IT is ALL about the FOOD!

I downloaded some recent shots realizing they are all pictures of food! I guess it is because I am a week and a half into an attempt to eat better food. I don't want to call it a diet, but I wouldn't mind losing a few pounds. I have a birthday coming up and want to start the year off feeling well. Anyway, I digress...

Last weekend is rained Saturday and Sunday. I recruited Peanut to help me make banana bread. I resort back to an old simple recipe. It was fun to have a helper. He did most of the work. We have a nut allergy preventing them from being added to the bread. Normally, I add chocolate chips. Peanut opted to leave the bread plain. The Big Guy's breakfast bread was quite yummy this week!

I even let Peanut break the eggs. That is a hard skill to teach. Some shell may have fallen in to the mix. Fortunately, we use a food processor to make it. The shells don't stand a chance to the Cruisanart. No one has tasted anything crunchy in the bread yet!

Look at how beautiful the loaves look. I think I'll keep him around to help me.

I used the mustard greens from the farmer in this recipe. It was very good. I am sure the bacon added something to it. The boys would not touch it. The Big Guy and I reheated it a few nights later. It still tasted good.

We picked up some shrimp from Costco last weekend. I am trying not to think about their carbon footprint. I think they came all the way from Thailand! Seafood is not the easiest thing to get living in the middle of the country. I marinated some veggies and the shrimp in a regular Italian dressing. I skewered them cooking them on the grill. This is a Becky meal. We used to have it quite a bit. Now that the weather is turning to summer, we may just eat this more often. I added the leftover veggies to mixed greens for lunch a few days. Yummy!

I saw this recipe and decided to try it. I think I cooked mine a bit too long. I was trying to time it for when the boys walked through the door. It was very hot! Everyone kept blowing and blowing in an effort to get it to cool off. The Big Guy liked it and ate it all. Peanut picked around it. I ate about half. I just could not get beyond the egg sitting there. I only started eating scrambled eggs a few years ago. If you need an economical impressive dish, this recipe just may do it. We had crusty bread on the side. That was the best - dipping the bread in the tomato/cheese mix.

This week I picked up CSA #3. It all looks wonderful. I think the strawberries are already history. I am not sure about the collard greens, but will do some research.

The turnip was included. I just forgot to include it in the picture:(

I think that is the end of the food pictures! Thanks for making it this far. I got a Mother's Day gift early from Peanut. He wrapped it all by himself.

They made these in class. At first, I thought I could use it for a coaster, but learned it is not sealed. I think I will just put it up on my dresser. I love it.

Happy Mother's Day to all! I am hiding my head from my mom as her gift is still on my knitting needles. I hope she understands. She will get a treat in the mail later in the week. The boys are out shopping for me right now. The Big Guy promised it was just something small. I'd love to be a fly on the wall. We are thinking about going to Fiddler on the Roof tonight as an early Mom's day event. It has gotten rave reviews and I want to see it. I'll let you know!

CSA #2 for 2009

On Wednesday, I picked up my second bag of produce from the farmer. The Farmer's Market at the Botanic Gardens is now open! Spring is definitely here! We just did not get to enjoy much of it as it rained all weekend. That's another story. We were thrilled with our treats in our bag. We got sweet potatoes, onions, mustard greens, collard greens, strawberries and honey. The berries did not last long in the house. I made a recipe with the mustard greens that included bacon, corn meal, and onion. It was pretty good. We just could not convince the boys to take a bite.

The story of the honey was detailed in the farmer's email. I thought I'd copy it in here for you.

In case you guys didn't know we have bee hives on our property. Peace Bee Farms, out of Proctor, Arkansas, is owned and operated by Richard & Rita Underhill. They are two of the sweetest people you would ever want to meet. They keep bees the Amish way and use absolutely no synthetic materials when working with their bees. Richard is the president of the Tennessee Beekeepers Association and also keeps bees at the Memphis Botanic Garden. We truly feel blessed to have their hives out here at the farm. What started out as a simple experiment bloomed into something much more. Last year was a phenominal year for both farming operations, and wouldn't you guess that Peace Bee collected hundreds and hundreds of pounds of delicious honey from the hives located here! It was so exciting to witness throughout the growing season. This week you will be receiving honey that was made in our hives. You'll actually be tasting honey from the fruits of Whitton Farms labor! Hope you like it!

How cool is that? I just wish I liked honey. I have to find some folks who are really into it and see what they think.

Peanut had some friends over on Friday night. The boys went to a talent show at their school. The teachers do all the skits. It was very enjoyable. Other than that, we are trying to stay dry. Pumpkin had to volunteer at the local Fair on the Square yesterday. It rained the entire time. He was soaked by the time he got home. I feel sorry for the vendors. I can't imagine that many folks showed up. They say the rain is out of here tomorrow. I'll be cutting the grass. I know all this rain is making it grow rapidly!!! Have a good one!

Super Duper Sunday!

We got up early and rode our bikes to 8am mass. It brought back memories as the boys and I used to ride that way to and from school when they went to parochial schools. Back then, I had to ride leisurely making sure Peanut could keep up with us. No more! All three of the boys were waiting for me at the top of the hill. I was sort of strolling to stay pleasant for church. But, there is no question any more. They are faster bike riders than I am. The Big Guy is so understanding. He doesn't seem to mind waiting for me. He just tells me to keep riding and not worry about the speed.

The Big Guy rode back up to church to pick them up from PRE. I stayed home getting breakfast ready. We ate outside! It was lovely. The sun was not baking us and the flies haven't gotten the message yet. We had muffins, scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon, and fruit with yogurt.

Pumpkin's expression looks like he is worried about the food. He ate it all! I think he was embarrassed that I would be taking a picture. You'd think they'd know by now that I like to take photos for this blog. I like seeing his reflection in the table.

We took a break about a month ago from fruit and yogurt. That was a breakfast staple. We switched to cereal just for a change. I was glad to have the fruit back and enjoyed every bite of it! Berries are ripe in our area. Yum! Yum!


We spent the rest of the day in the yard. We cut the grass. We edged. We weeded the beds and said goodbye to the pansies. We planted coleus, calladiums, and begonias in the front beds. In between, the boys got their hair cut and Peanut went to soccer practice. The Big Guy installed a metal protector on our back screen door. We hope it keeps Buddy from scratching through the screen. As I mentioned, the weather has been fabulous. We have to take advantage of having the windows open. We only get a few days before the A/C runs regularly. We were spent by the end of the day.

I rallied grilling chicken breasts for dinner. I tried a very simple kale recipe sauteing it in olive oil, wine, garlic, salt and pepper. It was not that bad. I just needed to cook it longer. I have another bunch to make for dinner tomorrow. It does make a difference having the fresh veggies. This kale looks beautiful.

We had a fabulous Sunday. There are very few days where the weather is bearable and the bugs are at bay. We took advantage of it!

As a footnote, the rest of the weekend was pretty uneventful. The Big Guy and I had a romantic (Ha!) grocery shopping trip on Saturday night. It was nice to have company. He quickly reminded me that I'd have four extra hands in just about a month. Where has this school year gone??

Off to take advantage of the week. We are trying this for dinner. I am worried that my accompanying bread is not crusty enough. We'll see how it goes. The house smells like garlic which is in the dish. Oops! I have to sing tonight! I hope it is not too bad.

CSA Starts on Earth Day

It doesn't get much better! I got my first sack from the farmer today! They are otherwise known as Jill & Keith. I was on the ball this year and joined the CSA from the start of the season. I'm set for 25 weeks and am very excited to eat the locally grown veggies. Look at what was in today's sack. I have a weakness for fruit. My mouth is watering looking at those strawberries. They will be great with dinner. I need to find a recipe for the kale. It looks lovely. I hope I can make it taste good too! Those are fresh salad greens right from the field. What a wonderful salad that will make!

I've had a headache the last few days. It is not necessarily painful just very annoying. I thought it was a migraine and stayed home from choir rehearsal on Monday. It sort of went away on Tuesday, but came back today. I don't have lots of experience with migraines but my sisters do. Today I am thinking it is all sinus related. I tried a decongestant but it did not help. I don't do well with those anyway. Pumpkin came home not feeling the best. He has a scratchy throat and larnygitis. So, I think this may all morph into a head cold. I pulled the "my head is hurting" card and got the boys to help me with dinner.

I noticed in the picture that Peanut has pen on his left pinky finger. He is left-handed just like me. I remember always having ink from my school work on my hand. You had to be so careful not to smudge it. The spiral notebooks made it even more of a challenge.


With very little help, they got the chicken potpie made. It is cooking right now and the house smells good. This was on the menu from last week. I have to admit the weather is a bit warm for chicken potpie. I think it will taste great - as I did not have to make it. Pumpkin cut the slits in the top before Peanut wanted him to. Peanut wanted the slits to be in the shape of a smiley face. I know he is loving life. The weather is fabulous. He doesn't have practice and is outside enjoying this Earth Day!

I check in to Mark Bitten's blog regularly. This post got me thinking. I am a veggie lover and considered the vegetarian thing many times. When I was pregnant, I craved red meat. Go figure! With the CSA back in swing, I may just investigate more vegetarian options. I think one of the largest hurdles is getting protein in my kids' diets. And, the fact that one of them loves his steak. I think we could reach a middle ground. I'll see what I come up with - once this headache goes away!!!

Buddy's Life!

The other morning Buddy was caught red-handed. You would think he is too old to love a roll. No such luck! Every once in awhile, he finds a treasure. We don't normally catch him in the act. We normally see a few remains on the carpet. We love the look in his eyes as he knows he is doing something wrong.

Later in the day, I found him on his bed - well, sort of. Good thing that chair is there to support his paw!

Yesterday was a big day for Buddy. He got trimmed sporting a short cut for the summer. We went for a shorter walk this morning. I think it wore him out. I found him by the front door completely relaxed. Is this position really comfortable? I can't imagine the hard wood is the place of choice to sleep. His bed is just around the corner. Perhaps, it is the sun. He is too funny!

Totes for HATCH

My friend, Beth, asked me to make some totes to sell in her studio, HATCH. I was honored! This is my first step into the business of selling my "art." How exciting! I actually felt like it all came full circle as my mom used to make things for a consignment shop many moons ago.

I am pleased to reveal the fruits of my labor. The lighting was not the best on this cloudy day. The totes just fit on my mantle.

Months ago, I participated in a fabric square swap. I am pleased to say that I made a big dent in my squares with these bags. I love how each one is unique.



The totes are all packed and ready to make the trip to Pennsylvania. I even ordered business cards to slip in the pocket inside each bag. I had fun making these. I have three here at home that I use for my knitting. But, they can carry anything. They just make me smile and hope they make others smile too!

Easter Snapshots

This year I remembered to dye eggs. Hardboiled eggs are not a favorite in this house, but I boiled up a little under two dozen limited by the size of the pot. The boys each had a friend over on Friday and they went to town with the eggs.

The whole thing morphed into a science fair project mixing colors, varying times and coloring their fingers! Peanut's cuticles are still blue!!

The results were beautiful. That's the pleasure of coloring eggs. They all seem to come out pretty in their own special way.

The Big Guy and I watched Slumdog Millionaire last night. It lived up to the awards that it received. It gets you thinking and still meets this idealist's expectations. We drug ourselves out of bed for the sunrise Easter mass. This is a favorite of mine. This morning it was about 50 and the sky was gorgeous. We had our fleece blankets but did not need as much to keep warm. I love my wrap - all the way from Hong Kong. Justine, thank you! Do you believe I have pants that match perfectly?

Can't tell the boys are saying cheese, huh?

After mass we headed to a new place for breakfast. It was okay. The place we went to last year was only serving brunch later in the morning. It was a bummer. I'll have to keep my ears open for a place for next year. We stopped by to say hello to my inlaws and drop off some Dinstuhl's sugarfree chocolates.

When we got home, we changed to take Buddy to the dog park. None us really paid attention to the weather. The clouds were quite ominous in the direction of the park. We came up with plan two and went to a local park with lakes. That dog did not miss a beat. This is his first time swimming this season and he loved it. It is fun even though he is the ugliest dog with wet hair. We saw these tracks while we were there. I know the first one is from deer, but have to investigate the second one.


I cooked a late lunch/early Easter dinner. It was yummy. The boys et al love ham. It is not my favorite but I appease them once a year on Easter. They will be eating ham sandwiches all week for lunch! I decided to use up some of the eggs trying my hand at deviled eggs. We ate a few. They were not a big hit. It must be that I did not have any paprika. I think I will drive them over to my father-in-law who really likes them.
We all saved some room for dessert. Peanut and I made the Icebox Cake yesterday. Buddy wanted to help too! He just about got a bite of the cookie.


It is only late afternoon and it feels like evening. I'm not used to this early rising bit. We are finishing out the day watching the Masters. That always brings back memories of my first pregnancy. I had an amnio done thirteen years ago on the Wednesday before the Masters. It seems like all we did that weekend so long ago was sit on the couch and watch golf. They all turned into happy memories as we were blessed with a very healthy boy!