Bread Slabs - Gluten-Free

Sometimes, in the course of a meal, along comes a recipe that saves the day.

Such was the case on Sunday, Easter.

And the recipe was the chewy and savory Basil/Rosemary Bread Slabs from my wonderful, favorite, cookbook, Cooking for Isaiah.

The star of the show was to be the delicious and elegant Chicken Broccoli Rolls in Wine Sauce.  Yes, "was to be."

As it turns out, the 2nd page of the 3-page recipe was completely gone . . . missing . . . mislaid . . .disappeared.  And so I had to draw on my memory of a dish I hadn't made in 10 years.

As is so often the case, recipes trump memory. 

I distinctly heard someone on the other side of the table comment that the dish tasted rather like creamed tuna on toast.  ::sigh::  And Oldest Son responded, quietly, that maybe Easter dinner wasn't the perfect time to bring out old, unfamiliar recipes.

It is at times like this that I am really, really, really glad that I have a family-pleasing recipe like "Bread Slabs" to save the day.  And they're gluten-free to boot! 

Gotta love these little darlings!

18 Years of Easter Baskets

This Easter, there were 3 changes that I wanted to make for me . . . just this year . . . but maybe to be repeated.  Just 3 little changes, but they did leave me with a bunch of bubbly happiness on the inside.

#1 - I white-washed the garish, carnival-colored Easter baskets:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Ah, delightful.  

The boys were mortified . . . simply mortified.

Oldest Son's Clemson-orange basket was suddenly a very soft, rosy, bunny-ear color.

Middle Son's screaming purple became a delicate lilac.  

He mourned for a day.

I remained unmoved.

Youngest Son, in desperation took his green and blue basket and headed for the hills.

It didn't resurface until Saturday night.

#2 - I did not visit Target or Wal-Mart to fill Easter baskets:

Instead I went to Fresh Market and bought things like

white chocolate pretzels with Easter-y swirls

mounds of German gummy bears

peanut butter-filled eggs

watermelon taffy

Australian licorice

and Lindt milk chocolate bunnies.

It made me so happy.

A treat just for me.  I'm sure the kids would just as soon have had the
junky stuff!

Because the candy was more expensive, I bought less.

And that was a good thing too!

#3 - No eggs this year.

I know . . . I almost felt criminal.

I just didn't want to do eggs this year . . . in any form.

I didn't color them, hide them, serve them, or decorate with them.

Instead, I gathered the yummy candies into little tissue paper pouches, 

plopped them in the baskets,

and the baskets were waiting on the table Easter morning.

I loved the simplicity, and I think they turned out cute.

It's amazing how refreshing changing up things a little can be.

Taking off the pressure of expectations.

Choosing less but better quality.

Freshening up what looks old and tired, instead of buying new.

Making the holiday special for me too.

And after 18 years of Easter baskets, I needed that.

A Fitting

First step toward the magical moment of GRADUATION . . . fitting of Junior-Senior/Prom dress.

A gift of a dress.

Couldn't find one long enough for 5'11" Oldest Daughter in all of town.

Gave up on going to the party.  

Expected instead to sit at home and watch dejectedly 

as the pics were uploaded onto Facebook.

Suddenly, surprised by finding another shop . . . finding a dress . . . long enough for these long legs.

A sweet gift from God, letting her know He's with her in every detail

As she moves through . . .

Each step.

Pioneer Woman and Balance and Home

I like Pioneer Woman.

She makes me feel like she's just another mom, like me . . . even if she did write a cookbook, 
publish her love story, and appear on all the morning shows.

If you read her blog, you can see she's pulling back  a little lately on her schedule.

She mentioned (on this post) a new upcoming opportunity and then added:

And most of all, it’s something fun I can do without ever leaving [home].

And I’ve learned that the more I apply that filter to the things I want to do,

 the more my life tends to stay in balance. 

 And balance, I’ve learned firsthand, is a beautiful, wonderful thing.


 

Home.

There's something very centering about being there.

And not even just "being there" physically.

  

But "being there" emotionally.

Heart, soul, body and mind.

Home keeps me humble, focused, and . . . yes . . . balanced.

 It is a "beautiful, wonderful thing."

 Yep, me and Pioneer Woman . . . just 2 BFFs learning life together.

 (all pictures courtesy of tiny white daisies)

Birds These Days

There's not much that is more full of promise, hope and expectation than nests in the spring! 

The birds in our neighborhood seem to be quite challenged, however, in their building abilities, site selection and decisiveness.

For example, one bird worked away diligently in our zelcova tree and then later in the day, as Youngest Daughter and I walked under the tree, the nest came down with a plop right in front of us.  Back to Engineering 101 for that bird.

Youngest Daughter filled it with little pink flowers instead of the eggs for which it was meant.


And then you may remember the mourning dove that chose our hanging pansy planter in which to begin her nest and then left in a flurry of stress and distraction.

Well, apparently not having found any other spot to suit her completely, she is back and has laid 2 adorable eggs.  She's become used to children, dogs, and life going on just under the bottom of her basket.  Papa Bird, however, has not become accustomed and cannot reconcile himself to Mama's indecisiveness.  He sits up on the roof ledge just waiting for Mama to grow exasperated again, so he can say, "I told you so."  Humph.

And then there is the bird with the impaired site selection ability.  This bird chose, of all places, the 24' x 45' fenced area in which we keep our two large, boisterous, and bird-o-phobic dogs.  Somehow this bird built its nest within dog-reaching range and managed to get an egg laid before she realized that she must have had a migraine when choosing her location.  She abandoned her nest while her life was still her own.

Youngest Daughter and I rescued it, and it sits on a shelf in her room, looking sweet and springy.  Just love those touches of blue the bird chose to weave in her nest!  Nest built right in the jaws of danger . . . but it sure was beautiful.

Really . . . what are they teaching birds these days!!

Necessary Knitting

There are all kinds of reasons to knit. 

Today I'm starting some necessary knitting.  My dishcloths are in shreds, and once you use a knitted cotton dishcloth, there is no going back to some other cheap substitute!

Let me just insert here that as pretty as lace-patterned dishcloths may look, they just can't stand up to the wear and tear of every day use in a family of 7.  Leave the beauty in your drawer and just pop it out when company comes so they will think you always indulge in such luxury of freshly-knitted, lace-patterned, bright red dishcloths.

I'm looking forward to starting this dishcloth by Mason-Dixon.  Love the bright colors and the nice, tight stitching.  No more sissy lace-knit dishcloths for this family.

Sun-Dried Tomato Artichoke Chicken

Who needs another recipe of "something-to-do-with boneless-skinless-chicken-breasts"?  Definitely me!!

So, when this fascinating offering came across my path, I snatched it up.

The chicken in itself is nothing special . . . lightly floured, salted, pan seared . . . yawn.

It's what the mixture of the sun-dried tomatoes, the artichokes, the wine and the lemon juice do that make magic.  And it's quick and easy too.

Who could resist?

Sun-Dried Tomato Arthichoke Chicken

1 tsp. fresh thyme leaves (I was doing well to find the dried on the spice shelf)
1 3/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup flour
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup white wine
Juice of 1 lemon (1 tablespoon)
1-14 ounce can quartered artichoke hearts (drained)
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Cut chicken into 1-inch chunks.  Preheat large saute' pan on medium-high for 2-3 minutes.  Place flour and chicken in zip top bag, seal bag and shake to coat.  Place oil in pan,then add chicken.  Cook and stir 2-3 minutes or until lightly browned. 


Stir in wine.  Reduce heat to medium low.  Cook 2-3 minutes or until liquid is slightly reduced.


Sprinkle lemon juice over chicken.  Stir in remaining ingredients (except thyme and cheese) and cover.  Cook 2-3 minutes.  Remove pan from heat, stir in thyme, sprinkle with cheese.  Yummmmmmmmmm!




I would like to add that should certain members of your family find the taste of wine, sun-dried tomatoes and artichokes not to their liking, the whole dish can also be thickly covered with barbeque sauce on their plate and still found quite enjoyable.  ::sigh::