~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~
Every Thursday, here at Like Mother, Like Daughter!
{pretty}
Our front rosebush is just excited about this beautiful fall weather as we are. Helllooo, reasonable temperatures! How lovely to see you here at last!
I spent nearly every morning last week working in the garden, trying to get it into shape before things get cold. Our front garden held a water feature when we first moved in, which we later ripped out (because we may be many kinds of crazy, but it turns out we're not Water Feature Crazy) in favor of the oh-so-elegant Dirt Pile landscaping feature.
The kids loved the Dirt Pile, and so we just went with that for a long time, but the neighborhood cat loved it too. Ew. And so did the wasps. (Add to the list of Ways Rosie is So Much Tougher Because of Living in Oklahoma: I had a large colony of cicada killer wasps living by my front door this summer. Cicada killers are, according to the Internet, not particularly aggressive, but they are, according to my experience, Enormous. Really. Large. Wasps. And we coexisted. Because apparently I am tough now.)
The Dirt Pile had to go.
RIP, Dirt Pile.
Long live the front garden.
That's not a great picture of the garden, but it's a pretty hilarious one of Molly, who was not asked to pose — that's just Molly being Molly with her walking stick and her flower and her deep thoughts.
Anyway, we've got some herbs, roses, a few native plants, and lots of bulbs, so here's hoping that it looks somewhat respectable come spring.
{happy}
We love brussels sprouts around here, and usually I just roast them with salt and olive oil, because that's easy and delicious and basically a surefire way to eat pretty much any vegetable. But I already had a chicken roasting in the oven (spatchcocked, laid on a bed of potatoes and onions and garlic — again, easy and delicious!), and my oven isn't big enough to do both at once. And I was feeling like I was in a little bit of a rut, side dish-wise.
So here's what I did instead:
I minced a few strips of bacon and tossed them into my cast iron pan on medium-high heat. (Which I'm not in the habit of using, actually, but was inspired to take out again from my mom's post the other day.) As they crisped up, I washed and trimmed my brussels sprouts, and cut them in half. When the bacon was about 80% crispy, I turned the heat down a little, added my sprouts, and quickly turned them in the pan so they were flat-side down as much as possible.
While I let them get nice and brown (don't touch them for 3-4 minutes so they can get that delicious golden sear), I washed and chopped some mushrooms, and then added them to the pan as well, stirring occasionally, and adding salt and pepper. Finally, I deglazed with some white wine (apple cider would also be delicious — as would chopping up an apple and adding it after the mushrooms!), lowered the heat again, and covered the pan for a few minutes to allow the vegetables to steam a bit more until they were crisp-tender.
Very quick and simple, but oh-so-tasty, and just a little more interesting to go with our chicken for Sunday dinner.
{funny}
In other garden news, remember how I showed you this tomato plant in July, when it was growing like a banshee and producing flowers but no fruit?
It never did give me a single darn tomato, but it's still growing. I gave up on it months ago, but the kids like to water it, so I just let it do its thing. It keeps growing big enough to topple over (despite staking), at which point I hack off big sections so it doesn't shade my basil (see what's hanging over onto the ground now? I've hacked off at least that much already), and it just starts over with new growth from the roots. Still occasionally blooming, still no fruit.
(Go home, tomato plant, you're drunk!)
{real}
All this boy wants to do these days is climb trees, and I'm finding it a struggle to balance my desire to let him be adventurous with my desire for him not to break his neck. Is it the mother cat in Milo and Otis who I'm thinking of? “Raising boys is very simple. It's very important to stay calm, and never ever raise your voice, and always to maintain… GET AWAY FROM THAT TREE!”
(For instance, you might look at that picture and wonder to yourself, “what is that boy even standing on??” I asked myself the same thing. He was unconcerned and, in fact, on his way up higher.)
Playing “sleep” with beds for herself and her two bears.
My little sidekick has been doing a lot of growing lately. She really desperately wants to be big enough to run around with the big kids, but since she can't, she contents herself with being held by me at every possible moment, day or night. At least we've been getting in some late-night reading — she can tell I'm really enjoying my book, and wants in on it, too.
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Laura says
I’ve been wanting to use Brussel sprouts in my cooking more and your method sounds simple and delicious!
My youngest (7 months) sounds a lot like yours! He wants to play with his big brothers so badly!
Wasps?! Yes, you are tough!!!
wendy says
Dirt piles and trees – what a wonderful childhood. My children have spent at least half their waking time with one or the other. Every winter while the garden is dormant they are allowed to dig. They started the habit several years ago and each year it gets a new pretend to accompany it. The first year it was digging to Antarctica, after that hobbit holes among other wonderful things. As they grow older they become more elaborate. Such good memories together. As they have gotten older it’s not so great for the garden – keeping that OK clay way down deep on the bottom is important, but oh well.
As to trees, I wish we had better ones for climbing, but they make do, spending alone time, together time and school work or reading time above the world. I once looked out the second story window of my Mother’s 100 year old farmhouse to see my children high above me looking down on the window from a cedar tree. Yikes! We’ve been this way for almost decade and no broken necks (or any bones.) Thanks for making me smile at our own memories of trees and dirt this morning.
Megan says
Cicada killers! We had them at a previous house and after panicking upon seeing them the first time, we also learned to peacefully coexist with them. They would fly back and forth in front of the path to our front porch and I started thinking of them as our guardian wasps, scaring away anyone who didn’t know that they were harmless. Thankfully the mailman knew about them and was unfazed!
Sharon says
I don’t think I’ve ever had brussel sprouts but your recipe sounds interesting so I’m going to try it. Who knows maybe a new family favorite! I am curious what a spatchcock chicken is. That sounded kind of interesting as well. Would you mind sharing? Thanks! Love your posts, makes me look forward to Thursdays! 🙂
Rosie says
Oh, Sharon, they’ve got a bad reputation, but they’re so tasty! As for the chicken, to “spatchcock” it you just cut out the backbone (use a sturdy pair of kitchen shears; it sounds intimidating, but if you dive in it will make sense!) and flatten it out, so it roasts a bit more quickly and evenly, with lots of crispy skin! I’ve even heard of people doing their Thanksgiving turkeys this way, though I don’t know that I could fit that in my little oven.
Mary says
Loved In This House of Brede, maybe it’s time for a re read.
I’ve never tried Brussels sprouts, these look good!
Elizabeth says
If I weren’t so exhausted (husband out of town this week) I would have laughed hilariously over your thoughts on raising boys. 🙂 Yes, this is what it’s like. I would not be a crazy woman if it weren’t for my boys. I also might be able to string together two coherent thoughts in a row.
Clare says
Here’s a tip for your non-productive tomato plant- cut the top off! For some reason, some tomato plants won’t set fruit until you lop the top off. May be a bit late for this year, but mine are still producing so who knows!
Rosie says
Hmm, it’s worth a shot, right? I’ll see if I can figure out where the top is, and try cutting it off. It can’t be much worse than my current strategy, which is to ignore and periodically mock the poor thing. 🙂
Jennie Cooper says
Oh, I love that story. In fact, Auntie Leila mentioned Rumer Godden in a Library Project post, and I remembered, “Oh, yes! I love her!” I have since read several of her novels, all rather predictable, but sometimes that’s just what you need: an author you can trust to take you right where you want to go. I’ve developed a similar love affair with Janice Holt Giles, who happens to be native to my current home state of Kentucky! I’m going to go visit her house in the spring. 🙂
Robin says
Yay for In This House of Brede! That one is on my re-read list.
I don’t know about you, but on my first reading (because your perspective changes through different seasons of life) my take was, “Rats. I guess the convent is just as crazy as married life.”
Rosie says
Haha. I hear you!
Maya Andrews says
My husband has two rules for tree climbing for our boys. An adult needs to be outside and know you are in the tree (I think this will relax as they get older, but he had family tragedy with tree climbing.) And if you got yourself up, you must get yourself down. If you helped your brother up, then you help him down.
Rosie says
Oh, I’m so sorry!
Those are good rules.
Sarah says
Our rules are “don’t stand on a dead branch” (older kids may be able to judge which dead branches are sound and which are rotten, but I prefer to err on the safe side for the younger set–right now we tell them it needs to have live leaves growing on it) and “don’t stand on any branch thinner than mom’s arm.”
allie says
That balance between adventure and not hurting themselves has not become eaiser for me….when they want to climb he highest tree, make the potato gun the fires potatoes out a pipe, ride bikes to the beach and learn to surf….. …..and now drive away as a newly licensed driver…… more and more prayers…
Pippi says
I have tree climbers, too. Our rule is you have to have three limbs attached to the tree and you have to use branches that are bigger that your wrist. As long as they follow the rules they can go as high as they want. So far, so good — though it can be terrifying at times!
Stephanie says
Does Molly verbalize her deep thoughts? It’s so neat to see her in such profound contemplation! I imagine her reflections, observations, and conversations are very interesting! Also, I went with trepidation to look up “cicada killer wasps” (which look as frightening as their name sounds, I think)! When I saw the picture, I realized I’d seen one before, without knowing what it was. There was one hanging around the flower beds of a nearby building this summer. I gave it a wide, wide berth whenever I walked by, and wondered why no one seemed alarmed by its presence! At the time, I tried to look up whatever variants of bees and wasps I could think of to try to identify it, but never could figure it out, and so am now pleasantly surprised to learn that they are not aggressive. Maybe they don’t need to be aggressive to defend themselves because they look so terrifying that no one dares come near them! 😉 At any rate, I am highly impressed by your Oklahoma toughness! Scorpions and cicada killer wasps and floods and droughts; oh my! I think I recall your writing in a previous post that you wouldn’t be “tough” for the New England winters if/when you move back to the Northeast (I’m paraphrasing, hopefully not too poorly) – but I have no doubt that you will be more than tough enough for whatever the Northeast brings – might seem like a breeze in comparison! 😉
Rosie says
It’s true that I am wary of having to live through New England winters again, but I scoff at what I used to consider a scary insect!
Chere Mama says
I was recently astounded when someone showed me how to roast brussel sprouts. They taste like butter! So good.
I have a son who, every time I looked out my kitchen window when he was younger, was doing something dangerous in a tree or on top of the swing set. He was very spry and coordinated and so I guess I grew some kind of Mom gene that kept me from screaming in terror whenever I looked out the window! Good luck with the climbing boy!!
Michele says
Ohhhh…I’m so excited that you’re reading Brede. I hope you like it!
And isn’t it hilarious how differently boys and girls play? We’ve only been blessed with girls thus far, but my girls have almost all boy friends, and it is hilarious to see how much more daring boys are!
Anne says
I love Molly! That picture is great. I did think Pippo was floating. You should plant some flowers in that spot next year. Maybe they’ll go crazy!!
Mrs. Pickles says
Love House of Brede! Have you read it before? I read it for the first time last year. Such a beautiful look into religious life. I wanted to pray the Hours more after I finished. 🙂
Tacy Williams Beck says
It’s the little things. Pumpkin stems, baby hands…. and I want to know what you end up thinking of In This House of Brede!
Woman of the House says
Excellent pictures! Either your kids are photogenic or you are a great photographer (or both!). I love the one of Molly.