Saturday Afternoon and Nowhere to be...

It truly feels like autumn today.  

I went to the front porch with my book and iced tea in hand and after just a few pages the sun had no trouble coaxing me into a nap.  As I fell asleep I could hear the trees blowing in the wind and know that there was a leaf shower going on just outside the porch rail.  I slept for quite awhile and when I woke it was decidedly cooler than when I fell asleep!

Feeling refreshed from my nap I went back to reading, which by the way is a wonderful historical novel set during the Civil War entitled "My Name is Mary Sutter" by Robin Oliveira robinoliveira.com .  There is really nothing that compares to book in hand on a quiet afternoon.  I think I would like to own a "pad" or "tablet" but not for reading.  I love to pick up a book, read a page and then turn to a new one.  When I am finished I can return that book to my shelves or trade with a friend for one I have yet to enjoy.

Being Saturday, and being Southern we turn our attention to football as the afternoon progresses.  We are building a fire in our newly built fireplace on the back porch, we are watching the college games by the fire and channel surfing for updates and action.  I am cooking a pork roast on the grill with green beans and potatoes for dinner and for dessert a German Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie Bar!  Courtesy of Southern Living - September 2012- page 132.southernliving.com  The bourbon is an option, but really?  I see no other option.  Like I
have said before - we are Southern.

I really believe we have seen the last of the hot afternoons and can settle down and enjoy the fall and all she has to offer. 

Family, food and football

This past weekend I had the pleasure of hosting my mother's side of the family for a reunion dinner.  The day was in a word perfect.  The weather was warm but not too hot.  We gathered at my house in the afternoon and the event ended late into the night.  We laughed, shared photos, watched a video, cried, and of course we ate.

After all, this is a southern family and that is what we do - we eat and watch football.  So in the afternoon the appetizers were out with everything from Buffalo Chicken Dip to Artichoke Dip with lots of crackers and chips.  Drinks were aplenty and there was a fair amount of sweet tea to be had.

Our son smoked pork loins on apple wood with his special rub for flavor and let me tell you they would melt in your mouth.  We had deep fried chickens that had been injected with flavor the night before.  And of course everyone brought a dish.  That is the fun of an event like this, you get to sample some home cooking from your family.  Green beans, baked beans, casseroles, potato salad, slaw, tossed salad, oriental salad, macaroni and cheese, bread.  Then the desserts!  Rum cake, Dump Cake - two of those.  Blueberry and Cherry.  Brownies, Ice Cream Sandwich Dessert (I made that and will share the recipe).  Pecan Pie, Key Lime Pie, Lemon Cake and Red Velvet Cake.  Oh My!!

There was a bonfire in the yard late in the evening, football games on two TVs and lots and lots of catching up and photos taken.  We missed those we have lost and reminisced about them.  My grandmother's birthday is today and that made the weekend special - she would have loved being in the midst of all that attention.  One amazing thing is I have a hydrangea that belonged to her and this past weekend it had blooms on it.  She was telling us how happy she was we were together.

Through it all I was smiling.  I kept thinking about my grape vine and how family is like a bunch of grapes.  Stay with me...We come from one trunk which is rooted deep and is strong. Like the people in the photo, my grandparents.  Then there are branches everywhere.  On those branches are clusters which hang together.  That is the individual families.  The clusters of fruit vary in size - some have many and some are just a few.  There are sweet and sour grapes in the same cluster (sounds like families).  But, the one thing I know is that until you pick the fruit they remain together in that cluster - and that is the way family should be.  That is what I want our family to be.

I know I want to do this again and hope all that attended our dinner feel the same.  So God willing we will plan another dinner in the near future and in the meantime we will remember the good time we shared at this one.


ICE CREAM SANDWICH CAKE

For a single layer in a 9 x 13 pan use the following:
12 ice cream sandwiches
8 oz. cool whip or whipped cream
1/2 jar caramel ice cream topping
peanut butter cups chopped, or any candy topping you like - toffee bits, nuts, snickers, rolos, etc.

Line the bottom of the pan with the ice cream sandwiches, spread the top with cool whip, drizzle caramel topping over that and top with chopped candies and nuts of your choice.  Cover and freeze several hours before serving.  

If you want to make two layers double all the ingredients.  Instead I doubled it and made two single layer cakes.  Both were gone!

Playhouse or Potting Shed?

Every girl deserves a playhouse.  Growing up that was my dream.  I would build them for my dolls using everything from sticks and moss between big oak tree roots to shoeboxes with doors and windows cut in them.  And when I happened to find a natural arbor with vines growing on it, it became mine.  If my brother happened along it would be a fort, or a secret clubhouse for a time.  A sheet over a table served the same purpose but not as grand as the arbor since we were the only ones who knew where it was.  We even put some old furniture inside to make it cozy.

Fast forward about 50 years and I got a real playhouse.  Courtesy of my husband and son.  Of course, it is called a potting shed but we all know what it really is.  My dream come true.

I love feeding the birds in our yard so it houses all my feeders and seed.  Gardening is high on my list of hobbies so I needed a place to put all my implements for that.  I had something small in mind, but it turned out so much better than I could imagine.  Windows and a french door from a builders surplus, an antique drop leaf table that was given to us years ago after a dear friend passed away, an old kitchen cabinet with flour bin and enamel counter from my mother-in-law, and pieces salvaged by me from the side of the road (to my son's horror) and from the dump.  Hey, whatever works!

My potting shed floor art

I painted the floor myself and must say I love it every time I look at it.  Around the diamond it says "The kiss of the sun for pardon, the songs of the birds for mirth.  You are nearer to God in a garden than anywhere else on earth."   How true that is.  When I am in my yard it is when I feel closest to God.  The house has a tin roof so the rain sounds really delicious when you are out there.  Sometimes I go to rearrange my treasures or refill the bird feeders.  I used old popcorn tins that I have painted for birdseed.  That keeps bugs from getting to it.  Spray the lid with chalkboard paint and you can write what is inside. Other times I just go out to enjoy it and know it is mine.  It never gets old.

There are potting sheds posted on blogs and websites everywhere.  Some are small and others pretty grand.  But this is mine and it is perfect.  The fact that the two men in my life built it for me makes it all the more precious. 

Like I said, every girl needs a playhouse.  Mine was worth the wait.

No Sour Grapes Here

Several years ago a friend gifted us with a grape vine - a "Southern" sweet muscadine grape.  We planted it and it did absolutely nothing.  It sat in its comfortable little patch of dirt, trained to grow on a split rail fence and looked pretty.  No fruit to speak of, maybe a handful of grapes every year but nothing more.

Then about five years ago I asked my husband to build an arbor for that grape vine.  He did, we removed the fence and trained it to grow on the new structure.  Holy Cow!!  It took off like Moody's Goose - you have heard that, right?  It means fast in southern speak.  That grape vine grew and grew, and it was loaded with grapes.  I felt a little like Jack and the magic bean!  We trim it back every winter and then every spring it is covered in new growth and by summer it is almost beyond control.  We have extended the arbor once and could do so again.  I am talking ONE vine here people.

My Holy Cow Grape Vine

So three nights ago I ventured into the arbor and filled a bowl of this beautiful fruit in just a matter of minutes.  Having made jelly from these sweet grapes before, I decided to make more this year.  Yesterday that is what I did.  It is a simple process and takes less time than one would think.  The important thing is to have all your equipment and ingredients together before you start.  The first step is to get the juice from the fruit.  So after washing the fruit dump it into a large pot and add enough water to bring to a boil.  Use a potato masher to "smush" the fruit as it cooks.  You don't want to cook the water out, but instead mash the fruit and add water if needed.  Then add the fruit to a strainer over a large bowl and let the juice drain.  Mash the fruit to extract more juice.  You can also do this using cheesecloth, but a strainer works fine.  Let it sit to insure you have all the juice.  Now here is the great part...if you don't want to make your jelly after doing this step, then measure your juice, fill freezer bags or containers with it and pop in the freezer until you are ready to
use.  Then just thaw the juice and proceed with the next steps.  My
friend Vickie taught me this trick and I have done it - works beautifully.
But today I finished, so here are the next steps.  Make sure your jelly jars are
clean and keep them hot in a pot of water, or dishwasher.  Put your jar
lids in a pot of simmering water, have a large pot of water hot to place the jars in after filling and sealing.  Measure 5 cups of juice into a clean pot, add 1 tsp. lemon juice,
1 box of powder pectin and stir to dissolve.  Bring to a rolling boil, stirring
constantly.  Add 7 cups (I know) of sugar and stir.  Bring this to a boil and
cook for 1 minute - exactly.  Remove from heat and ladle into jars.  Seal
and place jars in a water bath making sure they are covered and cook for 10 minutes.  Remove and
wait for that "pop" to know your jars are sealed.  If one does not seal - put
it in the refrigerator to use first.  

 This jelly is great with biscuits, toast or if you want to use it as
an appetizer, put out a plate of crackers, blue cheese and a dish of this.  The sweet jelly with the tartness of the cheese is amazing!

You can readily purchase muscadine grapes at the grocery this time of year, but growing your own fruit and then using it this way is rewarding! 

And to think, all it took was an arbor!

Afternoon Shadows

Here it is August 27, and I tried I really did.  But, as strong as I like to think I am I caved.  Yes, I lit my Baked Apple Cinnamon candle in August.

You see, having the OCD personality that I do, there has to be an order to things.  August is summer and you do not light an autumn candle in the summer.  Things such as this are relegated to September and beyond.  But then again you would have to understand how very much I LOVE autumn and all that it means.  Maybe it is because I was an autumn baby.  Whatever the reason, it is my season.

It is the crispness in the morning air, the breeze that catches the scent of wood burning in a fireplace or better yet outdoor fire pit.  It is the knowledge that I can get in my car and drive less than two hours and be in the north Georgia mountains and enjoy the changing of the leaves and buy a bushel of apples - Arkansas Blacks being my favorite.  It means my jeans once again become the staple of my wardrobe and if they are paired with a great pair of boots then all the better.  It means college football on Saturday!  It means planting even more daffodil bulbs in my yard so they will bloom come spring.  Crock pots filled with chili, sweaters, pumpkins, long walks in the woods, fried pies, the anticipation of the approaching holidays and candles.  YES, candles.  Apple for September and pumpkin for October.  Once again, there must be an order to these things.  And I blew it!  I caved and lit the apple candle in August.  And why....I will tell you.

It was the afternoon shadows.  I was in my kitchen after a trip to the grocery store.  I had purchased my new apple candle and even the trunk smelled good when I opened it.  I came inside to put up my groceries and looked out the window...there they were.  The shadows spilling onto my grass and across the deck.  It looked like a fall afternoon.

 

Yes, those shadows were beautiful - the sun playing with them through the trees and causing them to dance across my yard.  I thought why not, it will be September in just a few days.  I lit the candle and love it.  My kitchen is filled with the incredible scent of apples and it reminds me that autumn is not that far away.  I can wait if I must.

Stirring Up Memories

My last post was about picking berries with my husband and cousin.  So many beautiful berries and figs and what to do?  I shared blueberries with my neighbor, my daughter-in-law, my mom, and a friend.  I made jam and I froze a gallon of berries.  I just can see a warm blueberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream on an autumn day...

But, today I want to tell you about the figs.  I didn't have nearly as many of those but they were beautiful and I wanted to do something spectacular with them.  I succeeded!

I was browsing the web for recipes using figs in sauces, preserves and jams and came across this website:
Balsamic Fig Preserves With Rosemary | Foodwise Northwest


All the fresh ingredients for Balsamic Fig Preserves with rosemary

I happened to have on hand all the required ingredients, including my wonderful rosemary.  It was one of the easiest preserves I have ever made.  The hardest part was just tasting as I went and not eating the entire batch!  I had guests over this past weekend and served this with goat cheese and crackers as an appetizer and got rave reviews.  Mission (no fig pun intended) accomplished.


The beautiful figs we picked

The preserves as they cooked

The finished product

I hope you will click the link to this recipe and make this wonderful rich preserve.  You will be glad you made these preserves and you will look like the perfect hostess when you serve these!

Picking Berries

Yesterday I got to pick blueberries and figs at my cousins property.  When I was invited this past week I jumped at the opportunity! 

What is it about standing in the hot sun, swatting bugs and dodging the thorny branches that is sheer joy?  My husband, my cousin and I were all picking and talking and reminiscing about my aunt (his grandmother) that passed away last week.  He had photos to show me, I had stories to tell him and all the time we were picking blueberries.  Before we knew it we had two huge containers full.  Then he said I should go pick figs - and me not being one to argue did just that!  They are ripe and sweet and I love them.

Tomorrow I will make blueberry jam and possibly something decadent with my figs - I am thinking a balsamic syrup.  How wonderful will that be with blue cheese and walnuts in the fall!!  Think I just made myself drool a little!

It is wonderful to enjoy the bounty of God's earth.  It is good to spend time with family - I cannot stress that enough.  The two are intertwined you know.  God gives us family to love, to share our lives with.  Sometimes we lose the connection and sometimes something brings us all back together - my aunt did that.  I can see her smiling now and being right happy with herself for doing just that. 

My mother is now the "matriarch" of this Southern Family and I pray it is a title she holds for many years to come.  We are planning a dinner and reunion of sorts in the fall.  That would please my aunt and my grandmother.  Everyone will "bring a dish" and we will eat together, look at old photos that have long been forgotten and we will most assuredly enjoy something sweet ... some of it made with blueberries.

My Aunt, Strong Southern Woman

My heart is heavy this afternoon.  One of my family, my aunt is very ill.  I visited her in the hospital yesterday and I know this will be the last time I see her.  On the drive home I could not help but remember all the things I had done with this lady in my lifetime.

She celebrated her 90th birthday in March.  She has led a very interesting life.  Born in Atlanta and lived in Georgia all her life.  When she was a teenager she had her own bluegrass band in which she played the guitar and sang and they were on the radio every week. She was from a musical family and when together my mom would play the piano and their late brother would play the guitar and they would all sing.  How I wish I could hear the three of them sing one more time.  She married young and started a family.  Her husband served in the army during WWII and my aunt worked at Bell Bomber Plant in Marietta, GA as a riveter.  Her photo is featured in the book Images of America: The Bell Bomber Plant by Joe Kirby (www.arcadiapublishing.com).  She raised three children with her husband and worked several more jobs after the war.

I wanted to be at her house any chance I got.  I was close to my cousin and she was like a sister to me.  We vacationed together and during the summers I was spending the night at her house or she was at mine. My aunt would take us shopping and we would "lunch" at the counter of the Woolworth's.  A dollar would pay for a day long adventure.  My only close encounter with a hurricane was with her, my uncle and cousin in Jacksonville Beach when I was about 10 years old.  Got out of town fast!

Over thirty years ago she beat cancer.  A strong woman she loved to garden and feed the birds.  We often talked about gardening and I think I got the love of the land from all the women in my family.
As she aged I saw her less but would send her cards and special things for birthdays and Christmas.  I know she is tired and ready to go on to be with her loved ones.  She is taking a part of my heart and I will miss her.

One thing I know, I am the woman I am today in part because of her.  I hope she knows how much I love her, how much I admire her and how much I will treasure the times we spent together.  I talked about her in my first blog - I consider her one of my "three moms" - my real one, my grandmother and my aunt.  Families who have that connection are blessed.   

So here is to Mary Etta.  Southern lady, musician, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, wife, sister, daughter and beloved aunt.

Poolside Punch and Girls Night

Last night was "girls night" at my house.  These are friends from my high school days and even further back than that!  Some of those "Southern Sisters" I talked about in my first post.

Since it was a glorious summer evening we floated in the pool for awhile, had wonderful appetizers and our summer cocktail.  When deciding what to make for that drink there were so many options out there but I knew I wanted something light and summery.  I opted for a wine drink instead of liquor.  Not being a fan of traditional sangria I knew I wanted to use white wine, again going for the
summery feeling.

So here is what I came up with and I must say it was delightful!

I will call it Poolside Punch.

Begin with fresh fruit of your choice.  I used the following:
1 pint strawberries washed and halved
2 kiwi peeled and sliced
1 naval orange peeled and cubed
1 nectarine peeled and cubed
1 peach peeled and cubed
1 mango peeled and cubed
red or white grapes

Make sure your fruit is cut into bite size pieces. 

For the wine I used:
2 bottles savignon blanc - (I bought Flip Flop brand, seemed appropriate)

1 bottle Peach Chardonnay - this adds a fruity blend to the wines without being too sweet since I am not a fan of really sweet drinks.  You could opt for a fruit flavored Riesling or Moscato to add lots of sweetness to your mix.

3 oz. Triple Sec or other orange flavored liqueur

Pour your wine and liqueur in a pitcher or drink dispenser and add all fruit except strawberries.  Do not add them until you are ready to serve.

Refrigerate for several hours in order for fruit and wine to meld flavors and chill.  Keep strawberries cold in their container.

When ready to serve add your strawberries and ladle or pour into glasses with some of the fruit and enjoy!

JUST CHILLIN!

Days Gone By..

Every city has a department store that is their own.  Ours was Rich's.  It was an Atlanta landmark for over 100 years and the downtown store was awe inspiring to this little girl when her mom would take her shopping there.  In my eyes it was the grandest place I had ever been.  It was more than a store it was magic.  Sadly like so many hometown stores it is gone but the memories of it remain.

The ladies who lunched would frequent the Magnolia Tea Room.  They ordered the famous chicken salad and frozen fruit salad plate.  I wonder just how many of those were served through the years - must be millions.  Of course every Atlanta bride wanted to hold her Bridal Showers or Bridesmaids Luncheon at the Tea Room.  It was a touch of elegance and grace that we all wanted.  To be served by the ladies in their perfect uniforms and starched white aprons made you feel like a princess. Having your food served on china and using linen napkins was a treat.

Frozen Fruit Salad
Before the store finally said goodbye to Atlanta the Magnolia Tea Room was extremely busy with everyone wanting to visit one more time.  I was fortunate to do that with my close friend and of course we ordered the chicken salad plate and iced tea.  What else?  I remember it like it was yesterday.  The restaurant was overflowing and everyone was dressed for the occasion.  That in itself was special because gone are the days of dressing up to go anywhere!  I miss that, but back to the Tea Room.  All the servers were so busy and we had waited for so long to get our table, I just wanted something to drink.  She never stopped to take our drink order so, I got up - with my friend's urging, and went to the tea pitcher.  Right then, in the middle of the Magnolia Tea Room this rather large woman who was our server asked me what I was doing!  When I told her, she promptly replied "You go sit down and I will bring you your tea."  Yes Ma'am.  I slunk back to my seat and was greeted with gales of laughter from my friend.  I wonder how many people who stood in those long lines to eat there once more has a story like that!  I still laugh every time I think about it.

My husband and I visit Chicago sometimes and we always go to Marshall Fields - which is now Macy's but don't say that to anyone who lives in Chicago.  Their beautiful flagship store is still standing, and their Walnut Room Restaurant is a must on any visit.  The food is amazing and so are the surroundings.  Especially if you visit during the holidays.  The tree is inside the two story restaurant and you will certainly wait for a table.  But, the best part is seeing the generations of families sharing their meals and taking photos.  They are dressed for the occasion and you can tell it is a tradition to make the trip to that store, that restaurant.  It makes me sad every time I go.  I miss our Rich's, I miss the Tea Room and the tradition that could still be a part of our lives in Atlanta.

There are many recipes on the Internet for the famous chicken salad and the frozen fruit salad.  I found many by typing in Rich's Tea Room Recipes.  Why not host your own luncheon with friends and make these wonderful dishes.  No paper plates or napkins please!  They deserve the good stuff.

Thanks for the Memories

How strange it seems that two of my childhood idols have passed away within days of one another.


  Yesterday we all read about the passing of American Bandstand legend Dick Clark.  The show began when I was just a small child, but I still watched it everyday...right after The Mickey Mouse Club!  Two staples on our black and white television.  I can remember watching the dancers and imitating them.  As I grew up American Bandstand was a part of my afternoon every weekday and through it I got to see my favorite performers of the times.  It was the one place you could see soul singers and rock and roll artists in one place.  My dream was to grow up and become a regular on American Bandstand!  Lofty goal to be sure, but I was in love with the boys and wanted to be just like the girls.  I had the moves down by then and the look with my flip hairstyle!  When they would do "The Stroll" I would do it right along with them in my living room and if I was lucky I could talk my mama into dancing with me.  We would jitterbug and stroll as if we were right in the studio.  My brother never wanted to dance so he would fold his arms and say no.  Mom quit dancing with me when the sixties hit and the music changed!  Now it was The British Invasion or the Motown Sound and the groups ruled the airwaves.  The dances had names like The Jerk, The Waitusi, The Frug, Bosa Nova, Mashed Potato and The Swim.  Good grief!



I will say she liked The Twist and if Chubby Checker was a guest on AB then she would watch and even my brother wasn't so stubborn about dancing because he sure liked to twist! We loved the "Rate a Record" segment because that is when we got to listen to a new song and give it a grade.  It was always fun to see if we agreed with the panel who was listening and giving their own grade.

So, leaving Mr. Clark and American Bandstand behind I fast forward to 1966 and the premiere of Dark Shadows.  I just read that Jonathan Frid, better known as the vampire Barnabus Collins passed away on April 13.  He is the other person I spoke about and when I read about his passing my first reaction was that I had lost a link to my grandmother and that is what prompted me to write this.  I would beat a path home from school everyday to watch this program with her.  We loved it and never missed it!  She and I would stop everything for those thirty minutes everyday.  So for all the Vampire Diaries and Twilight fans out there who think you are the first and that your vampire stories are something new... you are so wrong.  It all started when Willy Lumas went into the Collins family crypt that contained the coffin of Barnabus Collins and opened it!  I was hooked.  I remember the episodes like it was yesterday.  The characters are so fresh in my memory.  Angelique, Quentin, Roger, Carolyn, Maggie, Dr. Hoffman, Elizabeth, Victoria, Josette and of course Barnabus.

It was campy and filmed in black and white and I loved every single minute.  If you did not watch it then, this old series is worth a look on DVD.  I even read that four of the actors (Mr. Frid included) were given cameos in the upcoming Dark Shadows movie.  It was to be his last role and seems fitting.

It is sad when you read about the passing of a childhood idol, but these two coming within days really made me think about the role they both played in my life.  It is because of their shows and characters that I have these wonderful memories.

I suppose that is the best tribute anyone could offer them.  So, thank you for the laughter, the music, the drama and the memories.  RIP Dick Clark and Jonathan Frid.