More Potatoes

So, will someone tell me why making scalloped potatoes from scratch has suddenly become such a dreaded chore? Maybe it's because the boxed kind are just too easy. I made some scalloped potatoes from scratch last week, and 1) couldn't believe how easy they were, given the impression I had, and 2) thought they were DELICIOUS. Granted, I didn't peel the potatoes. Anyway, I plan to make them again soon!

Cooking with Julia Child

I love my Julia Child cookbook, The Art of French Cooking. I also love watching her old shows on YouTube. The thing is, following her tips really does make a difference - sometimes a huge difference! Her recipes for ham, casserole-roasted chicken, and just today chicken stock, are wonderful. Here's the thing for chicken stock - you really do have to take the scum off! She calls is blanching the meat (boiling for five minutes, then rinsing thoroughly and starting over), and does it ever make a difference. I also like her herb bouquets, and for the stock she uses whole vegetables, including a whole onion, not chopped. At any rate, it is undoubedtly the best chicken stock I've ever made. I also learned that the basic difference between boiling potatoes and baking potatoes is the thickness of skin. Imagine that! Not to mention, baking potatoes will stick to themselves if sliced and cooked in a dish like scalloped potatoes, so that is when using boiling potatoes is important. Well, that's all for today. :-)

An August Afternoon

We had a lovely afternoon today, perfectly fitting for a Sunday. I was able to get the house picked up before the kids were up this morning, so that was taken care of - otherwise, if it's a mess, I can't seem to relax on Sunday. Adam had the wonderful idea yesterday of making "pizza sandwiches," because he had stumbled across his sandwich cookers, or whatever they are called. So, when we got home from church, he built a fire outside, and we took out a tray of buttered bread, leftover spaghetti sauce, pepperoni, and grated cheese, and he cooked all our sandwiches over the fire. Yum! It was a perfect afternoon to be outside. We had watermelon and s'mores for dessert, and slush for drink, so it was a real treat all around. Afterward, Luke, Adam and I took naps, and the girls played quietly. It was, truly, a restful day - and much needed. Now, the girls are begging for supper and I'm not even hungry. I guess I'll go make nacho chips w/ melted cheese for supper. Keeping life simple, especially since Adam has already left for work.

July

It has been a WONDERFUL day at home today. Adam took the girls to the 4th of July parade, and I stayed home with Luke to work on his naps (not having great success there yet) and rest, and I can't get over how incredibly peaceful it has been!

I am also excited about my very abundant strawberry patch this year! It is the first year of full harvest for us, and on our second picking yesterday, we brought in almost 1 1/2 gallons of very large, very ripe berries. I spent the evening making a double-batch of freezer jam, and froze the rest - after we all had strawberries and cream, of course.

As to my "More with Less" crusade; I haven't published much about that lately, but I haven't been neglecting the project. I have been enjoying fresh lettuce salads lately, made more affordable by several homemade dressings, including the Dorothy Lynch Homestyle dressing, made from scratch, and creamy poppy seed dressing. I have also gone back to making croutons from our bread scraps. Not only are they much less expensive (really, what's with the price for croutons these days? Dried bread and a few spices....), but when fresh out of the oven, they are a special treat! For seasoning on mine, I've been using an herb mix I bought over a year ago for hamburgers, actually, only I don't like it on meat; but it has been perfect for croutons.

Simple Pleasures

Lilacs on the dining room table; fresh rhubarb pie on the kitchen window ledge; the dog curled up in her favorite spot; the stars and stripes rippling in the evening breeze; glowing hardwood floors; a warm cup of tea on a cool spring eve.

"Nature is the living proof..."

"...of a loving God." Spring is here, and with it the annual scramble to tend the earth, cleaning up the messes left by winter and unfinished jobs from the year before. I love being outside, but I perpetually feel behind on everything this time of year. I have to keep reminding myself that it is still only May (after all, we did have a blizzard the very last day of April). Things will get done, by and by. The weeds will get pulled, the garden will get planted, the piles of stuff around the shed and back of the house will get sorted, cleaned up, and hopefully put away - and all just in time to start digging a hole for a new basement, I imagine! Tomorrow is supposed to be nice, so we can spray weeds and till the vegetable garden. The raspberries need to be tied up, and dandelions dug out of the strawberries. It is truly a work in progress, all the time; but I am thankful for it. We are blessed to have such a wonderful yard and all the gardens, fruits, and flowers.

My 4 Brothers (& 1 nephew)

My "baby" brother Wesley graduated this past weekend. It is hard to believe, and yet - fitting, somehow. As I see my life progressing (my children growing up), it is only natural that his should, too. This picture was taken at my brother Michael's wedding last July. From left to right, they are Wesley (5), Timothy (my nephew, Jeffrey's oldest), Casey (4), Jeffrey(2), and Michael(3) (birth order in parathensis). Missing - my little sister Arianna (6), and myself(1) (the "book-ends").