More Foraging....

My brother went mushroom hunting/picking again....

He brought me a chicken in the woods....

 The frisbee gives it some size perception

I cut it up and fried it with onions, bagged it and put it in the freezer....Next time I have a steak, I have my mushrooms and onions all set!!!

I went to a psychic....

My daughter told me that I am not supposed to go to a psychic...it is against our religion.....

It IS against our religion....

But I had to go.....

I needed to talk to my dad and see what he had to say....

And the funny thing is that I didn't initiate it....

A friend (the psychic) told me that my dad is trying to get in touch with us (we knew he would - he told us he would).....

So, my brother and my sister and my other sister and my mom went.....(and they are more religious than I am!)

Totally against our religion and yet so freaking fulfilling.....

It brought peace and strength and happiness to us......I wish I could explain it all....Nonno was there and so was Gianni and so was Nonni and so many other people (and yet so many weren't there, either)....

And I will go again!

I miss you terribly, daddy and yet I am so happy that you know what is going on down here.......more than I do (apparently!).


(I need to go to confession)

Florida

We just booked a trip and we are taking my mom to FL in a few months for some much needed R & R.  Hopefully, by then, things will have calmed down and we will have all my dad's ducks in a row and all her ducks in a row and we can begin the healing process......



I have something to look forward to and I am happy!

Masses

We are Catholic.... We attend Mass every Sunday and believe in saying Masses for the dead.

My dad received over 100 Mass cards from different Perpetual Societies and different groups from so many different people.  We thank them immensely.  We believe that masses help the dead to get to heaven.

But the masses that will be said at our local churches are just incredible.  We have one a week for the first six months of 2012 at my parents church.  We had our first mass on Wednesday night from my priest that I work for in a town near us.  We have one coming up this weekend at OUR church....then there is a lull, until 2012 and then we begin one a week, every week.

Dad, we believe you are in heaven already, but if you aren't yet, you sure as heck will be very soon!!! :)

CSA Week #4

Here is the full share that I will be splitting with my sister tomorrow......

Full Share:

1 bunch of green onions
1 bunch radishes
1 bunch hakurei turnips
1 large greenhouse cucumber
1/2 lb bag leaf lettuce mix
1 lb bag asian/braising mix
2 heads of lettuce
1 Large Bok Choy
2 bunches curly kale
2 bunches collard greens
1 head escarole
1 pint of strawberries
2 2 inch herbs (parsley and chives)

I already have parsley and chives so I'll give both of them to her.....I get the strawberries this week! :)

Another great week at Stone Gardens! 

Flowers from the yard

This was my yard two weeks ago, when we had some sun, before the ten days of rain.....

 Wild roses on the fence

 Peonies near the fence

 Red roses about to bloom

 Pink roses in bloom

 Marigolds and begonias

Topsy Turvy tomato!

Summer

Summer has finally arrived!  I am hoping that it will be a good one....

We haven't had a good winter, nor a good spring, so the odds are in our favor that summer has to be GREAT! 

Praying for sunshine and warmth!

Memories

Please indulge me.....

Dad and Chris in their matching Christmas robes

 Dad and my sister

 Dad and my niece

 Dad and my other niece,

 Dad and some of his grandchildren on his birthday last year (July 20)

 Making ravioli for Thanksgiving

 Dad and Mom with their 15 grandchildren at the baptism of the trips.

 Cape Cod last summer

Mom and dad.

Happy Father's Day, Dad!  I pray it is a great day in Heaven with Nonno Carloni and Nonno Ferretti and all the other dads (friends of yours) up there!  We miss you terribly down here.....

Happy Birthday Hope

It is my daughter's 17th birthday today!

Happy Birthday Hope!



Today, we also have a huge graduation party to attend - three nieces and nephews on my hubby's side - one niece from college and one niece and one nephew from high school! 

Congratulations to Danielle, Nicholas and Deanna!  The best of luck at your new job (Danielle) and at Springfield College and the College of Charleston for the others!!  

A new blog to visit

My friend Catie (a great cook!) has started her own blog What happens in the Kitchen

Please visit her as she has some great recipes and since her and I use the same CSA,  I'm lucky to be able to follow those recipes....I'll be the taste tester!

 

Repost of Bean/Kale Soup

Reposted from August, 2010

So, I went on the internet and this is what I found. But I changed it up a bit......

At least a quarter cup of olive oil - maybe a little more.
I used four cloves of garlic (large) (CSA)
1 Large onion (CSA)
3 Cups of chopped kale (CSA)
2 -1/2 quarts of vegetable broth (or chicken broth if you have it)
2 cans of beans - cannellini (I use the white beans, but if you have a preference, use them)
Two very large, very ripe tomatoes, chopped(CSA)
2 tsps basil, parsley
Salt and pepper.



In a soup pot, put oil and garlic and onion. Saute until soft.
Add Kale and continue to saute.
Add the vegetable broth, 2 cups of beans and all the rest of the ingredients.
Simmer for about 1/2 hour (the original recipe said 5 minutes??)

Then take the rest of the beans and put them in a large mortar and pestle and smash them into a paste and add that to the soup to thicken. The recipe says to simmer for 15 minutes more. I let mine cook for 1-1/2 hours more.
It was delicious!!!!!!

CSA Week #3, 2011

Here is what we are getting this week (Catie - if you want it to be a surprise, please don't read any farther!)

They are also giving us strawberries from Jones Farm.......

Full Share: 1 bunch of green onions 1 Large Bok Choy 1 bunch toscano kale 2 bunches curly kale 1 bunch swiss chard 2 bunches of radishes 4 kohlrabi 1/2 lb bag leaf lettuce mix 1 lb bag asian/braising mix 1 head red deer tongue 2 heads red leaf lettuce 1 head romaine lettuce 1 head buttercrunch or green leaf lettuce 1 2 inch herb (sage, oregano, or thyme) I'm hoping for thyme because I have the other two herbs already.  My sister is getting the strawberries this week.  We are eating a lot of salads, so we are using it up, but it is a lot of greens.  Thank goodness for par-cooking and freezing!  I will have enough greens in the freezer again to last a long while! I will post my Kale/Bean Soup this week.  I thought I had it in the recipe section but it is not there, so it will be up, hopefully by Friday!

Freebies

I didn't get a lot of free stuff this past month.  That is because I wasn't on the computer as much as I usually am,  the month before (I had a lot going on!).  It usually takes about 4-6 weeks after requesting things for the samples to come in.

Power Bar Brand - Protein Plus Bites
Shampoo and Conditioner Sample (Garnier)
Pantene Conditioner only
Mini Wheats cereal sample
Cottenelle wipes - full size
Purex Laundry Detergent Sample
Garnier Face Cream
Osteo Bi-Flex Sample
Arm and Hammer toothpaste
Miralax - two samples

I also got a brand new Quiche pan from William Sonoma....I taught my girlfriend how to make jam and she gave me a new pan for a gift - I can't wait to use it!  (I just counted - I have thirty-eight eggs in the fridge - it is TIME to make quiche!)

Captain

My daughter made captain of her high school cheerleading squad.  There were 14 seniors, and the coaches picked four girls to be co (quad)-captains.

Happy daughter, makes a happy household!

Family

 We have not been all together since 2002 and before that, I couldn't tell you when...These are all the first cousins on my mom's side.  They all came to my dad's wake.  Coming from Cape Cod, other parts of Mass, Maryland, Arizona and Florida.  It was so wonderful to see them all.  Even though we lived in a different state as kids(Mass. and CT), we would go up to visit all of them once a month.  We were as close as can be and still are by way of e-mail and Facebook!  I LOVE them all and miss them too.


The picture below is my mom and her brother and two sisters (the parents of us all above).  They have always been close to each other and because they were close, they kept us close.   I have nothing but love and respect for these folks who raised us.

My dad would have been happy to see us all together........Family was important to him!

CSA #2 for Friday

I never had the opportunity to take pictures last week of my first CSA, I will try this week!

This is what we will be getting in our box (my sister and I will split it!)

Full Share: 1 bunch of radishes and hakurei (salad) turnips 1 bunch kale 1 bunch dandelion greens 2  kohlrabi (purple & green) 1/2 lb asian mix 1/2 lb leaf lettuce mix 2 heads romaine lettuce 2 heads lettuce (either red or green leaf and buttercrunch) 2 bok choy 2 heads of escarole 2  2 inch basil plants 1  2 inch  herb (sage, oregano, or thyme) 1  4 inch rosemary plant

A Party

Life as I know it has totally changed, but I will adjust....but it is going to take some time.

This past Sunday, I had scheduled my son's graduation party from college.  It had been planned for a couple of months and I know my dad would not have wanted me to cancel it.

So, I put myself on auto pilot and with the help of my brother in law, Dan and a good friend, Kathy....and the rest of my family, we did it!

93 people fed and watered (hah!) and enjoying and my son was very happy...which made it all worth while!

 Cake

Desserts....(I forgot to take pictures of all the food, but there was a LOT!)

 Food Tent and hubby's side of the family

 The cutest Nonni in the world.

 Family and friends!

 There were two parties going on...a front yard and a back yard party (the kids were all in the front yard with their own tent, tables and chairs, keg, and games)

And my 99 year old Nonni who was a little cold (it was about 67 degrees) and we put the Steeler blanket on her....She is fab!

First CSA of 2011

I pick up the first CSA today at noon....pictures to follow...

Something happy to look forward to!!!   :)