The farm is bustling!
Writing is bustling!!!
We've got adorable, cute kids here on a very regular basis and the thing I find about living in the snowy north is that we have to tackle projects during the 4-5 months of gentler weather...
So that takes time, too. And you know me, I love projects. I love gardening. I love getting dirty!
But that leaves little time for cooking so today you're getting a farm-life montage...
The breaded squash is simple:
Spear summer squash and/or zucchini.
Brush with olive oil.
Coat with Italian seasoned bread crumbs.
Grill.
About half the breading will fall off.
That doesn't matter. This is a delicious and wonderful way to enjoy a great squash meal!
And then there's this:
This was as dawn was breaking to my back and the July full moon was tipping toward the horizon...
So peaceful and good. And life goes on...
I love egg diversity. If more people understood that every egg, brown, tan, green, blue, white, beige, pink.... was just an egg, I think they'd get a great life lesson, don't you???
And climbing in!!!
Oh, sweet baby!!!!
And then there's this week's lovely surprise from St. Martin's press:
So I keep doing what I love best: Writing sweet books and caring for precious little ones...
And when school is back in session and life calms down, and the weather cools... there'll be more cooking. But for now the grill is on daily, we're grabbing cottage cheese and nectarines for lunch/supper/snacks and eating every veggie we can find.
And how can I possibly complain about that???
:)
Multi-published bestselling author Ruth Logan Herne has more than a million books in print and still pinches herself to make sure this is real... And she's so glad it is! Friend her on facebook, visit her website ruthloganherne.com or hang out with her and other delightful authors and readers here and in Seekerville... www.seekerville.blogspot.com
Lovely cover! My favorite color pairing is red and teal. And it's Christmas. How can you go wrong??
ReplyDeleteIt's so stinkin' sweet, I love it! And it was just great fun to work with these gals and St. Martin's Press... I used to dream about working with SMP!!!
DeleteNow I can check that one off the bucket list, LOL!
I'm laughing because farm time here is crazy and crazy fun, and somewhere there are more pics of those delicious squash as Lacey was making them... GONE
Buried somewhere.
Oh my stars, I laugh at myself, Mary Jane!!!
I read this and thought, oh my goodness, could our lives be more different? For me, summer is the quiet time - she writes as a loud bang punctuates the morning air, but more about that in a sec.
ReplyDeleteFor me, the school year is crazy and hectic and SO.MANY.PEOPLE all the time.
By contrast, summer is quiet and I have long stretches where it's just me and the dog. The cat is here somewhere, but he makes himself scarce during the day.
Long, lovely days to write and just be.
Well that was the plan. But city living means you have no control. SO right now - at 8am - someone across the street is dumping junk into a dumpster so every few minutes there is a really loud BANG as the construction debris hits the metal. Then there is the house 2 doors down that has had jackhammers going most every day for the past four weeks as they chip off the old facade to replace it with new brownstone. The apartment building on the corner has construction going on which is only really noisy for me when they use dumpsters. Then there was the gas company drilling up the street. They finished one section, then came back a week later and started all over again about 100 feet away.
There's more, but I think that gives the gist of my "quiet" summer.
Fenway and I have spent a lot of time camped out in the back bedroom.
But stories are conjured there and I have my puppy who I didn't expect to still have with me, so life is good.
I love your squash recipe. No grill is one of my regrets about city living.
Cate, Zach and Luke had long years of living in places where there was a no grilling rule... so when they come home, we grilled everything. The only thing that saved the cat was that she could climb high and fast!!!
DeleteYes, we are on opposite schedules. The farm stays busy through Halloween, but once school starts there are no small people here for FIVE HOURS STRAIGHT.
Oh my stars, cutting my weekday hours to 25 was like va-cay!!!! SWEET!
So this crazy summer stuff is an exercise in patience because I love having daytime to write... I worked crazy hard through June, though, because I knew what was coming and that was a big help, Cate.
You enjoy your summer, and in Manhattan and the other boroughs??? There is always construction, isn't there? :)
I love that cover -- the colours just grab you. It will jump off the shelves!
ReplyDeleteI am sooooo trying not to be jealous of your gardening. No veggies for me this year but I'm determined to organize and clear out the back so that I'll be ready to go first thing next spring. All my time has been spent taming the front perennial yard. It was overgrown and weed infested. I dug through it all and put down paths so I can reach the garden beds with my walker. Finished the last bit of path on Tuesday. Woot! In my hayday it would have been a couple of weekends kind of job but I started end of May and finished beginning of August. Sigh. But it goes to show what you can be accomplished just a bit at a time so that's encouraging. Now to tackle the back stretch and turn it into an oasis of raised beds.
Kav that's exactly what I had to do with the perimeter of this big, old farmhouse because of the English Ivy and poison ivy.... And it took over three years to get three sides done. And I'm still spraying Round-Up every month, increasing my gains! :)
DeleteHave poison, will travel.
I am determined to regain control and have sweet peaceful gardens again! GO US!!!
Has Lena started pulling everything out of the cabinets to play with yet? If not, you can share with her that it's grand! (I speak from experience I apparently have if my baby pics are anything to go on. ;) )
ReplyDeleteAnd I like the Christmas cover! I blame all these Christmas mentions for placing me in the Autumn mood when it's still triple digits outside! >_<
Thanks for the recipe. :)
Megs, yes! We keep the cleaning cupboard locked but she's got access to spices and kettles and soon she'll be making "soup". :) So fun!
DeleteI'm in love with these Christmas covers... I can honestly say that other than one cover of one book which Melissa Endlich and I refer to as the "cabbage cover", my covers have been beautiful. No complaints here!!!!
The simplicity of the book cover draws me to it! Love it and looking forward to another great Ruthy read! Judy - your fan in NC
ReplyDeleteJudy, I hope you love it! We had fun working with each other and St. Martin's Press... and this will come out through their SWERVE imprint, digital first so you'll get it on an e-reader... And I hope you all love this awesome contemporary cowboy Christmas story!
DeleteLooks like Lena might be following in the Mighty Finn's footsteps, getting into the cupboards. So cute.
ReplyDeleteThis is the busy season at the farm. Everything is looking good.
Mindy, you understand how this stuff gets crazy! And I missed getting over to tell you yesterday how much I loved your facebook pics of Ouray! So lovely, my friend!
DeleteWe had a houseful on Tuesday and Wednesday, so it's always my "trick" time....
A busy time! Once we got past the wedding, and the week with my mother-in-law in Michigan, and birthdays and our anniversary...well, I was going to say my summer has been pretty quiet. I guess it has only been this week. :)
ReplyDeleteNow I need to go find some squash!
That's so funny.
DeleteYou've been quiet and peaceful for ONE WEEK!!!
Laughing!
But there's nothing like weddings, is there? Crazy fun and so beautiful.
That enticing description over on FB reminded me to get over here and see what's cookin', lol. You are hilarious!
ReplyDeleteWe have a local restaurant called The No Frill Grill, good food, but it also sums up my summer cooking state of mind, so I'm with you on the grill stuff. I think zucchini does the best on the grill. I sometimes add red peppers and mushroom in a grill pan for variety. Our tomatoes are overflowing right now, at least several hundred and still coming. We are eating them as fast as we can and sharing with family, neighbors and friends too. Maybe I need a stand like you've got :)
Light food, fruits and veggies are the way to go and keep out of a hot kitchen. Unless you are on an exploration expedition like Lena. She's adorable. Has there ever been a kid that didn't prefer a "found" toy to one handed to them? Not.
You are right about the eggs and them being a great life lesson.
I bought Silent Night, Star-lit Night, yesterday along with Mary's book too. I'm ready for my "cool" reads.
Btw: I emailed you last week (no biggie, just responding to your sent info) but I see you super busy with the little ones, they are the best way to spend the summer and enjoying the farm.
How did I not get your e-mail? Tracey, I agree with the staying out of hot kitchen... I cook on the side porch as often as I can with my big roaster, big griddle, Crock pot, grill, the side burner on the grill... and it helps keep us from killing people!
Delete;)
Now I have to hunt for the e-mail, my friend!
Ruthy, I never thought to put bread crumbs on the veggies when I roast or grill them! Thanks for this idea!
ReplyDeleteLacey found this, and it's a fine bread crumb, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning and salt mix... but you can season it, do it any way you want.
DeleteAnd it's just enough to give it some fun twists!
BTW, I loved your egg diversity quote. So true!
ReplyDeleteAin't it the truth, my friend????
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