Happy Birthday Daddy

My father, R. D. Averitt III, was born 70 years ago today in Memphis, Tennessee. My godmother and Dad's first cousin Harriet graciously sent me these photos that I cherish. I've been saving them for the perfect moment to post. So here you go Daddio. This is your life in a few photos. I love how sweet you look with Ma, our Francie.

You and Pa, or as you nicknamed him D2, already look like you were up to no good! I loved listening to y'all tell jokes and stories. They are some of my fondest memories of you Dad. How cool is that car and GD's watch?! He looks like Papa in this photo to me.

Could you and Momma have been any cuter in 1966? My gosh look how dapper. I can see you holding your pipe in your left hand. Were you really 25? I know you met at Memphis State to finish your last credit for Millsaps, and Mom was finishing her last credit for Randolph Macon Women's College. You said something clever in class that Mom took notice of and nine months later you were married. You were very clever.

You and Mom would have been married for 44 years this Friday, August 26 if you didn't get divorced in the 80's. Can you imagine? Ha! You got married a day after your birthday so you wouldn't forget your anniversary. Is that a true story? You taught me never to let facts get in the way of a good story. I love you for this. Eric just shakes his head at my stories. We are a special breed, story tellers and the fruit doesn't fall from the tree I think. You and Mac are identical in this photo and are joking under your breath. Mac is doing the same thing in the photo from our wedding a few shots down!

You moved after your wedding to North Carolina and taught at UNC Pembroke. You paid your housekeeper more than the Dean and got a talking to. Shortly after you all moved above the Mason-Dixon line. While you were in Pembroke you met your best pals and our godparents Willie and T.T.  You were accepted at Michigan State and moved north for your Masters, but you are a true maize and blue Michigan fan. You all moved to Kalamazoo so you could teach at Western Michigan University in the history department. You guys peeked into the windows at Toad Hall and signed a contract on the spot without seeing the inside. I loved our house and love that you named it Toad Hall based on the Wind and the Willows. You must have chopped down that pine tree at the front door as I don't remember it at all.

I was born in Kalamazoo in 1972 meaning I'll be 40 in February. Dude, you are OLD! You insisted I was baptized at Calvary in Memphis. 

NT agreed with you on that one. Maybe the only thing y'all ever agreed on.

Douglas McWilliams Averitt, Mac was born five years later so I had you guys all to myself for a good long time. Spitting image of you and you both made Mom laugh walking down the aisle!

After the divorce you made sure we spent lots of time during the summers together. We lucked out since you had the summers off as a professor. You took us on some of the best road trips from Kentucky to Destin to visit family and study the history of our great country. I loved our trips so much. I still talk about crash boom on road trips with E. How cute is little Macker in Cuddin Willis' kitchen? We couldn't understand him AT ALL.  Our cousins thought we were from the moon with our  northern accents! Our bowl cuts are the limit.

You wrote me some of the best letters when I was in college Daddy. One of my favorites was regarding the evils of smoking. Mac busted me and tattled to you. You wrote this very kind, loving letter explaining why I shouldn't smoke. You admitted it was hypocritical since you'd smoked a pipe since you were a child. You said that if I was doing it to be cool, that I knew better. If I was smoking to try to relax, you suggested I turn to prayer. Well Dad, your advice worked. I listened and took heed. Thank you for that. 

I will never forget my wedding day and our moments together. I love this photo of me trying to fix your glasses.

When we were about to walk down the aisle we had to wait a minute and it was 107 degrees in the shade. You told me to sit down. Best advice ever. When we finally took our journey towards E. you held on so tight to my arm that I almost thought you wouldn't let me go. It was nice walking down the aisle slowly with you Daddy. I will never forget that fun walk with you! Snif. 

You were *ahem* smoking your pipe during our photos and the photographer stole this fun photo of you checking out the wedding band. I love this shot.

I wish I could have scanned all of these photos so they didn't look so fuzzy. I think this was at a winter formal at Loy Norrix when you were a teacher there.

There are a thousand other stories to tell Daddy and photos to share but know the most important thing to remember today is how much we love you. E. also says "Happy Birthday Chopper!" Can't wait to see you in September. 

Thanks again Harriet for sending me all of these photos. Mom, I didn't steal them from you for the first time, so there.

Tranquil Tuesday: Bees

We had another incredible round of storms this past weekend in Baltimore. Lots of thunder and lightening on Sunday that resulted in a huge branch falling from our maple tree without damaging anything seriously. Afterwards the sun was more golden than ever and I took a little walk in the garden to search for bees.

This time of year our neighbor's bees stop by to ravage our cone flowers that are in peak bloom. 

Aren't they the cutest? I'm dying to get a hive or two in our backyard through the Baltimore Honey organization but for now I will just observe them. I swear watching this video I shot makes my blood pressure go down. Be patient as my focus was off a bit but it is worth the wait.

Isn't he such a gorgeous little dish of a thing?

E. picked up this video for me at our local indy video shop because he knows how much I love bees. Reading The Botany of Desire and anything by Michael Pollan helps feed my love. If we lose our bees, we will lose our food and you know what will happen then. This is another reason why eating organically and staying away from pesticides is so very important. Rent the video. It makes me want to be a Shamantic Bee Keeper. No junk food for my bees. No way. Watch it and you'll know what I'm sayin'. The sad beekeeper alone made me reach for tissues. 

Very thankful that I can see bees visit our yard every year. Are there any Bee Lobbyists out there? I want to make sure this visit will continue for years way after I'm long gone.

Thanks to Ann and Good Neighbor Charlie for making us sign a petition that says we vow to not use pesticides on our lawn. They needed to get all the adjoining neighbors to sign it proving the bees would have a safe and pesticide free space.  They will now get a Baltimore Honey Hive. I can't wait for these little neighbors to move in and to go even greener at Stone Hill. 

My thoughts go out to all of our friends up and down the East Coast who just experienced a 5.9 earthquake over an hour ago. I was driving and it felt like the wheels of the car were about to fall off. They closed the office as we are in the tallest building in Baltimore and colleagues said it felt like a bomb went off. So thankful no one was hurt. Thank you Lord for these little blessings.

Waverly

We've had such a great summer. So much so that I'm realizing I have photos from June that I haven't published. Enjoy our spring finds from the Waverly Farmer's Market from three months ago.  E. is at the market this morning with our friends Brad and Mina. I've sent him out to find Joan to pray she has a flat of Tony Tomatoes to sell us. Chances are we are out of luck because Spike ordered 1,000 pounds to can for Woodberry Kitchen.  

We always run into friends at the market. It's a little social haven on Saturday mornings.

Remember asparagus? Now that you can get asparagus all year long the novelty wears off a bit, but there is still nothing more delightful than the first signs of spring with asparagus spears. We roast them with olive oil, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese. 

We are also excited that the Baltimore Food Co-op had their grand opening this week. To have so much organic goodness only a half a mile away makes my detox way of eating very easy. Congratulations Cheryl and all who worked tirelessly to help you make the Co-op a reality.

We bought all of our garden plants from Waverly this year. 

I love a lime and red garden.

I'm still taking my NutraMetrix vitamins every morning. It's made all the difference with my energy level.

E's been so supportive he even made buckwheat pancakes during the detox.

We were not big fans but was thankful to try something new and be treated to E's cooking. We are big fans of maple syrup as a sweetener and breakfast Quinoa is our staple morning meal during the week.

This morning he made this amazing Corn, Mozzarella, tomato and basil frittata all from his Waverly finds. I am seriously blessed to have a man who likes to cook so much!

It was delicious and gave me the energy to can pear chutney all day. Can't wait to document my second year on the blog with pear chutney. My first post ever on Stone Hill Farm.

E. has graciously "socc-rificed" his Saturdays to spend more time with me. It has made such a difference. I was a soccer widow. He played three times a week and his Saturday games took the entire mid-day. His still plays three times a week but gave up the Saturday game. Now we have time to enjoy the market, fix things around the house and just hang. I'm pretty much in Stone Hill heaven. Thanks Charlie for loving me so much to make this little change. It's been the best summer yet. 

Summer Vegetable Ragout

We have been the lucky recipients of some incredible produce this week from our Stone Hill neighbors. 

Ann and good neighbor Charlie (GNC) were heading out of town and gave us the items above; zucchini, eggplant and red peppers from their farmers market finds. They were heading out of town and were afraid they would go bad. Ann and I were literally talking about how to donate left over CSA's to the homeless while I was getting the mail and she asked if I could take these off of her hands. Yes ma'am. What a score!

Our other neighbors Guy and Pam gave us these little beauties from their gorgeous garden next door. Aren't we the luckiest ducks to have such sweet and generous neighbors? I had to make one of my all time favorite summer recipes from my beloved Martha Stewart as a toast to late summer. After college I received a book of the month club-type subscription from Martha.  This recipe is from the book, "What to have for dinner" and is listed here. The pages are all splattered, well loved and I've cooked nearly every recipe in the summer chapter.

I change the recipe up based on what vegetables we have on hand and started with onions, garlic, fennel, rosemary and olive oil.

Chop the eggplant in one inch cubes so it will cook evenly and not get soggy. E. is not a fan of eggplant so I luck out and get his. Does anyone else think of Steel Magnolias every time you cook with eggplant? "Would you call this color grape or aubergine?" Oh Clairee, how I love you.

Add the zucchini and peppers.

Zest an orange. I can practically smell this photo. 

The orange zest, good olive oil, rosemary and the balsamic vinegar are imperative to making this signature dish. 

Cut and seed the tomatoes. 

Don't over cook the tomatoes but throw them in at the last five minutes.

Add a 1/4 of a cup of Balsamic. Drinking red wine while cooking makes the food taste better. You should always clean up as you go along too. My counter needs help. Maybe it was the wine. :)

Since I'm now 95% gluten free I boiled up some Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta from Whole Foods. The pasta is really good. You have to cook it exactly the amount of time it says on the box. Works perfectly every time. 

This video cracks me up post detox. "Can you please move, you're right in front of the quinoa." Hilarious.

I added fennel fronds to finish and packed it up for my lunch in my glass container. Kasia taught us never to use plastic due to the toxins. We went to HMart and bought a bunch of square glass containers to help keep us detoxed and keep our fridge organized. HMart is an Asian market with great organic items in bulk and is amazing! 

This dish is a gift to the olfactory nerve. The orange zest truly wows the pants off this bad boy. Enjoy these last days of summer and the fruits of the harvest.

Thank you Ann, good neighbor Charlie, Guy and Pam for your generous gifts. They didn't last very long and were perfect in this celebratory summer dish.