Grocery Bag: Summer Days

Ahh, summer. These days are so precious.  When it comes to summer meal planning, I vacillate between joyful gratitude for the awesome summer produce, and distracted disinterest at the idea of going inside to make dinner.  These are a few favorite recipes that have delighted me lately. They use the summer produce, but allow me to spend less time in the kitchen.

Day One

Pasta with peppers, squash and tomatoes from Everyday Food Magazine

with a mixed green salad

Photo and recipe from MarthaStewart.com

Day Two

Spaghetti Carbonara from Sunset Magazine

with broccoli slaw salad

Photo and recipe from MyRecipes.com

Day Three

Gnocchi with summer vegetables from Everyday Food Magazine

with napa cabbage salad

Photo and recipe from MarthaStewart.com

Day Four

Sweetcorn and potatoes with mustard seeds and mint from Madhur Jaffrey

with basmati rice

When I make this recipe for our crew, I double the ingredients.

Photo and recipe from My Kitchen Table

Day Five

Pasta with pancetta, green beans and basil from Everyday Food Magazine

Photo and recipe from MarthaStewart.com

Blessings on your kitchen!

Beat the (dinner) heat

My car thermometer says it is 95 degrees outside today.

The fans are cranking to keep the house cool,

and I am responsible for making dinner tonight.

Warning:

Tonight is not the night to fire up the stove!

Caution:

We do not own a grill!

Attention:

What is a mom to do??!

Tonight I will be employing a dinner preparation tactic that I learned last year when we lived in North Carolina.  During the summer in NC, ninety degree days are a dime a dozen.  What was more, our oven could heat up our whole apartment in a jiffy.  

So, on hot days like today, we bring the pancake griddle out to the porch.  Thank goodness for exterior electric outlets!  Cheese quesadillas with peppers and onions are on the menu tonight.  I can sauté the peppers and onions right on the griddle, then fill and cook the quesadillas right next to them.  The kids can play outside while I cook, but beware little hands getting too close to the griddle!  By the time we are all hot and sweaty, we can head into our *cool* house to eat dinner.  Not too bad.

Tractor time

When Uncle S gets a tractor,

everyone gets a ride.

Even though there are no crops up at the cabin,

 no rows to hoe,

that doesn't stop this crew from having fun. 

There is something special about just riding on a tractor!

By the way, why did we need a tractor anyway?

Why, to get the boat out of the water, of course!

Oh, of COURSE!

My kids are having a blast.  

Uncle S is way too cool.

Buddy Bear's Break

Our mornings are filled with action and play.

But in the mid-morning everyday,

Buddy Bear becomes quiet, not making a sound.

I often will wonder, "Is he even around?"

So I creeeeeep up the stair

and find him there,

contraband paci and blanks in tow too,

pondering life and enjoying the view.

 I remind him that paci belongs in his bed.

Alas,
he just smiles at what I have said.

This Day in Happily Ever Johnson History: Fishergirl

Remember this?

Three years ago, G-Bear learned how to catch a fish.

This year, she is quite the fishergirl.

This year, G-Bear staked out a spot on the end of the dock with great enthusiasm.

With help from Uncle Scott and coaching from Cousin P, 

G-Bear dug out her own worms,

she cast her own pole.

she reeled in her own fish.

T asked her to smile for a picture.

G-Bear obliged, but then exclaimed, exasperated,

"Dad, you made me lose sight of my bobber."

Gotta love that competitive edge!

Happy fishing, G-Bear.

Summer, from my desk in the kitchen

I am in love with summer.

On the sidewalk near our house...

Someday soon,

 I'll take the time to post a menu plan,

or catch up on my inbox,

or put away the laundry,

or deal with the mail.

This week, instead of doing those things,

we hosted eight friends for an impromptu dinner,

searched for a new house in the neighborhood,

took the kids to the park and the library and played catch and had a picnic,

and went for several twilight strolls.


I haven't spent much time at my desk recently.
With apologies to the rest of the world, I can't say that I mind.

Add caption

We love July!

My grandmother's recounts how her father liked to celebrate mid-summer with the following poem:

J the first,

U the second,

L the third.

Why? 
The Fourth of July!

GG shares this poem with us every July 4th.

Our kids don't quite understand it yet.  After all, they can't spell.

There are lots of things they do understand about July, though.

They understand that July is a time for family,

a time for parades,

it is a time to enjoy the outdoors,

especially at the cabin.

July is a time for cookouts,

a time to be out on the water,

a time to try new adventures,

and return to our roots.

Great grandpa's cabin turns 92 years old this year.

The town auditorium, also build by GG's dad, still stands strong.

We know that we must savor these days,  

because they pass by in a flash.

In a few months, when summer is over,

we want to look back and marvel at the memories.

Cousin E dazzles us all with his banjo.

One thing is for sure,

we'll come home exhausted.

Laundry time?

Anonymous: "Mommy my underpants are SUPER dirty."

Me: "Hmmmm, how do you know that, sweetie?"

Anonymous: "Because I looked in my underpants, and there is lots of brown."

Me: *silent deliberation*

Anonymous: "You'll need to use stain-stick."

Two months with J-Bear

Dearest J-Bear,

Not long ago, we did not know your name.

We now see you clearly, we're so glad you came.

Whether walking with Daddy outside in the yard,

or gazing at us (we know seeing is hard),

you're melting our hearts, your snuggles and coos

are now irreplaceable.  We sure do love you.

There are good reasons why we don't set you down much, J-Bear.

First, you love to be in our arms so much,

and second, we can rarely bring ourselves to put you down.

It helps that E-Bear and G-Bear love to hold you on the couch.

Buddy Bear, for his part, adores you as well, with kisses or pats or help with a paci.

You really are irreplaceable in our lives.

Today, we're thanking God for these two months with J-Bear!

God's Intervention in Our Lives

Yesterday morning, all the Bears and I attended Mass as part of G-Bear's VBS finale.  This was a feat that should not be overlooked.  It is quite worthy of its own post.  I was so thankful, we made it through  the whole Mass!  J-Bear slept, Buddy Bear sat quietly (!!), E-Bear and G-Bear even joined in on a few of the prayers and knelt once or twice.  But, I am digressing.

The readings for today were taken from Genesis 17 and Matthew 8.  The first reading recounts God's promise of a son to Abraham and Sarah while the Gospel recounted Jesus' curing of a leper.  This afternoon, I read part of a beautiful homily that Pope Francis offered, reflecting on the protagonists of the two readings and the way that God acts in our lives:

“The Lord slowly enters the life of Abraham, who is 99 years old when He promises him a son. Instead He immediately enters the life of the leper; Jesus listens to his prayer, touches him and performs a miracle...

..."When the Lord intervenes, He does not always do so in the same way. There is no ‘set protocol’ of action of God in our life. Once he intervenes in one way, another time in a different way but He always intervenes. There is always this meeting between us and the Lord....

..."Life’s troubles at times become so dark that it makes us want to come down from the cross.  This is the precise moment: the night is at its darkest, when dawn is about to break. And when we come down from the Cross, we always do so just five minutes before our liberation comes, at the very moment when our impatience is greatest.....

....“He tells us exactly what He told Abraham: 'Walk in my presence and be blameless', be above reproach, this is exactly the right word. Walk in my presence and try to be above reproach. This is the journey with the Lord and He intervenes, but we have to wait, wait for the moment, walking always in His presence and trying to be beyond reproach. We ask this grace from the Lord, to always walk in His presence, trying to be blameless'.”

~Pope Francis, June 28, 2013

Homily at the chapel of Domus Sanctae Marthae

I have been so slow to learn this lesson in my life.  I have needed to hear this message so many times.  I will likely need to be reminded of it again.  Today, I'll start by thanking God for intervening in my life, according to His perfect timing rather than mine.