Chicken with a Kick

Sorry for the lack of pictures. I will say this was awesome and is my new favorite marinade!
I have
been terribly distracted, and hope to get back to the blog…however the other night we had our CSA chicken and I decided to marinate the old gal. This had a kick to it, but if you are not a lover of spice use less sriracha.

Marinade:

½ c. Ponzu sauce
½ c. rice wine vinegar
1/8 c (depending on like of spice I probably did between 1/8 c. -¼c) Sriracha sauce

Mix together in bag, throw chicken in and marinate for 2 hours.

Farm to Family….Finally!

Say that ten time fast!! So I finally made to farm to family. On Fridays their bus is about a mile from my house. However, I always forget. Today I was driving home from getting compost and there they were! I have to say, I had both kids, they were busy and I felt totally overwhelmed, but it was really cool. The guy even gave Tristan a neat packet that contained seeds so he could grow his own food, sadly either we left it there or from point A to point B it got lost. I love that they do this because the surest way to get kids to eat things is to first engage them. Tristan will not eat salads from store brought lettuce, but let us go pick it, clean it and dry it together and all he can talk about is how much he wants that salad. Plus it gives them an appreciation for what it takes to grow food.

As is typical in my life, I am not a trend setter, so I figure I am the last person that has finally gone to check them out. However, if for some reason you haven’t go. You can also find them on Facebook.

Easter Egg Hunts

So does anyone know why the tradition of coloring Easter Eggs came into being. And why, oh why, are giant sized bunny’s hiding said eggs?




I mean, really, is it just a reason to have egg salad?

The Real Value in a Shared Dinner

He sat quietly for a moment, hands folded and head down in thought. He then looked up and said, “Michael brought him to me, I know.” He spoke, referring to a neighborhood kid he had started mentoring that was good but on the wrong path. “I needed him, I needed a reason to get out of bed. I needed someone to need me.” I believed he was right. The change was measurable. He wasn’t quite his old self, but you could see, the glimmer of hope that one day, he believed, he would truly be able to breath again.

It was the first time we had Peter over in ages. Ironic, since I talk so much about breaking bread and reaching out. Peter...Peter is different though. To see him is to rip a bandage off a festering wound. The loss of Michael is on him. It reminds me of how much I miss Michael and how different this would all be if only he were here. I know these encounters are hard for Peter too, sadly, for the very same reason. Several months ago when he was over he said, he knew he would cry the whole way home, because it didn’t feel right that Michael was not there. What can you say to that? It was true. It was like breaking a leg a mile down a deserted path and having to endure each painful step to get to help. But you keep walking forward, because what else it there to do really?

It is horrible to see someone you love in such pain. It is more horrible when you share, at least in small part, that pain. However, it has almost been a year, and he was finding some purpose again. He was still putting one foot in front of the other and he was getting somewhere. So was I, and I knew in that moment that it would never be the same. I knew I would always, in some small way, wish Michael had been there. I knew though, that we would all laugh out loud together again, and Michael would say a blessing of love over it all. So this night, we just ate our meal, and talked and healed … just a bit.

One Weekend….with Kids

The past year and a half has seen huge changes in the McCauley mansion (that’s what we like to call our house…we can dream…no?) Joel started his own agency, I have something in the works to be revealed at a later date, and most recently we have made a big change in our food. We have switched over to meat and eggs that are handled humanly, fed proper diets and allowed to see the light of day. I am not going to get preachy, don’t worry. It was just a personal decision, it is not for everyone I know.

In that vein we pulled resources with our neighbors and are put in a huge garden. We always do a garden, but this garden “should” provide not only all our veggie needs for summer plus allow a to put up quite a bit for winter. We have a large yard for the city and so we are putting the garden in our yard but our neighbors provided labor to help enlarge existing beds and put in a new one. We also are putting in non-GMO seeds. Again, promise no preaching…just a decision we made.

So in preparation for our hard work ahead that Saturday morning, we went to the local farmers market.



We are lucky to have one of the biggest farmers markets within walking distance of our house. During the winter the die hard sellers move from the local park to just down the road. It is mostly non produce venders (baked goods, local honey etc) but some of the farmers are there and have some winter produce, but mostly eggs and meat. I have to say I like the winter market much better. The summer market I think has gotten far too big and crowded, just this girls opinion. We got some breakfast sausage from Faith Farms to bring home and make brunch with. I have to say it was amazing. It was patty sausage, however it tasted like link sausage…go figure. Yumm, and a total treat. I love sausage but only indulge like 2-3 times a year. Then I found the mother load. Rona, from Sullivan’s Pond Farm (http://www.sullivanspond.com). I was drawn to her stall because of the lovely daffodils. Aren’t they amazing?





I stayed at her stall because of her cheese. I ended up buying two cheeses, a blue and a goat rolled in salt and pepper. The goat had some age to it so it was more firm than a typical soft goats cheese. I really can not express to you, the love I have for both of these cheeses. They were really good there, but it was cold morning. I got them home and the next day let them sit out and get some warmth to them. They amazed me. I think I scared my poor husband. Periodically I would take a bit and yell, “man alive!” I think he thought I had finally lost my mind. I am in love. Really, if you go to the south of the james market, go check her out.




We took all our goods home had brunch and then set about the work of the weekend…putting in our new Veggie bed. Even the kids got into helping.




After about 5 hours in the yard, mommy was off to girls night and a much needed beer!!