Small-town America

One of the great things about the Fourth of July is finding those celebrations that seem to fit the stereotypical small-town America experience. This weekend I found exactly that. I went with a friend and her mom over to a small town about 30 minutes away where there was a big parade. 

The parade definitely had character and was an interesting snapshot of the town we were in; as my friend said, "you drive 30 minutes away and you are often in whole other worlds." Here are a few of the highlights of the parade.

Revolutionary War re-enactors, they actually shot blanks out of those guns.
 

The Confederacy was not far behind.

Gotta have bagpipes.
 

They had a "Miss" everything for two-year-olds to college-aged beauty queens.

And I know a certain someone who would have made the perfect t-ball princess when she was younger, if only my hometown had parades like this.

These cars cracked me up especially since the cars are so small but they are driven by full-grown men.

And what else says America but a good mullet.

After my small-town America experience, I decided on a whim to host my own cookout before the fireworks in my town. It wasn't really a "cookout" since I was cooking hot dogs and hamburgers on my grill pan, but several friends gathered here for dinner and then we walked over to enjoy an excellent fireworks show.


And now I'm soaking up an extra day off. Hope everyone had a good Fourth!

A random one

I am told by some you don't mind the randomness of these posts, so here are some random tidbits from my life: 

The weather here the past two days has been phenomenal and much like how it was when I first moved here last summer (which I assumed always applied, not so it seems). June was a rude awakening when it was close to 90 degrees when I stepped outside to walk to work in the mornings. Needless to say minus the last two days, I've been a sweaty mess by the time I walked the five blocks to work. I realize the low temperatures are not going to last, but I've tried to soak it in and enjoy the good hair days! (Note: You might think because I spent almost four years in south Georgia and grew up in the South, this heat should not be a big deal to me. But in the Deep South, you learn the art of moving quickly from an air-conditioned building to your car, which you've hopefully parked in the shade, where you blast the A/C while you drive to your air-conditioned destination. Walking five blocks in Georgia in the summer is never advised.)

Last weekend I pretty much crossed into crazy with these cake pops:

It was for my Sunday afternoon polo league, hence the attempt at horses. I can't begin to explain, but it's proof that I have some pretty great friends that will come up with any excuse to gather people together. And if you're curious, search Stribling Avenue Polo League on Facebook (and join us if you live nearby).


I signed up for a Netflix trial a couple of months ago after they started offering streaming Netflix on the Wii. I was ready to cancel it because I wasn't overly impressed with my options. But then I watched an episode of Friday Night Lights. I'm not sure how I have missed watching this show before now (maybe it was the whole working during primetime thing), but I am seriously addicted. I sit down to watch one episode and three episodes later I have to force myself to come out of my Dillon football haze.

When I'm not sucked into Friday Night Lights, I am reading Eat, Pray, Love. There's nothing like a movie preview to get me to read a book; of course reading the book guarantees frustration with the movie but anyway... I'm still in the Italy section, and it just makes me want to pick up and go back to Europe. I'm thinking a trip in 2011, any takers? If only I could drop everything and travel for four months!
 
My schedule at work changes today. I'm going in later which translates to coming home later. It's definitely not second shift like I had before, but it is going to be a change. I'm trying to set some goals for myself so I don't fall back into old habits of sleeping late and not eating on a normal schedule. But I'm going to have to learn to cook faster, so I'm not eating dinner at 10 p.m. every night. Or else find some recipes that transport and reheat well.

My life at work functions on quarters, as in the year is divided into four three-month intervals. And I've found that three months is just enough time to forget what the end of one quarter and the beginning of another is like. The transition from June to July was rough, and I am starting to feel like I deserve this three-day weekend.

Evidence

I ran out of flour on Monday night.

I don't think I've ever run out of flour in the middle of a recipe or even run out of flour at all. And this was particularly surprising because I remember actually buying the bigger bag of flour within the last six or seven months.

I mention this because it's the latest sign that my habits are changing. I've gone weeks with only going by the grocery store for cereal, milk and granola bars and maybe a few other odds and ends to complete a recipe. But I've been eating better than I ever have since living on my own.

On Saturday, I stopped by the Farmer's Market and picked up a zucchini and a tomato to tide me over until my share this week. I've made two dinners with leftovers for lunch and my breakfast for the week with those two vegetables. Even four months ago, I never would have thought I could have made even one dinner with those vegetables, much less two when I wanted to eat the leftovers.

But it hasn't just been lunch and dinner that have been affected. The reason I'm out of flour is because I've been making more stuff for breakfast from scratch. Breakfast is one of my favorite meals, and I literally can't even talk to anyone before I've had my cereal. I don't give myself a lot of time in the morning, but I need something besides cereal.

For the past few years, I've made muffins from a package (just add milk), cinnamon rolls from a can or bought banana bread from the store. But I can't tell you the last time I've had any of those things. I've been eating zucchinni bread (also in muffin form this week) and scones and despite their appearance cinnamon rolls from scratch. And I can't wait to get some blueberries (coming this week!), so I can make blueberry muffins from scratch.
 
I look in my pantry and refrigerator, even my freezer, and wonder who has taken over my kitchen. Although the expired stuff that accumulates in the fridge does give me away, I'm still amazed at how different it is just three months after I started this experiment. Another strange thing, I actually gave up my bread share when I realized wasn't eating it because there was too much other good stuff and no need for peanut butter sandwiches.

I am going to leave you with this recipe for grilled pizzas from Every Day Food. I put sauteed zucchini, tomatoes and garlic on it with just some olive oil for sauce and then topped it with gruyere cheese (a rare splurge for me). Best homemade pizza I've ever made (so good I ate it before I took a photo).

Pizza dough

• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 packet active dry yeast
• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for bowl and brushing
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface

Pour 1 cup warm water into a medium bowl; add sugar and sprinkle with yeast. Let stand until foamy, 5 minutes.
 

Whisk oil and 1 teaspoon salt into yeast mixture. Add flour and stir until liquid is incorporated. Turn out onto floured work surface. Knead until dough comes together in an elastic ball, 2 minutes. Transfer to an oiled medium bowl; brush lightly with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; set in a warm, draft-free place place until dough has doubled in bulk, 45 minutes. Punch down dough and cover; let rise another 30 minutes.
 

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide into 4 equal pieces. Let rest 15 minutes before using.
 

Also, you can refrigerate dough pieces, covered, up to two days, or freeze up to one month.

Grilling

Heat grill on one side at medium-high heat. Lightly oil hot grill.
 

Stretch or roll out one piece of dough into a 10-inch long oval. Brush one side lightly with olive oil and season with coarse salt and ground pepper.
 

Place dough, oiled side down directly over grill. Brush top of dough with olive oil and cook until underside is light charred and bubbles form all over top, 1 or 2 minutes. With tongs, flip dough and cook until lightly charred, 1 to 2 minutes. Slide dough to cooler side of grill (or turn down heat for grill pan).
 

Top with desired cheese and toppings; cover grill. Cook until cheese melts and toppings are heated through, 2 to 5 minutes.

Cherries and peaches

I have to say I struggled with eating the fruit I got in my share fast enough last week. I knew the cherries would go fast, but I wasn't expecting the peaches to go so fast.

I was excited to figure out what to do with the peaches, but I had to move fast and the only thing I did was grill some and put them in a milkshake. (And yes, I went ahead and bought the grill pan.)

But I felt like I lost a lot of the fruit in the process of cutting up the peaches. After realizing peaches are better peeled, I figured out putting them in boiling water and then cold water for easier peeling. But cutting out the pit was no easy task. I feel like I need to be more prepared when I get my next batch of peaches. So I'm in the market for tips on cutting peaches and for recipes.

The cherries this time around were fine, but it is the last batch I'll be getting this year so I wanted to make something with them. I found this recipe, and I actually had all the ingredients:


Healthy and Delicious Cherry Pie

• 1/4 cup margarine
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 cups fresh cherries, pitted 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
In a medium bowl, cream together margarine, brown sugar and vanilla. Stir in oats, flour and water. Then press mixture into 9 inch pie pan. In a medium bowl, stir together the cherries and sugar. Pour into the crust.
Bake in preheated oven for 12 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

The only thing I was missing was the full 2 cups of cherries. I barely had a cup (and pitting those alone made me want to go out and buy a cherry pitter). So when I put them in the crust, they didn't come close to even covering the bottom of the pie crust. So I got creative and turned it into a cherry turnover:

It actually turned out really well, and I enjoyed it. Plus it wasn't actually a full pie, or so I told myself, which made me feel like it was a good dessert for one.

Always go for the bacon

I've had some recipes to share, but I got distracted by the World Cup and my power was out for the second time in three weeks due to a storm.

But anyway, green beans were my challenge this week. I went immediately to Pioneer Woman because if there's a way to make them taste good, she knows it. The only problem I had was that the recipe called for bacon grease.

Here's my issue with bacon. Don't get me wrong, I love bacon. But I don't cook it at my house because it makes my whole apartment (and probably my neighbors') smell like bacon and I hate the way it lingers for the rest of the day and possibly longer. And don't tell me to get the microwave bacon because I only like my bacon crunchy. (This also makes me appreciate a $7 sandwich that has bacon on it.)

Anyway, I skipped the bacon grease and cooked the green beans in olive oil and butter with the onion, garlic, chicken broth, salt and pepper. I also skipped the red pepper because I didn't have one and I don't like peppers (so far).

But the next night in my googling for recipes I came across another green bean recipe that utilized my new potatoes and it also called for bacon. I broke down and bought bacon. And I have to say, it was totally worth it even though I went to bed with the bacon scent lingering. 

Anyway here's the recipe:

Southern Green Beans
    •    6 slices bacon, chopped
    •    3 tablespoons butter
    •    1 red onion, chopped
    •    2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed and snapped
    •    8 small new potatoes, diced
    •    1 large clove garlic, minced
    •    1/4 cup chicken broth
    •    1 1/2 teaspoons white balsamic vinegar
    •    salt and pepper to taste

Place the chopped bacon in a skillet, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until evenly browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the bacon pieces on a paper towel-lined plate.
Melt the butter in a skillet with a lid over medium-low heat, and cook and stir the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the cooked bacon, green beans, potatoes, garlic, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer over low heat until the green beans are tender, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with vinegar, salt, and pepper, and serve.

In addition to the green beans, I also made use of my tomatoes and cucumbers. One night I chopped them up, added some lemon juice and even a little goat cheese, an excellent side to my green beans and bacon.

But my favorite recipe for the tomatoes was in my Every Day Food magazine. Here's the recipe, basically make as many tomatoes as you want and adjust everything else accordingly:

Heat broiler. Place cherry tomatoes stem side up on a rimmed baking sheet (mine were more like grape tomatoes and I just threw them on the sheet). Brush with olive oil. Broil just until skins blister. In a small bowl mash goat cheese and stir in oregano. Season with coarse salt and ground pepper. With a small paring knife, cut a small opening in the top of each tomato. Stuff with goat cheese mixture.

Next up: Peaches and cherries.

Nostalgia

A few things over the last week have brought back some great memories and since it's my blog, I'm writing about them.

The World Cup

I thought I was going to make it through the World Cup without getting sucked in. I missed the thrilling U.S./England match because I was out in the middle of nowhere. And then I was busy and didn't even turn on the TV or look up the game schedule.

But then on Friday, my co-workers switched our TVs from Bloomberg and CNBC to ESPN for U.S./Slovenia game. I continued to work, but did find my eyes wandering to the game pretty frequently.

And before I knew it, I was back to the soccer field and criticizing the players for not covering the "back door" on the goal and making some pretty horrible shots on goal.

I played for about 10 years, and it was one of those things I really loved. (I also like to believe that I started playing before it became this crazy suburban trend.) Anyway, I walked on that field and my confidence increased, I turned into an aggressive and loud soccer player. I loved that nothing else mattered but the game when you're on the field, and every time I failed, I knew I also had an opportunity to make up for it.

But almost as much as the game itself, I loved after the game when my dad and I would replay it and analyze it and plan how the next game would be different and better. My dad spent years coaching me, and we traveled all over the Southeast every spring. I'm still not sure how my parents managed it all, but I'm very grateful they did. 

Along the way I also had some surreal non-playing soccer moments, including watching the U.S. women's team win the gold medal in the '96 Olympics and a couple of years later having them come trick-or-treating at my house. (Note: If the Olympics are ever within two hours of where you live, buy tickets and go see something, anything. It's totally worth it.)

I stopped playing soccer after my sophomore year in high school for a number of reasons, but I think I reached the point where it was no longer fun and not my passion, which meant I got to pursue journalism and find out what else I was enjoyed.

But yes, I'll probably watch some more World Cup games to relive my soccer memories. (Here's hoping to a slow morning at work, so distractions are allowed!)

Sex and the City

I finally went to see the second movie this weekend. I can't watch any of the Sex and the City episodes or movies without flashing back to my junior year of college.

I lived with four girls in one room in the sorority house. Some of my fondest memories of college are from that room and that semester. Those girls helped me relax and stop obsessing about school and really have fun. They were also the friends that showed me a good time on my 21st birthday, put me to bed and then went out again.

And somehow over the course of the semester we made it through all six seasons of Sex and the City on DVD. We had a rule that we couldn't skip ahead and watch without the others, and we spent a lot of time on an old couch watching it together.

It makes me wish we could all meet back together and watch these movies together, but we have literally spread out across the country. But I love that just coming across an episode on TV or going to the movies reminds me of those girls and that semester we lived together.

Another pick-up

Every time I go to my pick-up, they always ask me if I'm enjoying what I've been getting. I have to hold back so I don't sound like a crazy person, but I want to tell them that this has changed everything I knew about cooking and eating. I've tried things that I refused for the last 26 years and discovered I like a lot more things than I realized. I no longer dread dinner and even eat lunch at home most days.

I've been getting pretty similar stuff for the last couple of pickups, so I was excited to find some variety in this week's pickup, including peaches and green beans, both of which I normally reject so hopefully they will be redeemed.

I was told there would be no more cherries, but they were back this week and better than the last time.

Green beans

New potatoes (I actually cheated and got these instead of green peppers, I do have limits in trying things.)

Bibb lettuce (I seriously don't know what I am going to do when this is not in my share.)

Grape tomatoes (Yes, they came in a plastic container but if you saw the wacky shape of these things you would know they are fresh from a local farm where not everything comes out perfect.)

Cucumbers

Peaches

I'm told pretty soon we'll have a "produce tsunami" where I'll be getting lots of produce, as if I don't get enough. (Note that the photos don't represent the full share of everything.)