A Birthday Bouquet from Mother Nature

Bluets.

Happy Birthday to me! Yesterday I became another year older, and it was a beautiful, relaxing day.

Fire Pinks, a gorgeous, true-red wildflower.

Storms were forecast for the afternoon, but they didn't materialize for us until well after dark, and I had a chance to poke around in the yard with the camera to capture some of the best of our April blooms before they got drenched and blown to pieces.

I'm glad I did, because today, there's barely a bloom left on our azalea bush.

Painted Trillium is one of my favorite native wildflowers, and the ones in our yard have been spectacular this year. They start out blooming a beautiful, creamy white with vibrant, golden reproductive parts, but as the petals are exposed to sun-light over the two weeks or so of their bloom cycle, they blush to a delightful, rich pink.

Our coral azalea, a gift from Aunt Nancy and Uncle Bill years and years ago, has been dug-up and replanted three different times, but it thrives in its current location.

Wild Iris

Wood Hyacinth

Shooting Runners

When Sis asked if Jack and I would be interested in photographing a 5K race to benefit Saddle Up!, I didn't have to think about it for even a minute. Sink Creek Photography is always ready to load up the gear and hit the road for new experiences, and while we've never done much sports photography, even unofficially, the opportunity sounded like a lot of fun. Aside from that, Saddle Up! is a great organization, which improves the lives of physically and mentally disabled children in Middle Tennessee with therapeutic horseback riding.

Races start early, and this one was an hour and a half away in Franklin, so Jack and I rolled out of bed in the wee hours of Saturday morning and were on the road by 5 o'clock.

When we pulled into the parking lot at Oak View Elementary, the sun was freshly-risen and a few people had begun to gather outside the school's wide front entrance where a band warmed up with classic rock riffs. Volunteers, wearing Give a Hoot 5K and Fun Run t-shirts, milled about, directing early-arrivals to the registration area inside the school. 

Sis spotted us right away and met us at the car before giving us a quick tour of her office and work area, introducing us to her principal and coworkers, and showing off the horseshoes she'd transformed into really cool race prizes.

Before I go further, I have to say a word or two about this school. It's beautiful, clean, and modern. Brightly painted murals and works of student art line the hallways. Common areas are spacious and filled with light. The school sits atop a hill, landscaped with thoughtfully-planted hardwood trees and fronted by a sweeping circular drive. 

Oak View is perhaps the best school facility I've ever seen. I know there are other great schools - plenty of other great schools - but Jack and I were both impressed, and I can't help but believe that all children would significantly benefit from receiving public education in such an up-to-date, inviting physical environment.

As Reverence, the aforementioned band, jammed out on some rocking '80's tunes, a serious race crowd congregated. Jack and I walked around with Sis and figured out where we needed to position ourselves for good shots of the runners, some of whom were making laps around the parking lot or striding the long, sloping hill in front of the school to get warm and loose before the race. 

An old friend from Smithville, Jennifer LeFevre, and her partner have started a business, Tennessee Race Timing, and they were on-hand, setting up the various components and technologies involved with starting and finishing the race, tracking runners' times, and managing the overall integrity of the race. Neither Sis nor I had seen Jennifer in years, but it was great to reconnect and see how she's using fascinating technology to grow a unique and successful business.

Runners gathered at the start line, and the crowd's energy increased as the 8 o'clock start time approached. 

Contemporary Christian trio, Point of Grace, kicked off the official festivities with a lovely rendition of "Star Spangled Banner," then a young participant from the Saddle Up! program pulled the trigger on the starter's pistol, which was actually an air horn and loud enough to wake the dead.

The throng of three hundred or so racers were led by a pack of enthusiastic children, whose excitement was almost too much to contain in the moments leading up to the start.

I don't know how long we waited for the leaders to come into view, but we didn't have time to get bored, and the two boys at the head of the pack were flat-out "hauling the mail."

They matched each other stride-for-stride until they hit the finish line. 

The boy in the orange won. Just barely.

Not long after these two finished the race, the winning woman came across the line and was followed, in fits and spurts, by the rest of the field. Within an hour, the finishers were all through the course, checking their run-times and replenishing their fluid and electrolyte intake at the huge table of bottled water, granola bars, and bananas provided by race sponsor, Whole Foods.

Lucia and Beatrice started the race in their stroller, pushed by a team of Sis' co-workers, but at some point, she got bored with the ride and opted to run for a couple of miles. She finished the race in the stroller, too, but Lu is well on her way to following her parents' running footsteps.

Chris, by the way, ran the race, and barely broke a sweat, which seems to be how he rolls.

The '80's band took the stage again, and volunteers began herding little children and their parents to the running trail behind the school for the Fun Run portion of the event.

The initial plan was for the little girls to do the Fun Run, but Lu was already worn out from doing two miles on the 5K course, and Bea was absolutely content to hang with her friend, Alex.

Sis called us in from our positions on the Fun Run to photograph the presentation of awards to the winners.

Many awards were handed-out, but as far as I'm concerned, the dads won the day.

Happy Birthday, Beatrice!!

The baby (and "straight man") of the family has officially turned two, and none of the rest of us - not even Lucia - can believe it's been two years since Beatrice was born.

Click to see larger version.

Even though Bea's birthday is today, we all celebrated the occasion when Sis, Chris, and the girls came to the farm for Easter this past weekend. Lucia loves parties and surprises, so we all promised to keep the baby in the dark about the festivities until time for the big reveal. To make sure there were no glitches, a rehearsal was conducted.

Mom made Southwestern Chicken, which was served with warm flour tortillas, rice, beans, and an assortment of fresh ingredients.

She'd never "cooked Mexican" before and was a bit apprehensive about trying something new for a big family dinner, but she knocked it out of the park, and everything was delicious!!

Because my birthday is coming up in the next few days, Beatrice was gracious enough to share her cake with me.

Bea collected a nice pile of presents, including, from Jack and me, a cute stuffed chicken, which she loved, and some pink-striped overalls, which she will hopefully grow-into before she turns three.

Happy Easter

I can't wait to blog the weekend's activities, but for now, here's Sis dancing with an owl --

Another Wonderful Dinner: Salsa Verde Chicken

First things first. This is not becoming a food blog, but two nights after we ate the best meatloaf ever in the whole-wide world, this happened --

Unlike our meatloaf this has no official name, no recipe, and no celebrity foodie to mention... 

Rancho Gordo black beans are the best I've ever had. This variety, whose name escapes me at the moment, is larger than most black beans we're accustomed to seeing in restaurants and from cans and bags. When cooked, these are the size of a pinto bean and have a rich but delicate flavor with just the right amount of bite. Jack slow cooked them with chicken broth from a base of minced onions and celery. Garnished with fresh cilantro, a splash of neon-green hot sauce, a drop or two of red hot sauce, and minced sweet onion, they were delightful.

The chicken was cut into pieces, deboned, and browned over medium-high heat in a cast iron skillet. Once the chicken was "almost there", quartered onions and halved jalapeno peppers were added to the skillet and tossed for a minute in the hot oil. A can of salsa verde was then added. The skillet was moved into a hot (450 degree oven) for 20 minutes. If we were making this with bone-in chicken, the cooking time would be adjusted to the 45 - 60 minute range. If in doubt, use a thermometer to verify done-ness by checking for an internal temperature of 165 degrees in the thickest part of the chicken.

Packaged yellow or Spanish rice can be livened-up by adding a bit of Chipotle peppers (from a jar), hot sauce, whole kernel corn, or any number of ingredients.

Our new find for this meal is plantain, a fruit in the banana family common in several ethnic cuisines. Jack bought one for 39 cents at Aldi last week with a sticker reading, "Grill me when I'm yellow." So we did.

After a few minutes in a lightly-oiled hot skillet until golden-brown and caramelized around the edges, the sliced plantain was a delicious addition to the chicken, which was then finished with diced mango, avocado, sweet onion, and cilantro.

Serve with warm flour tortillas.

I can't even believe how delicious, beautiful, and affordable (less than $10 for two) this meal was.

Perfect Meatloaf

I love meatloaf. It's one of my favorite comfort foods and something I've enjoyed since I was a kid. 

I don't know that my mother has made meatloaf in years, but "back it the day," her meatloaf was delicious and mostly served with mashed potatoes and green beans. Her version was topped with a ketchup-based sauce and not based on any particular recipe.

In talking with Jack about his mother's interpretation of this classic, his memories are similar, but with five children in the family, the meatloaves were bigger.

Jack and I periodically make meatloaf, but over time we've gotten away from the ketchup in our roots, opting for a more "restaurant-style" dish with mushroom brown gravy. When we both started craving meatloaf several days ago, we decided to go "old school" with the traditional ketchup-topped version we'd loved as children.

Neither of us had a recipe, so we turned to one of our Food Network favorites, Alton Brown, for direction.

The result was perfect. Jack and I agreed that neither of us has ever had a better one. This is simply the best meatloaf ever. Here's the recipe:

INGREDIENTS

6 ounces garlic-flavored croutons

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 onion, roughly chopped

1 carrot, peeled and broken

3 whole cloves garlic

1/2 red bell pepper

18 ounces ground chuck

18 ounces ground sirloin

1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 egg

FOR THE GLAZE:

• 1/2 cup catsup
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• Dash Worcestershire sauce

• Dash hot pepper sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 325 degrees F. 


In a food processor bowl, combine croutons, black pepper, cayenne pepper, chili powder, and thyme. Pulse until the mixture is of a fine texture. Place this mixture into a large bowl. Combine the onion, carrot, garlic, and red pepper in the food processor bowl. Pulse until the mixture is finely chopped, but not pureed. Combine the vegetable mixture, ground sirloin, and ground chuck with the bread crumb mixture. Season the meat mixture with the kosher salt. Add the egg and combine thoroughly, but avoid squeezing the meat. 


Pack this mixture into a 10-inch loaf pan to mold the shape of the meatloaf. Onto a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, turn the meatloaf out of the pan onto the center of the tray. 


Combine the catsup, cumin, Worcestershire sauce, hot pepper sauce and honey. Brush the glaze onto the meatloaf after it has been cooking for about 10 minutes.

Bake for 1 - 1.5 hours until the interior temperature is 155 degrees.

NOTE: Those are roasted-radishes, not another potato dish.

A Favorite Thing: Trout Lilies

The Trout Lily tops my list of favorite spring wildflowers.

These tiny beauties begin sprouting their characteristic mottled foliage during late February and bloom in early April.

While leaves might come-up all over the place, Trout Lilies require several years for their jagged bulbs to mature enough to bloom, and in our years of nurturing the handful which grow in our yard, we're lucky to get two or three blooms each spring.

They're small, with stems only reaching three or four inches tall, but the bright color and structure of the bloom, in contrast with their beautiful, trout-speckled leaves, makes this wildflower perhaps my very favorite spring-blooming Tennessee wildflower.