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Leftover Pork meets Fresh Blackberries and Feta
I love to cook… that being said… I love to entertain. Sometimes I make a tad bit too much for the folks! That’s OK, as it just causes me to think of ways to stretch what I have and make a new dish. Fresh Vegetables with Pork and Berries2 T. olive oil1/2 c sliced onions1 cup fresh green beans, snapped into 1 inch pieces2 ears of cooked corn on the cob, kernels removed1 T basil1/2 t salt4 oz cooked pork sliced thin2 T wine vinegar1 t Dijon mustard1 T olive oil2 cups fresh beet greens1/2 c fresh blackberries1 oz feta cheese, crumbled In a heavy skillet saute onion until softened,…
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How Green Is Our Garden! Snap Peas Recipe
In March Dale tilled the land, he had the rototiller furrowing lanes, working in nutrients, and breaking up stiff ground. Or was that our stiff knees? April arrived and the pea pods, onions, lettuce, spinach and carrots went into the soil. May marked the flurry of weeds… so what else is new; we picked and pulled and then planted sections of tomatoes, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, potatoes, string beans, cucumbers, pepper varieties, acorn squash and herbs. Welcome June and the start of our salad lunches with fresh strawberries and pea pods to go with the lettuce and spinach. But those pesky weeds clung to tiny carrots, onions, and just about…
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The Thrill of Little League
We just finished up our inaugural year of Little League. As the mom of one of the best-players out there (ahem… I said I was a mom) I have to say how much fun T-Ball was! Everyone told me how boring it would be and how I’d be ready to gouge my eyes out after sitting through each and every game. But I could not disagree more. I’d bring my chair every week, sit on the sidelines with my water-bottle and watch & cheer as the kids came to life out there. 45 to 60 minutes of pure relaxation. Now I will admit, T-Ball in our community is not competitive.…
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Hot Topic: What’s in your Garden? Lots of Green &Red! Baked Beets with Feta and Pesto
Folks want to know “What is growing in your garden?” If it was just up to the garden, and not the gardener… the answer would be weeds, weeds, weeds. However, with a quick check of my nail cuticles… you know that at our house it is a daily stretch out there, and the weeds get ‘bucketed’. I do not know a better looking vista, than a neatly planted, well maintained vegetable garden. And hooray, this year we have a frameable picture. Two new rows of lettuce are just popping out. 3 early plantings are so tall… that if I don’t use them quickly (and giving them to friends is tone…
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What is in your Garden? – Military Family Life Question of the Week
There is stress relief for me found in getting down and getting my hands dirty. It starts in very early-Spring and extends through the beginning of Fall. I feel capable. I feel healthy. Wielding a shovel makes me even feel *a little* stronger as I work arm and leg muscles. I swear at the weeds and talk baby-talk to the very-capable vegetable plants. (I’m quite certain that’s why they ‘produce’ for us!) Summer time equals a small (yet growing every year) garden for us. This year we have: Cucumbers in abundance Peas, their season has passed, but blessed us with lots of early Spring munching Carrots that need to be…
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A Crop of Broccoli Crowns
Fourteen pounds of broccoli are in the freezer. Wow. I went outside to pick a few heads for dinner, and some to take along to a family reunion. The crop was waiting for me! I suppose I should not have been so surprised… I planted them all the same day, but I thought they would have the good sense to come in independently… whoops. Last year we had the good sense to buy a small chest freezer, just in case we might have a few extra items to store for later. Yep, we have it filling now. But before I froze them, I peeled off most of the skin on…
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Finding the Positive in Goodbye
As a Military-Brat I know the pain that can be found in saying ‘goodbye’, whether a PCS on my family’s part or a friend’s family moving away. The tears, the fear of the future, the feeling of losing friends for forever. There was nothing easy about it but I do believe it influenced who I am, for the better. In 1984 my family PCSed from Lubbock, Texas (since closed Reese AFB) to Scott AFB, Illinois. I had my first real best-friend in Lubbock & it was my first real ‘goodbye’. We stayed pen-pals (this was before the world of email) for quite some time afterwards but at some point, many…
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Transfer of Education Benefits under the Post 9/11 GI Bill
I just finished a very informative joint Roundtable discussion with the Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration hosted by Lt Jennifer Craig of the DoD’s New Media Directorate within the Public Affairs office at the Pentagon. Mr Keith Wilson, Director of VA Education and Mr Bob Clark, Deputy Director of DoD Accession Policy provided a great forum for providing information about this new program kicking off on August 1st! So far, 107,000 applications for the transfer of GI Bill benefits to a family member have been received and over 80,000 have been approved! Are you aware of this new program? Need more information? Are you eligible to use it?…
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Road Trip Tunes – Military Family Life Question of the Week
There is something about a road trip and the music you listen to while driving across country. For me, it started as making mix-cassette tapes, moved onto making mix-cds over the years & now am making music-lists for my mp3 player specific to the trip we are taking. Music keeps you awake, keeps your mind moving, sets your heart & body on fire and your feet tapping. Years ago my family PCSed from northern-Virginia to Kirtland AFB, New Mexico. I was in college in Pennsylvania so they “swung by” to give kisses and hugs before making the long journey. I made them one of my favorite mix-tapes ever as a…
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Military Family Life Question of the week: What is your favorite summer-picnic recipe?
Tonight I get to gather with friends and our families. It will be a casual potluck-picnic. The kids will be in the pool, splashing, laughing & loving life. The adults sitting around the deck, watching the kids, chatting, stuffing our face and enjoying a glass of wine (or two). This is summer! With summer gatherings of all sorts comes the need to bring food. We each bring a dish to share and then “mmmmmm”, “This is so good”, and chomp-chomp together. What is your favorite summer dish? Tonight I am going to make Rhubarb Delight as well as Broccoli Salad (I add fresh-peas to mine … fun to make our…
