Guerdon

guerdon - noun - \ˈgər-dən\ - something that one has earned or gained; reward, recompense


This was the winning word in the Scripps National Spelling Bee. Let's use it today, shall we?

Baseball

Ben has been watching the Baseball tapes. I couldn't be happier.

Many baseball fans site one person as the reason they love the game. "I'm a fan because of Mickey Mantle," or "I'm a fan because of Ted Williams," or even "I'm a fan because of my grandpa." Well, I'm a fan because of Ken Burns.

My friend and boss-at-the-time Jennifer K first recommended this documentary. My mom was looking for something to buy Mark for Christmas in 1996, and Jen and her husband had recently watched Baseball on PBS. I passed that advice on to my mom, and Mark got the nine-tape set for Christmas.

We randomly picked one tape from the set to preview on Christmas morning. It featured the story of Roberto Clemente. I was spellbound.

See, I wasn't a fan of the game. I found it rather boring. But earlier that year - in the spring in fact - we discovered that our back-woods-locally-owned cable company, for some reason unknown to anyone, piped in WPIX out of New York. Mark had been able to watch his Yankees play all season.

1996 was a good year for the Yanks. They had a rookie shortstop - you might remember him, Derek Jeter - and they beat the Braves in a six-game series that had me on the edge of my seat every night. Me, who didn't really like baseball. Found it boring. But I liked this Jeter guy, and I liked the way the Yankees played.

And then there was Ken Burns. Mark and I started watching the documentary, and watched about half a tape each night. For those not familiar, this long history of baseball was laid out into nine-innings - each inning looking at a period in the game, usually about a decade, and each inning lasting about two and a half hours. John Chancellor narrated, and tons of people provided commentary. It was the most well-presented documentary I had every seen, and it made me love the game. The history, the magic, the curses, the underdogs, the House that Ruth built - all of it. I was hooked.

And Ben is getting hooked to. In a time when steroids are killing the game, and the Yankees are miles away from the team they were in 96, it's good to remember the positives. It's good to cook dinner and hear Buck O'Neil's voice talking about Jackie Robinson and what it was like to play with him. And to hear Billy Crystal talking about going to Yankee Stadium for the first time when he was a kid and thinking Casey Stengal was going to call him in to play.

My kids are going to Yankee stadium for the first (and only) time next week. I doubt they'll be called in to play, but who knows, maybe one day they'll be on TV talking about their visit. Great things can still happen in baseball.

What's For Dinner?

My mom is in town this week, so we tag-teamed dinner tonight. She made a grits casserole, and I grilled shrimp and sausage. Delish....

What I'm Reading Now

World Without End, by Ken Follet.

I cannot even tell you how pumped I am about this book. It's the follow-up to Pillars of the Earth, one of my all-time favorites. If I remember correctly, my brother read Pillars first, then got me to read it. I read it right after Mark and I got married - I always associate it with our tiny two-room apartment, which was barely big enough to hold the thousand-page tome. It's one of those books that you don't read as much as you experience - you get absorbed in the characters and the places and the stories, and you can't put it down, but when you're done, you miss it.

World Without End takes place two-hundred years after Pillars ends, and focuses on four characters with ties to characters in the first book. Not a sequel, from what I understand, just a follow-up.

I haven't even started it - it just came today - but I can't wait to crack it open. I think I'll do that now...

Decoration Day

Ben and Daniel presented the colors this morning during our Decoration Day service. They did a great job!

May Movie Recap

I blogged a while back about summer movies I was (and still am) pumped about. I have seen three of those movies in the last two weeks, so I thought I'd offer my thoughts for those of you considering a fun flick for your Memorial Day festivities:

We begin with Iron Man. I am a big fan of the Marvel Universe, but Iron Man has never been one of my favorites. But I really liked this movie! I know the first movie for a new character is usually slow, what being tied to the back story and all that, but this one was action-packed. Maybe because I didn't know the storyline very well, I was more into it.

Robert Downey, Jr. was an awesome Tony Stark. He was just likeable enough to play an unlikeable character and make you like him. The special effects were great - the final version of the Iron Man suit (red and gold) was wicked cool.

If you're considering taking the kiddies, there was the obligatory violence, but nothing over the top. Also, a couple of racy scenes, but they don't last long. The big thing with this one is whether or not the younger crowd will follow the storyline. DP loved the movie, but was totally lost for the first half. Ben really loved it - he's since been reading all the Iron Man comics he can find - and I think he followed it pretty well. Not for the younger kiddies, but the older ones should be fine.

Overall, a strong showing. Two enthusiastic thumb's up.

Next up, Prince Caspian. We all loved the first one, and it was so loyal to the book. I couldn't remember enough about the book in this one to know if it followed the story as well.

This one was definitely darker, and had lots more fighting. That was a big plus for DP - he lives for battle scenes - but more of a detractor for me. There wasn't as much "magical" stuff in this one, but I did like it. Standing on its own, not being compared to its predecessor, it was a good movie.

It had a good message, too. One line has really stuck with me: they were discussing why Aslan had not come back to save the day, and one of them says "Why doesn't Aslan prove himself to us?" And Lucy says "Maybe we should be proving ourselves to Aslan." Maybe we should.

Since this one is technically for the kiddies, I'm guessing most of you will be taking the kiddies. Two words of caution for the younger kiddies: one, very hard to follow, and two, there's one scene where they are trying to conjure the white witch, and these two wicked creepy things show up. Might be a little unsettling. I was unsettled, and I'm 37.

Overall, a good flick. I think the franchise will continue.

And finally, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I think the working title was Grandpa Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

All kidding aside, I was surprised to find that an old Indy worked well. But it really did. Harrison Ford was still great in the role.

This one had all the same plot devices as its predecessors. Same basic story as well. Indy gets dragged into an adventure involving some ancient thing that we've all heard of, but don't really know much about. Could be historical, could be bunk, who knows, but it works. The effects were good, but not over the top. It had the same look and feel as the others. There was also the obligatory "large amount of something gross" - in the others, it was snakes, insects, rats, and now.....I'll let you watch.

This one would be fine for the kiddies, I thought. Some bad words peppered in here and there, but nothing over the top in the violence department. One kind of disturbing part involving the "large amount of something gross", but it's brief. Both my kids LOVED this one.

Definitely a winner.

To sum up, I am thus far enjoying Movie Summer 2008. Ranking these three in relation to each other, I would have to go with Iron Man first, then Dr. Jones, and finally Prince Caspian. But you can't go wrong with any of them. Fine summertime fun.

Roasted Chicken

Roasted chicken is one of my favorite meals. I got the recipe from the Barefoot Contessa. I LOVE it. A 4-5 lb chicken costs about $5 and feeds all four of us. You can beat that...

Start by brining the chicken overnight. About two and a quarter hours before you need to eat it, take it out of the brine, put it in a roasting pan, and let it come to room temp. (You don't have to do this, or do this completely if you're rushed, but it helps.)

Meanwhile, quarter a lemon and slice a head of garlic in half (so that each clove is sliced in two). Stuff the lemon and the garlic into the cavity and tie the legs together. Drizzle with olive oil (I brush it with a basting brush as well). Salt and pepper it. Cover loosely with tin foil.

Cook at 425 for thirty minutes. Remove the foil, and cook for another hour. Let it rest for 15-30 minutes before serving.

We eat it with mashed potatoes. Everyone is a fan. I have also subbed an onion for the garlic - it works as well. I don't worry with carving it perfectly - I just get the meat off the bone. It may not look all Southern Living and whatnot, but it tastes gooooooooooood.........

Just a Normal Friday Night at Our House

Mark and I are deep into Season 3 of Lost. Last night, we got the boys in bed, watched an episode, and called it a night.

About 2:00, I woke up. There was a noise in the corner of the room. It sounded like something rattling paper. We had a fan going, so I thought something might have gotten caught in the air flow. I gave it a minute. More rattling, then ZING! WHAP! The distinct sound of a mouse zipping across the floor and into the wall. Great, I'm thinking, I hope we have some D-Con under the sink - I can just put some out in the morning.....

Then I feel something fly very close to my head. I sit up. I hear more flapping sounds. I grab Mark. "Wake up! Something's flying around the room!"

Mark sits up. "Whah....." Silence in the room. He sits there stunned for a minute, then rolls over and goes back to sleep.

Now, in thirteen years of marriage, I have never woken Mark up in the middle of the night and sent him off after a noise. Not once. It's just not how I roll. And so it surprised me that he did not find anything alarming about my behavior. He just went back to sleep. Had I not been so scared, I might have smothered him with his pillow.

But I sat there, sure that our talking had frightened our guest and it would be on the move again if I was quiet long enough. I was right. I started hearing movement in the curtain by the bed. I smacked Mark and said "Wake up! Something's in here! I'm not making this up!" And I turned on the light.

We both saw a bird flying across the room. While I'm thinking "How in the heck did a bird get in here?", the bird turns upside down and hangs from its feet off the ceiling. Oh *&$#. Not a bird. A bat.

I learn something new about myself every day. Last night I learned that I am abnormally afraid of bats.

I wigged. I got down under the covers and started crying. "Whatarewegonnado Mark! Whatarewegonnado!" Mark cowered down there with me. Every now and then we would peek out, and that little bastard would be right there staring at us, or worse - flying at the bed. I was in hell.

Finally, Mark says "We've got to open a window and get him to fly out. If we open the bedroom door and he gets out into the house, we'll never get him out. So...go open your window."

"I'm not getting out of this bed. Why do I have to open the window? You open the &%$#&*! window!" I hear a smack behind my head. "What was that?!?!"

"He flew behind the headboard. I think he's under the bed." Needless to say, I got out of the bed.

We opened the window, but couldn't get the screen to budge. For some reason, there was a screwdriver on my nightstand, so we took turns trying to pry it loose. It's very difficult to concentrate on a task when you're constantly jerking your head back and forth, watching for flying bats.

I finally got it loose, pulled it out of the window, and leaned it against the wall by the bathroom. We yanked the bathroom door open, and hid in there while we waited for our plan to work.

Mark quickly realized that if we did not see the bat fly out the window, we would never know for sure he was gone, and we would have to sell the house. So he decides to go out there. "Give me something to hit it with. Just in case."

I gave him a big loofah on a stick. This was apparently not what he had in mind.

He went into the closet and came out with his racquetball racket. Not quite a weapon, but better than a big loofah. He goes back into the room. He runs back into the bathroom. "He's stuck in the screen. We knocked it over when we yanked the door open, and now he's trapped under it." We stand and look at each other, like two deranged fools. Mark says, "OK, I'll go back out and move the screen. Maybe he'll get loose and fly out."

Mark goes back into the bedroom. I hear the screen move. I hear sounds that are not at all human, but that have to be coming from Mark. Then I hear a loud THUNK. Mark says "I got him! I knocked the crap out of him. But I don't know where he is."

So Mark and I very gingerly tiptoe around the room, he with the racquetball racket and me with the big loofah, poised and ready to attack. Mark finds him. He's lying stunned just under the end of our bed. Mark slaps the racquetball racket down over him and traps him underneath. "Now what do we do?" Mark looks over at the nightstand. "Bring me the screwdriver," he says, calmly. Too calmly.

So Mark stabbed the bat with a Phillips-head screwdriver, twice, through the racquetball racket netting. When we were sure he had breathed his last, we scooped him up with the back of a magazine, threw him into a trash bag (double-bagged for safety) and tossed him outside in the garbage can. Game over, man. Game over.

We had too much adrenaline to go back to bed. So we watched another episode of Lost. It was the one where Hurley found the Sweet Pickles van and they miraculously got it running. Good times. Nothing like a quiet night in front of the TV with your spouse.

Carry Your Candle

At Ben's Graduation ceremony, they had a candlelighting ceremony. Each fifth grader with a younger sibling lit a candle, then the younger siblings came up and lit their candle from their brother/sister's candle, then the fifth grader's candle was blown out. It was symbolic of the fifth grader's impending doom in middle school, or something.

No, no, it was all about the passing of the torch and all that. I got it. And it was quiet lovely. But anytime you have a large number of children in a small place and open flame is involved, things don't always go poetically. Each fifth grader lit their candle from a central candle in the middle of the gym. As the kids went to their assigned spots, about half of the candles went out. Rather then turn and obtain flame from the person two inches away, they all went back to the central candle. Quite the log jam insued. Then the younger sibs descended on them like a swarm of locusts - elbows were thrown, I think two kids got trampled - it was rowdy.

But once all the candles were lit and everyone was in place, it all went off without a hitch. Well, almost:

It's hard to see, but Ben is standing to the left of a boy with glasses (the glasses reflect well, that's why I use him as a reference) and Daniel is in front of Ben in a striped shirt.

DP's Highlight Reel

As promised, I have spliced together three short portions of Daniel's class play. It was actually more of a collective dramatic reading....enjoy!

Ben Graduates Fifth Grade! Daniel Graduates Third!

As we do every year at this time, we went to lots of end of the year festivities at the school. Ben's was a little more in-depth this year, as he was "graduating". We attended a very nice, very heart-warming, very lengthy, graduation ceremony on Wednesday. Ben was recognized for getting a perfect score on the state writing exam, and for earning the most AR points in his class. He also won the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence, which is given to students who maintain straight A's from third grade up, and who scored "advanced" on their TCAP tests. That was quite an achievement for him! He is pictured above with his principal - I had to laugh - as each kid came up to get their "diploma", she bent over and whispered "Where's your parents?" and wherever the kid pointed, she turned and grinned for a picture.

Daniel (who I didn't get pics of, but did get a video of - I will post when I can get the time to edit it) performed the role of "Father", quite passionately, I might add, in a class play. He was given an award for his penmanship (cursive writing in third grade, and all that) and an Academic Excellence Award for straight A's.

We are very, VERY proud of our sixth grader, and our fourth grader. Can you believe they are that old? Where does the time go....

Court of Honor

As promised, Troop 37 held their spring Court of Honor tonight. Ben was awarded the Tenderfoot Rank, as well as his Totin' Chip. (The Totin' Chip allows him to carry and use axes, saws, and pocketknives on scout outings. Scary stuff.)

I took a great photo of the back of some kid's head to commemorate the evening.

What I'm Reading Now

The Rosewood Casket, by Sharyn McCrumb.

My mom turned me on to Sharyn McCrumb. She lives in Virginia, but most of her books (the ones I've read at least) are set in Western North Carolina and East Tennessee. She always has a historical element running in tandem with a modern day story. I've read quite a few of her books now - my favorites being She Walks These Hills and The Hangman's Beautiful Daughter, although, I have to admit, many of them run together for me. They have the same modern day characters, whose stories progress in each book. The historical parts are easier to keep straight. The Rosewood Casket focuses on Daniel Boone and the Cherokee for the historical part, and some guy with, you guessed it, a rosewood casket in the modern day part. The two stories will eventually entertwine, I'm sure.

If I remember correctly, my mom bought me my copy of The Rosewood Casket, and Mark took it on a trip with him and left it on the plane. So Mom bought me another copy. Moms are good that way. In fact, I think Mom has bought all of my McCrumb books to date; oddly enough, she finds them easier to find in her local bookstores than I find them in mine. Something about a prophet and his hometown, I think.

Here's some trivia I bet you don't know: McCrumb's latest works revolve around the Nascar circuit (don't ask). The first in this series is called St. Dale, about a pilgrimage involving the one and only Dale Earnhart. In the hard copy (can't say for the paperback, as I haven't seen it) McCrumb lists a number of people whom she consulted in the writing of the book. One of them is none other than my mom! (Name misspelled, of course.) Mom had an email conversation with McCrumb about McCleod hospital - parking lot, ER, entrances, and exits, etc. St. Dale was taken to McLeod after piling it up in Darlington one year, and McCrumb wanted to get the details right without actually driving to Florence. Go Mom!

Easy Dinnertime Goodness

+
+
= Yum

Seriously, take your favorite beef roast, add the obligatory salt and pepper, and put it in the crock pot with a bottle of russian dressing. Let it cook on low 7-8 hours. Serve it over rice. Thank me later.

What I'm Reading Now

I'll Watch the Moon, by Ann Tatlock.

Another church lady bag book. Never heard of the book, never heard of the author. The publisher is a big name in the Christian fiction market, so I can only assume that it is considered "Christian Fiction", but nothing in the story itself has led me to that conclusion so far.

So far, it's set in the forties in Minnesota during a polio epidemic. The narrator's brother gets polio, and the house gets quarantined. By "house", I mean boarding house, which is where the narrator's family lives. They have an assortment of interesting characters boarding with them, which adds a lot to the story.

I wouldn't have guessed it, but the polio epidemic is fascinating reading. I asked mom about it this morning - she remembers not being able to go outside, and she thinks my dad was officially quarantined at one time.

I remember reading Wait Till Next Year by Doris Kearns Goodwin, where she writes about her childhood in Brooklyn. I was jealous of the lifestyle she described - kids could wander around town all summer long, not worrying about freaks and pervs and the like. It seemed so much better then the scary world we live in now. And then, bam! some kid gets polio and the whole community shuts down. No one goes out, no one comes to visit. It made me realize that modern times aren't all bad.

It also makes me wonder what we fear today, that will be nothing in fifty years. Leukemia? Breast Cancer? Aids?

So if you like historical fiction, and you'd like to know more about iron lungs, try this one. I'm about half-way through and enjoying it.

The Peyton Manning Story

Ben reminded me of the Peyton Manning story last night - it still cracks me up. I only hope it plays as well in print...

Me and Mark and the boys are in the car. Mark is telling us about his buddy getting to meet Peyton Manning at a charity golf tournament. You get a foursome together, pay an entry fee, and play in the tourney. Manning stays at one tee box all day, and as the players come through, they get to tee off with him at this one hole. They take pictures, get autographs, etc. Most importantly, they get to tell all their buddies that they played golf with Peyton Manning. Good times for all.

Mid-way through the story, Ben breaks wind in the back seat. I neither hear it nor smell it. I have no idea this has happened.

So here's what Mark says: "Chad gets to the hole where Manning is and he shakes his hand and says 'I'm Chad So-and-So, I'm a big fan' and Manning says .....Dude! Did you bust one?!?!??! Gyyyahhhh.... "

I'm looking at Mark as he says this, and I'm thinking "What's worse? Meeting Peyton Manning and cracking one off, or having him call you out for it?"

Happy Birthday Kyle!

Best wishes to the Alcohol and Pork Fueled Mad-Man on his big day!

I Love This Guy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9m2FLHlEwA&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM-HWkbnDfg&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUU9CqrtFiU&feature=related

What I Just Finished Reading

The Five People You Meet in Heaven, by Mitch Albom.

This one was such a quick read, I didn't even have time to blog in the middle of it.

I like Mitch Albom. He and Mike Lupica are the only Sports Reporters I can stand. I liked Tuesdays with Morrie. And I liked this one, but I don't think it did for me what it must have done for everyone else who read it. It was good, but it wasn't life-altering. It's been out for a while, and it's been a best-seller for a while, and people have been going on and on about it for a while. I was lucky enough to find it in my church-lady bag. And I did like it - it's a story about a man that dies, and meets five different people in heaven who are attached to his life in some way, but who represent a greater truth about his life.

It's such a short book, it's hard not to recommend it, because even if you hate it, you're only out about two hours of your life, and you can now talk about it at cocktail parties. So go ahead and read it.

Tis the Seasoning

It's that time again. Time to re-season all my cast iron, whether it needs it or not.

I got my first piece of cast iron cookware a few years back for Mother's Day. It was the Lodge 12" cast iron skillet. It was love at first cook. Not only can you kill an intruder with it, but you can cook just about anything you can think of in it. It retains and distributes heat like nothing else, and after several uses, it's virtually as non-stick as teflon. And since we're comparing it to teflon, cast iron wins because it is virtually indestructible and dirt cheap, two things you generally can't say about teflon. Retailing at a mere $19.95, my 12" skillet will still be here long after I am dead and gone. It is that one item of cookware that I would take with me if I were planning to be trapped on a deserted island not run by the Dharma Initiative.

Since the skillet, I have also added other Lodge cast iron items to my collection: a 12" square grill pan, an 8" skillet, and a 5-quart dutch oven. I love them all, but the 12" skillet is my baby.

And every year at this time (easy to remember what with the holiday and all), I re-season each and every piece. I just wrapped up the dutch oven last night. Not too much to ask of me, what with all they give me in return.

Cast iron. Don't cook without it.

This, Too, Shall Pass

It's just after midnight, and I think I'm passing a kidney stone. This one doesn't feel exactly like some others I've passed, but what else could it be. The pain is really low, so it can't be long now. Nothing to do but drink water and pray. I would add "walk around" to that list of possible remedies, but this one must be causing something to swell and put pressure on a nerve or something - my left leg is killing me. Walking is not an option. And so I blog.

I had a stone about two years ago, and I was up all night with it. Finally, about 4 AM, I couldn't take it anymore and got Mark to take me to the ER. They gave me a morphine drip almost as soon as I walked in the door. I remember lying there, looking up at nurse when that morphine kicked in and I said "Oh my gosh...I'm going to faint!" She looked at me and smiled and said "You're lying on table. Go ahead and faint."

I think about that a lot, as one of those metaphor-for-life moments. We get so focused on holding on to all of our baskets - we forget sometimes we can go ahead and faint.

People are fond of saying that God doesn't give you more than you can handle. Too bad that isn't scriptural. What the Bible actually says is God will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able to resist. Not at all the same thing.

I personally think God gives people more than they can handle all the time. But I find great comfort in knowing that God can't give me more than He can handle. So I can go ahead and faint when I need to. Like now.

My New Crock Pot

I took the new crock pot out for a spin today. I didn't have the fixins' for most of my standard crock pot dishes, so I improvised.

I started by brining a pork tenderloin overnight. This morning, I set the crock pot stoneware insert on the stove (an added feature - you can use it on the stovetop!), drizzled in a little olive oil and browned the tenderloin. Then I set the stoneware back in the crock pot base and added a quartered onion, a quartered lemon, four cloves of garlic, some dried thyme, about a half a cup each of chicken broth and white wine, and a handful of dried cherries. I cooked it on low for seven hours, then on warm till we got home.

When I got home, I took the meat out to rest. The wine and lemon had reduced so much that the gravy it made was almost too strong. So I added another cup or so of chicken broth. I also added a bit of corn starch to thicken it a little. I turned the heat up to high and let it cook while I made rice and grilled zuccini strips.

I strained the gravy and dinner was served. The pork was a little dry, but it was very tender. Overall, a good first try. Mark called it a repeater after one bite. That's always a good sign.

Just For Kicks

We have a new member of the blogosphere! Daniel has started a blog called Just For Kicks. You can visit it using the link on my sidebar. Daniel will be blogging about stuff in his world. His first post is his review of Iron Man. Visit often - comments welcome!

#1 Mom

Apparently, there was a contest of sorts recently, and, well, I won! Turns out, I'm the #1 Mom! I was all prepared to say that it was an honor just to be nominated, but this...this is just so hard to take in! #1! Out of all the moms! I just can't believe it.

I'm being silly, of course. Ben made me this wonderful wooden plaque, which I will take to work and use instead of a nameplate on my desk. But in all seriousness, there are lots of #1 Moms out there, many of whom read this blog. Happy Mother's Day to my mom, Kelly, Jennifer K, Jennifer B, Laura, Nels, Natalie, Willie and anyone I've forgotten who loves their children more than themselves. Celebrate being a #1 Mom today - it is an honor above all honors. I'm proud to know all of you...

For my special day, I got the wonderful plaque, and the promise of a butterfly that was left at school. I also got a spoon rest, an egg separater, a very snazzy colander, a "can colander" (you stick it in the top of a can to drain the contents - smooth), and a new crock pot! My old crock pot was dying a slow death, and this new one looks awesome.

My guys also made me breakfast, and are planning to grill burgers for dinner. Also on the docket is a trip to visit Mark's mom, and then to see the new Iron Man movie! (I actually requested this, so it's all good.)

Enjoy your day, and enjoy your children! Happy Mother's Day!

Name That Tune

"But I shot a man in Reno

Just to watch him die

When I hear that whistle blowin'

I hang my head and cry."

Pork and Potatoes

Got some pork chops and some potatoes?

Have I got a meal for you!

First, the chops. You will need:

Six to eight boneless pork chops (I buy them on the thin side)
1 cup panko bread crumbs (you find them next to the regular bread crumbs, or possibly with Japanese foods)
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Salt
Pepper
Two or three eggs (for dredging)
Olive oil

• Heat the olive oil on medium-high heat in a large skillet - you want the pan surface thoroughly covered in oil.
• Combine the panko and the cheese in a large bowl or on a plate.
• Salt and pepper the chops on both sides.
• Dredge them in the egg.
• Coat them on both sides in the panko mixture.
• When the oil is rippling, put the chops in the pan - you should hear that wonderful sizzle when they hit the oil.
• Let them cook for about three minutes on each side (depending on how thick your chops are). They should be a lovely golden-brown color.
• Let them rest for five to ten minutes before serving. I usually have to cook them in two batches so I don't over-crowd the pan. If you do them in two batches, add more oil between heatings and let the oil get hot before dropping in the second batch. If you need to do multiple batches, you can put the done ones on a cookie sheet in a 200 degree oven to keep them warm while they wait.

Now for the taters. Tater cakes, to be specifc. You will need:

Some potatoes - five or six small ones, or three big ones - peeled and grated (the food processor is the ideal grater)

2 T vegetable oil
2 T butter, melted
1 t salt
Pepper to taste
Freshly grated nutmeg

The key is getting as much water as possible out of the potatoes. The food processor slings it out pretty well, but you will still need to lay all the grated potatoes on a clean dish towel, close it up, and wring the water out. After squeezing as much water out as you possible can, toss the potatoes in a bowl with the oil, butter, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

• Preheat a medium-sized (10" is ideal) teflon pan over medium heat.
• Spray well.
• Dump the potato mix in the pan and press down until the potatoes are evenly distributed.
• Cook for ten minutes.
• Slide potato cake onto a plate, then re-spray the pan.
• Flip the plate (or carefully place the pan face down over the plate) and get the potato cake back into the pan to cook the other side.
• Reduce the heat slightly, and cook for eight to ten minutes.
• Slide onto a place and cut with a pizza cutter.
• Serve immediately with sour cream (or with whatever you're into)

Ben LOVES these two dishes - and we don't always serve them together. Chicken tenders do really well cooked the same way, and they make great sandwiches the next day. Enjoy!

Lost?

I have no idea who did this, or if it's even accurate, but it's pretty cool. No wonder no one knows what anyone else is doing.

Chorus Programs in East Tennessee

Ben is on the second row, fourth from the left.

Write Your Own Caption

Cobbler

I've been hankering for a good cobbler. I found a Robin Miller recipe that uses frozen blueberries, and I thought it might fit the bill. Blueberry cobbler and ice cream. Yeah buddy.

So I start by melting a stick of butter. As the butter melts irretrievably in the microwave, I realize I don't actually have a bag of frozen blueberries. I have part of a bag of blackberries, and part of a bag of mixed berries. Since I can't put the butter back in its previous stick state, I figure I'm deep enough in to keep going. So I take the mixed berries, and top it off with some of the blackberries. Mixed berry, heavy on the blackberry, cobbler. Yeah buddy.

So I take the two cups total berries and mix them with a half a cup of sugar. Then I take the melted butter and mix it with three quarters of a cup of milk. Then I mix together a cup of flour, a cup of sugar, and a teaspoon of baking powder. Then I add that mixture to the butter/milk mixture and thoroughly combine. Then I pour the final mixture into a greased 9 X 12 pan. Then I drop the berries on top. They are supposed to sink. They don't sink. The final mixture looks a little on the thick side for sinking. But I'm way far in now, so I keep going.

I put the dish with the layer of final mixture and layer of fruit in the preheated 350 degree oven for forty five minutes.

Eventually, the berries sank. Or maybe the final mixture rose up around them. Either way, I've got cobbler. Yeah buddy.

It was good, too. Had it with vanilla ice cream and a Yankee game.

What I'm Reading Now

Pigs in Heaven, by Barbara Kingsolver.

I've previously blogged about Barbara Kingsolver and what a fan I am of some of her books. This is one that I found in the bag of books from my church friend - what a pleasant surprise! This is one of her early books - I've only just started it, so I have nothing to report yet. Someone just fell into a dam - that's all I know.

I finished Wish You Well. I liked it. I didn't love it. I have the distinct impression that if he weren't David Baldacci, he'd still be trying to get this one published. It was a good story, and definitely a good look at mountain people and mountain life in this area. But it was a little choppy. Forced might be a better word. But I'm glad I read it.

He did get one great dig in near the end - his main character's father was a critically acclaimed novelist who never made any money from his books. At the end, we see a snapshot of the characters later in life, and the main character has become a novelist herself. He says she wrote happy stories about the good things in life. "They were never as well-received by the critics as her father's books were, but they sold a lot more copies." Baldacci may not be the world's greatest novelist, but he's not hurting for cash. You go, Dave.

Tenderfoot Scout

As of tonight, Ben has completed all requirements for the Tenderfoot rank in Boy Scouts. He has been part of his troop for only three months - some boys in his troop have been there over a year and have not completed Tenderfoot requirements. Way to go, Ben!

(The official rank will be awarded during his troop's Court of Honor on May 19th, but I just had to tell you now!)

Camping

Well, clearly I survived. We had an experienced camper pitch our tent with us, so we stayed warm and dry. Which is important, because when you lie awake all night, you want to make sure you aren't miserable in any other way.

It wasn't too bad. It rained during the day, then cleared for the evening activities. It started raining again some time in the middle of the night, but I couldn't say when or for how long. Our tent had more water on it this morning than any other in our group, so maybe it just rained on us.

I bunked with Daniel - he loved it. He didn't sleep well either, but better than me. We had to make one middle-of-the-night trip to the john, but otherwise, he didn't have any problems. Ben slept in tents with his patrol group. They cooked their own food, which was highly entertaining to watch. Daniel and I ate sandwiches and pretzels and other low-maintenance items.

There was a program Saturday night that included some Native American dancing. One guy performed and they mentioned that it was his first time ever dancing on stage in front of a big group. Sadly, some yokel in the vicinity of the fair grounds decided to host his own fireworks display right in the middle of this guy's performance. Imagine a bunch of young boys given the choice between watching some guy dancing or watching fireworks. You guessed it - I felt bad for the dancer. But then some guy did what they call a "hoop dance" which held everyone's attention - really, really amazing stuff.

Following the Native Americans, we had a local group of re-enacters come tell us about kicking the British's butts on King's Mountain. They demonstrated a gun ceremony that ended with them firing off their muscats and rifles and whatnot - there were six guys and the last guy misfired - it sounded something like this: "KABLAM! KABLAM! KABLAM! KABLAM! KABLAM! poof."

We got up early this morning and watched the troop clean up the camp site and pack for home. Parents were not allowed to help. It was surreal.

Home again now. We're all showered and clean now.

Good times.

Fun at Scout Expo

Some highlights of our day. The tennis ball sling shot was our troop's contribution to the Expo - it was by far the most popular. You can't see the balls, but the first one hits the roof, and the second one clears it. Ben also worked on his Toten Chip requirements. Good times.

Nope - Nothin' Here But This Old Tire

A Portent of Posts to Come

Today is Scout Expo Day in the Tri-Cities. Which means, we all drive to the fair grounds and sleep on the ground.

Well, more specifically, we "camp-out". Mark is leaving first thing tomorrow morning for his annual "Managers Gone Wild" golf trip to Santee, which leaves me as the available parent. Ben is now a Boy Scout, and he does not have to have a parent with him. But Cub Scouts need a parent with them, and Daniel is a Cub Scout. And so I'm going to sleep on the ground.

I think it might be fun actually. I have had three camping experiences in my life. The first: way too cold. The second: way too rainy. And the third: no real problems. Jennifer and Heather and me. Heather stepped into mud up to her thigh at one point, but that's all I really remember. And we "camped" last summer at Camp Davy Crockett, but that was in ready-made tents with cots and cicadas. LOTS of cicadas.

So stay tuned....pictures and debriefings will likely follow in the days to come.