Sardine Casserole

Sardines...those small, oily, little silver fish that come in a cute little tin, full of Omega-3 fatty acids, calcium and Vitamin D. I LOVE them!

One day while perusing Food52, a site that brings together a community of passionate home and professional cooks who share recipes and culinary wisdom, I stumbled upon a Sardine Casserole recipe which was in a contest for "Your Best Cheap Feast." I read the recipe. I had to try it.

This dish is packed with superfoods and has a surprising mix of flavors: bold sardines, sweet butternut squash, earthy barley. You can't make this at the last minute...lots of steps and lots of dishes to clean up. If you like sardines, this dish is delicious and in the end, the time and effort are worth it. 

Sardine Casserole
2cans bone-in, skin-on, oil-packed sardines
2 large bunches kale
Olive oil
1 onion chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 t. fresh thyme leaves
1 t. all purpose flour
1/2 c. creme fraiche
1 c. cooked barley
1/4 c. fresh bread crumbs
1/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 c. butternut squash, cut into 1/2" cubes
1/4 c. white wine

Coat the butternut squash with olive oil, toss with salt and pepper, and roast for 20 to 25 minutes at 425. Remove from oven and set aside.

Meanwhile, oil a large baking dish. Blanch the kale for about one minute in salted, boiling water. Drain well, and once it's cool enough to handle, squeeze out excess water.

Cook the onion with a pinch of salt in olive oil until soft and fragrant. Add the garlic and thyme and cook another minute. Add the blanched kale, more salt and pepper, and the flour. Stir everything together until the flour is distributed throughout. Add the creme fraiche, white wine, cooked barley, and cooked butternut squash. Cook until any liquid in the pan has evaporated. 

Remove the sardines from the oil (don't throw out the oil) and add them to the pan, breaking them up as you stir.

Transfer the sardine and kale mixture into the oiled baking dish. Drizzle the oil left over from the canned sardines on top of the mixture, and top with the Parmesan and breadcrumbs.

Bake at 425 for 15 minutes.

Lookin' good!

Just want to eat it out of the pan!

Big clean-up...

Wintery Spring {April in Ohio}

Early spring in Ohio...

Yesterday, I cut my grass and got a little sunburn on my face. People were wearing shorts and flip flops. Today we're bundling up AGAIN. 

C'mon Mother Nature...let's commit to a decision!

P.S...Frost warning tonight...

Yep...this is spring in Ohio!

Cherry Blossoms {Athens, Ohio}

Every year, thousands of people descend on Washington D.C. to see the magnificent cherry blossoms. Someday I will be part of that crowd, just not this year.

A little bit closer to home, about 2 1/2 hours away in southeastern Ohio, the cherry blossoms at Ohio University herald spring's arrival. The trees are at the south end of campus at the Richland Avenue Bridge and line the Hocking River. The white blooms provide a picturesque entrance to OU this time of year. 

The Japanese call the cherry trees sakura and they are very important in Japanese culture. The trees have been cultivated for their flowers and are reminiscent of clouds. The sakura are a symbol of friendship and because the blooms last a very short time, they symbolize mortality, the transience of life and are a reminder of the fragility of spring.

OU's cherry trees are a gift from Chubu University, Ohio University's sister institution in Japan. In 1979, Chubu University gave 175 trees to Ohio University in honor of OU's 175th anniversary. Over the years, storm damage and other injury and disease decreased the number of cherry trees to 97. In 2003 Chubu offered to replace the damaged plants and increase the number of sakura to 200, in honor of Ohio University's bicentennial in 2004. 

I have had kids at OU for six years and I have never seen the cherry trees bloom. When I was there at the beginning of April, I asked Andrew to show me where the cherry blossoms are. We took a nice morning walk but there were no blooms, just buds. Darn. 

Fast forward a little over a week and after a couple cups of coffee, I decided on a spontaneous road trip to Athens. I wanted to see those blooms...and my kid, too. 

Dimes from Heaven { ♥ }

Monday...7:30 a.m. and Hubs can't find his car keys...

Oh, boy. Last night we went to dinner and he asked where the other set of keys was. That question should have set off some warning signals, but it didn't. 

So as I'm fixing coffee, getting the dogs' food ready for their breakfast, bringing in the paper, thinking about doing the crossword puzzle...you know, gently phasing into the day, he asks, "Where's the other set of keys? You were the last person to drive the car and use those keys."

Me: There's a set hanging in the cupboard, use those.

Hubs: Those don't have my work keys on them.

CRAP.

Thus begins the frantic he-needs-his-keys-because-he's-ready-to go-to-work-RIGHT-NOW search. I think back to Saturday night as I dump out my purse, run up to our room and look on the dressers, in the closets, in the bathroom. I run back downstairs and check out the laundry room, look in the garage on the shelves. Saturday night...lovely dinner with friends...two glasses of wine...my mind was not in a fuzz. Where did these keys go? Run to the living room and rip the cushions off the couch. (Note to self: vacuum this couch). 

No keys but there's a dime, a wheat penny and a brand new penny.

A calm hits me..."Hi, Dad."

My dad died almost 11 years ago. People tell stories about pennies from heaven; well, my dad leaves dimes. And in the midst of this Monday morning craziness, a dime shows up. "Calm down and call your mother."

Mom stopped by yesterday and when she left she picked up Hubs' keys. I called her and the mystery of the keys was solved.

Thanks, Dad...miss you, love you. I can see you smiling.

Rainbow Carrots

Alright, I'm on a colorful vegetable roll.

Next pretty veggie I couldn't resist are rainbow carrots. Call me a sucker on this one: organic, 8 or 9 carrots in a bunch, $2.59/ bunch. A little pricy, but hey, the things we do to satisfy curiosity!

So what to do with these gorgeous vegetables...hmmmm...well, first photograph them. Such a pretty subject with colors ranging from purple to red  to orange to yellow. And then the wispy green tops...so pretty!

I love roasting vegetables. It's so easy and the roasting brings out the natural flavors. Typically when I roast veggies I go savory with garlic, salt, and herbs. I broke out of my comfort zone with these carrots and went sweet. Orange olive oil and a vanilla cinnamon sugar made these beauties a real treat!

Purple Brussels Sprouts, Anyone?

What can I say...I'm a sucker for colorful vegetables! 

These beauties were in the produce department, sitting right beside their green counterpart, same price...get in my basket!

Everything about purple Brussels sprouts is pretty: their color, the design inside when the brown end is cut off, the design inside when cut in half. 

In my tastebuds' lifetime, Brussels sprouts have gone from YUCK to yum. This transition has been fairly recent, maybe 3-4 years ago, but as they say...good things come to those who wait. Add a splash of purple and let the fun really begin!

"We kids feared many things in those days 

- werewolves, dentists, North Koreans, Sunday School - 

but they all paled in comparison with Brussels sprouts."

Dave Barry (Miami Herald columnist)

Dave Barry's Bad Habits (1987)

Springtime Blues...

Last Saturday was a warm and sunny day...perfect for taking the big dog for a walk and to look for some more signs of spring. Remember, this is southwestern Ohio and Mother Nature has trumped Punxatawney Phil in his prediction for an early spring. But...the early spring flowers are starting to pop out of the ground and bring some color to the neutral winter landscape.

 

It's interesting that a lot of the early spring flowers are from the blue family. Maybe it's the promise of blue skies to come...

Easter and the Gang of Four { ♥ }

The Gang of Four filled the house for Easter weekend. Each child lives in a different city (Columbus, Cincinnati, Athens (OH), and New York City).  Getting the four of them together at the same time takes luck, the stars coming into a cosmic alignment, and a cheap airline ticket.

Prior to their visit, I was bouncing-off-the-wall excited. In anticipation of their visit, I freshened their rooms; sent out texts requesting any specific snacks, meals, and side dishes they'd like for the Easter dinner; made numerous trips to the grocery store; and survived a tour bus throng at Esther Price where I bought their Easter basket goodies.

Even though my kids are 22, 24, 26 and 28, I slip back into Mama mode when they are home. Being a mom is a big...no, HUGE...part of who I am. When the kids are home, I feel like I smile bigger and laugh harder. I feel so comfortably "me" because this was my full time job for so many, many years.

My kids are happy with their lives and I am happy that they are happy. When it is time for them to leave, I have to put on that brave mom face, give them a hug that lasts a little longer and squeezes a little tighter, and then say good-bye like it's no big deal. But it is a big deal. For a couple of days after they leave, I'm in a bit of a funk. I miss the full house and the commotion that comes with it, I miss the laughter, I miss the sibling interaction, I miss my kids.

But I am sure proud of where they're going.

"When mothers talk about the depression of the empty nest, they're not mourning the passing of all those wet towels on the floor, or the music that numbs your teeth, or even the bottles of capless shampoo dribbling down the shower drain. They're upset because they've gone from supervisor of a child's life to a spectator. It's like being the vice president of the United States."  
         
~ Erma Bombeck