Thursday, October 16, 2014

I have been reading Anne Levesque's cookbook for a while now and I was excited to try Lee's chicken and dumplings.  I knew Lee the last few years of her life.  She worked for the Smith family for many years and lived next door to Kara.  Lee was a phenomenal cook so I was intimidated for sure when I tried this recipe.  I happened to have a whole chicken, lots of salt and buttermilk on hand.  I did change her recipe by adding buttermilk to the dumplings because they rolled out dry.  I added about two more tablespoons of salt and pepper to the broth and some to the dumpling too. It was delicious and was fabulous leftover too.  Can I get Chloe to try it? No, she's still in her PICKY eating mode which drives me crazy.  Ya'll know I can eat anytime, anywhere and almost (almost) anything.

I've added some extra photos of what we've all been up to :)

I like the orange Flatlander logo

As her recipe says, roll it out thin...

I'm not going to retype her recipe as I usually do, this photo
is all there is to the recipe, it's a good photo and notice Anne Levesque's
note, "it's almost impossible to replicate the dumplings as Lee
made them.  Don't say I didn't warn you."

This is a pre-start photo of the first
Arkansas Delta Flatlander 66 mile
ride...Jackie and I rolled out for the 40
mile ride and it was fun until....the
stinking wind.  Nice ride put on the
Harahan Bridge Project director
Greg Maxted. I should blog about
the I-55 bridge that will become a
bicycle and pedestrian bridge in two
years connecting Memphis with Arkansas.
It's really exciting.  Jackie and I've ridden over
several bridges over the Mississippi and
Missouri rivers.  It's a wonderful thing
for tourism :)

Thank the LORD above for finally
finding Chica (now Lilly) a forever
home in Memphis.  Thanks to
Facebook too.  She's living with
Tara and John Burton and Emmy in
Midtown.  This is Chica and Buddy
two days before she left.  Chica was
really cool.  

Wynne's Walking School Bus celebrated National Walk to
School Day again Oct. 8.  We had a small turn out with the
clouds and sprinkles but had a great time :)

The cover of Anne Levesque's cookbook she
gave us last year.  It's full of traditions and photos
of her family.  It's crazy that she and Ed live less
than a mile from where I grew up in Oklahoma
City. Small world, great family, great cookbook :)

Garden Update and Jackie's Birthday Party, Birdeye

What's left of the herbs and peppers

I have to top the beds with chicken wire to keep the ladies out

We still have Chica and ding dong ding-a-ling Buddy
Check out Chica deciding to NOT get in that bed thankfully

The arugula is coming up...this is about 10 days 

Last week was spirit week and
here's Chloe for 80's day (supposed to be
teased hair and Flashdance outfit lol)

This is a pretty good looking nerd!  She
added her dad's thick Razorback tie :)

Thursday, Oct. 9, 2014

I finally got 4-1/2 beds seeded with Kale, Arugula, Mustard Greens and Romaine.  I'm fired up.  I generally plant greens by mid September but it's been so dang hot and dry and busy that I just got around to doing it.

We also celebrated Jackie's 44th birthday.  We had spaghetti and sang and played a Tonight show game.  It was a fabulous time.

Jackie's birthday party was a great time..I can't believe I didn't get a
photo of the shirt Chloe gave him.  She found it at Walmart last
weekend, it's Oloft from Frozen on a Beach with "Chillin" on it.
Kara's crew and Jeanie brought pretty impressive birthday cards
for him..I'm going to have to up my game on my cards :)

Chloe was extremely proud of icing his cake and drawing on it

We are big fans of the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and
we copied off of one of his games.  This is called Box of Lies
Here's Martin and Jeanie

How it works is each player gets a shoe box with 2 mystery
items inside and has to say what is in it and the other person
tries to decide if they're telling the truth about the items or
telling a lie....Kara and Jackie played it well

Here's August helping them along...he did slip and say out
loud what was in his mom's box

Lemme say that strawberry cake we made for Jackie was
weird.  It was as if I left out sugar or something....I did
make it with gluten free flour but I made it that way
last year....we threw it away right after the party

Stella and Whit.....they had a good time.

Chloe and Whit

Martin and Jeanie got in on the fun

Chloe and Audrey last weekend.  They are so sweet!

Stella vs. Chloe....

Chloe vs. August....the game was a huge HIT!

South on Main, Little Rock

Chloe took this shot at 6:45 am.  She and Stella had a blast
making Imovies and hanging out at the Hampton Inn.  Here's
Bob, me, Kara and Polly

Dang it if many of my photos are blurry, but I love taking shots
over my shoulder.  That's Polly and Bob behind me on the
Two Rivers Park Bridge about 7:30 am

My selfie with my phone before the ride started, thank
goodness for overcast skies

Sunday school has started up and we go by and get
Julia and John B Shepherd and take them with us.  They
are so sweet and we love having them.

Two weeks ago Chloe and Anna Claire helped me work a
PTSA membership booth before the high school football game.
We did get a few memberships but the most popular thing about
our booth was that big ole basket of candy!  lol
Here's front: Kip Patterson, Will Hood, Anna Claire Dallas, Chloe
Back row I'm not sure who those girls are with Camille Cathey :)

Jackie and I've done the Cooper Young 4 Miler over in Memphis
the last 4 years.  It was another great, well run event.  I was
very surprised with my time of 38 minutes.  I don't run very often.
Here's Beth Bradshaw, me, Jackie and Stan Bradshaw

This cyclist was around after the Cooper Young 4 miler
and I had to get a photo of him :)

Monday, September 29, 2014

Kara, me, Mel and Jerry Harvey and Kara's parents Bob and Polly Hardin all rolled out for Big Dam Bridge 50 mile bike race last Saturday.  It's been a tradition for the Birdeye Bicycle Club to make this bike ride and with everyone's busy schedules, it was just the Harvey's, Kara and I.  It actually turned out to be one of our favorite rides in the several years we've done the Big Dam Bridge.  It started at 7 am from downtown Little Rock and went to Roland, Ark and back.  It was about 65 degrees and was shaded most of the way.  It got hot right as we got to Burns Park near the finish line.  We all took our sweet time mainly because we didn't have fast riders like Martin and Kyle with us.  Anytime we ride with someone pushing it, we all push it and I've had at least 3 bad Big Dam Bridge bike rides and like Bob said, "we've started out in the past really pushing it and it can make it miserable to finish".  He's right about that.  We all took our time but still averaged just under 14 mph.

This year we had many firsts at the Big Dam Bridge.  The event goes from LaHarpe and Chester to the Two Rivers Park Bridge, Pinnacle Mountain and to Roland and back to Big Dam Bridge and finishes in North Little Rock.  By the time we started, about 7:10 am, it was packed and finally thinning out.  It is a crowded place with 3200 riders, half of which actually did the century ride, which amazes me.  The first "first" was right before we crossed the Two Rivers Park Bridge, a lady collided with a deer.  I found via Facebook that she was still in the hospital with a broken collar bone.  YIKES.  It is amazing to think about getting hit by a deer on a bicycle.  Kyle said at church Sunday that it didn't surprise him and that it wasn't unheard of.  Interesting.  I've learned from personal experience that bike chasing dogs are a threat, especially pit bulls, and cars and nut case drivers are the worst hazard but I never thought about mixing it up with a deer.  Their sheer speed is scary.  The second first was a crash at the finish line.  I was so excited to have all stayed together in our pack during the bike ride that just before getting to the finish line, Kara and I were trying to get her parents at the finish line so we could get a photo all together.  Well, there was a sharp corner and Polly went down.  Amazingly, she didn't break a bone but was pretty skinned up.  A nice police officer saw the crash, came over and offered an ambulance, it was kinda a big crash.  We didn't need an ambulance, just Polly's chain put back on so we could finish the race.

The most important FIRST was the fact that Kara and I did the race without Jackie and Martino. Martin wasn't "feeling it" and Jackie was with his Vanderbilt alumni friends at the Vandy/Kentucky game.  We survived but they missed a darn good and cool race.

Now to this gem that Kara had reservations at.  South on Main is located on main street not far from where Juanita's used to be.  It's owned by my favorite literary magazine the Oxford American.  It sits next door.

From the South on Main Website: South on Main is a revolutionary cultural experience that includes a restaurant and performance venue featuring the best of Southern cuisine and culture. With a kitchen helmed by Chef Matthew Bell, the restaurant offers a sophisticated but unpretentious atmosphere and a creative and accessible menu. South on Main also presents programming related to the content of the Oxford American magazine, including musical performances, literary readings, film screenings, and other offerings, making it the place where the Oxford American goes "from the page to the stage." The venue's multi-discipline programming provides a forum for established and unknown artists to perform in front of an appreciative audience, providing a full culinary, artistic, and educational immersion in Southern culture.

The restaurant has a wonderful, local menu that we all enjoyed.  We also had a mighty fine waiter (name....I can't find my receipt but I'd love to share it.  Tall, thin, curly black hair and awesome).  They of course offer many dinner specials but I stayed in the carb up section which meant I picked the tillapia with a huge grit cake.  It was outstanding and the perfect size.  I also added an order of pickled beets as an appetizer (I know, I'm not an appetizer orderer but it was great).  Bob was talking about how he had bad leg cramps the year before and had been eating bananas all week.  I told him he needed some pickle juice so on that idea I ordered up the beets.  He didn't have leg cramps the next day and I'm sure it was the pickled beets.  I will confess I also ordered a side of french fries to share with everyone for that extra carb.

Chloe and Stella were with us and of course they ordered the chicken tenders and fries.  They wiped it out and it was really nice of the waiter to bring their food on out with our appetizers.  These two also ordered their famous donuts and let me just say, delicious!  Their donuts were just drops of batter  (kinda like donut holes) topped with a little sugar and cinnamon.  The taste I had was outstanding.  I did order dessert, yes I was a big pig that night.  I got one of the homemade peanut butter cookies that usually comes as an ice cream sandwich which Mel and Jerry ordered and shared and wiped out.  That cookie was rich and just what I needed.  This restaurant reminds me a lot of The Second Line in Memphis.

You'll love South on Main.  Be sure and bring your book light, it's incredibly dark in there and probably your readers too.  Check out their decor in the restaurant which are past covers of the Oxford American magazine.  (Parking was a breeze too which was nice)

South on Main, 1304 S. Main, Little Rock, 501-224-9660 http://southonmain.com/