Soothe The Souls

I've done a lot of driving up and down the interstate lately. But we needed one more short trip, down the road to the lake. This was our first trip of the year. This was the coldest visit we have ever made. It's the first time we've ever had to turn the heat on. But no matter. We just needed a place to be still and quiet. A place to gather our thoughts and settle our souls. Refresh and recharge.

The lake always does that for us. There isn't much to do there this early in the year except fish or read or knit, and watch the lake activity. The boat traffic consisted of just a few fishermen, bundled up against the wind, hoping to land a big one.

I saw exactly one fish caught—the big catfish that Daddy-O reeled in soon after we arrived. It was back in the water soon, swimming away, after having it's picture made.

The sun was glorious but the wind was ferocious. I added a jacket on top of my fleece vest and sat on the pier anyway. My knitting and Daddy-O's fishing are most companionable hobbies. We can talk, or be comfortably silent and enjoy being together.

As the sun was going down on Friday, the winds calmed and the water stilled. We thought the next day might be better for enjoying the pier. But on Saturday morning, it was blowing harder than ever. I added another layer and went back outside anyway.

It won't be long before we'll have grandchildren here, swimming and splashing, kayaking, and skiing, and quiet will be hard to come by. We love those kinds of lake days, too. In fact, we can't wait!

Grilled Chicken w/Roasted Tomatoes & Onions

Mommy made this dish a couple of weeks ago when I was at their house. It was so good that we gobbled it down before I even thought to make pictures so that I could share the recipe. So when she brought the little girls here to the farm for spring break, I asked her to make it again for our dinner one night.

The recipe is adapted from one she found on SkinnyTaste.com I was able to find herbs de Provence at my local small town grocery store. That actually surprised me. But I think that means you should find it, too, without much problem if you don't already have it in your pantry. This small store also surprised me again by having "cherry tomato medley"--which is a mix of red, orange and yellow tomatoes. No difference in taste, but it's pretty when you serve it.

GRILLED CHICKEN w/ROASTED TOMATOES & ONIONS

2 cups halved cherry tomatoes
1 medium onion, sliced (we used white onions one time & red onions the next)
4 large garlic cloves
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon herbs de Provence
salt & pepper, to taste
olive oil for coating pan
about 4 thinly sliced boneless, skinless chicken breasts or chicken cutlets (we had 5)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Combine tomatoes, onions, garlic, olive oil, herbs de Provence and salt & pepper in a medium bowl. Stir to coat veggies. Spread onto a lightly oiled sheet pan. Roast at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, or until tomatoes have softened and onion is a little brown.

Meanwhile, season both sides of chicken with salt & pepper. Cook in oiled grill pan or skillet over medium-high heat until done. (We cooked ours on the outside grill.)

To serve, spoon vegetables over cooked chicken. Garnish with fresh basil.

Serves 4   


When Mommy made it the first time, she bought chicken cutlets. At my store, it was packaged as "thinly sliced chicken breasts." You can also use regular boneless, skinless breasts and split them yourself. Cut them in half horizontally. Use a sharp knife and be careful!

Are you cooking for people with special diet requirements? This recipe works with the gluten-free diet, the low-carb diet, the no-red meat diet and the low-calorie diet. If you are counting points, you can find the Weight Watcher stats on the Skinny Taste original recipe. I have friends who are vegetarian and vegan, too. I'd have to ask them, but I'm thinking maybe the garlicky tomato/onion part of this could be spooned over a baked potato. But the main reason to make this? It's delicious!

What Day Is It Anyway?

I woke up in my own bed here at the farm this morning. In my own quiet house. (A little too quiet, frankly. I miss those little voices.) I have zipped up and down the highway so much lately that I had to think hard when I first opened my eyes this morning to remember what day it was and which state I was in.

For us, the Easter trip to visit the family ran straight into the knitting retreat which was followed immediately by having the littles here for spring break. And on the last day of their spring break visit, Mommy and J-Daddy found out they had a spur-of-the-moment chance to go to the final day of the Masters...

...IF they could arrange last minute child care. This was likely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them, so I was happy to oblige. I still had the suitcase out from the knitting retreat. And I had knitting still packed for traveling. So I was ready in a jiffy to head back down the road, just hours after they left the farm.

Knitting at Mommy's house mostly happens very early in the mornings when it's only me and Miss Bunny awake, but I need to knit. That's my time of day to get my thoughts together before the mad rush starts.

(These little hands have an uncanny ability to find my knitting even when I think I've put it out of her reach. Knitting in the land of the littles can be tricky. Now you see why I choose Miss Bunny as my knitting companion.)

My grandmother duties when I am at Mommy's include school drop-off in the mornings at the high school and the preschool, and then back home to get Baby Girl up. This particular morning, she was awake but was not interested in getting out of bed. Playing with the "ahk" and all of the animal pairs was too much fun. Mommy has few opportunities to sleep a little later, so I'm happy to do this for her. And car conversation with the bigger girls and a little extra time with this little one is a treat for me.

There was another visitor in the house this trip, too. Walker is the classroom teddy bear. He rotates visits with Little Sister's classmates and it was time for him to visit with Little Sister again. "Nice to meet you, Walker!" It was Walker's idea for Little Sister to drizzle honey on her bagel before adding the cream cheese. Really, Mommy—that was all Walker. Not me.
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So after all this rushing about, I have declared today a "slow day." If all goes according to plan, I won't get in my car for a whole day!

Spring Break Visitors

Mommy brought the littles to the farm for a few days of their spring break. Say the words "spring break" and most people think of college students on beaches. But for spring break here, we had preschoolers in the creek. The weather was unexpectedly cool here, so hats and jackets were required.

 Daddy-O is a great playmate.

We have plenty of paved spaced for things with wheels.

 And plenty of people to pull the wagon.

 Daddy-O took us all on a bumpy jeep ride through the pasture.

A bumpy ride to the creek.

 Finally it's her turn to walk in the creek.

It's a rite of passage for everyone in this family. 

 These little ones are fifth generation creek walkers.

  

A real farm adventure.

Time to head back.

Back though the gate. 

Back past the barn.

Back past the tractors.

Pour the creek water out of the boots.

Spring break success.

A Community Of Knitters

I am just now finding time to catch my breath after my four days away this week. I was at the Knitting Pipeline Georgia Retreat from Sunday to Wednesday with nearly 50 knitters from across the country, plus, one knitter/designer from London.

My non-knitting friends are always a little puzzled about these retreats. "Who goes to these retreats? What do you do? Why would you want to spend several days just knitting?" I am never able to fully explain how wonderful these days are.

Of course, we knitted for days. It IS a knitting retreat, after all. But it is so much more than just knitting. This particular retreat is held in a wildlife area with little-to-no way to connect to the internet. The cell phone service is almost non-existent. There are no televisions. So it is truly a time away, a time apart from regular life. There are no formal classes at this retreat. But if you have a knitting question, there are knitters with answers.

Knitters came from Colorado, Maine, Wyoming, Montana, Georgia, Florida, Maryland, Alabama, Louisiana, Tennessee, Ohio, Illinois, South Carolina, Virginia and I'm sure other states I can't remember. There were early bird knitters and night owl knitters. There were knitters in their 30s and knitters in their 70s.

There were nurses and photographers and government workers and an engineer and an attorney and an office manager and a massage therapist. There were knitters who are world travelers and knitters who stay close to home. There were married knitters and single knitters. There were loud knitters and quiet knitters. There were vegetarians and meat eaters. There were those who love technology and those who prefer pencil and paper. There were knitters who ring handbells and knitters who play piano.

There were hikers and bikers and birders and writers. One knitter won a triathlon just before she came. There were city knitters and country knitters. There were knitters who came back to meet old friends and knitters who arrived for their first retreat not knowing a soul. Everyone was truly welcome here.

The knitting brings everyone together, but it's the diversity within the group of knitters that creates such a rich community of women. Thank you, Knitting Pipeline, for making this happen.

Saturday Sheet Pan Dinner

 
Southern Living has been part of down South family life for a long time. (They just published their 50th anniversary edition of the magazine.) When we cleared out this house several years ago before our big remodel, we found several hard bound "Southern Living Annual Recipes" from the 1970s that had belonged to my mother-in-law. So it is not a surprise that both of my daughters check out the recipes each month in the latest magazine.

Jessica was home for the weekend and volunteered to cook our dinner on Saturday evening. Of course, I said, "Yes!" I was busy packing for a few days away at a knitting retreat. I was happy to turn the kitchen over to her. She told me that she had carried the January edition of Southern Living in her work tote bag for months now, waiting to try one of the sheet pan dinners featured in that copy. After mother/daughter manicures this morning, we stopped at the local grocery store and found all she needed for supper.

She used boneless pork chops—that's what our store had—and adjusted the cooking time a little. And we only needed three chops. Otherwise, there was no change to the recipe. This was so delicious. The flavors might be reminiscent of winter. After all, this was a January recipe. But we thoroughly enjoyed them in April.

Don't let the long list of ingredients scare you off. It's mostly the rub for the pork chops. You could measure those ahead (minus the fresh rosemary) and make it easier at cooking time.
 
PORK CHOPS WITH ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS AND APPLES

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon  

3 tablespoons light brown sugar, divided

2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary, divided

1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided

4 (1-inch-thick) bone-in, center-cut pork chops

3 tablespoons, plus 2 tsp. olive oil, divided

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 Gala apple (8 to 9 oz.), cut into 1/2-inch wedges

1 pound fresh Brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half (quarters if they are really large)

Vegetable cooking spray

Preheat oven to 425°. Stir together first 5 ingredients, 1 Tbsp. brown sugar, 1 tsp. rosemary, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. black pepper in a small bowl. Rub each pork chop with 1/2 tsp. olive oil; rub both sides of each pork chop with brown sugar mixture (about 2 tsp. on each chop).

Whisk together apple cider vinegar and remaining 2 Tbsp. brown sugar, 1 tsp. rosemary, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. black pepper in a small bowl; slowly whisk in remaining 3 Tbsp. olive oil until blended. Place apples, Brussels sprouts, and 1/4 cup vinegar mixture in a large bowl, and toss to coat.

Place pork chops in center of a lightly greased (with cooking spray) heavy-duty aluminum foil-lined sheet pan; place apple mixture around pork chops.

Bake at 425° for 12 minutes; turn pork chops over, and bake 10 to 14 minutes more or until a meat thermometer inserted in thickest portion registers 145°(medium rare) - 160°(medium.) Transfer pork chops to a serving platter, and cover with foil to keep warm. Stir apple mixture in sheet pan, and spread into an even layer.

Increase oven temperature to broil, and broil apple mixture 3 to 4 minutes or until browned and slightly charred. Transfer apple mixture to a medium bowl. Toss together apple mixture and remaining vinegar mixture. Season with kosher salt, and serve with pork chops.

Thank you, Jessica, for a delicious meal!

Music Making

It's the day we look forward to for a whole year—Arts Day at one of the local schools. For years now, my music buddy and I have brought "live music" up close and personal to young children. There are artists of all sorts that participate in Arts Day. Painters, dancers, actors, wood carvers, storytellers, quilters and more. We are happy to be included.

So many children now have very little exposure to music beyond television or an iPod, so seeing someone three feet away from them play an instrument is a new experience. They are usually excellent listeners.

So why do we really look forward to this day so much? One big reason is that we get to spend a little time practicing the songs before the event. For a music maker, there isn't anything much better than time spent playing songs with a friend.

Well, this year's set list is now tucked into my ukulele case with lists from all the other years. It's a nice reminder of how long we've been doing this. And next year, if we can't think of what songs to play, I'll pull all of this out again.


Although I was really looking forward to doing this, Little Sister didn't think it was such a good idea. I was at her house for a few days this week and headed home the day before the school program.  On the last night when I bent down for a goodnight hug, she wouldn't let go. "Don't go, Mimi!" 

I thought she meant go away from her bed. But she didn't want me to leave her house. I told her I had promised to play music for the school children. She told me,"Find some other lady to play. You stay here!" 

It's nice to be wanted.