Garden Critters

Short post today because I have some cute pictures to share. 

Here are some adorable little friends I have encountered in my garden this season. 

This poor little guy slammed into our front windows. He was pretty dazed and was willing to hop on my hand. I put him up in a tree to keep him away from the mean old cat next door. 

Gulf coast ribbon snake (or Texas Patchnose snake?)
 I think its hole flooded, because this was a few hours after we had 3 inches of rain.
 He climbed up on the window sill of our screen porch. 

Tree Frog hiding inside a corn stalk.

Rough earth snake. I see him or his friends often when I move pots around.
 They hang out under pots, and hold very still when spotted, but as soon as you look away, they disappear. 

Berwyn says: Where'd my squirrel go, you guys? 

New Year, New Everything!

Wow. I have been avoiding writing a post for almost a year. I didn't know how to say that I've changed careers and I love it, even though I mourn the loss of my identity as a teacher. I found it hard to say that I'm finally Home when I feel like that's betraying the homes I have loved and the friends I have made for 10 years away from good old Fort Bend County. But being home is good. I love seeing my parents for more than just a weekend at a time. I love that I was able to be by my grandmother's side for the last few months of her life.  I love having a job that I wait eagerly all weekend to get back to on Monday. And I love sinking back into the welcoming arms of the church I've grown up in. I also love my screen porch.







Since transitioning from "Teacher" to "Office Manager of a Law Firm", I have learned an entirely new set of skills but I feel like this is what I was always supposed to be doing. I work with my husband and two other wonderful people and we are helping people. Really, tangibly helping people when they need it. It's pretty damn cool.


Talkie talkie talkie. What I really want to do, instead of reflect on or summarize the past (yikes!) 10 months since I last posted, is jump right into the good stuff. Garden! Cooking! Adorable puppy! I'll try to keep back up with the blog and show you pictures of what I've been up to in the garden and kitchen departments, with some gratuitously cute dog pictures thrown in. Like this one.

Berwyn and new friend Mo hang out on the patio. 

Spring!

Back yard picnic!

I am very, very thankful for the extremely mild winter we had. We didn't even have a hard freeze. I never had to wrap pipes! We didn't have a day so cold that water stopped running in the kitchen sink! Our first two winters in Waco were brutal, with $450 electrical bills and missed days of school (which had to be made up by extending the school year.)
Despite what the Groundhog told us last month, we never did get a terrible winter. I kept saying "it's not too bad now, but wait until February!" But the bitter cold never came. Hooray!
Now, what have we been doing to capitalize on this unseasonably pleasant winter? (Real spring doesn't start until March 20.)

Airsoft! 

I have actual strawberries growing that survived all winter.

Berwyn is enjoying playing soccer in the yard.

Super awesome fighter jet kite with tiger stripes and flames. 


Another thing: There's this Blog. Flylady.net. It has all these ideas for how to build routines that keep your house clean. (Like cleaning your sink every night.) It's a pretty intense schedule, and although they mention things like school and work, it's really made for SAHMs. I can't wait to be one and have a morning routine that consists of getting dressed, starting some laundry, and eating a balanced breakfast. Hmm. 

Tortilla Soup

This has been a delightful, spring-like break from winter this week. Temperatures have crept back up into the 70's and more often than not, the sun has been out. This isn't usually what I think of as soup weather, but the February issue of "Everyday Food" had a section on variations on Chicken Soup, so I had to try this one. It was even the cover recipe.
I wanted to make something very special for SexyLawyerMan for our 11th dating anniversary (January 5) but it was my first day back to school with kids, and he was busily studying for the Bar Exam, so I decided that an easy, experimental soup was the plan. Lucky for us, this one was really, really good. It also kept beautifully and it served us lunch for a few days. It's pretty spicy. By that I mean I'd classify it as a "Pace Picante Sauce Medium" level. Spicy for me, but I'm a Spice Pansy.

 Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup
In a large pot, heat 3 t. vegetable oil. Saute 2 cloves minced garlic until fragrant, 30 seconds. Add 1 T. tomato paste, 1 c. diced tomatoes with liquid, and 4 t. chili powder. Stir and simmer until most of the liquid is gone. Add 10 c. chicken broth and bring to boil; season with salt and pepper to taste.
Place *shredded cooked chicken, avocado slices, cojita cheese, fresh cilantro, and sliced scallions in bowls. Pour the broth over other ingredients and top with baked tortilla strips and lime wedges.
***Substitutions: I used my own chicken broth. Some of it I already had frozen from previous recipes (my broth recipe is here) but the rest of it I made while I cooked the *3 chicken breast halves, fat removed, for this recipe. I just tossed some cilantro, onions, garlic, salt and pepper in while the chicken boiled. I strained it when I pulled the chicken out to shred and reserved the liquid to start the soup.
I used shredded Monterrey Jack cheese instead of cojita, store-bought tortilla strips instead of baking corn tortillas in the oven as the recipe suggests, and chives from my garden instead of scallions. I had some frozen cilantro (put chopped cilantro in an ice-cube tray, cover with water to fill compartments, and freeze; save in a Ziploc bag in freezer) that I tossed into the broth while it was cooking. It was fine for boiling, but I think that fresh cilantro would have been really good to garnish the soup at the end.
I stored the broth and the chicken and other toppings all separately in the fridge and combined to cook. Don't know if that matters.

Really, Mom?!

I used about 15 oz of Rotel tomatoes with chiles instead of plain diced tomatoes. Very good.
Nutrition Info: 330 cal, 14g fat, 32g protein, 19g carbs, 5g fiber. I'd say this one is "Kidney OK" but not "Friendly" (unless you are on a potassium restriction, in which it would be a NOooOOOoo Recipe). I ate less of the chicken to lower the protein and I didn't add much salt to the broth. (Store bought would have more sodium.) Cheese and tortilla strips can also be adjusted for salt. 

In other news, Berwyn got "fixed" this week. He's recovering nicely, but is not very excited about his Cone of Shame. We have proven to be over-protective parents now that we have both taken him to the vet (two days in a row) to have them check his stitches which we didn't feel were as even/normal/healed as they should be. The vet's office has been very nice and reassuring. However, cone it is. And I think I might be going to Hell after how much I laughed at his lack of success in navigating the house with the it. Poor Berwyn.

Christmas 2011

Road trip?!

This has been a very busy and satisfying Christmas season. We spent 10 days traveling around the Houston area visiting and partying. Santa was very good to me this year and I am very grateful for the thoughtfulness that people put into gift-giving. Most importantly, I got to celebrate Christ's birthday with many friends and family members. Even my Grandma, who spent Christmas in the hospital, was full of cheer.

Of course, the big deal in any Southern family gathering is the FOOD! I have a few recipe highlights from the various Christmas feasts.

From my parents: I got to participate most in the making of this feast, so I'm going to list the whole menu. We made a roast, carrots (steamed with salt, pepper, and nutmeg), green beans (blanched, then sauteed with onions and spices), mashed potatoes (butter, milk, & garlic), and to top it all off: the Brown Liquid Reduction. My brother named that, after wondering what "brown liquid" was bubbling on the stove. It is delicious on everything.

Roast and BLR (actually called Beef Tenderloin with Shallot Sauce)
This is a Southern Living recipe from the 2010 Ultimate Christmas Cookbook. The green beans also come from this book.

1 lb. shallots, peeled & halved lengthwise
2 T olive oil
3/4 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper

Toss shallots and 2 T. oil in bowl w/ salt &pepper. Set aside.

1 T. salt
1 1/2 t. each: onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, dried thyme
8 lb beef tenderloin, trimmed (yields 6 lbs meat) (we used a 5 pounder)
1/4 c evoo

Combine 1T salt + next 4 ingredients. Place tenderloin into a roasting pan and rub w/ 1/4 C. Oil. Sprinkle with seasoning rub, pressing in with fingers. Arrange shallots around meat. Bake uncovered at 500 for 25 minutes, then reduce temp to 375 and bake for 15-20 minutes until it reaches 160 degrees in center (cooked Medium.)

3 c. beef broth

1 c dry marsala wine

2 T. flour

3 T. water

3 T. butter

garnish of fresh thyme

Meanwhile, stir broth and marsala in large skillet. Bring to boil 8 min until reduced to 2 cups. Remove tenderloin to serving platter and cover with foil. Add broth reduction to pan and place over medium heat on cooktop, stirring to loosen bits. Whisk together flour & water until smooth and stir into sauce in roasting pan. Cook over medium heat 3 minutes or until slightly thickened, stirring constantly. Add butter, stirring until melted. Stir 1/4 t. pepper. Thinly slice tenderloin and serve with sauce.




Cranberry Salsa

This one comes from my Step-Mother-in-Law. It is very seasonal, since you need fresh cranberries, but it freezes well for at least a month. Just thaw in the fridge and serve. 

12 oz bag of fresh cranberries, rinsed

1/2 C. to 3/4 C. sugar, to taste

juice of 1/2 large lime
3/4 bundle cilantro, rinsed, large stems removed
1 T. olive oil

Toss it all into the food processor and grind until it is chopped evenly. This takes less than a minute. Refrigerate a few hours or overnight. Serve with tortilla chips.



Watergate Salad (From my Mother-in-Law)
This is one I can count on every year and I get to have lots of it because my husband doesn't like it. (Crazy.) I didn't get a picture, but it is pale green and light and fluffy and just absolutely dreamy.
Just mix together the first four ingredients, then fold in the Cool Whip and chill.

1 package instant pistachio pudding mix
1 C. mini marshmallows
1 small, flat can crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 C. chopped pecans (optional)
1 Large tub Cool Whip

Homemaking Bits

My kitchen helper.

So as y'all know, while I teach full time and have been the household breadwinner for 5.5 years now, what I really want to do is be Susie Homemaker. That said, if you did a white-glove test on my home at any given moment (especially during the school year), I'd fail. So I'm perpetually on the lookout for ways to manage chores better, despite being exhausted.
In a spree of forward thinking* this weekend, I came up with a plan that will keep our home under control with a minimum of weeknight time, but also not require that Saturdays be marathon cleaning days. I made an agreement with SexyLawyerMan that he'd also stick to it, and half a week in, it's actually working. This is the plan:

	Me	Him
Sunday	One load of laundry	One load of laundry
Monday	Grocery run, sweep floors	Tidy his half of bedroom
Tuesday	Guest bath	Change and wash sheets
Wednesday	Pick up living room and kitchen	Master bath
Thursday	Mop kitchen, entry ways	Vacuum living room
Friday	Tidy my half of bedroom	One load of laundry
Saturday	Catch up if needed	Catch Up if needed

Other chores that are monthly have their own checklists so we know they get done at least once a month (such as straightening the back bedrooms and dusting.) There's also an agreement about kitchen chores that focuses on me cooking and him cleaning up, with each of us in charge of clearing plates and washing our own lunch and snacking dishes.

I did have to switch one thing around. Originally, I was scheduled to clean the master bath and he did the guest bath. Well, see... guests use the guest bath. And... um... he's really bad at cleaning stuff. (I had to teach him this week how to turn off the faucet and use a cup to wash dirt from Berwyn's bath down the drain. I thought everyone knew that trick.) So we switched and now I will clean the bathroom that other people see and he can practice on ours. I had a 22 year head start on learning to clean, and he's getting there, but it's slow going. Old dog, new tricks, yes?

What I like about this system is that I no longer feel perpetually guilty for not cleaning NOW. If I have done my load of laundry, for example, I know I'm keeping up and I will get to the bathroom on its regularly scheduled day. No guilt. Also, assuming we can stick to it, my house is cleaner because I'm actually doing it. This is a vast improvement over my old system of not doing it until I get sick of how dirty everything is and I got to the "Bad Place" where I listen to angry music on my iPod and scrub furiously for a few hours while sighing and glaring a lot.

I saw this idea on Pinterest.

In another attempt at Domestic Diva-ness, I have resolved to be greener about wiping counters. We go through a lot of paper towels, so I decided that I need to have washrags in easier reach. I rolled them up and stuck them on the paper towel holder, hiding the actual paper towels under the sink in case we need them. There's a big basket in the kitchen where I can collect used towels until they are washed.

*I also laid out a week of school outfits. Aren't I fancy?

My Summer in Pictures

So I took a bit of a summer hiatus and thoroughly enjoyed the time to relax and regroup. I can't say I did a whole lot. The highlight of the summer was probably my cousin's beautiful wedding, but beyond that I was  a bit of a homebody. I do have a few things to share, and here goes.

Granby adds her magic touch to the new-fangled self-churning ice cream maker. 

Dad approves of the homemade peach ice cream.

Good old American dinner for the 4th!

Playing tug-o-war with Berwyn. Turns out a dog is a lot of work, but lots of fun! 

Potato Cheese Gnocchi (Moosewood Low Fat Cookbook) 

Justin teaches a bunch of concealed handgun courses.

I spent about a week and a half before inservice began preparing my classroom. I started from nothing and made it look pretty good, if I do say so myself. (After photos to follow.)

Berwyn practicing his "I kill you" eyes. 

Some food tips, Grilled Chicken, 2 kinds of Potatoes and a Puppy Video

First, as promised, a puppy video.

Ok, now I have a bunch of food stuff to share.

1. Mom's suggestion: do you ever have a hankering for deviled eggs but no time or motivation to make them? Try smearing dijon mustard on a hard boiled egg. It satisfies the tanginess craving but takes minimal effort. Great quick protein if you make a bunch of hard boiled eggs ahead of time. Not as good as a real deviled egg, but not bad either.



2. Thai Cucumber Salad
This is a good cold side dish for summer, but you have to love onions. It keeps for days in the fridge. From the Kidney Health Gourmet Cookbook.
In a large bowl combine 1/3 c. minced shallot, 1/3 c. sliced green onion, 4 sliced cucumbers, and 2-4 thinly sliced red chiles (seeded).
In a small bowl, combine 1/2 c. rice vinegar, 2 T sugar, 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro. Pour dressing over salad and chill for at least one hour.
** Note: instead of the chiles, I use a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. I am a spice pansy, so I don't like much heat. But I do like the kick.

3. Sweet Mashed Potatoes
Pick the reddest ones you can buy when these are in season. (Which is not usually right now.) The pale orange ones taste like crap. Sweet potatoes are high in potassium, so for me they are a "sometimes food" but this is an easy and awesomely healthy side dish for most people. They are also full of good stuff like vitamins (A, B6 and C), fiber and manganese. They have a MUCH lower glycemic index than white potatoes and are said to have anti-inflammatory powers.  OooOOOoooh.
Anyway, I boil mine in lightly salted water for about 15 minutes or until mushy and then run an immersion blender through them.  While I'm blending, I throw in a generous chunk of unsalted butter (probably one to two tablespoons per potato) to make them creamier.  Don't use fake butter; that way lies madness. If you wanna get really fancy, throw in some brown sugar, pecans, and bourbon, but that's another post altogether. ("Not Safe For Work" Sweet Potato Casserole) I love sweet potatoes as a side dish because they're like dessert and they are pretty quick. They reheat well to take for lunch the next day, if any leftovers survive.

4. Father's Day Dinner
My parents came in for Father's Day on the way to my cousin's wedding in NC. (They're driving 1200 miles, so what's another few hours to Waco?) We had a great time sightseeing around Cameron Park and we saw the Dr. Pepper Museum, which celebrates the history of the beverage in its location of discovery. I left there really needing a Dr. Pepper.
Anyway, when we came home, Mom and I whipped up a pretty easy dinner (and Sexy Lawyer Man did the grilling for us) while Dad took a well-deserved nap then joined us for cocktails on the porch.

We made Dilled Potatoes, Grilled Chicken, corn on the cob and a mixed greens salad. So, recipes:
Dilled Potatoes:
Mince an onion and cube a few potatoes. The more onion the better, IMHO. Toss generously with seasoned salt and dried dill, and enough olive oil to make everything shiny. Bake, covered, at 375 about 45 minutes, stopping once to stir. The smaller the potatoes are chopped, the quicker they will cook. These are Mom's recipe which was shared in our church cookbook, so you know it's good. I made this for a bunch of law students a while back and it was quite a hit. Also a good make-ahead, as you can mix it up and refrigerate for several hours. Reheats beautifully the next day. Probably after that, too, but usually gets finished off pretty quickly.
Grilled Chicken: Take some chicken breast halves (I used 5), cut fat off, and pound them flat, about 3/4 inch. Marinate in a mixture of lime juice (2 limes' worth), a pinch of kosher salt, a pinch of pepper, about one T minced garlic, and some canola oil. (Do you know what CANOLA stands for? I do.) Doesn't have to sit long. Just about 20 minutes will do.  Grill to doneness.
Other Sides: probably don't need a separate section. I boiled the corn in water. I prefer it plain but others used butter and salt and pepper and stuff on it. The salad was pretty basic. I tossed together some olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, salt and pepper for dressing.

Puppy Cookies and Gratuitous Cuteness

Ok, so I might be that parent. Plenty of parents I know, whether they have human children or puppy children, flood the internet with cute pictures. And dull pictures. And pictures that look exactly like previous pictures. And I used to think "wow, I won't do that." But I take it back. It must be expressed to the internet how cute my puppy is. So here, world: a video I took of Berwyn waking up. And yes, I woke him up for this purpose simply because he was so cute while he was sleeping. The cuteness, it's rotting my brain.
Now, I promised a recipe. This is a recipe I like to make for Christmas to give away to all the puppies in my family. (Shout out to Esme, Charlie, Abby, Maddie, Sophie and Angel!) There are cats in the family, too, but I really don't have a recipe that's guaranteed to please cats. This is probably because most cats are not pleased by anything except our quiet and distant worship of them. Silly biscuits are for mouth-breathers, they say. Anyway, every dog I ever give these to is very, very excited about them. And I have checked out the recipe for dog safety. So here goes.

Puppy Cookies
Mix together the following: 1 1/2 c. four, 3/4 c. oatmeal, 1/4 c. wheat germ, 1/3 c. peanut butter, 1/4 c. vegetable oil, 2 T. honey, 1/2 t. baking powder, 1/2 c. water.
Roll dough about 1/2 inch think. Cut into desired shapes.
Mix together one large egg and 2 T. milk. Brush on top of cookies.
Bake at 275 for 30 minutes. Rotate pan and bake another 30 minutes until golden brown and firm.
Notes: For Christmas I cut them into festive shapes like stars and trees but this time I had a great idea. Since I needed a bunch of them in small bites, I just cut the dough into strips and perforated them with a knife. When they cooled, I broke them into little bite-sized squares. Now I can easily give them out to reinforce good behavior. Berwyn loves them. But he loves everything.

Now some more cute pictures of my puppy child.

Introducing Berwyn

Five years ago I married the love of my life. He was my high school sweetheart and remains the most stable and wonderful thing in my life. And five years ago we planned to have children "in five years." Well, as you know, we are not going to have children any time soon. There are bigger things in the way, like kidney transplants, that have to happen first. (I'll give an update on that soon, just not today.) So we decided to do the next best thing: to become parents to an adorable puppy!
This is Berwyn. (The name is Welsh for "light brown" but more importantly, sounds like BEAR.) He is a purebred Welsh Corgi (Pembroke) and he's about 2 years old. Now, Wait!, you might say. Didn't you just have that other dog that you decided not to keep? Well... yes. But this is different. The other dog was, first and foremost, too big for our lease restrictions. She was still a puppy and already over 35 pounds. Also, she was a pain in the butt. She dug up my yard and ate my okras. But she was really sweet. And she did give us the opportunity to think seriously about adopting a dog. But no.

Then, two weeks later, I get an email. It's on my work email, in the folder that is for general newsy type announcements for the whole district. A guy had a picture of a Corgi and said it was free to a good home.
I immediately started texting Sexy Lawyer Man, hoping he'd talk me into it, which he did. I emailed back a response to the owner. Nothing. Then I Google-stalked him for a while, found out we had a Facebook friend in common, and asked her to message him. Nothing. So I called his school and asked that they call him at home with my information. Then sent another email. I started to wonder why I was freaking out about this particular dog. Of course, I love corgis. I have ever since my awesome and morbidly obese Rugby (1991-2003). And why was I suddenly ok with getting a pet? A kitten came along and it wasn't the right time, too much money. And Calamity Jane, the big yellow dog. Not the right time. But within a few moments of seeing the opportunity for this dog, my entire outlook changed. I decided that for once I'll take my husband's approach and just trust that things will work out alright. And I say Sure! Let's do it! I'm not sure why, but this little guy just grabbed my heart.

And then I wait for four days. Finally, yesterday, the phone call came. Long story short, we came home with a dog last night! But here's the cool part: I paid our pet deposit, which came to $550 for the year. Two hours later, Sexy Lawyer Man came in with the mail, which included a refund check from some old medical expenses in the amount of $556! What great luck! So I suppose that just trusting that things will work out may be the way I should approach more things in life.

Bittersweet

So this week has been strange. 

It's the last week of school, so I have had to take down all the decorations in my classroom and say goodbye to my kids and my coworkers. Only not really goodbye, because I'm teaching summer school, so I'll see a lot of my coworkers for another month (and two of my kids.) Also only sorta goodbye because I don't have a job yet for next year. I was the only probational teacher at my school who was cut due to budget issues, but one of 181 district wide. They have now hired back 87 of us, according to the TV, but no word yet on me. So as I stood up in front of my peers at out luncheon, I wasn't ready to say goodbye because I really firmly believe I'm coming back. But I don't know for sure. Regardless, I have cleaned out my desk in the meantime. 

Add caption

Now, I'm sure you are all eagerly awaiting my lab results. Right? (Thanks, Mrs. A, for the concern.) Well, I don't have the full print out but I know two key numbers. First the good news is my bloodcount is 12, so I'm not all that anemic. Not great, but not dangerous, either. But then there's the creatinine, which was 2.44. That's up from last month. 2nd "up" number in a row, after about 6 months of consistently "down" numbers. (Cheat sheet: creatinine is a byproduct of muscle tissue breakdown, it's filtered out by kidneys, normally you have less of it in your blood, but if your filter doesn't work, you have more of it. It is a pretty standard measure of kidney function.  Healthy = under 1.2 mg/dl. )  I was at 1.8 (36%) when this all was discovered Dec of 2009, 3.5 (17%) at my worst in August 2010, and was at 2.1 (32%) two months ago. So now I'm back under 30% and I am seeing my trend of "better better better" turn around. Not that I should complain about 26% function when I have felt 17% but I am worried that this trend is going to continue and I am going to get very very sick in then next three to six months. I base this prediction on what patterns I have seen before, though, really I have no clue since we still have no idea what is going on. In the meantime, I have to get a little more strict on my diet. I'm not sure that my diet will really help anything,since an autoimmune disorder will not be slowed down by lack of sodium, but it's my way of doing penance in hopes that I will tip the scales toward "she deserves to get better." So I'm drinking a lot of water and trying not to fret when I feel strange pokey pains in my lower back. Only time will tell. If you're the praying type, I could use it. 

Onto other things. We almost got a dog this week. Or, rather, she almost got us. On Monday evening a precious yellow lab puppy (less than 6 months) showed up in our backyard.  She dug under the fence to get in. We drove around and posted signs, hoping that her family was looking for her. Nope. So, being the saps we are, we bought some food, patched the fence, and let her stay over night in the yard. By morning she was gone. Not the end of the story. She came back in the afternoon. Sexy Lawyer Man fixed the fence again and we fed her and let her stay another night. We had a long tearful (just me, really) discussion about whether or not we could really afford and care for a dog right now, and decided that this was not a good time with me being out of a job (maybe) and him still in school, and a good chance of big ugly medical bills looming. Wednesday we called all over town looking for a no-kill shelter that would take her, but no one would. Eventually he had to take her to the Waco Humane Society. They seemed confident that a cute, healthy, sweet puppy like her would be adopted really soon. I hope so. She deserves a good home. Preferably one without potted plants. I didn't really want okra after all.