Happy Independence Day! oh yea and...FIST PUMP FRIDAY!

What a great 4th weekend!
First off my beautiful family will be growing by 1 in November and this weekend we were able to announce to our families that we are having a baby boy! 

I am so excited to have a son!

To celebrate my dad came down and we went fishing on the Harpeth.  We slayed the fish and caught lots of nice small and large mouth bass.

My dad, first fish of the day

Right after that, I got my first fish of the day

The Harpeth is actually a beautiful River!

The next day my buddy Matt and I did the same float as I had done the day before.  Since I knew there were big fish in the areas we were fishing, we decided to only use larger bait to catch the big fish....and we caught big fish...Probably between 20-30 small and large mouth and some of the biggest Red-Eye Bass I have ever seen.

Matt and his 4lbs Large Mouth.  In another river this fish would have easily been 6lbs!

At night I have been slowly working on redecorating our kitchen.

What color do you like?

Repainted the trim and the walls.                                Redecorated the kitchen

Cabinets removed and ready to be sanded primed and repainted

The paint store is closed this weekend so this is where I leave you for now!

HAPPY FIST PUMP FRIDAY!

Simply the BEST Summer Spaghetti!

If you have a garden you can grow most of these ingredients and have the best fresh summer meal ever!

First pick of the year!

Spaghetti with Summer Squash and Tomatoes!

Things you need:

Kosher Salt

1 zucchini, sliced into thin rounds

1 summer squash, sliced into thin rounds

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1 onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tsp chopped oregano

1/4 C EVOO

S &P

1 LBS Spaghetti

Arugula leaves

3/4 Parmigiana-Reggiano cheese

1.  Bring large pot of salted water to a boil.

2.  Preheat oven to 400 Degrees

3.  Combine zucchini, squash, tomatoes, onion, garlic and oregano in a large bowl.  Add EVOO S&P to taste and toss.

4.  Empty onto a baking sheet and roast for 10-15 min, until squash is tender and caramelized.

5.  Empty into a large pasta bowl and cover to keep warm

6.  Add spaghetti to water and cook until al dente

7.  Add 1/4 C spaghetti water to the veggies.

8.  Drain the spaghetti and add noodles to the veggies

9.  Add arugula and Parm and plenty of black pepper and toss.

10.  Add salt as desired and serve!

Ain't Ja Mommas Pancakes!

Just finished devouring these and I must say, they are some of the best I have ever had.
"What are the best you have ever had, Connor?"
Well it is funny you asked that.  The best I have ever had were in San Fransisco at a little hole in the wall, Dottie's True Blue Cafe'.  After waiting in line for at least an hour or two, you will be served some of the best home cooked breakfast EVER!  Don't believe me, watch this video and tell me you don't want to wait in live 2 hours a day (Lind's and I did 3 times) to get you some of this!
Diners Drive-ins, and Dives-Dottie's True Blue Cafe'.

Ok, so the reason I make that shout out is to tell you that the 3 times we went, we had to order some of the pancakes to figure out what it was they put on them to make them so amazing!  Their secret ingredient...

The Cakes:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions
1.In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
2. Pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.
3. Let stand for 10 min.
4. Heat a lightly oiled griddle to 350.
5. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake.
6. Brown on both sides...Serve with butter, syrup, and the secret ingredient...

Secret ingredient...My Version of Dottie's Mix:
1T Powdered Sugar
1 tsp Sugar
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Ginger
splash of Nutmeg.

Sprinkle onto and serve!

Happy Fist Pump Fathers Day!

So for fathers day all i wanted to do was take our canoe in down to the Harpeth with my family and have a good time.  Well, little did I know that the fishing gods were looking down on us.  We floated the river for about 3 hrs and I only fished for 45 min or so.  But I ended up catching 30-40 fish, the largest being a 2.5-3lbs Kentucky Hybrid Bass....What a great way to finish a great day!  I only wish i had more photos of the day to share, but we forgot the battery of the camera on our first canoe outing :(

Happy Fish Pump Fathers Day!

Steak and Taters!

I have been holding onto some Rib Steaks from the Co-Op we did this winter trough Peaceful Pastures, a place where animals eat good so that they taste good when you eat good!  My mom gave me some red and gold potatoes a friend of hers grew in their garden.  I also picked some hot and sweet banana peppers and lettuce from the garden to accompany this summer meal!

                                                                    First the Meat!

2 Rib Steaks

1/2 C beer (I used ale)

1/3 C soy sauce

1/4 C maple syrup

1 T ginger

1tsp mustard powder

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp hot sauce

Mix all ingredients and let marinade for at least 2 hours and no more than 24 hrs in the refrigerator

Cook on grill to desired doneness

The Taters

12-15 small red and gold potatoes

1/4C red wine vinegar

2 tsp Honey

2tsp Dijon mustard

1/2 C olive oil

1/2 bunch chopped green onions

S&P

Boil potatoes in salt water until cooked through, but not soft. (10-20 min)

Cut in half and season with salt and pepper and set aside to cool.

Mix all other ingredients

Run a skewer through the potatoes

Brush Potatoes with the liquid mixture

Grill on high until lightly brown on both sides (5 min)

Plate the potatoes and then drizzle with the remainder of liquid and add chopped green onion.

Grilled Banana Pepper Poppers

I made these up on the spot so all ingredients are eyeballed.

6 Banana peppers cut in half and deseeded.

Cream Cheese (I used honey walnut to go with the dinner)

Sharp Cheddar cheese

Bread Crumbs

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl to desired texture (should be sticky)

Fill each pepper half with mixed ingredients

Throw on top rack of grill until pepper starts to brown....or just eat raw!

After Prep

On The Grill!

Dinner is served!

This was an amazing dinner!

Tune in next week when I make Rabbit Stew...straight from the garden!

Very Boring and Uneventful FPF

Well, last week we had a couple of punk kids break into our cars and take a few valuables and one of our house keys.  So you guesses it, FPF was spent changing our locks.  But...I could not just put back regular old locks...NO, I went keyless entry for my house.  These are a MUST BUY...especially if you are a parent with a young child and find yourself holding a kid, groceries, and a bag of toys when you get home and then having to try to get your keys out.  I see the robbery as a blessing in disguise.  Where has this been my whole life!  Kwickset.

Happy FPF!

Free Firewood Fist Pump Friday!

During the flood of 2010

A tree fell in our yard....I wonder if it made a sound!?!

Well on a hot and humid Friday I took it upon myself to cut up said downed tree.

After an hour or so of cutting in 90 degree / 90% humidity I had to call it quits and turn in for the weekend.

I took a few shots around the garden so that I can document the growth (and soon to be over growth) of the garden.

Front to back:

Lettuce, Squash, Banana Peppers (sweet and hot), Jalapeno Peppers, Bell Peppers, Tomatoes

Squash starting to bloom

Bell Peppers (Harris Teeter Plant)

Tomatoes!  Lots already coming up on all but one plant!

Be prepared for a Wine Post!

I am on the market for a good Muscadine Wine Recipe!

Blueberries!!! 

 I have to harvest them the day they become ripe or else the bird will pick them clean!

As you can see it was an unproductive FPF, but I got about 1/2 the tree cut down and then rehydrated on the couch for the rest of the day.

HAPPY FPF!