Thanks, and more Thanks!

One of the best things about being from the South, is the great art of Southern hospitality. And we have definitely been on the receiving end of that since last Friday. We have had one visitor after another, one phone call after another, and more food than we could possibly ever eat.

Last night's supper was courtesy of Dr. Bill and Teresa Wright. Dr. Bill has been my dentist for the past 10 years or so, and they have taken us in as their own. We have tailgated with them, fished with them at their farm, shared uncountable meals together, and basically have just done all the things together that good friends do. Teresa was in our wedding, and Dr. Bill has always been a source of knowledge and advice.

So when they heard about Heather's hospital stay, they wanted to bring over supper.

During the fall, motorhomes cover Tuscaloosa on ballgame weekends, and Dr. Bill would drive his to campus where he had a spot reserved over in front of Coleman Coliseum. We'd head out on Friday's and stay late, arriving back on Saturday morning for pre and post game festivities. One staple of the weekend would always be fried chicken. Dr. Bill would bring out his cooker, and before you knew it, a heaping pile of chicken legs on an Alabama platter would magically appear.

So that's what he wanted to cook for Heather. They came over last night about 6pm with chicken, potato salad, baked beans, FRESH tomatoes, and yeast rolls.

Once again, I just about made myself sick. Literally. It was all sooo good! Heather and I feasted, and when her mom got in from church, she did as well.

Thanks, Dr. Bill and T! It was fantastic!

We are so blessed to have such wonderful friends. I don't know what we would do without them.

Ya'll have a good day!

Friends.. What Would We Do Without Them?

Our sincere thanks goes out to our friends, Chris and Jessica, for being so good to us. Yesterday, while I went back to work, Jessica came over and stayed with Heather at the house.

They got pedicures, shopped on Ebay, caught up on the latest gossip, and just basically chilled. Which is exactly what Heather needs to be doing as she recuperates from her surgery.

Then after I got home, Jessica announced that she was picking up supper for us. So she went to Jalepeno's and brought back mexican.

Chris came over and joined us, and we all pigged out! Jess even went by Taco Casa and got bags of sopapillas because Heather absolutely loves them. It was all sooo good, and I ate until I was miserable.

After supper, we got out the Wii Fit. Chris was surprisingly good at the balance games, taking first place in almost everything he tried. Now I've gotta get to work and beat his scores!

When I was turning off the lights to get ready for bed, I noticed the Taco Casa bag still on the counter. I thought it was garbage, but instead it was gold! There were 3 more unopened bags of sopapillas in there! Now how nice is that?

Anyway... thanks, Chris & Jess. We appreciate ya'll more than you'll ever know!

Everybody needs friends like that!

Have a good one, ya'll.

Happy Birthday, Heather!

Yesterday was Heather's birthday.

If you are following my posts, then you know we did not make it to Orange Beach. So we were not the mere steps away from fresh seafood as I had planned.

I had already taken off of work, since we had planned to come home from the beach last night, and since H and I were both just plain pooped from all of the hospital stuff, I decided to stay home.

I got up before she did and prepared the mantle with our recycled "Happy Birthday" banner and balloons. (The balloons were not recycled. I don't think you can recycle balloons.)

Then Heather got up, and immediately wanted to know if it was "present time." Now she is not normally the one in our relationship that focuses on getting gifts. That person would be me.... I love presents! So I figured that if she was showing that much enthusiasm that early in the morning, then it was definitely "present time."

She opened her gifts, tried on her new "Switch Flops", oohed and ahhed over her other gifts, and then decided to shower and dress and prepare for the day ahead.

After all of that, I asked what she wanted me to do for her birthday supper. She hemmed and hawed, wanting me to decide for her. Well it wasn't my birthday. So I wouldn't say.

Once she realized that the decision was truly hers to make. She spouted out a complete menu. Obviously, she had already given this some thought.

Seared Tuna with Wasabi Glaze, asparagus, and wild rice.

Ok. Easy enough. And I honestly should have thought of it myself, since a medium rare tuna filet is one of her favorite foods.

I'm gonna share the recipe for the tuna with you. It has become a favorite at our house. I was lucky enough to find the tuna on sale, because it can run kinda high normally.

Seared Tuna with Soy Wasabi Glaze

4 6 oz. fresh Ahi tuna steaks, about 3/4-inch thick
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1-2 Tbsp. fresh lime or lemon juice
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1-2 Tbsp. prepared wasabi (I make mine with the wasabi paste from the oriental aisle...very simple!)

Brush tuna steaks on both sides with the oil and season with salt and pepper.

Combine the butter, onion, lime juice, soy sauce and wasabi in a small pan.

Heat a heavy, nonstick frying pan over high heat. Place the tuna in the pan and sear until crispy and brown. Turn over and sear the other side. Be careful not to overcook the tuna. It’s best rare to medium rare.

While the tuna is cooking, heat the butter mixture over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth and emulsified.

Serve the tuna immediately, drenched with the sauce.

Sorry I didn't take a picture. We ate it too fast.

While I'm at it, let me share the rice with you as well. It was a new recipe that had been shared with me. My gosh, it was good. The only thing I would do differently, is that next time, I'll buy plain wild rice. The pack I bought had seasoning mixed in with it already, and I think it made it a little bit salty.

Wild Rice Pilaf

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 to 3 cloves garlic, smashed
1 to 2 strips lemon zest
3 sprigs fresh thyme
1 cup wild rice, preferably whole not broken
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning
1 bunch scallions (white and green), thinly sliced (3/4 cup)
Freshly ground black pepper

Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat.

Add the pine nuts, garlic, zest, and thyme, swirl the pan until the nuts and garlic are beginning to brown, about 2 minutes.

Add the wild rice and cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until lightly toasted, about 1 minute tops.

Stir in the chicken broth and salt. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to a rapid simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour.
Check the texture of the rice and, if needed, continue simmering until tender.
Add more liquid as needed, another 10 to 15 minutes.

(Note: The rice should only just begin to crack when done. If it begins to curl it is overcooked.)

Remove from the heat, scatter the scallions over the surface, fluff with a fork, and remove the herb sprigs and lemon zest before serving. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste.

I normally just broil my asparagus with some sea salt and pepper until wilted.

So... there's supper for tonight. Or this weekend.

Ya'll have a great day!

A Drastic Change In Plans

I could smell the salt and taste the shrimp. We were ready for a long weekend at the beach. Our bags were packed and sitting by the door. We just had one little thing to do before heading south.

A doctors appointment.

Heather had an appointment for a simple procedure Friday morning at Brookwood hospital in Birmingham. We were driving up and then heading to Orange Beach afterward.

The hospital called Thursday afternoon and gave us a 10:30am arrival time. Not so bad... Still plenty of time for travel. So Thursday night, we got everything ready to go.

Friday morning, Heather's mom came up from Demopolis to ride with us. We got to Brookwood a little early and got Heather checked in.

Then we waited. And waited. And waited. And a little past noon, they called Heather back to be prepped.

And Sue and I waited........

Finally, they called us back to sit with Heather. And we got to wait back there as well. Around 5pm, 6 and a half hours after arrival, they took her back.

At 6 pm, the ladies in the admitting area and waiting room closed up shop. Sue and I were the only ones left watching the Michael Jackson saga on the TV. (We had tried several times to change the channel, but couldn't figure out how to do it.)

Finally, Dr. Houserman came out to talk to us. She told us that the procedure had ended up being more complicated than she had originally planned.

Of course. That's the only way things go with us.

I'm not going into details because Heather really doesn't want the world reading the details, but she had a whole lot done. She has a 3" bikini cut and basically had a c-section without the baby. She had several fybroids and cysts removed, as well as a lot of scar tissue. She is in a good bit of pain, and will be off of work for 6 weeks.

So I don't think I have to tell you, that we spent the night in Birmingham instead of Orange Beach. They checked her into the Women's Center at Brookwood, and Sue and I settled in.

Now of course, I hadn't put the bags in the car. We had planned to come back through Tuscaloosa to get Hershey. So we had nothing as far as toiletries or clothes. And Hershey was in the house and had not been outside all day.

So once Heather got situated, I came back to Tuscaloosa to take care of things.

God bless our friends, Chris and Jessica. They came and got Hershey and kept her for us. And I grabbed the packed bags and headed back to Birmingham.

Heather's cousin, Jane Ellen, brought Sue and I some sandwiches and plantain chips from a new Cuban restaurant in Vestavia Hills. WOW!!!!! It was sooo good! And it saved us from hospital cafeteria food Friday night.

Now let me just say that I have never had to spend the night in a hospital as a visitor until this weekend. And I am so thankful for that. Mainly, because of the loved one not being sick factor, but also because I ended up crammed into a lumpy loveseat sleeping fitfully between nurse visits. Finally about 4am Saturday morning, I was up for good.



Heather was starving of course. So she ordered breakfast and shortly it arrived. She eagerly tore the top off of her pancakes and her face told it all....


She said I could post that picture.

The pancakes and sausage were pitiful looking.


The pale spot on that sausage was where it wasn't completely done.

So I went down to the cafeteria and got her something else. While down there, I ended up finding the best thing of the whole weekend. Fruit Loop Treats!


Now I am a huge fan of the Rice Krispy Treat. In fact, I could eat them by the panful if I knew I wouldn't regret it the next time I put on my pants. But I had never heard of Fruit Loop Treats! Where in the world have these been all my life? That's what I want to know.

Heather's doctor said that although she would rather her stay until Sunday, that if everything was "moving along" accordingly, that she could go home Saturday afternoon. So we left around 5pm and headed home.

Hershey didn't even miss us at all. In fact, she acted mad that she had to come home. So much love....

In the end, we found out a lot that has been inhibiting our trying to have a baby. So this was all a good thing. Dr. Houserman said that all looks good now. So at least it was for the best.

We've spent the rest of the weekend laying around, watching TV, and visiting with close friends. I'll stay home tomorrow (Monday) and then friends and family will stay the rest of the week.

Although she's in a good bit of pain, Heather is doing very well. She probably won't be on the Wii anytime soon though.

And oh yeah.... don't cry for me Orange Beach. We'll be back down there before you know it!

Ya'll have a great week!

A Lunchroom Favorite Takes a Turn for the Worse

I don't remember the days at Jackson Academy before we had a cafeteria. I guess I've blacked that out. The school opened in 1970, and I started kindergarten in 1976. Classmates of mine tell me that we were in grade school before the cafeteria opened. I guess that's true. I just don't remember.

I do remember that we had great food though. The spaghetti was awesome, the pizza was that frozen square pizza that I can still find at Souths Finest Meats here in Tuscaloosa, and the fried shrimp was always one of my favorites.

After lunch, Polly Nettles would be over at her ice cream stand in between the snack machines and the coke machines. I think I had a Mickey Mouse popsicle just about every day. Which probably started my addiction to ice cream, and which is also probably why I was a chubby kid.

Polly was this old black lady who ran a tight ship. She kept everybody in line, from 1st grade to 12th grade. She called us "crazy white kids" and wielded her broom freely. Recently, Ms. Wendy Nall, who taught us math in our middle school years, started a tribute to Polly on the Facebook. Last time I checked, there were over 75 posts from students who had walked the halls of Jackson Academy through the years. It was really very touching.

I'm not sure when Polly died. Like I said, she was old way back then. I remember Mama telling me about it when she passed, but it was years ago. Her son Abe and daughter Alma also worked at the school. I know she is probably looking down on all of us Facebook commenters and still laughing at all us "crazy white kids."

But this post is not about Polly. She's just a big part of our lunchroom memories.

This post is about one thing that I will always remember as one of my favorite lunchroom menu items...

Parker House Rolls.

On Fridays, we would get our menus for the next week to take home in our backpacks. Parker House Rolls were usually on there at least twice each week. And I loved them. I still love them today. But because I love them so much, I seldom buy them cause I'm gonna eat them. And somehow, there was a bag of them in my freezer this past week that Heather found.

Ya'll know she's been sick, and was trying to ease her way back onto normal food. For some reason, she thought those rolls were going to be the ticket.

I came in yesterday and could smell them cooking. ~smiles!~

She had taken them out of the freezer and plopped them on a cookie sheet and into the oven. Here's our conversation on that....

"Heather, you know those rolls are supposed to rise before you cook them."

"What do you mean?"

"You lay them out and let them rise so that they are nice and fluffy."

"That doesn't matter. They'll be fine."

Hmmmm... you be the judge.



Those didn't just come out of the freezer, even though they look like they did. That is the finished product. Hard as a brick.

I wasn't tempted even a little bit.

I'm sure I will get a response from Heather on this. :)

Ya'll have a great day!

Spaghetti

Heather decided last Friday to go to Demopolis to visit the folks. We have since learned, that the wretched stomach bug truly did originate from that visit. Seems it has spread through the women in her family. In the words of my father-in-law, "It must not like men folks, 'cause just the women folks is getting it." Women and kids, I guess. Since it started with our nephew, Austin. And that's fine. I am perfectly happy to be discriminated against in this case.

But that's not what this post is about.

Heather phoned while she was at her Mama's to tell me that she was waiting around to see our niece, JW, and that she would be late. Knowing that Sue's house is always a plethora of home cooking, I asked Heather what she'd been eating.

Left-over spaghetti.

Which made me start thinking about how long it had been since I'd had spaghetti. Regular pasta is not on any low-carb list.

But a while back, I found a website that advertised low-carb pastas and I ordered some. It's been sitting in the cabinet since it arrived. It is soybean pasta. Hmmmm....



So I looked in the freezer and took out a pack of ground venison (which by the way, is one of the leanest meats you can find), and popped it in the microwave to defrost.

This gave me time to do the Wii Fit.

Once the pasta got done, it had a particularly strong odor to it. Kinda like an iron smell. So rinsed it with cold water and tasted it before I added my deer to it. Didn't want to ruin that whole pack of deer meat.

It tasted like normal pasta. The texture was a bit more grainy, but it was very good.

So I proceeded making the spaghetti and here's what I ended up with.



Obviously I am neither a cookbook author nor a professional photographer, but you get the idea.

So anyway... it was good. I actually had 2 helpings.

And then got back on the Wii.