when our time on this earth might be coming to a close… So.. I choose not to be too freaked about the lines in my face, the eyes that look weary, the extra pounds I’m constantly fighting… the aches of a life lived in an active body. I no longer have a uterus or any semblance of normal hearing. Every one of these things in, so far, sixty years, is a privilege, not a right given to all. I’ll take it, with gratitude.

The wild voilets, trout lily, fern and swamp marigold are all in bloom this week. I look forward to these signs each Spring heralding warmer days ahead. Finding that first yellow bloom with the dappled leaves beneath it leaves me a little giddy and a little hopeful. Don’t we all need a little of that.

The grands are of the age now where they love to explore… and so they, too, are enjoying little trail walks with us. Keeping them from getting completely soaked in the little streams is the challenge of the moment, but their wonder and excitement is contagious❤️

I’ll close this post with a breakfast shake I like to throw together… it’s delicious and good for you…. Spinach, banana, blueberries, honey, hemp seed hearts and ice… however much of each you prefer, and switch it up with any number of other healthy options you might have in the fridge. Just toss it all in a blender, pour in a glass and drink up the goodness.

Till soon –

It’s been a while

Almost a year since I’ve been here, so much to cover and where do I start? I guess right where most of us are struggling at the moment or at least have some concern.

This world and this country in particular are in quite a state. Depending on your leanings, most likely you’re either cheering or you’re horrified by what we are all witnessing. There doesn’t seem to be much in between. The division among us and how intense it is, is frightening. The mistrust and misuse of our government and our news sources even more so, their integrity in tatters. My son asked me the other day…. “do you think we’ll ever come back together as a country? The divide seems so huge, runs so deep, it seems impossible. ” There are times I think that’s the likely truth… but as I said to him… I’m reminded that this country has been in upheaval before. Just magine the divide during the civil war… where the north and south had completely different views on slavery and it was a very big part of the south’s way of life and prosperity. We all know how that ended. And the young country did seem to move on, eventually, mostly and for the greater good.

I am an unaffiliated voter, my husband a dyed in the wool Republican. Many an argument has infused our cohabitation since M*G* has arrived and right now the air is so thick with the discord we could cut it with a knife here in this old house. I can’t deny our governing bodies have been ignoring major problems for a long time… overspending, over taxation of the working middle class, immigration reform, healthcare reform, our crumbling infrastructure, corporate greed… the list goes on and these are the things the Mr. brings up when I question his loyalty to his party’s current path. The failures of both parties for a long time are why we now have an orange nuclear bomb dropped right in the middle of it and the fallout reach is everywhere with it’s tentacles in absolutely everything. That is where my significant other and I are in agreement. And that’s where it ends…. because as I watch the reckless behaviors and actions and attitudes of this Tr*mp. 2 administration, as I watch women’s rights being yanked back and the rules of law being blatantly ignored, abuse of power rampant (and they are giddy with it)…. the previously trusted relationships with our allies shredded, our environmental protections discarded, our public lands under siege, the words diversity, equality and inclusion pummeled, when facts no longer matter….. I cannot help but be appalled, embarrassed, ashamed for this country. And that brings profound sadness and even disbelief that we are where we are.

But you see how far down a rabbit hole one can be dragged, and so I have to remind myself to let go on occasion and search for peace within and out there in the universe of our lives. To do good things where I am, to grow where I’m planted… to assist where I can for the greater good. No matter where you stand on all of this… I hope you’re able to do the same.

I completed my 60th year this month! Holy shit! But I’m not complaining one bit. Sixty is not old… it’s damn lucky. I’m still pretty active and I plan to continue for a long time if life permits. I hike or take long walks regularly with my best buddy/rescue dog Kai. Getting out in nature is my respite, my recharge.

My barn chores and grands keep me busy. My arthritic neck and hands remind me I’m not a spring chicken, but it’s all part of the luck of still being here and having more good days than bad. I’ve cleaned up my diet some and try to get in more greens and berries and whole foods, much less processed crap. One of the things many older people hear when they end up at a clinic with illness is that they are dehydrated. So I’m making a concerted effort to drink more water because it’s not something I crave. Hydration is important so if you do just one thing for yourself in your current state of being, drink more water.

And be grateful for every.single.day. Don’t take any of it for granted, it all goes by so damned fast.

Farm update – with the sale of our little cottage by the sea, Stella…. we’ve had more time to focus on improvements here. Up at the barn we’ve still got our mini horses, our two quarter horses, two goats and 16 or 17 chickens depending on the day’s count and my patience for doing it. We brought home a rabbit and my granddaughter Mia immediately named her Hoppy. She’s very friendly and a welcome addition to our farm family.

The grands – they’re now 2 years old and almost 2, my daughter’s son and son’s daughter. Being a “Mimi” – a name my granddaughter chose for me, is such a wonderful chapter in life. We get to experience young personhood and all the wonders and discoveries over again through their eyes, but with less responsibility, LOL. A third is on the way! I am their caregiver for a portion of each week as both moms went back to work part time and it’s so true, they keep you young! ish….

We converted my office into an art studio with a little side of toddler toys now that I am retired from my editing/writing/family business responsibilities and I have been able to dive back into my art inclinations. I’ve set oils aside and have begun exploring the world of water color, a completely different universe.

A recipe I’ve tried recently and really like – This one is so delish and refreshing. I don’t really have an opinion about Meghan, but so many do. I’m glad I don’t live anywhere near the spotlight. I give this a thumbs up. I did use spinach instead of shard and shaved parmesan instead of feta.

Meghan Markle Sussex Veggie pasta salad

Ingredients

For the pasta salad:

12 ounces paccheri or fusilli pasta

Kosher salt

1 cup English peas, shelled

1 bunch Swiss chard (about 5 cups loosely packed leaves), chopped

Optional: 1/2 bunch lacinato kale, ribs removed, chopped

3/4 cup snap peas, sliced

Optional: 1/2 zucchini, chopped

1 cup feta cheese, plus more for garnishing

2 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, plus more for garnishing

1 tablespoon fresh dill, plus more for garnishing

For the vinaigrette:

1 shallot, sliced

2 garlic cloves, grated

2 lemons, zested and juiced

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried chili flakes

1/3 cup olive oil Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Method

1. Create a bowl of ice-cold water and ice cubes to shock your vegetables to stop the cooking process.

2. Bring 4-6 quarts of water to a boil and season with ¼ cup salt. Blanch peas for 30 seconds and move to ice water to shock.

3. Blanch Swiss chard leaves for 45 seconds to a minute, until tender and move to ice water to shock.

4. Add enough salt to the water so it “tastes of the sea” and boil the fusilli until fully cooked according to package instructions.

5. Drain the pasta and set aside to cool.

6. Dry peas and Swiss chard on a towel until ready to use.

7. Chop chard into bite-sized pieces.

8. To make the vinaigrette, combine the shallot with the dried chilli flakes in a large bowl.

9. Add cooked and cooled pasta. Toss to combine, add chard, peas, snap peas, feta, and herbs. Toss and season to taste.

10. Serve, garnishing with more herbs, feta, and lemon as desired. Enjoy!

I don’t keep track of the traffic here anymore when blogging, but if you’re visiting and are so inclined… let me know what you’ve been up to, and if you keep a blog, where to find it! I hope all is well in your neck of the woods –

Till soon –

Hitched!

What a weekend! Family and friends arrived from far and wide to celebrate the union of my daughter and her beau. The weather was typical New England fickle early Spring, everything went mostly as planned although we had to move the ceremony inside instead of out on the hill sloping down to the water, because BRRRRR. We all had a wonderful night under the big top, dancing our fool heads off thanks to a DJ who knew how to read the room, enticing young and old to join in the fun. I’ll share more photos when we have the professional shots but here’s a sneak peek.

At around 2 am after everyone had retired for the night… three of us came down with the nasty stomach bug (norovirus) that’s been going around the midwest and northeast. It was ugly. Then a day later, it hit the rest of us here on the farm. Oddly.. and thankfully.. this particular outbreak did not spread to our guests. Amen for that…. and the miracle that it didn’t hit us just 12 hours sooner. We are all feeling better after two days of being mostly in bed if not in the bathroom. Fun times!

Yesterday before the rain I headed out into the woods to hunt the tiny spring blooms I look for each year – they are the message sent from mother nature that indeed the growing season has arrived, if a little fickle with a bit of back and forth. Winter has been reluctant to loosen it’s Grip! That old saying is very true though – if you don’t like the weather in New England, wait a minute or two… Tonight we expect more heavy rain and some wind. Having already lost a few of the towering pines at the front of our property, I hope we don’t lose more of them. They were planted at least 50 years ago in rows, so we have a literal pine forest out there that is aging.

The tiny blooms along the trail out behind the farm fields here….

Long spur violet

nightcap

Trout Lily

And so far in the garden on the hill we have planted the potato trenches and the garlic is thriving… the warmer days make outside chores more enjoyable and my soul is lifted, face to the …. well not the sun very much lately, but I remain hopeful! LOL.

The Mr. rarely takes time off but this year upon his 60th birthday I told him I’m going on a few adventures whether he comes with me or not. It’s time we expand our horizons at least a little bit and do more of what brings us pleasure instead of nose to the grindstone 24/7. We’re taking a few days to explore a bit of southern Maine in mid May and I’ll report on that then. I’m excited for a happy change of scenery, a little adventure – I hope you find time to do the same in whatever way is enjoyable for you –

A delicious salad recipe I haven’t seen before…

This Blackberry Avocado Arugula salad makes the most of fresh produce with cucumber, avocado, hazelnuts, vegan feta and a lime mint vinaigrette!

Ingredients:

Produce

• 5 cups Arugula

• 1 Avocado

• 1 cup Blackberries

• 3/4 cup Blueberries

• 1 1/2 cups Cucumber

• 2 tbsp Mint, fresh

Condiments

• 2 tbsp Lime juice, freshly squeezed

• 1 tbsp Maple syrup

Baking & Spices

• 1 Pepper

• 3/4 tsp Salt

Oils & Vinegars

• 1/3 cup Olive oil

Nuts & Seeds

• 1/3 cup Hazelnuts, toasted

Dairy

• 1/3 cup Feta, vegan or regular

Till soon –

For the Love Of

I love 💗LOVE💗, do you? And jeez, there just isn’t enough of it out there. In simplest terms, I want to hope as hard as I can, that love wins in the end. Good versus evil in all things. I’ll spare you my outrages because you’re all seeing the same damned things on your screens and in your ear.

Here are some things I love –

Grandchildren – these two are already best buddies and it brings me such joy to be a part of their lives.

I love to cook, to create something delicious my family will enjoy. I believe there is much important communication and bonding over a good meal shared together. I learned this from the women in my family – my Grandmother Elsie, my Aunt Virginia, my mom. I believe the effort is so important, to bring the family together to sit down for meals. I always insisted on it when we were raising our children, even when we had crazy schedules with work and school and sports, etc. I was surprised to find out many of my kids friends families did not do this, it was actually a rare occasion.

I also love trying new recipes and eating those yummy things, LOL. Hence some extra pounds. I love a good cookbook and have a plethora of them – here are a few recipes I’ve tried and loved recently from Trisha Yearwood’s second cookbook –

Trisha Yearwood’s Baked Bean Casserole – This can be a side or a meal, it’s hearty enough ( think chili) link to recipe HERE

Now, ham salad usually makes me gag. But, the Mr. loves it. LOVES it. So when I saw a recipe in Ms. Yearwood’s book and she raved about it, I said to myself – you know, you oughta just make the effort for the guy, Karen. See if it’s doable. Welp. It’s more than doable – I actually love it! and it’s so easy to throw together – so tasty. Who knew!?

Uncle Marshal’s Ham Salad *******************

3 cups ground or finely diced fully cooked ham (about 14 ounces)

1 teaspoon finely chopped sweet Vidalia onion

2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish

1/2 cup mayonnaise

Combine ham, onion, relish, mayonnaise and mustard in bowl. Serve salad on crackers or in sandwich.

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I also love making healthy food choices to help this aging body. One of my favorite breakfasts is a simple smoothy, I just throw everything in a blender and drink it up – Spinach, Honey, blueberries, banana, a dash of yogurt, a few ice cubes. Delicious and it’s doing your body some good.

Who doesn’t love fresh produce out of a garden – I’m dreaming of the bounty we’ll enjoy out of our gardens this summer, and the kitchen herb garden we are planning to build off the kitchen slider/porch. Instead of walking up the hill to the big vegetable/berry garden near the barn, I can grab what I need right outside the kitchen porch as I’m cooking. Last year we used a galvanized tub, the kind used for livestock watering, and it was OK for that purpose, but in the ground is better. Perhaps a raised bed. More on that later.

My recovery from hysterectomy is going well, I love when that happens! I’m back to most of my regular chores and life activities with the exception of lifting very heavy things. A few more weeks of caution and I’m good to go.

I hope all is well in your world, and that you love on yourself as needed. That’s just as important as anything else and we tend to forget this, often.

Image by Jane Newland, an artist who’s work I love

Till soon –

Reunions

My high school 40th reunion took place a few months ago. Fortieth. Four-Oh. Holy crap, how is that even possible? I debated with myself for months beforehand… do I truly want to go back to my home town and see all those people again? Thanks to facebook I do keep up with those who actually cared to stay in my life over the years, even if it were on the peripheral. We have continued friendships that may wax and wane, but when we connect again it’s always as if it were just yesterday we were standing on the bus stop or sitting on the bleachers or running the track commiserating over the latest awfulness of teenagerdom. Those friendships feel genuine. In my high school experience there were the usual cast of characters – the in crowd, the nerdy super intelligent crowd, the outsiders, the fringe, the athletes, the scholars… where to fit in? …you know the woe. I was somewhere in the middle. Didn’t stand out, didn’t lag behind. I am finding those who seemed kind then, are kind now. Those who were not so kind, still aren’t. Funny… and not funny. Based on their personalities in those categories…. one can accurately guess their politidal affiliations. There were friends who were always good to me and vice versa, and there were some who would easily talk behind your back if it was the cool thing to do when you weren’t in ear shot. I had a decent HS experience for the most part, but there were some shitty things too, painful things. Do I really want to live those emotions on any level again? Would seeing those people dredge all that up,some 40 years later? Meh. ………. So I decided to pass on the opportunity. Seeing the photos after… proved me right. LOL. And none of the people I value from that time period attended. We all kind of felt the same. A chapter closed long ago, not feeling a need to reopen it.

This is someone’s creation, I don’t know who the original creator is but I plan to make something similar to hang out in the garden where the sun will catch the light of the glass beads – isn’t it clever?

After two weeks of rain and clouds, the sun finally showed up yesterday and today… what a glorious feeling, the sun on my face and sprawled across the hill behind the house, drying up the mud and warming the surfaces of everything everywhere.

Last night’s sunset all around New England was reported on so many fb posts because it was truly spectacular. Here’s what we saw on the farm… no filters, it was that stunning! And only lasted for about 10 minutes.

Leaving you with a recipe given to me by my aunt many moons ago. It was given to her by a neighbor when she lived down south, someone who was not Coral Harris – I wonder if Coral Harris knows one of her recipes is still floating around and loved by many –

Till soon –

Two steps forward

9 days after surgery and I am feeling so much better. The healing is going well and I feel human again. This came across my facebook feed this morning and I think it’s one of those vital thought processes if you’re dealt something hard – And aren’t we all at one point or another, in this one precious life we are given.

Not a day goes by that I am not grateful for the close proximity we have to our family – with both kids and their spouses and children in their own homes here on the farm and our mothers still alive and living just up the road a bit, these are gifts I don’t take for granted.

Watching the news, sometimes it feels so hopeless and helpless, being witness to all the problems and the rages and the total dysfunction of our governing bodies. That sink hole keeps getting bigger, the divide wider, and for sure I do not have the answers. Not being able to trust the information sources, talk about erosion! So…. more and more, I tune it out. Which also feels irresponsible. But I have found, when you are helpful in your own circle of life, within your community, your family, friends, your areas of interest, it renews one’s faith in the absolute beauty of life, and there is still so much of it. It restores some of that withering faith in humanity, for there is still an awful lot of good out there. We’ve all heard this simple phrase – Look For The Good.

A nice bunch of roses for $7.99 at the local grocery store… Buy yourself the flowers, you deserve it! When the price is good, I do it. Always remember to snip the bottoms off when you bring them home and put them in water. Helps keep them fresh longer. And, if it’s tulips you’ve got – put two pennies in their water, they last longer.

A worthy recipe…

French Onion Mac & Cheese

Ingredients

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 Spanish onion, thinly sliced
kosher salt
8 ounces cavatappi or other small cut pasta
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 12oz can evaporated milk
1 cup whole milk
4 ounces gruyere cheese, freshly grated
6 ounces swiss cheese, freshly grated
2 ounces parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Butter an 8×8 inch baking dish.
In a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter over medium-low heat. Add the onions with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are golden and reduced, about 40 minutes.
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the directions. Drain and set aside.
In the same pot you used to cook the pasta, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add the flour, whisking until combined to create a roux. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes until it’s golden and smooth. Slowly pour in the milk, whisking constantly, about 5 minutes. Slowly pour in the evaporated milk and whisk until thickened. Reduce the heat to low and add the gruyere and swiss and all but a couple tablespoons of the parmesan. Stir until all of the cheese is melted. Stir in the nutmeg, mustard and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the cooked pasta and the onions.
Transfer the mixture to the buttered baking dish and top with remaining parmesan. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 25 minutes. Cool for a few minutes before serving.

Till soon,