Faux Grillin'

I feel like there should be an urban dictionary word for my fear of grills. It all stems back to a home-on- break college afternoon where I turned on the gas, and turned the starter. What followed was a combination of a heat flash,singed widow's peak and eyebrows on both me and my faithful chocolate lab! And as if that wasn't bad enough, a phone call to my dad landed me with EMTs on my doorstep, being mockingly nice to me while struggling to keep a straight face over the Chief's daughter's dubious dilemma.

That being said, I do not turn on grills. Ever. The problem: I really like grilled food.



Wednesday brought a rare opportunity to prepare, and 'grill' some food. I was at my mother's house doing her some things when she called and asked me to figure out some dinner for us both. She had some frozen shrimp and zucchini and summer squash. I was excited to find metal skewers in her drawer and knew she would turn the grill on for me when she got home.

Grilled shrimp with crispy herbs & summer squash

While waiting, I defrosted 22 shrimp in a colander under cold water for about 5 minutes.

Then, I took a big spoonful of light mayonnaise and mixed it with some Herbs de Provence, salt, and pepper.

I mixed the shrimp up in the mixture until well coated and then stuck them on the skewers.

Mom cut up the veggies and mixed them with some water before making a tinfoil pouch for them to also grill.

Mom turned on the grill and we took turns flipping and checking on our food. The shrimp took about 5 minutes to crisp up on both sides, and the veggies turned out tasty, if not a little squishy for my crisper preference. 

The mayo coating was just enough to infuse the shrimp with flavor without adding a lot of calories and fat.

Delicious!

Grilled Eggplant & Mushroom with Chicken, Mini Pepperoni, and Tuscan shaved cheese

Tonight's meal was done on the inside grill- a best friend of mine since the college days-- my old friend George. I am getting better at cooking without any recipe or plan, and I feel just a little proud of my grocery store aimless walk, and the yummy dinner that followed.

I took home 1 large eggplant, mini turkey pepperoni, a roaster chicken, Tuscan shaved cheese (a combo of fontina and parmesan),mushrooms, rhubarb, and strawberries.

Now, it is oppresively hot outside, and I am not made for the heat, so there was no way any kind of oven or stove was going on in this house! I sliced 4 big circles of eggplant and sprayed them with olive oil, sliced the mushrooms in half, and placed both vegetables on the George. I also took a handful of the turkey pepperoni and tossed it over the veggies and let them 'grill' for about 5-10 minutes.

They grilled up nice, not too hard, not squishy soft. I pulled a few pieces of chicken and added it to the plate, and topped the dish with the shaved cheese.

Quick, easy, and tasty. Just the way I like it.

I am saving the strawberries & rhubarb for a gluten free baking experiment when I can stand to turn on the oven again! Stay tuned!





Four Day Furlough Part 2

Newport, RI

I know it's almost a week later...but I have been taking a vacation from technology! I figured I better finish the rest of last weekend's four day furlough before I head off on a new adventure this weekend.

Saturday took me and one of my best friends into Rhode Island. We parked our car at a pretty cheap lot and set off on foot to discover the sights. I had only ever been to Newport in the winter, so I was amazed at how hoppin' it is in the summer. We walked around most of the day and because of the HEAT at one point in there we felt like we were melting. We managed to foot it from the harbor to one of the mansions, and take a look around. Some older folks were playing cricket out on the back lawn and I couldn't imagine a more perfect thing to be doing an an exorbitantly huge house! I think in our minds we always think that the 20's must have been so fun with it's Gatsby-like parties and whatnot, but let's be honest here-- how many of our family members would have been serving the people at the parties? Although, everyone sure did know how to dress up. I see pictures of my grandma even in the 40's and she is gorgeously dressed in every one. I don't know if I'd love that or am so thankful to be able to throw on my jeans and flipflops!

Chateau sur mer

 

One thing I loved about Newport was the beautiful hydrangeas everywhere!












We headed to our hotel, one I would completely recommend, The Carriage House Inn, cleaned up and then headed back out for dinner. We ate at The Pier Restaurant on the harbor and had so much fun having a girls night out. I decided to be adventurous and try the bass special. It was a taste very similar to tilapia and mahi mahi-- my favorites. The waitstaff was attentive without being uncomfortably over attentive, and for once my face didn't turn red when I asked what the sweetest wine was on the menu. The place was busy but it's one of the few times I've ever sat at a middle of the room table and didn't get bumped every few minutes. It was a very enjoyable time.

Bass with Carrot puree and roasted asparagus & tomatoes. Yum!

Our trip wound down Sunday with a leisurely morning and afternoon at the harbor beach, and a stop at Newport Vineyards on the way home. Their wines are fantastic! The tasting is for 5 wines and out of the ones I tried, I loved 4 of them. I think that's saying something. The flavors are so fresh that even if they are not sweet, they just feel...clean..and I like that. I ended up purchasing two wines, Rising Tide and Great White. One thing I felt was a sweet wedding or special occasion idea that they do is make special labels for their wines tailored to your event. I may be returning for future occasions! If we weren't tired from our weekend, there is another vineyard closeby that I'd like to try another time.

All in all, a wonderful mini-vacation!

Four Day Furlough: Part 1

Southern Coast of Maine

Entrance to Footbridge Beach, Ogunquit, ME

My spirit was in desperate need of the ocean, so I headed to Maine Thursday night for a some solitude and silence. I rented a tiny little beach cabin in Wells, ME, and drove there just in time for dinner at the ocean. My food find came from The Village Food Market in downtown Ogunquit. Sometimes it's hard to know what to eat in a place that isn't home, especially when you have a gluten allergy, but I was gratified to find sesame rice crackers and chicken salad with gorgonzola and roasted tomatoes. It was the perfect light meal to take with me to the ocean to spend a few hours in the sand and surf, watching the sun set over the Atlantic bay. I fell asleep that night with an unsurpassed contentment and peace.



Gorgonzola Chicken Salad

      

And there was evening, and there was morning. The third day.
~Genesis 1:13

I woke up the next morning and took a two mile walk along the ocean shore, looking for treasures and watching the sun rise in the sky.






Open wide!

I left the beach around noon as it was fairly cool and windy and headed down Route 1. I stopped many times along the way, including the Stonewall Kitchen Company Store in York, ME and The Kittery Outlets. I may have bought out the Coldwater Creek outlet! There were also fun finds at Old Navy and Bass Shoes :). I am my mother's daughter!

I continued on down the road with a random whimsical stop in Newburyport, MA. It's a quaint little harbor town with a harbor park and sweet little shops.

It was so fun to not have a particular thing to do, and have the freedom to end up wherever my heart desired. A text from my friend Amy while in Newburyport drew me back to the present, reminding me of my final destination for the day: Boston, MA.

The day ended with dinner at Joe's American Bar & Grill at Boston's Long Wharf pier with friends. And this is only Part 1 of my 4 day furlough...

Happy Birthday America!

July 4th has come and gone, but I figure it's not too late to post about it. I made a few days of fun out of it, starting with the traditional 4th of July picnic. My contribution to the family picnic was Quinoa Fruit Salad:

Bunch of fresh chopped mint (from Mom's garden)
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
2 tbsp. orange juice
1 package sliced strawberries
2 kiwi fruit sliced
1 can rinsed mandarin orange sections
2 cups cooked quinoa

Mix the orange juice, mint, and yogurt together to make a "sauce". Mix the cooled cooked quinoa and fruit together and mix the dressing over it. (I used 1/3 cup of chopped mint and I felt like that was a little bit too much. Next time, I'll use less.) Cool covered for 2 hours, serve, and enjoy!

I took my six year old cousin home for the night and the next morning we headed off to the Springfield Museums the next day. I was super excited to see a dinosaur exhibit at the science museum and we got to be virtual dinosaurs fending for ourselves through the Cretaceous Period. We managed to make it to 4 museums looking at fun things including a mummy sarcophagus, Indian motorcycles, Greek sculptures and more. He was so precious letting me know, "Tell me about it, I have to learn things while I'm here you know." He made my teacher's heart proud. Here's his happy dance in the Wood Museum of Springfield History:

Upon returning home, I figured it was high time to use my creamer potatoes and garlic scapes to make a simple and delicious meal. I wasn't quite sure when I bought them what creamer potatoes were, so I went to the ultimate source: Wikipedia. They say they are small potatoes, softer than normal picked before they are fully mature. What I had on my hands were these:

The little black ones were purple and finger staining when cut open. I stirfried them up with the garlic scapes, and fresh chives (another fun find in Mom's garden). It was too hot to heat my kitchen cooking chicken or fish, so I quickly fried up some eggs. The result: fancy breakfast for dinner:

love letter

I have been thinking a lot this week about how I know God is God. It's actually hard for me to pinpoint and describe because it is something that I know, deep down in that quiet and still place where things you know for sure always live. I can not look at my life and separate Him from it. I understand why someone could, as it hasn't been a long time for me where my heart has felt open to be vulnerable and needy before my Lord, and my friends. I think when we are closed inside, it's pretty hard to see anything else.

For me, my I know  moment began in CCD, 25 years ago. We were reading the story of Samuel, and how God called him three times, and he went to Eli the first two, until Eli realized what was happening and told him to say "Speak Lord, for your servant is listening." My little girl heart wrapped around that story probably because Samuel was a child like me, and that night, alone in my room, afraid of the dark and falling asleep because of things that had already happened to shake my sense of safety, I remember whispering those same words, and feeling a peace like none other.

I went back to that story last night, because my heart is aching this week. Breaking with the pain of those I love, and the flutter of things I can't identify quite yet. I just knew that I needed to revisit why I know for sure, so I went back to the beginning of my God story and re-read the beginning chapters of 1 Samuel.


As a little one, I loved Samuel's story. As a woman, I understand Hannah's. Hannah wants a baby with her husband Elkanah. As polygamy is the custom of the day, he has children with his second wife Peninah. She keeps goading Hannah and causing her shame for her barren womb. I have long been touched by Hannah's push to take her neediness to God. The priest at the temple thinks her drunk, and accuses her. I think, at times in my life, if that had happened to me, I would have closed my heart, and walked away in shame and anger. But she clarifies her heart to the priest, is vulnerable and needy, and keeps on crying out to God. That is a picture of a pain-filled heart who knows her God.


 Last night, I was overcome by the way that Elkanah cherished Hannah, giving her a double portion, taking her to the temple year after year to pray. I was struck by his love for her again after Samuel is born and he tells her that they will bring Samuel to the temple after he has been weaned, when he is older. He seems to know that Hannah needs to experience the infancy of this little one, as well as keep her promise to God. It is a longing of my own, especially in a week of pouring out, to be loved like that.

And then, there was Samuel's call. Samuel is a prophet. A great prophet of Israel, who hears of terrible things to come and is afraid to share them with Eli whom he loves. I am not meant to be a great prophet like the days of old, but I can identify with knowing things that don't come from myself. And that perhaps is just the start of how I know for sure.  Because even as a little one, God knew I would long to be known and so he called me. Long to be understood and so He showed me another I could identify with. And even now, can use different parts of  those very same passages to continue to whisper to my heart...to meet me right where I'm at, to remind me that He hears me, loves me, and that He really is.

It's a bit of a funny passage to explain why I am sure. But I think that's the beauty of God. He speaks to us all in ways we can personally understand. I feel loved tonight. Known tonight. I spent a beautiful day actually feeling comfortable in my own skin, which for a girl with one too many extra pounds can be a real feat. Like the beauty of being known and loved inside shined right through to the outside.

To He who was, who is, and always will be....Thank You.

Fresh Food

I have forgotten how much I love the farmer's market. It's the place I first discovered my love for snap peas and snow peas, and that vegetables were nothing short of amazing. Mmmm.

Chevy could totally make this a commercial. It just makes you think Homegrown.

Our treasures

This morning, my friend Wendi and I headed to the Amherst Farmer's Market. I, of course, was on the lookout for peas, but we managed to find some other treasures along the way. I discovered the garlic scapes and am looking forward to using them in combination with some creamer potatoes I had picked up earlier in the week at a farm stand. I think fresh veggies and flowers are just so pretty. Something about their colors and shapes makes me smile. We carried on our quest for fresh and colorful food as we headed into Hadley to Esselon Cafe. I was delighted to discover some gluten free pastry options including chocolate and lemon cupcakes that look strikingly similar to the ones at Cushman's Market, and a  different and yummy looking chocolate cookie. Most meals are made gluten-free upon request as well. My meal:

grilled chicken with roasted red peppers, lettuce, tomato, and housemade aioli

What a fresh start to a Saturday!