A Perfect Day

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I, along with a good friend, hiked into our lake cabin. The cabin is only accessible by foot or by boat and in the dead of winter, no boats are moving. The lake water freezes and when the weather is just right, we can either cross country ski, skate or snowshoe across.

The day we chose to head out was one of those clear, cold sunny days that we dream of to get to the cabin with relative ease. We loaded our packs and headed out starting about a mile away from the lake which is where we can usually park our car and walk in. Once we arrived at the marina area, we took one look at the lake and decided it wasn’t really frozen down at the opposite end, so we should walk along the partially snowy trail to make our way out the other 2 miles to the cabin.

As we walked along, we could see various groups of skaters. Some were playing hockey, some were gracefully gliding along creating perfect figure 8’s and others were just enjoying a beautiful Saturday afternoon with friends.

After another hour or so we finally made it to our cabin and were able to pull out our BBQ and a bottle of wine and some chairs. We fired up the grill and sat our chairs in the snow and happily soaked up the sun. We ate crackers and cheese and breaded lamb chops that our friend prepared.

All around us was pristine white snow, cabins covered up to their windows, green trees and the few brave chipmunks and squirrels who were out looking for food.

Since this is mainly a summer use cabin, at the end of every season, I like to leave a few things accessible, like the BBQ, some water, knives, cutting boards, wine – anything I think that we might want for an impromptu picnic should the weather and our schedules cooperate. It’s hard because we can’t leave food of any kind in the cabin over winter because the bears will break in. We hiked all the food in but having the BBQ there and a few other things ready to go was great.

We enjoyed our meal and the warm sunshine for as long as possible before heading back. Luckily the trip to the car was shorter, because by then the sun was starting to go down. We knew the lake was safe to walk back on, so that made it a much quicker trip.

I must admit, I was tired at the end of the day, but getting the exercise, sharing a great meal and spending time with family and friends was time to be cherished.  

A New Year and Being Prepared

We are mid-way into January of the new year, and I have so many things I want to begin doing, and continue doing and, stop doing. I’ve started my list of goals, but recently, I heard someone say; you should look at the past year and notice what you accomplished and also what you didn’t before you set new goals.

I’m not a real dwell on the past kind of person…I always want to look ahead, but it struck me that I should look at my misfires, mistakes and goals that I thought would be good for me, but somehow didn’t really resonate.

So, what might some of those things from the past be? Hmmm…

*Lose a few pounds. Didn’t lose weight, in fact gained 4-5 lbs.

*Play more tennis – played a little more, but not much more.

*Be more prepared (for things that stress me out, but that are going to come up like impromptu dinners…which I want to do but will resist doing 99.9% of the time).

*Read more – tried but didn’t get too far. In fact, I currently have six books I’ve started and haven’t finished yet.

Anyway…you get the picture. Maybe reflecting on what you wanted and didn’t get or achieve will help you fine tune your goals for the upcoming year. Don’t overdo it with “to do’s”, be realistic about what you want and how to get there. Set priorities. If something is very important to you, make that your #1 thing, if all else gets pushed to the wayside, at least do that #1 thing.

One thing I’m getting the hang of is being prepared. I have a little more time on my hands these days so this goal is one I should be able to handle. Trying to do the things that stress me out ahead of time if possible. So, if I’m having people to dinner, have the flowers dialed in from my weeks of practice when I had more time, have some special items in the freezer so I can pull them out at a moment’s notice (things like homemade tomato and pesto sauces), have go to table settings ready so I can set a pretty table in minutes. Whatever it is, by doing some prep work, you can take the anxiety out of the equation.

Another little tidbit I picked up is, if you’re going to offer to cook something, make sure you either know how to make this dish already, or you have time to work it out ahead.

I recently suggested I could make tomato bisque soup for a beach party. Since it was December and the weather would undoubtably be bad, I thought a nice hot soup would taste good and warm us up. For this particular group, I knew canned tomato soup would not fly, so I decided I could make it from scratch.

I could make it from scratch?!? What was I thinking? I had never even tried to make tomato bisque soup before, but here I was offering to make it for a group of 14 to have at the beach. So, among the other 10,000 things to do and cook and prepare around Christmas, I now had to find a good recipe for tomato bisque soup! Luckily, I found a good sounding recipe (from Ina Garten, of course) and took a practice run at it. Luckily for me, it was good AND easy!! Not too many ingredients and it had orzo in it which gave it some texture and was a little surprise at the end of the bowl. I also had some homemade croutons, so I added those to it. Let me tell you it was so good!

Morning of the party, I ran to the store, got the ingredients, and made the soup – I wanted it to be freshly made and besides, this was the only time I could do it. I ladled the soup into my large Stanley thermos containers to keep it hot. The drive and time spent walking to the beach was over 2 hours so I was getting nervous that the soup would be cold. I was so happy when I opened the thermos, and the soup was still piping hot. I put it into compostable hot cups and had spoons so we could eat the croutons and orzo (otherwise could have just sipped it from the cup). At any rate, it was a hit, people loved it (thank you Ina!)! Everyone ate all the soup much to my relief!!

Practicing paid off, and I really learned a lesson. I can be very lazy and think I can just wing it, but this time, I made the effort to make sure this picnic soup was a success! One other tip; if you are using a new thermos and it’s crucial it keeps your food hot – test that out ahead as well. I got lucky, but it could have been disappointing if the soup showed up cold!

Making Pasta

I’ve done it a few times before and had my first “lesson” at a BNB in the Piedmonte region of Italy. We learned about what type of flour to use, how many eggs to add and when and what just the right amount of salt and olive oil was to add to the dough. The kneading is the hardest part. The dough can get quite tough and really it takes about 10 minutes or so to get to the right consistency. Once you’ve got a nice dough made, then you start to flatten it out with either a hand cranked pasta maker or you can buy an attachment for your kitchen aid mixer. The idea is to make the strips of dough flatter and flatter and thinner and thinner by adjusting the tightness of the rollers in the machine. It’s quite a process, but once you get it down, it goes easy.

Last weekend my family and a few friends got together to make pasta from scratch. We had the idea to make pasta together before the holidays as mostly a good excuse to get together and make something we could take home for a later meal during the busy season and make something we could have for dinner after our work was done.

We turned my dining room into a pasta factory, having 3 teams working the 3 machines. Everyone made their own dough and wove the pasta through the rollers at their own pace. We made flat noodles for lasagna, fettucine, spaghetti and even a large macaroni noodle that looked super cool.

While some people made dough, others made sauces and threw together a salad and some bread to go with the lasagna we would have for our meal. It was so much fun! Everyone learned a little about pasta making (including myself) and it was a good time just to talk and work and not feel pressured by having to bring gifts or dress up or do anything too special. I love a regular dinner party with friends and family, but sometimes having an activity is even better.

My garden was still producing tons of basil but I knew it would not last much longer as the weather had turned cold and wet. I decided to harvest all the basil and make pesto and freeze it for whenever the need arose.

It worked out perfectly because I was able to give everyone a little bag with a bottle of wine, a jar of pesto and their own, homemade pasta to go with it. We all agreed, we’ll meet again next year for another round…and we might even be more efficient next time.

A New Tradition?

Having just gotten through Thanksgiving and all the food and prep and shopping and people coordinating that takes place, has taught me another valuable lesson. I love Thanksgiving and fall and all that goes with it, but somewhere along the line I think I decided that if the day wasn’t done a certain way, well it just wasn’t a good Thanksgiving.

For as long as I can remember, my mom and my aunt orchestrated the whole event. They set the gold standard and then little by little handed it down to my siblings and my cousins.  We used the best china and fancy linens, there were candles and flowers and fine crystal glasses. We dressed up in our best clothes.. We would all receive assignments a month in advance as to what dish we were bringing, and everyone knew what to do.

As our families grew however, we eventually had to split up and that’s where things got messy. Other people had other traditions and if the holiday wasn’t at my house, I had to go along with whatever they liked to do.

My brother’s second wife didn’t see the need to use real china plates and your best silverware, so Thanksgiving dinner was served on paper plates, and we used plastic utensils. My husband’s brother’s wife hates all Thanksgiving food (turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, pie, you name it, she hates it), so she is constantly trying to reinvent the meal. The list goes on, but you get the point.

I’m fine with that sometimes, but I will admit, I am a creature of habit, and I like the way my family did the holidays. The food was our tradition, it was our family culture and while we didn’t always like single every dish, we all knew the love that went into them made us who we are.

Somewhere along the line, I probably took things too far and decided I would make all (or at least a lot) of the food so I could have control. That worked for a while but the reality of was, it was just too much for one person to do, especially when there was a large crowd. For years I would do the grocery shopping, and the prep and clean the house and get the table set and flowers arranged and then I could start cooking. Whew! The payoff for me was that I got to keep my family’s traditions alive…but at what expense? I became totally burnt out.

This year we were to spend Thanksgiving with my husband’s side of the family. I felt overwhelmed with the whole endeavor to try to get them to make a traditional meal so this year, I relinquished control and let others take over some of the harder parts and I just made a few of our favorites and took a back seat.

I will tell you it was the most relaxing Thanksgiving I’ve ever had. The stress was on someone else this time and I had resigned myself to just embracing whatever came out of the oven. Everyone chipped in with a dish or two and much to my surprise, it was one of the tastier meals we’ve ever had with that group!

Letting go and letting others help, was the key. I didn’t have to do it all to get it right, I just needed to let others into the circle! I still love the traditions I grew up with and so do my kids, but I needed to learn to stop being like the Little Red Hen, doing things myself and then resenting everyone else in the process. When you let others join in and help, it’s more fun and way easier, It’s no trouble!  

Maybe that will be my new tradition!

The Forgotten Casserole

I went to a college football tailgate last weekend and saw some dear friends from my sorority days that I don’t get to see very often. We laughed about all kinds of things and told stories about crazy stuff we did during and shortly after college.

I had one group of friends, that formed a cooking club. There were just 5 members and that’s all it was ever meant to be. Just good friends, cooking together and staying in touch. They took turns planning and making a meal together and I’m sure, discussing some of Life’s greatest moments along the way.

I wasn’t invited to join this group, which I sort of lamented about, but deep down I didn’t have that real passion for cooking…they had the flame, I only had a little flicker…nonetheless, I thought it was a very special thing that they were doing and are still, doing 40 years later.

These gals, and a few others whom I met along the way, became excellent cooks. They were smart and decisive and knew how to put on a great dinner party.

I was always very intimidated by these friends that could cook anything asked of them…look out Julia Childs…these gals would put you to shame! I would try and try to make a great meal and have friends over, but it was work to me and I always beat myself up over some dish that didn’t come out quite right or my timing was bad or some crazy thing would happen in my oven…I think I sort of came to the conclusion that I would just cook for my family but stay out of the way when it comes to cooking for others.

One time while at a friend’s dinner party, I decided that at least if I didn’t cook, I could help with the clean-up. Boy was that a bad idea! The hostess quickly pushed me out of the kitchen, saying she only washes a certain way and that I should just go sit down. That didn’t make me feel too good either – now I’m not even allowed to clean?

 I stopped going to dinner parties and consequently stopped being invited. Which spiraled me into a mediocre cook who never reciprocated her dinner invitations. I think the bar was raised so high in my little social circle that I couldn’t (and honestly didn’t want to) keep up.

At the tailgate party, one of my friends told a story about a time when she was in charge of bringing lunch to a large group meeting, but she had forgotten all about it until the night before at 8:00pm! She raced around, bought food at the grocery store and was up chopping and making sauces and grating cheeses until 3:00 am! When it was finally time to go to the meeting, the casseroles were cold. She still had to warm them up. The meeting was being held at a neighbor’s house, so no, this was not a commercial kitchen with 3 large industrial ovens, like there would have been at a larger facility. She tried to fit 6 casserole pans into one little oven at once, but that didn’t go too well. In the end, she had to serve lukewarm casserole to some snobby friends, and everyone knew she had forgotten about her duty for the day. That experience led her to quit the lunch group and happily move on.

I’m sure that was a pretty lousy experience for my friend at the time, but she was laughing when she told it and it made for a great story!

It made me feel so much better too – here was this person that I thought could do no wrong in the world of cooking – totally screwing up. I think I’ve been afraid of messing up and never recovering from it. But that’s the thing. It’s never that bad, and if your friends shun you when you didn’t perform at your best…then they’re probably not good friends anyway.

Lesson learned here is – Try to keep your calendar up to date and…go ahead and cook for people, don’t be afraid of mistakes or cold casseroles! The people that are worth it will still be your friends no matter what you serve!! Itsnotrouble!

Hello, Again…

It’s been over four years since I last posted on this blog…and even then, it seems like I lost my whole purpose for doing it in the first place! I guess Covid and so many other changes in my life and family took me on a wild ride down a path I didn’t expect, but here I am and this time with focus!

“It’s no trouble” is not a blog about always being perfect, but about looking to the future and planning, so that no matter what comes your way, you can always say, “it’s no trouble!” and mean it. Maybe it’s having a great homemade meal at the ready in the freezer so that when unexpected dinner guests arrive, you can throw a dinner together with ease. Maybe it’s having fresh vegetables and flowers growing in your garden so that you can always have something special to give to friends and neighbors or to put on your own table. Maybe it’s taking care of yourself, so that you feel good and always have an air of confidence about you, in every situation.

 One thing that always makes my house feel a little more special is having fresh flowers around. Flower arranging is a timeless art that transforms nature’s beauty into stunning displays. Whether for a special occasion or everyday enjoyment, the skillful combination of colors, textures, and shapes can elevate any space.

 I feel like my own flower arranging skills have slipped a little in recent years, so I decided to step up my game recently by picking up some grocery store bundles and making some sort of arrangement every week. Most grocery stores have a floral section and Trader Joe’s is a great place for finding a wide variety of greens, flowers and colors at reasonable prices. You can play with what you bought, and if it isn’t really what you were trying to achieve, it’s ok – you haven’t invested much money, and you can probably salvage a few flowers to make a small bouquet for the guest bath or location not too prominent.

 Trying out a new floral design idea when you’re having guests over often creates more anxiety than having no flowers at all. But, if you have been practicing every week with different vase sizes and shapes, or marbles or frogs as your base and then playing with colors and textures and greens, you will have built a foundation for your arranging in the future. When possible, I like to have a color scheme in mind. It could be something I saw in a fabric swatch, or on a Pinterest board or a photo that inspired me. Try colors that don’t normally go together – you never know, with the right greens or other foundation foliage, the result might surprise you.

 Creating an arrangement, when you are not under time pressure or scrutiny from your garden club friends, is so much fun. I love turning on some music and just playing around with what I’ve brought home or clipped from my own yard. It doesn’t matter if the final product is perfect, what matters is that you learned something (I hope) about what works and what doesn’t. You’ll become skilled at using all shapes and sizes of vases; making tall, statement arrangements for a large space and petite little arrangements that line the length of a table. The only limit is your imagination.

You’ll find what you like to work with and what you don’t care for. When the time comes to make a floral arrangement for something special – you’ll know just what to pick for just the right occasion. It should have your personality written all over it! After a few weeks of practicing for fun, you’ll become very adept at creating a great arrangement for whatever comes your way! It’ll be no trouble!

One Last Time

I walked through my mom’s home for the last time today. It wasn’t the house I grew up in, but nevertheless, it was her home for the last 35 years. It was the home where we held my bridesmaid’s breakfast, celebrated birthdays and Christmas eves…my kids spent the night with grandma, being totally spoiled and fiercely loved! So many memories came from that place.

I walked through – after the painting and new carpet, getting it in ready to sell shape - it didn’t smell like my mom anymore, there were none of the familiar family photos, antiques and books, or miscellaneous piles of mail. I knew in my heart that everything was taken care of, not yet in a final home, but safe from being lost – our memories neatly boxed up and put into storage.

I had never, in my entire life, gone this long without talking to my mom – even in college when we had land lines as the only means of communication, we still talked at least every week or so. Sometimes in my head, I think…oh, I need to call mom…and then I remember, I can’t. Sometimes I want to tell her something or invite her over or plan out how we will get to some event or where we will spend Thanksgiving…and then I remember I can’t.

I can’t think too hard about it or I feel like I will get lost in sorrow and pain. I don’t like to think about how sad I really am. It’s easier to just keep pushing on, like I know my mom would have. Other than joy, happiness and love, my mom didn’t have too many other emotions…at least emotions that she let others see.

I guess I’m lucky the world is so different these days due to the pandemic…we can’t really go to college football games or get together with friends and family like we used to, so in that respect I can trick myself into thinking that things will be the same when this is all over. But things won’t be the same, no matter what else does come back into our lives, my mom won’t be coming back. I’m grateful that her memory will never leave me.

Another Reason to be Ready

It’s been a while since I last posted…guess I’m still trying to find some direction in light of everything that’s happened over the last month. We just celebrated Mother’s Day and held a small backyard memorial for my mom who passed away a little less than a month ago all in the same weekend. It’s funny, I feel like I’m ok, but then I know in a lot of ways, I’m not.

For the memorial, it was really supposed to just be a short toast with part of our family, with those that live close. We all agreed, we needed to share some memories and raise a glass to my sweet, beautiful mother. In the week before the get together, I began making plans for what to serve, where/how we should sit and everything in between all the while maintaining social distancing. I started to realize my backyard had to be as perfect as it could possibly be. I began scrubbing (or “swabbing” as my daughter joked) our deck. I bought some new chaise lounges for additional seating and wiped down our outdoor table and chairs until my hands were raw. I began to think about how my mom would want this to look. How it had to be done right.

I wanted to have a champagne toast to start things off, so I got out my best glassware and bought a few bottles of bubbly. I figured we would raise a glass, share some memories and some tears and hopefully, not share any germs. The evening went well, we were able to stay outside and keep our space and share what we loved about my mom.

All this made me realize, even more now, that being a little prepared for a spur of the moment event, whether it’s happy or sad, can make a big difference in life…It’s also made me realize that when something is important to you, like creating beautiful spaces, delicious meals and carving out time to be with loved ones – being a little ahead of the game can keep the stress down and make the time even more special. I hope to be able to host a big celebration of my mom’s life soon, but until that time, this small gathering has helped in the healing process…and I think my mom would have approved!

Hitting the Reset Button

I’m making a departure today from my general blog theme, just for today, because the past few weeks have brought about some big changes in my life and it feels like I’m being untrue to myself to pretend that all is well. I don’t feel like getting organized for a dinner party or shopping for things I’ll use in the future for some kind of gathering…at least not right now and I’ll tell you why.

Like almost everyone else in the world, my family and I are sheltering in place – I feel lucky that we can be together and so far so good on that front. Unfortunately, when all of this COVID19 – shelter in place stuff started, I, like many others, lost my job. I doubt my job will be there in the same form when all of this is over. Maybe it will, but somehow, I think with the changes we all need to make going forward, my previous job won’t look the same. I do have to admit, I was in shock at first, but I understand the why’s as well, so I feel like I’m equipped to push through it.

What also happened, which I wasn’t ready for was the passing of my mom last week. Over the last two years, she had been in a slow decline, but we were grateful that she was able to keep living in her home of 30 years, along with full time care. Mom lived to be 94 years old and was pure light in every way. She wasn’t particularly religious, but she lived by the golden rule and never judged or said an unkind word that I can ever remember. My mom was a huge part of my life and we all loved her so much. I miss her terribly. The good news is that she passed away peacefully, in her own home with family nearby.

I’m certainly not the first person to lose a job or a parent, but I do have to say, it’s a lot to take in at the same time. I feel like I’m ok, but at the same time, I feel a little numb – like I’m going through the motions of life, as if watching from afar. Something someone said to me when I lost my job was; “well then, it’s time to hit the reset button”. At this point in my life, that statement rings true. I’d been needing to hit the reset button for a long time, but it’s always so easy to just keep playing along, letting life come to me, sort of making decisions along the way, but also easily being led. When everything stays the same, like your job or relationships…maybe you don’t want to take risks or jump off any cliffs. Maybe the job is just good enough - even though you know it’s not. You just keep going on like people in your life will be there forever, even though you know they won’t. As usual, I need to hit rock bottom in order to make a change…so I think I’m ready…

I’m hitting the reset button, here and now. Not even sure what that means exactly, but will be using this time to figure it out. And, while I continue to clean and purge our house (wishing I knew how to get rid of all of this stuff now that the rules of disposal are different) I’ll be doing much the same with myself. I know I’m a better person for having my mom as my mom and I’m pretty sure I’m a better person for having worked with some of the people I worked with before in my work. It’s just time to move on. For now, I’ll get out into my garden…which has some new seedlings that I’m so excited about – just hope I can keep them growing strong!

Reclaiming the Dining Room

Well, since we aren’t gathering these days…I don’t have to worry much about having people over…unless it’s a zoom party and I can fake my way through those pretty well (more on that in another post)!  I got to thinking, as I’m sure we all have lately, about doing the things that I never have time for like, organizing my recipes, cleaning the laundry room, throwing away old papers and doing a big ugly DIY remodel on our half bath in the basement. I try to stay on top of these things…but honestly, they get away from me more often than I’m on top of it all.

We spent last weekend trying to make my husband’s large home office area habitable again. My husband has a loud, booming voice so when he’s on a call or leading a meeting, the whole house literally shakes. Since we’re all trying to accomplish one thing or another at home these days, it was mandatory to get him back into his own space! His area was beginning to look like a hoarder had moved in, almost to the point where no one could even walk in there.

I had been planting the seed for a big weekend office clean-up during the week leading up to it; “wouldn’t it be great to get back into your office?”, “just think honey, you won’t have to watch me roll my eyes every time I walk by” and then this final statement – “I’ll plan on doing it myself if you don’t want to get involved”…That last one always scares him into agreement.

Saturday morning, I organized a clean-up crew consisting of me, my daughter and one of my sons. I felt that with all of us there for moral support and to occasionally offer our advice as to whether something is a keeper, donation or plain garbage, we could make some real headway. And, we could keep our eye on him to make sure he didn’t slip out the side door or start napping or watching tv. He’s sneaky like that!

After two days, my team emerged…along with multiple bags of garbage, boxes of paper to be recycled and lots of found items that were presumed lost forever. With only a couple more hours of work, the office will be recovered and with it, my sanity! Soon, my dining room table will be released from its temporary office duty.

I was super proud of myself for getting the family together and getting this done. Not only did it keep us occupied for almost two days, but it got a job done that will benefit us all. The only bad thing about this, was on Monday morning, when I called for an extra garbage/waste pick up, I was told that there will be no extra service at this time due to the Corona Virus…totally understand, so I guess the garbage will live with us for a while longer!

Strange Times

My cat must be wondering why we’re suddenly all home…all the time. No more weekends with the family away, no more long days spent outside, waiting, casually napping and wondering where we’ve gone. We’re just here, day in and day out, all day and all night.

These are strange times for sure. Shelter in Place orders are in effect; we can go out to get essential supplies like groceries, medicine or to care for others…maybe get a walk in for exercise – but at 6 feet away from others. We’re all on high alert, watching more news than we probably should, spending more time on social media than we probably should and feeling like we’re missing something –  are we?

I work from home anyway, so this shouldn’t feel strange except that now I’m working at home with 3 other family members – all doing the same thing. There’s a zoom call upstairs and a very loud phone call in the dining room. My son’s trying to take a midterm for his last semester in college…will there be a commencement ceremony? Still waiting on that outcome. My own job in possible jeopardy…after all, who wants to invest in much of anything right now? Pretty much putting out fires for the time being.

I am torn, most of me loves having everyone here…captive for the moment. My little family unit huddling together as it should in troubled times. My eldest son nearby, but in his own apartment…it helps me to know he’s nearby. I could walk there or he could walk here if need be. Having to stay away from my 94 year old mother is painful, but I am thankful she is in her own home with 2 wonderful caregivers looking after her.

I’m a homebody by nature. I love time to myself. I love to be at home …but there’s also a point of no return…If I get too comfortable, I get to a place where I can’t even leave. I don’t want to go out or see anyone – I just want to stay holed up in my little cocoon. But that’s not good for anyone, and eventually, I will want to venture out - It’s all a cycle. Spring is the worst time of year for me. I’m never quite sure when it’s time to venture out…Can I leave the safety of my home?  I’m ready to feel the warmth of the sun on my skin again but am not sure I can trust this season. It’s a very different year and I’m determined not to fall into my same old routine, actions set on auto, not thinking, just doing. Too bad it takes a shelter in place order to get me to reflect and make changes!

The Seedlings…I Hope…

Part of my plan for being ready to entertain at a moment’s notice, is having fresh flowers on the table…or at least somewhere in the house so that guests can see and enjoy them. Now I am not someone who enjoys shopping and making endless stops at the bakery and the florist and the produce market and the wine shop. It’s one stop shopping for me or it doesn’t happen at all. I really wish I loved to spend my time getting the best from the best, but it’s just not me. My dream is that someday I will live within walking distance from all those kinds of shops so I can just pick things up on my way home from wherever I’ve been that day, but for now this is all I’ve got!

One way to take fresh flowers off the shopping list is to have a strategically planned, cutting garden out in the back yard so anytime I need a bouquet, I can go out and cut my own. Now, to be honest, I am not known among family or friends as a good gardener. I’ve had a few successes in my day (yes, succulents count!), but overall, if there’s no drip-line watering system, I end up being more of a weed and mud master. This year is going to be different. I know I can do this.

For my birthday, I decided to treat myself to 3 raised plant beds to be built on our side yard. I’ve wanted this for years and now is the time. The beds will be built by the end of February at the latest, which is perfect timing for me to get some plants started from seeds now so I can transplant into the beds once they are ready. Living in a mild, coastal climate – I don’t have to worry too much about frost and if there is a threat, I’m prepared with my frost protection. More on that later…After doing a little research, I’ve chosen to start with some hardy annuals – I hope they’re hardy enough to withstand me! Foxglove, Belles of Ireland, Stock and Sweet Peas (because I love them). I’ve planted the seeds in seedling trays, watered, put the tops on and placed in a sunny spot in our house so they can germinate and grow a bit before it’s time to put them out in my new flower beds!  I had extra space in the trays, so have decided to plant more seeds in a couple of weeks or so, in order to have a second wave of plants coming up. I can’t wait to see these babies grow…

Dessert…I forgot Dessert!

I have this amazing friend who can always come up with a homemade pie to bring to a dinner party no matter how busy her day had been. I was always thrilled to have her offer to bring dessert when coming to our house because 1. That meant I didn’t have to make dessert and 2. I knew it would be some home baked work of art that would send everyone off on a good note no matter what the rest of the meal was like!I never really analyzed how she accomplished this feat time after time until recently. One day we were talking and she mentioned that she was making a few pies and putting them in the freezer so she’d have them when she needed them. Fresh baked pies and all she had to do was pop them in the oven! I wondered why after 20 years of friendship, this had never come up before – I could make a few pies and freeze them so that I, too, could have these at my disposal, next time I invited people over! Thus, Freezer Day was born!

At first, my idea was a bit half baked, haha! One day my daughter and I were going shopping, she wanted to go to Home Goods to look for a new mirror for her apartment and I tagged along, hoping to find some new shoe racks so I could organize my closet (yeah, whole other area to improve and find hacks for!). While I was there, I had the brilliant idea to pick up a couple of rustic, casual pie dishes that I could freeze my pies in. I figured if I bought a couple of inexpensive dishes I could have them in the freezer, and wouldn’t miss my regular dishes if I should happen to decide to make another pie instead of using the ones from my freezer. Yes, something wrong with that logic I know, but nonetheless, I thought I was brilliant!Sure enough, I found 2 white pie plates that looked sturdy enough to hold a hearty apple pie and that would look perfect coming out of the oven, with pie goop dripping from the sides and steam coming out of the crust on the top. I quickly bought them and brought them home. (no luck on the shoe racks, but then headed to the Container Store where I found just what I wanted!)

Unfortunately, when I got home and researched my pie pan plan a little further, I read over and over that you need to make the pie in a metal pie tin, not a glass or ceramic dish because there is a great chance the dish will shatter going from freezer to oven. Darn - on to plan B, I will make and freeze the pies in a metal dish from the grocery store and after it’s cooked, just pop the whole thing into one of my new pie dishes. Not as perfect as I had hoped, but still – I’ve got a homemade pie ready and waiting for me when I need it. I used to only make my own pie dough, but after years of that, I found that the Pillsbury dough boy makes just as good if not better dough than I do, so now, I buy the pie sheets from them. How easy is that?!? Sometimes I have to buy more than what I think I’ll need because my pie dishes are bigger than what the sheets are made for, but I just go ahead and expand the dough from an extra sheet and it all works out!

Next, for apple pies I usually just use the recipe in the Joy of cooking book or any recipe you like: Granny Smith apples, lemon juice, lemon rind, sugar, cinnamon and some pats of butter and you’re good to go. Use the recipe you like and top it off with another sheet of pie dough.Once that is done, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and then in foil to protect the pie. Put in the freezer with a piece of tape with cooking instructions: Thaw the pie first and then bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and your dessert is taken care of. I’m also going to pick up some vanilla bean ice cream (I’ll have to hide this in our freezer downstairs or it will be eaten before I get a chance to use it) so that I can offer it along with the pie. Dessert, Done!Do you have a favorite pie recipe that freezes well? I’d love to hear about it!

A Little Bit About Me

A little bit about me…and how I developed my party/food phobia;

I grew up with parents who didn’t entertain much, but when they did, it was perfectly planned, controlled and executed. The air before such a party would be so thick you could cut it with a knife (sorry about the cliche – it just fits so well here!). I was raised to believe that you had to use your best china and silverware for guests, the table had to be set perfectly with candles, flowers and place cards. We would polish the silver with my mom and she would iron the tablecloth and napkins ahead of time.

There were drinks first, with appetizers, then you would sit down to a lovely dinner with one parent at each end of the table. Lively but polite conversation should happen throughout the evening and making that ringing noise with your finger on the rim of a glass or sticking black olives on your fingertips was definitely not allowed, – unfortunately, those were the main things my siblings and I lived for in those days.

A fine dessert and coffee would be served. After the dinner was over and the guests had left, then the clean-up would begin. My mom was a good cook – followed every recipe to a T, but she also left a big wake…the kitchen would look like a hurricane hit somewhere between the main course and dessert! No pot, pan or utensil would escape the ordeal. My dad would try his best to stay ahead of it, but his efforts were futile. Sometime, in the wee hours of the night, the clean-up would be finished. My mom would wash and dry each piece of china by hand along with the silverware. Then each piece of silverware would be carefully counted and put back in its felt coated, air protected, predetermined slot in the china cabinet. She was always afraid someone would accidentally throw a knife or a fork away and then her set of twelve full place settings would be ruined.

Even writing this makes me anxious…those were beautiful dinners, but not achievable given the time constraints we face today (at least for me)…unless of course you have help! Over the years, I came to appreciate my mom and dad’s attention to detail, but I often thought about how much we missed because there was no in between, no better than a regular dinner but more relaxed than the formal party. Had there been a middle-ground, I may have learned to embrace the dinner party, instead of fear it. These days, I enjoy being with family and friends and realize that being stressed out in the kitchen is not the way to spend quality time with those we love or especially with just those we want to get to know better. And so, it’s with this in mind, that I develop my strategy to feel good about setting that extra place at the table, anytime!