All In A Day's Thankfullness

After a day of orientation at my new part time job, which included five hours of training via computer, my jaw hurt from clinching, my eyes from staring at a white screen and my head from a combination of the two. Not to mention the nauseated feeling from taking quizzes after each session. I have never been a test taker. Even my mother said this after putting myself through real estate school twice and flunking the state test three times. I was still puking the following morning on the way to work after the third time... which was not my charm.

The average person or should I say the "normal" person would have come home, took off their shoes and laid down to rest after an anxiety filled afternoon. Not I. As soon as I rounded the corner of the driveway leading to the house I felt better. I saw Miss Pepper, who is finally old enough to stay out from her pen (at fourteen) while I go out during the day.

When I pulled in the garage and got out of the car I was instantly energized. I came in to the house and immediately threw out the casserole in a bag that had been thawing out all day in the sink. I had just finished learning the do's and don'ts of freezing and thawing and bacteria growing for five hours. There was no way I was cooking it.

I opened the freezer, pulled out two chicken breast and got busy creating a fabulous meal of chicken parmesan, a salad with cukes from the garden and garlic bread for my hard working, good smelling man... and myself. When I hear that diesel engine coming up the drive it puts a smile on my face like no other... every time.

I can have fun at my new job. I get to make things, and clean up after myself and learn new things. And to boot I get to love what I come home to.

Blackberrycello

Blackberrycello... well that's what I am calling it. After picking berries Sunday morning I couldn't decide what to make with them. I didn't want to make a cobbler because Shaun and I never eat it all and it would just wind up going to the pigs. So I thought I would make a liqueur sort of concoction out of the berries which is what I did.

Feel free to try this yourself. Although I won't be able to give results for some time the berries are free in the woods right now so what the hell.

P.S. this is only part one to the recipe since I am kinda winging it. I will have another post in 40 days with the second step... K?


Blackberrycello

2 1/2 cups blackberries
3 cups vodka or 750 ml
lemon zest of 1 lemon

Put blackberries into a large glass jug.
Take your potato masher and squash the heck out of them. Next using your lemon zester, scrape the yellow off of the lemon. Try not to get any of the white pith... pith... pith is something you do behind a truck at a party... after dark of course. Not a fan of that word. Add the lemon zest to the mashed blackberries.

Pour in the vodka, put the lid on and give it a good shake to mix it up well. It doesn't really matter what kind of vodka you use. Cheap stuff, expensive stuff... it all gets you where you want to be. Just make sure it's 80 to 100 proof because this will probably be stored in the freezer.


Now comes the wait. Place your jug in a cool, dark place. Mine stays underneath our steps in the basement. Pretty much any time of the year you'll find something in a jar under there... fermenting... in a good way. Leave it there for lets say forty days. You can visit it from time to time and give it a little shake and a smooch if you want to. Then we'll go to step two.

I actually made mine on the 28th. So somewhere around August 6th or 7th I will post the second stage of our experiment. If your planning ahead you will need sugar, water and more vodka. So you (I) have time to save for the next bottle. Hey I'm the one with no job here!
I am thinking about trying a different recipe to see which one turns out the best so stay tuned.

Fried Southern Squash

They're coming in! The squash plants in our garden are starting to produce squash like nobody's business! Are boy are they gooood. Last week Shaun and I picked the first two squash from our garden. They were in the frying pan within thirty minutes! Although I froze squash to use all winter long we have been out for a couple of months. At the same time, if you're a squash lover, nothing can beat the taste of a freshly picked yellow beauty.

Here's my recipe for fried squash. It is based on just two squash because that's enough for a side dish for me and my hubby.

Southern Fried Squash

2 Squash
1 egg
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 Tablespoon Butt Rub or whatever seasoning you prefer.. or not
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cups Canola Oil
1 Tablespoon butter

This is in the order of the process here. Slice squash, cutting off the two ends, into about 1/4 inch thick slices or a tad smaller. In a small bowl whisk egg and milk together. In another bowl blend flour, and seasonings together with a fork. Heat canola oil in a skillet on medium high heat.. that's about a six on my dial. Dip each slice into the egg/milk mixture then into the flour mixture flipping it in the flour several times to coat well. Sit each slice on a plate. Do this whilst your oil is heating up.
Test your oil for readiness by adding the butter to it. It should sizzle and melt pretty quick when ready. Place about seven slices of battered squash into the pan. You should be able to see the edge of the bottom beginning to brown slightly. When you do, carefully stick a fork in the edge and turn each one over to brown the other side. When both sides are lightly browned to perfection remove them to a paper towel covered plate. Continue with the rest of the squash.

I also bread okra this same way. Okras tend to pop more in the frying pan so turn the heat down. And also turn it down if it starts to smoke or brown too quickly.

It's golden goodness on a plate folks and a sure sign that summer is here!
P.S. If you've never heard of Butt Rub.. now you have. My family usually picks it up in Florida but I believe it's readliy available in Tennessee somewhere. www.buttrub.com