Looking Forward

March 29, 2017

Every now and then it's fun to take some time to think about things that we are looking forward to. I think it's safe to say that Kiki is the one who got me started on this. I don't do it alllll the time, but when I do, I'm glad that I did. It's a short-term bucket list of sorts.

I'm looking forward to...

* Reading the rest of C.S. Lewis's Space Trilogy.

* The first swim of the summer.

* Planting my garden.

* Taking a trip to SC. I never travel. Except for when I do.

* Some seriously HOT days. I'm a freak and I can't wait.

* The first iced toasted marshmallow latte of the year.

* Hearing the results of the writing contest. UPDATE: I placed!!!

* Taking naps in the sun again.

* The next time Jay comes to town.

* Reading MHC's newest release.

Your turn! What are some things you're looking forward to?

Chilaquiles

 

I've had this post sitting in my draft folder since June 25, 2016. It's been a long time coming, just waiting on me to hunt down the pictures and get some graphics ready. The photos were taken with my iPad. Tyler Florence shot a whole cookbook with one...so, a blog post now and then is okay, right?

Up until about a month ago I'd never heard of Chilaquiles. I'm not sure how I've lived this long without knowing what they were, but I'm glad I know now! Here's the story...

I was sitting in my living room watching a new to me show (Guy's Grocery Games) when a contestant decided to make a batch of Chilaquiles. He had this really touching story about his Mom. He said that all her life she was always cooking whatever people wanted to eat. He said that he appreciated her cooking, but that the fact that she cooked what they loved really meant a lot to him. He got all teary when he explained that the last thing his Dad asked his Mom to make was Chilaquiles.

With a story like that, I figured these things MUST be good. So, I watched him make them. I watched the judges rave about them. And then I started seeing them everywhere. One of my favorite food bloggers made a batch, but used canned enchilada sauce. I wanted the REAL deal. Her post convinced me that I COULD do it and that I HAD to.

So, I scoured the internet for recipes and having never tasted them in m life, decided to take a stab at it. I used a combination of these three recipes to get the finished product that I had in mind. I can officially say that I LOVE CHILAQUILES!!!! And I hope you will too.

 

Ingredient gathering is super simple. Canned tomatoes, jalapenos, onion, garlic, cilantro (or not), chicken broth, salt, oil, corn tortillas, and whatever toppings sound good to YOU are all it takes.

It's not as complicated as you might expect. This is one of those 30 minutes or less dinners. You make your sauce, you fry your tortillas (or use pre-made chips), and then you make a heaping mess on your plate and stuff your face.

They're goooood, I tell ya!

Chilaquiles

SAUCE
1 (28 oz) can whole tomatoes
2 jalapenos, charred, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup cilantro, chopped (I had to leave this out because my store was OUT, yes OUT. I'll start with about a 1/2 cup and then add more according to taste and color. I suggest you do the same!)

1 Tbsp. veggie oil

1 tsp. salt
1 cup chicken stock

Place tomatoes, jalapenos, garlic, onion, and cilantro into a blender. I used a Vitamix and blended it until it was nice and smooth.

Heat oil in a sauce pan over med-high heat. Add the sauce to the pan being aware that it will start bubbling and spitting right away. Be careful and start stirring. You'll want to boil it for about 7 minutes, stirring very often.

Reduce heat to keep things at a gentle simmer and stir in the salt and the chicken stock. Let it continue to simmer while you work on your tortilla chips. The sauce just keeps getting better the longer it cooks.

When you're happy with the way your sauce tastes, prepare the tortilla chips OR use pre-made tortilla chips. If you go that route, skip to the assembly step.

TORTILLA CHIPS
20 (6 inch) white corn tortillas, left out for a day or so and cut into 8 triangles each
oil for frying
salt

Place tortilla pieces into hot oil. I could give you a temperature, but you'll know it's hot when you put your tortilla in and the oil starts to fry it. Cook until golden brown on each side.

Remove chips to a paper towel lined plate and sprinkle hot chips with a little salt.

Continuing frying the chips until you've got enough to go around. You'll have to work in batches.

ASSEMBLY
All the recipes say to put the chips directly into the sauce pot. That's not how I work....

Place some sauce into a bowl or a small pot (I went the bowl route). Add chips, add more sauce, and stir until the chips are thoroughly covered.

Transfer your chip mess to a plate, being sure to pour the excess sauce that was left in the bowl onto the chips. Top with shredded cheese, onion, cilantro, lettuce, sour cream, and whatever else your little heart desires.

Repeat until everyone has a plate and DIG IN! These are traditionally a breakfast dish meant to use up old, dry tortillas, so feel free to top them with a fried or scrambled egg if that sounds good to you.

That's it! That's all there is to it. I REALLY like the way they turned out, but I've got plans to play around with different combinations of chiles (3 dried ancho chiles and 3 serrano chiles were recommended in one recipe) and I'd like to try to make it with fresh tomatoes (2 medium tomatoes OR 5 small tomatoes and 5 tomatillos) once as well.

Store the extra sauce in the fridge until you're ready for seconds. You can also do like I did and use it to make a batch of enchiladas. It's ESPECIALLY good for making cheese enchiladas, but that's a story for another day. 

What's a food you've recently discovered?

Have you tried to make recreate it in your own kitchen?

July In Pictures pt. 3

July 7

These are some of the other things July held for us...First up was more theatre fun. I think my brother has spent more of his life dressed up in costumes than he has in regular clothes.

July 15

My dad took his vacation and brought our dog up to join us at The Queen's Cottage. She had a trial run earlier this spring and it was decided that she would stay at our old house until it sold....It's the end of August and she's still here, so I guess this is her home now. I'm sure she misses having free run of the barn, creek, pastures, and property, but that's life. Her first stop was a trip to the dog wash.

She really is a city dog now. She loved it and tried to make friends with the psycho dog that was barking at everyone and that even tried to lunge at her. While we were there, my Mom and I decided that dog washes are definitely worth it and that parents need to build tubs like this for bathing their kiddos. It was sooooo nice not to have to bend over!

July 19

Every chance I got, I went to the beach with whoever would go with me. I went with my sister, my brother, my brother AND my sister, and my brother and sister and our friend Aubrey. And if it warms up again, I'm sure you'll find me there!

I didn't ever swim at 24, but I got quite a bit of swimming in at 25. :) It was just as amazing as I remembered it being!!!!

July 23

I spent a fair amount of time in my garden harvesting peas and zinnias. July 23 marked the first big harvest of both. I enjoyed cutting flowers and making bouquets each week. The peas have since dried up, but the zinnias are still going at full speed ahead! I seriously can't keep up with them.

July 24

He took the stage again. He got whoops and hollers after all of his singing. It's been fun to watch him get involved on so many different stages and with different directors. I'm amazed.

We rushed to this performance after an evening of eating and singing with our church family at one of our summer cookouts where we practice singing from our hymnal. I didn't take ANY pictures at any of them, but I enjoyed each one. I cannot sing, so singing in parts surrounded by others was SUPER helpful. I'm already looking forward to the ones we have next summer.

July 27

July 27

This was one of my favorite days from July (I've got a few more pictures to add to this and possibly a correction or two to make.)...My sister and I spent the morning playing Monopoly (she won with and I lost with ) before heading out to Panda Express for lunch. I didn't plan the day at allll. Everything that happened was totally spontaneous.

I picked my brother up from work (or maybe he didn't have to work that day. I'm not sure which now) and then we had a BBQ dinner. This summer I have hardly cooked real food and when I do, I almost always end up eating it alone. They're gone at meal times and when they come home they're ready to crash. So, anytime I get to cook food AND eat it with someone feels like a party. Just this week (as in August 22) I grilled my sister and I hamburgers one afternoon just because she was home and then I made my Mom and I fancy quesadillas with homemade salsa and guacamole for the same reason.

July 30

This was the end of a LONG day. Everyone was gone alllll day. Being home alone in the evenings is kind of the worst for me. I like our eat dinner, talk about the day, and then play a game or watch a movie routine. I have definitely learned to have a night in by myself, but I still prefer company. I had to snap a picture of this because you can see my spot over on the bench, the remnants of time at the lake hanging all over the patio, and the animals who were waiting on everyone to get home right along with me.

What's your idea of a perfect night in? I tend to put on the Early Jazz station on Pandora, eat dinner outside, read or write, putter around the garden and yard, and then go to bed early. Pitiful? Maybe, but I guess that's just how I unwind.

May 17

And one more picture from much earlier this year....Here are my brother and sister with their friends at our other house. I used to snap pictures of them like this all the time. After playing, they'd stop and just lay or sit in a circle and Lydia was always in on it. There are pictures in the yard, around their little table, draped over that swing in the background, around the firepit, and who knows where else....

On this particular day, we were back at our other house packing stuff up and they invited their friends over since it had been a while since they'd all been together. My Mom and I were sitting at our spots at the kitchen table having a break of our own. I looked out and say them sitting and got a little teary eyed...This days are coming to an end. We're moving for real. They're growing up and this yard isn't going to be ours anymore. I grabbed an iPod and snapped a picture and now I'm sharing it and making all of us cry all over again.

Our life in that small town was sooo hard a lot of the time, but it was also REALLY good. I'll always carry a piece of it with me and I expect that my brother and sister will carry an even bigger piece of it with them, because it's all they ever knew.

July In Pictures pt. 2

Before summer ever even began, there were a few things jotted down on the calendar. My sister's trip to SC was the first, then there were the summer jobs, two plays, and getting our other house on the market.

It wasn't much, but we knew we were going to be BUSY. And we have been. July, was an especially hectic month. With work and rehearsals and performances and church there was very little time for much else. I mentioned that I got roped into costuming one of the plays they were in and today I have pictures from it. My Mom did FAR more than I did, but this is what we were working on.

The actors in this show were fantastic. During the first night of rehearsals, I called to check in with my Mom and she overheard them singing one of their songs as a warmup. She asked if she was hearing a track playing and I told her that, no, it was the actors singing together FOR THE FIRST TIME. My favorite moment in the actual show wasn't during a song or a dance or a moving scene, but when my brother got to eat cheese on stage. This boy LOVES cheese and theatre. It came together on a huge stage and it was almost more than I could take. God is SOOOO good.

My sister had several roles during this play...I didn't get very many great pictures of her, but the ones during this sequence are some of my favorites!!! That shirt she's wearing??? It's a men's dress shirt that my Mom turned into a peasant shirt! She's AMAZING.

And my sister's ability to do WHATEVER they ask her to and to switch roles and characters and costumes and smile the whole entire time is truly something to admire. She pulls it off soooo well and I just know that she is a quiet blessing to all those acting alongside of her. Scroll down and you'll see a couple of pictures she took backstage...

From a lady to one of the sons.

To a ghost...She does it alll!

My brother and sister call me their personal paparazzi. And they love it. They're always saying, "Take pictures!!!" or, "Make sure you get a picture of ____, when _____ happens." or "Did you get a picture of _____?" and I love it. Mostly, I just have my camera handy and quietly take my pictures and they pretend like I'm not there. Well, every now and then, they spot me. When I was taking this shot, I realized that my brother knew what I was doing. He's looking right at me and making a face....So, I did what I do and zoomed in for a close up!

When he was little we would do this thing where we would stare at each other and make faces. Usually I would make an angry face and then he would make it back and then I would make a super smiley face and he would make it back and we'd go back and forth with this until it ended in laughter....

Here's the face. No smile, big eyes. I SEEEEEE YOU!

And that's round two of the pictures in July series. This play ate up soooo many nights and weekends and entire days. The memories will be with us a lifetime.

July In Photos

I've got a four part series set aside to cover the major happenings in July. These are the kinds of things I should have been posting...but from now until the end of this month, I've got a goal to get this stuff cranked out. So, here goes!!!

 

At the beginning of July we gathered together for a day of birthday surprises for one of our new friends. The birthday girl and her family were some of the first people to reach out to us, include us, and invite us to anything and everything. When the birthday girl's brothers announced what they had up their sleeve, we were all in!

They told their sister that they were going to the park for a picnic and some frisbee. Meanwhile, a big group of us took our places at different locations in the park and planned to go out to meet them bit by bit. Eventually, there we were standing in the middle of the field wishing her a happy birthday. She had nooooo idea what was happening.

After everyone was accounted for, we set out for a hike.

I did all of my hiking in the southeast (Chimney Rock, Grandfather's Mountain, Mt. Mitchell, and Battleground were my FAVORITE places to go). We would pack lunch, take our time, play in the waterfalls, and my grandma kept up in flip flops. I LOVE that kind of hiking. We'd stop for fudge or ice cream or to poke around at any spot that looked interesting. I've learned that very few people hike the way I grew up hiking....

This hike was fun and totally doable, but it started out with one step up a super steep hill after another. I started at the back of the line and just kept zooming around people. No talking. I had to get to the top. I was afraid if I went too slowly or stopped I would die. It was one of the hottest days we had had and I had no idea how long the hike was going to be that intense. It turned out, that the intensity lasted JUST until we made it to the top and then it was all downhill and meandering after that. I had nothing to be afraid of.

We stopped for a water break and pictures and more visiting before making our way back down and around the mountain. The views were pretty gorgeous. I stayed near the front of the pack, but my "I'm going to have to be carried out of here" panic was long gone. I took to chatting and even stopped to snap a few shots.

After the hike was over, we said our goodbyes and she thought they were finally going on their picnic and were headed to watch their dad's softball game. Well, little did she know, the rest of us rushed back to our houses to get our potluck dishes before heading to the very same park. There was more hiding in the bushes...

There they are, having their "picnic". Meanwhile....They are surrounded.

UNDER ATTACK!

SURPRISE!!!!

This day will go down as one of my favorite days from the summer of 2016. Not only did we get to celebrate and totally surprise one of our dearest friends, but we also got to spend an entire day with some fantastic people. I met several people whose paths I hadn't crossed yet and got to catch up with others that I just don't see enough. The birthday girl's brothers did a FANTASTIC job at coordinating everything.

Hiking and frisbee and eating and music and visiting made for a wonderful day!

When 26 Is One Month Away

Well, I almost made it through "No Blog August", but you can all thank my sister for her reminders that things are quiet and that that is simply unacceptable. I'm back with a piece I wrote back on August 13th. Enjoy...

 
We were at a kick off party for a brand new theatre last night when I looked down at my watch and realized that my birthday is exactly one month away. In that moment I left my place in the crowd of strangers and friends to let the realization sink in.

I've been thinking a lot about how I'm the only one in my family who hasn't jumped up and made a new life for myself in this town. I've tried. But, the thing is, doing the same old same old is just a lot easier. It doesn't get in the way. It doesn't put anyone out. And it's safe. When we moved here, I knew it was for all of us, but that it was mostly for my brother and sister. Letting it be for them and helping them settle in and make the most of it was enough. And most days, it still is. But sometimes - like last night and this afternoon - it gets me in a panic.

They're all doing things and making names and starting over and I'm basically missing everything that moving here required of me.

This summer, I've spent a lot of time at home alone with God and with our animals. I thought I was going to get a lot of reading and writing in, but mostly I filled my days with errands and cleaning and gardening and laundry. I put on Pandora's Early Jazz or Cross Movement radio because long periods of absolute silence make me crazy. I did A LOT of thinking while my hands were doing whatever it was they found to do. I didn't get a single thing ready for submission or even come up with a list of places to submit my writing to. I didn't finish planning the literature class I was building. I didn't add any extra books to my summer reading list.

Now 26 is a month away and I'm doing my yearly inspection of where I am and who I am and what I'm doing. This year, I'm really proud of myself. I've learned to be okay with being alone. I've been flexible and spontaneous and a lot less worried. I've gone through the cycle of being super excited to meet new people, to being ready to crawl into a cave, to being willing to put myself out there again. I've started and kept a garden even though I had no idea how long it would be here for me to tend. I've seen things I am totally disturbed by without letting my pride grant me the right or the responsibility to handle them.

And then there are things I want to work on. I want to work on the weaknesses of my temperament. My personality comes with a tendency towards irritability. That's one of my least favorite things about myself and Packer's book showed me that I don't have to give into it. I want to be thankful.  I want my mouth to be a fountain of living water and now I have a real hope that it CAN be. I want to care a lot less about what people think. The older I get, the easier this is, but I'm having a hard time with this where my decisions are concerned.

26 is one month away and I'm feeling like Dorothy at the end of the movie just before the hot air balloon takes off without her. Chances are, I'll wake up on September 12 feeling just like I did on September 11 and August 13. I'll be 26 instead of 25, but that will be the only real difference. I'm trusting that the work of trusting God and keeping my commitments will be just as rewarding and beautiful and fruitful as it always has been.

The most important things about life never do change. Wherever I find myself this time next year, I'll look back grateful for the lessons 25 taught me. I just know it.