Eat Well: Dinner: Yellow and Green Cuisine

I am enamored with the idea of eclectic, shabby-chic entertaining for less. One day, I will acclimate my skill level of entertaining to a suitable state--if never to Martha Stewart than at least to Rachel Ray.  

Right now, my heart is in the right place and my nose is ahead of the heart, sniffing itself all over town to find a bargain. If Martha Stewart style don't come natural, finding a bargain is in my blood. My grandmother paid for my entire college wardrobe--jackets, suits, skirts, dresses (all name brand)--for under $150 because she knew how to shop at department stores, with coupons, out of season. 

And I am not hesitant to venture into any part of town and poke forward with the afore mentioned nose, to see what I may find. 

Kemper Street Flea Market is a perfect place to find all sorts of things, especially if you are specifically looking for particular items. This Saturday afternoon my "to find" list consisted of ramekins for baking macaroni and cheese for guests--so I could, of course, look like a suitable host with some degree of style.

This is a facility I will be frequenting. Small items for crafts and gewgaws for hosting are in abundance and CHEAP. If you are on a budget, but have a smattering of creativity and still want to entertain and look pulled together, there is absolutely no reason not to patronize this warehouse-size Flea Market to stock up on any number of things from candles to dinner ware, from vases to furniture. 

This particular day I walked away with a 6 piece Mikasa vintage 1960's-70's set for only $3--no chips or defects. It was a perfect background for the spinach macaroni and cheese I would serve later that evening. This particular Mikasa set sells on the internet at anywhere from $9-$29.99 a piece. 

Cheesy Shells and Greens Recipe

Recipe Ingredients

• 12 oz medium pasta shells
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter (I used more butter, as I'm a Paula Deen fan)
• 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 1 Tbsp Dijon mustard 
• 1/2 tsp freshly grated or ground nutmeg
• Pinch cayenne (optional)
• 6 oz extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (1 1/2 cups)
• Kosher salt and pepper
• 1 bunch spinach, thick stems discarded, leaves roughly chopped

Recipe Preparation

1. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. I like to use Dreamfield Pasta because it's low carb and high fiber. You can follow the link above to get a coupon.
2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes; whisk in the milk. Cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, 5 minutes.
3. Whisk in the mustard, nutmeg, cayenne (if using), 1 cup Cheddar, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Add the pasta and spinach and toss to combine. If you don't have Dijon mustard do yourself a huge favor and follow the hyper link above to print out a coupon for mustard then double it at Kroger. Stock up on hot sauce and honey mustard too.
4. Heat broiler. Transfer the mixture to a 1 1/2-qt broiler-proof baking dish or four 12-oz ramekins. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup Cheddar and broil until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes.

Prep Tip: Add a crispy bread crumb topping to this dish: Pulse 4 slices bread in a food processor to form coarse crumbs. Stir in 1/4 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley and 2 Tbsp olive oil. Sprinkle over the pasta before broiling.

Now: The Christmas Box(es)

This is another review of a book that will probably incite people to violence against me.

I read "The Christmas Box" this week, a "Top 5 Reads" from Debbie Macomber. It's a best selling book by a Christian man who created the story for his children then stumbled upon a national best seller.

I'm sorry, I know it's a touching and heartfelt story but it reads like the winning short story of a ninth grade High School student. My expectation of a book that sells successfully across the nation is at least an interesting and well written story. It was almost appalling to learn how popular it was years back.

I know, I know--children, the elderly, death, tragedy--I have no right disparaging the book. So be it. You read it for yourself. It will take all of 15 minutes and then you can tell me how terrible I am for writing such a thing.

Nevertheless, I thought the Christmas Box was a good idea very literally--a beautifully crafted container for special ornaments, a Bible, letters from a spouse over seas from years past. I think it would be a lovely idea for a Christmas gift. Here are my top picks:

Heirloom Ornament Box, Etsy, $275

Nativity Box, Woodworkers Fretwork, $29.95

Catholic Christmas Card Holder, Etsy, $45

5 Ingredients or Less: Sprite Scones

You can make these with chives and cheddar if you want to get all Red Lobster with the recipe. These scones come out to $0.50 a piece if you buy the ingredients at Walmart. 

The proper way to enjoy these is with Devonshire clotted cream and lemon curd. 

Recipe Ingredients

• 3 cups self-rising flour
• 3/4 cup lemon-lime soda (such as Sprite)
• 3/4 cup heavy cream

Recipe Preparation

1. Heat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Place the flour in a large bowl and make a well in the center. With a fork, gently stir in the soda and cream, mixing until incorporated (do not overmix).
3. Drop 8 large spoonfuls of dough onto the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with raw or granulated sugar, if desired, and bake until golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes. 

Advertisement: Hopey Meals

It was late into the summer when we learned that Andreas had been admitted to the hospital with a mysterious illness. He was the boy in my Sunday School class I had hoped to watch from the football stands some day--the football stands surrounding a professional foot ball arena. Active and curious, protective of his grandmother, hyper active, and the very definition of "swagger."

It's the call you get and feel a bit of concern. The call that prompts you to request prayer, although a few days of school missed will more than likely be the biggest outcome.

Weeks later, I sat with my brother in the waiting room at the University of Virginia, expecting to say our last goodbyes. Andreas and his family had been friends for decades and his condition rapidly declined. His kidneys were failing, his little body swollen. We were expecting the worst, hoping for small change.

They still don't know what illness caused the stroke that resulted in a double amputation.

This is the reason that I first visited a Ronald Mcdonald House.

Andreas's mother, whose insurance didn't begin to cover all the medical expenses, was able to stay by her son's side for the months required for recovery at little to no cost because of the Ronald Mcdonald House charity that enables parents to stay close by their sick children.

After my trip to the gym the other night, I picked up a Happy Meal. I ordered a hamburger, and "apple fries" along with chocolate milk (I hear it's good for your muscles after a work out). Skimming through Woman's Day I discovered for the first time the purchase of a Happy Meal generates proceeds going toward charities like the Ronald Mcdonald House.

So I used it as a good excuse to indulge. And I thought about Andreas, who just received a special bicycle from the good folks at Wheels on the James this year.

And for all you factual folks I did the research. They donate one penny for each Happy Meal purchase.

Sometimes it takes small change for the hope of small change.

Eat Well: Chicky Meat Poof Pie

When I was a kid we called exposed flesh "chicky meat." If you bent over and your shirt came up in the back, that was chicky meat. If you wore short shorts in the summer time and your thighs were exposed, that was chicky meat. Chicky meat was all the rage and you better believe if yours was out, someone was gonna get it. Someone was going to get your chicky meat. 

I sat in the living room with a bowl of hot steamy chicky meat stew, amused that I had brought wine into the house right under grandma's teetotaling nose and she had said nary a word. 

This recipe calls for dry white wine, but I prefer Sweet Sophia wine from Rebec Vineyard because of the herb base and unique flavor. It's also a marvelous way to make stuffing for your bird this Thanksgiving and I find it quite drinkable. 

I think it might get your chicky meat. 

 

 Recipe Ingredients

• 1/2 cup dry Sweet Sophia wine, Rebec Vineyards
• 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
• Kosher salt and pepper
• 4 medium carrots, cut into 1-in. pieces
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 11/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2-in. pieces
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 3 Tbsp fresh dill sprigs

What I learned:

You can't find puff pastries at Walmart. I bought the turnover kit sans apple. If you do that you need to fold the squares.

By the way my eggs were past the expiration date. If they float, I'd say toss them, if they sink, they're probably good. My first egg was as floater. I threw it at the neighbor's house. True story.

Who I shared it with:

Grandma, who got mad at me for not sharing it with the dog. 

That dog sure do got a lot of chicky meat...

Expectation Stew

"May God give you heaven's dew and earth's richness--an abundance of grain and new wine." -Genesis 27:28

These are the words that conjure ideas of harvest, warmth, and blessing from the November issue of Woman's Day magazine. Heaven's dew and earth's richness--I think of a Thanksgiving puzzle; here is a cornucopia of fruits and vegetables, grandma's hot apple pie, an embroidered table cloth.

These were not the sugar plum visions of Esau, the brother robbed of the blessing due to him by his deceiving brother Jacob. Jacob's "heaven's dew and earth's riches" turned bitter in his eldest brother's mouth. What an appropriate way to introduce us to Woman's Day feature article about women struggling with their own expectations and assumptions of others.

What have we to glean from the expectations we have--that others have--that are not fulfilled? We only have to look to Esau, in order to reap the harvest of life's lessons:

1. Esau allowed a temporary need to replace a long term blessing


"See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son."

Esau, upon returning home from hunting, sold his birth right to his brother. A birth right represented a double portion of physical inheritance from the father of the family. Esau, hungry and weary from hunting allowed his hunger to tempt him into surrendering a double inheritance.

What temporary needs are you allowing to rob you of your goals and expectations?

2. Esau's choices did not reflect good priorities

"When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah." 

The marriage of Esau to Canaanite women brought grief to his parents, especially his mother who favored his brother. In hindsight, Esau took a wife he believed would be a better choice. Certainly if he had consulted his father first, he would have respected and appreciated his father's love story. What could Esau have learned from a family history lesson?

How are you repeating your family history?

3. Esau found redemption and mercy in forgiveness.

"But Esau ran to meet Jacob and embraced him; he threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. And they wept." 


After his blessing was stolen and his birthright bartered, Esau's heart was full of murder and revenge towards his brother. Yet in the end we see, that Jacob's life full of blessing as the deceiver, arrived full circle (or caravan) as he received his brother's forgiveness. Esau inherited finally--not a birthright given naturally as he was first born, but herds and flocks from the brother he wished to kill--and that out of true contrition. 


And we also see that Jacob had reaped a harvest of his own deceptive seed--not only in a wife he had to work for but in a son he will believe dead from the hands of his own sons. 


Rachel loved Jacob and helped him deceive. Jacob loved Joseph and he was bitterly deceived by his own flesh and blood. 


What will the seeds you're sewing look like during harvest time? 

Home--What's Shabby is Chic Again

Eddie Ross is a pro in the field of thinking outside the box--especially when that box is in the form of an antique cedar chest or vintage, lovingly worn chiffonier. According to Woman's Day, thinking outside the box is only one of the shopping secrets that lends to Ross's success. A few tips sound like racy dating advice: know what you want, time your efforts, and...measure twice?

I have no talent for seeing art in something worn and dated. I wish I did. Local resident, Stephanie Humphries, however, personifies a true knack (or perhaps in this case "knick knack") for making the shabby into something chic--she even named her business after the art.

In Woman's Day October issue we preview three pieces transformed into 21st century elegance--an ottoman, an elevated lamp, and an old mirror. In visiting Stephanie's shop, I wondered if she hadn't given 'ol Eddie a run for his money.

A few of my favorite pieces reflected the make-over's in the article and the other treasures I found were only true inspiration for gifts or compliments to an already fashionable home. A few of the items I hadn't photographed included a lamp that had been painted in blackboard paint--perfect for a child's room--and a pair of cameo and coral silhouette portraits, creatively mastered.

Here are a few of my favorite things:

Chair, painted and re-cushioned ($60)

Mirror, paint and decoupage ($75)

Chalk Board Lamps ($70 for the pair)