Friday Fragments - June 29, 2012

Sunday begins the happiest season of the year - BIRTHDAY MONTH!  No special celebrations are planned other than annoying the piss out of everyone around me :)

At work we are deep in the throes of a database rebuild.  This is not for the faint of heart, it is quite frustrating.  I liken it to building a house - it's slow and never goes as you wish.  It would be easier if we were to leave town for nine months or longer and come back to it all completed.  That, of course, would come with a whole different set of complications.  There is a part of this ordeal that I actually enjoy - reviewing the new releases and giving feedback on functionality.  The contractor, on the other hand, is more than a little sick of me trying to move the bathroom three days in a row.

At home I'm muddling my way through the long list of Oscar movies.  Between TCM, OnDemand, and the local video store I'm knocking out a lot of titles.  As I write this I'm watching Cabaret.  A few days ago I saw A Star Is Born.  It was totally accidental that I have watched Judy Garland and Liza Minelli movies back to back, but how interesting.  Liza definitely has her mother's voice.  I have officially seen 40% of movies nominated for best picture.  I'm also tracking best actor, supporting actor, best actress, and supporting actress.  It certainly provides for a wide variety of viewing options at my house. 

The annual Slaughter Of Flies has begun.  It's amazing how a house closed up for an entire day suddenly sprouts 900 flies and starts looking like Amityville Horror.  I am rather deft at the swat and kill, frequently while they're in flight.

St. Louis is enjoying this heatwave.  The point of conversation over the past few days is the lack of humidity.  People are saying to each other "but it's a dry heat".   Honestly it's not torturous to be outside - hot, not sweltering.  The distinction is lost on my husband who would rather be in arctic temps year round.

Keith Turns 23

Last week my middle child turned 23


TwentyTHREE! 

He even requested my pineapple upside-down cake.

But the star of the show was his ten month old son

Leap of Faith

Have you ever taken a leap of faith? 

I've had several conversations recently about faith and giant leaps.  What the people around me today don't know is that I've taken those leaps - plural, more than once.  It isn't a wild abandon, devil-may-care attitude.  I know those people, that's not me and that isn't a leap of faith.

And a leap of faith isn't always taken when your back is up against the wall, although The Powers That Be sometimes have to take you to the edge of the cliff to get you finally take that leap.  No, leaps of faith can be taken before the cavalry chases you across the desert to the edge of a deep canyon.  Leaps of faith are part of those crazy jumps the good guy makes as he runs across the rooftops when he saves the world, each step even and calculated without a safety net because he knows and trusts he can make it across.

Trust.

No safety net.

No security blanket.

It's when your marriage has come to the end and it's time to leave before anyone gets hurt.  It's turning over your body to the doctor for surgery.  Or having a baby.  It's quitting your job without having another one lined up.  Or going to an audition.  It's introducing yourself to a stranger.

To get through it, you have to believe you're coming out on the other side.  Everything WILL be okay.  No one will guarantee you won't get a little banged up along the way or have a few battle scars when it's all said and done, but you will survive.  Also no one can guarantee what things will be like after the leap, but you have to believe you will be okay.  Everything always works out for the best.

This may all sound like New Age mumbo jumbo, but I can tell you from personal experience that faith - faith in God, faith in yourself, faith you're headed in the right direction - ALWAYS pays off.  Always.  Safety nets and back-up plans may come from experience, but they also show a lack of faith.

Commitment to Blogging

You may have noticed I'm not posting everyday like I used to.  I'm busy, my brain is drained, but mostly I haven't kept with my commitment to blogging.  A couple years ago I challenged myself to post every single day - and I met that challenge.  I woke up every morning contemplating the day's post, frequently coming up with multiple topics.

My head still buzzes with topics, but my computer time seems to be occupied with other pursuits.  Like Pinterest and playing Bubble Blast.  So those aren't really unworthy computer occupations, but they have drawn me away from my commitment. 

It's time to recommit myself, even if it's post pictures for the day.  So hang tight and let's see how well I do this time.

Modern Parenting

How else does one converse with a teenager these days?  There are chores to be done and somebody has failed to call me, yet again, to find out what he's supposed to do.
Yes, this is real.
Yes, this is mine.

Sunday In My City - After Dinner

We landed some awesome coupons so we've made a few trips over the last several weeks to Baskin Robbins...

And one day driving past an American Legion we saw these guys pulling into the lot

Friday Fragments - June 15, 2012

Yawn... I am soooooo tired.   Between late bedtimes, early rising and hormones screwing with my system, I am one exhausted woman!  What's going on?  Not much, only the same old routine.

My youngest has landed a job!  It's not a lot of hours, but it's $$$ for a kid who hadn't planned on any income this year.  Yes, he's under 16 so that means scurrying around to secure a work permit.  It actually wasn't too difficult.

Grilled Stew (batch #2) is a giant success.  We made it over the weekend, tweaking the recipe from the first round and hit it out of the park.  Even before we put the batch on to simmer the smell was divine.  It tasted absolutely fabulous.  I did post a recipe of sorts a few days ago

I should post more, I know oodles has been going on, but like I said I'm tired and I can't manage to remember anything!  Check out far more interesting people on Mrs. 4444's Friday Fragments....

Grilled Stew

We did it!  We made what I am calling "Grilled Stew"!

The idea came up a couple weeks ago as we tossed around ideas for stuff to make on the grill.  By the way you can prepare anything over an open fire, you only have to get a little creative with some of it.  I have successfully made burritos while camping, so I'm not really intimidated by the challenge.

Hubby suggested we grill stew meat and that was enough to spark my tiny brain.  The thought of a smoky flavored beef stew got my mouth watering.

We started off with a pack of stew meat.  We got ours at Sam's so it's a big pack and the first one was filled with miniature steaks.  They were beautiful pieces of beef.  The next two packages we bought weren't nearly as pretty and I would be tempted to buy steak in the future.

I didn't marinate it or anything, just plopped it on the grill.  Like I said, the pieces were big.  I've seen packages in the past holding tiny pieces of meat that would easily slip through the grill, so maybe a basket would be useful.  I tried really hard to cook the meat evenly to medium - kinda difficult with the all of the pieces on the grill and the differing sizes.

Once the meat was cooled (as in overnight in the fridge) I sliced the meat, removing globs of fat and bringing the pieces down to bite-sized.  People (husbands) get lazy in this arena and tend to leave the pieces too large.  "Bite sized" should be smaller than a spoon, maybe even two pieces fit on a spoon.

I diced carrots, celery, potatoes and onions.  The first time I diced too small and they kind of mushed along the way.  This time I sliced them larger, but still "bite sized".  Ideally I would have cooked them on the grill too, but I made the stew several days after my grill-fest so I resorted to roasting them in the oven.  Again, the first time I cooked too long, the second time aldente.

Then I made a roux from butter and flour.  The only time I ever do this is for biscuits and gravy, which oddly enough I don't eat.  I researched roux and evidently the secret is to keep stirring until it gets dark.  With batch one the roux was so-so.  On the second batch I used bacon grease, too much flour and then butter to compensate.

If you're looking for exact measurements, I'm sorry, this was all a dash here and a splash there.

I put way too much water in the first batch.  On the second one we loaded the meat and veggies in the pot and then added water until it barely reached the top of the stuff.  I stirred in the roux and we started adding seasoning.  I added more onions, not roasted, garlic, black pepper, cumin, onion salt.  After the first batch we decided we were missing tomatoes so the second batch had a can of stewed tomatoes and one of diced tomatoes in italian seasoning.

The first batch, despite the addition of the roux, was very watery.  We served the soup over rice and it was pretty good.  The second one would have been good with rice, but we were impatient.

The clue that the second batch was awesome was the smell.  It was mouth watering.  Even the picky teenager went back for seconds.

What makes this so good is the meat.  We have been using quality cuts, plus they aren't over cooked before going into the pot.  Each bite is tender and delicious.

Dinner Tragedy Averted

Finally, the massive cooking/freezing frenzy I've been on has paid off.  Last night I sliced the leftover steak for our favorite fajitas and then I realized we didn't have enough tortillas.  This was totally my mistake - we had even discussed if we needed more tortillas the day before while standing in Sam's.  Oh no, I proclaimed, we have plenty! 

Ooops

We stared at each other.  Typically this would mean a trip to fastfood land.  Nobody wanted to leave the house.  So I rummaged through the freezer and among the bags of previously cooked food was hamburger patties.  A trip to the microwave, sliced and toasted french bread, and a bag of chips - within ten minutes dinner was ready.

This wasn't quite what I had in mind when freezing all of this food, but it sure came in handy.

Now Hubby has to make a stop at the store so we can try the fajitas again tonight. 

Friday Fragments - June 1, 2012

Whew!  May is OVER.  It is such a crazy busy month with something going on in every corner of my life.  It's fun and always memorable, but damn, it's also exhausting.  June seems to blur into the other months of summer as we look forward planning our social schedules.  Already we've had to stare at the calendar for August figuring out what day Ian has to return to school.  It doesn't seem right to be talking about that so soon after school letting out just days ago.

******

We've already had summer-like weather.  Until yesterday it was hot and humid, setting record highs in the 90's.  We don't normally get this type of heat until mid-June.  Then this morning it dropped to 49°!!!!  It will rebound soon enough.  Fasten your earplugs as I launch into my regular tirade of hating St. Louis weather.

******

In family news, my youngest brother is looking to move back to Missouri.  He and his wife are done with their stint in North Dakota.  He has retired from the Air Force and they are feeling the pull to be closer to family (or at least that's what they're telling us).  They aren't wanting to be super duper close so St. Louis is out of the question, but nearby rural property has caught their eye.

Over Memorial weekend they breezed into town, dropped the kids with various friends and family, and took off in search of their next home.  No decisions were made, so we wait.  Cross your fingers, toes, rattle some bones, and offer a few prayers that they get something fabulous.

*****

While bro and SIL were galavanting about the wilds of Missouri, we had their two youngest over Saturday night.  Both are fabulous little boys, one incredibly energetic, both very inquisitive.  Fortunately we (okay, IAN) had enough stuff on hand to keep their minds and bodies entertained.  Bionicles are lego toys that can be built into transformer-like monsters.  That retained their interest the most.  We also blew bubbles, walked to the park, and investigated every nook and cranny of my house.


After they left on Sunday, I collapsed onto the couch and didn't move until dinner.

*****


We declined an invitation to hang out with friends Sunday night and instead grilled at home.  I've posted in the past how we have taken up cooking nearly a week's worth of food on the grill.  Sunday I did four large steaks and a whole gob of stew meat.

The stew meat was a lark as we made our first attempt at "Grilled Stew".  We grilled the meat and then I had intentions of grilling the vegetables.  The veggies ended up getting roasted in the oven.  Overall the stew was good and we will be doing this again.  Yet, it was missing something so more tweaking is needed before I post the recipe.

For quite some time we have grilled more steaks than we can eat in one night.  I've learned to cook two of them medium rare (a tad too bloody for our tastes) to use a day or two later in fajitas.  Between refrigeration and reheating, they come up to medium well (just a smidge of pink).  The meat is tender and smoky and absolutely delicious.  Hubby doesn't like any spicy seasoning and to be honest the meat really doesn't need much sprucing up.  I slice it super thin, toss it in a skillet with onions just long enough for the onions to carmelize and the meat to warm up.  I eat mine with a few reserved uncooked onions, bell pepper, salsa and cheese.  Hubby just goes for meat and cheese.  This has been a huge hit with everyone we serve and I like it because it's quick and easy.