tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78516952024-03-07T19:48:41.530-05:00southern fried goodnesssometimes sweeter than mama's iced tea, sometimes more bitter than a collard green, always hot and juicy like good fried chickenjackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17575001924452440492noreply@blogger.comBlogger611125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7851695.post-90432736709584723632015-07-07T12:16:00.000-04:002015-07-07T12:16:00.115-04:00kindergarten can wait<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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today is kieran's first day of second grade. he's ready. he was excited and nervous about meeting his new teacher and seeing how the landscape of this school year would be different. he's been out of school since june 2nd, and he was just starting to get a little bored with camps and my office and being home. this is something we really love about the year round schedule. we take our vacations in september and march, when the beach is quiet and not crowded. we get longer breaks in december right before christmas and in june for the weeks leading up to the 4th of july. it's good. it works for our family.<br />
<br />
all of that said, i must tell you that kieran's kindergarten year was hell on wheels. it wasn't the schedule, but rather the jump from a montessori-ish preschool environment into the rigid hyper-structure of today's public school kindergarten. wow. 155 minutes of math and reading with no real breaks every day. 20 minutes of recess, IF he had finished all his work, which he never had. homework on weekends that took us FOREVER to do. a teacher who, though she is a good and experienced teacher, was not a good match for our son and thought he was in need of labels and medication. she was not allowed to say this to us, but it was in every way implied. parent teacher conferences consisted of her giving us lists of his shortcomings and telling us she could do no more to help him unless we got him on a special education plan. we were worried--we talked to his doctor, who all but rolled his eyes at the school system after a handful of preliminary questioning and tests. then we gave up, called that whole year a wash, and just endured. he absolutely hated school. but his grades, i will add, were fine. all year.<br />
<br />
first grade was much better, which is almost entirely due to a better teacher fit. it helped, too, that kieran was in after school care at the school, which gave him a very-much-needed sense of school ownership. now he's proud when he does well. he had a flexible and insightful teacher who focused on his strengths and on helping him recognize and address his attention issues without the need to slap a label on them. she had constructive suggestions for ways we could help him at home. my conversations with her were always productive, and i always came away feeling hopeful. it was good.<br />
<br />
hopefully second grade will be good, too.<br />
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but finn--my sweet, but crazy finn is another bag of chips altogether. he is old enough for kindergarten, his july 12th birthday long before the end of august cut off. he can recognize colors, letters, and numbers with ease, read a few words, count to a hundred, manipulate scissors--in these areas, he is ahead of where his brother was. but emotionally, he is not there. he is tantrum-y and sees accidental injuries as personal attacks. he hits. he yells. he was thrown out of the preschool/daycare he has attended since he was 4 months old because they were unable to handle his behavior. he is also the loviest, huggiest, most enthusiastic cheek-kisser you will ever meet. he is missing that emotional regulation button that comes with age and experience and will eventually make him a little less sensitive. he also has all the same focus issues as kieran. further, our school schedule means that finn would start kindergarten while still 4 years old, and then turn 5 a week later. what do you do with this child? he's academically ready for kindergarten, but not socially. and there is NO social support in kindergarten anymore. none.<br />
<br />
finn, who should be starting kindergarten this week, is getting red-shirted. after much stress, debate, advice from professionals, we decided that sending him to kindergarten was asking for a year of hell for our entire family and was likely to set finn up to hate school forever. we have talked to many families who have been in this situation. nearly all of them who sent their kids anyway regrets it. and not a single one who decided to wait later thought they had made the wrong decision. i believe we are doing right by finn. we have put him in a new school--a teeny, tiny montessori based preschool where the student teacher ratio is 6:1 and the focus is almost entirely on social and emotional development, which is what he needs. he adores it. the academics will come later, but right now, i am choosing to be an elephant mother instead of a tiger one.<br />
<br />
some excellent articles i've recently read while debating The Finn Question:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.balancedandbarefoot.com/blog/the-problem-with-kindergarten">Kindergarten and the Big Divide</a><br />
<a href="http://ideas.ted.com/inside-the-worlds-best-kindergarten/">Inside the World's Best Kindergarten</a><br />
<a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/12/elephant-mom-timeof-tigermother/383378/">Being an "Elephant Mom" in the Time of the Tiger Mother</a>jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17575001924452440492noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7851695.post-87684550395102768812014-11-07T13:22:00.000-05:002014-11-07T14:23:39.916-05:00checking up on myselflord, how i miss writing!<br />
<br />
someone left a comment on a post here from last fall, which made me go back and look at the post. and at last year, which--yes--sucked. it's good to be in a better place right now, though the Bad Things are certainly not without consequences, to which i am still adjusting and recovering. a couple of months ago, i was thinking about last year, wondering if it was really that bad? i looked back at my 3 posts from 2013, all of which were about death. yes. yes, it really was that bad. a rough road, and one that's starting in memory to all run together.<br />
<br />
but then, i also looked at the list of changes i recorded here for the new year, and well--i am not doing too badly with those. that gave me a flutter of hope that things are getting better. and they are.it's kind of nice to have a list like that to which to refer when checking up on your own mental progress.<br />
<br />
the point here is though--i am going to start writing again. i have been relying on facebook updates and the like to record my thoughts. and for a person who grew up journal writing and then maintained a blog for years, it turns out that it's not enough to just post a blurb here and there. there are rants to release! recipes to write! stuff to say! and who's going to say it if not me? certainly not the several million other bloggers on the internet... :-)<br />
<br />
anyway--i'm back. i'm blogging. and imma keep on doing it.jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17575001924452440492noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7851695.post-49665150294252311432014-01-02T13:05:00.002-05:002014-01-02T13:05:42.159-05:00new yeari am not usually one for new year's resolutions, but there are some changes i want to make, and this seems as good a time to start as any. ready?<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>stand up straight</li>
<li>walk more</li>
<li>keep a cleaner house</li>
<li>get organized</li>
<li>make at least one thing every month</li>
<li>write more</li>
<li>play with my children more</li>
<li>take care of my man </li>
</ol>
that's it.<br />
<br />
2013 sucked. this year will be better. jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17575001924452440492noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7851695.post-12587184216061541872013-10-28T14:04:00.001-04:002013-10-28T14:46:23.977-04:00an open letter to the district attorney's office of rutherford county, ncmy mother tells me that the DA's office would like each of the surviving children to write a letter detailing how the loss of our father has impacted our lives. these letters would then be available to be read in court if and when the court date regarding his accident ever comes--right now it's been pushed out and is scheduled for november 5th, a day when none of us can go. i have thought long and hard about whether or not to comply with this request, and in the end, i decided that if it was to be a public declaration, then it deserves a place here on the blog.<br />
<br />
To: The Office of the District Attorney, District 29A, Mr. David S. Norris, Jr., Assistant D.A. <br />
From: Jackie Jones<br />
RE: The death of Jerry M. Jones, June 13, 2013<br />
<br />
Dear Mr. Norris,<br />
<br />
Dealing with my father's death is an ongoing process. I have finished the paperwork dealing with the settlements of two insurance companies regarding the valuation of my father's property and his life. Both settlements are done and the money paid--money for a life, which could never be replaced, even for a hundred thousand times the amount. I wrote another letter for that settlement, in which i described the financial impact of his life, his health at the time of his death, and the expenses resulting from losing him. That one was hard, too.<br />
<br />
The physical impact of my father's death is everything you would expect from any
life cut short, and more, because he was simply tremendous. He was
charismatic and a natural leader, and the holes he left with our family,
in the Rutherford Country community, and in the organizations he cared
about are unfillable. Talk to the people at Habitat for Humanity about
the work he did for them--that place was my father's church and the
calling of his retirement. They have not yet been able to replace him,
through an entire building season. <br />
<br />
Here's the thing--how can you say what the emotional impact of a person's death is? I feel so cheated. My father was in good health and could well have lived well into his nineties, like his mother and her father before him. Or not--cancer and heart disease can strike any of us at any time, with no warning. He could have lived through June 13th only to find out a week later he was going to die of a slow horrible cancer. There is no way to know, right? But he didn't live, and he didn't die of any natural cause. He died because another driver on the road made a mistake. Right after the accident, I went and looked at the road where he died. It was easy to see how it could have happened. There's a 4 inch drop off a shoulder that isn't wide enough for the curve--a tire goes off, you over-correct, pop back up over the shoulder, and before you know it, you are on the wrong side of a curve slamming into a motorcycle. I empathize with Caleb Owens and his family and what they must be going through. But it's hard to see through the rage of grief sometimes, too. My father is gone, and I miss him every single day.<br />
<br />
I am angry that my young sons will barely remember their grandfather, if at all. I am angry that he will not get to impart to them his knowledge of the world or teach them his amazing work ethic. I am sad they will not get to hear the stories he told with such humor and enthusiasm. I am sad they will not learn to hone an argument as I did, with him as an opponent. I am sad that he will not get to teach them to give back to their community and take care of their families the way my father always did. <br />
<br />
I am mortified for my mother, who has lost her companion of 55 years. She is alone now in a house that she has always thought of as his, taking care of his dogs on her own, forced into a new level of independence that was utterly unwanted in her golden years. She's dealing with the day to day things that now remain undone because of my father's death: a new roof, oil changes for the car, yard work. Simple things, until they aren't. As his death becomes more and more real, she is ever more lonely. I worry about her every day.<br />
<br />
I am sad for my sister who has lost so much financial and logistics support in losing our dad. As a single parent with an inflexible manufacturing job, she probably relied on my dad more than any of us for the day-to-day support that only family can bring. And my mother is stepping into that void, but she is not able to maintain the same pace and level of involvement as my father, and it's setting limits for both my sister and her daughter.<br />
<br />
And maybe most of all, I am depressed for my brother. As long as I can remember, it's been the three of them, Jay, Doug, and Daddy. We lost Doug two years ago to kidney cancer, which is something from which our family, and especially Jay, is still recovering. When Doug died, I was holding his hand in one of mine, and Daddy's hand in my other. And now my father is gone, too. There are so many pictures of the three of them--it's hard to see those and know that only one remains. Jay's entire adult life has been modeled after our dad's. They worked together, played together, fought and laughed together. And now, Jay feels the weight of responsibility for our entire family with Daddy gone--he is the last man standing.<br />
<br />
For me, I miss the security of knowing my father was there to help me if I needed him. I miss hugging him. I miss the sound of his voice. There are small reminders of him literally everywhere I go--I cry in the car a lot. I have trouble on the highway when I see anyone on a motorcycle, fearing for the unknown driver. The outgoing message on my mother's answering machine is still my father's voice--I downloaded software so I could call and record that message, feeling a bit foolish, but clinging to that sound all the same. I wear his watch on my arm for the comfort of his presence. I miss watching the blooming relationship between my father and my partner, Jason--they had just begun to find their way through a sometimes rocky friendship. And I am so very disappointed that if Jason and I decide to get married, my father will not be there to witness it.<br />
<br />
We are entering a holiday season, our first without my dad--who will sit at the head of the table now? <br />
<br />
Whatever happens, please consider that my father was a large presence, hugely impactful on everyone with whom he came into contact. His legacy is far-reaching and impossible to describe, much like the man himself. His loss is quite a hard weight to bear, for all of us.<br />
<br />
Thank-you for your time,<br />
Jackie Jones, youngest daughter of Jerry Jonesjackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17575001924452440492noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7851695.post-45986396014336734332013-08-07T22:03:00.005-04:002013-08-08T08:21:03.711-04:00heavythere is mud on my desk from photographing the boot my father was wearing when he died, for the insurance company. my heart is as heavy as his watch feels on my arm. it has been nearly two months since my father was killed in a motorcycle accident, and i have only just begun to believe it.<br />
<br />
there is a staggering weight of paperwork associated with death, especially a death related to a traffic accident. it begins almost literally the moment that a person dies, and it feels very much like it may never end, even though it's only been two months, and i believe the finish line is close before us. in the case of my father, it has meant planning and executing a funeral, dealing with a cremation and the resulting ashes, obtaining death certificates, changing bank accounts, backing up and changing passwords for his computer, extracting contacts and photographs from his ruined phone, filing claims with two separate insurance companies related to the accident itself, talking to claims adjusters and handlers till i am blue in the face, and supporting my mother as she has dealt with the administration of his estate, the vehicles, the financial investments, the yard and the house, the dogs, the letters and the thank-you notes. we are not done. we are hip deep in liability and property settlements with the insurance companies. the boy who hit my father has a court date pending next week. each milestone brings me and my mother and brother and sister closer to the moment when we have to face that it is done and that my father is truly dead and gone.<br />
<br />
my grandmother died last fall at 94. my great-grandfather lived to be 99, almost 100. my father was 76 and in fantastic health for his age. he was active and taking care of himself. he was still sharp as a tack. and i admit, i expected to have another 20 years of him with me on this earth. i feel robbed. i feel like at any second, someone could come in and tell me that this was a horrible mistake, and that really he is alive and well. i know this is all normal. it's odd how you can compartmentalize so much, and then be so utterly taken aback by some detail that you don't expect. i was helping my mother assess the blue book value of one of my father's trucks, and i went to the truck to get the manual. i opened the door, and it smelled like him. that was my worst moment so far, by a wide mile--like a punch in the gut.<br />
<br />
my father was a strong man, seemingly invincible. he was often kinder and more generous with strangers than he was with his family. from us, he expected near-perfection, and was satisfied with no less. he was harsh sometimes, but all of us loved him in spite of that. his often gruff exterior hid, many times, a desire to help and take care of us all. sometimes not--sometimes it was more about control. it's been an interesting experience to see how my outward facing father was respected and loved, and it's been eye opening how different a person can be on the outside and the inside. i will miss the man forever, even though i often wanted to kill him myself. he and my mother raised me to be an independent thinker, and then i think maybe they regretted that when i turned out to disagree with so many of their beliefs about things, especially my dad's. and yet, he had my respect, always, even in the darkest of times. and my love, too.<br />
<br />
no matter how it comes, losing a parent simply sucks. losing one so suddenly is a strange thing. i am happy for my father that his death was not a long, lingering illness that robbed him of his self or his dignity or his mind. i am happy that he had a good day the day he died, and that he died doing something he loved. and yet--i am so unprepared for it! there were no goodbyes. it had been too long since i had seen him. i have no idea what the last thing i said to him was, and i will never know. i hope i told him i loved him. but even if i didn't, i know that he knew. i am grateful beyond words that there was no unfinished business between us when he died.<br />
<br />
i am sure this will not be the last i write about him--this is just the beginning of me processing everything after a summer of tumult. it is heavy on my soul today because of another sudden death. and in the end, as trite as it sounds, tell your people
you love them. tell them over and over. give them hugs and kisses and
caring. it ends too soon.<br />
<br />
<br />jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17575001924452440492noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7851695.post-45164807871753092102013-03-21T12:49:00.000-04:002013-03-21T15:53:49.929-04:00where does it go?it's almost the end of march, many months after my last post. i have no idea how time passes as quickly as it does. this has been a full, full year--some good and some less so. the children are thriving and growing, and i feel so very lucky to have the life i have, even though it's a chaotic mess most days.our family is (mostly) healthy, (mostly) happy, and (mostly) enjoying each other.<br />
<br />
today is maudlin for me--i am thinking about the mad rush two years ago to get to my brother's side before he drew his last breath. tomorrow is the second anniversary of his death, and in many ways, it is still an open wound. as adults, we weren't close for many years, but there is something intangible about knowing that your brother is there that just can't be replaced when he is gone. when his second daughter and then my first son were born, we saw each other more, talked more, and gave each other more support. when he got sick, all i did was read and read and read and try to prepare him and my parents and myself for what lay ahead--for the waste that cancer brings. i can't express how much hate that awful disease. my knitting group has a young friend, a barrista at the cafe where we knit, who got sick last fall and recently died after a brief, intense battle with lukemia. he was not quite 21 years old. another friend has a girlfriend who just had a malignant tumor removed from her brain, and is facing the long road to recovery and a lifetime of monitoring. she is in her 30s and has 3 small boys at home, one with special needs. so many families i know are affected by this horrible disease in so many ways. it's an emotional roller coaster for the patient and for all those who care about them. sometimes even for those who know them only peripherally. but you have to keep the faith. there are always cases like the hippie's aunt, a walking miracle, who had clean scans after a 4-year battle with a glioblastoma, a terrible brain cancer that is almost always swiftly fatal. medical science is a wonder, literally uncovering new solutions every single day.<br />
<br />
anyway. this is what i am thinking about today as i go through all the motions of my job and mothering my family. i am treasuring the moments in front of me, no matter how frustrating or mundane or beautiful. i am reminding myself that life is a gift. i am seeking ways to make mine matter more.jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17575001924452440492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7851695.post-44234233925747648492012-08-09T12:20:00.004-04:002012-08-09T12:21:01.918-04:00morning walkit was a nice morning out, and everyone was a little tired of playing in the house...<br />
<br />
so we decided to head to the park, which the littles thought was an awesome idea!<br />
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/7743206100/" title="photo by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img alt="photo" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8446/7743206100_89465f3726.jpg" width="374" /></a><br /><br />
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so we grabbed some snacks.<br />
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and we headed out.<br />
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the littles got to ride in style with the hippie as their chauffeur.<br />
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the critter walked and scootered.<br />
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when we got to the park, there was a lot of swinging.
hippie was on pushing duty for the littles, while i was hangin' with the critter.<br />
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kaiya LOVES to swing!<br />
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and so does finn!<br />
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man, did we get HOT and THIRSTY!<br />
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but that didn't slow anyone down.<br />
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no one wanted to go, but everyone was getting hungry, so we headed back to the house.<br />
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on the way home, it started to rain, so the critter ran for it and went inside asap. not the littles! they loved the rain!<br />
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kaiya didn't want to come in, and neither did finn.<br />
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so we let them keep playing for a while. the downspout was the favorite attraction of the day.<br />
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then we wrapped it up with a little puddle stomping.<br />
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lunch and naps were calling, and the rain stopped, so we went back inside.<br />
a good outing...jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17575001924452440492noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7851695.post-5790038436585735412012-07-26T19:36:00.000-04:002012-07-27T10:53:33.386-04:00the new normaltomorrow marks the end of the 3rd week since we became a temporary family of 5, and i have to say, it's going far more smoothly than i expected. it's most certainly an adjustment, having 3 little ones in the house, but thanks to our particular kids having a lot of flexibility, even that has been easier than i thought it would be.<br />
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kaiya is a sweet girl whose care is a bit high maintenance because of a difficult list of food allergies. but thanks to her uber-laid-back nature and lack of pickiness about what she eats, she is blending right in. first of all, she LOVES daycare. she's happy to go in the morning and happy to see me when i pick her up at night. she's fallen into our routines without effort, and has already come to understand what to expect when. she reaches for her crib at night, and plays happily while waiting to be picked up in the morning when she wakes up. her skin seems under control, and we've been crazy careful about not letting her come into contact with any of her allergens. she's now having one bath a day, one application of a tiny amount of steroid cream per day, and lotion head to toe every time her diaper is changed. it seems to be working. she is happy and giggly and a little demanding--her biggest adjustment has come from not being the only kid in town, but she's getting used to it.<br />
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finn has noticed that there's more competition in the house and has responded with a handful of the most insane tantrums you have ever seen, which we ignored. they stopped pretty quickly once he realized they weren't going to get him anything but left howling in the middle of the floor where the dog is almost certainly going to come lick him in the face. he's changed tactics, and has become the loviest little boy on the planet. i admit, that's working better for him--i can't resist me some baby hugs. mostly he's happy to show off for kaiya and make her laugh, and he likes being the only one to get to ride in the stroller in and out of daycare.<br />
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kieran has probably had the roughest adjustment of all three kids. i think it's because he's the oldest, and just gets the reality more than the babies do. he feels just a little left out sometimes, being the biggest and the best able to fend for himself. he's found some confort in more stuffed animal time--he's been bringing one to daycare with him lately, which he stopped doing many months ago--and in some extra time with mama. he and i have started watching one episode of avatar at night after the babies are in bed, and it's helping A LOT. he loves kaiya--he thinks she's cooler than finn because she's less likely to wreck his stuff. but at the same time, he goes--mama, you are taking TOO LONG to get kaiya ready for bed! and i just tell him--it's takes as long as it takes--you must be patient. he's actually torn: on one hand, he's proud of himself for his independence, and on the other, he's resentful of having to BE a little more independent for the new dynamics to work. he, too, is adjusting.<br />
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and as for me and the hippie--well--we're adjusting, too. we're tag-teaming a little more. we're both learing to manage baths and bedtime on our own. we're learning how to fit time for each other in around time for the kiddos. we're learning to manage the exhaustion that comes with caring for an extra one. we're finding the little wells of extra patience that we need to make it all work.<br />
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i have streamlined my daycare drop-off and pick-up process so that i can now get through it in less than 15 minutes--i think that's pretty good. i have learned to make a couple of big things that kaiya can pack for lunches ahead of the week's start. i have learned to plan ahead for her snacks and foods she can feed herself if we want to go anywhere. i have read every label at whole foods and walmart and target and at least 2 grocery stores. i am finding new recipes to make for her. thank goodness i am a person who already cooks a lot and who likes to cook--i don't know how you would deal with the allergies otherwise!<br />
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we are working hard this week on backing the whole schedule up so that we get out of the house a
little earlier in the morning--i have managed to get through the daycare
door before 9am two days in a row. my goal is to get that closer to
8:30, but i'll take anything before 9am and call it success. we are also working on cutting down on TV time and increasing togetherness at family meals.
we're eating breakfast and dinner together at the table with no TV and
only one toy each, and no TV or iPad till after we're all done. aftermath of a good dinner looks like this:<br />
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<center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/7633432012/" title="post-dinner playtime by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img alt="post-dinner playtime" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8020/7633432012_1210caa048.jpg" width="500" /></a></center><br />
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the hippie left today for a week. it's going to be interesting to see how well i fare on my own without him--prayers and good thoughts appreciated!<br />
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anyway--bottom line--for the most part, we are a happy family of 5.jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17575001924452440492noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7851695.post-70930174928203579342012-07-12T12:56:00.000-04:002012-07-12T16:59:56.253-04:00finn is two!i can't BELIEVE finn is two today! this birthday has snuck up on me a bit in the midst of all the family upheaval related to kaiya's arrival, her mom's departure, and all the ensuing preparations and adjustments we are all still making. finn's so laid back, however--he's just sailing on through. here's what he looked like eating breakfast this morning:<br />
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<center>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/7555524428/" title="happy second birthday breakfast to finn! by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img alt="happy second birthday breakfast to finn!" height="500" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7272/7555524428_d2e7fc203e.jpg" width="500" /></a></center><br />
finn is the child of my heart--he is sweet and cuddly and fun. he's a beast and a brute, and he has the cutest giggle in the universe. there's much i could say, but it would all be gushing because i just love him so much. so instead of boring you to tears with all my Proud Mommy Ramblings, i'm just going to show you a bunch of awesome pics of the cuteness. :-)<br />
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<center>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/7557981462/" title="shades by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img alt="shades" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8019/7557981462_8de32f9788.jpg" width="413" /></a><br /><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/7557981782/" title="easter eggs by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img alt="easter eggs" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8009/7557981782_07d3447a34.jpg" width="470" /></a><br /><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/7557982182/" title="beach by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img alt="beach" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8014/7557982182_1acf3e2276.jpg" width="393" /></a><br /><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/7557982370/" title="aquarium by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img alt="aquarium" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8004/7557982370_2c35e15549.jpg" width="410" /></a><br /><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/7557982574/" title="tide pool by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img alt="tide pool" height="500" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7268/7557982574_9835e69965.jpg" width="382" /></a><br /><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/7557982958/" title="whassup by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img alt="whassup" height="500" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8025/7557982958_b712be98f4.jpg" width="367" /></a><br /><br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/7557983194/" title="tractor by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img alt="tractor" height="388" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8285/7557983194_3a35d29e30.jpg" width="500" /></a></center><center> </center><br />
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it's hard to look at all these and believe that just two years ago, we were here:<br />
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<center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/5861350180/" title="sleeper by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img alt="sleeper" height="392" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2714/5861350180_52eefeb197.jpg" width="500" /></a></center><br />
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time truly flies. happy birthday to my dear, sweet, chubby, cheeky boy!jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17575001924452440492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7851695.post-88473284386097799592012-06-21T22:41:00.001-04:002012-06-21T22:44:26.687-04:00on changechange is familiar to all of us. life evolves, and we either run with it or we fall down and let it run over us. that sounds like a cliche, and it is. it is also 100% true. at our house, we try hard to just roll with the tide that comes.<br />
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we're facing a new tide right now, and we're gearing up for some major change coming our way. our little niece, kaiya, is coming at the end of the month to stay with us for the next year. her mama is a military mama, and she's deploying into a region that's unsettled enough that ms. kaiya can't go. i can't tell you how badly i feel for them both, especially now, right as they have passed the 1-year milestone when babies start to turn into actual people instead of what my friend jake calls hungry luggage. that said, we are also looking forward to having her and spending the time with her. i am glad our boys get to have their cousin for a sister for this long, and i really hope it leads to some awesome lifelong bonding between all the kids.<br />
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i've been working on getting ready for her. getting daycare set up, disassembling my studio to make her a room. remodeling our bedroom to make room for a smaller version of my studio there. fencing in the backyard. doing a big do-si-do of the kids' furniture so i can use some of it in her room, and they can use some of the stuff that used to be in the studio in their rooms. we're nearly there. kaiya's room just needs a few finishing touches, and i have to say--it's fun shopping for something girly in the midst my boyish sea of blue and red and orange and green. there are flowers. and pink. well, a little pink anyway... <br />
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the critter is facing his own set of changes right now, too. he's handling it, but change is rough for him--harder than it is for any of the rest of us.
but he's talking about his anxieties--telling a million stories about
the things that scare him and/or make him uncomfortable, and i think
he's really just fine. he'll come to temperature in a month or so. it's a lot at once, though--i get that: his bedroom got rearranged, he knows and understands about kaiya coming, he's in the middle of transitioning into the next room up at daycare, and possibly worst of all--daycare started summertime water play this week. the kid could not hate water play more if someone were paying him to hate it. he informed his teacher this week that, unfortunately, he was a robot and therefore electronic. there's no way a robot can get wet, since water could short his electronics or make his battery die. no way. water--it's not his thing.<br />
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finn, on the other hand, LOVES the water with the crazy love. he's been delighted by school lately. and change? it just rolls right over him. new bookshelf? cool! can he climb it? new friends at school? cool! do they want to be wrestled to the ground? new toys? eh. toys, schmoys--where are all the jars and cups with lids? that's really all he wants right now--ALL the cups and jars with lids he can put on and take off. so funny. his only recent change is that he's gone from a kid who would eat anything! everything! now! all the time! to a kid who will eat about 6 things sometimes, if he happens to be in the mood. toddler. right down to the 2-year-old tantrums. he's lucky he's so cute.<br />
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our family is growing and ever-changing and delightful. (most of the time.) (except when they aren't.) it's going to be a bumpy couple of months around here as we all adjust to adding a new person to the house, and as she adjusts to being added. but i believe that we will be fine, and that we will find our way together into a new routine soon. at least i hope so!<br />
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i am going to try hard to start updating here more and more, posting pictures and updates on all the kids so that not only kaiya's mom, but also all our extended family, can see what these fast-growing and ever-changing babies are up to. too many moments are slipping by with only facebook updates to show for them. i need more!jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17575001924452440492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7851695.post-23929399245926452242012-06-11T07:06:00.000-04:002012-06-11T19:38:44.649-04:00getting it right - creamy coleslawi have been making coleslaw for years, and yet, i've never been happy with it. i've tried recipe after recipe, and never loved the results. i managed an <a href="http://southernfriedgoodness.blogspot.com/2009/06/new-farmers-market-whoo-hoo.html">awesome one with savoy cabbage and green garlic</a> a couple of years ago, but while it IS fantastic, it requires a very specific list of ingredients and season to pull off. it's good. it's not basic, classic coleslaw like i want with my barbeque or beside my burger in the summer.<br />
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so, yesterday i did some research--i read probably 100 recipes for basic coleslaw, then made something up. this time i was careful to measure everything as i went in case it was actually good. and man--it IS! it has the right mix of sweet, tangy, and creamy for me. it probably helps that all the produce was super-fresh, but i am telling you--this is the one true coleslaw for our house from now on. it's simple, to be sure, but it's a tasty enough version of the classic to share.<br />
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<center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/7359330796/" title="creamy coleslaw by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img alt="creamy coleslaw" height="500" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7085/7359330796_2c3108d7d0.jpg" width="500" /></a></center><br />
<br />
<u>INGREDIENTS</u><br />
1 medium head of cabbage<br />
1 medium to large carrot<br />
4 scallions<br />
3/4 cup mayonnaise<br />
3 1/2 tablespoons sugar<br />
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar <br />
1/2 teaspoon salt<br />
3/4 teaspoon celery seeds<br />
black pepper to taste<br />
<br />
<u>DIRECTIONS</u><br />
core and chop cabbage and add it to a large bowl. peel the carrot, then grate it into the cabbage. slice scallions and add those as well. toss the veggies until mixed. in a separate bowl, mix all remaining ingredients and stir with a whisk or fork until it's smooth and creamy. taste your dressing, so you can adjust for sweetness and peppery-ness, etc. add dressing to the cabbage mix and toss until the veggies are well coated. refrigerate for an hour or two before you eat so that the flavors have time to marry.<br />
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we had this for dinner last night on some <a href="http://southernfriedgoodness.blogspot.com/2011/12/dark-days-of-winter-meal-3-southern-q.html">pulled pork</a> sandwiches, and it was beyond delicious.<br />
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<center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/7362832862/" title="down home dinner by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img alt="down home dinner" height="500" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7095/7362832862_0696ab41b9.jpg" width="374" /></a></center><br />
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it's worth mentioning that this meal was almost all local. the produce was all from our CSA from <a href="http://bensproduce.blogspot.com/">in good heart farm</a>, the pork from <a href="http://home.mebtel.net/%7Eficklecreek/">fickle creek farm</a>, and the onion challah rolls from <a href="http://www.lafarmbakery.com/">la farm bakery</a>. i cheated on the beans--they are from the good folks at bush's beans. all of it was 100% yummy.jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17575001924452440492noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7851695.post-13649262930783187252012-04-09T13:03:00.002-04:002012-04-09T15:48:32.273-04:00some things about the critterNOTE: i started writing this back in january. it's now april, and i am just getting around to finishing it. this is an indication of a) how quickly the time passes, and b) how little time i have to blog these days. whew! however, i still love this information, so i am still posting. prepare for a long one...<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/7061668585/" title="kieran, about to board the train to DC by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5450/7061668585_9015a34de9.jpg" width="373" height="500" alt="kieran, about to board the train to DC"></a></center><br /><br />the critter, he's getting so big, and there are so many things about him i want to remember. three and a half turns out to be a tough age. he's getting independent, but still needs us. he's developing opinions, but still can't really make his own choices. he's talking more and more and better and better, but still can't always make himself understood. he's got too much energy to nap, but not enough to get through the day. all in all, it makes for an almost bi-polar child who's either elated or completely frustrated. he throws tantrums you would not believe. but he's also a delight. it's all one big roller coaster these days. here are some things i want to remember, in no real order.<br /><br /><ul><li>he picks me a flower every morning at daycare when we arrive. we can't go in until he finds one. he hands it to me and says, "mama, here's a flower for your work! you can put it in water if you like!"</li><li>he has 3 imaginary dogs called hardware, take-out, and jack. hardware is the biggest and the oldest and is very lazy. take-out is a blue heeler and the smartest. jack is little and sometimes bites. the stories about these dogs are endless. they are all boys. they have imaginary leashes and toys. they go for walks, just like our real dog.</li><li>he still rides his little fisher price fire truck, for which he is WAY too big. that said, he's a daredevil on that thing and can make it spin out and slide to a stop in a very dramatic manner. he comes flying into the kitchen on it, screms it to a sliding stop half an inch from my foot, looks up at me and says, " stop it--you know you love it!" (WHERE does he get these things???)</li><li>he's super fast on his scooter as well. he has pinwheels he puts on the handles of it so that they stick out on each side, one yellow and one blue. they spin as he rides, and he tells me that they are cooling fans. he puts his toy pliers over the rear axel "to make it go faster." the child is three, and he already believes in after-market mods on his vehicles.</li><li>he tells me he's more of a cat person than a dog person because cats are calmer.</li><li>every night we snuggle a minute in his bed before he goes to sleep. he tells me about his day, and then we have a set routine of hugs and kisses we have to go through. it started as 3 hugs and 3 kisses, but now it's those, plus higs and kisses for the following: firetrucks, fire engines (yes, they're different), bill ( his friend at school's alter-ego name), ribbon (HIS alter-ego name), caitlin (another friend), and one for the road. we repeat this same sequence at daycare drop-off.</li><li>he has chosen a name for his t-rex alter ego: ribbon. mr. ribbon the nice t-rex, to be exact. he will argue sometimes that this is actually his real name, and not kieran. we still call him critter, too. it's all very confusing.</li><li>ribbon's friend's name is harry (not to be confused with our actual real friend harry), and he's a parasaurolophus who makes noise with the bony crest on his year. the fact that he can say parasaurolophus blows me away, especially when he still has trouble with leading s's.</li><li>the kid is obsessed with the mars rover. it is both a ROBOT and a SPACESHIP, and this is awesome. we got him a bunch of space themed bedding for his room, and his main observation was that there was no mars rover represented. because i am a sucker, i went online, downloaded a super high res image of one, and had it made into a pillowcase for him. he's beyond delighted, and carries it all over the house. win.</li></ul><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/7061663053/" title="k excited to eat in the kitchen by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7176/7061663053_7c9b7034cc.jpg" width="374" height="500" alt="k excited to eat in the kitchen"></a></center><p>a few months ago at daycare, he was "friend of the week," which means he was kind of the focus in his class for a few minutes every day. every week, it's a different kid, and that kid gets to bring something in to share with the class every day as well as share his favorite books, snacks, toys, etc. you can do as much or as little as you want to enhance this for your child, and i'd say we're kind of middle of the road. k and i discussed it at length, and he decided he wanted to bring in a book to share every day, and then we decided we would alternate between snacks and toys so that he could give something he likes to his class every day. it's so cute how excited he is to share with them! we also had to do a questionnaire together, which was great fun for both of us. i went through, asked him the questions, and wrote down his answers. i tried hard not to lead him, and just let him answer for himself. some of the answers surprised me. i took pictures of the questionnaire so we could look back at his answers in a few years for comparison--click <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/sets/72157629414366004/">here</a> if you want to see his crazy answers.<br /><br />we also went on our first big trip together, just me and the critter, in january. we took the train to washington DC to visit our dear friend, meredith, and spend the weekend sightseeing, critter-style. he was awesome and brave, and had a TON of fun. we went to <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6695431847/in/photostream">the natural history museum</a> and <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6696104745/in/photostream/">the air and space museum</a>, and it's an utter tossup which one he loved more. between the t-rex and the mars rover, i think his head about exploded! he's still talking about all he saw and did, aunt meredith's apartment, the food (especially the cupcakes), and the trains, both amtrak and subway, that we took. he LOVED the taxi ride. all in all, it made me want to travel more. he wants to fly somewhere next. so awesome.<br /><br />the boy is into food. i LOVE this of course, and i really hope it's something we keep in common between us as he grows older. he loves to help me in the kitchen, and he has food jealousy that may actually be worse than mine. he likes to go to the farmers market with me and talk about what we will cook from the foods we buy there. he has to try everything, even totally unfamiliar foods. when i was out of town a couple of weeks ago, he gave his dad a long lecture on the importance of eating healthy and playing outside and getting enough exercise. i'm just going to go ahead and call that a parenting win. :)<br /><br />he's my little man. he tells me he loves me to the sun and back. i love him to the sun and back...twice.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6636721637/" title="mama and k by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7151/6636721637_83efcd13a3.jpg" width="454" height="500" alt="mama and k"></a></center><br /></p>jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17575001924452440492noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7851695.post-5497426996824286712012-03-01T11:25:00.000-05:002012-03-01T11:26:02.931-05:00family photo book<object width="425" height="425" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000"><param name="movie" value="http://images-community.shutterfly.com/flashapps/flashslideshowphotobook/slideshow_pb.swf"/><param name="flashvars" value="xmlURL=http%3A%2F%2Fws.shutterfly.com%2Fpsdata%3FprojectGUID%3D0RYs27li4aU5o%26uid%3D004081907310%26size%3D0%26ts%3D1330619082000%26height%3D425%26width%3D425&size=0&ob=0&fc=0&ss=0&sb=0&ft=0"/><param name="menu" value="false"/><param name="quality" value="best"/><param name="wmode" value="transparent"/><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"/><embed width="425" height="425" align="middle" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" name="wrapper" quality="best" menu="false" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" flashvars="xmlURL=http%3A%2F%2Fws.shutterfly.com%2Fpsdata%3FprojectGUID%3D0RYs27li4aU5o%26uid%3D004081907310%26size%3D0%26ts%3D1330619082000%26height%3D425%26width%3D425&size=0&ob=0&fc=0&ss=0&sb=0&ft=0" src="http://images-community.shutterfly.com/flashapps/flashslideshowphotobook/slideshow_pb.swf"></embed></object><p style="width:425px;margin-top:0;text-align:center;"><a href="http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0RYs27li4aOfA&cid=SFLYOCWIDGET&eid=118">Click here to view this photo book larger</a><div style="margin-top: 10px; width: 425px; text-align: center;">Visit Shutterfly.com to create your own personalized <a href="http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-books" style="color: #6666cc;">photobook</a>.</div></p>jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17575001924452440492noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7851695.post-72256286258291602822012-02-15T12:24:00.001-05:002012-02-15T16:38:57.027-05:00dark days of winter meal 7: chicken and dumplingsi guess i missed a couple of weeks there--i am doing a LOT of local cooking, but the blogging part is often hard for me to keep up with. especially true when there have been some family illnesses to deal with on top of all the normal life madness. not making excuses...just explaining where the heck i've been. to me, the point of this challenge is to make me aware of where everything we eat originates and to make as much of an effort as i can to keep things as local as possible.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">on the menu</span><br /><ul><li> chicken and dumplings with kohlrabi and baby carrots<br /></li></ul><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6866193143/" title="chicken and dumplings by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7183/6866193143_3446765e52.jpg" width="500" height="500" alt="chicken and dumplings"></a><br /><br />(WORST. PICTURE. EVER. --sorry!)</center><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">local ingredients</span><br /><ul><li>whole stewing hen from <a href="http://home.mebtel.net/%7Eficklecreek/">fickle creek farm</a> (efland, nc, 44 miles)*<br /></li><li>cutting celery from screech owl greenhouse (moncure, nc, 19 miles)*<br /></li><li>kohlrabi from <a href="http://coonrockfarm.com/">coon rock farm</a> (hillsborough, nc, 35 miles)*<br /></li><li>mixed baby carrots from <a href="http://coonrockfarm.com/">coon rock farm</a> (hillsborough, nc, 35 miles)*<br /></li><li>thyme from our yard (apex, nc, 15 feet)<br /></li><li>whole wheat pastry flour from singing turtle farm (dunn, nc, 54 miles)*</li><li>rendered lard from <a href="http://home.mebtel.net/%7Eficklecreek/">fickle creek farm</a> (efland, nc, 44 miles)*<br /></li><li>butter from <a href="http://www.mapleviewfarm.com/">maple view farm</a> (hillsborough, nc 35 miles)<br /></li><li>buttermilk from <a href="http://www.mapleviewfarm.com/">maple view farm</a> (hillsborough, nc 35 miles)<br /><br /></li></ul>* purchased at <a href="http://westernwakefarmersmarket.org/">western wake farmers market</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">non-local ingredients</span><br /><ul><li> onion<br /></li><li> pepper<br /></li><li> salt<br /></li><li> baking powder<br /></li><li> sugar<br /></li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">easy</span>: this is a meal i planned for while walking through the farmers market, so it was very easy to get all the ingredients on the spot. some things i already had on hand.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">challenging</span>: oddly, nothing to report here. i have accepted the salt, pepper, baking powder, and sugar limitations, so there were no issues there. i just use those things as sparingly as i can, and keep the focus more on the local things i CAN get.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">recipes</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">chicken stock</span> <br /><br />ingredients:<br />1 whole stewing hen, about 3 lbs.<br />1/2 large yellow onion<br />4-5 stalks of cutting celery<br />a bunch of thyme<br />salt and pepper to taste<br /><br />directions: this one's easy. place all ingredients in a large stock pot. add water until everything is well covered with maybe 1.5 inches to spare. bring it to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover. cook until the meat is starting to separate from the bone, about 4 hours. remove chicken and strain the broth into a clean soup pot. add salt and pepper to taste. <br />note: you now have awesome broth--you could make anything! :)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">chicken and dumplings with carrots and kohlrabi</span><br /><br />ingredients:<br />1.5 - 2lbs young fresh carrots<br />~1 lb kohlrabi, about 2 bulbs<br />1 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour<br />3 tsp baking powder<br />2 tsp sugar<br />1 tsp salt<br />2 tbsp butter<br />3 tbsp lard<br />3/4 cup buttermilk<br /><br />directions: <br />trim carrot stems to about 1/2 an inch, then peel carrots. trim away thinnest part of root if necessary. peel and dice kohlrabi to about 1/2 inch chunks. return the broth to a slow boil, and meanwhile, make the dumplings. in large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. cut in butter and lard with a pastry knife or work in with fingers until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. aff buttermilk all at once and make a sticky dough. turn onto floured surface and lightly knead (more like patting) until dough gets just a little springy. roll out to about 3/8 inch thickness, and cut out dumplings (i used a 1-inch round cutter, but you can use whatever you like.) when the broth is boiling, add the veggies and let them cook for about 5 minutes befor eyou add the dumplings. add them slowly, one at a time, till they are all in. note that if your pot is furiously boiling, it will break the dumplings apart. go slow, and cook at a soft boil. everything should be done by the time the veggies are tender, about 10 more minutes.<br /><br />note: the dumplings are adapted from the biscuit recipe in bill neal's souther cooking cookbook, and they definitely need a little tweaking to get just right. when i made this, i think i added too much buttermilk, so i cut the amount here back a little to 3/4 of a cup. my dumplings fell apart more than i would have liked, although they tasted great. next time i will put in 3/4 cup buttermilk, and maybe up the other fats just a little while dropping 1/2 a tsp of baking powder. the kitchen, as y'all well know, is a lab.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">family ruling</span><br />AWESOME! will absolutely be making this again.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">further thoughts</span><br />there are few foods on the earth more divine than fresh baby carrots. so. delicious.<br /><br />kohlrabi is turning out to be a new favorite of mine. it's like a cross between jicama, broccoli, and a potato. it's good julienned and added raw to salads, it's good in stirfry and sautes for pasta, and it's delicious in stews and soups. it brings a lot to the table, and there's nothing hard to prepare about it. i was kind of intimidated by it at first, but now i want more, and i can't wait to try making slaw out of it, too. it seems like you could use it with or in place of many other things. i wonder if i could make it mashed with some cheese? steamed? in strips with hummus in my lunch box? it seems remarkably useful, healthy, and versatile. let's hear it for cool new (to me) veggies!<br /><br />one last note on lard: this was my first time working with it, and man--it's pretty awesome. it's the texture--it's smooth as silk, and so easy to work into the flour. i think i might have to try making some tortillas. i am almost sorry i liked it as much as i did--it's not exactly the healthiest fat. but i just wanted to check it out. i felt so old school! i'd be interested to know if you've every cooked with it, and what you thought. my mother always swore it made her biscuits. i wonder if it would mine, too...jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17575001924452440492noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7851695.post-29555494833427813202012-01-24T13:02:00.002-05:002012-01-24T13:56:52.395-05:00dark days of winter, meal 6: one pot meal challengethe dark days of winter challenge is starting to have some theme and challenge weeks here and there. this week's theme is soups and one pot meals. i decided to challenge myself to see if i could make this from what i already had in the kitchen with zero shopping or planning. sometimes i think i do better when there are limitations that force me to become creative.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">on the menu</span><br /><ul><li> hearty winter stew with chicken and cabbage<br /></li><li> rosemary beer bread<br /></li></ul><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6721585557/" title="dark days meal 6, plated by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7007/6721585557_4cea69d3f1.jpg" width="500" height="442" alt="dark days meal 6, plated"></a></center><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">local ingredients</span><br /><ul><li> whole chicken from <a href="http://home.mebtel.net/%7Eficklecreek/">fickle creek farm</a> (efland, nc, 44 miles)*<br /></li><li>wheat berries from singing turtle farm (dunn, nc, 54 miles)*<br /></li><li>cabbage from <a href="http://bensproduce.blogspot.com/">ben's produce</a> (clayton, nc, 33 miles) (CSA)*<br /></li><li> homemade chicken stock from my freezer <br /></li><li>sweet josie brown ale from <a href="http://www.loneriderbeer.com/">lonerider brewery</a><br /></li><li>bay leaves from east wake apiary (wake county, nc, exact mileage unknown) *<br /></li><li>whole wheat bread flour from singing turtle farm (dunn, nc, 54 miles)*<br /></li><li>rosemary from our yard (apex, nc, 15 feet)<br /></li></ul>* purchased at <a href="http://westernwakefarmersmarket.org/">western wake farmers market</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">non-local ingredients</span><br /><ul><li> salt<br /></li><li> pepper<br /></li><li> garlic<br /></li><li> onion<br /></li><li> butter<br /></li><li> baking powder<br /></li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">easy</span>: honestly i thought this would be harder. i turn out to have a really well stocked fridge and pantry. lol.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">challenging</span>: the challenge here was staying local. there were some things in my fridge that needed to be used and were not local--i couldn't see the value of seeking out the local counterpart to something i already had if it meant wasting something. so--i used the half an onion in my crisper rather than try to find a local onion. for all i know, it WAS a local onion--either way--it went in the stew.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">recipes</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">hearty winter stew with chicken and cabbage</span> <br />this one's 100% made up.<br />ingredients:<br />1 whole chicken<br />1 cup wheat berries<br />1/2 large yellow onion<br />1 quart chicken stock<br />1 cup water<br />2 cloves garlic<br />2-3 bay leaves<br />1 small to medium head of green cabbage<br />1 cup dark beer<br />salt and pepper to taste<br /><br />directions: about 6 hours before eating, cut chicken into 8 pieces, and place into a slow cooker. roughly chop onion, then add it, along with the wheat berries, to the pot. add chicken stock, water, garlic cloves, and bay leaves. cook on high for about 4 hours. while this is cooking, go ahead and roughly chop the cabbage. set aside for later. after 4 hours of cooking time, remove chicken, pull the meat from the bones. discard skin and bones, then return meat to the pot. add cabbage and beer. continue to cook from about 2 more hours until wheat berries are just starting to split.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">beer bread with rosemary</span><br />this is based on <a href="http://www.food.com/recipe/beer-bread-73440">the beer bread recipe on the food network's website</a>. i changed the type of flour, added rosemary, and cut the butter in half, but the original concept is still theirs. :)<br />ingredients:<br />3 cups whole wheat flour<br />3 teaspoons baking powder<br />1 teaspoon salt<br />1/4 cup sugar<br />~1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary<br />12 ounces dark beer<br />1/4 cup melted butter<br /><br />directions: <br />preheat oven to 375 degrees. butter a 9x5 baking pan. sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. (note: when i sifted my locally milled flour, the sifter wanted to keep much of the wheat berry hulls and other bits of the rough flour. i did sift, but i also dumped those back in. my point was to aerate the flour more than to "strain" it, so to speak. if you wanted fluffier bread, you could leave those things out, but i wanted all the nutrition that comes with the WHOLE wheat berry being included.) whick 1/2 the rosemary into the dry ingredients. add beer, and stir just until mixed. pour into greased loaf pan. pour melted butter over mixture. bake about 1 hour until golden brown and crusty. cool in pan for 5 minutes, then move to wire rack. let sit for at least 10 minutes more before slicing.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">family ruling</span><br />i knot that picture up there isn't the most stunning, but trust me, people. this. was. awesome. we had friends over for dinner, and the vote for awesomeness was unanimous. it was warm and comforting and delicious, as well as ridiculously healthy. the 8-year-old at the table ate two big bowls, and i think all the grown-ups did as well. this is one made up recipe i'll be hanging onto! the bread as well was a pleasant surprise. i had heard good things about the beer bread recipe, but i was a little reluctant to try it with the dark flour and beer--it was fantastic and went really well with the stew. also--it's worth noting that all of this held up very well--the leftovers i ate for lunch a few days after this was made were probably even better than the freshly made stuff. YUM!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">further thoughts</span><br />a note on beer and broth. this is something i have never done--add beer to broth. i've read countless recipes for stews and soups that use beer, but for reasons i can't even begin to think, it never occured to me to actually make one before. but i was about to add the cabbage to the stew, and i kept tasting it, and thinking it was missing something...something to give it a little more kick and add to the heartiness of the dish...something a little bitter to balance the sweet cabbage i was about to add. BEER! it was right there in front of me, so i tried it--totally the right thing.<br /><br />also a first for me: wheat berries. sharon, the farmer at my market who is growing wheat and milling flour had some of these for sale, and i was like, wha??? she assured me that they were delicious, and that you could add them to hot, long cooking cereals like steel cut oats, or to soups where you would normally use barley or brown rice or something like that. i admit, i was a little nervous about them. rice in stews can get mushy, and barley can make them too thick. but. i had them, i wanted something different, and i needed a starchy something in the stew for body. OMG, they are fantastic! they turned out like rice, but chewier, a tiny bit crunchy, and not mushy at all. after 6 hours on high, they were just starting to split and release a little thickening wheat germ into the stew. all of us really liked both the texture and the slightly sweet flavor they brought to the table. so. good. one of those foods i now wonder where it's been all my life. if you can get your hand on some, i can't recommend them enough.<br /><br />so yeah. success.jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17575001924452440492noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7851695.post-57335867436393608702012-01-18T12:52:00.005-05:002012-01-18T14:49:49.577-05:00dark days of winter, meal 5: gettin' experimentali seem to be skipping a week here and there. again, my meal# isn't matching up to the actual week the dark days of winter challenge is on, but i swear i am doing the best i can! :)<br /><br />this week, the meat was super basic, but i got a little experimental with the veggies. i had some turnips left from my fall CSA (those things last forever!), and a couple of big bunches of kale. the hippie is always talking about trying some green smoothies, so i get extra greens for him. however, it takes us a while to start following through on intentions like that, so i sometimes end up with the extra greens lying in the fridge begging for mercy! suffice it to say, we've had a lot of turnips and kale this year. time to try something new with them!<span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><br /><br />on the menu</span><br /><ul><li> grilled smoked pork loin chips<br /></li><li> creamed turnips with bleu cheese<br /></li><li> kale chips with french grey sea salt<br /></li></ul><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6721585647/" title="dark days meal 5, plated by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7025/6721585647_837b199c21.jpg" width="500" height="379" alt="dark days meal 5, plated"></a></center><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">local ingredients</span><br /><ul><li> smoked pork chops from <a href="http://home.mebtel.net/%7Eficklecreek/">fickle creek farm</a> (efland, nc, 44 miles)*</li><li>thyme from our yard (apex, nc, 15 feet)</li><li>salad turnips from <a href="http://bensproduce.blogspot.com/">ben's produce</a> (clayton, nc, 33 miles) (CSA)*</li><li> carolina bleu cheese from the <a href="http://hillsboroughcheese.wordpress.com/">hillsborough cheese company</a> (hillsborough, nc, 34 miles)*<br /></li><li> kale from <a href="http://home.mebtel.net/%7Eficklecreek/">fickle creek farm</a> (efland, nc, 44 miles)*</li></ul>* purchased at <a href="http://westernwakefarmersmarket.org/">western wake farmers market</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">non-local ingredients</span><br /><ul><li> salt</li><li>white pepper<br /></li><li>cream(organic, but not local)<br /></li><li> olive oil<br /></li><li> garlic<br /></li><li> cloves<br /></li><li>french grey sea salt</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">easy</span>: this week's meal was thrown together pretty quickly from things i already had in the house--no real planning till i was ready to start to cook. i LOVE when that happens.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">challenging</span>: i was a little disappointed that i failed to buy local cream and butter for this week. i've been trying to favor those, but a) i can't get them at the farmers market, and b) not all grocery stores have them either. if i don't make it to the places that do, which are a little out of my way, then i can't get local. i always get organic, but it would sure be nice if local were as easy to find.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">recipes</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">grilled smoked pork chops</span> <br />recipe is a strong word for this--we don't do a thing to fickle creek's smoked pork chops other than heat them on the grill. i unwrap them and hand them to the hippie, and he grills them about 3 minutes per side on high heat. let them rest a few minutes, and eat them up!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">creamed turnips with bleu cheese</span><br />ingredients:<br />~2 lbs salad turnips (these are small white turnips with a milder flavor than the big purple kind)<br />2 whole cloves<br />2 cloves of garlic<br />~1 tsp fresh thyme<br />1 oz good quality bleu cheese<br />1/4 tsp white pepper<br />heavy cream to texture<br />salt to taste<br /><br />directions: peel and chop turnips to about 3/4-inch cubes. place in saucepan with both whole cloves and garlic cloves, cover with water, and bring to a boil. reduce heat slightly and continue to boil just until turnips are tender, about 15 minutes. drain well and remove cloves (leave garlic in!). mash turnips slightly with a potato masher and drain again. i discovered that turnips contain a LOT of liquid--drain them a lot so they don't become soupy. add thyme, bleu cheese, white pepper, salt, and a tiny bit of cream, and whip. add cream in increments and by tiny amounts--you don't need much.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">kale chips</span> <br />(recipe from <a href="http://userealbutter.com/2011/04/17/baked-kale-chips-recipe/">use real butter</a>, one of my absolute favorite food blogs)<br />ingredients:<br />a bunch of kale<br />olive oil<br />sea salt<br /><br />directions:<br />preheat oven to 350. wash and dry kale thoroughly. remove the hard center stems, and roughly tear or chop it into manageable sized pieces. toss with a small amount of olive oil. line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and lay the kale out in a single layer. sprinkle with sea salt. bake for about 12-15 minutes until crispy.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">family ruling</span><br />this whole meal was YUM city, ESPECIALLY the kale chips! those were just fantastic. i've wanted to try them for a long time after having so many friends rave to me about how good they are. i was skeptical, but delighted in the end. i can't recommend it enough. (note: our 3-year-old was NOT as impressed. he was game and tried them, but HATED them--so much that i gave him a cookie to make up for the level of horror he experienced. it's rare for us to have such a mega-fail with him, but there you go--this was right up next to cauliflower on his PLEASE-MAMA-NOT-THAT list, which is saying something. his statement? "mama, i don't really like kale chips." lol)<br /><br />now. the turnips. turns out they have about 12x the amount of liquid in them as potatoes. so, while the creamed turnips TASTED awesome, they were far more soupy than i intended. i should have done a better job of draining them before i added the cream, so i adjusted the directions accordingly. that said--this was a delicious amalgam about about 15 different recipes i read. i will definitely do this again--i will just know next time to drain better and use less cream.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">further thoughts</span><br />i forget how much i like playing in the kitchen. this, and the one-pot meal i made for next week's challenge are the first couple of truly creative things i've done in the kitchen in a while. i miss it! for some reason in winter, i seem to stick more to the tried and true than i do in the summer. i think this has something to do with the variety of available produce for sure, but i have also realized that i tend to feel pressed for time when it gets dark so early, too. i need to shake that feeling off and continue to get creative on the winter veggies.jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17575001924452440492noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7851695.post-8116690059223777842012-01-03T12:34:00.002-05:002012-01-04T13:55:33.481-05:00dark days of winter, meal 4: keepin' it simplei skipped a week of the dark days of winter challenge because of the holidays and ensuing chaos. that said, i made a LOT of local food over the holidays, including the main showcase of the christmas eve feast i cooked for friends: a pair of lovely london broils from smith angus farms in snow camp, nc. so very delicious!<br /><br />anyway--onto what is my meal #4, although i have lost count of what the actual week is...<br /><br />for this week's meal, and after all the madness of the holiday eating, i decided to keep things very simple. <span>again, we ended up with friends spontaneously over for dinner. it seems we do that a lot. and as usual, the number and quality of my photographs drops in direct proportion to how many people are in the house when i am cooking. this post is the lightest one yet for pictures--sorry!</span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><br /><br />on the menu</span><br /><ul><li> simple roasted chicken<br /></li><li> baked sweet potatoes<br /></li><li> grilled fennel<br /></li><li>a big salad</li></ul><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6636136071/" title="dark days meal 4, plated by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7171/6636136071_016d3476f3.jpg" alt="dark days meal 4, plated" height="427" width="500" /></a></center><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">local ingredients</span><br /><ul><li> whole chicken from <a href="http://home.mebtel.net/%7Eficklecreek/">fickle creek farm</a> (efland, nc, 44 miles)*</li><li>thyme from our yard (apex, nc, 15 feet)</li><li>oregano from our yard (apex, nc, 15 feet)</li><li>rosemary from our yard (apex, nc, 15 feet)</li><li>sweet potatoes from <a href="http://bensproduce.blogspot.com/">ben's produce</a> (clayton, nc, 33 miles) (CSA)*</li><li> butter from <a href="http://www.homelandcreamery.com/">homeland creamery</a> (julian, nc, 57 miles)<br /></li><li>fennel from <a href="http://bensproduce.blogspot.com/">ben's produce</a> (clayton, nc, 33 miles) (CSA)*</li><li>lettuces from screech owl greenhouse (moncure, nc, 19 miles)* </li><li>cucumber from screech owl greenhouse (moncure, nc, 19 miles)*</li><li>tomatoes from screech owl greenhouse (moncure, nc, 19 miles)*</li><li>watermelon radishes from <a href="http://bensproduce.blogspot.com/">ben's produce</a> (clayton, nc, 33 miles) (CSA)* </li></ul>* purchased at <a href="http://westernwakefarmersmarket.org/">western wake farmers market</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">non-local ingredients</span><br /><ul><li> salt</li><li>pepper<br /></li><li> olive oil<br /></li><li>cinnamon</li><li>yellow pepper (organic, but not local)</li><li>celery (organic, but not local)</li><li>salad dressings<br /></li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">easy</span>: really, just about everything here was easy. this is how i cook all the time, and i've gotten used to buying as much locally as i possibly can. in the light of the busyness of this time of year, i think i also accepted the limitations better this go around.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">challenging</span>: as usual, the exceptions are spices, oils, and the things that aren't frown in my local greenhouses. also, it was a little harder over the holidays, since some of my farmers also took actual vacations to see their own families. how crazy is that??<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">recipes</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">simple roasted chicken</span> (adapted from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Recipes-Home-David-Page/dp/1885183992/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325623695&sr=8-1"><span style="font-style: italic;">recipes from home</span></a>, one of my favorite cookbooks):<br />ingredients:<br />3-4 lb chicken<br />6-10 sprigs of fresh herbs (i used thyme, oregano, and rosemary since that's what i had on hand)<br />salt and pepper<br /><br />directions:<br />preheat oven to 450F. rinse the bird and pat dry. salt and pepper inside and out. add herbs to cavity of chicken, and tie legs with twine or linen. place chicken on roasting rack in pan, and roast for ~40 minutes. turn oven temperature down to 350 and continue to roast for 30 more minutes or until juices run clear when the joint between the leg and thigh is pierced. (note: the actual recipe calls for 10 basil leaves, 3-4 sprigs each of thyme and rosemary. it also specifies half a lemon, cut in half, with which you rub the insure of the bird's cavity. this does bring something to the table, but i find that the chicken is still delicious without it. as long as you have a good quality, free-range, non-fatty or water heavy bird, this is fool-proof!)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">baked sweet potatoes</span> ("recipe" is a strong word for this!)<br />ingredients:<br />sweet potatoes<br /><br />directions:wash and dry the sweet potatoes, and, as long as they are fairly petite, just throw them into the oven with the chicken. when you turn the oven down to 350, pierce the sweet potatoes with a fork. these were small enough that they were perfectly cooked by the time the chicken was done. if they were larger, i would have started them in the 450-degree oven about 15 minutes before i put the chicken in, and i think they still would have been fine. we're all about efficiency around here. we served them with cinnamon and butter.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">grilled fennel</span> (again, not really a recipe)<br />ingredients:<br />3 bulbs of fennel<br />olive oil<br />salt and pepper to taste<br /><br />directions:<br />remove stems from fennel bulbs. slice vertically into 1/8 - 1/4-inch slices. toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper. grill for about 3 minutes a side or until desired texture.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">salad</span><br />this one contained:<br />2 small heads of red oak leaf lettuce<br />1 head green bibb lettuce<br />1 large watermelon radish<br />2 stalks celery<br />1/2 large english cucumber<br />1 very large heirloom red tomato<br />1 yellow pepper<br /><br />directions: chop everything into bite sized pieces. toss. apply favorite salad dressing, and eat as much as you want--salad is awesome!<br /><br /><div style="float: left; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6636135765/" title="dark days meal 4, fennel by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7174/6636135765_a2b24a867e_t.jpg" alt="dark days meal 4, fennel" height="99" width="100" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6636135869/" title="dark days meal 4, watermelon radish by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7022/6636135869_41910b8e4a_t.jpg" alt="dark days meal 4, watermelon radish" height="89" width="100" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6636135975/" title="dark days meal 4, lettuce by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7011/6636135975_c821b0d4dd_t.jpg" alt="dark days meal 4, lettuce" height="80" width="100" /></a></div><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">family ruling<br /></span>the chicken was awesome, as it always is, and everyone at our house loves sweet potatoes and salad. the fennel was the dud of the meal. disclaimer: i HATE fennel and didn't even eat it, although i DID force myself to try it just to check to see if i had changed my mind about it. (i hadn't.) but even for the other folks who love it, it was just kind of lacking something--i think i should have maybe grilled it with some other veggies--maybe an onion or a pepper or something. people ate it, but no one relished it. i won't do it again on it's own...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">further thoughts</span><br />i am so grateful for fresh lettuce in the winter. the new greenhouse guy at my farmers market has been a godsend with his cucumbers and lettuce and peppers and LOVELY tomatoes. i read something recently about the incredibly high carbon footprint of shipping greens, and i am so very glad i can still get them, virtually guilt free, even in the dead of winter. i didn't realize how addicted to salads we had become until we started trying to eat closer to home. <br /><br />in addition to the greens, i am still in love with the way my farmers market is always showing me something new--the watermelon radishes in this particular salad were a delight. since my farmers market started, i have also tried lemon cucumbers, english cucumbers, french breakfast radishes, black spanish radishes, kohlrabi, poona kheera cucumbers, baby ginger, kale (many kinds), mizuna, tatsoi, savoy cabbage, fresh elephant garlic, and so many other things i never knew i was going to love. the variety in what we eat is ever-increasing, which is an incredible gift from the local farmers to us. so thankful...jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17575001924452440492noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7851695.post-87196980662354337482011-12-19T21:03:00.003-05:002011-12-19T22:04:06.224-05:00dark days of winter, meal 3: Southern Qthis week's post is horrifyingly low on decent pictures, due to distractions in the form of friends showing up to meet the new dawg and staying for dinner. in lieu of a plate shot, i give you ginger, our new puppy:<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6522502853/" title="ginger is growing fast! by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7168/6522502853_3be14a6663.jpg" alt="ginger is growing fast!" height="500" width="500" /></a></center><br /><span>now, on to business.</span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><br /><br /></span><span>this week's meal is all southern, and very old school, with the exception of the fact that i used my crock pot to make BBQ instead of digging a hole in my back yard to smoke it.</span><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><br /><br />on the menu</span><br /><ul><li> pulled pork BBQ<br /></li><li> old school braised greens with indian dumplings<br /></li><li> honey glazed roasted carrots</li><li>sweet josie brown ale from <a href="http://www.loneriderbeer.com/">lonerider brewery</a><br />(there's a keg of this local brew in my garage--i thought i'd feature it along with the food.)<br /></li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">local ingredients</span><br /><ul><li> fresh boston butt from <a href="http://home.mebtel.net/%7Eficklecreek/">fickle creek farm</a> (efland, nc, 44 miles)*</li><li>carrots from <a href="http://bensproduce.blogspot.com/">ben's produce</a> (clayton, nc, 33 miles) (CSA)*</li><li> butter from <a href="http://www.homelandcreamery.com/">homeland creamery</a> (julian, nc, 57 miles)<br /></li><li> honey from <a href="http://southernfriedgoodness.blogspot.com/2011/06/robbing-bees-part-one.html">our family's bees</a> (20 miles)<br /></li><li>rainbow swiss chard from <a href="http://bensproduce.blogspot.com/">ben's produce</a> (clayton, nc, 33 miles) (CSA)*</li><li>collard greens from <a href="http://bensproduce.blogspot.com/">ben's produce</a> (clayton, nc, 33 miles) (CSA)*</li><li> red pepper flakes from my friend rich's garden (durham, nc, ~15 miles)<br /></li><li> cornmeal from <a href="http://muddydogcoffee.com/">muddy dog roasting company</a> (morrisville nc, 10 miles)*</li></ul>* purchased at <a href="http://westernwakefarmersmarket.org/">western wake farmers market</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">non-local ingredients</span><br /><ul><li> salt</li><li> red pepper rib rub made by my friend karen</li><li>apple cider vinegar</li><li>liquid hickory smoke (real, not chemical--cause, ew)<br /></li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">semi-local ingredients</span><br /><ul><li> bone-suckin' sauce - made in north carolina, but i have zero clue from whence the ingredients come. it's as local as i can get BBQ sauce without making my own, which is a challenge in the winter.<br /></li><li>bacon fat - from <a href="http://hollandbros.net/">holland brothers</a> bacon, not local to us, but local to the grandparents who live in PA. bacon from this place is a yearly gift from our family, and it's awesome.<br /></li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><br />easy</span>: as always, meat and produce are the no-brainers.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">challenging</span>: the semi-local ingredients here are my compromise. things like apple cider vinegar, liquid smoke, and salt i KNOW i can't get locally, but the other things? well--i guess i am just trying to keep the carbon footprint as low as possible on things like that. it doesn't make sense to me to buy bacon that's local to me, when i already have bacon that was a gift from someone for whom that bacon IS local. does that make sense?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">recipes</span><br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6541183549/" title="dark days meal 3, pulled pork by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7158/6541183549_ed53546338.jpg" alt="dark days meal 3, pulled pork" height="374" width="500" /></a></center><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">pulled pork, crock pot style</span> (made up on the fly):<br />ingredients:<br />boston butt or pork shoulder roast<br />your favorite rib rub<br />1/4 cup apple cider vinegar<br />20 or so drops of real liquid smoke<br />BBQ sauce<br /><br />directions:<br />cover pork roast liberally with spice rub, and put into your crock pot. add apple cider vinegar. cook on low for 8 hours. remove pork and pull from bone with 2 forks or tongs. drain off most of liquid (reserve for soup stock or beans--trust me--keep that stuff). (note: if you are going to make the greens below, reserve a couple of ounces of meat at this stage.) return the pork to the crock pot. add a little of the cooking liquid, maybe 1/4 a cup. add the liquid smoke, and about 1/3 a cup of BBQ sauce. mix well, and cook another hour on low to mix flavors and caramelize the meat. serve with more sauce or on buns or you know--however you like to eat BBQ.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6541183623/" title="dark days meal 3, honey glazed carrots by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7162/6541183623_223d2f3f89.jpg" alt="dark days meal 3, honey glazed carrots" height="374" width="500" /></a></center><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">honey glazed roasted carrots</span> (made up on the fly)<br />ingredients:<br />carrots<br />~2 tablespoons butter<br />~2 tablespoons honey<br /><br />directions: preheat oven to 425 degrees (F). peel carrots and cut into sticks. put into a baking dish with some butter. roast for 8 minutes, then stir. roast for 8 more minutes. add honey and stir in. roast for 16 more minutes, stirring one more time half way through. carrots should be starting to caramelize when they are done. best use of fresh carrots in the world!<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6541183477/" title="dark days meal 3, greens and dumplings by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7020/6541183477_40d1d3b73b.jpg" alt="dark days meal 3, greens and dumplings" height="374" width="500" /></a></center><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">braised greens with indian dumplings</span> (adapted from <a href="http://uncpress.unc.edu/books/T-7001.html">bill neal'</a>s <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bill-Neals-Southern-Cooking-Neal/dp/0807842559"><span style="font-style: italic;">southern cooking</span></a>)<br />ingredients:<br />2.5 to 3 lbs cooking greens (collards, kale, chard, etc.)<br />8 cups water<br />~4 tablespoons bacon fat<br />1 teaspoon salt<br />2 oz pork meat or a small ham hock<br />1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes<br />1 cup cornmeal<br />1.5 tablespoons butter or bacon fat or lard<br /><br />directions:<br />in a large stockpot or braising pot, add water, bacon fat, salt, finely chopped pork, and red pepper flakes. bring to a boil, then boil on medium-high heat for about 20 minutes. add the greens, cover tightly. return to a boil, stir down the greens, and then simmer, covered, for about 50 minutes if you are going to add indian dumplings, or an hour if you're not.<br /><br />for the dumplings, place cornmeal into a small mixing bowl. steal 1/2 cup of boiling liquid from the greens, and slowly work it into the cornmeal with the back of a wooden spoon. work fat in with your fingers while the cornmeal mix is still warm. shape into small biscuit-like disks, about an inch wide and 1/2 an inch thick--it should make 16-18 of these. when the greens have been cooking for about 50 minutes, give them a final stir, then lay the dumplings on top to cook. let them cook for about 10 minutes, and voila, you have delicious little dumplings in your greens.<br /><br />note: indian dumplings are like a cross between hushpuppies and gnocci. this was the first time i'd made them, but they were surprisingly easy and fast--i will most certainly make them again. i can imagine they would be delightful with soups and stews as well as in greens.<br /><br />note the second: after you serve the greens, you will have quite a bit of liquid left. if you combine it with the reserved liquid from the pork, you have an EXCELLENT soup base on your hands. i generally throw this in the fridge overnight, so i can skim the fat off easily in the morning. then i put it in the freezer to use whenever. i recommend this as a base for <a href="http://southernfriedgoodness.blogspot.com/2009/10/accidentally-awesome-bean-soup.html">my white bean and kale soup</a>.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6541183747/" title="dark days meal 3, ready to eat by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7159/6541183747_9cce94a7d6.jpg" alt="dark days meal 3, ready to eat" height="389" width="500" /></a></center><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">family ruling<br /></span>everyone at our house loves all this, and the friends we spontaneously had over for dinner last night agree. the 11-year old had 2 helpings of the greens, so--win.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">further thoughts</span><br />southern cooking is my kitchen comfort zone, as it turns out. i feel more free with recipes and restrictions in this area than any other, and since i live in the south, it makes sense that these are the ingredients that are easiest for me to get locally. i am guessing you will see more southern food from me before this is challenge is done. meal #3 i am calling a resounding success. yay for BBQ!jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17575001924452440492noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7851695.post-12501932013014989972011-12-12T12:42:00.006-05:002011-12-15T09:59:43.271-05:00dark days of winter, meal 2: dinner with a friendthis week, i ended up cooking a last minute dinner for a good friend who came into town unexpectedly. this means i had less time to think about what to make, and had to rely on what i already had in the house. as a result, this week's meal has more non-local ingredients than last week's, but i am happy with how much of it IS local, with very little effort!<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6500265127/" title="dark days meal 2, plated by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7161/6500265127_483b7a6fa9.jpg" alt="dark days meal 2, plated" height="410" width="500" /></a></center><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><br />on the menu</span><br /><ul><li> chicken and 40 cloves<br /></li><li> whipped sweet potatoes with ginger<br /></li><li> salad</li><li>rosemary olive oil bread<br /><br /></li></ul><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6500263363/" title="dark days meal 2, local ingredients by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7149/6500263363_f7e76e33f3.jpg" alt="dark days meal 2, local ingredients" height="373" width="500" /></a></center><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">local ingredients</span><br /><ul><li> whole chicken from <a href="http://home.mebtel.net/%7Eficklecreek/">fickle creek farm</a> (efland, nc, 44 miles)*</li><li>thyme from our yard (apex, nc, 15 feet)</li><li> butter from <a href="http://www.homelandcreamery.com/">homeland creamery</a> (julian, nc, 57 miles)</li><li> honey from <a href="http://southernfriedgoodness.blogspot.com/2011/06/robbing-bees-part-one.html">our family's bees</a> (20 miles)<br /></li><li>sweet potatoes from <a href="http://bensproduce.blogspot.com/">ben's produce</a> (clayton, nc, 33 miles)*</li><li>fresh ginger from <a href="http://www.localharvest.org/redbud-farm-certified-organic-M34166">redbud farm</a> (burlington, nc, 62 miles)*</li><li>milk from <a href="http://www.mapleviewfarm.com/">maple view farm</a> (hillsborough, nc, 34 miles)</li><li>french breakfast radishes from <a href="http://bensproduce.blogspot.com/">ben's produce</a> (clayton, nc, 33 miles)*</li><li>lettuces from screech owl greenhouse (moncure, nc, 19 miles)* </li><li>cucumber from screech owl greenhouse (moncure, nc, 19 miles)*<br /></li></ul>* purchased at <a href="http://westernwakefarmersmarket.org/">western wake farmers market</a><br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6500264065/" title="dark days meal 2, non-local ingredients by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7171/6500264065_44596f3a45.jpg" alt="dark days meal 2, non-local ingredients" height="374" width="500" /></a></center><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">non-local ingredients</span><br /><ul><li> salt</li><li>pepper</li><li>olive oil (organic)<br /></li><li>celery (organic)<br /></li><li>grape tomatoes (organic)<br /></li><li>garlic</li><li>red bell pepper (organic)<br /></li><li>cinnamon</li><li>rosemary olive oil bread (not pictured) (baked locally, but sourced from ???)<br /></li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">easy</span>:<br />as always, the meat and produce is mostly easy for me to get locally. everything you see here i already had in my house with no planning at all.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">challenging</span>:<br />this week i was traveling and very busy, so there was not as much time to plan my meal. as a result, this one is mostly local--all the spotlight parts are local. but it still feels a little cheater-y to me. this is especially true for the non-local salad produce, the bread we had with dinner, which was a last minute purchase, and the salad dressing, which was whatever we had in the fridge. i didn't even think about dressing until dinner was made and on the table.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">recipes</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">chicken and 40 cloves</span>:<br />this is a tried and true recipe from <a href="http://altonbrown.com/">alton brown</a>. it's <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/40-cloves-and-a-chicken-recipe/index.html">posted on the food network website</a>, so i think posting it again here might be a copyright violation. you guys know how to click a <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/40-cloves-and-a-chicken-recipe/index.html">l</a><a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/40-cloves-and-a-chicken-recipe/index.html">ink</a> though, right? go make this right now! it's awesome!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">whipped sweet potatoes with ginger</span> (made up on the fly)<br />ingredients:<br />9-10 small sweet potatoes<br />~2 tablespoons butter<br />3-4 tablespoons honey<br />~1.5 tablespoons chopped gresh ginger<br />(note, i used uncured, super-fresh ginger from a local supplier, and NOT the ginger from the grocery store, which is much stronger. if you use that, i'd recommend cutting this amount in half.)<br />1/2 teaspoon cinnamon<br />milk to texture (added gradually while whipping)<br /><br />directions:<br />preheat oven to 450. bake sweet potatoes for ~40 minutes until soft, piercing with a fork after 20 minutes. remove skins and place in a large bowl. add butter, honey, ginger, cinnamon, and about 1/4 cup of milk, and mash with a potato masher until well mixed. then, using a hand mixer, beat until fluffy. add milk if necessary to obtain the right texture/moisture.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">salad<br /></span><span>um--i can't say i have a recipe for a salad. i just put everything i can find in the fridge that looks like it would be good in a salad. this one contained mixed lettuces,</span><span> celery, radishes,</span><span> red pepper, grape tomatoes, and cucumber.</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6500264641/" title="dark days meal 2, ready to eat by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7159/6500264641_d429bf1a3e.jpg" alt="dark days meal 2, ready to eat" height="500" width="393" /></a></center><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">family ruling<br /></span>everything was awesome, especially the sweet potatoes. my friend who was visiting seemed stunned that this is what i ended up with when i just threw something together, so that's a good ruling as well--he ate everything with gusto.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">further thoughts</span><br />cooking on weeknights is a challenge for me. i work full time and have two small (hungry) children in daycare. i have to leave work, get them, drive home in a boatload of traffic, and THEN address dinner. i get around this most of the time by planning ahead and cooking and prepping as much as i can ahead of time. some weeks it's great--others, it falls apart on me. this past week, i had the added travel stress on the table, and then my friend showed up out of nowhere--this was literally the best i could pull off. i am not as proud of this as i was of my sunday brunch last week, but then i didn't have the time for the same level of planning and thought as i did for that meal. i will say this, however: i am very proud of my pantry and my freezer for getting me this close to an all local meal absolutely on the fly.jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17575001924452440492noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7851695.post-62465026794685569882011-12-05T12:51:00.000-05:002011-12-05T17:08:03.540-05:00dark days of winter - meal 1: sunday brunchthis is the first official week of the dark days of winter local cooking challenge, so i decided to start with the first real meal of the week: sunday brunch.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6455611737/" title="dark days meal #1: on the plate by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7015/6455611737_083bcf175b.jpg" alt="dark days meal #1: on the plate" height="374" width="500" /></a></center><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><br />on the menu</span><br /><ul><li> blueberry buckwheat pancakes</li><li> spinach and cheese frittata</li><li> sausage patties</li></ul><br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6455606929/" title="dark days meal #1: ingredients by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7152/6455606929_85da03c1e6.jpg" alt="dark days meal #1: ingredients" height="374" width="500" /></a></center><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">local ingredients</span><br /><ul><li> whole wheat pastry flour from singing turtle farm (dunn, nc, 54 miles)*<br /></li><li> buckwheat flour from <a href="http://www.oldmillofguilford.com/">the old guilford mill</a> (greensboro, nc, 70 miles)<br /></li><li> eggs from <a href="http://home.mebtel.net/%7Eficklecreek/">fickle creek farm</a> (efland, nc, 44 miles)*<br /></li><li> butter from <a href="http://www.homelandcreamery.com/">homeland creamery</a> (julian, nc, 57 miles)<br /></li><li> buttermilk from <a href="http://www.homelandcreamery.com/">homeland creamery</a> (julian, nc, 57 miles)</li><li> blueberries from <a href="http://www.smiths-nursery.com/">smith's nursery</a> (benson, nc, 38 miles)*<br /></li><li> honey from <a href="http://southernfriedgoodness.blogspot.com/2011/06/robbing-bees-part-one.html">our family's bees</a> (20 miles)<br /></li><li> spinach from <a href="http://bensproduce.blogspot.com/">ben's produce</a> (clayton, nc, 33 miles)*<br /></li><li> mozzarella cheese from the <a href="http://hillsboroughcheese.wordpress.com/">hillsborough cheese company</a> (hillsborough, nc, 34 miles)*<br /></li><li> milk from <a href="http://www.mapleviewfarm.com/">maple view farm</a> (hillsborough, nc, 34 miles)</li><li> ancho peppers from screech owl greenhouse (moncure, nc, 19 miles)*<br /></li><li> oregano from our yard (apex, nc, 15 feet)<br /></li><li> sausage from <a href="http://home.mebtel.net/%7Eficklecreek/">fickle creek farm</a> (efland, nc, 44 miles)*</li></ul>* purchased at <a href="http://westernwakefarmersmarket.org/">western wake farmers market</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">non-local ingredients</span><br /><ul><li> salt</li><li> pepper</li><li> baking powder</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">easy</span>: meat, eggs, and produce are no problem for me to get, given the awesome nature of my farmers market. in addition, the market vets its vendors carefully, and while not every farm and food producer there is certified organic, all of them are local to us and follow extremely ethical farming practices, often going beyond the requirements of organic certification. the animals are all free range, and none are given any unnecessary antibiotics or growth hormones. most of the farms are very small operations and family farms, and we have gotten to know these vendors over the past couple of years. we are extremely fortunate to have this place, which is open all year, available to us.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">challenging</span>: what do you do about things like salt, baking powder/soda, vanilla, and other pantry-type things you use in your cooking without thinking about it? i am trying hard to keep these things to a minimum, but i admit, i forgot all about baking powder when i was thinking about making pancakes. i guess i am trying to look at this from the point of view of a pioneer person--in days of old, you would have traded for these items, right? this is stuff that has almost never been available locally, anywhere. some small carbon footprint is, i suppose, not avoidable in everyday cooking.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">recipes</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">blueberry buckwheat pancakes</span> (adapted from <a href="http://www.food.com/recipe/honey-buttermilk-buckwheat-pancakes-w-cherry-rhubarb-sauce-93241">here</a>):<br />ingredients:<br />1 cup buckwheat flour<br />1 cup whole wheat pastry flour<br />3 teaspoons baking powder<br />1/4 teaspoon salt<br />2 large eggs<br />1 3/4 cups buttermilk, room temperature<br />5-6 teaspoons of honey<br />2.5 tablespoons of butter, melted and cooled<br />1 cup blueberries, fresh, or thawed from frozen<br /><br />directions:<br />in a small bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, and salt. set aside. in a larger bowl, beat the two eggs until frothy, about 2 minutes. add honey, butter, and then buttermilk, mixing well after each addition. gradually stir in flour mixture until smooth. gently stir in blueberries. note: batter will be very thick. let sit for a few minutes. cook on a lightly buttered griddle or in a flat pan over medium-high heat, about 1/3 cup of batter at a time. after 2-4 minutes, when edges are set and blueberries are starting to crack, flip over and cook on other side, about 2-3 more minutes. makes 10-12 pancakes. serve with honey.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">spinach and cheese frittata</span> (made up on the fly)<br />ingredients:<br />1 1/2 tablespoon butter<br />2 cups spinach, cleaned, de-stemmed, and roughly chopped (packed tight!)<br />1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano<br />1/2 fresh ancho chile pepper, chopped fine<br />2/3 cup shredded fresh mozzarella<br />10 eggs<br />1/2 cup milk<br />salt and pepper to taste<br /><br />directions: preheat oven to 375 degrees (F). grease a 9x9-in pan with 1/2 tablespoon of butter. melt the other tablespoon in a skillet. saute the spinach just until wilted. immediately remove from heat and allow to cool. in pan, layer herbs, chopped peppers, and cheese. evenly distribute cooled spinach over this. in a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and milk until very well mixed. i usually add salt and pepper in this step. pour egg mixture over the other ingredients. taking care to distribute evenly. bake for about 25 - 30 minutes until the center is set. let sit for about 10 minutes before serving.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">sausage patties</span><br />no real recipe here. i bought a pound of local sausage, made it into small patties, and fried it up in a pan over medium heat until it was well browned and delicious!<br /><br /><center><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6455609427/" title="dark days meal #1: ready to go by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7031/6455609427_69d6be0313.jpg" alt="dark days meal #1: ready to go" height="374" width="500" /></a></center><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">family ruling<br /></span>absolutely delicious--i would make every bit of this again, and eat it happily. children and man agree.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">further thoughts</span><br />i am very grateful that we thought to buy a lot of extra local blueberries this summer and freeze them. our children eat them straight out of the freezer, but they are also mightily awesome to have around for this sort of application and for the random pie craving. if you decide to do this, don't wash them--just throw them straight into freezer bags. wash them when you are ready to use. also, if you use them for pancakes, make sure you thaw them completely first. if you don't you will have nasty, gooey globs of uncooked pancake batter surrounding every blueberry--GROSS!<br /><br />there's been a lot of discussion in the group about local flours on the east coast and how difficult they are to obtain. i've been discussing this a lot with local millers and bakers to see where people source their wheat. most people are sourcing from the midwest, which is no real surprise. however, i was delighted that sharon funderburke from singing turtle farm in dunn, nc is growing her own wheat. she's growing both hard and soft red winter wheat, and she has just in the last month started grinding her own flour. she sells wheat berries for both varieties as well as bread flour and pastry flour. she also sells chicken feed made from the wheat and from her oats, as well as a small amount of baked goods. her crops are 100% organic, and her practices are beyond sustainable. she is a second of third generation farmer, looking for ways to improve her family's farm. she's been a joy to learn/buy from the past couple of seasons.<br /><br />first meal of this challenge went well, i think. i'm pretty proud of the fact that everything is local but the stuff i really can't get locally, plus i am happy that it was all delightful--i didn't feel like i was cutting corners anywhere. in fact, the local butter especially felt like an indulgence--talk about GOOD! now onto thinking about my next meal...jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17575001924452440492noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7851695.post-87827493865167663572011-11-16T08:46:00.003-05:002011-11-16T11:34:26.723-05:00dark days of winter<center><a href="http://urbanhennery.com/2011/11/darkdays/" title="DarkDays of Winter"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6116/6350060137_da7dd8c3fb.jpg" alt="DarkDays" height="146" width="350" /></a></center><br /><br />i talk about food a lot, i know. but get ready, people--i am going to start talking about it even more. as you know, our family has, over the past few years, become more and more interested in healthy eating, local eating, sustainable farming, and reducing our carbon footprint as much as we can. we've been faithful visitors to <a href="http://westernwakefarmersmarket.org/">our local farmers market</a>, which we all adore. we are trying to teach the children by example to love food in the right way, and to be aware of what they put in their bodies. we are working hard to eat well, to cook at home, to get the right nutritional balances to (hopefully) avoid some of the health problems that may be headed our way as we age. anyway--you see my point. good food is good.<br /><br />i have decided to participate in the <a href="http://urbanhennery.com/2011/11/darkdays/">dark days of winter</a> local eating challenge from <a href="http://urbanhennery.com/">(not so) urban hennery</a> because it represents everything we're trying to accomplish. the goal is simple: cook (at least) one meal a week featuring local, sustainable, organic, ethically grown ingredients and write a post about it. i think i can handle that, and i think it will be a good way to record some of what we eat locally during the winter months. i kind of can't wait to get started!jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17575001924452440492noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7851695.post-53017382844501693012011-11-01T22:12:00.004-04:002011-11-01T22:59:19.844-04:00squeaker<center><div style="float: center; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6286395449/" title="crib mosaic by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6222/6286959012_0ac55a29b5_o.jpg" alt="crib mosaic" style="border: solid 1px #ffffff;" height="318" width="400" /></a> </div></center><br /><br /><div style="float: right; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6286961230/" title="banana by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6111/6286961230_4e1f7473c8_m.jpg" alt="banana" style="border: solid 1px #ffffff;" height="240" width="209" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6286961198/" title="pumpkin hat by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6212/6286961198_aca5c9fff1_m.jpg" alt="pumpkin hat" style="border: solid 1px #ffffff;" height="240" width="188" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6286960978/" title="15-month drs appt by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6048/6286960978_7be236f9b9_m.jpg" alt="15-month drs appt" style="border: solid 1px #ffffff;" height="240" width="184" /></a><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6286886282/" title="snooze by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6229/6286886282_518e2a88a5_m.jpg" alt="snooze" style="border: solid 1px #ffffff;" height="240" width="179" /></a></div>chubby and giggly, finn is an absolute delight. he hugs and kisses us all the time, and he demands attention with stubborn, single-minded, howling ferocity. he laughs at his brother, at the television, at our neighbor who buzzes loudly when finn touches the tip of his finger to the neighbor's nose. he prefers veggies to fruit, though he's getting better about that. he eats and eats and eats, and then when he's done, he hurls everything left away from himself with great force. he loves frozen peas, pasta, scrambled eggs, yogurt, cheerios and BANANAS! he's starting to enjoy books more, and he loves stacking stuff before knocking it back down again. he's a huge fan of both milk jugs and mason jars--he puts the lids on, then takes them off, then hurls them, fetches them, etc. endless fun. his favorite thing to do at the park is swing, even though it makes him sleepy. and man, does the boy want to MOVE. he wants to be down and walking whenever possible. he adores water and anything to do with water--splashing in it, washing his hands, making a mess with it, swimming--sprinklers, sinks, oceans, and pools, he loves it all as much as his brother hates it. he also loves music and shaking his little booty to anything with rhythm. he wiggles and claps his hands and hums right along. he adores being chased, and is learning to hide, although he's still really bad at it. so hilarious. he likes to wear hats, which is a blessing with the changing weather. his favorite people are his daddy, his big brother, and our neighbor angelo. he'll see angelo through the window and cry to get outside to him--so very cute. he's a lover of electronics in a way that kieran never was--push a button--noise comes out. i loves the hippie's iPad. he's going to talk earlier than kieran did, though he walked later. and of course, i wonder if this is all due to him somehow reacting to being in daycare instead of with a nanny like k was at his age. this age with finn, it's the troubleshooting age. he's cutting teeth, coughing, has a runny nose, is recovering from an ear infection--those 4 things are constant and interchangeable. we are ALWAYS looking for trouble, and feeding him ibuprofen like candy. it's a fun age--he's absorbing EVERYTHING. it's a hard age, too, filled with worry. but lord, he's cute. and fun. i am just trying to enjoy every moment with him as much as i can--his babyhood is evaporating before my eyes, so i am grasping onto it with everything i've got while it lasts. i love his biscuit feet, his imperious little pointing finger, his obsession with his belly button, and the way he hugs with his whole self. i love to rock him at night before bed so i get the sweet snuggles, and i love how he almost always wakes up happy and babbling in the morning. he is the only morning person in our family. he is perhaps the smiliest (is that a word?) baby in creation, with what may be the best giggle. when i am stressed and trying to do too many things at once, finn reminds me to slow down and just sit on the floor and play a minute. and oh, how i love him for that.<br /><br />(and just to seal the awwwww, the last picture below is finn walking down the street with his paw-paw, who he adores. so cute.)<br /><br /><br /><br /><center><div style="float: center; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6286886326/" title="finn and paw-paw 1 by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6221/6286886326_85f891f975.jpg" alt="finn and paw-paw 1" style="border: solid 1px #ffffff;" height="500" width="345" /></a> </div></center>jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17575001924452440492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7851695.post-13421397145469786342011-10-26T12:45:00.002-04:002011-10-26T14:07:42.907-04:00quiche, revisitedsince i posted the recipe for spinach and mushroom quiche and the recipe for whole wheat pie crust separately and without pictures, i thought i'd come back and add some. here are links to the original posts:<br /><br /><a href="http://southernfriedgoodness.blogspot.com/2011/07/quiche-sadly-with-no-pictures.html">spinach and mushroom quiche</a><br /><a href="http://southernfriedgoodness.blogspot.com/2011/07/whole-wheat-crust.html">whole wheat crust</a><br /><br /><h3>the process:</h3><h3><br /><center><div style="float: center; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6283355703/in/photostream" title="quiche mosaic by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6222/6283326707_0f7af66c73_o.jpg" alt="quiche mosaic" style="border: solid 1px #ffffff;" height="397" width="397" /></a> </div>1. <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/75869236@N00/6281172560/">prep</a>, 2. <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/75869236@N00/6280654559/">whole wheat crust</a>, 3. <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/75869236@N00/6281172592/">saute</a>, 4. <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/75869236@N00/6280654743/">cheese</a>, 5. <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/75869236@N00/6280654837/">herbs</a>, 6. <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/75869236@N00/6281172816/">peppers and onions</a>, 7. <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/75869236@N00/6280654977/">spinach and mushrooms</a>, 8. <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/75869236@N00/6281172930/">milk and eggs</a>, 9. <a href="http://flickr.com/photos/75869236@N00/6280655095/">baked</a></center><br /></h3><h3>dinnertime!</h3><h3><br /><center><div style="float: center; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px; margin-bottom: 5px;"> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6281173032/in/photostream" title="dinnertime by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6031/6283867720_827562f8d8_o.jpg" alt="dinnertime" style="border: solid 1px #ffffff;" height="463" width="398" /></a> </div></center><br /><br /></h3>jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17575001924452440492noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7851695.post-15925683115115748782011-10-25T12:44:00.000-04:002011-10-25T16:54:30.589-04:00three and a half<div style="float: right; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 5px; margin-right: 5px;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6247128930/" title="fossil hunter by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img alt="fossil hunter" height="240" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6111/6247128930_230e2e608d_m.jpg" style="border: solid 1px #ffffff;" width="240" /></a> <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6281064048/" title="playing with trucks by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img alt="playing with trucks" height="240" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6220/6281064048_d4689beb18_m.jpg" style="border: solid 1px #ffffff;" width="240" /></a> <br />
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/southernfriedgoodness/6281079946/" title="on the big swings! by jackie jones, on Flickr"><img alt="on the big swings!" height="240" src="http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6221/6281079946_a46c0b2cb7_m.jpg" style="border: solid 1px #ffffff;" width="240" /></a></div>
i listen to kieran playing, and i am stunned. he's enacting a play of his own devising in the living room floor. trucks are involved. dinosaurs, too. a recycling truck is central to the drama, as is a flatbed truck, many race cars, and a monster truck or two. apparently it's crucial that all the monster trucks be lined up all the way across the living room floor because there is to be a parade later. there are many voices and names that come up in the course of his play. my baby is totally gone, and there is, in his place, a rambunctious and vivacious little boy with many very strong opinions. his name, he tells me, is NOT kieran, but rather, ribbon. he's a nice t-rex. also a firefighter. sometimes. he hugs me with impulsive ferocity. he lashes out with a willfulness that i almost can't believe--i have to remind myself not to be hurt by it as i throw him in into yet another time out. then he turns around and makes me laugh so hard! he pretends to eat the whole town as we drive through, but assures me he's just teasing. he's constantly on the move, and prefers to be either outside running as hard as he can or inside playing with all his stuff. he's not all that into drawing or group participation--he prefers imaginative play and reading books and watching british television and dinosaur train. he knows the names of many dinosaurs along with what they eat and all their physical characteristics. he tells me they lived on the earth many years ago, but that they are now extinct. he has real friends at school, and other kids he likes less. he hates playing in the water, and is grateful that summer is over so no one is trying to make him do it. he is as stubborn as a rock. he loves one-on-one attention from either me or the hippie. he tries to take care of his little brother, while simultaneously keeping finn off his stuff and out of his games. he's learning to share. he has favorite colors, favorite foods, and favorite toys. he loves his cats. he prefers vanilla to chocolate. where he goes, his hippo goes as well. he likes cuddles at night, no matter how his day has gone. he's a little bit afraid of shadows. in the end, he's a whole little complete person, and i love him so much i can't breathe when i look at him.jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17575001924452440492noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7851695.post-65588299683899905912011-10-20T23:09:00.000-04:002011-10-20T23:14:47.673-04:00rant, generalmaybe i am just feeling edgy tonight, but i have a few things to say. things i don't usually say for fear of stirring up the muck too much and causing conversations i don't feel like having about topics often seem pointless to discuss with other people, like banging your head against a brick wall. but here are some things anyway. i just want to get them off my chest.<br />
<ol>
<li> i wish i had the balls to go comment on every glaring grammatical error i see on the internet, even my own. i would especially like to ding every your/you're, their/they're/there, to/too, its/it's, effect/affect errors. not one of those words is interchangeable for the others. also, i hate it when people use the word THAT to refer to people, who are WHOs, not THATs. and, while i am on this grammatical tirade, i would like to point out that the words which and that are NOT the same, and that you have to separate a clause led by which from the rest of your sentence with a COMMA, which is, by the way, one of the most under-used pieces of punctuation in existence. <br /> </li>
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a person's rights should in no way be dependent on religion, gender, race, or sexuality. further, i don't think any group of people has the right to push their belief system on any other group. if everyone would stop worrying about what everyone else believes, and just treat everyone with respect and kindness, then we would be a lot better off as a people and a culture. if you are islamic, hindu, jewish, christian, black, white, mulatto, hispanic, asian, american indian, gay, straight, male, female, hermaphroditic, well--i don't care. i don't care what kind of sex you have or who you have it with as long as no one is getting hurt (who doesn't want to be) and no one is being forced to do anything against their will and no one is a child. this extends to any and all of the aforementioned being allowed to marry whomever they choose, however they choose. i have yet to hear a single non-religious argument against same sex marriage, and last time i checked, we had freedom to practice whatever religion we choose in this country. <br /> </li>
<li>speaking of religion...if you are going to embrace the bible and take it at its word and quote it at me, then a) you better know what you are quoting because i have read it a few times, even if you have not, b) you better not come at me with things taken utterly out of context, and c) you will never convince me of your opinion by quoting this or that restriction/behavioral statute from deep within the old testament without first showing me that you are also willing to embrace all the other restrictions around it. for example, if you tell me it is wrong to be gay because of the words you find in leviticus, then you must also be kosher, not eating seafood, willing to marry your sister/brother-in-law in the event of your sibling's death, etc. i do not believe you can cherry pick which parts of this you are going to follow--it's all, or it's not. in fact, that there's a pretty significant restriction later in the bible about taking things out of context to further your personal agenda. so you know, stop it. <br /> </li>
<li> i hate news and politics. and yet, here i am with my opinions. i think my government wastes a shitload of time worrying about things that should be none of its concern and a shitload of money pushing its agenda onto other countries in the name of aid. and i think they don't spend nearly enough time worrying about what matters--taking care of its own people, preserving and enhancing its own culture, and producing things. somewhere along the way in the last 250 years, we have lost sight of what it meant to be free, and of what it was to be able to build yourself up from nothing. our class divisions grow, while our culture slowly dies. what do we produce here anymore? what is here that's worth having? don't get me wrong--i love this country, and i fully realize how lucky i am to have been born here where i feel safe and have the freedom to write a blog post like this without getting arrested. but damn, america! we need to get back to the making of things. when we made things, people HAD jobs, and the economy held its own because we had something to sell. we grew our own food and we made cloth, and we made clothing and home furnishings from that cloth, and people built cars and houses, and all manner of thing. now--now, we push money around. money with nothing to back it up on paper that's virtually worthless. we are in debt to our eyeballs to countries who would love to watch us crumble, and we buy all manner of crap from those same countries to fill the holes where we once had well-made products manufactured down the road from where we live. we need to take a step back and look at things more critically. <br /><br />4a. corporations suck. gigantic financial institutions suck. it's like having an entity that's chaotic evil running things to let them control what happens in this country. they are NOT people, yet are treated as such under many of our laws, which gives them license to just seriously screw things up in the name of the bottom line for this quarter, right now. there is zero forethought for next quarter, or next year, or 10 years from now, as long as the CEO and CFO and CTO continue to rake in the bucks and someone somewhere continues to invest. there's no interest in the greater good, or the future of anything. it fills me with impotent fury. </li>
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ok, i'm done for now. there's more to rant about, but i am too damned tired to do it right this minute. besides, my teething baby is waking up, so there's some rocking and hugging to be done. rocking a sweet baby is way more fun tan thinking about all this mess anyway. 'night, y'all.jackiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17575001924452440492noreply@blogger.com6