There's a new blog I'd like to recommend to you...my daughter Hannah has begun a blog entitled "Daughter of Design".
Hannah is a talented decorator, with a flair for design, both in fashion and home interiors. She has a background in retail visual merchandising, shows great promise as a photographer, knows her way around Photoshop, and has just embarked on the challenging career of the stay-at-home mom.
If you get a chance, stop by and leave her an encouraging comment!
Bifocal Readers - Where Have You Been All My Life?
I'm excited. Soon, the UPS man (I heart him, have I told you that before?) will be delivering these to my address:
A cute pair of rimless bifocal readers.
I never knew bifocal readers existed! I have near perfect eyesight, except for that "slightly-over-forty" issue with reading print up close. I've had an eye exam, and don't need prescription glasses...just readers. But life is such a hassle, having to take my readers off and put them back on, over and over. So I just wear 'em jacked up on my head, mostly. It is either that, or search for them constantly, or wear them around my neck like an eighty year old.
I am hoping these will solve my dilemma. A dilemma that gets especially acute when I am going back and forth between looking at, say, my checkbook registry, and my calculator that sits on the right hand corner of my desk. I get so confused. I've been known to rip off my readers, and mess up my own hair, with my own two hands, in sheer frustration.
Please agree with me that these glasses will look extremely cute on my face, and allow me to read my books and Kindle, and look off meditatively (and attractively) into the distance, and read the pharmacy phone number off my bottle of thyroid medicine, and also drive safely. Maybe even all at the same time.
I want it all. And I want it now.
A cute pair of rimless bifocal readers.
I never knew bifocal readers existed! I have near perfect eyesight, except for that "slightly-over-forty" issue with reading print up close. I've had an eye exam, and don't need prescription glasses...just readers. But life is such a hassle, having to take my readers off and put them back on, over and over. So I just wear 'em jacked up on my head, mostly. It is either that, or search for them constantly, or wear them around my neck like an eighty year old.
I am hoping these will solve my dilemma. A dilemma that gets especially acute when I am going back and forth between looking at, say, my checkbook registry, and my calculator that sits on the right hand corner of my desk. I get so confused. I've been known to rip off my readers, and mess up my own hair, with my own two hands, in sheer frustration.
Please agree with me that these glasses will look extremely cute on my face, and allow me to read my books and Kindle, and look off meditatively (and attractively) into the distance, and read the pharmacy phone number off my bottle of thyroid medicine, and also drive safely. Maybe even all at the same time.
I want it all. And I want it now.
Steak, Cooked in Cast Iron - A Tutorial
Last evening, I did a side-by-side taste test between a grilled steak, and a steak cooked in a cast iron skillet. The steak cooked in cast iron was 99% as good as the grilled steak...and when it is the middle of winter, that makes the cast iron technique a very good option. Besides, this method is the way many restaurants do it. Ready? Are you in?
First, gather your ingredients. In this case, there are very few~
a cast iron skillet, your steaks (I prefer ribeye, but in this case NY strip is what I decided to pan sear) coarse salt, cracked pepper, grapeseed oil, and a glass of whatever you like to drink when you are cooking. You will not - I repeat - will not be using dish soap in this recipe. Please disregard the dish soap.
The grapeseed oil is really important here, because grapeseed oil has a very high smoking point, whereas olive oil has a low smoking point. You are going to be getting your cast iron skillet screaming hot. Do not use olive oil. You could use plain vegetable oil.
Set your oven to "broil". When it is ready, put your empty cast iron skillet in your oven....for fifteen minutes. That is not a typographical error. Fifteen.
First, gather your ingredients. In this case, there are very few~
a cast iron skillet, your steaks (I prefer ribeye, but in this case NY strip is what I decided to pan sear) coarse salt, cracked pepper, grapeseed oil, and a glass of whatever you like to drink when you are cooking. You will not - I repeat - will not be using dish soap in this recipe. Please disregard the dish soap.
The grapeseed oil is really important here, because grapeseed oil has a very high smoking point, whereas olive oil has a low smoking point. You are going to be getting your cast iron skillet screaming hot. Do not use olive oil. You could use plain vegetable oil.
Set your oven to "broil". When it is ready, put your empty cast iron skillet in your oven....for fifteen minutes. That is not a typographical error. Fifteen.
While your skillet is under the broiler, rub a little grapeseed oil into your steaks, both sides, and season both sides of your steaks with more coarse salt and cracked pepper than seems necessary. About 1/3 of it will come off on the plate and in the skillet.
Turn your stove eye onto its highest setting...
Then, I recommend that you double up on your oven mitt protection...
Grab that hot skillet out of the oven, and immediately set it on that hothothot stove eye. Then, you sear each side of your steak(s) for 30 seconds...
Then put the whole skillet back under the broiler. Broil steaks for 2 minutes on each side. For a one inch steak, this will hopefully give you a medium to medium rare steak. Test it for doneness, but no less than two minutes per side, unless you like your steaks to moo.
When you pull them out, they will look something like this:
I promise, your husband will murmur, "Come to daddy..."
At this point, do not eat. It is imperative that any steak, grilled or pan seared, be allowed to rest. Wrap these in foil. Besides, you have a few more minutes of work to do...
...asparagus. Drizzled in olive oil, sprinkled with coarse salt and cracked pepper, under the broiler for 8 minutes...
Someone else will have prepared your mashed potatoes, or you will have prepared them ahead of time, for a quick reheat. Then, voila ! A supper fit for the gods!
This is the strip steak, removed from its foil tent...then you have your asparagus...potatoes...and by the way - those Red Wine Mushrooms? They take eight hours to simmer. That was not a typographical error. Eight hours. Make sure you are feeling extravagant on the day you make them with me, because they will require about four glasses of your best red wine. And a whole stick of butter. Because they will absorb every drop of your red wine, they go from white to nearly black. I will show you how to make them in a future blog post. These red wine mushrooms are absolutely decadent, and will spoil you forever and ever and ever.
Just for comparison, here is the grilled steak. (Justin and Hannah had the cast iron, pan seared strip, and gave it two thumbs up. I tasted it too. Realllly good.) Tim and I had ribeye off the grill. Here is my plate.
(With those sinful, decadent, eight hour red wine mushrooms, which I will show you how to make later.)
I've had fun making pan seared steak with you. Let's do it again soon!
Laughed At...by a Baby.
As I've shared before, I have this morning ritual.
The back story here is that last night, right before bed, I tossed my hair straight up in a messy bun, to get it out of my way. One must do that to read without distraction.
Unfortunately, I fell asleep that way. This morning, I got dressed without even looking in a mirror. As I was throwing on clothes and a necklace in record time, I heard my grandson making sweet noises to himself. I went to him, bent over him, face to face, to say my good mornings.
His eyes disappeared behind a smile. He broke out in a broad, amused grin.
Then, he made a sound that can only be described as....well, as scathing laughter.
I decided to scoop him up, grab the point-and-shoot, and take our picture together...just so I could see what he sees. What does he find so amusing about his Mimi?
Oh. ::clears throat:: That.
Sometimes, it bites to see ourselves the way others see us.
Good grief.
The back story here is that last night, right before bed, I tossed my hair straight up in a messy bun, to get it out of my way. One must do that to read without distraction.
Unfortunately, I fell asleep that way. This morning, I got dressed without even looking in a mirror. As I was throwing on clothes and a necklace in record time, I heard my grandson making sweet noises to himself. I went to him, bent over him, face to face, to say my good mornings.
His eyes disappeared behind a smile. He broke out in a broad, amused grin.
Then, he made a sound that can only be described as....well, as scathing laughter.
I decided to scoop him up, grab the point-and-shoot, and take our picture together...just so I could see what he sees. What does he find so amusing about his Mimi?
Oh. ::clears throat:: That.
Sometimes, it bites to see ourselves the way others see us.
Good grief.
A Quick Spring Sewing Project
A set of dishtowels for my kitchen - here's one of them.
I propose a toast to bringing some Spring Color into our homes, my friends! Our pear trees are budding, daffodils are coming up, and the maple tree has its characteristic red buds all over it.
Which reminds me of the time a friend of mine was looking off into the distance, at the tree line of her property. This friend was known for correcting others when they mis-spoke. She said knowingly, "I love spring. See the Redbuds coming in down there?"...
....but...they were Maples. Maple trees. Maple trees bud red. Redbud trees don't really bud bright red, and they are smaller than most Maples. But did I correct her?
Nah. It isn't my thing. I just let it go, and thought she might figure it out when her redbuds sprouted green maple leaves.
I heart trees. I know a few of them by name.
Spring has almost sprung around here!
Ritual
I have a ritual that makes me happy, in a deep down durable way. I don't need to wake up to transcendent views, or look over my daytimer as I get dressed for my high powered job, or pad about in jammies through my McMansion. All those things are fine, but they wouldn't make my heart sing. They don't even raise one of my eyebrows - no piquing of even a little bit of interest or wonder in my mind. Just give me a cup of coffee, and this...
Me and my grandson, just this morning. (Sorry for the flash, but it is a rainy day here...no natural light to speak of.)
I am one of those grandmommies with the rare privilege of living with her grandson. My daughter and her husband, after being married a year, moved back in with us, so that Justin could complete his internship and Master's degree without having to work a third job. They will be here until he starts teaching Advanced Math full time in the fall.
It's all very joyful, very homey, very "Walton-esque", to be honest with you. You know - all the generations together, under one roof. The way things were when times were simpler and more difficult in some ways, but better in all ways that matter. The days of our grandparents, that greatest generation. Tim and I are almost embarrassed to convey how delightful it is, to play board games in the evening (when we aren't rushing out to youngest son's basketball game), how sweet it is to feed our grandson his bottle once in awhile during the day, and to say goodnight to five dear and near souls every night - each other, our youngest son, our daughter and her husband, and Little Britches.
Every morning, my ritual includes cuddling my teacup poodle, Rambo. Tim usually brings me my coffee about that time. Then, when I hear my grandson stirring, I go and just look at him in his crib. Marveling.
Only this morning, I scooped him up and snapped our picture.
What can I say? It rocks to be me. Four children who know God, two sons-in-love who are Godly and gifted, and now an adorable grandson....who lives with me for now. God has been mindful of me, and has blessed and increased me. My job is to enjoy it.
~Linking to "The Sunday Creative", at the delightful blog of MadelineBea.
Me and my grandson, just this morning. (Sorry for the flash, but it is a rainy day here...no natural light to speak of.)I am one of those grandmommies with the rare privilege of living with her grandson. My daughter and her husband, after being married a year, moved back in with us, so that Justin could complete his internship and Master's degree without having to work a third job. They will be here until he starts teaching Advanced Math full time in the fall.
It's all very joyful, very homey, very "Walton-esque", to be honest with you. You know - all the generations together, under one roof. The way things were when times were simpler and more difficult in some ways, but better in all ways that matter. The days of our grandparents, that greatest generation. Tim and I are almost embarrassed to convey how delightful it is, to play board games in the evening (when we aren't rushing out to youngest son's basketball game), how sweet it is to feed our grandson his bottle once in awhile during the day, and to say goodnight to five dear and near souls every night - each other, our youngest son, our daughter and her husband, and Little Britches.
Every morning, my ritual includes cuddling my teacup poodle, Rambo. Tim usually brings me my coffee about that time. Then, when I hear my grandson stirring, I go and just look at him in his crib. Marveling.
Only this morning, I scooped him up and snapped our picture.
What can I say? It rocks to be me. Four children who know God, two sons-in-love who are Godly and gifted, and now an adorable grandson....who lives with me for now. God has been mindful of me, and has blessed and increased me. My job is to enjoy it.
~Linking to "The Sunday Creative", at the delightful blog of MadelineBea.
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