Ratatouille

I become a very lazy cook in the summertime. Hence the lack of blog posts from the recipe files! 


When cooler temperatures set in and the Farmer's Market once again offers up a bountiful harvest of produce, that changes.


It is zucchini and yellow squash season and I couldn't wait any longer to make Ratatouille!


So what if, as the girls pointed out to me, Ratatouille is a fall kinda meal!


They wouldn't say the movie is only a fall kinda movie!

And I don't see why I have to wait for fall to make the meal! The produce is ready, I'm ready!


My Ratatouille, though I was inspired by the movie to make it, does not look a fancy as Remi's.

Isn't that lovely? 


Yeah, mine doesn't look like that. 


But it tastes as good as that looks!


In a dutch oven heat 1/3 cup olive oil over med-hi heat. Toss in 2 medium sized onions that have been chopped. Cook stirring occasionally until soft. About 5 minutes.

Add in 4 cloves of chopped garlic. Stirring, cook 1 minute. It will smell so good!!


Stir in 2 eggplants, 4-5 medium zucchini and/or yellow squash that have been cut into 1 inch cubes. (I skip the eggplant. My family doesn't like it.) Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Add 3/4 cup water to dutch oven, cover, simmer for 5 minutes, stirring once.


Stir in 3 yellow and/or red peppers, chopped. Cover and simmer 5 more minutes.

It's so pretty! 


I really like that this recipe works in 5 minute increments, allowing the perfect amount of time to chop up the next ingredient. 


Stir in a 28 ounce can of petite diced tomatoes and 1 teaspoon of dried thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to med-low. Simmer, partially covered and stir often for 15-20 minutes. Be sure to simmer gently or your vegetables will get too mushy. Mushy veggies are not good!

Finally, remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup fresh basil.


I use a teaspoon of dried basil when I don't have any fresh on hand...still good!


There you have it...Ratatouille. Yum!


However, the family likes me to add roasted chicken to the Ratatouille, 

and serve it over fettucini!


Voila!

Good stuff!!


And the girls thought I should wait for fall! bah!!


Christine


P.S. This recipe came from  Martha Stewart's Everyday Foods.


Thank you Martha Stewart!

Pears, pears, pears

We revel in swimming in my parents pool on hot summer days!

While we swim, we watch their pear tree, which if you look in the left hand corner of this photo you can see hangs over the pool, bring forth an abundance of delicious fruit.


I begin to feel like a kid riding in a car on a long road trip this time of year because I begin to ask my parents incessantly, "are they ready yet? Are they ready now?" It is very difficult to wait for that first bite of crisp, perfectly tree ripened pear! YUM!


Finally this weekend, it was time! YAY!


The Husband and I pitched in to help pick some pears.

We were just trying to be helpful. It's not like we just wanted to get our hands on some of those wonderful pears! We did want some, but we would have helped whether we got some or not! But I am really, really glad my parents share!! 

We got a basket full!

The best pears...hello beautiful... 

will be eaten as one of our favorite afternoon snacks!

The pears that are bruised or blemished we will make into Country pear cake or tarts! I can't wait!

Pear harvesting time is very good! And now my parents won't have to hear, "Are they ready yet?" for at least 7 more months!

Christine

Not how that was supposed to go

I began listening to talk radio when I became a stay-at-home mom. It kept me sane to hear adult conversations through long days full of baby noises and toddler talk!


I have continued to enjoy talk radio now that my girls are more grownup. Occasionally, they like to listen too.


Recently, I was listening while driving around accomplishing some errands. Because I was in and out of the car several times, I didn't catch the name of the person sharing his story on the radio, nor did I pay attention to what the radio program was. I would definitely give credit to the person if I had. I think he was very wise.


The speaker shared how he had begun to ask his sons, at bedtime, "how is your heart today? Are you happy, sad, did anything hurt your feelings today or bring you joy?"


I have always had little conversations with the girls before bedtime about their days, but I had never thought to ask, how is your heart. It sounded to me like a very wise and caring question and I decided that I was going to ask my girls how their hearts were that night.


Excited, and armed with this new question, that I was sure would allow me learn more about how the day affected my girls and what lessons, positive or negative, they took from it, I tucked Miss Emma Bean in bed, we prayed together, and I asked...


"How is your heart today honey?"

Miss Bean gave me an odd look, which I was okay with, this was an unexpected and slightly unusual question. I was still hopeful it would open the door to meaningful conversation about her life and how she was coping with what she thought was the good and bad of it.


Miss Bean stumbled a little with her response, saying, "my heart is happy...well, it was a little sad when Dad got mad at me tonight, but then it got happy again...why did you ask me that question?"


I explained to Miss Emma Bean how I had heard about a Dad who asked his kids the same question, and that I thought it was a good question to ask and that I care about her and wanted to ask her too.


I thought I gave a very good explanation and grinned broadly because I was sure she would feel sooo loved and before I could delve further into discussion about what made her happy and how she got in trouble and felt sad, she promptly said, "if you care so much, why haven't you ever asked me about my heart before!?"


Wha...


I...


I didn't know what to say! I could feel my brow pinching together in frustration as I thought about how to respond. This was not how the conversation was supposed to go! And a pinched brow is bad because the more often my brow pinches together the more likely it is that the creases it creates will be permanent!

And that is bad!!


Do you remember when you were a child and your Mother would tell you that if you kept making a goofy face, that one day your face would stay that way, and it never did stay that way? Well she meant after you turned 40!


With great effort I relaxed my brow and told Miss Emma Bean that it had never occurred to me to ask her about her heart until I heard the man on the radio talk about it and that I did care and always had and...


Here my friends is the point where I may have made a brilliant parental move, or I may have made a huge parental mistake! I suspect only time will tell.


...I said, "when was the last time you, Miss Bean, have ever asked how my heart is!?" I really couldn't believe I said it. I wondered immediately if it was a mistake! Yikes!!


My girl was thoughtful for a moment...

I love it when she's thoughtful! I think she looks lovely when she's thoughtful!


Her response was, "um...never I guess."


Yeeeaaaah! Okay so I didn't say that out loud, but I thought it!


That was the point when Miss Bean and I decided we would make a point of asking each other how our hearts were.


So, maybe the conversation did not go as I hoped it would. Parenting seldom goes the way we think it will! But maybe, it was exactly the conversation we needed to have. Now we both recognize the need to consider those we love and care about their hearts wellbeing. 


Mostly, I think it was good we had our little talk. I think. I hope!


Christine

Lazy days of summer

Finally they have arrived! 


They are what I look forward to each summer, yet every year they are more illusive than I expect them to be.


The calendar becomes filled with camps and activities, all fun and good, yet obstacles to what I crave. Hence my excitement that they are finally here...the lazy days of summer!! YAY!!


The weather is wonderful, low humidity, gorgeous sunshine and refreshing breezes. The calendar is cleared of most activities! Excellent!


Now, to my frustration, I am struggling to settle into the blissfully slow pace! snort!


I feel the need to keep going and doing even though this is exactly what I longed for during those final count down to summer, school days.


So, though it's a struggle, I am going to try to follow the example of this little guy.

He calmly sits and soaks up the sunshine most of the day! I am going to soak up the sunshine! 


I am going to take time to watch the Praying Mantises that have been doing a great job of devouring the unwanted bugs in the garden!

Can you believe how much they have grown?

Hello Mantis!

My goal is to not hurry for anything, just like the tomatoes in the garden, that seem to be in no hurry to ripen! Okay, patience in this instance is going to be very difficult, but I am going to try!

I am going to stop and smell the Sweet Peas...that took forever to grow and bloom this year. Not that I am complaining, because until now I didn't have the time to enjoy them!

And the girls and I are finally going to sit at the kitchen table and make friendship bracelets from the embroidery floss I hurried to prepare for them earlier this summer, because I was sure they would have time to make bracelets.

We will throw open the kitchen window and allow the lovely breeze to carry in the wonderfully sweet fragrance of the Hosta, whose blooms are ready to burst open any moment, into the room! 

I will enjoy the slowness of these lazy days of summer and I will pretend that school will not begin again, in three short weeks!! sniff!!


Christine

One more

I decided I had to post one more blog about our trip to Sioux Falls, South Dakota.


The city has put a lot of work into revitalizing and beautifying the Down Town area and I couldn't resist sharing it with you!

There are a variety of fun shops to visit. Even the girls enjoy the Down Town shops! Although they didn't find any fun trinkets they wanted to purchase this visit, which was too bad because Papa had given them a little shopping money and they were eager to spend it.

The Down Town area also has a delightful array of sculptures to enjoy while you stroll along the streets.

There are plenty of wonderful restaurants as well, but we didn't stop in for a bite so I got nothin' to show as far as that goes. But if you're okay with taking my word for it, "they've got good eats!"


Anyway, there you have it, lots of good reasons to visit Sioux Falls. Of course for us the best reason to visit is the time we get to spend with the family and friends we miss, because they live there and we live here, in Minnesota.

Christine

The falls

While in Sioux Falls we decided to stop for breakfast on Sunday morning at a donut shop the Husband frequented in his youth.


I was shocked when he shared with the girls and me that he and some friends would skip out of church to run across the street to get donuts from this shop! What!? Well I never! I also didn't have a donut shop across the street from my church to tempt me. 


The plan was to pick up donuts and go to the falls...Sioux Falls...yep there are falls...and eat our breakfast.

Well guess what? The donut shop is no longer open on Sundays! The owners were probably in church! Or maybe they got a cease and desist order for providing donuts to kids who sneak out of church!

We ended up getting breakfast from Starbucks! I didn't complain.

We took our breakfast to the falls, pulled up a rock, and enjoyed the beautiful view while we ate.

The city has done a great job improving the Falls park and it gets a lot of visitors.

When I saw these guys, I had to snap this photo. I know their friend wanted to get a shot of the backs of their jackets, but I thought they looked like they were going to pee in the river. I wasn't brave enough to yell, "Hey, no peeing in the river!" They may not have thought I was funny! They looked pretty tough and the Husband was still enjoying his breakfast, even though it was from Starbucks and not his favorite Daylight Donut shop, and he might have been upset if he had to defend his wife, in the middle of eating his breakfast, when she should have kept quiet! So I decided I would just share with you!

Anyway...

The falls are beautiful!

I highly recommend visiting if you're ever in Sioux Falls!

In case you were wondering, the Husband did eventually get a donut from his favorite shop! 

I think it was definitely a cease and desist order!

Christine

Slug Bug

The Husband likes to play Slug Bug. You know, the game in which the first person to see a Volkswagen Bug yells "slug bug" while slugging the person closest to them.


I DO NOT like to play Slug Bug!!


Do Not!


I like Volkswagen Bugs! They are very cute cars! I especially liked Herbie The Love Bug! Does anyone remember Herbie? Cutest Bug ever!

I don't like to play Slug Bug partly because I do not watch other cars while we are driving somewhere and I never see the Bugs first. NEVER! EVER! The Husband ALWAYS sees the cars first! grrrr! I prefer to watch the scenery while riding in the car or think deep thoughts! Yep, that's right, I spend my time in the car thinking deep thoughts. Occasionally daydreaming...mostly thinking deep and profound thoughts, unless I'm driving, then I watch the road! You are supposed to watch the road when you drive! You are NOT supposed to be looking for a reason to slug your spouse!


I also do NOT like to play Slug Bug because my Mother taught me that it is NOT nice to slug people! The Husband's Mother taught him as well, but apparently he did NOT listen!


I have told the Husband that I do not want to play Slug Bug! In fact, I told him, "I quit! I am out of the game!" I thought that would put an end to getting slugged each time he saw a Bug. NOT! He said it's fine if I quit, however he was still going to play. Meaning: I would still get slugged.


The game Slug Bug has had me very irritated for years now.


Our trip to South Dakota changed everything!


It started with an orange Volkswagen Bug I spotted along the freeway. 


I couldn't believe it! I saw it first! The Husband was  
a little irked that I saw the Bug and he did not. I was thrilled! He got slugged!


Then came this cute little red Bug.

Guess who saw this one first. ME!!! I was overjoyed! Two in a row! HA!!


Then a blue one. Me again! Yeah baby!


And this little red convertible.

Me again! I couldn't believe it! But I was liking it! Oh yeah!


And then, when I thought I must have seen every Bug in the city...

ME again!!! Take that!


This was when I began to understand the Husband's thrill of the Slug Bug game! And this is the point that the Husband became exceedingly annoyed.


I felt bad for the Husband. After years of getting slugged, I understood his frustration. So I told him that it was fine with me if he wanted to quit playing Slug Bug. I however, would continue to play, and then I rolled on the floor laughing!


Christine


P.S. Please note, Slug Bug is a game. No spouses are injured or abused while playing! It's irksome for the loser, but it's only a game!