Family Fire

I'm writing a quick note about something that recently happened in our family. The house the children's father was living in with them part time caught fire and is badly damaged. Most of the children were living with me and most of their belongings were here, however, my second oldest daughter was living with dad full-time and her entire world was lost. One of the family cats was also killed in the fire.

If you can, please donate at this GoFundMe link for her, I would so appreciate it and I know she would, too.

The articles about the fire can be found here and here.

I Still Make Dinner

Everything from the grill: flank steak with crema (Mexican sour cream, because sometimes the usual just doesn't cut it), cliantro and lime. Corn in the husk, zucchini, green onions and shrimp. Dessert? Double-berry milkshakes.

I haven't been absent from here on purpose, and it hasn't been for anything bad, just busyness on my part. Back in March I started another job working nights. That's all well and good, and the original purpose was to work at night so I would still have my days open for children and food blogging. My life seems to be so very different from others in many respects, but usually it's the glitch-factor with me. The Murphy's Law sort of bent that's usually only reserved for cursed Irishmen.

I don't only work 40 hours a week, my weeks are more often than not 63 to 75 hours in length. That's a whole lot of time NOT for myself. Getting home in the morning is odd, sometimes several of the kids are awake and or gone from the house to school already and I miss the standard goodbyes before their school day more than I thought I would. Everyone is home from school now, though and it's a bit easier to come back to the house and find them sleeping instead of gone.

I actually like my job quite a bit. It's not without moments that make a person want to run the other way (I work at a group home for two mentally and physically disabled women), but there are rewards you don't get elsewhere. It's a bit like mothering, in that respect, much of the reward is not monetary or tangible, but things like silent hugs or silly sideways smiles go pretty far for me.

I do cook, of course; all seven kids are still roosting at the nest and need to be fed the same several times a day as always, but I find now that the time it takes to set up a photo or write a paragraph or two are lost in the sheer run-around that is my day. I miss doing what I love - cooking and photographing and especially writing. I can write a full first chapter of a book in my head at night when I'm just about to drift off. I just can't seem to find the time to get it to paper or computer screen.

So, without a recipe attached or a lengthy and menu-worthy description, I thought I'd share tonight's dinner; as-is without any fluff. See? I'm still cooking - they're still eating.

Dear Michael Ruhlman, This is Why I Cook

Food writer, Michael Ruhlman wrote about why he cooks and asked of bloggers to share as well why they cook. This is my response.

The first, and I'll admit, seemingly conceited thing that comes to mind for me is, "I cook, because I can." That's true and not so arrogant as it comes off ... really.

I cook because I love to eat.

I cook to nourish my family in the best way possible. Letting someone else do it removes me from the process of knowing exactly what goes into our meals.

I cook to earn money. I develop recipes and take photos for a living (and write about the process), and that end of it is ever fascinating and ever educational. I learn something new each day by doing.

I cook to remember. There is nothing so memory provoking as the aroma or flavor of a food loved as a child. Nothing. I make my grandmother's brownies or my great-grandmother's brown sugar cookies or my mother's fried chicken to recall all that was good and pure and wonderful about my childhood - even if it wasn't all good or pure or wonderful.

I cook to create new memories. Yes, the common thread here is that food is central to my feelings of well-being and health, and I aim to continue building those feelings in my children and their children. I want them to have memories of love and home and nurturing all rolled into one loaf of bread or layer of cake. The more I cook, the more chances they have to watch and learn and begin to cook for themselves.

I cook to live. Eating is truly secondary for me to the creation process that takes place each time I make a dish. I tell people often that cooking is an art like no other with an instant gratification (or let-down, whichever the case may be) that you can't get by creating with any other medium. Paintings can take days to months to complete. Books are the same. Recordings, movies, sculptures - they all take much more time to create and to be appreciated. With food, the 'yea' or 'nay' are immediate - you know if your creation was loved or liked or hated before the creation is gone.

I cook to bring others happiness. There's nothing else to say about that.

So, I echo Michael Ruhlman - what are your reasons for cooking?

The Year of Living Simply

At the beginning of last year I set out to slow things down a bit in my cooking life. Contrary to my desires, things got a bit out of hand and I did more work than I had planned and made many things that were far from 'slow food' (or, slow -er as I'd called it).

This year, however, I have a renewed sense of needing to simplify. I don't mean dumbed-down dishes or 3-ingredient casseroles, I mean simple as in, REAL. The less ingredients, the better, but only if they're real.

Gone from my vision are laundry-lists of ingredients with arm-length dissertations on preparation. In are the dishes like simple roast potatoes with garlic and rosemary or French bread made with no more than yeast, flour, water and salt. Desserts like flour-less chocolate cake fill the bill as well as stove-cooked puddings and custards with a handful of fresh ingredients and topped with fresh fruit.

Less is more in this instance, and I wholeheartedly and longingly embrace it. No more guessing about what is in a specific dish; I'll know and be able to recite each one to anyone inquiring. Moreover, I'll be helping the health and well-being of my family by providing food that remembers where it came from.

What is more delicious or comforting than a well-prepared stew contrived of meat or poultry, fresh potatoes, carrots and onion and a stock made yourself with the simplest of ingredients and freshest herbs? Add to that a loaf of egg bread made by hand and butter churned in a jar from fresh cream. I dare you to dream for yourself of a meal made completely of foods that are not processed or added to. I know you can, and if you can't you'll be able to turn to this blog for inspiration and recipes. Please come along - and bring your appetite.

Ian (5), Lara (2) and Katie (8)

What is it about Popsicles (which is a brand name, by the way) that is so perfectly Summer? I've written about them before, at Family.com (click for the full article), and my children's love for them is as strong as ever.

Somehow today the only flavor left in the box was orange and the 3 youngest sitting on the stoop, barefoot and enjoying them was too rich to pass up. I haven't had a freeze-pop for a long time, but today when Lara wasn't able to finish hers, rather than tell her the usual, "Drop it in the sink", I took it from her chubby, sticky little hand and finished it. I'm not sure an orange popsicle has ever tasted so good.

Grandma's Confetti Cookies

Confetti Cookies dyed for 4th of July

When I was a child I spent part of nearly every summer at my grandparents' home in Tipton, Indiana. Grandma Sharp, my maternal grandmother, having only had one child of her own, spent her time herding my four brothers and me off to activities and church and cooking mountains of food for us - no small feat.

She had several specialties, one of which was Confetti Cookies, a recipe she had gotten from her cousin Juanita Searfoss. They are a delicate pink color filled with rainbow colored nonpareils, or confetti, and dusted with powdered sugar. My mother didn't make them so we always looked forward to having them at grandma's.

When I got older, I was given the recipe and started making them for myself and thoroughly enjoyed each batch. Just the aroma of them baking brought back happy childhood memories for me.

Just before the birth of my first child, a girl,  I was living with my in-laws. I had made several dozen Confetti Cookies just days before our daughter arrived. When my mother-in-law came to the hospital to visit with her new granddaughter, she brought along a container filled with those cookies and a note about "...pink cookies for your baby girl." As a first-time mom, and only 21 years-old, I was comforted greatly by that little bit of home she delivered to me.

Traditionally Colored Confetti Cookies

In the early 1990's when grandpa passed away, grandma was also ill and needed care. She came to Pennsylvania to live with my mom and step-father in their home. Part of grandma's illness caused her to not be able to eat many of the foods she loved. One of the few things she could tolerate, though, was Confetti Cookies. It was time for roles to reverse, and it was now my turn to make the cookies for her. I made them as needed over a 12-year period and was honored to bake and deliver them to grandma. The time visiting with her when I dropped them off was so special and she was so very appreciative; her face lit up each time I handed them to her.

Grandma is gone now, she passed in 2005 at the age of 97, but that recipe lives on. I make Confetti Cookies often for my 7 children, changing colors to suit the occasion, but they never taste exactly the same; they never taste just like the ones that grandma used to bake.

Confetti Drops
Mrs C.L. Searfoss
Printable Recipe

1 c spry (shortening)
2 c flour
6 T sugar
1/4 c milk
1 oz confetti candy (multi-colored non-pareils)
1 t vanilla or almond extract
1/4 t salt
red food coloring
powdered sugar

Mix shortening and sugar and salt. Add red food coloring to milk so it distributes well-ebough so the dough will be a pretty pink. Add extract to milk also. Add flour alternately with milk. Add confetti and mix well so it gets throughout the dough.

Roll into 1" balls and flatten slightly on greased cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Do not let them brown!
The original recipe says to roll them in powdered sugar while warm but I always wind up with a sticky mess if I do this so I let them cool first.

Getting Back

We are officially moved. Not officially unpacked, but moved. Our new home has many small differences that we're adapting to, but I think we'll be settled in no time.

I always find it difficult to get back into the swing of things after having been gone for some time. It's really only been a week and a half since I last posted, but it feels like much longer to me.

I think I'll start back with two great gifts I won from other bloggers. The first was a lovely basket full of soy candles from Janine at Things That Make Scents in 'Jersey Shore scents' that I won at Life, Lightly Salted, Michele's blog. These candles smell so wonderful and the fact that they are made from soy (semi-locally, no less) makes them all the more wonderful to me. The basket and colors will go perfectly in the new upstairs bathroom - one thing I was looking forward to here at the new digs.

The second was a $50 gift certificate for any one item at From the Farm which I won from Jenn's place at The Leftover Queen for the March/April Foodie Blogroll Giveaway. There was so much to choose from; cheeses, meats, oils, produce etc., but once I caught sight of the Clementine Mandarin (Algerian) Dwarf Tree from Four Winds Growers, I knew that was the gift for me. It came on Earth Day - very apropos - and already had tiny little clementines growing on it and many more blooms ready to go.

So, we are moved, we are acclimating and I am hopefully back to blogging!

Book Review: Table Talk

Every so often a cookbook comes along that captures my attention, keeps me reading until the very last page and leaves me feeling as though the author were a close friend. Table Talk by Carol McManus, owner of Espresso Love on Martha's Vineyard, is one such cookbook.

Once I picked this book up I was not able to put it down until I read it from cover to cover. I holed myself up in a comfortable spot and devoured it in a single hour. I was up and making Presidential Muffins before the book was fully closed and thinking about our next meal together as a family. I was inspired to do exactly what this book intends to inspire: sit us all down at table and enjoy one another without feeling like I needed a rest after making dinner.

The recipes in this book range from special to everyday and each one is something even a novice cook can pull off. The best part is that each recipe is tried and true and designed to make a parent's life in the kitchen easier so that more time can be spent with their family. Being a mother to 5 children and a grandmother to boot, Carol McManus knows what she's talking about. She urges us all to slow down and spend some time at the dinner table with our respective families. I can personally attest to the fact that eating together bonds people like no other activity. Children do better in every aspect of their lives and we as parents are afforded the chance to do something we feel rewarded in accomplishing. It really takes far less effort than you think and Table Talk is a most wonderful tool to help us

Broken down into six delicious chapters and eighty glorious recipes, this is a book you will turn to again and again. You can buy your copy of Table Talk at TableTalkCookbook.com and Amazon.

Get the Vote Out for Illick's Mill!

This has nothing to do with food, but is dear to my heart, so here it is. This is a grant that my daughter, Megan has written for a local organization. They need your help to be in the top 15. The voting ends on January 9th, so there is a little time left still. Please read this and vote if you feel led to. Thank you!

*****************************************
I am part of the Illick's Mill Project. In October, I wrote a grant for $10,000. Tons of people applied for this grant. How it works is:

1. 30 finalists are chosen from the all of the applications,
2. People vote for which two teams they like the best everyday through December,
3. The 15 most voted for all win $10,000.

The Illick's Mill Project was chosen as one of the 30 finalists. We could really, really use the extra $10,000. So, I'm asking you to help us by voting for us.

How to Vote:

Either-
A. Go to www.genv.net/bestbuy and choose the Illick's Mill Project and one other team to vote for (you must choose two teams!),

OR

B. Text BBYV4 to 32075.

YOU CAN DO BOTH! You can vote once a day, but it will be exactly 24 hours before you can vote again.

Tell everyone you know and vote every day. The money would be a huge help to us. I worked really hard on this grant and I would hate to see us not win because not enough people knew to vote.

Thanks!

Christmas Memories, Part One

This year marks the 40th Christmas I will have had in my life. That's a lot of Christmas. I certainly don't remember them all, but there are a few that really stand out in my memories and I wanted to share them.

I've found that the leaner the holiday, the better it was, so I'm hopeful that this year will be a good one. We've never gone without, but we've been so close on many occasions to having nothing at all and those were the times that we witnessed real miracles.

I don't remember even one Christmas before I lived in Pennsylvania. We moved here when I was 4 and shortly after that my parents separated and eventually divorced. Prior to that we'd lived in North Carolina, Indiana and the state I was born in, Michigan. Although there were 5 of us kids, not long after mom and dad's split two of my brothers went to Michigan to live with dad and 3 of us, oldest, youngest and middle-child, all stayed here with mom.

My oldest brother took on a sort of fatherly role that he has never quite lost for his siblings and was a very large part of every Christmas. He was allowed to hole up in mom's room and wrap gifts until his fingers cramped. He was quite good at it and he took charge when it was time to hand out gifts. We always exchanged gifts on Christmas Eve and always one at a time. He also helped with the tree - always a 4 foot tall tree that sat on a small round table in our front window. Mom and Bobby would decorate painstakingly so that everything was symmetrical. The house was decorated impeccably, the food my mother made was nothing less than perfect; Christmas was looked forward to very much in our home.

I still remember the year I got my favorite doll, My Baby Beth - it was also the year my youngest brother, Sean, got his Spider-man action figure and helicopter. Really cool stuff for way back then. One year in particular I wanted a Barbie styling head. I wanted that more than any other gift ever. I was not a child to ask for things over and over or to let it show that I was upset if I didn't get what I wanted. So, when the gifts had all been passed out and she was not there, I did my best not to do exactly what I wanted to do - cry.

Just as we were cleaning up, my brother came down the stairs from mom's room with another unwrapped gift. Mom said, "Oh, look! I guess we forgot a gift." I was swoony over that silly plastic head of hair, but just like My Baby Beth, I can still recall the way it smelled and how soft the ultra-blonde hair was and how not-as-easy-as-the-commercials it was to get make-up on it.

My childhood Christmases were never of the too-much kind. We didn't have a lot and mom sometimes just did as much as she could with what she had. She had remarried, but my step-dad was a steelworker and didn't make a king's wage. Other than that baby doll and doll head, my two other favorite gifts were a beautiful pink sweater my mother had actually gotten at a thrift shop and then packaged beautifully for me, and a clear cased Mickey Mouse watch. I really wish I still had all four gifts, but what I'm really grateful for is the memories I still have of them.

I'll be sharing a few more stories soon, so please check back.

The KFC $10 Challenge? I'll Take That.

Have you seen the newest add campaign from KFC? It portrays a mother and two kids at a grocery store trying to rustle up the ingredients for a fried chicken meal without going over $10. They can't seem to clear this hurdle, so they head off to KFC for dinner, instead. You can watch the ad HERE.

I think with the recent financial woes this country is facing that this is just a bad idea. I can take that same $10 and make that meal twice. When was the last time you were at KFC? The so-called sides are pitifully small and the belief that you could really feed your family of 4 on a meal like that is even more pitiful.

Here's what they are pitching: 7 pieces of chicken (please note that they count wings as a full piece), one side and 4 biscuits. I know complete incompetents that could make that meal for less than $10.

Just in case you're wondering about the ability to accomplish this, check out the LOK/CWA Challenge from May/June, which was to feed your family for a dollar or less per person, and the submissions HERE. I'll be writing more on budget cooking soon, especially since we're all so in need of ideas lately, but for now, please don't be fooled by KFC and their claim.

Spoiled

We've been spoiled with Harry & David again by Uncle Joe and Aunt Joan. At least it's not ruining our disposition any, not that I know of. In other words - spoiled, but not rotten. You know you're liked when this is delivered to your door:

I may share with the kids; if they're good.

This week ...

I have some food things I want to share this week, but life, as usual, is a bit crazy here.

Today is my Ian's birthday, he is 4! He shares his birthday with my grandma, she would have been 100 today. We'll celebrate for her with extra cake. His cake and a snippet of him with his favorite gift are HERE.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I lost a step-brother on Sunday evening. He lost his fight with leukemia at 51 years old. His wife and two young-adult daughters are devastated as is my step-father. Steve was one of the truly good guys in the world and he dearly loved his family.

Mother's Day

I know of mothers who receive lavish gifts on Mother's Day; things like pearls or diamonds or large-ish household appliances. I am not one of those mothers, and I prefer it that way. I was spoiled absolutely rotten today by my children, and it didn't involve precious gems or machines that go, "whirrrrr".

These are the children responsible for my loverly day:

Quite cute, aren't they?

My oldest daughter (the tallest one in the back), Cassidy, started out my day with an idea that had sprung from my second oldest daughter's head (she's the second tallest in the back, Megan). Cassidy made me a most delicious breakfast of crepes. Yes, crepes. She had asked on Friday if I would teach her to make crepes. I did just that and then she surprised me by duplicating them precisely. We had a choice of apple stuffed or strawberry stuffed and I chose both. Of course. There were also raspberries, sliced kiwi and grapes to go along.


While she was slaving away in the kitchen (crepes for 9 is a true feat!) the rest of the kids showered me with gifts.

A garden made by Erin, complete with climbing Blue Bells along one wall.

Two fabulous cookbooks that Cassidy found in a used bookstore in Kutztown. How neat!

This card is from Erin. She made each of those boxes out of paper. True talent!

Erin taught Declan to make a box, and so he did. He put two lollipops in there for me!
One of Megan's signature cards. The entire inside is full of hand-drawn pictures and funny text that makes me smile.

A card from Katie (she's 7 this week!) that says, "You Rock, Mom". How sweet.

A place mat made by Katie that echos the sentiment of her card. She made this in school.




Megan thought I would like this cake. I've been asked by no less than four of my seven children if I would share it with them.

Lunch was sandwiches with a side of goat's cheese and a French baguette and also whole wheat pita and hummus. Megan knew these were my favorites and made sure to get them.

THEN ... oh yes, there's more ... Cassidy made a dinner of two pastas and two sauces; penne and angel hair, and Alfredo and four-cheese Marinara. It was all topped off with Italian bread, green salad, and the double chocolate cake I had made the night before.

Now, tell me, how on earth could diamonds beat that?

One of those weeks

I didn't forget Ready, Set, Cook! and I certainly didn't forget Veggie Wednesday, but this week has been really crazy with the 8 year-old home longer than I expected and weather woes causing early dismissals and snow days. So, I will post R,S,C! submissions next Tuesday (February 19th) and get back to Veggie Wednesday next week as well.

If you didn't get a submission in because you've had "one of those weeks", too, then please feel free to email it to me (irishones7 (@) juno.com) before next Tuesday and I'll gladly add it. I seem to have noticed that this week was a bit bad all around for many people I know. Let's all hope next week looks far better.

Veggie Wednesday: Retro

This recipe card is one of a collection I have that belonged to my late great-grandmother. Grandma died in 1974 just before her 90Th birthday. The 1930's then, when this card and many of the others in the collection was written, was mid-life for her. It was also the time of the Great Depression.

When grandma and grandpa weren't off in a foreign country doing missions work, they lived in the parsonage of whichever church grandpa was pastoring at the time. Grandpa was always there, wearing a clean, long-sleeved, white shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of suspenders. At a moment's notice, he could roll down the sleeves, add a tie and a suit jacket and be ready to preside over any ceremony necessary. As my mother told me, "You have no idea how many weddings he performed right there in the parsonage."

Being a pastor in those days often meant being paid in food, which was not so bad an idea, really. Grandma would have to entertain quite a bit and extra food certainly helped. Meat was a real commodity, though, so recipes had to be adapted and worked around what a person could afford. Grandma never served anything, even Creamed Peas and Carrots on Toast, that wasn't pretty enough to photograph.

Creamed Peas and Carrots on Toast

This recipe reflects the life of a preacher during the Depression better than any other in that stack of recipes.

Creamed Peas and Carrots on Toast
As written on the card.
Printable Recipe

Take equal parts of cooked peas and carrots. Make a white sauce; using

1 cup milk,
2 tbs. flour,
2 tbs. butter,

Add white sauce to carrots and
Peas and return to fire and heat.
Pour over toasted bread.

Rushing!

I'm on a full-steam-ahead schedule today so I'm rushing to get a post out. Today is the last day of school here which means school until 12 for the older elementary kids and a half day for K...that means that Katie goes to school from 10:30 to 12. I've already been there once today to drop off two of the other kids! Back again at 12 to get them all and we are DONE for the year-whew!

My oldest graduates tonight, so we have the ceremony to look forward to this evening as well. That and the forum I help moderate that needed a weekly set-up and the usual "kid stuff" like feeding and diaper changing and, well...you know.

Busy mama.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SO...check out this blog I found over the weekend called #1 Jerky Ramblings written by Greg Mathers. He is a distributor for Jerky Direct and shared this recipe with me and gave me permission to pass it on. I love jerky, and this recipe looks delicious!

Smoked Shredded Buffalo Jerky Cheese Log

8 oz cream cheese
2 teaspoon lemon Juice
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ cup grated cheddar cheese
1 cup (1 pkg) Hickory Smoked Shredded Buffalo Jerky

Put cream cheese, lemon juice, garlic powder, onion salt, Worcestershire sauce, grated cheese, and ½ cup jerky in bowl. Blend well. Take 12 in of wax paper and pour ¼ cup of jerky onto the wax paper. Take ½ of the cheese mixture and create a log of cheese by rolling it over the jerky. Completely cover the log with jerky, roll it up in the wax paper, and place it into the refrigerator overnight. Makes 2 logs.

When ready, cut log into disks and serve with crackers.

You can get the Shredded Buffalo Jerky at AVFundraiser.

Hickory Smoked Shredded Buffalo Jerky can be used as a low fat substitute for bacon. Use it in breakfast burritos, tacos, baked beans, quiche, Sloppy Joes, to top salads, and generally whenever you need a smoky meat flavor in your recipe. Keep a couple of bags handy for an emergency.

Greg

@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@*@

Tomorrow is our monthly game of Ready, Set, Cook!
BE THERE!

"Memorial" Day

I was able to get together with many of my family members on Saturday for Dad's memorial "service". I saw aunts and uncles I hadn't seen for over 20 years and met a cousin of my father's for the first time.

We all met at my oldest brother's home in Lansdale and though there were only 3 of us children there, it went really well. I felt like I hadn't been away from anyone at all and we all just sat and talked and laughed and cried.

My step-mom was there of course, and that was probably the hardest thing for me; I have never seen Joyce without my father. That sort of solidified the fact that he was gone. She had asked a bit ago if there were anything of my dad's that I wanted to have and I didn't answer at first. Giving her an answer and getting something from her that belonged to dad would make it all too real and I was still in, and wanted to be in, denial.

We had gotten around to talking about dad's shoes. For years he wore Chuck Taylors and those "Bobo's" as we all called them when I was a kid, were a source of great amusement for us kids. I asked Joyce on Saturday if dad had ever worn red ones and she said yes, he used to. I then asked if he wore high top or low top and she said both. It wasn't that I had forgotten, as I feared was the case, it was that I remembered, but I remembered all of those shoes. I recalled the black ones, the red ones, the high tops, the low tops; thankfully my memory wasn't fading as quickly as I'd thought.

Joyce asked if I wanted a pair and I told her yes, I did. She said she would clean up a pair and send them to me. I look forward to, and dread, the day that they are delivered.

My Uncle Earl, a pastor, was there and read several scriptures that he and dad had discussed shortly before dad's passing and shared some of his own experiences with other loved ones dying. It was good to hear about everyone again, Aunt Margie, Grandpa, Grandma. Uncle Earl himself has been sick with cancer for quite a few years and the thought was always that he would pass before dad. I sensed a disappointment when he talked that it hadn't happened that way. God's timing is perfect though, and although we don't all see it, He does know what He's doing. Earl may not be with us for too much longer and I'm so happy that I was able to see him again. Hearing him "preach" on Saturday was so reminiscent of the few times that we had attended a church he pastored in Hereford, PA.

My oldest brother shared a talk he had with my father, and had me read his memory he had written. I won't go into any of that now but when dad's memorial book is finished I'll share some things.

It was decided that my brother Jon would take dad's ashes to Six-Mile Lake in Michigan sometime in the near future and even though dad didn't specify anything about his ashes (on the contrary, her said he really didn't care where they went) I think he would like that. He always loved nature and was sure to place himself where he would be surrounded by it.

Dad's cousin was there with her new husband and she handed out a photo of dad that was taken at her wedding last year on dad and Joyce's wedding anniversary, June 26th. I was floored by it since it was so recent and all the photos I have are 10+ years old. I also told her it held some significance for me. When dad was setting off to his cousin's wedding (I am so ashamed that I didn't find out the spelling of her name--Eleanor or Elinore or something in between!) he emailed me as usual and let me know his plans. The email made me sad because dad sounded as if he were trying to explain himself "we're only going because..." ; I think he felt he had to let me know why he was going there but not coming here. I understood completely and never even would have thought of it that way. Canada is so much closer to where he lived,it made sense.

This is that photo. I know I'm partial, but I think he looks fabulous and I plan to frame it and place it somewhere very prominent.

There were so many photos shared; from dad's infancy to his last months, and many of them will be in his book. I really look forward to it.

I did take the food and to me it was nothing overly special but I made a point of taking my Gumbo since dad had really enjoyed it on one of his trips here. I have a feeling that he would have liked everything and hovered at the table a bit longer than the rest. I'm sure part of my love for food came from dad.

I hope he was there to see us all together, Joyce said over and over that he would have had a good time just sitting around talking with us all. Someday soon we'll all be doing that; a bit North of here.

What Ever Happened to Sunday Dinner?

Sunday Dinner

I asked recently of an email group I belong to what special dinner everyone might have on a Sunday. I was surprised at the responses I received. Some of them were flat out snippy, "Sunday is no different than any other day here", meaning they chose not to have any type of "religious" theme pervade their day.

Well, I wasn't asking whether they went to church or not but they must have thought I meant dinner after church. In my family, however, most of my memories of Sunday dinner were after church. There was nothing better than coming home (to grandma's house or dad's house or wherever we were) to the smells of Sunday dinner already cooking. There's something warm and fuzzy about those memories.

Sunday dinner has long been an American tradition ... institution even. Families once gathered nearly weekly to break bread and enjoy one another's company and I can't quite put my finger on why this seems to be a dying practice.

I myself am guilty of being "too busy" to get it done~even if it is a mere 10 minutes to set something up in a slow cooker.

I love this page and the ideas there for Sunday Dinners, as well as the writing on the whole topic.

If you don't have Sunday dinners, at least try to once a month. The connections you make with family during these times are precious and the chance should never be wasted.

Here is our Sunday Dinner today, complete with the All-American apple pie.

Roast Chicken (I always brine my chicken in water to cover with 1/2 c. of Kosher salt and whatever herbs or spices I feel like that day-today it's Mrs. Dash Lemon Pepper seasoning or try my Simon and Garfunkel Roast Chicken.)
Roasted Potatoes (these I toss with olive oil, rosemary and garlic)
Gravy (Of course!)
Sweet Corn
Tomatoes from our garden
Apple Pie (recipe here)