This and that 06|13|15

Jeff and I have enjoyed watching this in fits and spurts. I always ask him, "Is this one going to be sad?" And he always says yes. Full disclosure: Jeff chooses to watch documentaries during his downtime. I'm a bit less cerebral, with this being my current viewing choice (purely as inspiration and entertainment; I'm not inclined to tackle any major reno projects). Both of these have been available to stream via Netflix.

We're having this for dinner tonight. It's a favorite standby of mine, even in summer, and this time I had leftover grill pan chicken to speed it up even more. Tip: Don't skip the homemade chips. And I always add cubed avocado and a dollop of sour cream to my bowl. ( Note: I used some of the leftover grill pan chicken in these last night for another hit.) I love it when a meal plan comes together.

This post made me smile, nod, and share it with my husband. Summary: preachers, man up!

I've enjoyed photography ever since I took some classes during high school. I've never had an expensive camera; I've used this one for the last decade or so (and used it to take the photo above), but -- like most people -- I tend to depend on my iPhone since it's generally with me. Amateur that I am, I'm always up for improvement! I just downloaded the two free ebooks below and really like what they have to offer. "Guide to Photo Composition" offers some simple, easy-to-remember tips that can make a big difference. "Mastering Lightroom" is comprehensive and makes me want to play with Adobe... I downloaded in case that becomes possible in the future!

What are you taking pictures of this summer? And are you posting them on Instagram?






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This and that

Perspective is a funny thing. I took this photo because I was drawn to the colors and textures. But that wavy tan texture? It's pollen in rainwater on the driveway, because this is Georgia and it's spring.

My friend, Lori, has a house full of sweet, beautiful girls. Her recent post is a great challenge and encouragement for mothers of daughters... and sons.

Moving and downsizing have forced me to simplify and streamline, and that's good, but Megan's post reminded me that one woman's (seeming) clutter is another woman's evidence of a joyful life.

This post was very timely for me, as I've just finished this book (and should post a review later this week).

I've been making this banana bread recipe for a few years now, and it's always a hit. I've added blueberries at times, too, which Jeff liked. (I just got this as a sort of gift, and it makes mixing a dream!)

Baseball season starts up in just two days. It'll be strange watching the Braves this year; so many new players to get to know, and it's always weird to see "our guys" playing against us.

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Comfort food: Anna's Custard Pie

I've felt under the weather for the last few days due to a stubborn kidney stone, I'm missing my girly (did I really agree for her to be out-of-reach for two whole weeks?), and it was just time. Past time.

Time to bake.

So I made my mom's custard pie today. When I find myself missing her, too, it helps to think WWAD (What Would Anna Do)? And when the going got tough, Anna baked. Now she could bake just about anything -- all from scratch, thank you -- but my favorite non-chocolate dessert she made was her custard pie. And it's one of just a handful of her baking recipes that I can consistently duplicate.  (Besides there's just something special about using a recipe that's in my mom's own handwriting.)

You'll notice that the recipe says to use a rotary beater. I have many fond memories of my mom's rotary beater and wish I had it now. I remember waking to the sound of her making pancakes or waffles with that rotary beater so many mornings... Anyway, I just use a handheld mixer on low.

A quick confession: I don't make pie crust. I gave up trying long ago. Mama's pie crust was unique and so good, but I never could get the hang of "a handful of this and a pinch of that, then just play with it until it feels right." And I don't have her heavy metal pie tins, the best thing in the world to bake pies in (I wonder if Brenda got those?). But other than that, I think I do justice to Anna's Custard Pie.

{09/18/16 update: I did eventually learn to make a decent pie crust thanks to The Barefoot Contessa's recipe and a sassy red KitchenAid food processor I won from a food blogger's giveaway!)


Anna's Custard

1) Preheat oven to 450 degrees (will be turned down later)

2) Slightly roll one refrigerated pie crust, and place in 9" pie plate, crimping edge (or, if you want to show off, make your own crust)

3) In mixing bowl, beat 4 eggs slightly with rotary beater: 

4) Then beat in:

2/3 c sugar
1/2 t salt
1/4 t nutmeg (if you can grate fresh, it's amazing!)
2-2/3 c scalding hot milk*

5) Pour into uncooked pie shell. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, then at 350 degrees to finish -- about 25-30 more minutes.

Anna says: "Bake just until a silver knife inserted into side of filling comes out clean. Center may look a bit soft."

 Let it cool before cutting; store covered in refrigerator.

*On the scalding milk... I just put 2-2/3 c milk into a 4 cup glass measure, then microwave in 1 minute increments until very hot but not boiling. I think it took 3-1/2 to 4 minutes today. My highly scientific method of testing the temperature is to quickly stick the tip of my very-clean finger into the milk. If it's not just warm but hot, I consider it ready.

Oh, and by the way, don't substitute one of those low-cal fake sugars for the white sugar. It doesn't work. I didn't realize this until about the third Christmas I had made the sugar-free version for a friend and tasted a piece after a meal. Looked like custard pie, tasted like humble pie. Repeat after me: "Sugar is my friend; I'll just cut a smaller slice."


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 The Feathered Nest

How not to bake a cake...

We had a busy weekend. Saturday morning, I got busy and made a couple of casseroles, one for dinner and one for the freezer. Finished up a bit of laundry and picking up around the house, then my daughter took me to October Baby. Stopped by The Friendliest Grocery Store On The Face of the Earth (Publix in Warner Robins, if you must know), then home to pop dinner in the oven and have some family time.

Yesterday, we drove down to Colquitt, Georgia, for a family reunion. Left at 9:00 a.m., got back at 8:00 p.m., with some interesting pit stops along the way. (I hope to post some pictures later, including one of the five foot tall pink pig we encountered on a potty break.)

Today we're having another reunion of sorts, as most of Jeff's family will be over to visit with his two West Coast aunts. Meats will be grilled and stories will be told.

I thought it would be nice to have some semi-homemade desserts, so I decided to whip up a couple of cakes. Wouldn't you know it, only enough eggs for one cake. Okay, so maybe I'll make it to the store to get more eggs later, maybe not. But I can at least make my family's all-time favorite chocolate cake. 

This is the cake that my family requests for every special event, my ace-in-the-hole to take to church potlucks. My recipe is packed up in a 10x20 storage unit with most of our earthly possessions, but recipes are for wimps. I've made this so many times, it should be a, well, a piece of cake. Or so I thought.

I already had the eggs out, so I pulled out some of the other ingredients while my English muffins were toasting. Then I ran around and did a bunch of other things that needed doing. I came back, mixed the cake batter, and put the cake in the oven.

About a minute later, I looked over and saw the eggs still sitting on the counter. Sigh.

I took the cake out of the oven, dumped the batter back into the mixing bowl (at least I hadn't even had a chance to run water in it yet), and mixed in the eggs. The batter was a bit thinner than usual, but maybe that was due to being in the oven for a minute. I dumped the batter back into the bundt pan and popped the cake back into the oven.

About ten minutes later, I realized that I had forgotten another key ingredient: pudding mix. Sigh.

My daughter suggested that I just go to the store and get what I needed to start over. Unfortunately, The Friendliest Grocery Store On The Face of the Earth is about 30 minutes from my house. Yes, there are closer stores, but at this point I was in no mood to deal with them.

So I pulled the cake BACK out of the oven and just sprinkled the pudding mix around the top, mixing it in with a little spatula as I went. My children are very concerned by this point; my daughter is certain that this is not going to turn out well, and my son is worried that we might all get salmonella (confession: science is not a strong point in our homeschooling experience).

I put the cake into the oven again, thankful that my oven does not have a snarky little voice asking me if I'd like to just install a revolving door.

My daughter peeked in about 20 minutes later and informed me that, "The cake looks interesting. I'm just sayin'." Her spiritual gift is encouragement. At least she didn't bring up the chicken pot pie incident.

After adding a few extra minutes of cook time to account for the cake's ingredient interventions, I removed it from the oven. It looked... remarkably normal. When I popped it out of the bundt pan -- well, all of the extracurricular activity kept it from actually popping out of the bundt pan, but you know what I mean -- it was still looking good. And powdered sugar covers a multitude of sins.

My daughter also encouraged me to serve the cake sliced (so that we could check it out before the rest of the family ate it). But I'm a risk taker, and this is family.

Besides, it's triple chocolate. How bad can it be?

{I must give credit to Lisa Pennington for reminding me via blogpost today to be willing to laugh at myself. I hope I'll one day be as good at this as my mother was. I sure have many opportunities for practice!}

He is Risen: sharing with our children

This post was originally posted in 2011, but I thought it was worth sharing again for Easter this year.

Easter has always been an important holiday at our house -- in fact, it's probably the most important holiday we celebrate all year! Through the years, we've tried to find ways to communicate the truth of our Lord's death and resurrection to our children. With our first, we used modified Easter baskets for a while; instead of candy in those plastic eggs, we'd insert Bible verses about Easter. And he would get a special gift, such as a children's Bible or special book. By the time our other two children came along, we were looking for another way to give them a good picture of Easter.


I wish I could remember who shared the concept and recipe for Resurrection Cookies with me; I do know it was while we were out at The Master's Seminary (undergoing our own transformation). By making these cookies with your children, you are able to share with them a bit of Christ's suffering, the grief of his followers, and the joy of finding the empty tomb. Click on the link and enjoy a sweet time of gospel story-telling with your family!


Photo: For those of you not from the South, the photo is a lovely dogwood tree in Cartersville, Georgia. We enjoy the lovely blooms in spring, fresh green leaves in summer, bright foliage in fall, and a unique silhouette in winter. Here's a little tree humor from my son: How do you know if a tree is a DOGwood? By its bark! :-)

Great meals, less time -- sounds good to me!

I enjoy cooking dinner for my family (and I sure enjoy eating), but I find myself cooking the same meals month after month. And even as a stay-at-home mom, our family schedule sometimes leaves me with little time to spend in the kitchen.

A couple of years ago I found great resource: Eat at Home: Everyday Food for Busy People. On her blog, Tiffany shares great tips and recipes that allow her to save money by quickly cooking at home rather than ordering takeout when life gets busy. And now, Tiffany has a new e-book: Feast in 15: Speed Cooking for Weeknight Dinners. Packed with loads of recipes, as well as tips, tricks, menus and grocery lists, it's an great value at just $4.99.


Disclosure: I am a Feast in 15 affiliate and will receive a commission for those who purchase through the link on my site. Thanks!

Rosemary Fest!

I love going to the Dekalb Farmer's Market -- I just wish it was closer to my house! I was able to justify going there recently because it was close enough to the Carlos Museum at Emory University (a great field trip when studying Ancients). As we pulled into the parking lot, I rolled down the windows so we could inhale the scents -- exotic spices seem to emanate from the building!

After lunching on samplings from various culture's cuisines, the serious shopping started. I find my weakness is in the dry spices section... and the produce... including fresh herbs. Shopping at a farmer's market is kind of like Forest Gump's box of chocolates: you never know what you're going to get. But I almost always come away with fresh herbs (and very little idea of what I'm going to do with them).

Here's what I did with some of the fresh rosemary that I bought:

First, the pork chops. I'd bought a whole pork tenderloin (I'm talking the huge one now, the one that could be a lethal weapon if you can heft it) at Sam's and sliced part of it as chops. I seasoned some with just kosher salt and coarse-ground pepper, belted each with a slice of quality bacon, tucked in a rosemary sprig, and added a toothpick for security -- then double-bagged and froze them. These can be grilled, but they are also good cooked in a skillet with a little olive oil, like this:

I also wedged some new potatoes and shook them in a ziploc bag with a little olive oil, kosher salt, coarse ground pepper, and chopped fresh rosemary. You can also add pressed or minced garlic (I forgot). Shake well, then spread on an oiled jelly-roll pan and roast at 400 degrees for about 40-45 minutes, stirring at least once:

I was on a roll, so I opened a small can of mandarin oranges and mixed in a little chopped rosemary, as well:

This was later added to mixed greens and topped with craisins, toasted sliced almonds, and Ken's Steakhouse Sweet Vidalia Onion Dressing:

This meal seemed fancy without being fussy -- and it was good! Hope your family will enjoy it, too!




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I linked up over at Eat at Home's Ingredient Spotlight: Fresh Herbs! 

Just peachy!

We had a wonderful time last night with friends over for dinner. We love having folks into our home, and it's always fun to plan the menu. Last night's meal included squash, peas, and basil from our garden, as well as some tomatoes I picked up at our local farmer's market earlier in the week. Our local Publix has been carrying true Georgia peaches at a reasonable price, so I picked up a few of those, as well. Jeff was grilling pork chops for our main course; I thought it would be nice and summery to have some peach salsa to serve over those. Here's what I came up with:

3 medium peaches (ripe but firm) -- peel and dice
Half a lime -- squeeze juice over diced peaches and toss
1 jalapeno -- remove seeds and membrane*, chop finely
2-3 tbsp finely chopped onion
2 handfuls fresh cilantro, washed and coarsely chopped

Toss all ingredients together -- should make 2-3 cups of salsa.

This was great over the pork chops, and I think it would also be good on chicken or fish. I might serve it with regular tortilla chips or cinnamon chips. It might even be good over vanilla ice cream for dessert with a kick! It was also very pretty -- I wish I had taken a picture.

In case anyone wonders, our menu was:

Grilled porkchops (seasoned with garlic salt and lemon pepper)
Sauteed yellow squash and zucchini
Purple hull peas
Tomato and cucumber salad

And for dessert... triple chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream!

*you might want to wear gloves to do this -- the pepper oils linger and will affect other things you touch (food, your eyes, etc).

I linked up over at Eat at Home's Ingredient Spotlight: Fresh Herbs!

(Photo source: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images/)