Words of Love

I think a lot about my parents this time of year.  Birthdays, anniversaries, family holidays ... all those things bring their memories to life.

Both my parents were creative. Daddy could build anything. Mother was creative in the kitchen and with words. Words matter.  Mother had learned Latin as a child and she taught us to break down words using Latin. She believed that if you could break words apart and knew the meaning of the parts ... that you could understand broader meanings and spell any difficult word!

I guess she was right.  She raised pretty smart kids and this one loves writing! She raised a writer, and I've raised a writer!  I'm hopeful that our Phoebe learns to enjoy writing!  She can tell tall tales, and I think that is the beginning of honing the skill!

I love the ways we can incorporate words into our daily life. Quotations, decorative signs, simple printed cards and of course the love of blogging and other forms of social media offer us a huge variety of ways to share ... words.

Here are some of my latest ways to inspire with words.  Enjoy!

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Venison Sweet Potato Hash

There are so many things that make me hungry for comfort food! Watching trees bloom and the woods come alive are just a couple. Rainy days are at the top of that list, though!

On a recent rainy day, I used a couple sweet potatoes that I had taking up space in my produce basket and made venison hash with a spicy twist.  

I used a pound of ground venison, 2 sweet potatoes peeled and cut into sticks, 4 green onions with their tops ...  and 4 mini peppers sliced.

Over medium heat, brown the meat and vegetables.

When the meat and vegetables are done, add the following spices:

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano

1/2 teaspoon of chipotle powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

Add a cup of beef broth and saute gently for another five minutes, then stir in a Tablespoon of chopped cilantro before serving.          If you like lots of spice, add enough to satisfy!

ST. PATRICK'S FAMILY DINNER

We celebrated Valentine's Day in a restaurant this year, and we usually have a family dinner.  That made me want to celebrate St. Patrick's Day at my house! We always celebrated my daddy's March 18th birthday with a St. Patrick's theme. He's been gone a few years, but I still like to think the cake is all for him! 

Since Phoebe has really started paying attention to tablescapes and themes, I try to make them extra special with real meaning.  "Inspire" was the word theme this time!  I didn't inspire her to eat. Instead this meal inspired her to go decorate her bedroom (at my house) for Easter!  Whatever works!

Our centerpiece was composed with a few things that I had in different places throughout the house.  However, Phoebe and I had just recently found the Belleek candle holder and the tiny Irish cottage ornament at our favorite collectible shop!

Our little purple grape room is back to being a tiny dining room. I designed it fifteen years ago as a "wining women" room!  A place for gathering and sipping.  Phoebe came along and it was transformed to a room where we could have a baby bed.  Now we are back to wine and food, so we christened it with a St. Patrick's Day family dinner!  The chocolate cake made with a bottle of Irish beer might have been the focal point of the traditional corned beef meal! Actually, "traditional" it was not.  I cooked the corned beef in the crock pot until it was fork tender and served it with a brown sugar grainy mustard glaze.  Instead of cooking cabbage, potatoes and carrots with the meat ... I made tiny smashed potatoes and broiled them with a smokey Gouda pimento cheese topping. I stir fried the cabbage and thinly sliced carrots so they would be crisp tender.

Our place setting was casual.  Pioneer Woman polka dotted plates; honeybee flatware is Cambridge. Don't you love the Celtic knot napkin rings?  I like to use a sheer fabric when I want a tablecloth on this table, so we can still tell that it has a glass top.

Hope you had a lucky St. Patrick's Day!  I think any time Phoebe visits me ... I am a lucky grandma!