Paella!

Paella is our family's absolute favorite dish.  Every year we cook it as a Spring Kick Off meal.  This year we just couldnt wait!  Although my sweet husband is pissed to the highest level of piss-tivity by this, I am going to share our recipe with you (that's what they're for!).  Besides, its my dish and I cook it.

Paella is originally from Valencia, Spain (our most favorite place in the entire world) but is popular in most Spanish-speaking countries.  It is easy, but does take a bit of prep time.  I will tell you it is well worth the effort.  This dish is so flavorful it makes my mouth water whenever I even think about it.

Ingredients:
Pinch Blackened Redfish seasoning.
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cups long grain rice
1 tsp Saffron
1 can chicken broth
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
5 small tomatoes diced
1 small red onion diced
1 capsicum diced (red pepper)
1 yellow pepper diced
1 jalepeno pepper chopped (optional)
1/2 cup fresh peas (you can substitute chopped asparagus)
5 chicken tenders cubed (or 2 boneless, skinless breasts cubed)
1 cup smoked sausage sliced
1 cup shrimp, peeled and de-veined
2 tsp lemon zest, divided
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Mix saffron with 1 cup hot water and set aside.
Sprinkle blackened redfish seasoning and 1 tsp lemon zest over chicken.
Cook your chicken in the olive oil in paella pan on the stove.  When fully cooked, add sausage. Cook on medium heat for 5-7 minutes.
Add mushrooms, stir on medium heat for 3-5 minutes.
Add peppers, tomatoes, peas and onion.  Stir on medium heat for 5 minutes.
Add rice and stir, cover and set on simmer.  Pour can of chicken broth in along with 1 cup water/saffron mixture. Stir.
Cover and let simmer for approx. 20 minutes or until rice is done.
Add cilantro, 1 tsp lemon zest and shrimp.  Cover and let simmer 3-5 minutes or until shrimp is done.

Stir and serve with a warm baguette.

Dont forget the hot sauce!!!!

We have tried several versions of Paella from different cookbooks and celebrity chefs, this one is a little something from all of them.  I hope you and your family enjoy this dish as much as we do.  We had fun tweaking it, preparing it, and eating it together!!!  Even the kids can help.

Cheers!

W.A.'s Momma

Southern Style...

This topic is a little unrelated to my son per se, but I just wanted to share some thoughts...



I just finished reading Saving CeeCee Honeycutt for the second time.  I do not enjoy the sad and tragic plot to the story but I do however, enjoy the transplanting of a 12 year old girl to the heart of the South, Savannah, Georgia, when her heart is broken.  This book is a wonderful example of a loving Southern lady.  It also has beautiful and precise descriptions of true southern homes with extravagant and enchanting southern gardens.

I have been missing all things Southern lately.  See, there truly is a slower pace and a more genteel way about the South.  Although southern women are either portrayed as dumb, or better yet, seriously deficient in manners (Real Housewives of Atlanta) it simply is not true.  A southern woman has grace, manners, empathy, values and charm.  Being a Southern Girl means (to me) that you open your home, your oven, and your heart to your friends when they are in need of comfort. 

I miss my home state of Georgia immensely sometimes, and I do wish to get back one day and sit on my front porch with a glass of real iced tea.  Until then I have some comforts of the South around my house.  And I also have two other important things: Your Southern Peach, and my subscription to Southern Lady Magazine.

I would like to share with you what every southern woman will have in her household.

1) Her Grandmother's pearls and a portrait of her family's matriarch.
2) Blue and White Porcelain and a crystal bud vase.
3) An American Flag.
4) Memorabilia from a fine southern college, i.e. The University of Georgia or University of Kentucky, in our case.
5) A sitting room (or parlor, or tea room) for chatting with women friends (not gossiping, that STILL should only be done at the beauty shop).
6) A Talbot's Catalog.
7) A garden of some kind.
8) Small book collection from her favorite Southern writer (mine happens to be Mary Kay Andrews). And a copy of Gone With The Wind.
9) A Family Bible (I have the first and last Bibles my Grandmother ever bought me).
10) Steel Magnolias, starring the Queen of all that is Southern, Dolly Parton.

There are many more items (the iron skillet, cookie press, doilies, etc.) that should be added, but these are my top ten favorites.

Bless Your Hearts, Sugars!

W.A.'s Momma

P.S. Pleeeeeease make sure you check out Your Southern Peach.  She is precious.

Cleaning out...

There are two types of items I have a ton of: books and picture frames.  Ive decided less is more.  Last year, my Kentucky Gentleman and I removed six boxes of books from our house.  This is what I decided to get rid of today:

I like to read...alot.  So does my sweet husband, we just do not have room for all of these books in a 1900 square foot house.  Did I mention the books I am keeping fill up one bookshelf in a guest bedroom, and then there is this one in our living room:

 Yeah, its way too much.  We've decided to get a Kindle, and hopefully our local library will be happy with our latest donation...
Cheers!

W.A.'s Momma

P.S. if you are looking for a book, let me know the title.  It might be in my "donate" pile!

A Child's Tradition: Oreos

Everyone knows that your first Oreo experience is a tradition...just look at the commercials!

Cheers!

W.A.'S Momma

Boy's Spaces...(on a Budget)

I love putting together rooms that express personality!  Although W.A. has been indifferent so far, we have created a space for him that reflects my Kentucky Gentleman's tastes, and they are all boy!

My husband has been interested in sailing since I have known him and Pirates comes in at a close second.  So, we did the whole sail theme in W.A.'s bedroom and the Pirates got stuck in the bathroom.

I have to say, I am very pleased with the way it turned out!

Arrrgh!

W.A.'s Momma


Bedroom
Lamps, Bedding, Curtains, Sailboat Wall Decals, Nautical Flag Garland, Anywhere Chair: Pottery Barn Kids
Rug: Target
Toybox: Warm Biscuit Bedding Company
Dresser, Lighthouse Prints: Regency Furniture
Crib: Babies R Us
End Tables: Bombay Companies
Picture Frame: A Children's Boutique, Louisville, KY

Bathroom
Life Preserver, Shower Curtain, Rugs, Shark & Fish Decals: Pottery Barn Kids
Picture: Art.com
Stagecoach Curtain: Wal Mart
Waste Basket: Dollar General

Coastal Living's Sticky Rum Sauce Jamaican Jerk Ribs...YUUUUM, Mon!

Another 70 degree day here in Fredericksburg, Virginia!

We pulled some weeds, filled in holes, set up a water garden, cleaned up the back yard and decided it was yet another good day to have a Jamaican-inspired evening.  We found this great recipe for ribs in this month's issue of Coastal Living.  I've reprinted it here for you to try.  This meal was so good it made me want to slap my momma.  Even W.A. loved it (notice his shirt)! 

We also decided to get a papaya and slice it, soak it in dark rum then grill it for dessert.  Can you say "yum"?  And, no.  W.A. did not have any rum of any sort, prepared in any kind of way.

Our evening wouldn't be complete without some rum in our diet cokes!

Still pining for some warm weather that lasts through the coming weeks! 

Cheers!

W.A.'s Momma

These are our ribs, we grilled 'em a little and then cooked them in the slow cooker on low for 6 hours.

Coastal Living Rib Recipe below...

Viva La France, and I dont give a Crepe...

One useless piece of trivia about me is that I love everything French.  I don't mean just french-kissing and french-fries (I never was down with that whole "freedom fries" crap) although those are both very nice.

I love the French food, the French people, the French culture, the French language, French lands, anything Francophone, honey! 

I went to France for 3 weeks with my sisters in July/August 2000.  It totally changed my life and I cannot wait to go back!  We stayed in a guest house on a family estate with people our own age so it was not one of those touristy trips.  It was an in-your-face-French everything.  IT WAS AWESOME!

We wanted to name our sailboat L'Autre Femme, which translates to "the other woman" (it was my husand's boat) but no one could pronounce it correctly, so we went with Ma' Jolie, which is still French (and means, "my pretty" or something like that).

Once, my friend Jenn and I celebrated Bastille Day, yelling "Viva La France" and downing red, white and blue shooters, layered to look like the French flag of course!

Anyway, let me get to the real reason for my post.  I have a new neighbor who, wait for it, IS FRENCH!  And she (Edwige) made me some real crepes.  Not the store bought ones, but honest to goodness crepes!  So Edwige is my new best friend and I tried my hand at crepe-making yesterday.  Wich is the real topic of this post.

I looked for a basic crepe batter which I found online at http://www.cooks.com/ and it follows:

1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup flour
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp melted butter
pinch of salt

Mix altogether and let set at room temperature for 30 minutes.  Make sure you have a crepe pan or an iron skillet.  I have a Lodge iron skillet.  It's flat with no sides and it works the best. 
The real skill is in getting the crepes to look like circles.  Here is my first crepe:

Not too pretty, but let me tell you it was DELICIOUS!!  I'll get better with practice, but I think I will ask Edwige for a little lesson in crepe making. 

For crepe toppings you would traditionally use butter and sugar according to Edwige.  However, I am a fan of slathering Nutella all over the thing!  You can use fruits as well.

Cheers!

W.A.'s Mere

Spring Fever...

Today I woke up to 63 degrees!  I have Spring fever, bad.  Here's what I did:

Put on a chunky torquiose necklace and a white linen shirt.

I wish I had a mimosa.

Slid on my boat shoes and headed outside.

I pruned back my hybrid tea roses, and knockout roses.

I wish I had a margarita.

I swept off my patio, walkways, and porch.

Took inventory of my pots for planting some annuals this year.

I wish I had a margarita.

Arranged the beautiful flowers my husband brought home for VDay.

I wish I had a margarita.

Fed bluebeard, wiped down the counters.

I turned off the heater and opened the windows.

Is 1 o'clock too early for a margarita?

Cheers!

W.A.'s Momma

Happy Valentine's Day

Last night I had the most amazing dream.  If you know me, you'll completely understand this in the first sentence.  If you dont, you'll get it by the end of the first paragraph...

I dreamed of my Grandma and being at her house for "Sunday Supper".  My whole entire family was there.  My sisters, cousins, and aunts and uncles from Georgia to Texas.  It was great.  But the best part was W.A. was there with his cousins, which is "the best part" because, see, my Grandmother passed away on December 31, 2007.  She has only "met" one of her great-grand-babies and that was Regan (who is 4 now).

This dream was so vivid that I woke up this morning and for a nanosecond thought to myself, "oh, I should call Grandma and say hello."  I felt so good.  For a nanosecond.  Then I had that hollow chest, the heart-in-your-throat feeling because I remembered she was gone.  I was as sad as I was at her funeral, all over again.  I really miss my Grandma.  I think about her alot.  Then my husband says, "she came to visit W.A. and wanted to celebrate Valentine's Day with you since I'll be working."  I laughed and then I realized: YES!  Yes, you're right!  Because my Grandma knows how much I want W.A. to know her and she didnt want me to be alone on VDay.

This dream suddenly started to make me feel good, instead of sad.  And then, all of a sudden, my husband asks me "was there fried chicken there?".  I looked him like he was a turd in a punchbowl and replied, "why, yes.  It is the South, and it was Sunday Supper." 

My Grandma was always cooking her collards, fried chicken, mashed potatoes, biscuits, and macaroni and cheese (among many other things) on Sundays.  So I decided to cook this for my family tonight.  I know it didnt taste as good as hers, but it was pretty good.

I will always miss my Grandma, (especially around Easter, her favorite holiday).  But I am so thankful for these memories and especially these "special visits" like the one I had last night.  It reminds me of how much she loved her grandchildren.  And the food was the best part, honeychild!

Happy Valentine's Day Grandma!  I miss you!

Cheers!

W.A.'s Momma

P.S. I wonder when Kenny, Keri and Samantha are going to get over here and help me do the dishes...



Journey 4 A Cure!

For all of you in the area on April 30th:

http://www.active.com/running/brambleton-va/journey-4-a-cure-10k5k1k-family-fun-runwalk-2011?cmp=23-2

Come run/walk to raise money and awareness for pediatric cancer!  This family thanks you for it!  There is something for every skill level: 1K, 5K and 10K!

Cheers!

W.A.'s Momma