Where I come from

Last Saturday morning, I woke up early to get some work done. I started out the morning by wrestling our wood stove into submission. There were ashes to be dumped, wood to be split, and a fire to be built. By the time the fire finally caught I had broken a sweat and our one kitty circus we call Frankie was in a frenzy. With the fire started I looked around to survey the house. I noticed that I had brought nearly the whole forest in, so I began mopping and sweeping the floors. Then I went to the outside freezer to begin thawing the pork chops for dinner and realized that the thawing had already begun. The freezer was on the fritz. Now I was on a food rescue mission and emergency airlifted all remaining food into the house to the freezer that was working. Thank goodness I had caught it early and we didn't loose anything. Now that the emergiencies had been diverted, I began tending to work on the computer.

My dad came down a few minutes later and began circling Frankie in the living room asking him "WHHHAAAZZZ UP?" in only the way my dad can say it. This went on a little longer than I thought was necessary, but who am I to stop progress. My mom came downstairs and began reading snip its of the newspaper into the air intending for my dad and I to be the audience. I was typing a blog and once my dad gave up on Frankie, the one kitty circus came to curl up on my lap. He was the only living creature that got away with being needy 24 hours a day. In fact, he almost made it look cute. And I say almost with extreme caution. Frankie had jumped into my lap and was trying to hit keys on my keyboard. When I didn’t let him do that he started to play with my camera strap, wrong again. Okay so now he was on to playing peek a boo under my arm. Wow, he totally didn’t have respect for my writing. I tried to share this with him, let him know that he had to respect me as an artist, but to no avail. He just continued to cry for more attention. Yes, he was pretty needy alright.

My dad had moved on to his next project, installing the new printer because the old printer had met its untimely death the day before. My mom declared it Saturday brunch time and put her apron on and began cooking, but not before digging up a bottle of champagne and chilling it in the freezer.

My dad called from the office needing my help with installing the printer and asked if I had a minute. I told him help was on the way. My mom intercepted me however, asking me to take out the trash. I diverted to that mission and my dad started calling again. I began heading to the office, when my mom started sharing yet another new idea that she had. Mom and I were creative monsters these days. I liked her idea and we started talking about it. Then I heard dad's cry for HELP again, this time a little more desperate. I stopped the conversation with my mom and walked into the study. I heard my mom continue to talk, pretty much to herself as I walked away. She wasn't arguing with herself so I felt she was pretty safe. I turned the corner into the office and wasn't quite prepared for what I was confronted with. All I saw were my dad's legs poking out from underneath his desk. Really? My dad under the desk... What was he doing?

At that moment, I thought back to the morning. My dad chasing the cat around, my mom talking to herself in the kitchen, my cat trying to type my blog for me and screaming if I didn't let him, and now my dad face down under his desk. Is this really where I come from? If so, it explains A LOT!

Just as I am having this thought and helping my dad wrestle with the cords; just before my dad is about to start cursing the smallness of his office; my mom calls us to brunch. We all agree it is time to eat. We need some nourishment, we aren't exactly thinking straight.

We all gather around the table to eat the Spinato scramble, Country time cheese grits, bacon, and orange slices that my mom had prepared. Suddenly we are calm again. Peace has been restored to the house. We all look up as if seeing each other clearly for the first time that day. We take a deep breath, finish our brunch and decide that it is time to relax, watch football, and enjoy a glass of champagne. We celebrated the tasks that we had already occamplished and decided that today wasn't the day to tackle hard projects.

As you can see, eating a meal together not only promotes stronger relationships, but also creates peace within the household. So next time you are about to "blow a gasket" as my dad calls it. Fix some easy eggs, sit down, and take a deep breath. There is always tomorrow for what you aren't able to figure out today...

Oh, and yes, this is exactly where I come from and I couldn't be happier! :)

Spinato Scramble

4 eggs

1/2 white onion chopped

2 cloves garlic chopped

1/2 red pepper chopped

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

6 cherry tomatoes cut in half
2 cups fresh spinach
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan. Once the oil is hot, sauté the onion, garlic, red pepper until the onions become translucent. Then place the 2 cups of raw spinach into the pan and top with the soy sauce and the sesame oil. Stir until all are incorporated and cover with a lid and let steam for 4 minutes.

Once spinach is wilted down, top with the eggs and shredded cheddar cheese. Stir to combine all ingredients and cook on medium until eggs are completely cooked through and set. For a different flavor this recipe can also be used with feta cheese instead of cheddar.

Country Cheesy Grits

1 ¼  cup grits

1/2 cup cheddar cheese grated

2 cups water

1 tablespoon butter
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon flax


Heat 2 cups of water in a sauce pan until boiling. Once the water is boiling add 1 tablespoon of salt and the grits. Whisk the grits into the boiling water. Cook for 15 minutes stirring constantly. The grits should begin to thicken as they cook. Once the thickening process has begun throw in the butter and add some salt and pepper. Continue to whisk. I like my grits extra thick and if you do too, you can add an extra 1/4 cup of grits to ensure they are up to your standards of thickness. In the last minute of cooking whisk in half of the grated cheddar cheese.

To serve, place a hearty scoop next to the egg scramble and top with a sprinkling of cheddar cheese and serve along side the bacon and orange slices for a complete meal.

Bacon

This is pretty much a no brainer. You take as many bacon slices as everyone wants out and heat a skillet. Then throw the bacon in turning as each side cooks. We believe that bacon makes everything better. My dad likes his bacon well done and crisp and my grandpa likes his just heated through and raw. So, depending on who I am cooking for I make the bacon the way they like. Once cooked to your liking, I drain the excess fat by placing the cooked bacon on a plate lined with paper towels.

Mental Health Tip: As you have heard before breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But what they don't follow that up with is the reason why it is the most important. I think I have suffifiently documented that without breakfast, we don't always make the most sense or the best choices. So take my advise and get your skillets out and make breakfast for your family. You just might like them a little better afterwards! :)

Peace and Love from our kitchen to yours,

~"Too lovely" Hot Messes in the kitchen