HAPPY LABOR DAY!
For some reason, my lengthy private school education in Houston never educated me on the history of Labor Day. Perhaps Wikipedia will fill in that goal in my otherwise acceptable education…all about reconciliation with the labor unions and movement of the 1800s. Perhaps President Cleveland would be upset to know that the middle school across the street from us HAD SCHOOL TODAY! Poor teachers. It was weird to know that the parents were off from work when the kids were in school…backwards or something.
Anyhoo, Matt & I had a great Labor Day holiday! We worked all weekend, but both had today off. (YAY! This doesn’t happen every week!) So we started making plans. Half Price Books in Austin, gourmet cheese & wine picnic in the park, road trip…eh, we wanted to relax.
I’ve been craving donuts (I know, terrible…), and it reminded me of Voodoo Donuts in Portland. I mean, vegan happiness in a round pastry topped with Fruit Loops!
Matt braved the grocery store on his day off (what a great guy!) and bought some treats. He came home with a surprise main course (2 salmon wheels, one stuffed with spinach and feta and the other with lobster)! We began to cook. Our watering mouths cause the dinner hour to suddenly be bumped up to 4:00.
Now let me preface…Matt mentioned that we are supposed to get thunderstorms for the majority of the week, and checked out weather.com, one of my favorite places. I have to admit that I love the eeriness of knowing that a storm could come. It’s one of those moments that gives you chills and reminds you that this world is a whole lot bigger than yourself, and I think it makes us human and helpless but also know God’s way bigger than us. So Matt saw the “lineup” of the next tropical storms. Now, if you live in the northeast, you might not know what I’m talking about. The “noreasters” they have are treacherous storms, no doubt, but my yankee friends don’t get the joy from NAMING STORMS like those of us in the south take on. I know, it’s stupid and strange, but naming storms just makes it seem a little more temporary and a little less scary, I suppose. SO Matt saw a very special name for a storm…Tropical Storm Matthew.
I learned something new about my husband…he has been hoping his whole life that there would be a hurricane named Matthew. Is that sick or cute? I don’t know. I DO KNOW that I gave up on them naming one Hurricane Laurel back in Kindergarten…it just wasn’t going to happen with a name like that. But Matt got one!
Little did he know what else he would get….
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| Matt, shielding the salmon from rain’s destruction |
…A CRAZY, RANDOM DOWNPOUR!
We were prepping dinner, looked out the window and saw sunny skies turn into a monsoon within a matter of seconds. So weird, Texas skies. So Matt protected the fire from sizzling out and the salmon from swimming away. (sorry, so corny) And everything turned out really well! It was one of my favorite dinners!
The Menu:
*Spinach dip with veggies and chips
*Salmon (one with spinach & feta and one with lobster)
*Bacon-wrapped shrimp stuffed with Mozzarella & Jalapenos (seeds OUT)
*Grilled Green Peppers, Zucchini, and Garlic
*Giant corn muffins
*Blackberry pie
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| Tasty Dinner |
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Ole! Our tastebuds were happy and stomachs were full, but not too full for dessert (3 hours later)!
PAULA AND LAUREL’S BLACKBERRY PIE
(Southerners pronounce it “paw”)
So I watched Paula Deen the other day while cleaning up. She and her son made a 5-minute blackberry pie. I’ll vouch for that, except mine took 6 minutes because I added a little citrus for flava! I bet you didn’t know Paula and I cook together…
THE PIE
1 carton blackberries (or 2 for a larger pie)
4 TB blackberry jam
1 orange and/or lemon
1-2 small tubs of Cool Whip (fat free or sugar free are good!)
1 t vanilla extract
graham cracker crust (homemade or store-brought)
Easy, easy, easy!
1) Put blackberries and jam in a bowl, using fork to crush berries a bit. Mix together.
2)With grater or microplane (I broke my new one in today!), sprinkle orange/lemon zest. I used about 1 teaspoon of lemon and 1 teaspoon of orange for a large pie.
3) Pour blackberry mixture into cooled graham cracker crust.
4) Mix vanilla into cool whip (one tub for “regular” sized pie, two tubs for large pie) for added flavor. Then spread cool whip on top of blackberry mixture.
5) Add extra berries and mint leaves on top for decoration. Eat!
See, it’s too easy! And I ate two slices, I will not lie.
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| While we cooked and cleaned, Sam worked hard, too. |
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| Sam’s favorites: Peanut butter Mailmen/women and Cats! Organic and fun! |
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HAPPY LABOR DAY!
