Mondays & Rainy Days Past

The following is a blog I wrote last August and then didn't post. I think I decided the picture wasn't good enough. I've since decided I love this memory too much to care about how the photo looks.

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Rainy days don't typically get me down and Mondays are just a new start. The Carpenter's singing the song however leaves me ready to leap.

Yesterday was a rainy day. The rain clouds slowly crept from the west as Max and I finished some errands. The thunder started and accompanied us to Trader Joe's. We made it home only slightly wet and shortly thereafter, it began to pour.

Jake, a perpetual four-year-old, excitedly prattled on about playing in the rain. Henry was the only one up for it. I grabbed the camera.

They followed each other up the sidewalk and around and around the driveway. With bare, white feet contrasting with summer brown legs, they shuffled through the biggest of puddles. It was fun to watch.

Playing in the summer rain is a fond memory of childhood for me. Cool respite from the summer heat. The solitude of feeling like the only one in the world.


I wish now I could remember why I didn't join them. Next time I'll be cool and feeling like the only one in the world, except for Jake and Henry.

Yellow Tomato and Basil Jam/I Love Food In Jars

One night I stayed up late working on a blog I was really excited about. A few key strokes....and it was gone. In the blogshere, never to be seen again. Or so I thought. While tweeking a few things I recently happened to notice a blog written in 2001. In 2001, I had three very busy children 5 and under. To say the house was a "fixer-uper" is generous. If I had a computer I don't know where it was. I had struck gold (or yellow) and found my missing story.

Though no longer seasonal, this humble homage to one of my favorite bloggers needs to be published. If you aren't a food preserver hopefully you'll be inspired. My advice? Remember there truly is no season for canning.

*****

Marisa, the writer of the fabulous blog, Food In Jars reads my mind. Something exploding in the garden? Went a bit nut-so at the fruit stand? No time to search for the the answer to "what should I do?"  Food In Jars saves the day.

Several weeks back the yellow tomatoes were taking over the yellow house. The red ones I could manage but the yellow I am certain were reproducing on the kitchen counter in the night. I love a good yellow tomato but honestly, I prefer a more acidic bite. So while I diligently ate a tomato sandwich every day they were getting the best of me.

Marisa had my answer. Cut, add sugar and macerate for 24 hours in the fridge. I love food projects with easy steps that allow you time to fully commit.

A bit of cooking and brightening with lemon zest.

I can't get better. No, wait - it does. Boat loads of basil growing on plants pressed between monstrous caged tomatoes? The crowning glory.

I told you she was good.

I know it is late but if you get your hands on a bunch of yellows and are sick of fighting the basil you really need to try this it's delicious. It's applications are endless. Or maybe just remember next year when there are illicit things happening on your kitchen.

Did I mention it's Food In Jars?

The Basil Chronicles - Part 4 - The End of the Road

As sad as it is to say, this is the end of the basil chronicles for 2011. Though I am so far behind in sharing lots of summer food projects, this one timed as such, coincides with reluctantly pulling out what is left in the garden before Old Man Winter claims it.

I've heard people talk for years about the virtues of basil cubes and was sort of never smitten with the idea. This summer with 6 monster plants in the garden, I decided to revisit the idea. It's a super easy, fast way to process a bunch of basil. It's inexpensive, too!

Pick the leaves from the stems and throw them in the food processor.

Add a bit of oil or water (I did it both ways) and quickly process to a chunky consistency.

Portion the slurry into ice cube trays and freeze. Viola!

Use them to finish soups, pasta or sauce. Toss a few into a quick vegetable saute.

No pun intended - they make the passing of summer a bit more palatable.

A Super Fun Food Truck Social

Part of the deal with having 4 kids is family outings most often revolve around something free or nearly so. There are exceptions, and just over a week ago, we had occasion to enjoy a wonderful one - A Food Truck Social sponsored by Time Out Chicago. Though we spent money (I am glad I don't know exactly how much), we walked away with wonderful memories and the added bonus of giving back.

The entry fee was given to Share Our Strength for the No Kid Hungry Campaign campaign. No kid should ever be hungry.

This pretty truck Hummingbird Kitchen sold lovely things including the Italian French Fries Jake ordered. Since then, I've been craving a Nicoise sandwich.

Sweet Ride sold my dear sweet-loving daughter whoopie pies. Ella loves whoopie pies. I might have helped her - just a little bit.

The line for tamales from Tamale Spaceship. A reason why Doug wants to quit his job, buy a food truck and sell tamales.

My personal fave - the most delicious curried chicken pot pie pasty in the world Bridgeport Pasty

Lillie's Q makin' the sammies.

A $5 pulled pork slider. Truthfully, I think Doug's BBQ is better. Another reason Doug wants to quit his job, buy a food truck and sell BBQ sliders.

Street food should be eaten on the street.

And at a street fair, children should dance.

It was great to experience so many food trucks all in one place.

And it was a day we'll never forget.

Thanks for snapping the pic TOC!

A delicious day worth every penny.

Just Another Manic Sunday

I came home from work at Williams-Sonoma today after a torrential morning down pour and enjoyed sangria and really tasty cheese on the patio with some neighbors.

They left and then the rain started....again.

It was a nice summer rain. Cool and redolent of childhood summer days when there was rain but no lightening. Running in the gutters at Memorial Park.

The company and libations were better. There were no bugs.

We were getting soaked, even under the umbrella, so we moved to the porch.

The rain still came and poor June looked for playmates, even though she was soggy.

The afternoon of tremendous accomplishment continued. The rains stopped, again, and the chicken went onto the grill....

Hope your Sunday was as chill, albeit manic, as mine.

Chilled Summer Oatmeal

Breakfast is a problem for me. Truth be told, if a chocolate cake was permanently parked next to the espresso machine, I'd be okay. However there isn't and really for figure(?) conservation it's best that way. More often than not I find myself away from home at 1pm and realize I've eaten nothing at all.

I love oatmeal and it's convenience. A pot of steel cut oats on the stove ready to warm up on cold winter morning is cozy. But in the summer? Thank goodness for Chilled Summer Oatmeal. With a quick mix (and no cooking) of a few ingredients - which are most likely in your pantry - you can have a whole week of healthy breakfast. Interested?

Oats. They have to be old-fashioned. If you really love your family and aren't greedy with the beautiful locally-grown oats use those.

Nuts add a bit of crunch and extra nutrients not offered by a chocolate cake breakfast.

One of the other best parts is the ability to make this all about your summer faves. Fresh peaches, nectarines, blueberries are all at home in a cool bowl of this stuff.

I put all the ingredients in one of those nifty glass containers with the sturdy, plastic tops and stir it up.

Voila - it's breakfast!

This is one of those recipes you can modify however you like with whatever you have. Different yogurts, nuts, juices, spices and seasonal fruits. Think about enhancing it further with a sprinkle of flax seed? Ooohhhh - healthy. The possibilities are endless.

I think you could put flax seeds in chocolate cake, too.

Just sayin'.

Chilled Summer Oatmeal
This is the basic recipe but I've experimented with just about everything.


8oz. vanilla yogurt
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (TJ's toasted are nice)
1/2 cup peach nectar
1/2 cup skim milk
1 large peach, grated
1/2 cup blueberries (I usually toss these in before I eat)
3 T. chopped almonds
Pinch of cinnamon and cardamom

Mix all together, cover and chill overnight.

In the morning spoon into a bowl and sprinkle with a bit of cinnamon, if desired.

Save the cake for lunch.

The Trials of Summer

I suppose if I wanted to be ornery, I could say this post was meant to be an addition to the "through the screen door" series -- BUT I COULDN'T GET TO THE SCREEN DOOR!

Care to guess how many people are in the yellow house right now?

Yeah, I don't know either.

A Not-So-Skinny Dip

I don't consider myself one of those people crazy for dips. I do, it seems, turn to them in the summer for a quick pre-dinner snack while the charcoals heat. Last year my favorite was a delicious Caesar Dip, (man that's good) but this year it's Lemony-Goat Cheese.

As dips tend to be, this on is easy, easy, easy and ready to serve in minutes.

I like to use my hand mixer to ensure a smooth dip.

 

I prefer a fine zest for dips so use a microplane if you have one.

I've discovered this tasty dunk is good on pretty much anything. Another of it's delicious benefits for last minute noshing.

This isn't a low-fat treat to dress your garden veggies. I feel I should impart words of encouragement regarding dipping everything within arms reach into this delicious dunk. Instead, I say - who cares?

Enjoy!

Lemon-y Goat Cheese Dip

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
4 oz. fresh goat cheese,room temperature
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
zest and juice of one lemon
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Place mayo, sour cream and goat cheese into a medium-sized bowl. Though not necessary, I find it's easiest to use a hand mixer to incorporate the goat cheese smoothly. A good mixing with a wooden spoon would be effective, too.

Fold in lemon zest and juice and minced garlic. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Dip crackers, chips and/or veggies forthwith.

Jake is 15!

At 2:27 pm my first child was born and in the blink of an eye, I am the mother of a 15-year old son of whom I am very proud. As a first born, I know how much it sucks to be the first born and Jake has handled it with grace. Easy going and responsible, perhaps his greatest accomplishment to date is being a really great big brother.

Jake "gets" me, never ceases to make me laugh and only seldom succumbs to teenage-dom (or is it dumb?) that leaves me utterly annoyed.

This year he starts high school and though, if I think about it too much I want to cry at how quickly time has passed, I look very forward to the coming years of many, many laughs. And watching him achieving all he is capable of.

Yesterday we celebrated with family and a one bowl chocolate cake topped with the perfect chocolate frosting. Grammy just had a birthday ending in a zero and so we celebrated her accomplishment, too. I know, she doesn't look 50 does she?

Happy Birthday, Cakey and Grammy! We all love, love, love ya.

They're Baaaackkkk....

Last week when the horrible heat broke for about 10 minutes. The kids came out.

It didn't last long because of the choking humidity.  Still it was nice to see the sleepy neighborhood wake up - if only for a while.

Dog Days of Summer Redux

Well, here we are again.  The oppressively humid days of a mid-western summer. This sight, Henry giving Junie the ice cream cone he hadn't finished, made me think of the last time I shared the dog days of summer.

Murray got a popsicle - or a popsible as Henry called it since he was still small(ish).

Guess the dog days of summer are always a sure thing.

Enjoy the air and pour an iced tea.

We Had A Lobster Boil!

A few weekends ago, we had a lobster boil. It's something we used to do every June for a huge group.This year it was just family.

Is it insensitive to say "welcome to the party."?

We serve filet and potato salad.There is always corn on the cob. Lots and lots of corn on the cob.

Which works out well because this time there was lots and lots of free labor.

Job done. 

Photo ops are a must.

 Lobster for grown ups.

Lobster for kids.

A long communal table.

Much fun, good food and lots and lots of laughs.

Ella's 11th

Last Thursday was Ella's birthday. She is officially a tween.

She will be going into middle school this year as a sixth grader. What seemed like yesterday I took her 2nd birthday picture. She wore the cutest little dress (not basketball shorts) and she had only a single bleached blond curl above each ear (and they didn't need much brushing). Now she never wears dresses and has lots of seldom brushed hair.

Sometimes silly things like that make me crazy. Then there are times she shares the most tender moments of raw emotion that my heart hurts as if it's beating in her chest. Always sweet and kind, she's also an independent adventurer and I love to see her go off on her own. She sticks with what feels right, even when it may not be the popular vote. Times like those make me realized why sometimes the silly things make me crazy.

I recall there was a time when I didn't want to brush my hair and only wanted to wear my horrible, orange-y "fashion" boots with the crepe sole. Time alone never was a problem. Choosing to go home rather than pile into a car in search of a rumored party was typical. I think I turned out alright.

My hope for my beautiful girl is for her to take the good bits of me (real or imagined) and add to them all the wondrous things that make her Ella.  I know she will fulfill her potential and become even more amazing than I already think she is. Okay, maybe I do hope she'll stop wearing basketball shorts and brush her hair. Everything in due time.

Happy 11th Princess Bean! We love you as big as the sky!

Reason #2 Why I Love Summer

Lots of chard in the garden...

Added to leftover bacon grease..

Dinner in 10 minutes...

By the way, number one is Henry's summer feet.

Our Roof Top Garden

This year we expanded our garden. The one on the ground and our new found roof top garden. Our bedroom opens onto the flat, black roof of the family room. What have we been thinking all these years wasting this perfect garden space?

Out of room in the ground level garden, I was able to plant up the wonderful heirloom tomatoes given to me by a talented gardener. The black plastic pots leftover from bushes bought to landscape the patio are the perfect size and free.

Here they are in their new home. It was raining, of course. I have since dug up some volunteer plants - what I think are cucumbers - to share garden space with the tomatoes. My thought is to place them on tarps to protect the roof and the vegetables from one another.

I feel so permaculture-y.

I also feel a bumper crop coming on.