Lately I have been watching myself as far as food consumption and content goes. My body and I have a complicated relationship. While I love all the things for which my body is capable, I am less fond of the few extra curves it sports as a result of some of the amazing things it has accomplished (like carrying twins and childbirth!)
So here I am again, watching consumption and content. 😔. It’s not that bad, really. In fact, sometimes I even forget that I’m watching. Especially when I’m goofing off with the kiddos or reading a really good book.
I try not to let my body and any discomfort I feel about it take over my life. God gave me this body, and I think it has done some pretty awesome things. It will carry me into the future.
I will chose my battles wisely. I will fight the urge to be hard on myself and my body. I will love me, just as God does.
This was the only photo I could find of a spatchcocked chicken. I did not cook this with all of these veggies, but you get the idea. Photo by Tim Douglas on Pexels.com
What? What was that title? Yes. You read it right. We are going to talk about spatchcocked chicken. You’re doing what to a chicken? Spatchcocking it. Basically, we are taking out the backbone of said chicken, and making it lie flat on the pan/grill/frying pan. What are we after? Faster chicken!!! No, I am not referring to a chicken who can run a quick marathon. I am talking about a way to cook chicken so that we can eat it sooner!
I don’t know about you, but my children seem to be always hungry and if they have to wait until even 6 p.m. for dinner, I will hear about it. Luckily, we set up a system a few years back where everyone takes a turn or two at cooking during the week. My days are Tuesday and Wednesday. Child #2 is Monday and Friday. Child #3 is Thursday. (She only has one day since it’s extremely hard for her to cook due to her mental health issues. I still hide all the knives and will only get one out for her if she needs one for dinner prep, as she will use it to hurt and/or mutilate her body otherwise. Yes. It’s like that here.) Child #4 has Saturday and Sunday, since she was away at school during the week.
So, here we are, starving. I try to provide a balanced meal at dinner for the kiddos. I consider that a protein, a starch, and a vegetable. Some days we don’t have starch, but rather two vegetables. This can be in the Autumn, as I am very fond of squash and find it a bit too much to use just that as a veggie. So that is usually paired with green beans or broccoli, etc.
Back to spatchcocking…I have wanted to try my hand at this for quite a while, but have been chicken (Ha! Ha!) So, last Tuesday I went for it. I don’t own a pair of kitchen shears (the thought of actually being able to get all of that raw meat residue off of it for cleaning stops me in my tracks every time!) so I brought out a sharp kitchen knife and slid it down on either side of the chicken’s backbone. It made me a little queasy, but I was on a mission.
First tip: Make sure your chicken is completely defrosted. This can be accomplished in your microwave to start and then finished in your fridge, or any of your favorite defrosting methods. Just be careful to not let it get too warm and spoil. No one wants bad chicken!
Once you have cut out and removed the backbone of your chicken, flip it over and lay it flat. You are supposed to have to break the breastbone when you do this, but my chicken didn’t require anything to lie flat. Defective chicken? Who knows?
Then I simply salted, peppered and rosemarried the back side of the chicken (the part with the bones) so that no one was chewing on rosemary and making that nasty face my children get when they taste something they do not like.
Second Tip: If you are grilling your spatchcocked chicken, may I suggest placing a double sheet of foil under it, gently sprayed with your favorite non-stick cooking spray? It will cook beautifully, not stick to the grill, and make clean-up a breeze. Additionally, it will prevent flare-ups in your grill as the grease from the chicken drips into your hot coals.
I cooked our chicken for about thirty minutes on the first side and then flipped it over to cook an additional thirty on the back side. My chicken was about four pounds. Just make sure your chicken reaches the safety of 165 degrees F so that no one needs to go to the ER for food poisoning. Nope. Nobody wants that!
It was beautiful and golden brown. It had a wonderful smoky flavor from the grill, but no charring on it since it had been cooked on the foil. I’m sorry that I didn’t take any pictures of the chicken, as it was gorgeous (first time I’ve ever said that about a chicken!!!) but I was a little busy with the grill, hot coals, cutting up cucumber, and boiling corn on the cob. So, you will have to make do with a stock image. Sorry about that.
So, after you’ve stopped laughing at the name, let me know if you’ve ever tried this cooking method and, if so, how did it go? Otherwise, you can just stop by to like or comment. I like communication!!! Have a happy day and enjoy!
Well-watered horses are always part of our parade!
A belated happy independence day to all of my people from the U.S. We celebrate each year (except for last year!) in our small village with a parade and fireworks. Not to brag, but we have the best small-town parade around! It’s so very American! We have fire trucks (with sprayers to wet down the hot crowd,) ambulances, police, as well as many floats, politicians, bands, and of course horses and tractors (we are talking small town here!)
Those who serve!
Just a sampling of our parade!
This year was a little different, as the fourth landed on a Sunday. I, as choir director at our little church, needed to be at 9:30 a.m. Mass directing said choir. I left shortly thereafter, to drop off children #’s 3 and 4 to secure a spot along the parade route. The parade started at 11 a.m., so it was a tight squeeze. I dropped off said children and headed home with child #2 to let the doggies out. After that was accomplished we packed up a cooler bag with an icepack and six water bottles and headed out. This accomplishes two things: 1. We have lovely cold water on a terribly hot day, and 2. we have a cool place in which to place melty candy and freeze pops that are thrown at the parade. We don’t live very far from the parade route, so we just walked to avoid all of the traffic/parking that we passed on our way uptown. We found the twins and our spot and settled in.
It was a lovely, old-fashioned parade, as you can see from the pictures. Child #2 is still a little bitter about the bike-decorating contest that she took part in a few years back. The rules stated that the child had to decorate their bike. However, the child that won stated that her mother had stayed up all night doing her bike. Child #2 was incensed, which I can see her point. However, life, as we all know, is not fair. This is not Heaven. It’s earth.
After the parade we went home and relaxed. It was quite hot, especially with certain members of the family running after the candy that was thrown! They even had some chocolate this year (a rarity, as it is July and it’s usually pretty hot – 94° this year!) We cooled down, ate a lovely grilled dinner, and then started preparations for traveling across town to the park for fireworks.
Child #3 did not want to attend, as the loud noises from the fireworks trigger her PTSD. Unfortunately, child #4 had a migraine and an upset tummy, so she also stayed home. Child #2 and I traversed across town to the park and set up my chair and her blanket. We read and chatted until it was dark and the show began. It was, as usual, spectacular.
Spectacular view!
We made it home with a minimum of fuss, thanks to our yearly preparations and our flashlight! My broken leg hurt some (it’s a fair walk) and my muscles were cramping by the time we arrived home, but a little ibuprofen and a good night’s sleep cured that. All in all a good fourth! Hope yours was awesome too! Also, if you don’t live in the U.S., and therefore don’t celebrate the fourth of July, I hope you had a lovely weekend.
Up it goes!
I’m also quite thankful that our home firework people ceased the show before midnight so that Delilah and I could get a good night sleep. The night of the third they were going wild setting off family fireworks and we did not sleep well. Mainly because Delilah (all 5.6 pounds of her) was in attack mode at the incessant noise and I was the only one there to calm her! My dog detests fireworks! They are beautiful when the village does them, though.
Size. Body size specifically. Does it really matter? The PC answer is “Of course not!” However, when you have lived in a plus-sized body for any length of time, you know that it does.
I have been chubby my whole life. Well, not as an infant, but ever since. I was the kid who always got at least a few pig valentines on the big day and would run home crying because of it. We didn’t have the cool valentines back then like they do today with Spiderman, Mickey Mouse, etc., or maybe they were just too expensive. I don’t know, but I’ll tell you this – I hated St. Valentine’s day!
Since then I have lost and gained weight, trying to keep my weight down to a reasonable level, while not killing myself through starvation and yes, that’s exactly what it takes. I see the looks of disgust when slim people look at me or someone heavier. I can just hear them now – “If only she’d stop eating all that fast food and exercise a little! Yuck!” Newsflash people: I rarely eat fast food. In fact, I rarely eat processed food. We cook most of our meals from scratch and there are many salads, especially for lunch.
No one wants to hear that, though. They prefer to judge. It’s depressing. Do I look at you and say “For goodness’ sake eat a donut!” No. I find that rude.
Please consider your actions before you make them. I don think there are many overweight people out their that don’t long to be slim, but that is not your life nor your choice. Maybe they are like me, struggling with autoimmune disease as well is many, many allergies; someone who has just not cracked the code. Or maybe, they are at peace with themselves and have decided that size doesn’t really matter after all.
We are all God’s children and size decidedly does not matter to Him? Should we be any different?
I have written before regarding Child #1’s strange behavior, but I want to explain and ask for prayers. My firstborn daughter was stressed when I dropped her off at college last Fall for her Senior year. She told me she did not need me to stay to help her arrange her room, even though I was planning on that mom-daughter bonding time.
It had been a rough Summer for all of us, especially with Child #3’s mental problems and hospitalizations, etc. I was hurt. Since her roommate and significant other had decided to school from home last year and her best friend had graduated and moved on to graduate school halfway across the country, I thought she’d welcome the help. Not so. She sent me packing as soon as all her stuff was in her room. I was shocked.
Later last Fall I sent her a goody package with sweets. We talked on the phone once and then nothing. She did not return home for Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, her birthday, Mother’s Day, or my birthday. There was no explanation and no letting me know of her plans at all.
I was lost. Where was my child? So, when COVID eased up a bit and I was fully vaccinated, Children #’s 2, 4 and I (Child #3 still had school) made a trip up to Child #1’s school. We alerted the university that we were on campus, but Child #1 refused to come to see us. What? Of course the university cannot force a student to see her family, but I was shocked again. When I kept messaging her to come out, she turned off her messages. What had happened?
I later learned that she has been into some pretty weird stuff. She was anti-Catholic for a while (a problem since we are all Catholic!) and then seemed to let it go. I knew she was into the spiritual, but all signs now point to witchcraft. She is a very confused young person who is searching for meaning. I pray that with enough prayers, she will come back to Christianity and realize the error of her ways.
As of now, I have no contact with her which, as a mother, breaks my heart. As a single mother, it sends me into a tailspin. She didn’t even want me at her graduation ceremony which I watched at home on YouTube. However, she is 22 and an “adult” so must be treated as such. I hate tough love! I think it’s toughest on the parent! I will persevere and pray with everything I have even though my heart is breaking.
I will remember my three other children at home who desperately want and need me. And I will find a way to be satisfied with that. I will never, however, stop hoping and praying. It may take twenty years as it famously did for St. Monica to reach her son, St. Augustine, through prayer, but I would do the same for my kid. Will you please join me?
Do you love your neighbor? First, who is your neighbor? Is it just the people who live next to you, or across the street? Maybe just the people who live in your town? No. Your neighbor is not only these, but everyone.
So, do you love everyone? If you answered yes, then your either a much better person than I am, or you’re not being honest.
How do you love everyone? By cutting them off in traffic or flying an obscene finger gesture? How about the elderly couple who lives down the street? You see their lawn is getting long or their gutters are hanging low. Do you offer assistance or report them to the town council? Which is more neighborly?
We all know the answers to these questions. The real question is, do we do what’s right, or do we keep doing what we have always done?
That’s one of the great things about my tiny little Church. We are a family. If someone is absent we will check in on them to make sure all is well. I have never been part of such a loving Church before, and I love it. The Catholic Churches of my youth were cold and pretty sterile. That is no longer the case, I’m pleased to say.
Kindness and compassion are the order of the day. Everyone is a child of God and deserves to be treated as such. God loves each and every one of us more than we can ever imagine. He wants us to love one another the same way.
Please consider this when someone or something makes your blood pressure rise. Your reaction could make or break their day.
Do you deal with sibling rivalry in your household? Maybe you grew up with it. Maybe your watch your children or grandchildren going through it. What purpose does it serve, you may wonder?
Growing up, my older sister and I did not get along well. I don’t think she ever forgave me for being born. It’s o.k. now; we live in different states! Only joking, though we do live in different states, it’s not that for apart!
These days, children #3 and #4 are having difficulty getting along. They are twins, but are not identical. They are fraternal twins and are very different. Child #3, my special needs kiddo, just wants to be loved and accepted by her twin. She tries really hard to not irritate her sister, but rarely succeeds. Child #4, although the younger twin by a minute, knows that she is out-maturing her “older” sister.
Child #4 just finished up her schooling for the year and is home now. She’s having a bit of trouble adjusting. Privileges were lost. Penance was paid. The house was back to its order. Whew! One more day down.
I know things will get easier. They are adjusting. Child #4 is still exhausted from her time at school and a camping trip that she got very little sleep on, like everyone else. She will get enough sleep and become her normal nice self.
As long as I can keep children #’s 2, 3, and 4 from killing each other, it’s a win, right? Yikes! I’m beginning to see the wisdom in having only one child! Nah! I wouldn’t change having my kiddos for anything. I love them all so much. And someday, when I am long gone (and hopefully resting peacefully in Heaven) they will have each other and it will be good.
The past couple of days have been much cooler and that has turned my mind to some very special soup. This is a soup I have been making for a very long time. Yes, it does have dairy, but is so worth it! Here is what you will need:
1, 2 lb. bag of baby carrots
1, full bunch of celery, rinsed and chopped into 1/2 inch slices
2 cups of your favorite veggie (I have used asparagas, Chinese eggplant, cauliflower. Use your imagination!)
1, large sweet onion, chopped (I have used all different types and they’re all wonderful)
8 cups water
6 cups whole milk
1/2 cup white rice flour
2 Tbsp. granulated onion
2 tsp. turmeric
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 stick (8 Tbsp.) unsalted butter
2 cups cheddar cheese powder (You can get it here from our favorite store: www.KauffmansStore.com)
12 oz. extra sharp cheddar cheese
Place the carrots, chopped celery, preferred veggie, and onion into a large stock pot. Pour the water over the top of it. Cook on low-medium heat for two hours, until all the vegetables are quite soft. Use an immersion blender to smooth out all the vegetables. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you may use your regular blender, a couple of cups at a time to smooth out the vegetables.
After the immersion blender.
In a separate pot, melt the butter. In another small bowl mix flour, pepper, salt, granulated onion, and turmeric. Add to melted butter and stir in. Let thicken, while stirring and add the milk. Stir constantly until thickened. (This will take quite a few minutes.) Add the thickened rue to the blended vegetables.
Take the cheese powder and place it in a wire colander, tapping it gently above the stockpot of soup until it has all been through the sieve and is in your pot. You could use a sifter for this, but the cheese powder will be hard to clean out of it! Stir in until there are no lumps left. Freshly shred your extra sharp cheddar cheese into the pot and stir in until melted. Salt and pepper to taste. Enjoy!
Sometimes we can fix things, a recipe gone wrong, a cake mix that just doesn’t cut it. Other things, we just can’t, a life snuffed out before I had a chance to reconnect, a friend slipping away too quickly.
Last Saturday, exactly one week ago, I learned that my friend, Claire, had passed away. What? She was only 61! I knew she had had some trouble walking a couple years back, and I meant to call and stop over with some goodies, but, like a lot of us, life intervened. I didn’t mean to be so busy. Some days it’s amazing that I’m still upright, much less calling in on a friend.
What kind of friend does that? The road to hell is paved with good intentions, right? Darn! I really messed that one up! Now, there is no chance to call on her again. I can still talk to her, but she won’t answer me with her warm chuckle. She won’t ever come by “in five minutes” to help me hang shelves; she won’t share a glass of tea with me; she won’t be there to see my girls head out into the world; she won’t even be there to see her own daughter go. How did I become so immersed in my own world that I failed to see that Claire needed me?
She was the friend who wanted to remain anonymous (but I am good at solving mysteries!) that, when she heard from Santa that I needed my piano tuned, hired someone to do it so that I could play Christmas carols with my daughters the year after I kicked my ex-husband out and money was super tight. Yeah. Claire was like that. She was an environmental warrior who had the motto of “reduce, reuse, recycle” and even wrote articles for the local paper about conservatism. She was the one who was at the park on the fifth of July, separating the trash from the recyclables after the fireworks, fun, and games were over. She cared that much!
Yes, she had lots of family. Yes, they were all there and got to say good-bye. Because of my self-centeredness I was not there. Bone cancer was too quick. I will have to live with that. Someday I may be able to forgive myself. Claire, I’m sure, already has.
What is the point of my musings? Life is precious and short! One week after I learned of Claire’s death, we sung her funeral Mass and buried her. One week. And now all I’m left with are memories.
So, my dear friends, I want to say that I love you and cherish you. For those who I know in person, please stay in touch. It is so important! For those who I only know virtually, please comment and let me know what is going on in your lives. I really do care and I will do my best to be a better friend. I hope you will too with all of your friends.
GF Recipes and Writings 
You must be logged in to post a comment.