Strawberry Salad, Summer Reading, Swimming, & Song Lyrics

 

It is a day for alliteration.  None of my topics today have anything in common except summer and the letter S.  Let's start with my favorite salad this time of year: Strawberry Spinach Salad with strawberries purchased at a local farm stand and fresh spinach from our garden.  It's the homemade dressing that really makes this taste so good.

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Whisk together 2 Tablespoons chia seeds, 1 Tablespoon poppy seeds, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, and 1/2 Tablespoon dried onion.  Cover and chill for about an hour in the refrigerator.

In a salad bowl, combine a bunch of torn spinach leaves with about 1/2 quart of sliced strawberries.  You can also add some slivered almonds.  Pour dressing over the salad and toss.  Refrigerate for about 15 minutes.

 

I just finished reading Queen Bees & Wannabees by Rosalind Wiseman in hopes that I can help our 14 year old daughter understand and navigate her way through high school Girl World.  This book really explained why girls play the roles they do in their social cliques, and it touches on boys as well.  The one thing I have yet to learn, though, is what makes a girl a queen bee/mean girl in the first place.  Is it just her personality that she was born with?  Is it because of how she was raised or the behavior she saw in her own mother?  Is it from the media that she's been exposed to?  Does it have to do with how she was treated by her own peers at one time?  I'd really like to know how these narcissistic girls become the powerful, controlling heads of their social environments.  As difficult as it is to watch any of my children be excluded, snubbed, or laughed at, I think it would be even harder as a mother to see your own child be the mean one who ridicules and harasses others.  I am seriously hoping that the private Catholic college prep high school we are sending our daughter to will not have nearly as many scary issues as the ones presented in this book.  However, if I'm wrong, this book has shown me ways to deal with these potential problems.  I wish I had read it fifteen years ago when our older daughters were becoming adolescents.

 

After two full weeks of uncovering the pool, scooping out debris, vacuuming, dumping in pounds of chlorine and stabilizer, and fishing out toads and their eggs, our swimming pool is finally ready for humans to swim in.  Our children spent hours in it the past few days.  Just look at that blue sky yesterday afternoon.  We haven't had many days like this all year.  It was glorious!

As for me, I sat in my lawn chair with my SPF 70 sunblock, big sunhat, and polarized lens prescription sunglasses to try to make up for those foolish teen years of covering myself in baby oil while sunbathing for hours a day.

 

Finally, my teenagers have managed to pull me away from NPR, Fox News, and Joel Osteen on our Sirius XM radio in our SUV to introduce me to The Blend.  When I heard Humble & Kind, I ran home to see the music video and share it with my husband since this is the message we're always trying to leave with our own children.  I'll close today by leaving with you the lyrics of this song by Tim McGraw.

Humble & Kind

You know there's a light that glows by the front door
Don't forget the key's under the mat
Childhood stars shine, always stay humble and kind
Go to church 'cause your momma says to
Visit grandpa every chance that you can
It won't be wasted time
Always stay humble and kind

Hold the door, say please, say thank you
Don't steal, don't cheat, and don't lie
I know you got mountains to climb but
Always stay humble and kind
When the dreams you're dreamin' come to you
When the work you put in is realized
Let yourself feel the pride but
Always stay humble and kind

Don't expect a free ride from no one
Don't hold a grudge or a chip and here's why
Bitterness keeps you from flyin'
Always stay humble and kind
Know the difference between sleeping with someone
And sleeping with someone you love
"I love you" ain't no pick up line so
Always stay humble and kind

Hold the door, say please, say thank you
Don't steal, don't cheat, and don't lie
I know you got mountains to climb but
Always stay humble and kind
When those dreams you're dreamin' come to you
When the work you put in is realized
Let yourself feel the pride but
Always stay humble and kind

When it's hot, eat a root beer popsicle
Shut off the AC and roll the windows down
Let that summer sun shine
Always stay humble and kind
Don't take for granted the love this life gives you
When you get where you're goin
Don't forget turn back around
And help the next one in line
Always stay humble and kind 

Lyrics and song can be found here:

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/timmcgraw/humbleandkind.html 

A Thank You to the Sexual Assault Victim of Brock Turner

This is not my typical blog post about farm life, food, family, or fashion.  I have seriously contemplated whether or not I should hit the publish button for fear of losing readers, but I am moved to do so.  I feel compelled to express my gratitude to the unnamed young woman who was sexually assaulted by a Stanford student over a year ago.  The letter she wrote and read aloud to Brock Turner went viral this week, and as I read it, I was moved to tears at how perfectly she found the words to describe the impact that assault had on her life.  I felt that she was writing the letter on behalf of every woman who has been through a similar experience.  Her words are the words we would like to say to our assailants.  If you haven't yet read her letter, it can be found at https://www.buzzfeed.com/katiejmbaker/heres-the-powerful-letter-the-stanford-victim-read-to-her-ra?utm_term=.otkddGWmk#.ipZKKydLb.

I have no way of knowing if my words of thanks will ever be seen by this brave woman, but this is what I want to say:

Thank you...

*for giving every victim feelings, emotions, a soul, and dignity and showing that to your assailant.

*for showing the world that using another human being is not just "20 minutes of action" for the one being assaulted.

*for making it easier to open a dialogue between us mothers and our adolescent daughters as we try to prepare them for life as a woman. 

*for helping us mothers show our adolescent sons what sexual assault does to a young woman, physically and emotionally.

*for giving credit/gratitude to the 2 men who stopped their bikes, chased down the attempted rapist, and who became the face for every good, caring, humble, decent, and heroic man that we all want our sons to be.

*for being the voice of all of us women who have ever...

...blindly trusted our "date" to protect us and do the right thing regardless of our condition.

...accepted a drink made by our date or his friend without seeing what went in it.

...gone to a frat party and remember having 1 drink, and then remembering nothing else until the next morning.

...said No or Stop, but our boundaries were not respected.

...been assaulted and felt like we were to blame for taking a drink or going to a party or agreeing to dance with/go out with/get in the car with this guy we trusted.

...felt like this would not have happened to us if we were more beautiful/thin/smart/wealthy/popular.

...wondered what about us is so inferior/loathsome/defective that he felt he had a right to violate us.

...naively thought we could party with the frat boys and have a good time like they do without the fear of being used/violated/assaulted that night.

...been too afraid to tell anyone what happened because we think we'll be blamed and chastised and looked down on.

So I thank you for being courageous enough to bare your soul and write this open, moving letter, and for reading it aloud to Brock Turner in that courtroom.  Thank you for being the voice for all women who never had a voice of their own.  May we all be moved enough by your words to diligently raise our sons to care for and respect women, and not to see them as things they can use.  And may we raise our daughters with a sense of dignity, self-respect, and the same strength you showed in facing your assailant and reading your letter directly to him.  Thank you.

More Affordable Summer Outfits For the Middle-Aged Mom

 

Along with celebrating my forty-something birthday this week, I did a little bit of clothes shopping for myself and also received some wonderful outfits as gifts.  Everything in this post is inexpensive, practical but still interesting, and most of it can be found at Kohl's.  Other than working on the color and cropping a bit from these photos, there was no touching up.  So these are of the real, slightly heavier than last summer, middle-aged me.  I try to keep it real on this blog. 

Hubby surprised me with the sundress above on my birthday.  It's been a long time since he bought me clothing that can be worn out in public.  He did an excellent job, I think.  This dress is Chaps and is found at Kohl's.  I love the light, flowing fabric and the way it feels on me.  I haven't had a long sundress in ages, but  I'll be wearing this a lot.  It will be perfect for an upcoming grandmother/mother/daughter banquet and a future baby shower.  On my feet are the same thong sandals worn last year from Land's End.

 

I found this plaid skort at Kohl's yesterday and paired it with an old white sleeveless blouse purchased at Target after our 6th child was born and I could no longer wear any of my size 4 clothing.  The white canvas sneakers are a couple of years old too, and I have no idea where I bought them.  The white reversible belt was also purchased at Kohl's, and the turquoise watch is Gossip brand and is one of those cute watches that you can switch the colors of the bands.  This just feels perfect for backyard barbecues and picnics.

 

This nautical jersey knit dress is also Chaps and from Kohl's.  I like it because it's a bit thicker than a lot of the t-shirt or polo dresses in the stores today, and it's also not too clingy.  The horizontal stripes do make me look a little wider than I'd prefer to be, but that's a good motivator to keep me running.  There's just a hint of red at the button line, so I switched the watchband to a red leather one.  The white sandals are the same ones as last year and are from JC Penney.  Great for shopping, casual dinners, and carting kids to summer activities.

 

Now that I'm attempting to train for a 5K next spring, I was in dire need of some running clothes.  My husband found some great stuff at Kohl's.  Along with some sports bras (which you will NOT see me in), he also found these Fila running capris that have this nifty pocket in the side for my cellphone.  That comes in handy since I use it to track my time, check my heart rate, and have it on hand if I should ever come up against a bear in the woods and need some saving (yes, this has happened before.)  I raided my kids' drawers for the running pullover in the photo so you wouldn't see the sports bra.  And the Nike sneakers were found for a steal at Macy's last week.  No need to explain where I'll be wearing these, and I try to never run errands in my spandex or yoga pants.

So this concludes my new summer finds that didn't break my budget and that aren't too young and hip or too grandmotherly either.  The weather was not cooperating during this mini photo shoot.  It poured down rain and blew all over the porch, and it was only about 55 degrees.  I coerced my teenagers to take the photos, and years from now I'm sure I'll hear about how much they hated being my personal fashion photographer.  But I just can't get the selfie thing down, and this is one of the advantages of having a large family.

What do you know?  The sun is peeking out, and it's time to pick up my younger ones from their very last day of school for the summer.  Woohoo!

Summer Saturdays on the Patio With Yet Another Uninvited Visitor

 

How I love summer weekends spent at home with extended family, lounging on the porches, patio, and by the pool.  Most weekends we make a different flavor of hand-churned ice cream from our goats' milk.  This Saturday we were celebrating our daughter's 8th grade graduation from the only school she's ever attended.  It was rainy at times, but that didn't prevent us from enjoying ourselves outdoors and creating and consuming some of our favorite traditional summer foods.  This vanilla ice cream was our first homemade ice cream in two years since we've been waiting for our goats to become mamas again.  Our 9 year old son even climbed the cherry tree to pick us some ripe cherries to  place atop our dessert. 

 

He was also one of our most diligent churners, and the ice cream turned out perfect.

To get our goats' milk ice cream recipe, you can access it here in Preppy Mountain Farmhouse's archives.

 

As usual, we had an uninvited guest.  This little guy crawled out from under our front porch and hung with us for awhile.  I couldn't find his mother anywhere, and it's odd that he was out during the day.  I felt kind of sorry for him...but not sorry enough to take him in and feed him.  I'm really not keen on having a pet opossum.

 

As we took turns churning ice cream and playing yard beanbag games with the children, Hubby grilled us one of our favorite summer chicken recipes: Chicken Teriyaki.  Below is the recipe for the marinade.

Chicken Teriyaki Marinade

Mix 1/4 cup oil, 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1 Tablespoon vinegar, 3 Tablespoons brown sugar, and some dried ginger.  Add about 1.5 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and coat with the marinade.  Refrigerate for at least several hours or overnight.  Put on the grill for about 20 minutes.  If you double the recipe like I did, it easily feeds 10+ people.

 

It is our tradition to sip Gin & Tonics while we churn ice cream, cook out, and celebrate the beginning of summer.  This has always been my beverage of choice in the summer, next to Arnold Palmers, that is.

 

Some vanilla porter was also tested for the first time with a big thumbs up.

 

In fact, some of our guests came up with the idea of combining the porter with the homemade ice cream to create their own version of vanilla beer floats.  And the consensus was that this is a great summer treat to be made again in the future.

My vote hasn't been cast on that yet because I steered clear of that combination, but it seemed to be thoroughly enjoyed.

 

As for our little opossum friend, the last I saw of him he was climbing out of sight.  I'm hoping he hasn't met up with any of the numerous felines on this mountain and he's alive and well...as long as he doesn't take up residence under my farmhouse porch or cabin months from now as an adult.

Two and a half more days of school here, and then it will truly feel like the beginning of summer!

Goats' Milk Vanilla Pudding: Like Nothing You'll Find in a Store

 

I am so thrilled to have goat kids on our farm again, and with them comes an abundance of delicious goats' milk.  Just warning you that there will be a number of recipes and how-to sessions on creating all kinds of dairy products from goats over the next few months.  This vanilla pudding recipe doesn't take too much time and does not compare to any of the ready-made puddings or boxed mixes from the grocery store.  Cows' milk will work in this recipe too, of course, but I do think the milk from our Nigerian Dwarf goats is richer and creamier than any other milk I've had. 

 

Vanilla Pudding

(adapted from Better Homes & Gardens New CookBook)

In a medium saucepan combine 1 cup sugar, 4 tablespoons cornstarch, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. 

 

Stir in 4 cups of goat milk.  Cook and stir over medium heat till thickened and slightly bubbly.  (This takes awhile.  You might want to read a book while you stir.)  

 

Remove from heat while you gradually stir about 2 cups of the hot mixture into 4 beaten egg yolks.  (Don't use the egg whites because they leave little clumps of cooked egg in the pudding.)  Return all that to the pot and cook and stir for 2 more minutes.  It should be quite thick now.  Remove from heat, and add 1 Tablespoon vanilla and 4 Tablespoons of butter.  Stir until the butter is melted.

 

Pour into a bowl, and cover the surface with plastic wrap.

 

You want the plastic wrap right against the pudding to prevent a thickened film from forming on the top.  Don't stir it again, but just put it into the refrigerator to chill.  My family actually likes it warm too.  Either way it's sooo good.

 

Add toppings if you like.  We've topped with berries, whipped cream, chocolate chips, chocolate syrup, and sprinkles.  Tonight we used my friend's homemade salted caramel sauce warmed up.  I still need to get that recipe from her.  Bananas and vanilla wafers or crumbled graham crackers taste great in this, as does cooked rice.  But we also really like it plain.

Run out to your local farmers' market or goat dairy this week and pick yourself up some goat's milk and give this a try.  Or better yet, I highly recommend purchasing yourself a couple of miniature goats to keep as pets and grass cutters, and you'll have your own fresh milk right outside your door.  I'll save my milking tales for another day.

 

Unofficial Start of Summer With a Few of My Favorite Things

 

This Memorial Day weekend, as we remembered all those who fought and died for our freedom, our family also kicked off summer with some our favorite summer traditions.  The temps were hot here in the Allegheny Mountains, and we even turned on the AC, which I would have never dreamed we'd need to do a couple of weeks ago when we actually had sleet and snow on the mountains.  Even if the official first day of the season is still weeks away, it definitely looks and feels as if summer has arrived in the Northeast.

 

We started the weekend by taking the cover off our pool, and what a mess!  Leaves, dirt, tadpoles, and who knows what all else fell down in those murky waters.  It will take us days and days of vacuuming and dumping loads of chlorine in there before any of us will be willing to jump in.  The children went wading in the creek instead.

 

That's not to say that no one was swimming in our pool because there were most definitely plenty of creatures in there.  We'd scoop them out and let them go free, but ten minutes later, there they were again.

 

Fortunately, I have a number of amphibian lovers in our house who have been more than happy to catch and release them...maybe a little too close to their little sister who is afraid of every amphibian and reptile.  She doesn't even want to go to the zoo this summer because she remembers the crocodiles that she was certain were just waiting for her to fall over the fence to provide them with their dinner.

 

Frogs and toads were not our only weekend guests.  A bush on our patio was full of these newly hatched moths.  They were everywhere, including in the spiderwebs on our back porch.  They're so interesting to watch as they emerge and stretch out their wings.  I absolutely love all the wildlife here in the summer time.

 

Hanging out on our patio in the evenings is one of my favorite ways to relax in the summer.  We always have a few "barn cats" nearby to keep us company. The only problem with this spot is that I get a great view of our surroundings---beautiful but always wild and unruly.  We never get caught up on the yard work.

  

At least for now, we have these beautiful yellow irises to distract me from all the overgrown shrubs, grass, and weeds.  Trying to focus on the positive.

 

 First thing on weekend mornings, when it's still a little cool and we have no place we have to be, I love to sip my coffee and read a book on the front porch swing.  All I hear are chirping birds and buzzing bumblebees except for this weekend, when cabin owners with four-wheelers spend their time zipping up and down the mountain at top speed.  I'm not fond of them at all.

  

When the temperature climbed to over 90 degrees one afternoon, we all came into the air conditioning, and watched this movie about Mother Teresa on Netflix.  This woman has been such an inspiration to me for years.  The way she continued for decades to treat the poorest of the poor with dignity, kindness, and love despite the dark emptiness and loneliness she felt inside, moves me to tears.  I couldn't be happier that she is to be canonized a saint this fall.  The movie is a great introduction to her life.

 

Last evening we fired up the charcoal grill and ate out on the patio for the first time this year.  Nothing fancy, just the traditional summer foods: watermelon, baked beans, cheddar & bacon hamburgers, potato salad, potato chips, and Arnold Palmers.

 

That was followed by a campfire...

 

...and some firecrackers, sparklers, and all the ingredients to make smores.  My kids never, ever get tired of smores no matter how many campfires we have.

Now I'm off to retrieve the kiddos from the creek and slurp on some lemonade swirl popsicles before we all head off to our last full week of school.  I hope all of you were able to enjoy some summer favorites this weekend too.

 

Aromatic Herbs You Can Grow in Your Flower Beds

 

Although we've lived out in the country for nearly ten years now, I spent most of my adult life living in suburban subdivisions.  Even then, I dreamed of growing some of my own food ingredients, and I planted herbs, cherry tomatoes, and peppers in beds next to my house and in pots on my patio.  Even in neighborhoods where strict ordinances are enforced, many owners can grow fragrant, attractive herbs in beds around the perimeter of their houses and pools.  Right now we have quite a variety of herbs planted amidst flowers and vines on the sides of our house and in raised planters next to our pool.  I encourage everyone to give this a try, even if it's just for making some iced tea in the summer.  The orange mint in the above photo grows on a shady side of our house and smells so good when you just brush up against it. 

 

We started growing chamomile next to our swimming pool last summer.  When the flowers arrive later in the season, they bring out the wonderful smell.  I plan on using this to make tea.

 

Chives are a terrific addition to any raised bed.  You can see these are about to bloom, and they will have the cutest round purple flowers.  I use chives in all kinds of dishes and salads. 

 

If you've ever grown mint, you know that it likes to spread and take over, so you have to watch certain varieties.  This chocolate mint sprawls next to our house, but it tastes so good even on its own.  It also makes the greatest warm tea. 

 

My lavender doesn't get very big, so I'm not sure we're the best zone for it or if I need to move it to another location.  I really want it to thrive because it's terrific for headaches, which I tend to get a lot of when the pollen counts are high.

 

Somehow this lemon mint popped up on the side of our house the other summer, and it has been gradually taking over that flower bed ever since.  This herb smells so summery and also makes a good tea.

 

What would any summer herb garden be without some oregano?  I use so much of this in my cooking, and especially in the big batches of salsa we make in the summer once the tomatoes are ripe.

Along with these herbs, we have also successfully grown parsley (until the rabbits ate it,) apple mint, peppermint, rosemary (until our black cat kept napping on it,) basil, and sage.  Many of these have medicinal qualities as well as being fantastic culinary herbs.  Some are natural insect repellents as well.  Go outside and see what little unused parts of your flower beds are available, and go to your local nursery and pick up a few herbs to plant.  By the end of the summer, I think you'll be hooked.