A whole lotta love!

I'm a creature of habit.  Once something works for me, I pretty much stick with it.

I work out every day, so I can enjoy eating and having the occasional glass of wine.  So far, so good.

I do the crossword puzzle every morning.  Exercises my brain.

I wear a lot of black.  Makes it much easier to shop.  One pair of boots goes with almost everything.

I can't go to bed without kissing my daughter and my husband good night.  It's good luck.

And I eat the same exact breakfast almost every day of my life.  Two slices of whole wheat toast with jelly and a thin spread of almond butter (the kind you grind yourself at Whole Foods...it's to DIE for!), and a cup of dry cereal (Mother's Peanut Butter Bumpers).   I love the pear preserves I buy from the little farmer's market at Hillsboro High School.  There's something about homemade jams and jellies...I think they taste so much better because of the love that goes into a batch of seasonal fruit, sweetened and cooked in small batches, just like my Grandma used to make.  I always load up in October, the last month they're there until the spring.

For some reason, I didn't get my normal stash this year.  So when I saw a recipe in a magazine for homemade pear-vanilla preserves, it intrigued me.  Looked pretty easy.  So I tried some.  I didn't have the fancy canning pot that is huge and deep so that you can put the jars in with enough water to cover, so I used my big soup pot.  It wasn't too bad, except for the huge mess I had to clean up.  **Note:  don't cook the fruit in a small saucepan...when it boils, it WILL boil over.  The final product was beautiful, but the consistency...more like syrup.  So I dumped it all back in the saucepan, added more pectin (extra, too, just in case), and it hardened so much over the next few days that I had to cut it out of the jars.

So I went back to the drawing board, and read everything I could get my hands on about jams and jellies.  My grandma "put up" everything...fruit, vegetables, pickles, sauces, juice, and never really even used a recipe, but there are so many different recipes, and philosophies about making jelly it makes my head spin.

So I went to Costco and bought three different kinds of pears, some jonagold apples  and four pints of blueberries (I know, not in season, but my husband only likes purple jelly).  Yesterday I spent the entire day in the kitchen, and after a couple of mishaps, I think I finally got it.  The recipes in the pectin box call for only boiling for one minute...recipes without pectin call for cooking for a longer time, to extract the natural pectin from the fruit.  I finally settled on a happy medium.  I use a little less pectin, and boil for about 5 minutes, until I put a spoonful on a cold plate from the freezer and it cools off into a soft jell.  I did use the full amount on the blueberries, since they don't have much natural pectin in them at all, and they turned out perfectly.  It was actually much easier to do the blueberry, because I didn't have to peel, core, and chop them, like I did with the pears and apples.

Anyway, for those of you who might want to give it a try, here's my recipe for Apple Pear Jam.


Apple Pear Jam

Pears
Apples (sweet varieties, not too tart...underripe is better)
(Total of 7-8 pounds, before peeling and coring...equalling about 5-6 cups prepped fruit)
Sugar  (some recipes call for one cup per cup of fruit, but if using pectin I use about 2/3 cup sugar per cup of fruit)
Lemon Juice
Nutmeg
Cinnamon Stick
Allspice
Pectin

•  Prepare jars.  I usually put in dishwasher on "sanitize" setting, before I start chopping.  That way they're warm when you put the hot jelly into them.  Or you can boil them in a large soup pot or canning pot with something in the bottom to prevent them from touching the bottom of the pan.  Before I purchased an actual canning pot with bottle insert, I put a metal trivet in the bottom of my soup pot...it worked fine.  Pour boiling water over flat lids in saucepan off the heat, keep in water until needed.  Wash and dry screw bands.
•  Put about 1/4 cup of lemon juice in bowl, more if needed.  Peel, core and finely dice fruit, tossing with lemon juice as you chop to prevent browning.  If you want smoother final product, you can put in food processor or food mill. 

• Put small glass bowl or plate and spoon in freezer.

• Measure exact amount of the fruit (with lemon juice) into a large, deep saucepan.  Don't make a batch larger than 8 cups, or it will take too long to set. 

• Measure exact amount of sugar in separate bowl, remove 1/4 cup of measured sugar and mix with a little less than one full box of Pectin in a small bowl.

• Stir pectin-sugar mixture into the fruit , and bring to a full boil (one that doesn't go away when you stir).  

• You need to stir constantly to prevent sticking.  Quickly stir in remaining sugar, and return to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly.  Boil for a minute or two, until the liquid drips off the spoon a little more slowly.  IT WILL NOT SET WHILE IT IS BOILING.  Remove from heat, and drop a spoonful onto the cold plate using the cold spoon.  Put back in freezer for a few seconds, then remove.  If it is a jam-like consistency, it is ready.  If not, return to heat and boil for another minute, then try the test again.

• *One important point.  The jam will continue to set while it cools.  It won't completely finish until it's completely cooled, which will take a day or two.  If it's too hard, it will be difficult or impossible to spread.

• When it's ready to be jarred, ladle quickly into warm jars, filling to within 1/8 inch of the tops.

• Wipe jar rims and threads, and cover with two piece lids.  Place on elevated rack in canner.  Water must cover jars by 1-2 inches; add boiling water if needed.  Cover, bring to gentle boil and process jam for 10 minutes.

All I can say, is my kitchen still smells like apple pie and I have a whole lot of love to give my friends this holiday season!

What I'm not Thankful For

 Woke up to rain this morning...blessed cool rain.  I had forgotten how much I love rainy mornings when I don't have to be anywhere.  In a few hours, the madness of Thanksgiving week begins, but for now, I can relax with my coffee and my crossword puzzle while my dogs sleep on the floor next to me.

Thanksgiving is a great holiday...maybe my favorite.  It involves eating, family, time off from school and work, the weather is not freezing or sticky hot, and best of all, you don't have to buy gifts!  We're fortunate enough to spend the holiday with my parents and my husband's parents, a tradition we started about 4 years ago.  We started our marriage with the compromise, Thanksgiving at his parent's, and Christmas at mine.  That seemed fair, given that my mother lives for Christmas, and his mom, being Jewish, felt the same way about Thanksgiving.  It worked out great the first couple of years, even though my mom's birthday always falls during Thanksgiving, so I had to miss that.

Then my daughter was born in September, 1993.  Our first Christmas with her was at my parent's new home, and we had just finished opening presents with my brother and his family when we received our "Merry Christmas" phone call from my mother-in-law.  Her joyful holiday wishes soon morphed into a sobbing moment, when she said, "I can't believe I'm missing it!"  So, from that moment on, they would travel to Nashville to celebrate with us.  It became a wonderful tradition...Christmas Eve Dinner with my parents, and my husband's parents and their respective spouses, Christmas Eve Services at church (my favorite holiday tradition is having my jewish in-laws at church with me!), and Christmas morning at my moms.  It took us 16 years to convince my parents to come to Thanksgiving with us, but it's been great.

Yes, I am thankful for family.  Having a loving family, in relatively good health at this point in my life, is something I never take for granted.

Other things I don't take for granted...A daughter who is everything I wish I had been at her age...and more, and a husband who is my best friend, and who makes me feel like I'm the queen of the world.  I'm thankful for a lot of things.

But this morning it occurred to me that there are a lot of things I am NOT thankful for.

I'm not thankful that there are terrorists in our world who have given our government a reason to take such precautions for our safety that our country has been focused for days on the stupid body scan/pat down controversy.  You know what?  As soon as someone hides an explosive on their person that is not found by our security and blows up an airplane or God forbid, another high rise building, people will be re-thinking their opposition to all of this.  What part of "It's for our SAFETY" do people not get?  Geez.  If they have some body part that every other human being doesn't have, and they don't want anyone to see it, then don't &*(*& fly!! 

I'm not thankful that Belle Meade streets have been so torn up for the better part of a year that I can't bike on any of the streets without fear of losing a tire.  For that matter, I'm not thankful that they haven't paved the road in Percy Warner Park going from Belle Meade Blvd. to Deep Wells.  There is one turn there that is like a minefield!

I'm not thankful that Kate and Jon Gosselin are still celebrities, in some way, instead of in jail for bad parenting.


I'm not thankful that my daughter has so much homework over Thanksgiving break that we have to take another suitcase to hold her books...I weighed them...55 pounds!!

I'm not thankful that a woman in Pakistan has been jailed for a year and a half, awaiting execution for talking about her religion.

I'm not thankful that one of my dearest friends and her husband have been fighting cancer for the last few years.

I'm not thankful that Nashville doesn't have more options for buying humanely produced meat.  And I'm not thankful that a handful of companies have taken over the production of the vast majority of our food, putting smaller companies out of business and producing inferior food that makes us sicker and fatter.

BUT, I am still more thankful than not.  Thankful that I live in America, thankful that I have my health and my family, and the ability to to just about whatever I decide to do...including putting my thoughts into words.   I'm thankful for the opportunities that my daughter will have as she graduates from High School in a year and a half.  I'm thankful that I can spend time in the mountains, a place where I feel peaceful and closer to God.  I'm thankful that my body hasn't given out yet, and I can still run and bike and swim.

So, when I start to feel all negative and pissy about the things that make my blood boil, I just remember that the good outweights the bad. 

What are you thankful for?

Where does your family's food come from?

The summer I was six years old, my mom had abdominal surgery.  I was shipped off to stay with my grandparents at their farm in McMinnville, TN.  I remember several things about that summer, like fishing in the brook, and when Grandma taught me how to make homemade rag dolls.  We cut the basic shape out of scrap material, turned it inside out and hand stitched almost all the way around, except for one of the feet.  Then we stuffed them with small scraps of material and used the strings from the recently shucked corn from her garden to make hair.  Sewed on buttons for eyes, yarn for mouth, and voila!  A toy!  It was the coolest thing I had ever seen.

I also remember  going to the garden and apple orchard to harvest whatever vegetables were ready...tomatoes, corn, green beans, apples, okra, strawberries and squash are the ones I remember.  I also remember that I only ate some of those vegetables at Grandma's house.  For some reason,   they tasted so much better there than at home.



They had lots of animals...cows (to be milked), kittens (to catch mice), and chickens (for eggs).  At least, that's what I thought the chickens were for.  I loved gathering the eggs, and feeding them.  I had names for them all...Chuckie, Suzy, Betsy...and would call them by name as we threw the chicken feed all around their feet.  WARNING:  The next few sentences are not for the squeamish. One morning, Papa asked me if I wanted fried chicken for dinner.  "Sure!" I replied.  Never in a million years did I think he was talking about my little friends.  To me, chicken that you ate was the white slimy stuff my mom bought at the grocery store.  While I was busy feeding them,  Papa walked over to Betsy, the biggest, fluffiest chicken of them all.  He grabbed her by the neck, whispered, "Thank you, my friend,"  and before I knew what was happening, had slung her around in a neat little jerk, and popped off her head!  Her body fell to the ground and her legs kept going, like she was trying to run away from what had happened.  I don't remember much after that...mostly screaming and crying and not understanding at all.  I think he tried to explain the circle of life to me, but I wasn't having any of it.  It was a long time before I ate chicken again.

But I did...I ate chicken, steak, pork, bacon, and my favorite...Rudy's Farm Sausage!  As I got older and became more health-conscious,  I ate less and less of it.  It became a treat, not a normal thing.  But for my parents, and their siblings, and countless others who grew up on farms and when meat was considered a luxury, the last few years of mass-produced, affordable animal products, have resulted in diets that centered around the meat.  I love to cook, and when I cook for family and friends, I never thought I could serve them anything without meat.  It wasn't a meal, otherwise!  I understood that animals like chickens couldn't live in the wild for very long, that they had comfortable, loving homes on a farm where they had plentiful food and places to run around in the sunshine.

Then I saw the movie, "Food, Inc."  Actually, I watched most of it with my hands over my face in horror.  It showed that a handful of corporations control our nation’s food supply. Though the companies try to maintain the myth that our food still comes from farms with red barns and white picket fences, our food is actually raised on massive “factory farms” and processed in mega industrial plants. The animals grow fatter faster and are designed to fit the machines that slaughter them. The majority of mass-produced chickens are raised in the dark, their breasts becoming so  large that they're unable to walk. But that's okay, because they're not allowed to. The antibiotics they are fed to keep them breathing in such conditions end up right there in every bite of your sandwich.  Even "organic", grass-fed cows are slaughtered at the same slaughtering facilities as the ones raised in dark barns, eating a diet of corn that fattens them up but becomes breeding grounds for E-coli.  Those slaughtering plants stun the cows, hang them upside down by one leg, and slice open an artery so they quickly bleed to death.  Although the numbers are improving, there is a percentage of cows who are not completely stunned, and are slaughtered while awake.   Tomatoes are bred to be shipped without bruising and to stay edible for months. The system is highly productive, and Americans are spending less on food than ever before.  In the process, the food doesn't taste like food anymore.  The tomatoes I buy at the grocery store bear no more resemblance to the tomatoes I ate on Grandma's farm than an orange and an apple.

"Food, Inc." is not trying to push vegetarianism.  It is just raising awareness about where our food comes from.  That a small handful of corporations are controlling not only our meat supply, but the seeds use to grow our crops.  They are methodically pushing the small independent farmers who are capable of producing food in a humane way that will safely feed us out of business.  Meat plants are "washing" beef with ammonia and chlorine to guard against E-Coli, even though just five days of feeding a cow grass could safely eliminate the risk.  Americans expect their meat to be cheap and plentiful, so there no easy solution.

My family is no longer eating meat.   Not that we have an objection to animals being eaten, but because we don't see an easy answer to how we get it to our table.  When I entertain a group of people who I know don't consider it a meal unless meat is served, I try to seek out grass-fed, locally produced meat.  There is a growing group of "conscientious carnivores" and a growing number of  farmers who are raising animals for meat and dairy in a humane way and offering concerned consumers a choice about what they eat.  The choices in my area are small...basically it's Whole Foods, or sometimes I find small farmers at the farmer's market.  Here's a great website to find humane sources of food in your area.  http://www.certifiedhumane.org 


The upside is that more and more people are thinking twice about what they eat, and where it comes from.  The downside is it's more expensive.  But  I think this is a win/win alternative: Eat less. Who needs a 24 ounce steak?

Stepping Back

Tuesday night I attended college night at H's school.  We feel fortunate that she is at a school with an incredible college counseling program.  Now that she's in 11th grade, the "counseling" portion of it is beginning...with a vengeance.  She's doing SAT tutoring, in preparation for her first test in December.  She went on a college trip through her school last summer, and visited nine colleges/universities in 4 days in Philadelphia and Washington, DC.  We are planning on visiting a few in March before our annual ski trip for spring break.

I know I didn't do this kind of preparation when I was in school.  In fact, I don't remember thinking about college until Christmas of my senior year.  One of my girlfriends and I decided we'd go to MTSU.   Then, the spring of that year she decided not to go to college.  So I decided to enroll at David Lipscomb College.  Two years later I wanted to major in communications, so I decided to transfer to the University of Tennessee.  *Note, "decided"...not in the vocabulary of today's current high school students.  They actually have to apply, write essays, get recommendations, have 4.0 averages and take honors and AP classes, as well as do sports, volunteer, start clubs, write for the school newspaper, and God knows what else.  At Tuesday night's college night, H received her Planning Handbook, a three ring binder chock full of 13 divided sections, from college search information, website access, testing, college visits, interviews, resumes, application process, essay writing, and financing.  On top of my daughter's extremely demanding academic schedule, her extracurricular activities, and leadership roles, now she has more information to digest.  While the colleges I "decided" to go to were not on any lists of great schools, even though I graduated in the top 10% of my high school class, and graduated "with high honors" from UT, today I might not get in because my ACT score is well below the average for UT freshmen.

It makes my stomach hurt.

So, my mommy mode kicked in.  I have been on multiple college search websites, College Confidential, College Prowler, College Board, etc., trying to narrow down the lists of schools so that H can have a more manageable list.  Some stretch schools, some safety schools, and some in between.  I signed her up for the SAT in December, so she can take the ACT in the spring, and then decide which one she wants to concentrate on to retake next year.   H is my only child...I'm kind of a control freak...so it's what I do.  But, Tuesday night, H's counselors emphasized that we should be stepping back...letting our daughters do the research, fill out the forms, register for the tests. 

Step back.  Whew.  It makes perfect sense.  She has to learn to do these things on her own.  She already does a fabulous job in those things that I don't get involved with,  so I know she can do it.  But when I start stepping back, what am I going to do with myself?  I am H's mom.  It's who I am.  It's what I do.  I've cuddled, encouraged, kissed boo-boos, made lunches, cooked nutritious dinners (even learned to cook tofu when she became vegetarian),  comforted, cheered, driven around,  prayed with and for,  advised, worried, planned, shopped, and basically lived for her the last 17 years.   I've loved every minute of it. 

But I can't go to college for her.  Hopefully all those things that have been so much a part of who I am will help her become who she is.  But she can't become who she is unless I step back.  I will still encourage, cheer, and pray for her.  I will probably always worry about her.  Maybe I will advise her...if she asks.   It might be a little painful, but watching her become her own woman will be a magical thing.

CMT Crossroads Taping with Train and Martina...or the battle of the sprayed on pants!

I finally heard from CMT that I was "in" for the taping of Crossroads with Train and Martina McBride.  I must admit, I didn't know anything about that show, since I'm not a big country music fan, but what a brilliant idea.  It introduces artists to a whole other audience...I didn't know Martina's music, even though her daughter goes to school with my daughter, but now I think I'm going to have to start listening...she is amazing!


As I mentioned, I was there because I'm a huge fan of Train (Pat Monahan in particular!), and because I won a facebook drawing for the tickets to the private taping.  (See, Mom, Facebook truly does come in handy!)  I was told they were non-transferable, so even if I had decided to sacrifice seeing the show for H and a friend, they couldn't get in without me.  (In actuality, they probably could have...I just told them my name and they checked it off and gave me two tickets...didn't even ask for ID-but don't tell her!)

Anyway, the doors were supposed to open at 7:00, and close at 7:45 for the 8:00 taping at Rocketown.  J and I headed downtown for a quick bite at Sole Mio (which has incredible homemade pasta and sauces, but since moving from their original location lacks a bit of ambiance).  We parked halfway between the restaurant and Rocketown (about four blocks apart), and rushed our dinner to get there before the doors closed.  We anticipated general standing room only admission, so decided halfway through dinner to try to get there closer to 7:15 so we wouldn't be stuck in the back.  We checked in, picked up tickets and were shown in to our seats (yay!) about 8th row center.  Not bad!  We chatted with the folks seated around us, and realized they were all there to see Martina, and didn't know Train's music.  We told them they were in for a pleasant surprise.



Around 7:55, the director (I guess) walked out on stage, welcomed us, and gave the standard spiel...no videos or flash photography.  Then we recorded three rounds of applause to be used later in the show...light applause, a little more with a few whoops, and all out with screaming and pumping arms.  Then a standing ovation.  But to keep it from looking staged, he would point to sections of the audience during the ovation to stand up in a more natural way.

Then the band tuned up a little, and Pat and Martina walked out on stage.  Applause, applause,  Martina welcomed everyone and they started into her song, "Wrong, Baby Wrong".  She had on these delightful sequined pants/leggings/spray paint...not sure which, but since she is as big as my little finger, they looked amazing.  Pat had on his typical black sportcoat with a light collared shirt, and not to be outdone by Martina, some kind of jeans that looked amazingly like leggings.  I'm not sure who is smaller, Martina or Pat, but when they opened their mouths to sing, their voices filled up the room.  I'm not sure if it's because I'm a little bit prejudiced, and not to take away from Martina, but when Pat sang, his voice was so much more powerful it made her seem even smaller.  About five lines into the song, Martina said, "I'm sorry, I missed it."...so they walked off and back on again to do it over.

Then Jimmy Staford, Train's lead guitarist, joined them on stage and they sang "Whatever You Say" and "Broken Wing", both Martina songs, and both sounded like they'd been singing together for awhile.  They were clearly enjoying themselves.  After those songs, the director returned for another chit chat, and they left the stage to redo the walk on one more time, followed by "Wrong Baby Wrong" again, but this time, Pat did the intro after the song.



Then there was a short break, and we heard more audience members asking questions about Train.  I guess here in Nashville, at a country music singer's concert, that's to be expected.  Entering the "Train" portion of the show, they started with "Drops of Jupiter".  Wow.
After it was over, Pat looked at Martina and said, "I feel like Chris Farley...remember how you sang the shit out of that song?"  It was very cute.  Martina was gracious but didn't seem as star struck as Pat seemed with her.   They followed that up with "Hey Soul Sister", and finally the audience seemed to wake up...a genuine standing ovation!

Pat made a comment about Martina dancing more, and an audience member yelled out, "No, Pat YOU need to dance more!"  He quipped back that his dancing somehow seemed to simulate a stripper, and proceeded to turn around and do just that.  Next, they sang "Marry Me"...beautiful duet, and "Calling All Angels".  Another director tete-a-tete and they redid "Drops of Jupiter",  and finished up with "Stay with Me"...Rod Stewart's song.  I've seen three Train live performances now, and that seems to be their tradition...to end the show with a Rock and Roll classic.

I left this show and did what has become a tradition for me.  Looked up future concerts to see when I can go see them again!  No matter what kind of show I see, it always leaves me wanting more.  I have a dream that one day we'll invite them to our house to share a good bottle of cabernet...Dreams are good, right?

Going to the Show!

Well, my obsession with Facebook has finally paid off!  Last week, I was just checking on my account and Train's post showed up on my mini-feed.  They were coming to Nashville to tape a CMT Crossroads show with Martina McBride, and had 10 sets of tickets to give away.  All you had to do was comment on the post.  So I did two things that I never do...enter contests (because I NEVER win), and comment on a public figure's post (because I'm afraid I'll get zillions of notifications of other posts after mine.  I just told them that we had tickets to see them in Birmingham last April, the first day of the Nashville Flood, and literally couldn't get out of Nashville because I-65 was covered with water, and how winning those tickets would be a great consolation prize.  I learned two things...1.  I didn't get notifications about the zillions of other comments on the post and 2.  Mentioning the Nashville Flood got the sympathy vote, I guess, because we won!


I had a bit of a dilemma, because H is a huge fan, and I would have loved for her to go see them, but I didn't want to give up my seat.  I mean, I do sacrifice a lot of things for my daughter, but come on-it's TRAIN!  I get goosebumps just seeing and hearing Pat Monahan sing.  He sings with everything he has, and it shows.  The lyrics of his songs are absolutely beautiful...not just the overplayed big commercial hits, but the obscure songs that no one knows.

Like "Words"...

"...Words they'll try to shake us
Don't let them break us
Or stop our world from turning
When words keep you from feeling good
Use them as firewood
And let them burn"

Or "When  I Look to the Sky"

"Cause when I look to the sky
Something tells me you're here with me
And you make everything alright

And when I feel like I'm lost
Something tells me you're here with me
And I can always find my way when you are here"

Or "I'm About to Come Alive"

"Maybe I'm not but you're all I got left to believe in
Don't give up on me
I'm about to come alive
And I know that it's been hard
And it's been a long time coming
Don't give up on me
I'm about to come alive" 

Then there's "Drops of Jupiter",released in 1999, which most people say has to be about a former lover, but which Pat says is about his mom, who died after a long battle with cancer in 1998.  Regardless, it gives me goose bumps every time I hear it.

"Now that she's back in the atmosphere
With drops of Jupiter in her hair...

But tell me, did the wind sweep you off your feet?
Did you finally get the chance
To dance along the light of day
And head back to the Milky Way?

And tell me, did Venus blow your mind?
Was it everything you wanted to find?
And then you missed me
While you were looking for yourself out there"

Needless to say, I get lost in the music and the words and Pat Monahan's voice whenever I see them.  J offered to let me take H instead of him, but she gracefully bowed out so it's going to be a date night for us.  I don't know Martina's music, but I heard her sing with Reba McEntire at a Diva fundraiser for Oasis one year, and she's got a mighty powerful voice for a little bitty thing, so it should be a great show.  I have no idea what to expect,  how many songs they will sing, if we get to sit down (it's at Rocketown, which doesn't usually have seating for concerts), but I'll keep you posted.