August into September

Heirloom tomatoes that we bought with Mom at a May farmer's market. They worked! It's always amazing to me when plants actually grow edible fruits.

Our most successful crop every single year has been basil, so I grow forests of it. Some years I make pesto, some years my friends get basil bouquets. I haven't decided this year, but the capreze has been a stand-by!

Half of the garden was turned over this afternoon, leaving the peppers (jalapeño, ancho, banana), three kinds of heirloom tomatoes, rainbow chard and basil. Enough to keep eating for the next several weeks.

I can't remember which vinegar I put on this capreze, but my favorite this summer has definitely been the white balsamic peach. So good all on its own on almost anything. I haven't tried it on ice cream yet, but I'm tempted. Maybe after the cherry wine cream I bought at Aldi....

August 2017

And so much summery food! I wisely married a griller, someone who knows his way around marinades and medium-rares and who has the curiosity and adventuresome spirit that results in things like grilled pineapple and peaches (I supplied the spice butter). He's even willing to try new things in the inside kitchen, which brought us our first fried green tomatoes!

The rest of the photos obviously are not food related...but definitely summer related! The screen porch becomes our favorite room in the house...and any box becomes June Bug's favorite spot for a few days, until she moves on to the next one.

Silverstein knows the best place.

on the way to NYC

Sticking a couple of photos into this blog post because:
1. The bottom photo is some of the family in Nashville at a great breakfast restaurant.
2. The top photo is Zach, loading himself onto Patricia's Wisconsin bicycle to ride 8 miles one way with me to my favorite British-style pub in Sheboygan.

The men in these photos are joining me in NYC tomorrow through Tuesday to visit some potential colleges for Josh.

The top of Josh's food expectations are pizza slices and bagels.

One the way to the airport today, Patricia, Josh and I stopped off for some good BBQ in Indianapolis. I've never had chopped brisket before -- only sliced.  I found I like the chopped texture even better. And, there was plenty of bite in the sauce.  Still, I found myself liking the BBQ chicken thighs Patricia and I did on the grill the night before at home.  That, and grilled pineapple and a home grown salad.  Yum.

-mark

Travel food

When traveling through airports I think of Patricia when I come across a French Bakery. I just found one in Phoenix's terminal B tonight. Their spinach quiche was quite good, I thought. Maybe I was just hungry as I waited for the fifth flight of the day. This is why I laugh at flight attendants who talk about how much they must fly. Some of us frequent travelers exceed even their flight miles on occasion.

When in terminals I also think of my brother, Eric, whenever I come across an Irish Pub. There is a good one at DFW he and I always eat at when opportunity presents. I like the one at the Philadelphia airport even more.

I enjoy both---and laugh at the thought of an Irish Bakery or a French Pub. Raisins in Soda Bread or a Reuben served on a croissant do not work! But between the two a Pub wins for me. It does a better job of providing sweet with the savory (a phrase I did not fully understand until my foodie wife explained it). Pubs usually have bread pudding.

zupa! und pollo!

Well, this doesn't really count as soup. :) But when I could do nothing but cough, it tasted good! I know, I can't believe I buy it...I really only have it about twice in a year. Really.

I'm still coughing, but at least I can eat now. We made homemade pizza today, which was not as good as sometimes due to a new pan that didn't cook the bottom of the dough well enough. Ick. Pasty.
I did get sun therapy, though, taking the leaves off of the garden so that in the next couple of weeks we can plant! It's hard to believe it that time already.

The soup I made the night before tasted better than the Lipton. Bratwurst, potatoes, onions, and some greens, with chicken stock. Mmm.

And this tasted even better, a few days before that..a Brinkman go-to in the last several years, easy and comfort foody. Onions and garlic, plus greens (or red peppers) and then whipping cream and Parmesan. Best on noodles - Luke always wants more sauce, but I like it a little thicker and sticking to the pasta.

The New York Times had an article on Jamie Oliver today that included his famous recipe for roasted chicken in milk. Sounds weird! But it includes lemon, sage, garlic, and a little cinnamon, and it comes out crispy with a creamy, thick sauce. We might have to try that this week.

We only have a few nights at home this week. Mark is in New York Monday early to late and Philadelphia Thursday early to late, and we fly to Hilton Head together Friday for a Convene summit. First time for both of us! I'm sure we'll have a food story or two after the weekend....

bon appetit!

Easter table

I've been well fed this past year.

That statement includes food. How could it not! What with so many French bakeries, wonderful pies, pancakes, good drink, and BBQ.

More, it includes the benefits of all the Teall Vincent Brinkman Heling Knox folks who have sat at various tables in varied configurations this past year (and those named Mason and Sonnentag).

It feels like my soul has become plump with family and the delights of living in community, vast and empty spaces having new light shine upon them, previous deserts starting to bloom.

Each week, in worship, I name as many of you as I can in the silent space the pastor provides for us to hold people in God's merciful light. Each week, at the great table, where we kneel to commemorate God's saving gift, I am in tears  for the tangible mercy I have experienced with each of you. I experience it all as part of the same merciful gift.

Sláinte to all of you this Easter.

springtime in seattle

It's here! For the past few days the weather has whipped breathtakingly between blinding sunshine and sudden drenching downpours. Spring spring spring. That means a shift in menu and atmosphere at the restaurant where I work - more lemonades, more salads, more peeeeeople. I'm feeling very ready to make the switch to my new job this summer; for those I haven't told, I will be running the literacy center at an elementary school for the year. It is going to be a bit of an adjustment from free meals at the restaurant to sack lunches in a school cafeteria, however! Thaddaeus is finishing up his last quarter of nursing school with a preceptorship in an OR, but is also interested in psych nursing and other areas, so we'll see where he ends up!

When a friend overslept and missed a breakfast date the other day, I ran Teddy to the dog park and back before combining the only things I could find in our fridge - cucumbers and carrots, strawberries and jogurt, Brie and jam and dense German-style rye bread - to make a breakfast that he was a little envious of.

I lived on some combination of these ingredients for about a week, with the addition of some other fruits and the soft, slow-cooked scrambled eggs beloved by the Teall sisters (which I discovered separately from M.F.K. Fisher).

Poppin'

Luke and I were hungry, the fridge only had jars (and jars) of  jams, pastes, and sauces, like Madame Blueberry's ceramic jars. What to eat? Luckily, I have a friend who sells me eggs from her chickens, so we had plenty...scrambled eggs last night, popovers tonight!

They are a family favorite, simple and buttery. We add more butter, and Bonne Maman raspberry jam.

And salad, with a mustardy vinaigrette, onions, and bleu cheese.

And probably one of the 11 kinds of ice cream in the freezer...this is my mother's fault!

I wonder what we will find in the cupboards tomorrow night? Ooo, I just remembered we have jiao zi (Chinese dumplings) in the freezer...sounds like it's happening!

Tomorrow will also bring doughnuts to the house, because I forgot to pick them up today. Thursday is doughnut day here, generally.

Other things pop around here, sometimes. Goodwill always has my favorite men's shirts...flannel or henley...I may have been there again this week.

Church Craic

Eric and I are traveling in Ireland this week, spending today in the Malahide area, and finding ourselves in a bakery that every Teall or Brinkman would envy.

We ended the day at the bar in Jurys Hotel across from Christ Church Cathedral (900 years of Anglican and previously Catholic worship) where we attended Ash Wednesday Services, listening to this rendition of Ps 51 from antiphonal choirs. I could not help but think how much Carol would have loved hearing it.

We had apple berry crisp, cappuccino, sticky toffee pudding Patricia would have loved, and some wonderful bleu cheese.

We end the day with new Paddy Caps that Vincent men look fine in (you too, Zach), and look forward to visiting County Clare and the Cliffs of Moher tomorrow.

Apparently we both are family men, carrying all of you in our hearts.

Last night I helped at our local kitchen for homeless people. Several churches and other groups take turns making dinner at a local church. The standard dessert for our group is apple cake. Unfortunately, the woman who usually makes it couldn't be there, and I showed up just as the leader was looking for someone to do it. She gave me the recipe and pointed to the supply shelf for the ingredients. While other volunteers were coring and chopping a million apples, I looked for the flour, sugar, etc. (and mistakingly put in a cup of powdered sugar that I'd thought was flour!). Turned out we didn't have any applesauce, so the leader gave me a can of peaches and a can of pears and suggested I just chop them as finely as I could (in the can!) and use them instead. I wasn't completely sure this was going to work, but I figured she knew what she was talking about (last minute substitutions are apparently not that rare). It turned out so yummy! Moist and full of fruit flavor.

I thought the rest of you might like to know about this idea; I think it'd be great in pancakes, too. :)

Dash it all

Dash-In is identified on websites that claim to know such things as a favorite place to dine in Fort Wayne, Indiana. And yes, Dash-In is the proper spelling. We had hoped to eat there for a family Thanksgiving brunch last year, but everyone needs to be over 21 to dine there (sorry, Joshua Brinkman). It made me grateful for Wisconsin where old world family dining sensibilities apply.

It took a nephew's emergency post-surgical hospitalization in Fort Wayne to give us another chance. We asked in advance if anything was needed, and were informed a Five Guys burger with all the black ingredients, none of the red, and no onions would be welcome. We were to also bring along the usual abundance of fries. We complied, learning what black ingredients actually meant. The double-bagged grease bomb made it into the pediatric ICU, where he wolfed it all down. No howls, but wolfish still. I like being an uncle!

We went for a walk after, at a park near our alma mater, where we both admitted to abundant kissing of our former spouses when falling in love. In fact,  for my part, there had been a high school girlfriend kissed there as well.  In this climate-change environment, it was a spring-like February day. We walked the not yet opened golf course, found a spot under the trees….

Oh, and the irony! That previous girl-friend just happened to be in the park. She doesn't live in Fort Wayne anymore either. She was in from out of town for a funeral and to visit a sick niece. Her sister recognized us, apparently, and they facebook messaged us as they were leaving. That would have been an interesting reunion!

Dash-In came after. We parked downtown, hoping we were close, and discovered we were just a block away. The decor is much like many old downtown stores converted to restaurants, with an enormous bar along the elf-hand wall as you enter.

We enjoyed Bruschetta made by people who pay attention to how it is served, a properly prepared medium-rare hamburger with gouda cheese, and some pulled-pork covered in an apple butter BBQ sauce—a treat we know we would enjoy again.

One find we hope to also enjoy again was a Founders Stout called Lizard of Koz.  The description included chocolate and cherries. We attest to its smooth and creamy finish.

It was a smooth

Here and There, and Home

I'm not sure we are really in Indiana today, although the house looks right...it was in the upper 60's! On February 19th! So of course we ate outside. Mark baked fish with plenty of garlic and butter, and we added roasted potatoes/peppers and French carrot salad, lemony and a little sweet. I think I sunburned my nose, happily. I heard someone last week predict that somehow we will pay for this odd spring-like February down the road, and that's likely! But for this weekend, we just enjoyed it. We pumped bike tires and went for a ride, walked in Fort Wayne's Foster Park, and accepted the break in the grey. Dinner is cheese and crackers, and a watery-looking rhubarb thing with wonderful-looking crust pillows! It'll do.

Joshua and I were happy to have pancake mix in the house last week, after a day of him being home and sick. If he couldn't eat pancakes, I'd be really worried!

Mark and I had our usual mid-month weekend in Wisconsin last weekend and ended up at brunch at the Blue Harbor hotel...with a little bit of a view! When I left California for the mid-west after high school, my friend Amber asked, "Isn't there a big lake out there?" Yes. And I really like it! I might even consider learning how to sail on it - if a person can sail while on Dramamine. I wonder if it's as hard to stay awake as it is on an airplane....

Those Eggs

Apparently Anne and I share a genetic dislike, which we discovered about 5 years ago, of scrambled eggs. And French toast, because of the eggs. The smell, the after-feeling. Ick.

But she discovered this way to make eggs that has developed a regular craving in us! The secret is adding fat. Butter, and sour cream. I don't know if the stirring technique does anything, but the fat definitely changes something. Leftover Fried String Beans and Eggplant in Garlic Sauce from our local Dumpling House went along, plus the final serving of a ginger-coconut veggie soup that I made a few nights back.

I may just make more eggs tonight. Mark is still in California, Joshua will be at work, and our refrigerator contents have dwindled significantly over the past month. Or maybe I'll just bake a pie. Sour cream fruit pies have most of the basic food groups....

Leftovers

I can always tell when I have spent a weekend traveling with family. There are leftovers from meals in the fridge that do not get eaten. The family leaves and I am left with food to eat I didn't order in the first place. Why would I eat it in a warmed-up state? So, in an attempt not to waste food, we waste it anyway, including the styrofoam containers. 🙂

There were good memories made this past weekend among the Wisconsin and Indiana part of our blended family. Autumn and Zach's households gathering in Spooner, WI, and visiting Duluth. And, two of the four Brinkman children joining Patricia and I, and Auntie Anne (she did not bring pretzels so I was bummed) gathering in Carlsbad, CA, and visiting San Diego.  Plentiful food experiences in both places. Because I was in CA, I shared in the experience of traveling different places to get this exotic tea and that recommended Mexican food. We ended the weekend with a good meal at Barley Mash In downtown San Diego where I enjoyed a very good brown ale to wash down a black and bleu burger on an excellent bun. Then fresh cut fries were meh, but it was a notably good burger. I liked the prosciutto-wrapped, deep fried pickles we ordered as an appetizer as well.

For the balance of this next week I remain in S Cal to do some work. The food chase is over for awhile.

Mountainous

I took hardly any photos during my loop bus/light rail tour of Phoenix/Tempe/Scottsdale, which I found to be sleepy and marked by a handful of tall buildings, cars, what felt like 50 miles of strip malls, and very few people. Where are they all? I felt occasionally like I had been dropped into an empty city, not completely convinced of the over 4 million population. There certainly were enough miles and miles and miles of houses for all of them, but not much sign on the sidewalks or streets. The only person I saw near downtown was a chatty man resting at a bus stop, adding strips of colored duct tape to his weather-beaten scooter.

Clearly, discovering Phoenix will take several returns and a gas-efficient car.

I did find tacos! There were too many possibilities...I missed out on Juan's, with "cheap, really good tacos and margaritas," recommended by Tyler the shuttle driver. I did, however, eat Peking Duck, coffee-braised beef, and guac/cilantro pork tacos at the Taco Guild, housed in an old Methodist church with the announcement board still hanging inside. They boast multitudes of tequilas, and flavorful and creative but not too-cool-for-school combinations of taco fillings. And really friendly, accommodating service.

The mountains were easy to photograph and easy to love. Mark and I went on an explore for a day, one that included desert protrusions and mountain rims, a rain storm and lessons learned about taking pictures of the trail maps before heading out. We made it down the mountain with soggy feet 5 minutes before the sun dropped. The day also brought huge pies and cobblers at Miss Fitz's Cafe in Payson, Arizona. It was the kind of place with a joke-cracking waiter and a long-time cook whose daughter is the waitress, where homemade pea soup and chili were quickly consumed.

The end of the day also took us to Eric and Daphne's! We were happy with the chance to hang out for a couple of hours (and the perfect end-of-hike, rainy day beans).

On a different subject:
I don't think there are any real possibilities here, but I would love to talk to someone with real knowledge of and connections into the world of computers about recovering my blog. It ran from about 2002-2012 under a domain that doesn't exist anymore...if anyone has thoughts/ideas, please email me!
I'm sure if I ran for office, somebody somewhere would be able to dig it up.

Let's bake!

What do you do after your daughter's 3 day volleyball tournament?

 Bake of course. Although I enjoy baking, I don't do it much anymore. 

I just don't want the stuff around the house, dare I eat it! But, Emily and I got inspired. 

Emily made her famous and delicious "puppy chow" 

while I made the original Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe. 

I rarely make this version, as we have a different family recipe that uses Crisco (I know, bad, huh?). 

I just had a hankering for this version tonight. I added lots of walnuts and pecans. 

Now all I need is a cold cup of milk or hot cup of coffee! 

- Daphne 

My Mother, But Not Eggzactly

Yes, I am in Phoenix, and, no, these photos are not from Phoenix. Last Saturday I ran with Karen, my 3-year running partner, near her house west of Yorktown. It was -1 when we started! It felt warmer than it sounds, due to lack of wind, and it was a lovely run. So lovely, I had to stop and take photos.
I wear fingerless gloves, if you were wondering....

The temperatures rose through the week, to the point that the blizzard we would have had on Wednesday became a deluge. We currently have a river flood warning.

This morning I ran alone in 55 degrees, under cloudier skies than I was hoping for but nicely unlayered.

Phoenix is a new town for me, and I get to explore much of today while Mark is with people. So far, the run along a canal (3.74 miles, according to Map My Run) and a great breakfast has started it off well!
I eat omelettes sometimes, but usually other people's omelettes are way too fluffy eggy. This one was exactly how I like it: thin egg, lots of vegetables (spinach, mushrooms, onions,bacon - a vegetable, right?), plenty of cheddar. With almost everything else in the breakfast bar...oatmeal, a small danish, yogurt, fruit, potatoes, more bacon, English tea. That was 2 hours ago, and I'm hungry again.

My goal for today is figure out where I am in Phoenix, find something that isn't flat, and eat tacos. That would be goals, then, plural.
I think I have found a trail we can happily hike early in the day tomorrow, before possible rain and before finding Eric and Daphne's house. There look to be many, many to choose from! Phoenix Mountains Preserve won the beauty contest, at least temporarily. I'm looking forward to checking it out.

I did travel to get here. I was going out of the house with no food (gasp!) and thought of my mother. And became her, although less organized. I threw almonds and dried apricots into one Ziplock, crackers and Newman's Own Ginger-O's into another, grabbed a couple of Kind Bars, and I was set. I didn't have time to slice apples, so that my car would smell like hers...besides, I was out of Ziplocks. I was very glad to have these little bags and not have to buy a Flavorless Something in Bread at the airport. Thanks, Mom!

Onward to urban orienteering and taco hunting.

Wing it!

Last evening, my boys (Izzy, 16 and Joey, 12), and I gathered at my mom and dad's to watch the Giants get anihalated by the Packers and enjoy some delicious food.  I attempted making wings on my own for the first time and was quite pleased with the result especially using a homemade BBQ sauce with the base being my previously canned cranberry jalapeño sauce.  I love finding new uses for it!

I also made a new to us hummus.....cilantro, jalapeño.  Very tasty with a great kick.

For those of you who might be wondering about my username....it is Regina backwards and a name my father affectionately called me growing up.

I look foward to getting to know you all better through this avenue.

Gina (Mark's sis)

Gratitude Pie

This is my thank you key lime pie for my wonderful neighbors, who fed the kitty and kept an eye on my house while I had a wonderful trip to Indiana and Wisconsin. Loved meeting and spending time with all the Vincents and with Pattie and Mark and the grandkids. And 💙 thanks to Pattie for all the help tonight, with my first ever blog post! Yay!

Refrigerator Time!

So, every once in a while when we've eaten chips and dip for dinner and don't want to admit it, or pictures of oatmeal have already been posted 5 times, we do a "what's in your fridge" day.

My refrigerator is no longer under my control! There is a frozen cheeseburger, a bottle of 7Up, and a Jello cup in plain view! But this is what is in it today, and I am so thankful to have had all my 5 children here over the break and to still have two...until tomorrow, when it becomes one.

The refrigerator was stuffed the whole time the kids were home, and it hasn't emptied yet. It will this week, with Mark heading back to Wisconsin today and Luke going to Tennessee tomorrow. The frozen cheeseburger won't be part of the week for me, I do know that!

I have no plans for cooking this week, as clearly there are leftovers, and I fly Thursday to Phoenix! Oatmeal it will be, for sure, with no photos of it.

Filet Mignon in a Mustard Mushroom Cream Sauce

So...last night I made this:

https://barefootcontessa.com/recipes/filet-mignon-with-mustard-mushrooms

which was pretty good. I went with Shiitake mushrooms instead, and used homemade mustard instead of what the recipe called for. I also messed up and bought that nasty bitter parsley instead of Italian parsley. Actually, the parsley is probably just there to add color, didn't really affect the taste of the dish.

I added pine nut cous cous on the side, and paired it with a Dry Creek Heritage Zinfandel which was very tasty.

The mushrooms were really good and the sauce was great. In fact, the sauce was really the star of the dish. I might try it again with chicken and see what happens.

If you're a veggie person, I would do the whole thing without the steak and make it a cous cous mushroom dish with sauce.

We have a pretty good storm coming in today, and it's supposed to rain for most of the next 10 days. So, today I'm making holiday bread (with molasses and honey) and will eat that up with some Guinness while I watch a little of the Raiders game this afternoon.

Savour the slaw

It's possible I will be the recovering functional eater among those of us contributing to this blog.

As 2015 gave way to 2016, and the relationship between Patricia and I deepened, I began to notice smells, blends of taste, texture and temperature as if a blown fuse had been replaced and the lights came on. Perhaps it is because my brain was so focused on medical care and strategies for holding it together, there was no capacity left to enjoy, to savour (I like throwing in GB spellings). Now, in fits and starts, there is some reawakening, perhaps even just wakening.

Many of my family members are foodies, and I have married into yet another family of such, so I expect to benefit more from the contributions and successes of others than to offer much substance myself. But, I like to write, I like experimenting with cast iron cooking, I'm getting better at working the grill, and I've become quite experienced at popcorn. Perhaps I will offer something here and there about the good ales I come across.

I go to bed tonight wearing my Twin Archers t-shirt, from a favorite restaurant in Muncie. We ate there tonight, in fact. I had blue cheese on my grass-fed burger. Joshua launched a discussion on whether pulled pork should ever be mixed with coleslaw. He can tell his side of it, and whether anyone at the table agreed with him.

Ahhhh food

This is a fantastic idea ... I could literally talk about food all day, it makes me so happy!  Thank you, Pattie!

I have gotten out of the habit of taking pictures of my food/kitchen/life, so it's apparently time to get back IN to the habit (New Year's resolutions and all...)

Here is where I spend about 80% of my life... in the desert of So CA. We have had some awesome "winter" weather (aaahahahahah!!!) in the last week, with clouds, wind and rain - made for some nice pictures! Not so great for the hair-do! I have invested in a few baseballs caps....






This kind of weather makes me crave two things: tea and sweets! (and also chips and guacamole, but that's another blog entry!!)  My go-to tea is a decaf Earl Grey. Every time. With some sort of cream. But not sugar.  I am on the hunt for The Best Earl Grey Tea, since I feel like Twinings, while established and historic, might not be the primo. The hunt continues...

So ... now my confession:  I am a sugar-fat-aholic. You're looking at the bottom of the jar of Jelly-Belly's.  The top layer (aka, the first 3/4 of the jar) was really good! But I also had (today) chocolate/peanut butter malt balls, a banana and I might have had a chocolate cookie.

::ahem::

I need to work on my problems.

Hooray for blogs!!

Cheers!

Annie Teall (Pattie's sister)

Traditions

Both the mexican/spanish and german food traditions have been honored in our house this week. We had enchiladas on New Year's Day (usually a Christmas Eve tradition). My dad is Mexican American and my mom is mostly European, including a little Spanish. So...every year we make Spanish enchiladas, made with flour not corn tortillas, soaked in a red sauce, stuffed with ground beef, olives, lots of cheese, and (don't wince) chopped, hard boiled egg. We usually ring in the New Year with the traditional german pork and sauerkraut (with apples). Since we were traveling, I just got to making it today.

Yes, we still have Christmas up! No, were not lazy. We just refuse to take it down before Ephiphany (and taking it down makes us sad). We are already sad enough that we had to send Elyse back to her second (third) year of college at Fresno Pacific University. Eric accompanied her on the 10 hour drive and  flew back yesterday. 

It was fun seeing family and snow at Christmas but we are back to this in sunny Surprise, Arizona. Yes, that is the sun you see. Sorry! 

Winnie is worn out from all the excitement! 

Looking forward to seeing your posts, getting new ideas and getting to know all of you better! 

Blessings for the New Year! 

Daphne