Folks - I'm going to be offline as far as the blog for at least the next two weeks. I found out yesterday a dear friend of mine, who is also an author, was diagnosed with cancer the end of August after she came out in her Glamper Camper and stayed with me during a U.P. book signing tour while Partner in Grime was on the road. It was a great visit - we stayed up well in the wee hours talking about her life on her family farm, her children, our writing projects (she's an award-winning travel author) and life in general. She had little appetite at supper but a dram of whiskey was poured and we just talked and talked.
Even though we'd gotten little sleep we were up with the dawn as she had to head out for her book signing up north and the last thing I remember was her jaunty wave with a "Love you!" as she drove off, fearless, into the crazy Chicago traffic towing a Bright Aqua Retro Camper behind an extended cab, long bed farm pickup truck.
Unfortunately, when she got home, further testing has revealed she has just weeks to live. Lyn is a Christian and knows where she is headed and is at peace but one thing was troubling her.
She had a new book in progress (through a traditional publisher) but it is a few chapters shy of being finished and she is unsure if she can at this point as her strength is quickly leaving her. She asked me to co-author it so I can write the last few chapters and then can take over coordinating the editing and publication with her publisher if she is gone at that time. All the sales are going to an animal rescue in Iowa, where she lives on a farm and payment of the royalties has been set up already.
She has published with this publisher before and they are very supportive of whatever it takes to get it into print. It's a book about rescue Beagles, intended for young adult to adult readers, a short book with photos.
I am honored she asked me but with a very busy work schedule (federal end of the fiscal year), I probably won't have time for any new blog posts for a couple of weeks.
I'll be on Facebook (it's non-shooty stuff but there are recipes) and will see you all back here in just a few chapters. As always prayers for her are welcome. LB "Brigid" Johnson
Saturday, September 21, 2019
Thursday, September 19, 2019
The Grill Next Door
There's more to your grill than meat. Over the last couple of summers, I've grilled an assortment of veggies as well as peaches and pineapple to serve alongside pork or over ice cream (and if you drizzle a little rum on the pineapple before serving you'll be sure to hear at least one happy "Arghhhh" from your family or guests).
But some items are just staples for grilling. Corn. Sure you can cook it on the stove, in a cooler or in a microwave but grilling is awesome. The corn this year is not so good, so I was looking for something to make it both moist and flavorful and saw an idea in Better Home and Gardens (one of the few magazines I enjoy). It involved basting the corn during grilling with a salad dressing based sauce.
Liking the concept but not being too keen on the whole Miracle Whip on corn thing, I used a mixture of butter, mayo, sour cream, fresh lime, hot sauce, peppers and cilantro. Now we're talking.
Serves 2-3, double or triple as needed.
3 large ears of corn (cut into halves or thirds)
1 Tablespoon dried cilantro
1 1/2 teaspoons Penzey's Ancho or Adobo seasoning
1 heaping teaspoon lime zest
1/ 8 teaspoon cayenne
dash or two of hot sauce (my favorite is Scoville Bros. Singing Smoke)
2 Tablespoons melted butter
1 Tablespoon Mayo
1 Tablespoon sour cream
1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice (and that does not come out of little green plastic limes)
Clean corn, removing husks and soak in water for 10 minutes.
In a small bowl mix cilantro, pepper seasonings, and lime zest. In a BIG bowl whisk butter, hot sauce, mayo, sour cream, and lime juice and set aside. Drain and dry corn and cook on covered grill for 15-20 minutes until done, turning and basting with the butter/cream mixture every five minutes.
Remove corn and toss with remaining butter/cream sauce in the bowl, sprinkle with the chili/zest mixture and serve immediately. Excellent with chicken or a big piece of grilled Salmon.
But some items are just staples for grilling. Corn. Sure you can cook it on the stove, in a cooler or in a microwave but grilling is awesome. The corn this year is not so good, so I was looking for something to make it both moist and flavorful and saw an idea in Better Home and Gardens (one of the few magazines I enjoy). It involved basting the corn during grilling with a salad dressing based sauce.
Liking the concept but not being too keen on the whole Miracle Whip on corn thing, I used a mixture of butter, mayo, sour cream, fresh lime, hot sauce, peppers and cilantro. Now we're talking.
Serves 2-3, double or triple as needed.
3 large ears of corn (cut into halves or thirds)
1 Tablespoon dried cilantro
1 1/2 teaspoons Penzey's Ancho or Adobo seasoning
1 heaping teaspoon lime zest
1/ 8 teaspoon cayenne
dash or two of hot sauce (my favorite is Scoville Bros. Singing Smoke)
2 Tablespoons melted butter
1 Tablespoon Mayo
1 Tablespoon sour cream
1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice (and that does not come out of little green plastic limes)
Clean corn, removing husks and soak in water for 10 minutes.
In a small bowl mix cilantro, pepper seasonings, and lime zest. In a BIG bowl whisk butter, hot sauce, mayo, sour cream, and lime juice and set aside. Drain and dry corn and cook on covered grill for 15-20 minutes until done, turning and basting with the butter/cream mixture every five minutes.
Remove corn and toss with remaining butter/cream sauce in the bowl, sprinkle with the chili/zest mixture and serve immediately. Excellent with chicken or a big piece of grilled Salmon.
Sunday, September 15, 2019
But They ARE Family. . . .
I'm home from my Dad's and just chillin' with my husband and our two rescue Labs. Dad's settled into assisted living quite nicely. The staff there was great, and the maintenance folks refill his suet feeder outside his window so he can watch the birds which he really loves. He's in two units with an open door between. In time, we'll whittle it down to one as two units are not affordable long term, but we knew that having the bigger space after the transition from his big house would be easier on him.
My husband stayed home as with Lorelei Lab being a new rescue we didn't both want to suddenly leave for a week, especially after he'd been gone two+ weeks overseas for business.
It was a nice week though as much as I missed them all. I was able to get Dad out for a couple of "road trips" with a family member or my friend BJ Miller (the other "Brigid" on the gun blogs) to help him in and out of the car (I can't with my meniscus free knee). He loves her company so we were so thankful she could take some time out to visit with us.
So for today, as I catch up with chores and sleep, some funny Tweets from people who think about their dogs like I do.
My husband stayed home as with Lorelei Lab being a new rescue we didn't both want to suddenly leave for a week, especially after he'd been gone two+ weeks overseas for business.
It was a nice week though as much as I missed them all. I was able to get Dad out for a couple of "road trips" with a family member or my friend BJ Miller (the other "Brigid" on the gun blogs) to help him in and out of the car (I can't with my meniscus free knee). He loves her company so we were so thankful she could take some time out to visit with us.
So for today, as I catch up with chores and sleep, some funny Tweets from people who think about their dogs like I do.
Friday, September 6, 2019
Going Offline to Visit Dad
I will be offline until next weekend as I go to spend some time with Dad. He's still in good spirits but his health is slowly failing (he's almost 100 years old).
Partner in Grime just got back from over two weeks in SE Asia on business so he's taking some leave to man the Range while he completes the master bath remodel (during which time the only toilet available will be the one in the basement half bath). Hopefully he'll manage house, dogs, and laundry until I return. Cheers.
Partner in Grime just got back from over two weeks in SE Asia on business so he's taking some leave to man the Range while he completes the master bath remodel (during which time the only toilet available will be the one in the basement half bath). Hopefully he'll manage house, dogs, and laundry until I return. Cheers.
Monday, September 2, 2019
For Those In Dorian's Path
Prayers this morning for the people of the Bahamas as well as our friends who live on the Southeast Coast of the United States.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)