We’re back.
Wait.
You didn’t know I was gone, but we slipped away for 6 days to Kentucky for a beautiful wedding and a visit with some very special friends. The weekend before that we had another wedding in the middle of the Mojave desert.
Fun times.
You can see some picture on my Instagram. I’m @agoldenafternoon so come find me!
God blessed our trip and made it even a little restful. Crazy, considering we were traveling with our 3 littles. We got to help out too, which is always a wonderful bonus.
Garlic.
It is wonderful. It is awesome. It is a lovely gift to its often boring friend, Mr. Chicken.
This dish begs for friends to gather and partake of it. Garlic, slowly simmering with wine into a marvelous sauce, is exactly what a group of buddies needs to just relax and enjoy each other’s company. Bread should also be involved, if possible. It’s a great dish to take someone who just had a baby (like Rebekah soon!) or someone who is ailing.
I love the way God brings people together around a table, sharing delicious food and uplifting conversation. We need those close friends around, to remind us of the joy we have in Jesus that gets paused when we feel tackled by the every day life. I’ve felt tackled recently and am so thankful for friends God has placed so carefully around, to comfort me with His promises of peace and rest. When I share a meal with these wonderful friends, it means so much more than words in an e-mail, blog comment, or text can mean. Hugs and tears are an important part of a relationship, that extend far beyond a computer or phone.
Food makes those moments happen.
So, let’s make some food so we can invite our friends over :)
Sound good?
40 Clove Garlic Chicken with a side of brussels sprouts it is. Yes, brussel sprouts. It won’t take a lot of work at all…
Start by patting dry and then browning your chicken in the butter or oil, like the little guys are exhibiting above. Medium-high heat works best to get nice coloring. Throw a little salt n’ peppa on them while you’re at it.
Saute the garlic until browned.
Mmmm. Sauted garlic.
Can You tell I love it?
Next, add the Brandy/Cognac, wine, thyme, and parsley to the pan. Bring it to a boil. Return the chicken to the pan and cook with the lid on for 45 minutes or longer. Cooking it longer will cause the garlic to soften and therefore become all the more wonderful. Once cooked, remove the chicken and then stir the flour and milk into the garlic “sauce”. Season with salt and pepper if needed. Pour some of the garlic sauce over the chicken and serve.
40 Clove Garlic Chicken
40 cloves of garlic (I always toss in a few extra)
2 T. butter or canola oil
1 whole chicken, in pieces
salt and pepper
4 T. Brandy or Cognac
1 1/2 c. white wine
1 T. thyme
1 T. parsley
3 T. Gluten-free flour (or regular)
3 T. almond milk (or whole milk/cream)
Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Apples
1 lb. brussel sprouts
1-2 apples, medium
olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
curry powder, to taste
Cut the brussels in half length-wise and slice the apples. Toss both with some olive oil and salt and pepper. Shake on a bit of curry powder if you like. It helps to balance the bitterness brussels can have sometimes. Roast at 375 for 30 minutes or until tender. Sometimes I drizzle a little maple syrup over the top, once it’s roasted, to help the littles out a bit. :)
Stick around and find us on:
F a c e b o o k // T w i t t e r // P i n t e r e s t // I n s t a g r a m // E m a i l
I love Holidays. They are an awesome way to get people together, eat good food, share a bit of happiness, and maybe even relax a little (if you’re not the hostess, of course!) St. Patrick’s day is no Christmas, but there’s a little piece of history there for everyone to celebrate in.
St. Patrick (or Maewyn Succat, as he was known) is a really incredible person. He was actually an accidental slave brought to Ireland, who seemed to know, even then, that God had a reason for sending him to such a crazy far-away place. Years later, when returned to his home country, he felt the need to go back to Ireland and share Jesus with as many people as he could. Now, how many times have we complained about something horrible or even just inconvenient happening to us and we wonder what God could possibly be thinking? I do it all the time. I probably did it today. I’m sure Maewyn wondered, but he still went. He trusted God’s plan even though it meant a complete 180. Sometimes we are meant to have u-turns, like Joye said the other day, even though they are confusing and sometimes painful. God was with Maewyn and He is with US through every decision, giving us the Holy Spirit, wisdom, and FAITH.
Anyone out there Irish? I may have red hair but I am not the teeniest bit Irish (that I am aware of). 99% of the people who ask me about my hair color, assume I’m Irish. My kids have some Irish in them from their Daddy’s side but Scotland is where it’s at for this girl!
I wish you could all come over for a big party on St. Patrick’s day, so instead I’d like to share my shepherd’s pie recipe.
Shepherd’s Pie with Guinness
potato top:
1 1/2 pounds of russet potatoes, pealed and cut into large chunks
1 cup milk
4 T. butter
salt and pepper
meat filling:
a few T. canola oil for pan
6-8 medium carrots, chopped
1 c. red onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, miced
1 1/2 lbs. ground lamb, turkey, or beef
(Lamb is the traditional meat, but I’ve made it with all 3 meats successfully)
salt and pepper for seasoning
3 T. Gluten-free flour (or whole wheat)
1 T. tomato paste
12 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 T. rosemary, chopped
1 T. thyme, chopped
1 1/2 c. Guinness beer (you can sub a broth for this if you prefer)
1 c. peas, fresh or frozen
1 tsp. parsley, for garnish
Start by boiling the cut potatoes until tender. They usually take at least 30 minutes, which is why it’s best to start with them. Then, saute the carrots, onions, and garlic with a few tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat. You can find some lovely carrots this time of year if you have a local farmer’s market. Add some salt and pepper (to taste) and cook until the onions are browned, about 10 minutes.
Add the meat to the veg mixture and cook through. While this is cooking you can measure and prepare the seasonings above.
After the meat is cooked, add the flour. Stir. Then, add the tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, rosemary, thyme, and beer. Add more salt and pepper as needed. Cook for 10-15 minutes until the liquid thickens a bit.
Put the meat filling in an oval baker or 11×7 in. pan. Mash the potatoes or put them through a ricer. Add the milk, butter, and salt and pepper and stir until combined. Spread the potatoes over the filling. Place on a baking sheet (in case it bubbles over a bit) and cook at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes.
I found these adorable St. Patty’s printables from Ellinee. Enjoy the food and invite a few people over for some good Irish beer and some laughs :)
Oatmeal is definitely a comfort food for me. When I eat it in the morning it sits in my tummy and says,
“Your day is gonna be awesome”.
I started making this oatmeal quite a few years ago and I love it (some of our frequent guests even ask for it which is sooo sweet). Don’t get me wrong, I love a good Starbucks oatmeal, but nothing beats making oatmeal in pjs and slippers. Kinda saves money too.
To start, I’ll try to share how I make my browned butter (I’m no pro…just sharing). On a lot of days I will just use olive oil but I’ll show you the “real” way here:
 
Oatmeal with brown butter apples
2 medium apples, peeled and diced
1/2 c. raisins
1 1/2 c. old fashioned or steel-cut oats
3 cups nonfat milk (or your choice of liquid)
dash of sea salt
1/4 c. butter
1/3 c. brown sugar (or to taste)
1 tsp cinnamon, plus a dash for garnish
sliced apples for garnish (optional)
Start by putting the milk and oatmeal in the pot with a dash of sea salt, on medium-low heat. Stir it every few minutes so the milk doesn’t scorch. I start it first because I cook mine for a looong time…at least 30-45 minutes. You can cook it less, I just prefer mine to be super-creamy and not chewy. However, nonfat milk has less of a tendency to scorch because of it’s lower fat content.
Second, dice the apples and measure the raisins. That way, they are ready to toss in the butter after you make it below.
Third, begin melting the butter in a pan. Basically, you are trying to brown it without burning it to create the brown butter. Shake it every 10 seconds or so. Stay right next to it, though, as it changes pretty fast. The top 3 photos show the slight changes leading to the slightly golden brown result which will smell like toasted butter.
Yes, toasted butter is possible and you maybe didn’t even know it.
Yes, it’s awesome.
Fourth, toss the apples in the butter and saute until slightly golden brown. Add the raisins.
Fifth, add the brown sugar to the pan. As it mixes it will form a kind of caramel with the butter.
Last, add the apple mixture to the oatmeal pan and cook until your desired consistency.
I always serve mine with sliced apples and a dash of cinnamon. I’ve been doing it forever and ever so it’s really not just for show.
Ask my family.
It really does cheer my spirits up, though. You should try it :)
It has been an awesome few weeks for me. Yes, there have been whiny children that beat up on each other, a traveling husband, a few rough school days, and some disappointing pieces of news. However, when I think about the last few weeks I think about…
laughter
More than almost anything in friendship, I love laughing together. I’ve been doing a lot of it and LOVING it.
It makes all of my cares melt away and I go to sleep very thankful for God giving me people I can laugh with.
I’ve also been doing some, dare I say, cleansing things in my life. I recently cleaned out nearly my entire house (feel awesome!). I attacked drawers and closets. I pretty much just have my craft supplies and one counter-top and I should be good. I fully expect it to build up again, but if you don’t do it a few times a year you might show up on that hoarders show or something.
That would be bad.
I also cleaned out my social “spaces”. I’ve been really focusing on being a good friend and being there for people who might need me right now in February, not just someday when my kids are grown and I “get the time”. As an extension of this, I went through my ENTIRE facebook and twitter pages and “hid” people who were negative influences. I made a decision last year at this time to lessen my facebook presence on my personal facebook page. I felt super-bummed when my friends were only reaching out to me through facebook comments so I learned from this experience and applied the changes to my own life. A “like” doesn’t mean nearly as much as uplifting words shared over a cup of coffee or tea. The lines of friendship are so skewed over the internet. I love keeping up with people so I just tried to refocus my efforts to the real-life friendships I have while also not feeling guilty for every relationship I can’t invest in (so hard!).
I also want to have encouraging people around with common goals.
Stick around and find us on:
F a c e b o o k // T w i t t e r // P i n t e r e s t // I n s t a g r a m // E m a i l
Aren’t they just beautiful? I have to say I love to take pictures of vegetables. It’s weird I know, but I love that this color isn’t fake or added. It’s just right there…the way God made it.
Radiant as they are, these fellas come with a power-punch of bitterness. Don’t worry though, the fat from the bacon and the sweetness from the apples cuts right through the bitterness. Then, they become awesome.
The only thing to note about brussels’ is to cut them lengthwise from the “stem” down. This keeps all of the leaves from falling off the brussel unit. They like to stick together, these guys.
I’ve been seeing recipes floating around with bacon, but I thought the apples and curry would add a new twist. They were ridiculously yummy and my kids ate them. Actually, my roast chicken and potatoes weren’t done in time for dinner so that’s all they ate.
Curried Brussel Sprouts with bacon and apples
1 stalk of brussel sprouts or 2-ish lbs. if you can’t find a stalk, removed and cut in half
1 package of bacon, chopped into lardons (don’t you just love that word :/)
2 apples, cored and sliced
4 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tsp. curry powder
salt and pepper, to taste
Throw it all in a casserole dish and bake at 375 for about 25 minutes or until the brussel sprouts are softened.
Serve with roast chicken like this. I’m making more for thanksgiving!
So, lately I have been in a soup funk. I guess it’s not really a funk because everyone around here seems to be happy with it. Basically, I seem to be only thinking in soups these days when it comes to cooking. I even convinced my newly minted 3-year-old to have 2 kinds of soup for his birthday party. It was a “soldier” birthday party and I wasn’t really lying when I said it was perfect soldier food, ya know? In the past few weeks, I’ve made tomato soup, roasted tomato and fennel soup (x2), potato and leek soup, potato soup, roasted vegetable soup, and this asparagus soup. I can’t help myself. It is perfect for lunch or dinner, whether it’s cold or hot.
I wish I had made this today and not last week because we caught the not so very elusive airplane cold on our trip back east this week. It started with me last Wednesday and now it has 5/5 of us. Needless to see the mood is a little irritable amongst the troops. Soup would be awesome right now. I was supposed to go to a food truck gathering tonight to get a butter-poached lobster grilled cheese, but I decided taking 3 kids with runny noses to such an event would be a bad idea for us and the people around us. Too bad because it’s the first time this truck, Devilicious, was going to be at this otherwise quiet get-together. We don’t get the good trucks down in south San Diego very often. Instead, I threw together a tomato and goat cheese tart. I guess it worked out.
Yes, it’s not your computer. The picture is a little weird because it was late and the sun was down. I’m only saying that because I don’t like looking at this kind of lighting but really wanted to share the easy recipe. I hope that’s ok.
I love asparagus so very much. My Mom even knows how much I love it because she put some in my fridge for our return home.
Thanks, Mom :)
Start by sauteing all of the veggies, except the asparagus, in olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 10 minutes or until soft.
While that is cooking, prepare the asparagus by trimming the ends. The best way, I’ve found, to remove the ends is to hold the woody/hard end with one hand and grab the whole spear halfway down with the other. It will just snap where the tender part meets the hard part. It just lets you know because it’s that fabulous.
You can add it to the other veggies.
Add the vegetable stock and simmer for 20 minutes. Then, puree in the blender or with an immersion blender and season again if needed. I tried this with the immersion and the consistency ended up being a little coarse for me, but I’m sure it would have ended up fine in the blender.
I made up a bunch of grilled bread (with olive oil and salt and pepper) and a few poached eggs for everyone. I love me some poached eggs!
Asparagus soup
(adapted from Jamie Oliver)
2 onions, chopped
2 sticks of celery, chopped
2 leeks, chopped
2 lbs of asparagus
2 liters organic chicken or vegetable stock
sea salt and fresh pepper
Gluten-free bread or rustic bread, sliced and grilled
poached eggs
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