It's picnic time again!

Now that I have all those happy thoughts back ... let's talk picnics!  With all this sunny weather we've had as of late, we have been out picnicing a couple of times.  With the exception of last week which seemed more like an Indian Summer in the Carolinas. 

We snapped some photos of an impromptu picnic we packed up a couple of weeks ago on a road trip to deliver a wedding cake to Dunn, NC.  I wanted to share them with you because it was actually a pleasant little trip with some good and bad surprises. 

The wedding was at the Barrington House (www.barringtonhousenc.com/), a very charming bed and breakfast.  Talk about a southern gem.  It seemed to me to be this grand southern mansion very unique to its location.  It was like a sparkling diamond sitting there amongst buildings that could never shine nearly as brightly.  My eyes just ate up every intricate detail from the latch on the gate, to the walkway approaching the building to the beautiful architectural detail inside (which we all know how much I love).  All I did was deliver a cake but I loved every minute of the visual beauty around me.  I would love to stay there sometime just to enjoy every detail of this lovely old home and its surrounding grounds.

So after delivery of the cake and letting out a sigh of relief that it made it all the way there in one peice, we decided to enjoy the picnic lunch that we had packed to bring along.  I'm glad we did too because I was in need of decompression time.  I never truly feel stressed about a cake unless it is coming down to the wire on delivery time or if it is as intricate as this one was and we have to transport it a long distance ... every little bump and turn makes my heart stop, let me tell you.  Thank God for the GPS and smart phones ... if you ever need to find an great point of interest all you have to do is search on a "point of interest" near a given town name.  We popped in the name Dunn, NC and as if by magic we got the names of some interesting and not so interesting things.  But not too far out of town was the Cape Fear River Park and the images online looked beatiful ... off we went!

Driving up to the entrance was really lovely.  There were these beautiful tall trees shading the grounds and the parking area.  I had the impression initially that we were driving up to one of those historic plantation homes.  It was beautiful! Under one of those big trees is where we decided to spread our blanket and have our picnic.  Just Chris, Shannon, Sam and I having a quiet picnic under the shade tree ... okay maybe not so quiet with Sam and Shannon along given that the two of them can talk more than any two people I know.  It wasn't a fancy picnic but a "quickie" one with smoked turkey and cheese wraps filled with fresh local lettuce and tomatoes and a really zesty chipolte mayo inside.  We paired this with some pickled okra, sweet tea and some tasty Italian Pasta Salad with garden fresh veggies.  All in all it was a perfect day laying around on the blanket in the sun and chatting.

Then we decided to walk one of the trails down to the banks of the Cape Fear River.  It's definitely a steep descent and not for everyone.  Most of the shoreline is really not assessible unless you are prepared to climb through some over growth, but on a sunny day like this one, its sure hard to beat that beautiful view.

Now for the not so fun part of the day.  While we were sitting there along the shore watching people meander or fishing, a gentleman who had several fishing poles in the water started yelling out that he needed some help with his lines because he had something big on the line.  Chris and Sam decided to run down to help him out ... Chris made it there okay ... however, Sam who was right behind him hit a spot on the ground that was actually a sink hole filled with mud (sort of like quick sand) and he fell in to his chest.  He worked hard to pull himself out but lost his shoes down there in that mess and was covered literally from head to toe in nasty smelly muck.  Oh my word was he a mess and very upset, as you can imagine.  We had to hike back up the hill, poor Sam barefoot on the gravel, and spent over 20 minutes in the men's room washing him off and getting him out of his clothes and into our picnic blanket.  Needless to say, the day was drawn to a screeching halt and we headed home.

The only saving grace here was that on our way back through this interesting little town, we found some really interesting and beautiful architecture ... truly fascinating given that it was totally unexpected.  It was a really enjoyable adventure ... with loads of excitement and at one point uncertainty ... but a wonderful adventure nonetheless.

Cornbread and Green Tomatoes...pure magic

I just had to post this and maybe its just my adventurous taste buds that make me like these so much, but I wanted to share one of my favorite things ... yep, you got it "Sweet Cornbread Muffins with Caramelized Green Tomatoes". 

Okay, so I will admit that I love sweet cornbread ... I adore it!  It's like cheese grits ... just one of those things that make my mouth salivate in anticipation.   Just love it and then you add some caramelized green tomatoes to them and let me tell you ... its a rare, rare treat.  Combine them with some fun salad or with a beautiful bowl of soup and you have a real treat.  Plus the fact that they are simple to make and what more could you ask for. 

My inspiration for this one was the big bag of green tomatoes that I picked up from my friend Screech from Screech Owl Tomatoes.  I use green tomatoes in tarts, cupcakes, biscuits and whatever else I can put them in, but I was craving the wonderful flavor of cornbread too and so these lovely corn muffins were born.  I think they would be good for many occasions ... breakfast or brunch with a light and fluffy quiche, lunch with a yummy farmer's market salad or warm toasty soup or with a hearty dinner of grilled chicken with a variety of salads.  Really they would just be delicious all by themselves with a nice cup of coffee or tea. 

Alright, no more rambling on about how much I absolutely, positively adore these muffins ... here it is my most treasured recipe ... (drum roll please) ... Sweet Cornbread Muffins with Caramelized Green Tomatoes!  Bake up a batch and share them with someone special.  Enjoy!

Sweet Cornbread Muffins with Caramelized Green Tomatoes

2 cups of chopped green tomatoes, seeded
1/2 cup sugar, divided
1/2 cup butter, melted and divided
2 cups self-rising yellow cornmeal mix
Zest of one lemon
5 large eggs
16 ounces of vanilla or plain yogurt (I prefer low fat or non-fat)
Cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 450°. Sauté tomatoes and 2 Tbsp. sugar in 2 Tbsp. melted butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat 8 to 10 minutes or until tomatoes begin to caramelize and turn light brown.
2. Stir together cornmeal mix, lemon zest, and remaining 6 Tbsp. sugar in a large bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Whisk together eggs, yogurt, and remaining 6 Tbsp. butter; add to cornmeal mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in tomatoes.
3. Generously coat 2 standard 12 cup muffin pans or 2 jumbo muffin pans with vegetable cooking spray; spoon batter into cups, filling two-thirds full. Bake at 450° for 15 to 17 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.

Adapted from a recipe in Southern Living June 2011

It's been awhile ... lost my happy thought

Hey there ... It's been a while since my last post.  With winter and then the loss of my dad in January, I guess you could say that I was speechless for a while.  I associated it with a loss of my happy thoughts ... it was a tragic loss for me, loosing my dad to leukemia.  Just less than a week ago, it would have been his 69th birthday and, of course, he was ever in my thoughts but more so on that day and I realized that I hadn't lost my happy thoughts ... they had been just hiding for a while and they were there with me the whole time.  They were the memories ... memories of times with my dad, with my sister and my mom, with my children and husband and friends.  All those beautiful moments captured forever in my mind were just clouded temporarily by the pain I have been feeling. 

Buck Calaway, my dad, just before I was born.

So as I was sitting alone last Tuesday thinking about my dad on his special day and sifting back through all those memories, two memories stuck out more than any others.  Wouldn't you know ... it was like a lightening strike and I found them ... the things that make me the most creative ... my happy thoughts.  And I thought it would be good to share them.  Probably one of the main reasons for my love of picnicing is that it is nostalgic ... it reminds me of happy times during my childhood.  I've already shared how my sister and I would picnic under a big oak tree on the hill so my mom could have some time to get things done.  But another memory that I had buried came to light the other day and its another reason I love packing up a meal and finding someplace interesting to eat.  When we were little, we would take vacations or road trips to see family or to just have family time together ... it was always by car ... in our station wagon much like the Griswalds but less comical.  We would pack that car up so tight with suitcases and things that we needed and just set out for our destinations with unknown stops along the way to see interesting things (probably also why I love to find kitchy and unusual places in my travels).  And  for lunch, my dad, a great lover of the ever popular bologne sandwich, would find a grocer deli.  He would order up a pound of lunch meat and a pound of cheese ... grab a loaf of bread and stroll proudly back to our station wagon and declare a picnic.  Or maybe not offically a picnic but rather a lunch stop at picnic tables in a park or rest area.  And I thought that was the greatest meal in the world. 

We would have these impromptu lunches often with him ... even while working along side him on the farm.  We would just stop what we were doing and he would pull out a bag (the bread bag) filled with lunchmeat sandwiches and we would sit in a hay field or along the creek and eat our lunch.  I look back now and wonder if I could do that today given the absolute mess that we were after doing so much work and getting so dirty.  But as a kid, you never mind any of that ... you just enjoy the time with your parents.

Anyway, I was also looking through some photos and that's when I discovered the memory that reminded me of the first memory I mentioned.  There was a photo of my dad and my daughter, Lauren, sitting on the floor surrounded with toys and both barefoot that I had snapped while watching them when I was making a "carpet picnic" for them to share.  Lauren was just a little over a year old and was just absolutely in love with her grandpa and was so proud to share her toys with him.  It was on that visit that she coined the name "Pappy" for him and would squeal it out everytime she hugged him ... which was quite often.  It was that photo and the memory of that moment that triggered the memories from my girlhood days of sitting in the grass with my dad and enjoying a picnic together.  Of the immense love that I felt for him.  My dad may not be here physically but he is here with me in my heart and in my memories.  And he left me with the most wonderful gift I could ever ask for ... the memory of his unconditional love, of his lightheartedness, of his strength and devotion to his family.  Memories of playfulness ... running through the tall grasses or walking for what seemed like hours with us ... marveling over every small discovery that we made and teaching us through his wisdom and kindness of things that someday we might need.  He shaped me without knowing it into the person that I am today with his love, kindness and open heart.  I love you dad ... you are my happy thought and I thank you for that always.