Cooking: Post Avett/ Pre Summer Menu

Hallelujah! What a weekend! 

Avett Brothers brought it  like it was their last concert. 

Truly, truly brought it.

My daughter had an amazing time and now says " Best concert" like a pro.

I could squeeze her, she is so darn adorable. I see a little bit of my love of  shows coming through with her. Also, I see being broke in her future. Concerts are not cheap by any means.

We are taking her to another concert next month to see another of her favorite bands. 

Next step after that is a festival. She is begging for Bonnaroo.

This is the next to the last week of school. 9 days til summer! 

Ortho appointments, volunteering at school and working are the week du jour. 

Also, I think my partner and I are finalizing the sale of our business. 

Sniff.

Summer is On the Horizon at Casa Swann Menu

• Salmon burgers/ ginger slaw/spinach and strawberry salad
• BBQ grilled chicken breasts/ kale salad with strawberries and avocado/ grilled sweet potatoes
• Zucchini with corn and cilantro/ spinach and strawberry salad/ bacon
• Black bean and zucchini quesadillas/ avocado salad

*I hit the market Sunday and bought 4 gallons of strawberries and we have eaten spinach and strawberry salad every single day this week. Nothing is better than Tennessee strawberries right out of the fridge.

Cooking: I covet, therefore I am

I admit it.

I am a coveter. 

I covet like it is my job.

Gollum...I am.

Only, I don't necessarily covet a precious gold ring (more like a gold horseshoe necklace ala Carrie Bradshaw). I covet random things. I covet dishes and boots, milk glass and beads from the 1950's, art and  good blue jeans. I wish for weird things like garden gnome cookie jars and vintage lamps.


I am a sentimental fool, and I have lots of random things to prove it.
My mother-in-law has given me various things of my husband's and their family's over the years and I have kept most of them (his baby moccasins, the pewter sugar and creamer, and of course, her turquoise necklace that pinches like the devil when I wear it to  name just a few) because they are part of his life story. I have cookbooks and recipes from three grandmothers and I have my grandfather's dog tags.

All of these things are historical to me and will be passed down to my daughters as they get older. But the things that are not my own personal story are the things I truly  covet. I am always looking for for shell backed chairs, milk glass, vintage boots (Frye Campus size 7 if you come across a pair), and old levi 501s. Large paintings that grace walls at my favorite art gallery in town are always sighed over when I visit them. Weird owl mugs and Mexican pottery are things I notice when I am out and about. Why? I have no clue. Maybe I just like random things. Or,  more likely, they trigger a nostalgic memory for me. Either way, I like being a little bit off odd.



I have fairly good self control. My house could be shrine to my weird covetousness. However, I live fully in the realization that I would never be satisfied if I indulged my every whim. So, I convince myself that I am waiting for that "perfect" fill in the blank item that will be the thing that makes me truly  happy. And for the most part, I am already happy with the things I do have in addition to the things that actually do make me happy.

Cookies and a goofy kid, what could be better?

In the meantime, I am reading my cookbooks and getting ready for the Mardi Gras season which starts this weekend. I am hoping I can talk my husband into making his famous jambalaya to kick it off right.  We will be dragging out our tacky decorations and beads and readying ourselves for our favorite season.


Almost Mardi Gras menu

• Chicken tacos/veggie tacos with Mexican slaw
• chili (using chicken from Monday's tacos...recipe to follow)
• baked chicken, baked squash, baked sweet potatoes
• Pork Ragu, spaghetti squash with mushrooms, sauteed greens
•  Jambalaya (?)

Cooking: Monday and the search for a new drug

" I want a new drug...one that won't make me sick..."

Yes, I am quoting Huey...Come on, cut me some slack,I spent hours in skating rinks in the early 80's. I learned the songs.

 My quest to find a new source of caffeine has been interesting. I love coffee and drink lots of  very strong cups of it every morning. But it is taking it's toll on my stomach. I have been drinking tea instead and while it gives me my caffeine, it does  not taste like  my beloved coffee.

Source: tumblr.com via Tim on Pinterest

 

So, I asked all my Facebook friends if they had any suggestions and they did not disappoint.I am currently trying English breakfast tea. We shall see. I am not in love...but we are friendly.

http://pinterest.com/pin/35677022017677635/

This week, as always, we are running around. Band concerts, swim practice and orthodontic appointments to name a few things. So meals are to be  quick, easy and sometimes crock pot friendly.

I am also in a rut...too  much soup has addled my brain. Seriously, I made chicken soup, gumbo, and squash soup last week AND thawed ribollita.  My family didn't complain, but they were grumpy.

So, if anyone has any suggestions for dinners, please send them my way. Before there is mutiny aboard the SS Swann.

Dinner (no soup) at Casa Swann

black beans and rice, fajita meat
venison goulash, salad with almonds and pears
omelets (ortho day)
baked chicken, baked sweet potatoes,  black beans and rice
tacos


Enjoy this for the rest of the day....