Meals from the Garden, A Birthday Party and Celebrating with My Daddy!

The kitchen is my favorite hangout, where my creative juices flow best.  I like to keep my camera close at hand so I can capture the moment; the one when the recipe works, or doesn't, when I've just brought in fresh produce from the garden, or when the kitchen counter is in a state of chaos because there is something wonderful cooling in the background.  These things make my heart sing.   I believe that good, real food given in each season is a gift from God and is meant to be enjoyed and celebrated with those we love.  This month's photo collection spotlights fresh food from the garden, a birthday party and a Father's Day lunch.

Offerings from a June Kitchen

We enjoyed the last of the lettuces from the garden with a variety of salads, one of my favorites being this one,with chopped strawberries, Point Reyes blue cheese, walnuts and balsamic viniagrette.  So delicious!

The butter lettuce leaves were perfect for making these asian wraps with a spicy dipping sauce.

I always hate saying goodbye to strawberries, but all good things must come to an end.  Until

next year I'll have to make do with the bags I've put in the freezer. 

We had a pasta week as I practiced, and practiced making pasta for a class I taught at church.  

Worse things could happen, you know?  I had a great time teaching the class.  

My kitchen smelled wonderful as a I zested and juiced lots of lemons for our favorite lemon cookies.

Sugar snap peas from a friend's garden.  What a wonderful gift.

We had them for dinner,

 and I put the rest in the freezer.

On one of those, "I don't have time to cook nights", I picked up a rotisserie chicken.  

A few days later I made a rich stock from the leftovers with a ton of fresh herbs from my garden.

Fruit smoothies are so refreshing and I love to whip up one after I work out.  But, I always

make more than I need.  I've started making popsicles out of the excess.  A brilliant solution if I 

say so myself.   Yes, these rocket shaped popsicle molds have been around a while.

Dillon's thinking hard about that birthday wish.  I made a carrot cake at his request.

I had more frosting than I needed and since it would be a crime to throw away

cream cheese frosting, I stashed it in the refrigerator and later in the week made

these carrot cake whoopee pies for my sister.  She loved them.

I surprised my Dad with a visit on Father's Day.   As a bonus, I got to visit with my sister and her family too.

We had Dad's famous roast with carrots, green beans, mashed potatoes and rolls.  I made a 

chocolate layer cake for dessert, but I guess we didn't get a picture of that.   It was all delicious.

I finally made pesto from the garlic scapes that had been waiting patiently in the refrigerator.

The next day, we enjoyed a pesto pizza with fresh tomatoes and mozzarella.

Italian artisan bread made the perfect cheese sandwich,

to go with creamy tuscan tomato soup, made with more of that fresh pesto.

My favorite new recipe of the season is this Lemon Pie Ice Cream.  I just can't tell you how good it is.

Blueberries are here!!! 

The first thing I made were blueberry pancakes for breakfast.

I made a big batch of Dad's BBQ sauce and canned some for grilling in the months ahead.

Last, but not least, I whipped up some individual banana puddings in these cute little

ramekins that my friend gave me for my birthday. The lucky recipients of this gift  from

the kitchen gave them a big thumbs up.  I have to admit, they were pretty darn good.

Summer Days- Daybook Entry

Outside my window...  steamy, hot afternoon.  And rain.  Every day it rains.  So far it seems to be a repeat of last summer, which I was really hoping wouldn't happen.  Oh well, you take what you get and try to be grateful for it.  Even though it's lethal for my tomatoes, it's good for other things.  Just for the record- the picture below was not taken outside my house window, but outside my car window.  I brake for hay rolls in a field.

I am wearing... red button up cotton shirt, jean skirt, flip flops.  Except for when I'm working in the garden, this skirt is becoming my summer uniform.  So comfortable!

I am listening to... the air conditioner and a gentle snore from the napper across the room.   Here's a few Podcasts that I've enjoyed this month :  this one from Michael Hyatt on the practice of stillness,  this one from Krista Tippet from an interview she did with Roseanne Cash, this one was good too, and to be honest I just enjoy listening to Krista Tippet's voice and I think she's a great interviewer, so I like most anything she does. I look forward to the Splendid Table each week and loved this last episode with David Sedaris.  Man, he's a funny guy.  And lastly, I discovered America's Test Kitchen podcast and I love it!  The episode with Ruth Reichl was especially good.  I had just finished one of her books, so it was fun to hear her interviewed.

I am thankful for... garden food, mountain laurel blossoms, blueberries and being surrounded by green.  These are just a few of my favorite June things.

Around the house... still working on the basement.  Lately, I've been into the food storage area; checking all the canned food, rotating things, trying to make room for new items.  I still have plenty of canned tomatoes, green beans (and yet I planted rows of beans!), peach jam, and apple butter.  What I'd like to put up this year are dill pickles, salsa, chow-chow and blackberry jam.

In the garden... pulled the carrots and cleaned out the lettuce and spinach bed.  This week I'll harvest the garlic.  It's ready!  The beets are growing well, beans are climbing, the squashes and cucumbers need to be picked everyday.  I dug one plant of fingerling potatoes so I could show an inquisitive little one how the potatoes grow under the ground.  Digging potatoes are one of the simple joys in life.  If you've never done it, you don't know what you're missing.   I'm getting a handful of blueberries a day.  The tomatoes have me worried, but I hope I will have plenty to eat, despite the overwatering they're receiving and the blight that's already starting to creep up from the bottom.    Walking through the garden and picking items to have for dinner brings a smile to my face.

I'm loving... my Fitbit.  Have you heard about them?  I purchased a pedometer earlier in the year, but just couldn't get it to work well for me.  So, I decided to bite the bullet and go ahead and get the Fitbit, which measures steps, calories burned, sleep patterns and more.  After only a week of using mine, I'm completely hooked.  My goal is to get in 10,000 steps a day.  I don't always make it, but that's the goal.

I'm reading... a collection of short stories by Alice Monroe and a nonfiction book about the Martin and Willie Handcart companies.  I'm working on my summer reading Bingo card.  You can read more about that here.

I'm creating... many wonderful dishes from the summer produce.   I knitted a set of dishcloths to add to a friends birthday bag.  I just love taking pretty colored yarn and whipping those together.

I'm learning... * how to play "He Sent His Son" on the piano.  It's such a pretty song.   * I'm attempting to learn the discipline of  being still.  Do you know how hard it is to turn off your mind and be completely present, for just fifteen minutes?  Of course, I can't do it yet, but I'm trying and I am getting better at it.  * I'm trying to figure out how to use Evernote, because I know once the learning curve is past, I will love it!  Less paper and the ability to find everything I've filed with a few clicks on the computer, yes siree, I need this.  Although, I admit, going paperless and relying on my computer makes me a little nervous, but I know this is the wave of the future.

30 Day Challenge... my goal this month was to get eight hours of sleep each night.  I failed miserably.  I mean, really, who has time to sleep for eight hours?!?  Actually, I would love to sleep that long, but I just can't seem to make it happen.  I find that I function pretty well if I can get seven, but I keep trying for eight.  Sleep is important!  As a follow up to May's challenge, I'm still training three days a week for that 5K.  I can't say that I really like it, but I do  like the way I feel when I get off the treadmill.

I am pondering... 

"The ability to qualify for, receive, and act on personal revelation is the 

single most important skill that can be acquired in this life."      

 Julie Beck

A few plans for the rest of the week... I'm working on lesson plans for Patriot Camp that begins on Monday, meeting with primary presidency to plan fall training meeting, going hiking and eating a hotdog cooked over an open fire!   Happy Fourth!

This Week in the Garden- June 21

It's been a wet week.  The rain is good for helping the weeds grow, along with everything else.  

I've spent a fair amount of time weeding...   We said goodbye to the last of the strawberries and

hello to squash, cucumbers and zucchini.  Blueberries are beginning to make an appearance.

Tomatoes are looking good, although with the daily rain, I'm beginning to see 

brown spots and curling leaves.  This isn't a good sign of things to come.

Squash plants have taken off this week.  

Acorn squash

Pickling cucumbers

Yellow squash

Zucchini

Blueberry bushes have been covered with netting in hopes of keeping the turkeys away.  

Ten Lessons I've Learned From My Dad

Our parents are our first and greatest teachers.  Even when they don't realize it, we are learning from them.  Example is everything.  And often, it's the little things that mean the most. Growing up and leaving home isn't the end of the education either.  Here's a few lessons I've learned and am still learning from my dad. 

1- Choose your love and love your choice. My mom and dad married young and when I came along he was only 20 years old.  Like all marriages, they had their struggles, but he stuck by her side, including years as her caregiver after she had her debilitating stroke, until she took her last breath.  I know it wasn't easy, but that says a lot about how he feels about the institution of marriage.  I appreciate that example.

He has chosen twice, and he has chosen well.

2- Families are important and we support each other.  I grew up knowing that I was loved and supported by my parents and my grandparents.  Holidays and vacations were a time to be with family.  We spent many hours on Nana's farm and at Grandma's house.  We went to the beach every year for vacation.  My dad sat through countless dance and baton recitals, served as the president of the band boosters, was at every half time performance and parade I marched in.  Lesson learned.  Families support each other.

3- On Sundays, we go to church.  We were a church going family. I'm so grateful that I learned at an early age about Jesus Christ. To this day, it warms my heart to hear my daddy pray out loud.

4-The world is an amazing place.  Go explore it.  Whether he's on a plane or in a car, my dad likes to go!  He's been in many places in the world, and all over the US and Canada.  It's nothing for him to load up his car and take a month long road trip.   I'm happy to say I've inherited that same travel bug.   

5- Work hard.  My dad has always been a hard worker, and in the early years, held down two jobs to support his family.  Retirement didn't slow him down much.  Passing along a good work ethic is one of the most important things a parent can give a child.  I don't remember any specific lessons in the home on how to be a responsible person and work hard.  I know we had chores at home to do, and my sisters and I still laugh about our dishwashing rotation.  Maybe we just picked this up by osmosis, because all his children are hard workers. 

6- The best foods are homemade.  I get my love for food honestly.  As with most southerners, food is a big part of our culture.  Even though my mom was a fantastic cook, my dad's pretty good in the kitchen himself.  And he owns the grill.  This is his famous bbq sauce recipe that we all love, written by his hand.

7. Serve others.  Without attention or recognition, I've watched him serve my mom, his mom and two mother in laws with tenderness and patience.  Trips to the nursing homes and hospitals, were a part of his daily schedule for a season.  He takes care of neighbors yards, plans and orchestrates senior activities and works the clothes closet at his church.  Possessing a servant's heart, he would do anything to help you out.  "When you are in the service of your fellow being, you are in the service of your God."   I think he has this one figured out. 

8- Teach your kids to dance.   My first dance lessons happened while I stood on my daddy's feet.  He has a special dance step that I've never seen anyone else do and he's taught it to all his daughters.  We don't get the opportunity to dance with him very often now, but when we do, we all still know the "dad" slow dance step.  It's pretty special.

9- Get your hands dirty and play in the dirt.  This isn't something I learned as a child, but as an adult I've taken up gardening and am learning lots from my dad.  He has a serious green thumb.  

10- Always have a camera close at hand.  Dad is always taking pictures.  Always.  He's had his bird photos published in a national magazine, and just this week won several prizes in a photo contest. I enjoy sitting down with him and going through old pictures, and new ones too!  Celebrate the good times and capture those memories with photos.  I'm learning this one well.  Just like him, I will stop on the interstate and take flower pictures,

seek out God's beautiful creations and try to get just the right shot,

and most importantly run to the beach in order to catch the sunrise. This one is important.  Don't sleep in and miss the sunrise.  There will never be another one quite like the one you see today.

Happy Father's Day, Daddy.
I love you!