Visions of Vidalias Danced in My Head

What do you daydream about when your mind has the luxury to wander aimlessly?  I do some of my best creative thinking on a spin bike at the Bounds Family YMCA.  My body responds automatically to the commands of the drill sergeant (I love them all) in charge that day, leaving my imagination free to tiptoe happily in any direction it chooses.  Not so long ago when I was doing church work full time, I could put together whole sermons during a one hour class.  The research and preparation I had done was stashed in various corners of my thought-life so I was able to pick up a little idea from here, a vague notion from there, a jolt of inspiration from some other recess of my mind until a pattern or narrative began to coalesce.  It was not unusual for me to leave my hour of exercise fully ready to go back to my office and hammer out a 20 minute sermon.  Mind you, this was after several days of reading and research and "grinding" without finding the single thread that would take me from start to finish.  The grunt work had been done--I was just looking for that spark of inspiration.


Many of us do our best problem solving when our minds have the chance to float untethered for a spell.  Others watch creative ideas rise to the surface, catching a strand of inspiration that gives birth to something bright and new.  Some will allow their minds to meander back in time to memorable moments in the past.  Many will have thoughts of loved ones occupy the space created, wondering and wanting and wishing all sorts of good things for those who hold their heartstrings.  Hope is a marvelous commodity and one of the good gifts God bestows on those who give their HEART space over to him.  Most of our daydreams harbor some element of hopefulness, working through what is and imagining something in the future that is a little bit better, for ourselves, for the ones we love, for our environment and community.  Hope is only a breath away from prayer, and prayer is the most sacred communion we have with our Creator, allowing our thoughts to grasp hold of the will and ways of the One who is always higher, other, stronger and ABLE.  When hope gives way to prayer, anything is possible.  Hope actualized as prayer reminds us that all things may not be made whole and beautiful and perfect in this lifetime.  As a matter of fact, they most certainly will not.  But hope allows us to take hold of the love of our Creator, who came before and will still BE after, and embrace the long view of creation, a view that promises us that in God's economy, all things will be made new and whole ULTIMATELY.

John 14:27  "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."


I've done gone to preaching, so now let's talk a little bit about food.  Sometimes when I am not engrossed in deep theological pondering and my legs are spinning madly to keep my cardiovascular system healthy in spite of my predilection for decadent dining, my thoughts meander curiously through my kitchen, checking the pantry and refrigerator for hidden jewels.  As I did just that in a recent spin class, I thought about a big box of Vidalia onions my husband brought home and placed as an offering upon the food preparation altar.  He receives such a box annually from a generous business associate, God bless him!  My efforts not to let those lovely ghostly white orbs go to waste is the culinary equivalent of a fast and furious spin class.  How wrong it is to let even one of those Vidalias perish without having given its loveliness over to some flavorful delicacy!  So the dilemma of the day is what to do with a Vidalia or two.  I tried to think about how a Vidalia looks and feels and smells and tastes.  It is a completely different animal from the small yellow onions I use for cooking the rest of the year, mild and mellow and much less pungent.  It occurred to me that a well-matched companion to a Vidalia onion would be some of the seasonal sweet corn now in abundance at the markets. 

I thought about other ingredients just hanging around in my refrigerator and knew there was a poblano pepper, plenty of carrots and celery and some heavy cream left over from my week of ice cream blogging (it's a dirty job, but somebody had to do it.)  I decided I wanted a little protein added to the mix, so what better friend for my veggies than some good quality bacon.  I happen to LOVE the thick sliced Conecuh bacon produced just a few miles up I-65, so now I've got a real party about to happen in a pot.  (Do you see why I have to spin?  The whole time I'm exercising I'm contemplating sizzling bacon fat and heavy cream.  There is something seriously wrong with me!)


So, anyway, while the Silver King and Queen corn is still stellar, give this a try.  It seems somehow counter-intuitive to make hot soup this time of year, but with the addition of a little fresh cilantro and a garnish of sour cream or crumbled goat cheese to cool things down, it works nicely with the summer heat. 


Poblano Corn Chowder 


2 pieces bacon
2 Tb. butter
1 medium Vidalia onion, chopped
1 poblano pepper, diced
3 ribs celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
6 ears worth sliced corn, milky part scraped off along with it!
2 cups chicken broth (reserve 1/4 cup)
1 cup heavy cream
2 tsp. sugar
2 Tb. flour
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste


1.  Chop bacon into 2 inch pieces and fry in a large pot.  Use a slotted spoon to remove bacon when it is crisp.  Set aside.
2.  Add butter to the bacon grease in the pot along with the onion, poblano pepper, celery and carrot.  Saute until soft, about 5-6 minutes.
3.  Add the corn, chicken broth (except 1/4 cup), cream, sugar and cayenne pepper.  Simmer about 15 minutes to blend flavors.
4.  Mix flour with reserved 1/4 cup of broth.  Mix well with a small whisk and add to the pot, stirring as the soup thickens.
5.  Add the cilantro and simmer about 5 more minutes.  Add salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste.
6.  Serve garnished with sour cream OR crumbled goat cheese AND crumbled bacon.

Note:  If you want to add some raw shrimp to this, it would be a VERY good idea.  You would do this in "Step 5" at the same time you add the cilantro.  I would lean toward using the sour cream instead of the goat cheese for garnish if you are using shrimp in the recipe.   

My Nemesis, the Cantaloupe

For the life of me, I can't buy a cantaloupe. I don't know why this skill evades me, but the cantaloupe and I seem to be at loggerheads. Now, I know the advice you want to give me because I have researched the subject endlessly. I have stood observantly next to my mother in the grocery store as she chooses a perfectly perfect melon. I have prevailed upon little grandmotherly women next to me at the farm stand to show me their best techniques. I have mined the knowledge of the internet to see if there is some elusive secret hiding itself from me. And still, I fail to find the fragrant melon that will propel me out of the ranks of the amateur produce shopper.

You who are in the know will probably fall into one of four camps as you seek to offer your secrets of success. Some of you will tell me to pick the cantaloupe up and see if it is heavy for its size. Others of you swear by the thump test, seeking to hear a dense and thick rather than hollow sound. Still others will advise me to press the end opposite the stem end to make sure it gives a little. And most of you will quote the conventional wisdom which is to inhale deeply of the cantaloupe's particular aroma and determine if it smells like--you guessed it--rich, ripe, juicy cantaloupe. I've tried all these methods and invariably, I bring home my prize only to slice it open and find the mushy, mealy, not-quite-there, should-have stayed on the vine another day or two cantaloupe. It is my lot to be disappointed!

Just this past week, I visited Windmill Market to check out the farmers' goods who gather there on Thursday afternoons. I spent time visiting with a Baldwin County farmer who had just picked his cantaloupes that morning. Together, we lifted, thumped, pressed and sniffed until we agreed upon the best candidate for that evening's supper. Admittedly, I was there late in the day after other shoppers had already lifted, thumped, pressed and sniffed and most likely skimmed off the prime offerings, but STILL, I had high hopes. Later that evening when I sliced into the cantaloupe and took a taste test, my hopes were dashed and I was denied the satisfaction, once again, of a succulent summer melon. Rats! Paul agreed whole-heartedly that I had missed the mark, so there we were, stuck with a plateful of chunked cantaloupe, all dressed up with nowhere to go.

I may not be very skilled at choosing prime melons, but I do have one skill I rely on quite often in life and in the kitchen. When life gives me lemons, I know how to make lemonade. Or when the farmer and I choose a not-quite-ready for prime time cantaloupe, I know how to make cantaloupe soup. Thanks to Chef Deese Chatwood from the Grand Hotel and a recent cooking class he taught at the Village Peddler featuring summer soups, I have a simple and sumptuous recipe and generally have all the ingredients on hand in my pantry, in my herb garden and refrigerator. By the way, this one is a healthy offering. Perhaps I am paying penance for one too many bowls of peach ice cream!

Mint and Melon Soup

(large batch directions listed in parenthesis)

1 cantaloupe or other melon (3 melons)

Juice of one lemon (1/2 cup fresh lemon juice)

2 Tb. sugar (1/2 cup)

1/4 cup honey (3/4 cup)

1 cup vanilla yogurt (3 cups)

2 Tb. Sauterne (1/2 cup) or Grand Marnier or Triple Sec

salt to taste

mint to taste, about 2 Tbs. for small batch (up to about 1/4 cup for large batch)

julienned prosciutto ham for garnish

1. Chunk up the melon and put into a blender. Add lemon, sugar, honey, yogurt and a dash of salt and blend until smooth. Taste for sweetness and add more honey, sugar or salt as necessary.

2. Add torn mint leaves and pulse in the blender. You don't want to turn the soup green. It is better to add a small amount to begin with and then add more according to your own taste.

3. Refrigerate the soup and serve cold with prosciutto for garnish. Soup will need to be whisked a bit as ingredients will have separated some while in the refrigerator.

Notes: I used the yogurt I had on hand, which was Greek-style flavored with honey almond. Since it was already sweetened, I reduced the sugar a bit. Chef Deese brought a very expensive and luscious Sauterne from the Grand to use in the soup and treated us the night of our class. I had Grand Marnier on hand, and used that with very pleasing results.

Serving ideas: I served this in some of my nicest china coffee cups. I'd say the small batch would feed about 4-6. We had this as an appetizer one night as I was cooking supper and it was the perfect prelude to an evening meal, tiding us over a bit but leaving us wanting more!

Like Sands Through the Hour Glass...

I can still scrunch up my eyes and hear Macdonald Carey proclaiming these words as an almost sacred invocation each day as viewers prepared to spend an hour with the folks of Salem, "Like sands through the hour glass, so are the Days of our Lives." Oh yes, I was a soap opera baby, raised on certain "stories" by both maternal and paternal grandmothers who would be nowhere else mid-day than catching up on the lives of the Horton clan. I'm not sure what understanding of time these words were meant to evoke. Was Mr. Carey, who portayed the patriarch of the Horton clan, saying time moved quickly in Salem like sand quickly, inevitably, inexorably filling the bottom of the glass? Or was he proposing that the days passed by slowly, just as the sand slipped bit by bit, one grain at a time, from the top to the bottom of the glass? If the drama itself gives us any clues, it would probably be "both / and." Why, the characters could spend days in a hospital room moving a single conversation forward tiny inch by inch. Or, conversely, a child could be born this summer, out of wedlock of unsure parentage, of course, and next summer he would be the latest teenage heartthrob drawing in a new generation of young viewers. Time in Salem actually moved ahead by rapid fits and starts one day and with bone-crushing inertia for the next several.

I lost my sweet Daddy last August and I remember as clearly as yesterday what he told me one day, not too long before he died, as we sat around his kitchen table. He said that time goes by more and more quickly the older you get. Little did I know how prophetic that statement would be and how often I have thought of it since. What I wouldn't give for one more day!

The life God gives us on this earth is indeed fleeting. While it seems almost cliche to say so, the magnitude of the truth it reflects bears repetition. As my husband often says, this is not a dress rehearsal. There are some times in life when we only get one chance to get it right. I am grateful for God's grace in any and all circumstances and I am quite sure I worship the God of second chances, but I also know there are times when we "get it wrong" and grace can only allow us to make amends and choose better the next time. If we had a "do-over", we would have much preferred on all fronts to get it right the first time.

Long ago when I still clocked my time in a secular job, I worked for a very wise man named Hugh Morton. He was a keen philosopher who got it right on so many fronts. He also allowed that time moved much too quickly and said what we need to do in order to slow it down is "mark" time. "Marking" time, he said, was doing anything out of the ordinary that created a memory and separated a segment of time from the same old comfortable day-in-and-day-out routine. He accomplished that in his own life by climbing mountains. Big mountains. He had a list of the highest peaks and was marking them off his list one by one. After a day of mortgage banking in our little building at the corner of West Peachtree and Third Street in Atlanta, he would pick up a backpack full of weights and head over to the Bell South Tower and train by walking up and down the stairwells. His example of seizing life helped give me the courage to leave that job and go on to seminary. God was clearly kicking me in the pants and urging me in that direction, and with godly wisdom He surrounded me with folks like Hugh who showed me what it looks like to "mark" time.

Can you think back to your own childhood and remember the things that marked time for you? Paul and I marvel at how the Sunday afternoon drive was such a treat for both of our respective families when we were kids. How fun it was just to pile in the car, destination mostly unknown and see where you ended up. In my family, my dad would mark time for us in the summers by coming home from work, loading us in the car and taking us to Lake Lanier for a swim. It didn't take much then to mark time and I find it still doesn't. Quite often, a food-oriented treat can mark time. (Inevitable that I would end up talking about food, right? All roads...)

I got an email from Amazon recently telling me I needed to buy THIS to make my summer special.

I wholeheartedly agreed with Amazon (link to Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker here.) The folks there know me all too well! It is lovely how they anticipate my buying needs. I have two ice cream makers tucked away in storage, neither of which is exactly like this one, neither of which is exactly accessible at this point, so I decided what is one more ice cream maker, anyway? As I contemplated homemade ice cream, a flood of special memories came back from my childhood. My mom made peach ice cream every summer that was killer good and killer special. Anyone can buy a quart of ice cream at the grocery store, but you MARK time when the whole family participates in making it at home. My sister, Sharon, and I would help make the ice cream mix. That meant peeling and chopping peaches, helping my mom make the custard-style base which started out stove-top and WAITING on it to cool down in the refrigerator before making the ice cream. My dad orchestrated the technical part which meant having crushed ice and rock salt at the ready and finding wherever we had stored the ice cream churn the last time we made it. Anticipation definitely helped make this into a special event in our home. Once the mix went into the canister and the churn was plugged in, the waiting began in earnest. It took a good half hour for the churn to do its magic, and then we had to let it "cure," when all I really wanted to do was open the canister, grab a spoon and work my way to the bottom!

The summer is flying by and the peaches (Windmill Market) are at their best, so now seems like a good time to slow things down and orchestrate an ice cream event in your home. We've had several special ice cream moments in our house already as I try to eke out my money's worth from this new kitchen toy. Paul is particularly irked that I waited 14 years of marriage before making this "family specialty" for him. His memories of homemade ice cream are of the "dump it all in the canister" kind which tends to come out grainy and milky and sugary with little of the texture you really want from ice cream. This recipe was a real find! My mother came across it in some magazine that touted it as "Thomas Jefferson's recipe." I've done some research and would say this is a refined version of Tom's recipe. The mix sans peaches would make an excellent vanilla base for all sorts of frozen concoctions. I've got about a dozen in my head, but so far can't get past the plethora of peaches pining for my attention! Make this, make a memory, mark time and the ones you serve will think you are pretty special and that they are too, since you took the time to make it for them.

Homemade Peach Ice Cream

To make 1-1/2 Quarts

(Instructions for a big-daddy churn in parenthesis)

1-1/2 tsp. Knox gelatin (1 package)

1 cup buttermilk (2 cups)

1/2 cup sugar + 2 Tb. for peaches (1 cup + 1/4 cup)

1 egg, beaten well in a small bowl (1 egg)

dash salt (1/4 tsp.)

3 cups heavy cream (6 cups)

1/2 tsp. vanilla (1 Tb.)

1 cup mashed peaches (2 cups)

1. Begin with a double boiler, or better yet, a small saucepan and a stainless steel bowl that will just fit on top of the pan. Bring about an inch of water to a simmer in the bottom pan. Off the heat in either the top part of the double boiler or the bowl, mix the gelatin, buttermilk and sugar (1/2 or 1 cup). Put on top of the water and let the milk heat until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is pretty hot.

2. Add the hot buttermilk mixture to the beaten egg slowly, about a tsp. at a time, whisking with a fork until you have added about 1/2 cup. Then return the egg and milk mixture to the rest of the mixture still over the simmering water and let it heat and thicken slowly, for about 2-3 minutes. (This step is to resolve the "raw egg" issue. In the old days, we just added the buttermilk mixture slowly to the beaten egg off the heat.)

3. Pour the hot mixture into a bowl and add the salt, vanilla and cream.

4. Refrigerate until well-chilled, at least about 2 hours. If you are using an ice cream maker with a frozen canister, this step is crucial. If the mixture is still warm, it will start to thaw the canister and the ice cream won't make properly. (If you are using the old-fashioned churn with the ice and rock salt, go ahead and add the peaches mixed with the reserved sugar at this point and let all chill together.)

5. If you are using an ice cream maker like mine, mix the peaches with the sugar and let it sit for a few minutes. Pour off the juice and add to the cream mixture. Refrigerate the peaches so they will be cold, too.

6. Process according to your ice cream maker's instructions. If you are using a frozen canister-type maker like mine, you will want to wait and add the peaches after the mixture is quite thick, probably in the last 5 minutes of churning. For the traditional maker, make sure you let the ice cream cure in the canister for awhile. In my Cuisinart maker, it is still a bit soft when it is done. It tastes great just like that, but if you want it to freeze up a bit, put it all in a container and let it rest in the freezer for awhile.

Note: For variations, leave out the peaches and the accompanying sugar and substitute a like amount of whatever strikes your fancy. Suggestions--heath bar bits, chocolate chips, crushed Oreos, strawberries or other fruit (add back the sugar.)

This will keep for at least a week in the freezer and still be quite good, but I'm betting you won't get the chance to find out!

Lovin' those Leftovers!

Truth be known, I'm not that nuts about leftovers. In our house we have found bringing leftovers home from a restaurant is really just an attempt to postpone feeling guilty about our wastefulness. Put the leftovers in a container, put them out of sight for a day or two and then into the garbage they go. More and more as I become conscientious about my "carbon footprint" and try to eat and cook mindfully, responsibly and respectfully, it seems unconscionable to spend 20 minutes or so a week throwing things out of the refrigerator because they have outlived their usefulness.

On the radio today I heard this statistic: the average American family throws out $500 worth of food a year! Of course, that was in an advertisement for refrigerator storage bags and I thought about spending some quality time fact checking on the internet, but the painful truth would still remain. I need only look at my own habits to know I waste way too much food. So these days I am looking for ways to love those leftovers. I'd rather not just eat a re-run of the same thing I had last night, and hubby dearest? No way! So creativity is the name of the game. It doesn't even have to be that creative--just a different package of sorts.

Our fourth of July feast netted a serious abundance of pulled pork. Paul is a master outdoor cook and will quickly show you his credentials as a graduate of Pork-U in Kennesaw, GA. He knows his way around a Big Green Egg (picture included for those of you not knowledgable in the finer accoutrements of butt-smoking.) Pulled pork actually freezes very well, but the problem is the freezer part of our rental house refrigerator is about the size of your average dorm room refrigerator. A big part of the space is taken up with ice trays--yes, ice trays--remember those? We have some nicely vacuum packed fish filets from our last offshore trip (we don't catch it if we aren't going to eat it.) And then there are three packs of some very fine homemade meatballs. THERE IS NO ROOM IN THE INN. What to do, what to do??

When in doubt, what about tacos? I would be a big fat liar if I put forth some pretense here that a taco is an option of last resort. If there is one food I could eat almost daily, it would be Mexican something or Tex-Mex or Cali-Mex or Laura-Mex. I first had a BBQ Pork Taco at a lovely little Mexican purveyor in Atlanta called Taqueria del Sol. If you have never been to Taqueria del Sol, run, don't walk, don't pass go, but GO the very next time you are in Atlanta. I'm angling for a trip this Friday night when we are in town very briefly for a wedding. The "Memphis" is a pulled pork taco adorned with a smattering of jalapeno slaw and tequila BBQ sauce. I generally pair one Memphis with one Fish Taco, a trio of way cool salsas, guacamole and Eddie's turnip greens. Then I haul my stuffed self out to the car complaining the whole way because I ate too much!

So the idea of a BBQ taco isn't mine. I don't know exactly how they make theirs at Taqueria del Sol, but I'll tell you what I suggest you do with your leftover BBQ. Hopefully, you made too much coleslaw, too, so you can add that. But if you don't have any slaw, just shave a little cabbage and sprinkle it over the pork and you'll accomplish the same thing. You will also see on the list below a lovely little version of BBQ sauce common here in Alabama made with a mayonnaise base. Yes, it is WHITE BBQ sauce, and it is finger licking, lip smacking good and the perfect cool counterpoint to smoky, peppery pulled pork. So, assemble these items:

leftover pulled pork

leftover coleslaw or shaved cabbage

White BBQ Sauce (recipe follows)

jalapeno peppers

traditional style BBQ sauce OR Tabasco-type hot sauce (try Frank's!!)

corn tortillas (love these corn tortillas found at Publix)

Heat the pork (microwave is fine) and the tortillas. Put about 1/4-1/2 cup of pork on each tortilla. Drizzle pork with a little of each sauce. Layer about a tablespoon of slaw over the pork. Top with 3 jalapenos per taco. Roll tortilla into a nice little package and consume in about 3-4 bites. Feel very pious because you are reducing your carbon footprint by not wasting food!

White Sauce

Whisk together the following:

3/4 cup good quality mayonnaise

1/4 cup cider vinegar

juice of 1/2 lemon

1-1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp. horseradish

1/4 tsp. creole mustard (or other spicy brown mustard)

This Little Figgy Went to Market

I must confess that I have been unfaithful. I had been waiting so patiently for the local fig crop to come in. Why, just this past Saturday, I cornered the folks at Allegri Farm Market and DEMANDED to know when the first Baldwin County figs could be expected. I was urged to be patient a bit longer and expect them to arrive around the middle of July--such a very long time to wait. I have big plans for figs this year! Last year was going to be my inaugural run at making homemade fig preserves. The attempt was a complete and utter disaster. I will write more about that when I accomplish a successful run at the task later on this summer. I WILL not let this age old art beat me--I shall be victorious over the vat of boiling figs and sugar, rest assured.

But alas, during a recent visit to Publix, there in the produce section, flaunting themselves in the very first bin so I couldn't miss the subtle winks and posturing, were the black mission figs from California. How dare they flirt with me so blatantly, knowing I am counting the days and trying with all the self control I can muster to be faithful to the local crop. I looked surreptitiously all around me, and seeing no locavore sentinel standing close by to approve or disapprove of my actions, I lost all willpower and added them to my cart. I never looked back. I smiled all the way home, knowing what I had to do. Ripe and succulent figs would be making an early appearance at our house! I could hardly wait to get them home.

Figs are great prepared about a thousand different ways. And I intend to try all thousand over the next few weeks. One of my favorite things to do is toss them in a salad. Better yet, use them to make salad dressing AND toss some fresh figs in the salad! Give this a try:

Fresh Fig Vinaigrette

1 large, fresh ripe fig, quartered

1/4 tsp salt

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 small shallot, quartered

1/3 cup olive oil

This recipe needs to be made in a small food processor or a blender. Pulse together the fig, salt, shallot and vinegar until combined. Add the olive oil in a slow and steady stream while the blender or food processor is running until all is emulsified. The resulting vinaigrette will look a bit like a strawberry milkshake.

For the Salad

For each individual serving, arrange one quartered fig over your choice of salad greens. Next, drizzle with the dressing. Goat cheese is wonderful sprinkled over the fig pieces, however, when I took my fresh goat cheese out of the refrigerator, it resembled gorgonzola. While a slight bluish green tint on gorgonzola is expected, it is most unexpected and unwelcome on goat cheese so that container went straight into the lovely receptacle under the sink awaiting such refrigerator surprises. So I went rambling in my refrigerator and found a wedge of nicely aged Italian Parmesan. As long as I am NOT eating local, I might as well go all the way. I added a few shavings of Parmesan to each salad and served! Toasted walnuts would be right at home on this salad, as well.

To assuage all guilt, I have rationalized this rendezvous with California figs as good practice for the local crop yet to come. Look for much more on figs later!