Unhistoric Acts

basil, i love thee

This morning while I was watering my garden I thought to myself, "The basil is getting out of control. I need to make some pesto."

Then I pretended I was an Italian momma and got to work mixing up some pizza dough.

Luckily, several days ago, in anticipation of a bountiful basil harvest, I bit the bullet and bought the big bag of pine nuts from Costco. I don't have any real, factual knowledge about what is up with the scarcity of pine nuts, but I'm plain sick of it. If you want to buy half a cup of pine nuts at HEB, it'll run you $4.65. Ummm...no.

So I paid $22 at Costco for about 4.5 cups -- a better deal by far, but still.

I had also picked up the fresh mozzerella at Costo...the only place I've found that offers fresh mozzerella at a decent price.

All this to say...that when Jordan walked into the kitchen and saw the dough rising and the basil being pummeled into a million bits....she got pretty excited.

She told me, "I'm going to go upstairs and change and then come down and help you get these pizzas made." For those of you not fluent in Jordan-ese, this means, "I'm hungry. I want pizza right now."

And not one to turn down good help, I complied.

Stretch the dough, spread the pesto, scatter the cheese, layer the tomatoes. Eight minutes in the oven and voila! (Of course...previous to the voila you must make the dough, harvest the basil, make the pesto, slice the tomatoes, and shred the cheese. Easy...but a lot of steps).

And one more thing...

Remember about a week ago when I posted that my grill was not working right? And how it was driving me crazy? That same night I called Weber to ask about a repair center. I explained the problem, and the extremely helpful lady on the line told me she'd send me a new regulator free of charge. Even though we were no longer under warranty. Seriously?

So, now we are to install the new regulator and try it out. If the grill still has problems we're supposed to call them immediately! And you said customer service was dead.

real art

I can't believe I've forgotten to blog about my latest artistic purchase! While in Lampasas I found this incredible paint by number at my favorite junk store (home of the footed bowl and antique typewriter). Not only is it cool, it's impeccably painted, AND handsigned by "C. Copley 1962"!

I love imagining C. Copley -- the hours she spent getting the colors of the river just so. (I'm assuming C. Copley is a she because the signature looks rather feminine.)

I had originally planned to paint the frame, but now I'm having second thoughts.

I'm planning on adding it to this collage in the kids' gameroom (upstairs). I also have a big-ish mirror to add in and I'm afraid of the number of holes required to rearrange. I really need my resident hanger to help a sister out. (That resident picture hanger being my one and only.)

In other news, today I made two loaves of whole wheat bread from the Tassajara Bread Book. The book introduces a "method" for baking bread which includes making a "sponge" that really just consists of water, yeast, sweetener, and flour. All I know is that I'm having to beat the kids off the bread so it can cool JUST A TINY BIT. It's taken me all day (in short, concerted spurts) to make this bread, and they will finish it off in 20 minutes!

Talk about feeding my inner hippy. The Tassajara Bread Book is all about communes and ashrams and apparently ends with some hippies making a whole load of money off of this method for making bread. I've seen the book on a number of blogs and seeing as how I love baking bread ... I'm trying out the Tassajara for myself.

Yep, it's me, my dissertation research, and two hippy cookbooks. I'm workin' on the real me here folks.

healthy cooking and hippy aspirations

I ordered Super Natural Every Day sometime in early May. I had come across rave reviews of the recipes on at least ten blogs that I read regularly. And I'm totally into following the pack. So I decided I needed to check out this natural foods cooking. Heidi Swanson, the author, has a quite-famous blog called 101 Cookbooks, and while I perused the beautiful pictures on the site...it all seemed Greek to me. When I read Pioneer Woman Cooks I know immediately what she is talking about. Many of her recipes are like the food my own Momma cooked for me growing up. The ingredients, the methods...it's all familiar and comfortable. 101 Cookbooks uses some familiar and some not-so-familiar ingredients. Also, it's all vegetarian. Really, I'm not sure what the deal is with my brain block...but I needed to look through the entire book.

Apparently the cookbook is like #6 right now on the New York Times Bestseller list, so there were some glitches in catching up with demand. Last week, FINALLY, my book came. And I got right down to business. Friday night I made Weeknight Curry (I don't seen this exact recipe on her site, but there are a ton of curry recipes). I wasn't sure how the kids would respond to zucchini, cauliflower and asparagus all dressed up with coconut milk and curry paste. But, boy howdy! They scraped the pan and were asking for more. It was super good and super quick and easy. Point 1 for super natural.

Saturday, I grabbed Becca and Maddie and we headed down to Whole Foods. Heidi Swanson buys her ingredients from farmer's markets in San Francisco. Ummmm. Not happening in suburban Houston (unfortunately). At Whole Foods I scored some coconut oil (although Heidi calls for extra virgin coconut oil -- I'm working with what I've got here). I also found dandelion greens! There's a recipe in the book that calls for dandedlion greens. I excitedly showed Sterling, and he was all, "You have to pay for those?" Umm...yes.

Also got some fennel (which they have at HEB, by the way). Guess what I found out yesterday? I don't like fennel. I don't like how it smells, and I'm not super crazy about the way it tastes. Me and fennel? We're not really pals. What I did like? This Farro and Millet Risotto. Except I couldn't find any farro, so I subsituted with pearled barley. WHERE DOES ONE BUY FARRO? I topped the risotto with roasted summer squash (FROM MY GARDEN, BOOYAH) and asparagus. And chives (FROM MY GARDEN) and curried brown butter. It was great. And healthy. And the whole family loved it. Point 2.

I have to tell you, I'm pretty stoked about the natural foods. They are tasty and satisfying and (so far) relatively easy to prepare. Also, they completely fit in with my hippy aspirations. Oh Birkenstocks! Where art thou????

some really bad pictures of a really great day

Even though we'd planned a really scaled-down anniversary, the day turned out marvelously.

Isn't it funny how that happens?

It seems like the times you plan, and work, and organize, and scheme to HAVE THE MOST FUN EVER...things go awry. And those times when you just decide to go to dinner, go with the flow, hang out...those are the best days. Call it karma. That's mostly how things work for me.

First off...Sterling went to work, so Debbie and I went for pedicures. And I brought the girls along. Wee! Hurray for multiple pedicures (and one manicure...Jordan's poor eczema can't handle the pedicure ritual).

There was one mishap. After pedicures, Jordan, Madison and I had ordered up some eyebrow waxing. I think it's pure torture, but I endure it. Madison has super CURLY eyebrows...so it's a must for her. Rebecca, seeing as how she is only 13, had never had an eyebrow wax before. She didn't REALLY need it since her eyebrows are rather light/blond-ish, but she's keen on the beauty treatments and I didn't want her to feel left out. So I told her she could have them waxed if she wanted to.

I'm moving along as though everything is peachy-keen. My pedicure-lady (aesthetician?) led me back to the waxing room. She opened the door, and there was my little Becca, sitting up on the table, bawling her eyes out. It hurt! And she didn't enjoy the HURT! So much for indulging the girlies.

After the salon the girls and I headed home to meet up with Sterling. I had already made reservations at Vic & Anthony's for dinner. (For you fellow Houstonians...head downtown...it's off Texas across from Minute Maid Park). We like a good steak and V & A's (not to be confused with the Victoria and Albert) did not disappoint -- thicky juicy steaks, some red snapper, and a humongous chocolate cake. Happy Anniversary to us!

But wait...the day was not over.

We arrived home to this:

ANNIVERSARY CUPCAKES!!

I know, the lighting was terrible at 10:30 last night, but I had to document this fantastic gift. After we left for the restaurant, my girls threw it into high gear and made us these uber-tasty cinammon roll cupcakes -- with cupcake toppers that spell out 'Happy Anniversary,' and other toppers with pics of Sterling and I.

I was blown away. It was so thoughtful. So much work. So, so sweet. You know what? It's pretty fun to have crafty offspring.

Also fattening. But that's another story for another day.

 

anniversary #21 (yikes!)

Here we are. June 23, 1990...toasting with PUNCH! I was only 19 anyway...so punch was fine for a number of reasons. Aren't we adorable? So innocent. So naive. So unaware of what life would throw at us...and how we would handle it.

Like that time when Sterling was out of work and he had a giant tumor on his carotid artery and then the ENTIRE motor had to be replaced on our car.

Yep. Good times.

But even with that, I think we've had an exceptional 21 years...filled mostly with joy and only sprinkled here and there with frustration (like practically brand new grills that don't work properly).

After our June wedding, Sterling and I stayed in Houston to work for another month before heading back up to BYU (with a week-long pit stop in Hawaii for our HONEYMOON!). Because we had been unable to secure an apartment before leaving Provo for the summer, Sterling's dad put down a deposit on an apartment for us while he was in Utah (for what reason I know not). From what I remember we gave him 2 or 3 places to look at. We were desperate and not too picky.

So, near the end of August we loaded up a tiny U-Haul trailer with all of our wedding gifts (and a newly upholstered PINK sofa) and drove our new, red Ford Ranger (courtesy of Sterling's dad) up to Provo. We stayed the first night with my Aunt Mary and woke up the next morning eager to check out our new digs. We picked up our keys and made our way to our new apartment. Our first apartment together. My very first grown-up apartment WITH MY HUSBAND.

It was a dump.

I cried for a while.

Sterling told me we could forfeit our deposit and find something else.

But...I'm a pragmatist if nothing else. I knew there would be nothing to rent in Provo in late August. I decided to move in and make the best of it for the moment.

We lived in the Moonriver Apartments for two years (the pic is of us outside our 2nd story apartment). We LOVED it. Sterling eventually got a job as the apartment manager. To this day I can hardly utter the words Moonriver without getting a lump in my throat. It's where my marriage started. Where I finished my degree. Where I figured out a whole host of things...not the least of which is that if you eat frozen burritos nonstop you may gain a few pounds.

And really, when I think of each of the houses we've lived in since the Moonriver...I get that same lump in my throat. They've all been great. They've all been real homes...because Sterling and I were there together. Working together.

21 years? Ha! That's nothing...We're just getting warmed up.

Happy Anniversary Babe!

summer day

Ahhhh. Summer. I love it more each year.

My all-time favorite season is definitely Fall. I love the colors and the cooler weather and BACK TO SCHOOL. I love new school clothes and new school supplies. I love new schedules and new regimes wherein I commit to be the best Sarah ever. It's the new year to me.

But today. Today I snuck out of bed at 6:50 and crept into my office for some quiet hours of working on my dissertation. I need to work early around here because a) my kids usually have some rowdy plans that require my participation and b) I'm too tired in the evenings for thinking-type work. So early works great for me.

Then I went to some nurseries with my Mom. And then we met my Dad for lunch. And then I went home, fed Parker a corn dog, and read some more (FOR MY DISSERTATION EVEN). It was all so low key and noncommittal. I love noncommittal. Yep, summer is working for me.

Then I decided on a summery dinner -- hamburgers on the grill and this exceptionally delicious charred corn salad from Shutterbean. Except our darn grill is giving me fits. I become outrageously grumpy when appliances don't work properly, and this grill was doing a number on me. When we bought the grill two summers ago I did my research. I read all about grills and decided on a Weber. Seriously, I don't think the thing has ever worked properly. Sterling even replaced the regulator on Saturday and there is still a problem. I'm tempted to trash the whole thing and start over, but it was pretty pricey and I'm afraid I'm going to have to perform my due diligence and try to fix it. Argh. So my corn, which should have been charring was sitting. And my burgers, which should have been sizzling, were just sort-of cooking. We finally got the darn things cooked...but my 'I LOVE SUMMER' demeanor had fizzled into....lets-just-make-it-through-dinner.

Really, I shouldn't let things bug me. But man, DO THINGS EVER BUG ME.

I'm fine now. Sitting in my dark study, listening to my kids and their friends play games upstairs. I hope Sterling knows he's on late duty.

Honey?

HONEY????

happy father's day!!

We've just finished our father's day feast. TOO MUCH FOOD. Typically Sterling does the dishes on Sundays, but it being father's day and all, I suppose I'll have to rally the troops in a minute.

First of all, Happy Father's Day to my own Dad. I gave him a book about Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie. I got some good literary genes from my dad who introduced me to the likes of Bob Dylan and O. Henry and Carl Sandburg. My sister and I worked for hours to memorize "The Man With the Broken Fingers." The words haunt me still. You have to read it. Also, thanks to my dad for taking me to the zoo, and The Spagetti Factory, and for buying me Cole Haan penny loafers (mostly because he didn't want to continue shopping for Bass)!

And a big shout-out to my own honey, who is an incredible dad to our kids.

He spent the whole day yesterday making all of Parker's dreams come true. They got up early Saturday morning and had breakfast at Denny's and then got in some target practice at the gun range. This was Parker's first time at the gun range, and he was in HEAVEN. I hate guns, and I especially hate guns near my baby...but I kept my opinions to myself and as a result Parker had a VERY GOOD TIME. After the gun range Sterling took Parker down to the Natural History Museum and then out to dinner. Parker had requested some months ago that they have a father/son day together. Sterling put it on his calendar and kept his word faithfully. He's a good dad like that.

In fact, he works hard to make sure everyone in our family gets special opportunities and experiences. He cares little (if at all) for material goods but makes sure his girls have the things they need and want. And he's handy. Boy is he handy. Yesterday, for instance, after his day with Parker, he came home to replace a broken sprinkler head and a faulty regulator in our grill. He's all about taking care of business. I'm just grateful that his business includes taking care of me and our kiddos. We are a lucky bunch.

Love you honey!

 

 

PEONIES! at Kroger!!

As you might know, peonies are in season at the moment. I see them everywhere on the Internet...stacked dozens high at flower stalls in Paris, growing in abundance on bushes in bloggers' front yards, in bouquets, everywhere. They mock me. I love peonies, and while I'm sure they are present somewhere in the Houston metro area, they have never been, UP TO NOW, found in my frequent haunts. Now, it's a given that my haunts are not really peony material. I mostly buy my flowers at local supermarkets.

Right before checkout today (wherein I was buying the food for father's day dinner) I swung through the flower department and just happened upon a few bunches of peonies. I was all like, "Are those really peonies?????" And then I read the tag and it said "PEONIES." And then I thought to myself, "PEONIES!!!"

And then I bought a bunch.

Wow. This is a keep-you-on-the-edge-of-your-seat story.

So now I have peonies. I love that big, fluffy flower and feel some sense of unity with the rest of the peony-loving world. I also have some lovely steaks, artichokes, potatoes, tomatoes, and all the fixin's for homemade cheesecake. We are having a rather low key father's day...but it will be filled with good food for our super dad...who at this very minute is spending the day with Parker at the Natural Science Museum -- that's dedication for you.

Hope your Saturday is fluffy and pink...

napkins and potatoes: a retrospective

For several months I've had it in my mind to buy a gross of cloth napkins. I'd like to switch to cloth AT LEAST for dinners, thereby reducing unnecessary waste. Also, good table linens just make everything nicer and more homey. If I'm going to invest my time in shopping and cooking healthy meals...then I want an aesthetic accompaniment. You might be thinking about the laundry involved in this little change up. Me too. But so far so good. And it's been an entire week, so I'm more than qualified to judge.

I searched far and wide for cool cloth napkins. Far and wide on the Internet...which means I never had to leave my comfy study. For a while I even entertained the idea of making my own, but if you buy awesome fabric to MAKE the napkins...then you aren't saving any money really. Then, one lucky day, I happened across Oh Little Rabbit's screen printed napkins. These were just what I was looking for -- fun, graphic, and interesting. I ordered up a bunch just in time for my dinner party (including a set of orange bicycle napkins which (for some reason) didn't make the picture). Honestly, I love them. I may order more...depending on how the laundry situation works out. We have twenty now, so I'll have to see. I used 18 for the dinner party and threw them all in one load the same night. I wanted to wait up for them so I could take them out of the dryer while they were still warm (to avoid ironing...which I hate with a wild passion), but I was so tuckered from cooking...that I left them all alone in the depths of the dryer. The next morning I pulled them out and folded them up. The picture above was taken post-dryer. As you can see...no iron needed. And come on, who doesn't want a napkin with a vintage VW bus? No one I know anyway.

As for the potato fiasco?

One day up at camp I was going to serve baked potatoes for lunch. I'd bought the big momma potatoes from Costco and all the fixin's. Here's where you will see my utter stupidity for what is was (that being -- utter stupidity). I reasoned that normally it takes an hour to bake potatoes, so I'd allow double the time for so many potatoes (that were SO BIG).

UM. No. It actually takes about 4 hours. Quadruple time. So, so stupid.

Imagine me and 26 hungry teenage girls. I'm poking those potatoes. I'm moving them around a 500 degree oven. I'm sweating. I'm cursing (in my head). I'm utilizing the 15 year-old, 20 watt microwave oven intermittently. And still...those poor girls ate half baked potatoes. They were so sweet about it. They insisted they were fine. Just today Jordan told me it was her favorite meal.

But I'm here to tell you those potatoes were like rocks.

And I was shamed to the very core of my inner chef.

I think my formerly glorious relationship with the potato might be permanently damaged.

um....er....

tap, tap...is this thing on???

Alright then. I'm back.

Contrary to popular belief (popular meaning my brother, Luke), I have NOT been sitting around doing nothing. I have been doing many, many things which have precluded my presence on the computer. I know. It feels blasphemous even as I type it, but I've been away from the computer. I am certainly not quite myself.

Last week we had some lovely guests come into town (my two Aunts from Utah,) and I accompanied them (and my mother) to the country estate in Lampasas for a few days. Here I watched and listened to the three sisters tell about their childhoods, Houston in the "good old days," squirrely neighbors, intersting churchfolk, and trashy relatives -- all subjects I highly recommend (particularly the trashy relatives). Yep, I left my kids and hubs behind and took off with the women. I figured such a gathering might not present itself again, and I wanted an up close and personal look at the women-folk who came before me. I returned home with more vim and vigor (if that's even possible) and a commitment to forge valiantly ahead (at what...I'm still not entirely decided).

Here are the three infamous sisters (Rebecca, Mary, and Judy):

Once home on Friday and I had to kick things into high gear. I had promised a family dinner party on Sunday and then to attend our church girls' camp on Monday. I started making lists and buying food. Oh, and cleaning my house. Dinner parties require clean houses.

For some reason, the dinner party deco  ended up with a lot of green and yellow and just the tiniest bit of turquoise. (The paper lanterns came from Hobby Lobby.) It all started with this image:

Image via marthastewartweddings.com

I wanted something summery, and this lemonade spoke to me. I opted for green instead of gray...because I have a lot of green in my house, but otherwise...I wanted those cool bottles...and the paper straws...and the lemonade.

I ordered up the bottles. And the straws. The bottles? They arrived ONE DAY AFTER the party. Typical. But my next dinner party? Bottles are ready to go.

As for food, I served grilled chicken and beef skewers. I included squash, zuchinni, mushrooms, red onion, bell peppers, and cherry tomatoes and marinated it in an Italian dressing from Our Best Bites. The recipe is not from their site (but from their cookbook) and is good enough to drink as a beverage. In fact, it's worth buying the book just for the dressing recipe. I also served PW's sundried tomato risotto. I was a little worried about the cooktime since I doubled the recipe...but it all turned out just fine. There was watermelon (no recipe needed), what I like to call THE BIG SALAD, Brazilian lemonade (NOT in the bottles I paid for and had shipped to my home), and THE CAKE.

The cake is Stephmodo's triple layer coconut cake with homemade lemon curd and cream cheese frosting. You must make the lemon curd the night before. I only tell you this because I am TERRIBLE about reading through entire recipes and thus often have to abandon plans that include "night before cooking"...when I'm in the throws of "day of" cooking. Otherwise, this is a straightforward, mighty tasty cake. Also, I'm now a big fan of the cake banner. It's festive and aesthetically pleasing and only takes about five minutes. Those are my three current requirements for cake deco. No, I didn't save the banner for next time. But I considered it.

I also painted some old Barilla sauce jars in lieu of expensive, antique vases (pronounced with a short o). This involves simply pouring paint into the jar and rolling the jar around until all surfaces are covered. Allow at least three days for these to dry. I allowed one day...and well, they will need some definite touch ups.

After the dinner party, Sterling washed the dishes, I dried...and then I started madly packing up the kitchen for cake.

Up tomorrow on UnhistoricActs...How I served raw potatoes to 35 people. It was semi-tragic. Stay tuned.