Basketball, Swedish Meatballs and swearing with your father

This weekend one of my projects, besides the continent of laundry that has piled up, is assembling a new portable, adjustable-height basketball hoop. As I unpacked the box and saw all of the little parts, big parts, and list of tools I would need, I thought of my dad.Now, a do-it-yourself type of task around the house, i.e., replacing a kitchen faucet, hooking up the stereo or any kind of "adult assembly required" product which looks so good in the store displayed (fully assembled) under bright lights with a sale sticker, comes packaged in a very large box, its many components neatly styro-foamed, twist-tied and plastic-baggied; well, these projects -- as anyone with a practical, do-it-yourselfer, Italian-American father knows -- require A LOT OF SWEARING. The kind of swearing you usually have to pray about in church the next day.This basketball hoop was going to need some swearing before it got done. And it's more fun when you have someone to help you swear about it. You know, one of you reads the 300 pages of poorly written instructions, the other one misinterprets what you say, you argue about which thingamajiggy goes where, swear some more, at some point the manual gets thrown across the room, that little vein pops out in your dad's forehead (this also applies to Irish fathers), and three hours later you have something which almost resembles the picture on the box, shrug your shoulders, say, "Well, at least it's done," and go have a beer.And in this time your mom/stepmom got all the laundry done, made a whole batch of cookies and cleaned up the kitchen. She's just thankful you kept him out of her hair for the day.Unfortunately, my dad lives a thousand miles away. So in this case, I call him, tell him I need him to help me with the tools and the swearing, and we have a good laugh. Then comes the inevitable question:"What're you having for dinner?"

There's something about moving away from home. Yeah, you miss your family, friends and different places. You talk about the weather. But it always comes back to food.I said, "That's the other reason I was calling about." Midwesterners tend to end sentences with prepositions. We know it's wrong. We're rebels without causes."I've got two pounds of ground beef thawed out, and I have no idea what to make,"I mentioned that I was thinking of meatballs, but not spaghetti-and-meatballs, something different. My stepmom suggested Swedish meatballs, and proceeded to read me the recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook. Meatballs fried in butter with a cream gravy. What's not to like?I looked up the recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, which just happens to be my Grandma's copy, from the late '50's. Funny how they stick that "New" title on every year. So you'll see a twenty year old version at a garage sale, and somehow think it's New? But my "New" cookbook didn't have the same version as my stepmom's "New" cookbook, so I did the next best thing: Google.Thank you, Alton Brown. The meatballs were delicious!http://common.scrippsnetworks.com/common/snap/snap-2.2.2-embed.swf?channelurl=http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/channel/xml/0,,67904-VIDEO,00.xml&channel=67904What food do you miss from back home, and does your family swear as much as mine? (In my dad's defense, his language isn't half as bad as mine!)

Finally, as Jon Stewart says, here is your moment of Zen:

By the time we got the #@%* basketball hoop up, the moon had come out.

Spaghetti-Ah Sauce-Ah

This weekend, I am running away. My wonderful husband gave me an awesome Christmas gift this year - I'm going to Vegas to see CHER!! And no boys allowed, either! Just me and my amazing friend Jeanette. We always have a good time together, and we're both ready for a little reprieve. No laundry, no cooking, no cleaning, no running to Wal-Mart. So while we are rocking out to "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves," you can make something yummy for your tummy. 

The name for this recipe comes from the way my great-grandmother, Nonna Ida (ee-dah), pronounced things - Spaghetti-ah Sauce-ah. She was the quintessential Italian grandmother. Made everything from scratch, gave the most bosom-squishy hugs, loved all of us, and didn't take any crap from anyone. She even did that thing where they throw their slipper at you because they can't get to you fast enough to give you a smack. (She never did that to me, I was of course a little angel who never did anything wrong. Or maybe I was just the right amount of scared of her. I think it was one of my cousins or uncles who got the shoe. If I had to guess, my cousin Michael or Uncle Marc.)

This may not seem like a quick recipe, but it has saved me more time over and over again. And by now, it’s easy for me to make since I’ve done it so often. Once you get everything in the pot, all you have to do is boil some pasta, and that’s it. And I make enough to have leftovers the next day - cook once, eat twice! It’s my family’s favorite.

This recipe has been handed down in my family for generations. We all put our own spin on it, and here's how I make mine:

(I have to apologize in advance for my food photography. Haven't quite figured that one out yet. Besides, I have yucky fluorescent lighting in my kitchen. If you have any photo tips, I'd love to hear them.)

Ingredients:

Olive Oil - Extra virgin, baby.

1 large onion, chopped

3-5 cloves of garlic, peeled, smashed, and chopped

1 carrot, shredded

1 stalk of celery, chopped fine

2 lbs. lean ground beef (you can do half beef and half sausage for richer flavor, or ground turkey or chicken to keep it on the light side. It’s all good.)

1+ Tbsp Italian seasoning

about 1-2 tsp kosher salt (start with 1, then add to taste after all ingredients are together)

fresh ground black pepper

a small dash of cinnamon

1 can tomato paste (I use Contadina or Progresso)

¼ - ½ Cup of red wine

Fresh Basil leaves, if you have them (julienne and throw on top before serving)

2 large cans whole peeled tomatoes, in juice.  This is the secret!  You have to use the whole peeled tomatoes - before adding them to the sauce, chop them (not too chunky, not too thin) in the blender, food processor, or right in the can if you have a stick blender. If using a blender or processor, drain the tomatoes first, but save the juice.  The whole tomatoes make the sauce taste FRESH.  Make sure the canned tomatoes are packed in juice, not in tomato puree; puree will make it thicker, but the taste is not as fresh.  

So, get a good, heavy pot and heat it over med-high heat, just a couple of minutes.  Add Olive oil.  (If it smokes, the pan is too hot and you will burn the garlic.  We do not want to burn the garlic!  Take the pan off the heat so it will cool)  Throw in your onion, carrot, and celery, and saute for a few minutes, then add the garlic.  You can add a pinch of the salt here to loosen up the veggies.  When they are translucent, add the meat, and let it brown.  When the meat is almost done, add the spices.  Rub the dry Italian seasoning together in your palms as you add it; this will bring out the aroma.  The cinnamon should just be a tiny shake. Half a pinch, at most.  It flavors the meat, but you don't want it to taste like cinnamon, got it?  Okay, when the meat is brown, turn down the heat just a notch, and add the tomato paste.  

Stir it into the meat, and mix it all up.  After a couple of minutes, it will go from a reddish color to a brownish color.  This is when you add the wine.  Ahhhh! It smells so good!  Stir it up (little darling), and scrape the bottom of the pan.  It will deglaze the pan, and cut the acid of the tomatoes.  Then add the tomatoes with their juices.  Let it simmer about 20-30 minutes.  You can leave it on low while dinner is being served, in case anyone wants seconds.  Make sure you pour a glass of wine for yourself, to taste while the sauce is simmering.  This is very important. ;)

If you have a rind of Parmeggiano-Reggiano in the fridge that's all used up, you can throw that in the pot while it's simmering.  Also, at the very end, if you have any fresh basil, tear that up and throw that in, too, if you like it, or, simply, on each serving.  If you like mushrooms, save a bit of the onion, and saute the mushrooms with the onion in a separate pan, and add to the sauce with the tomatoes.  Otherwise they will get all broken up when you are stirring the meat. 

This is my basic sauce for everything from spaghetti to lasagne.  I always use Barilla pasta.  Cheap stuff gets too starchy and gummy.  Make sure you put plenty of salt in the pasta water, otherwise the pasta is too bland.  Stir the pasta right after you put in in the water, so it won't stick together when cooking.

We always put butter on the hot pasta after it's done. 

This, like I said, is a family recipe, but it's taken me 19 years to perfect it.  I'm sure it will get changed many many times more on its journey, and I hope the hungry souls trying it out along the way will rub their bellies in warm satisfaction.  Let me know how your family likes it!

Mangia!

(Eat-Ah!)

PS For a yummy garlic bread, get a fresh crusty loaf, and cut it in half lengthwise.  Take half a stick of soft butter, and mix in some fresh garlic, smashed as much as you can, and chopped.  (smashing it releases the juices)  Spread this on the open faces of the cut loaf, sprinkle with a bit of parmesan cheese & chopped parsley.  Put in 400〫oven about 10-15 min til it starts to brown around the edges.  Yum! 

Cher loves Spaghetti.

I was born in the wagon of a travelin' show

My mama used to danceCOOK SPAGHETTI for the money they'd throw

Papa would do whatever he could

Preach a little gospel

Sell a couple bottles of Doctor GoodSPAGHETTI SAUCE

Gypsies, tramps and thieves

We'd hear it from the people of the town

They'd call us gypsies, tramps and thieves

But every night all the men would come around

And lay their money downEAT OUR SPAGHETTI

Picked up a boy just south of Mobile

Gave him a ride, filled him with a hot meal OF SPAGHETTI

I was sixteen, he was twenty-one

Rode with us to Memphis

And papa woulda shot him if he knew what he'd done (HE ATE ALL THE SPAGHETTI!!)

Have a good weekend!

With love,

Heidi

P.S. for Cher fans: check out my movie review of Burlesque.

My Pretty Ponies

They say curiosity is a sign of intelligence. If that's true, Chroi must be a genius.

She's always got to see what's going on.

Here she's taking advantage of a recently delivered pile of dirt, so she can see over the fence. 

I think she's just as curious as the rest of us as to what the heck the neighbors are doing to their house.

Doesn't everyone have one of those in their neighborhood? The house that no one can explain, and never gets finished?

Climbing down is not quite so graceful for a pregnant lady. Oomph!

You never know what you'll find behind the rakes and shovels...

Keira reminds me of that line in Forrest Gump:

"From that day on, if I was ever going somewhere, I was running!"

She runs and trots everywhere.

Sometimes I feel bad that I don't do more with my horses. Shows, parades, just getting out.

But it's nice to get in the round pen. They love the attention. They might not always like what they're asked to do, but they respond well. I think Chroi would look lovely pulling a cart. She has such a flowy, graceful trot. Keira's trot is very springy, prancey-dancey.

She's fancy.

My mom's name is Nancy.

:)

I can't seem to get any good pictures of Keira trotting. As soon as she sees me she stops. It's that singing frog thing again.

I don't seem to have any problem getting shots of them eating, though.

Or of their butts.

Lots of butt shots.

Chroi and Keira have no problem with this angle.

A Gypsy Horse is supposed to have a nice, round rump. It's something to be proud of.

Kind of like Kim Kardashian. 

 

If she were a horse, she'd be a Gypsy. She even does the same pose. Sheesh.

To tell you the truth, I feel happy just watching my horses.

My pretty little horses.

Storm Coverage, Atlanta

As a mid-week treat for you, I thought I'd share this video from Jackson Pearce's blog:

I've been a little obsessed with this snow storm that hit the south this week, and how all those Southerners are handling it. This is exactly the type of story I've been looking for. Enjoy

How to Develop a Website, or, Shameless Self Promotion

 

Heidi: Wouldn't it be awesome if we could do something for work, besides work?

Eileen: Work sucks. We should do something meaningful; some kind of project together. 

Heidi: Yeah, we should. We'd kick ass.

Eileen: How about something with Senior Citizens? Old people are awesome. They've led such great lives, and have so much to teach us, but it all gets lost. Hey, wouldn't it be a cool idea to make a book of people's family memories?

Heidi: Yeah, but that takes too long. Besides, I'm already working on a book. I know, let's make it a blog!

Eileen: What's a blog?

Heidi: (groans) You're kidding, right?

Heidi: So this is what we have to do: Open a Blogger account, and then start the blog. Easy.

Eileen: Yeah, but how do we do that?

Heidi: I don't know, let me do some research...

(buys Google Blogger for Dummies)

(starts reading LOTS of blogs - see list at left)

Heidi: I think I need to experiment with the platform, just to get used to it. I've wanted to start a blog about my horses anyway. Let me play around with it a little.

(CHROI AND ME is born. Posts 1-2 times a month. Learns format, keeps reading other blogs to see what works (pictures, humor) and what doesn't (too many pictures, too much text). Gets a follower (yeah!). Starts posting weekly, talks about it on Facebook, gets 6 followers (Super yeah!). This process takes almost a year of quietly plugging away in my -ha ha- spare time.)

Eileen: Ooh, great picture! Who is that?

Heidi: I don't know. Isn't she awesome? I found it at this site called Stock xchng (by user t. rolf.) Another useful web resource. We'll be able to use photos from there to illustrate people's stories.

Eileen: Cool!

Heidi: Yeah, and we'll have a group on flickr, where photographers can submit photos for us to use as well.

Eileen: Why would they do that?

Heidi: Well, a lot of very talented photographers are just starting out, and need to get their work out there, to be seen. They'll send people to our site, to showcase their work, and we'll link back to their gallery or home page, to direct business back to them.

Eileen: Can we do that with other businesses, too?

Heidi: Of course! It's called a Link Exchange. 

Eileen: Well, I love it.

Heidi: Me too.

Eileen: OK, now that we have our site up, how do we get people to go to it?

Heidi: We just have to start spreading the word. I can ask a few people in my writer's group for stories.

Eileen: We can get business cards, that way we can tell people about it when we're shopping, or at church. Well, when I'm at church anyway.

Heidi: Ha ha, yeah, pray for me, would ya?

Eileen: I already am.

Heidi: You and my mom. Anyways, cards are a good idea. I have a lot of regular customers at the grocery store who are Seniors, and they're pretty cool.

Eileen: I read about a Senior Expo coming up.

Heidi: Great idea! We can network. And we'll have to email everyone we know, and post it on Facebook. We need a Facebook page, too.

Eileen: Great! Now let's make a list of things we need to do.

A List:

• Create a cover letter explaining our mission statement 
• What we're about; how keeping up with technology can help Seniors stay active, and connected to their friends and family
• Connect with other Senior Citizen social networking sites
• Assisted living homes and Senior centers offer computer classes and workshops
• Caregivers can help Seniors stay active in their community
• Offer link and/or banner exchanges or advertising to businesses that cater to Seniors
• Heirloom memories, preserved for everyone
• Enjoy bringing people together by creating a community network
• Inspire discussion, interaction between Seniors and those who care for them and provide an online resource
• Give back, by donating a portion of ad revenue to a (TBD) charity, once SSP is profitable. 

Readers, you are our best resource for getting the word out. Senior Share Project is something we've been working on for awhile. We wanted to take our time with it so it would be something we could present to you with pride. We wholeheartedly believe the fact that our elders are one of our most under-appreciated assets. Senior Share Project is meant to spark discussion, bring generations together and get people to know and appreciate those who came before us. 

You can get started today! 

Next time you see your Favorite Old Person, ask them one simple question:

"What's your story?"

email your stories to: seniorshareproject@gmail.com

and visit the site for more info, or to read a story:

www.seniorshareproject.com

Thanks so much for reading and for your support. Please tell your friends, and send us your stories!

Heidi and Eileen

Next week: back to the horses!

New Year's Resolutions

Let me start by saying I dislike the idea of "Resolutions" for the New Year. I prefer to think of them as goals. A goal is something you strive for, look ahead to, work toward. A resolution just seems more... foreboding. You are resolving to do this. What happens if you don't? Dark clouds form above and lightning strikes your head? Rumpelstiltskin sneaks in and steals your first born? I'm always thinking of consequences. I don't know, maybe I'm a bit of a commitment-phobe.But on the other hand, when you have a goal to work for, the consequence is that you reach your goal.  Unless of course you don't reach your goal, but then nothing happens and your first born stays right where he is.So for me, personally, I like to have a few goals for the new year. Which isn't to say that I'm not inspired by other people's resolutions. A fitting example can be found in the comments of this PW post.Oh, and the Bransfordonians are having at it as well! Read on!My Goals for 2011:

1. Have Chroi and Keira professionally trained. After baby comes, that is! :)
2. Attend a yoga class more often. I recently discovered Yin Yoga*, and it is awesome; think deep stretching. (*if you can't find a Yin Yoga class near you, there is a great DVD available Here.)
3. Post at least once a week to this here blog.
4. Launch my second blog, Senior Share Project: a partnership with my friend Eileen. Check it out! If you have any special Seniors in your life (and you know you do) you'll love it.
5. Write more online articles. Click here to read my review of the movie Burlesque.
6. Get my eldest to college. Ugh, a biggie this year.
7. Get my youngest into a music and/or sports program.

And my biggest personal goal this year (drumroll please):FINISH WRITING MY BOOK!Ok, there it is. Yes, I am writing a book. I have been kind of quiet so far, only a few people know about it. The reason for this, as many writers know, is that once you tell people you are writing a book, then every time you see them, they'll ask you, "Hey, how's that book coming?" "When do I get a copy?" or "Hey, I thought you were writing a book..." And then you have to go through all the excuses as to why you cannot whip said book out of your briefcase and point to their name on the dedication page: "Uh, I'm still working on revisions..." "I've got a few queries out..." "I'm still looking for an agent...know any?"I don't even carry a briefcase.So my excuse is that I am still writing my book. Fifteen chapters and counting. But I am coming out of the writing closet, so to speak, and announcing it to the world (or to you, my four readers) that I AM writing a book, and hopefully my public acknowledgement of this will hold me accountable for the fact that now I have to finish it, that I cannot go another year planning on someday, when my book is finished... No, this is my signal of commitment.I, the commitment-phobe, am offering you the proverbial diamond ring and promising to you that I am going to finish this book, and that one day, after I find the perfect agent for a partner, who will find the perfect editor, and after hours and hours of labor we will give birth to two covers filled with many many pages of gripping adventure, a healthy dose of fantasy, a dash of romance, and a fulfilling conclusion, all wrapped together with a nice neat character arc.

Will you read me?

Not quite ready to say "Yes?" I understand. You don't know enough about this book. You're not ready to commit. What if it's a Vampire-Time-Travel-Alien-Western-Noir, and you're just not into that? Well, to further educate and entice you, my novel-to-be is a low fantasy (set in the real world, with elements of magic) adventure for 12-15 year old readers.The story was inspired by my dear Chroicoragh, during a visit out to the barn on a stormy night. My aforementioned friend, Eileen, always referred to Chroi as a Unicorn, and after a particularly impressive lightning strike during the storm, whose electric energy must have sparked the idea, I looked at Chroi and thought, "Hmm, what if  you really are a Unicorn?"And that's how ideas are born.  Lightning and magic.To even further entice you, here's an excerpt:

RUBY AND THE UNICORNRuby sat up, shrugged off the wool blanket that had protected her from the rain, and brushed damp hair out of her eyes. She looked up at Chroicoragh. Moonlight shone down on the mare, highlighting her silvery mane, and gleamed on her horn.

Her horn.

Standing up to get a closer look, Ruby examined it in awe. About as long as her arm, the horn shimmered with a pearly iridescence. Unable to refrain from touching it, she traced a finger along the smooth surface, which twisted whorl-like to a rapier-sharp point. Beautiful and dangerous, the horn made Ruby regard Chroicoragh with a new reverence. 

...

Chroicoragh looked at the girl, and the blue of her Unicorn eyes was the same blue where water meets sky: endless. Ruby stared back, lost in that horizon. She became transfixed in a vision -- no, more like a hundred visions, flashing past her like the view from a jaunty carousel, spinning around, trying to find faces in the crowd. Flickering shadow, light, shadow. An ancient forest; gossamer wings; a gypsy caravan; a storm at sea. A journey. Many journeys. Danger. 

All at once it hit her. She didn’t know why she knew, but she knew. 

Chroicoragh needed her.

That's just a small tidbit from somewhere in Chapter 10. I hope you like it, and that it will appeal to at least some of you, or someone you know. I will be working on this story, quietly in the background while maintaining my blogs, so hold it in the back of your mind, and I'll keep you posted as to relevant progress.I'll take all the good vibes I can get.

And here's to you and your New Year.

What's in store for you?