Grandma's Kitchen Table

Seasoned Conditioning

      Well, the World Championship Swimming Meet here in Indianapolis at the Nat has finished.  All those well-seasoned conditioned swimmers roaming our streets and the Nat now a thing of the past.  Don't know if you got to see any of it on tv, but the swimmers are poetry, grace, and power in the water at that level of swimming.  We had two girls from our club swimming in the meet, and what a thrill it was for them to compete at that level! 

      Our club officially had Saturday as our volunteer day to work at the meet and while the kids all got to see various swimmers, the adults were pretty busy working.  Mark was taking tickets yesterday when Mrs. Phelps came through the line, so he got to see her up close and personal...we all think that Mrs. Phelps is as much of a celebrity as her son, Michael.  She asked Mark if it would be possible to switch sides to sit on as she wanted to sit with another swim mom and Mark told her that she could give it a try with the ushers.  He said, "I was figuring if anyone could do it, she should be able to." 

      Matt, Daniel, and Stevie (compliments of the Haslers) got to have VIP tickets the night Michael broke the 200 Fly record, so they were thrilled with that, and the fact that they were sitting in the VIP section in front of Mrs. Phelps (seen in photo at left behind them in light blue shirt), so that when Michael was awarded flowers each time for winning an event, he would bring them to his mother in the stands and they got to see Michael a few times.  They were on television as when the cameras panned to that, the boys were right there front and center, so friends were texting them saying, "We just saw you all on TV!"  That was, however, as close as they got to actually meeting Michael. 

      Aaron Piersol broke the world 100 Backstroke record last night...one of Matt's major swims, so that was a good and exciting way to end the run.  A lot of fast swimming and fun times for the CSC swimmers (and their families) over the week. 

      Ali and Sarah got to attend a World Swimming Championship kick-off breakfast with Cullen Jones (Olympic medal winner and one of the first African-Americans to be so in swimming), so here is a fun photo of them at the Make a Splash breakfast, compliments of Buddy and Laurie.

      Sectional swimming starts week after this at Miami and Matt is entered in four events for that, hoping that if he gets the cuts he wants in that meet, that he won't need to swim Senior State, making his next meet be Junior Nationals in Washington State and having that week of Senior State Swimming as a bit of a break.  Keep your fingers crossed as it would be nice to have that all in place earlier rather than later. 

To Everything There is a Season

      Di started it.  She got new bookshelves for all her cookbooks, organized them all and had the nerve to send us photos of the completed project, making the rest of us feel like we should maybe do something about our own cookbook mayhem.  Now, she didn't directly say this because she is way too nice for that...but the pressure was there for me nonetheless. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     I don't have new book shelving because my cookbooks all reside in my pantry.  Well, okay, that's where they are supposed to all reside.  Truth in telling, however, is that I usually have three or four by my chair from my cooking blog alongs, because there is no real sense to put them away each time since I have to make grocery lists and such for the coming week from them.  There are always a couple by my bedside nightstand for planning upcoming dinners, etc.  There are always two or three in the car as there is absolutely no sense waiting around somewhere in the car without some reading material that you can quickly pick up and put down and that you might need to have with you so you can stop at the market for ingredients for dinner.  One or two reside on the counter as I use them all the time (do you hear that Ina?).  So, having cookbooks shelves in the pantry is convenient, but rarely do they all end up there. 

      However, just for Di, I gathered them all up, placed them in their places on the shelves, and took a photo...so here you go, Di...all organized in your honor.  Now let's see if the rest of the crew can meet the cookbook organization challenge! 

      Just for fun, I took a photo of my very first cookbook.  It was given to me in college by the father of a friend, a wonderful gentleman farmer, and he wrote both my name and his inside the front cover, very sweet.  I have kept it all these years and have several recipes I use from it so I keep it within easy reach on the shelves.  It was the start of a great love of collecting cookbooks to use for cooking for my family and others.   

      While I was at it, I took a photo of the rest of the pantry so that you can see, while the family has three of the floor to ceiling sections, Matthew has the last one for all his junk food...food easily transportable on the way to and some to stash in the car for on the way from swim practice. 

      Occasionally the rest of us stray over there for a bite or two, but by and large, I hold out no hope of claiming that section for anything until he is no longer using it...and just so you are sure about this:  I am in no hurry to claim that section at all. 

      To everything there is a season...and the season of having our boys still with us is quickly progressing towards a new season, one I am clearly not ready for anytime soon.  Pantry shelving is the least of it all.

Fridays Favorites Fare

READING:  A Voyage Long and Strange by Tony Horwitz  Almost finished with it, and then I need to read my token novel for the year:  one of which everyone immediately recognizes the name and/or author and fulfills the goal for seeming to be mainstream America, "with it," and part of the "in crowd" (i.e., not my usual standard reading fare in other words)...so submit your favorites to my email now, so that I can choose something from amongst them! 

LISTENING TO:  Symphony on Prairie is doing Bach this weekend, so I am in a Bach kind of listening mood this afternoon.

COOKING THROUGH:  Le Cordon Bleu at Home (Le Cordon Bleu School of Cooking), this week's assignment is Velouté Du Barry (Cream of Cauliflower Soup), pages 419-420; Baking:  From My Home to Yours (Dorie Greenspan), this week's recipe is Brioche Plum Tart on pages 54-55; The Bread Baker's Apprentice (Peter Reinhart), this week's recipe is Casatiello; The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking (Marcella Hazan), this week's recipe is Pasta and Pesto with Potatoes and Green Beans on page 177-178.  You can cook/bake along, too!

FAV NEW FIND:  That last week's little surgery resulted in all negative results...what a relief!

FAV THING TODAY:  Just enjoying the summer day with Matt.  Fun to see all the little swimmers and how good Matt is with teaching them to swim.   

GOING TO:  A mish mash of activities this weekend...World Swimming Championships are here in town, so that means working as well as watching; hopefully, the Bach through Bluegrass concert at the Prairie this evening; and the biggie...getting 4-H all wrapped up and turned in for judging by Sunday evening.  Trying to decide if I am entering anything this year or not...still haven't made up my mind definitely on that, but mine doesn't have to be turned in until later, so I can procrastinate a few days before I need to decide.

PRAYING FOR:  Pick something close to you heart to pray for, and please join me.

Whisk Wednesdays

      Due to everyone's scheduling this week, this next set of menu recipes is being postponed for one week, so it will appear beginning next week.

     If I get time, I may do a rewind recipe here from something Shari did before I joined her with Whisk, probably some sort of salad for summer.  I will let you know...about that and the missing Bavarian Cream from last week as I still have not made it...too many desserts around here lately, but I can see a gap this weekend, and fresh raspberries begging to be used. 

Tuesdays with Dorie: Tribute to Katharine Hepburn Brownies

       This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Tribute to Katharine Hepburn Brownies, can be found on pages 96-97, and was chosen by Lisa of Surviving Oz.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Lisa's site above and she will have it posted today. 

       Well, the guys were delighted with the return of a chocolate dessert!  There is nothing about a brownie that they do not love.   Brownies have been something I have made through the years, as they are fairly no fuss and don't require you spend a lot of time dwelling over the chocolate or the recipe. 

      Such was also true of these, easy, ingredients readily available if not already in your pantry, and the time commitment is minimal in both mixing and baking. 

      I made three changes:  I left out the cinnamon, and I left out the nuts because the guys around here prefer chocolate and cinnamon not be mixed together, and they prefer brownies without nuts; I also changed the baking time from 30 minutes to 50 minutes as I could tell at 30 minutes they were not set (actually raw still in the middle). 

 

      They turned out just great and were the consistency the guys prefer with the longer baking time.  There was note that these are "mushy brownies, but not too mushy, just mushier than your usual ones."  I'm sure that is standard food critic banter, but if you need interpretation:  they "loved" the brownies, "would eat them anytime" I want to make them, and "making another pan tomorrow would not be too soon."  I think you can tell by the way Matt is shoveling it all in, that these would not be around long.  It's so rewarding to cook/bake around here as the guys are always so appreciative of any efforts I am willing to put forth in those areas...it's awfully nice to have an appreciative participating following.

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Denise of Chez Us, is Brioche Plum Tart, and can be found on pages 54-55.

  

      Click here and then on individual baker's blog at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways in which different people interpreted their quest.  It is not too late to join us.  If you would like to bake along, simply go to the TWD site and send an email through the link listed there.  You can join in the weekly fun.  See you there!

 

Cooking Italy: Tomato Bruschetta

      One of the other Whisk Chicks from Whisk Wednesdays, Angela, is Italian and loves her Italian heritage and Italy's cuisine.  After seeing many of Angela's fantastic recipes on her blog, I persuaded her to begin an Italian cooking blog-along of her own (something she had been contemplating for awhile) for purely selfish reasons on my part:  I have always wanted to know how to cook Italian food, as it is Mark's favorite, and so far my repertoire is limited to Spaghetti and Meatballs and Fettuccine Alfredo, both of which are fairly good and made from scratch, well, everything but the pasta that is.  And, so, Cooking Italy was born. 

      Angela has set the agenda as one menu a month, consisting of four different dishes, with the posting requirements generally of posting one recipe a week on Mondays.  We are cooking from the book Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan. 

      The first recipe was Tomato Bruschetta, something to warm up the appetite before the main course, and is found on pages 73-74. 

      Since Cathy and I are also doing (but not posting as really, there is probably too much posting going on here as it is) recipes from Artisan Breads in 5 Minutes a Day, I decided to make the baguette I was going to use for the slices of bread for the bruschetta, the idea being that I could make it small and use thick and thin slices so people around here could have a choice:  Barbie portions or not.   

      Made the bread, baked the bread, diced up the tomatoes, squished the garlic and rubbed it on the warm grilled bread slices, topped it with the tomatoes, salt and pepper, drizzled on a little olive oil, and finished it with a sprinkling of fresh basil from the plant on the deck.   Simple, easy, and oh, so delicious! 

      If you would like to see Angela's lovely rendition (she has such a way with food styling), you can go to Spinach Tiger where you will also find a connect to the Cooking Italy group, the schedule, and the upcoming menu recipes.

      Next week's recipe is Pasta and Pesto with Potatoes and Green Beans and can be found on pages 177-178.

 

Seasons In The Sun

      Sometimes you don't need a lot of words, the photos tell the story.  Here are some fun shots of the swimming lessons Matt teaches in the summer. 

      I remember when he was this small...now he is 6'4" tall and these little ones just seem so little and that time so very long ago. 

      Truly wonderful children, all of them, so polite and respectful, and having so much fun learning how to swim. 

      And all those little pink swim suits, towels, cover-ups, and sandals...I certainly hope I get some girly grandchildren along the way!  Buying blue and green all the time was okay, but I am ready to shop on the pink side of the store occasionally!

 

Getting Ready for Championship Season

 

      Team Indiana at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado in June.  Matt is the first one on the left side in the fourth row.  You are on your own to figure out everyone else! 

      It's been a bit busy around here and my posting has been somewhat erratic, so am hoping that I can do a little in the way of catching up with that in the next few days and keep more on track. 

      The CSC OTC swimmers had a great time out in Colorado training at the Olympic Training Center.  Josh, Daniel, and Mike at left at the Garden of the Gods. 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

        Matt returned with lots of information and various different methods of various different aspects of his swimming world.  Chris, Matt, and Harrison above right.  Daily treck to and from the pool from the dorms below left. 

      Matt said he felt strong, deck entered two swims at the Fishers meet the following weekend, and got a new best time in his 50 Freestyle, so he was very happy. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nik and Stevie, and some other random photos of the OTC experience...a most wonderful opportunity for any swimmer.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      Pool shots and Harrison and Matt, being, well, Harrison and Matt. 

 

 

Friday's Favorites Fare

READING:  A Voyage Long and Strange by Tony Horwitz  This is a strange little book Mark got as a Christmas gift from his sister Nan.  Horwitz, of course, is a well-known, respected, and awarded writer.  I was expecting something different when I started it, am not sure I really like it all that well, and for some reason can't put it down.  It's a sort of story in a story.  The premise being that Horwitz sets out to "discover" the lands that were discovered by the famous explorers back in their day.  You get the original story of discovery and then you get today's version of the same areas of discovery.  I'll see it through...it has large print, and maps, and I love anything that has maps!  A strange little book. 

LISTENING TO:  Big Band Music from various artists

COOKING THROUGH:  Le Cordon Bleu at Home (Le Cordon Bleu School of Cooking), this week's assignment is Velouté Du Barry (Cream of Cauliflower Soup), pages 419-420; Baking:  From My Home to Yours (Dorie Greenspan), this week's recipe is Tribute to Katharine Hepburn Brownies on pages 96-97; The Bread Baker's Apprentice (Peter Reinhart), this week's recipe is Casatiello.  You can cook/bake along, too!

FAV NEW FIND:  The new stoplight at 131st and Gray Road in Carmel. We now have a left turn arrow.  I am pretty sure this is going to catapult us even higher in the rankings for the Top Ten Cities in the United States for Raising a Family.  I know it just made my life a whole lot easier.

FAV THING TODAY:  Okay, let's say yesterday instead of today as I loved going to the Symphony on the Prairie last night at Conner Prairie.  Yes, it was a bit chilly, can't remember for instance when one needed a sweater or jacket on the 2nd of July!  It was all patriotic music and then a tribute to the Big Band Era during the time of WWII, so that was very enjoyable.  Fireworks at the end accompanied by the symphony.  Very nice evening.

GOING TO:  Let's see:  Some are going to Cincinnati to the Reds game, some are not; some are going to Elwood on Saturday, some are not; Some are celebrating clear into Sunday, some are not.  You are on your own to figure out who is doing what when.  Hope you are having a great 4th of July holiday!

PRAYING FOR:  Peter's family as Peter lost his three year battle with cancer last weekend, a braver child, I cannot think, a more faith-filled family, I do not know.  Please join me.

Whisk Wednesdays: Bavarois à la Vanille, Coulis de Framboise (Vanilla Bavarian Cream with Raspberry Coulis)

      This week's Le Cordon Bleu at Home recipe for Whisk Wednesdays was a dessert.  It sounded good, but we have had a lot of dessert around here lately and frankly, I am having trouble getting rid of some of it, i.e. the non-chocolate ones.  I am not a big dessert lover, so while I don't care for chocolate, the guys do, and they readily eat those up quickly.  The dessert for this week was a non-chocolate affair, so I had decided that I would skip this week's preparation since we just finished the TWD cake I made earlier which was essentially the same flavors, and make it another week when I could count on help getting rid of it, i.e. extra people around. 

     Then I talked to Shari and she said this was her favorite recipe in the whole book so far.  Great.  I don't want to miss Shari's favorite recipe in the whole book so far, so I will probably make this within the coming week and post it here when I do.  Just because.  If you are in the area that day, and want dessert, give me a call!