Sharing Thyme and Space

Each day in Florida has been perfect. We have laughed together, shared, and have new memories to talk about next time we get together. A dear friend on mine said during this road trip that it is really hard to connect with someone and develop a great relationship if you don't share space and time. I have to agree. The family that is here in Florida used to live mere minutes from me and now I am several days away. Having the chance to spend this space and time with them has been the best part of this trip for me. In truth, space and time are the only things that really exist in this world. They are the only things that I really have in abundance. I have lots and lots of time, we actually all have exactly the same amount in one day. It is how we choose to use it that really counts.

This week I chose to use it to take longs walks with my sister, laugh with my aunt and uncle by the pool, and do cross word puzzles with my grandpa. Of course, I was also cooking and writing, but the most memorable parts of the trip haven't been the cooking or even the eating, but the conversations over dinner and after dinner. Talking about the state of the union with my grandpa, sharing recipe ideas with my aunt and catching up on who we are at this moment.

We are all changing with each breath and having the opportunity to share these changes and evolutions with those we love most are what really are important to me. Seeing my sister evolve and laughing at all her outragious jokes. Also, watching all of the teenagers and recognizing how far I have grown from being a teenager myself. I have never been happier to be out of those years than during this week watching how everyone at that age wants to be the same. I remember that, and am so glad that now it seems we are all defining our own unique qualities. We are finding what sets us apart and celebrating that instead of trying to fit a mold. Instead we are breaking the mold and I am proud to be apart of it.

As the week winds down, our enthusiasm for seafood goes with it. We crave a little meat and something different. We settle on making Slow Cooked Ribs, Sweet Potato Rounds with Cheddar Cheese, and of course a salad. I have really enjoyed getting to cook in my bikini too! This is really what a Hot Mess looks like!

Our last night we decide to step out of the kitchen and treat ourselves. We head to Mitchell's Fish Market and I dine on the most delicious shrimp and scallop dish while others eat blacked grouper, fried shrimp, and salmon. We go over the top and end up getting some serious dessert that almost took us out. But with the force with us we nearly completed the desserts and I am once again back off the wagon. Well, tomorrow is another day and my family is departing leaving just the three of us once again.

I am sad to see them go, but the memories of this week that we have shared time and space is priceless. Unforgettable, that is what it was... The next stop for us is New O'rleans; or the Big Easy during the annual French Quarter Fest. My first time to New O'rleans in 10 years! Come along for our next adventures in cajun/creole cuisine!


Slow Cooked Ribs

7 lb. ribs on the bone

4 tbsp. blackened cajun seasoning
1 jar of Stubby's barbeque sauce (This is the lowest sugar content and we love it!)

Rub the ribs with the blacked cajun seasoning on both sides of the ribs and wrap in foil. Place the ribs on a baking sheet and place in a 225 degree oven for 7 hours.

After 7 hours remove the ribs from the foil and cover with the barbeque sauce. Turn the oven up to 350 degrees and bake for one more hour. Cover the ribs with foil while they are baking the last hour.

Remove from the oven and cut and serve. The meat will fall right off the bone and into your mouth! This is so easy and delicious, it just requires that you start in the morning if you want to eat it by dinner time!

Sweet Potato Rounds

4 large sweet potatoes

2 sprigs fresh thyme; chopped
4 cloves garlic; minced
2 sprigs fresh rosemary; chopped
Olive oil cooking spray
1 cup cheddar cheese; shredded

Peel the sweet potatoes and slice into inch thick rounds. Spray a cooking sheet with olive oil and place the sweet potato rounds in one layer on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with the rosemary, thyme, and garlic and spray with more olive oil. If you are cooking along side the ribs they can be place in the 225 degree oven for the last 1 and a half hours. Then can remain in the oven for the last hour at 350 degrees right next to the ribs.

If you are doing this separate, cook for 1 hour and 30 minutes at 350.

Place the shredded cheddar cheese on top of the sweet potatoes for the last 5 minutes they are in the oven. The flavors in the sweet potatoes and ribs were the perfect blend and absolutley completemented each other great on the plate. They shared they perfect thyme and space together just as I did with my family!

We used the leftover potatoes and added garlic and chopped up tortillas and baked it in the oven for a cheesy potato bake that I served with fried eggs the next morning! Delicious and a great way to use the leftovers!

Mental Health Travel Tip: This one comes straight from my mom and she really wants you to take this seriously. Vacation is a time for relaxing, letting the stress of the world melt away, and laughing. What goes great with all those things... cocktails! And, we really want you to get this one. If you want to drink all day, you have to start in the morning.

Cheers!

We are sharing our thyme and space with you from our kitchen in Destin to yours!

~ "Too Lovely" Hot Messes headed to New O'rleans!

Stay and celebrate

A dear friend of mine, Joe, just celebrated a birthday on Sunday. Joe, much like me, moved to The Flathead Valley in search of something bigger. Coincidentally that meant leaving his family and friends back in California. Since my mom and I love hosting parties and Joe is a wonderful friend of ours, we decided to host Joe's birthday party. To be honest, we were totally delighted to get to throw a party in honor of him. We had planned the menu and settled on a Cajun/Mexican theme. What could be more fun that hot spicy food when it is 6 degrees outside? Yes, it was 6 degrees!

My boyfriend, Scott, had come to visit me the night before and since he lives four hours away he was planning to skip the party. He claimed he had lots of work to catch up on before Monday morning. Seems reasonable, I guess. We had spent the day catching up, talking, and generally just enjoying each other’s company. Around 4:00pm, we headed back over to my house. We walked in the door and I saw Scott’s thoughts begin to shift. He looked at me and said, “Maybe I can stay. What time is dinner?” I laughed and replied “Oh, really. I can’t convince you to stay, but the decorations can?”

My mom and dad had set the table, laid out appetizers, and hung festive ribbon throughout the house. It looked amazing. Music was playing and a fire was burning in the fireplace keeping the house toasty and warm. Scott took off his coat and made himself comfortable by the appetizers. They were conveniently located in the “heart of the house” which most people call the kitchen. We all pitched in to make guacamole, salsa, and once the birthday boy arrived, we shared in our birthday tradition; Champagne!

Two by two the other guests arrived. Some had met Joe and some hadn’t, but it didn’t seem to matter as each of our friends brought a card and a special gift for him. That night we dined on Chipotle Chicken, sweet potatoes laced in bacon, black bean and corn delight, and a nice barley salad with cilantro (provided by Ava). The night was a huge success and as my mom and I were washing the dishes, I watched my friends gathered around the dining table laughing and enjoying themselves, some meeting each other for the first time. As I watched, I was humbled by the kindness of our friends. I leaned over to my mom and said, “This is my favorite part, watching everyone laugh, smile, and create new friendships.”

We finished off the evening with our friend Lee’s famous Whiskey Chocolate cake  (recipe will be in a future blog) and coffee ice cream (Joe’s favorite). We sang happy birthday with 30 candles on the cake (1 extra candle to grow on). In the end, our friends lingered longer than they had intended with it being a “school night” and all. And Joe, he stayed long after the final guests had left. Mom, dad, Joe, and I curled up on the sofas; Joe with a guitar in hand. He played music while the rest of us tried to singing along. We all seemed to not want to night to end. Once all of the guests had departed, I reflected on the simplicity of the night and how everyone had seemed to want to delay their departure despite knowing that they might be worse for wear the next day. I suspected that just as Scott’s initial read was to stay and celebrate, every guest had also caught that same fever.

So this holiday season, and everyday thereafter, my mom and I encourage you to stay and celebrate!

Famous Smyers Guacamole

5 ripened avocados

1/2 red onion diced

5 cloves of garlic finely chopped
2 jalapeno peppers with seeds removed and diced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro chopped
juice from 1 lime
1 tablespoon pepper
2 tablespoons salt

Harvest the fruit from the avocado first. Cut each avocado in half and scoop out the fruit into a large bowl. Mash the avocados using a potato masher until very few lumps remain and a smooth and creamy texture is created. Next, mix in the garlic, diced onion and jalapenos, lime juice, and fresh cilantro. Mix until all is incorporated, then add salt and pepper.

Chipotle Chicken

6 large chicken breasts (they can be bone-in or boneless and cut for portion size)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup low sugar barbeque sauce

juice of 1 lemon

5 cloves of garlic chopped

Chicken Rub recipe:

1 tablespoon basil

1 tablespoon paprika

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon chipotle powder

1 tablespoon oregano

1 tablespoon salt

To make the chicken rub, mix all spices together in a large bowl. A store bought chicken rub with similar spices can also be used to cut down on time.

For this recipe we used oversized chicken breasts on the bone as they were on sale at the store. We cut off the extra skin and fat and cut each chicken breast in half. Then we mixed all of the ingredients for the rub together and rubbed each chicken breast with the rub. Heat a skillet with the olive oil and sauté each chicken breast for 2 minutes on each side or just until they turn a brownish golden color.

Next place each chicken breast in the crock pot and pour the barbeque sauce, garlic, and lemon juice over the chicken. Set the crock pot to low and set for 6 hours.

*This recipe is also great to grill the chicken in the summer, but due to the extremely cold weather we opted to cook the chicken in the crock pot and it was delicious!

Sweet Piggy Potatoes

5 large sweet potatoes

4 cloves of garlic diced

4 strips of bacon cooked and diced
1/4 cup of plain fat free yogurt
2 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pierce each sweet potato with a knife or fork to allow heat to escape while baking. Place each potato in the oven and bake for 30-45 minutes or until you can easily squeeze them and they are soft and can easily be peirced with a fork. Allow them to cool for 10 to 20 minutes to avoid burning your hands.

While the potatoes are baking, cook up the bacon in a skillet and drain on paper towels and allow bacon to cool before dicing into small bite size peices. If you are pressed for time, you can also heat the bacon in the microwave. To do this, place the strips of bacon on a fresh paper towel and heat in the microwave for 3 minutes on power 8.

To assemble, open up the sweet potato skins and scrape out the meaty insides using a spoon. Place the potatoes in a medium sized baking dish. Then mixing in the yogurt, garlic, butter, and diced bacon bits. Stir all ingredients together and place in an oven set at 250 degrees for 15 minutes to allow the flavors to meld.

Black Bean and Corn Delight

1 can of black beans drained

1 package frozen sweet corn
1/2 red onion diced
3 teaspoons crusted garlic
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped
salt and pepper to taste

This is fairly simple and completely delicious. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place all ingredients listed above in a medium sized baking dish. Mix well. Bake in the oven for 25 minutes stiring halfway through the cooking process. This can also be topped with Mexican cheese or mozzarella cheese if desired.

Mental Health Tip: This is the type of meal and occasion that brings out the best in everyone. Even when it is 6 degrees outside, it is impossible to be anything but happy. When this food is brought to the table it brings out the best in everyone. Try it and you too will want to stay and celebrate!

Brought to you by... "Too Lovely" Hot Messes in the kitchen