Food Finds and "Fixings"

I pulled out cookbooks the other day to "dream plan" for when the food budget is more luxurious than of late:)

I just grabbed the quickest to reach from my cookbook shelves and ended up flipping through,
Saving Dinner and Crazy for Casseroles. What delicous ideas lined and landed in those books.

Meanwhile, I did another inventory of my pantry shelves, refrigerator and freezer, and kitchen supplies. I will share any creativity I am blessed to receive!

Here are some of the nutrititous basics I will be preparing:

Jars of dried beans {black beans, kidney beans, navy beans, white beans, lima beans and pinto beans}

A jar of potato flakes ... gift for my daughter from her Nana.

• Jar of brown rice
• spiral pasta
• elbow pasta
• angel hair pasta
• frozen strawberries
• frozen brocolli
• cucumbers,
  
• Romaine lettuce
• tomatoes
• bread

I also have some basic baking ingredients so I'm looking forward to seeing what we come up with. I will try to take pictures before it is eaten... not easy to do around this filled with people little house!

Down the Path Dining

"Once fire was discovered, the instinct for improvement made men bring food to it. First to dry it, then to put it on the coals to cook." Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826)

Granna, Grandpa, and Mamaw live a foot beaten path away from our home.
We have lived in our home for over 14 years separated from my in-loves by some trees and this cozy path. Our oldest three sons paved it themselves… bare footed, in tennis shoes, cowboy boots, and with whatever dog was running with them at the time.

They are all three living on their own now. Hard to believe they have their own yards, own places to go… own paths back home.
They still come home and when they do, right through that path to Granna’s they go; for her Christmas breakfasts, Italian dinner welcome home dinners, and much more.

Granna & Grandpa lived in an old, big, white house with a long porch and heavy paned windows for many years. When it was time to tear down the old place, Granna planned and prepared every detail herself. She wanted happy color schemes and every room has one to go with the open, beachy, cottagy feel with lots of windows, French glass doors, and glass doors for each bedroom.

She wanted open space from the kitchen, through the dining and living room and for that to expand into the front porch and back decks. She wanted family to feel comfortable and for every visit to be a celebration. In the few years she has had this new home… it has been what she worked towards and more.

One thing Granna loves to do is have meals out on the back deck. She loves setting the table up, having white lights adorning anything they can, candles flickering all along the deck rails and kerosene lamps on the tables.
She has a small grill and it is fast becoming a dear friend. We can smell the smoke dancing through the air night after night now. Most nights, she calls down to see if we want to join them so we do.

Grandpa comes out with his walker or wheel chair and Mama comes out in hers. Everyone talks, laughs, and eats together in the soft breezes by surrounding trees. Sometimes we eat starlit dinners with twinkling lights all throughout the sky and a moon’s glow to get home by.

Lately, we’ve been having hamburgers, potato salad, and/or baked beans, and SMORES. Delicious, sticky, chocolatey smores.

I usually can't wait for the cold weather but this year... I am enjoying the pleasant temperatures as we walk to and from Granna's on our humble little path...