This week, my daughter spent the Fourth of July climbing the
528 stairs of St. Paul’s Cathedral in London. Why you ask? This is why:
We have those special days here in the States, the days
ignored by others and celebrated by a very few. We call them Homecomings. Newborns come home from the hospital where
they were born every day. Doesn't matter if they are coming home to a castle or their great-grandmama is the Queen...ahem.
Sorry, we are on Royal Baby watch at our house. I already have a baby grandprincess born three months ago. But my daughter and I really, really really want Kate Middleton
to have her baby this week so she can purchase commemorative tea cups and tea towels
while she is there. I just checked and the press has set up camp in front of the hospital. Let's hope.
Now where were we? Oh, homecomings. It isn't limited to new babies.
A child raised in Maryland comes home from their first year
at college in California. A North
Carolina couple returns from a mission trip abroad in Russia. Soldiers and sailors return from the danger in
the Middle East. It doesn’t have to be a
national holiday to be the most special day of the year for families and friends who are reunited.
Even Mondays are celebrated!
Stop what you are doing right now and watch the ESPN SportCenter video story, Going Home. Watch this video right now. WITH TISSUES.
Our reunion may not be quite as emotional but I am already planning our welcome home dinner for the dear
daughter. Ham, macaroni and cheese and Man O’s carrots (see recipe below). No special Steele family dinner is without these orange
veggies cooked to death in butter and sugar. Yes, it is the middle of summer
and requires the oven being on for an hour but it’s tradition! And our daughter's coming home.
ManO’s Carrots
5 medium carrots, cut into thin strips
2 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons sugar
2-3 tablespoons water
pinch salt
Place carrots in a 1 QT casserole. Add rest. Cover tightly with foil. Cook 1 hr at 400 degrees.
What is a dish that is a traditional part of homecomings in your family? What dish makes you feel like you are home, even when you aren't?
I just want to say that I love carrots. Adore them. Thank you for this little recipe.
ReplyDeleteHomecoming food is real Italian pizza!!!
What makes real pizza real? Now there is a blog post for you to write. Thanks. I am now craving it.
DeleteMan O keeps telling me I can't cut down on the sugar in this recipe. He can tell. They just don't taste like candy otherwise.
Real must be made by an Italian and it's all about the dough. Generally it's made in a rectangle. REAL REAL DELI Pepperoni. Homemade sauce too. Real cheese.
DeleteI miss rectangular pizza so bad!!!!
DeleteAs you know, I am on royal baby watch too. I want her to have the baby before RWA. I've been consumed with names, and I am looking forward to both announcements. Never thought of cooking carrots in the oven. I'm looking forward to trying this. Thanks, Julie!
ReplyDeletePiper
Piper, it is almost 4AM. What are we doing on newborn baby schedules?
DeleteWe are going to have a lot to talk about RWA. I can see us checking our phones constantly if she hasn't had it by then.
I had no idea Piper and you were on Royal Baby Watch. You both look quite normal.
DeleteI have nothing on Piper but it is nice to have company!
DeleteMy prediction is by Monday. Girl. 6'15oz.
ReplyDeleteName?????
Olivia Elizabeth Louisa Sophia
Baked carrots???? Love this quick, simple idea! I want to hear Tina's reply about real pizza, too because when I was a kid, Veltre's bakery made pizza with a thick, bread-like crust. And their sauce was a fresh tomato sauce, like a marinara. (I didn't know what marinara was then!!!) My brother lived not far from there and we'd get pizza there now and again and it was so good. The chewy crust, like 3/4 of an inch thick. The sauce. You really didn't even care about toppings, but they were good too!
I'm not a thin crust pizza girl. To me, that tastes like cardboard compared to a thicker, yeastier, saltier crust. But I wonder if it's like Christmas trees... everybody has their own style?
I just keep wondering how the press knows to start camping out. Hmmmm.
DeleteThe guy who gave his fiance his mother's engagement ring would have Diana in there. The guy who loves his grandmother would not necessarily. I am in total agreement on Elizabeth being in the mix and not just because it is my middle name.
When I could eat pizza crust, I was a thin crust girl because I realized I could eat more toppings and not be stuffed. But it has to be the right kind of thin crust.
And I scoff at the Paleo people who want to make a pizza crust out of parmesan cheese and egg. Yeah, right. Like that is acceptable.
Oh sniffle...snuffle...slurp. I watched that without Kleenex and am a mess. Nothing like tugging at the heartstrings early in the morning.
ReplyDeleteHmmm...for me homecoming food depends on the season. Now it would strawberry pie and a mix of fresh salads. Hmmm...wonder what putting dessert first says about me?
Royal baby watching! :-) I don't think she's due until the middle of the month, right? So I think the press is just erring on the side of caution. I think it would be a hoot if they broke tradition and gave the baby a funky new age name. Princess Moonbeam In The Night Sky. :-)
I told you to grab the tissues! I cried three times watching it as I wrote this post.
ReplyDeleteSeasonality does affect our long for homecoming food but that is the funny thing about those carrots. The kids expect them no matter the season!
Love that name, Kav. I just read an article that said they were floating a due date out further, like Princess Di did, so she could give birth without the circus. Fool the press once, shame on you. Fool the press twice...
The press are like lemmings...once one starts a baby watch, they all have to start a baby watch.
ReplyDeleteI predict the baby will be born on Thursday (since that's my birthday, and therefore the most important day of the week - LOL). I haven't been keeping up with the news, though. Do they know the gender?
Coming home meals...hmmm...we're in a unique position because we've lived in so many different houses and in so many different places. Coming home has a different ring to it - a bittersweet realization that we only have one true Home, and that homecoming will be glorious...
But when we were all younger, and we'd take the children to visit their grandparents (often a two or three day drive with four little kids in the back of the van...), my mother-in-law would always make sure she had a good supply of chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. My mother always had mini chocolate bars in the cupboard. The children looked forward to those treats all through the trip.
And then when it was time to leave, my MIL always packed a treat bag for the car - one for each child. And, as my oldest son said once, Grandma never forgot the gum.
Oh, treat bags. Such a sweet memory.
DeleteYou are right about Home. When my mother was dying she kept talking about those who were getting her room ready for her.
If I was a betting woman, I would set up a pool but since I am not, I will just watch the craziness of others. I think Kate slipped and said a girl. But that hasn't been confirmed.
Happy Birthday in advance!
Coming home meals for my children is usually lasagna or chicken spaghetti. But the coming home meal for my family of siblings was chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, and salad. One of the last times my dad was in the hospital, he wanted the whole meal, so one of my sisters and I went to my brother's house and made it. The look on my dad's face when we took it to him was priceless. Sweet memory.
ReplyDeleteNikki, that sounds like a great meal and I know your dad appreciated it. I think the memories are also the important part of homecoming meals for the maker as much as the eater!
DeleteI would give anything to have my grandmother's home canned green beans we helped put up every summer.
Mmmmm...so roasted, buttery and sweet. PERFECTO!
ReplyDeleteJulie, I can't watch your video right now. Must prepare emotionally first! Those reunions stories on the news tear me up.
Hope your daughter has a blast! My kids left for Ireland yesterday and will possibly be in England for the birth as well. I'm so glad you mentioned the souvenirs! I'll put in my order for one. :)
Ireland. That is our next trip, we hope. Yes, indeed. My daughter is going off for a few days in Spain but comes back to London to fly out. Whew. Tea towels are a must.
DeleteAnd the carrots ARE that perfect.
As for homecoming food... for my family (and hubby's), it tends to be spaghetti. All our recipes are different, but they're equally good!
ReplyDeleteMissy, when I was working in churches, that was the meal that greeted me every Sunday when I returned home!
DeleteMy dad makes carrots like this! We call them caramelized carrots. Not sure what they really are.
ReplyDeleteLove the view!
Refusing to click the link. No tissues handy.
I hope everything goes well for the birth and they get some privacy! There are such a cute couple. :)
What they are is carrots with all the vitamin A baked out of them.
DeleteI want things to go well for them too. Just a plain likeable couple.
How funny, Virginia. I refuse to click on the link too. ha.
ReplyDeleteI cried three times writing the blog post. I don't blame you for not clicking.
DeletePreparation for links like that is clutch. If I'm writing emotional scenes, that helps get me in the proper mood!!!
ReplyDeleteAnother trade secret revealed!
Delete