Grandma's Kitchen Table

Spring Break

We're on Spring Break:  no posts this week! 

Behind

      Last swim of the last session of the last day...all that's left on deck are the freestylers:  Harrison, Michael, Nick, JJ, and Matt, Coach Chris P., Coach Ian, and Coach Chris W. 

      Zones are now behind us.  The 100 Freestyle finals were the last events on the last day.   

      Matt swam a respectable 54.13, not a better time than this morning, but better than the 55.22 he was seeded at as he went into the meet at the beginning of the weekend.  The swimmers are rejoicing, having a bit of fun after a job well done.

      With the swimming behind us, we can now start officially getting in the Spring Break frame of mind.  Before we part for a week, I thought I would enlighten those of you who are sending emails inquiring as to the theme of this month's titles for the GKT posts and can't quite figure out the common bond linking the words.  The title words:   Over, Past, Above, From, Since, Through, Between, During, After, Among, and Behind are all prepositions.  That's the link...prepositions. 

      Have a great week!

 

Among

      Matt and Nick having a great time at the meet this morning...great swims make very happy swimmers and coaches!

      This has to be among the top best swim meets Matt has ever had to date.  Another new best time, this time in the 100 Freestyle. 

      He went in at 55.22 and clocked a 53.87 this morning, which earned him the fastest time of the CSC boys, something he has never done in the 100 Freestyle before. 

      It also earned him his second Olympic Trial Camp time, so he is keeping his fingers crossed between now and the time the letters come out that he will get an invitation to the Olympic Trial Camp this summer. 

      He finished 14th, so that means he is among those in the consolation final this evening.  Between now and then he has IYC choir rehearsal...they are getting ready for their New York City tour in June.   

      He also swam the 400 Freestyle Relay this morning...shown suiting up and lining up are Nick (in front), JJ, Harrison, and Matt behind.  They finished fourth.

      We are almost finished with the swimming for the short course season.  In two weeks we start practices back up for the long course season, which will carry us through August.

      It's cold and rainy here today...with some talk of maybe a few snowy bits flying around later.  Good day for the LAST fire of the season in the fireplace (she says hopefully) while I watch the MSU game this afternoon. I need Oklahoma to win tonight for any hope of staying alive in the NCAA pool at Mark's office, as I had rather a little more faith in Jim B. and the boys of Orange than perhaps I should have entertained this year, but sometimes you just vote with your heart! 

      The swimming can only get better if somehow this evening he manages to take another eight tenths of a second off that time and get a Junior National cut.  We are definitely not pinning any hopes on this tonight, but if it happens, that would take this meet from "among" the best to "over the top!"

      Hope you are having an enjoyable Sunday!

 

After

      Getting into these fancy racing suits is no easy feat.  It takes a swimmer, a friend or two, and at least one coach to get it all assembled.  I don't know how they swim in those things!  Matt and Stevie getting suited up for the 100 Backstroke this evening.

      After the letdown this morning in the 100 Backstroke, Matt went back tonight with a renewed commitment to get a new best time in that swim.  He did it!  He went in at 1:01.63, and tonight he clocked 1:00.63, a whole second faster than his seed time and a new best time for him, about a half second off that elusive Junior National cut in that swim, but we have a couple months to try and get there.   (Photos are shots of Matt's 100 back tonight...he is the one leading down the return stretch in the first photo and then he is shown hitting the pad for a first place in that heat.)     

       He ended up finishing 17th for the meet, but in actual time, he was 9th overall.  I will try to explain this:  when you swim pre-liminaries, you swim for a time to swim in one of the finals heats.  There is a top finals heat (8 swimmers), a consolation finals heat (8 more swimmers), and a bonus finals heat (8 more swimmers), for a total of 24 swimmers.  Then there are two alternates in place in case someone scratches or gets ill. 

      Once you qualify in pre-lims and you are placed in one of those three heats for finals, you cannot move up in placings between the groups.  Only the top heat can place for podium and medals.  The next two heats can only place in their respective heats. 

      What this means, is that you cannot "jump" into another heat if you swim a better time than someone in that heat in finals.  You can only place in your heat.  So, while Matt's morning swim was not his best, he did make the bonus heat and he could only place in the bonus heat this evening. 

      That said, he swam very well this evening and his time was the 9th best for the day.  So, while he finished 17th for the meet, his time was a 9th place finish.  And, once you get a new best time, it's YOURS, you get to keep it until you get another new best time.   

       Photo at right is a bit of fun while they were warming up for the relay swim...warming up or goofing off, sometimes it is hard to tell!  Tylor, Stevie, John, Matt, and JJ. 

      They swam the 400 Medley Relay tonight and Matt swam in the B relay...you swim 100 meters of one of the four major strokes, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly, and freestyle...and you are placed on a relay depending on what stroke you swim best.  Matt's strokes are the freestyle and the backstroke.  JJ got the backstroke for the A relay and Stevie got the freestyle for the A relay as they both had better times than Matt in those two swims, so he swam the anchor (freestyle) for the B relay.    

     Matt (blue cap red C) on the block ready to swim anchor for the relay.    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      The photo shows the pool as Matt is leading the way back toward the finish.  And, the accompanying photo shows Matt touching the pad and their relay winning the heat.  It is very exciting when your swimmer gets to swim the anchor leg of a relay and brings it home.  

 

      The best part is that he did his "leg" in a :53 something and that is the fastest he has ever gone in a 100 freestyle, so he is hoping tomorrow in the 100 free he can get close to that.  An exciting evening after all! 

      So, Aunt Karen, are you feeling the excitement, breathing the chlorine, aware of just how much you have been sitting on bleachers, etc. all weekend so far?? Do you feel like you are there?  (Aunt Karen likes these scrapbook posts as she says since she can't be there, it makes her feel like she was there just seeing it all.)  

      And after this, I am heading to bed because we have one more day of swimming...the 100 Freestyle tomorrow.  And after that...a two week break!!!

 

 

During

     Matt and JJ (Josh) getting ready to swim the 100 Backstroke this morning.  They got to swim side by side (JJ in Lane 4, Matt in Lane 5), which is always good for Matt as JJ is a senior and one very fast swimmer, so Matt usually swims faster when JJ is in the next lane...well, usually.  Not today. 

      While we have a little time here during the break between swim sessions, I thought I'd update a bit. 

      Those of you wishing to see this week's Whisk Wednesdays' assignment, you can scroll down to Wednesday's date and I now have it posted.  I ended up making it for lunch today as this was the first I could get to it this week.  It was a pretty big lunch, but we hadn't had much in the way of breakfast when we left for the pool this morning, so it worked out fine.   

      This morning's swim, the 100 Backstroke, was not the stellar swim Matt had hoped it would be, as he added a little time, so he wasn't all that pleased.  (Note photo at right showing the end of the swim with no smiling boy with a "thumbs up" sign for Mom and Dad in the stands at the end, a sure sign he was not happy with the swim.)

      Nevertheless, this is his best swim and he did make finals, even with the time he swam this morning, so he will be swimming it tonight for another try at a best time.  JJ finished 3rd, Nick 7th, Stevie 16th, Matt 18th, and Harrison 19th, so we will have several CSC swimmers to watch this evening.  He also swims in a relay, but I'm not sure which one yet. 

      So enough updates, during the break, I need to get some laundry done, hopefully make my TWD dessert for this week, and get things in general order.  What's going on over at your place during this time?  Hope it's fun and/or productive! 

Friday's Favorites Fare

PHOTO:  Matt and Coach Mary Lynne Voigt at the Winter Sports Awards program at Guerin this week.  Mary Lynne was the Assistant Coach due to Roch's business and travel schedule this year, and he was not able to be there to speak as Matt's head coach, so Mary Lynne spoke for Matt and his swimming season.  It was very moving and sweet, all the nice things she said and did for Matt all season was so much appreciated.  Her talk about Matt to the assembly was really wonderful.

READING:  Nothing Like It In The World:  The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad by Stephen E. Ambrose.  Still building the railroad.  (See last week's entry.)

LISTENING TO:  Bruce Springsteen 

COOKING THROUGH:  Le Cordon Bleu at Home (Le Cordon Bleu School of Cooking), this week's assignment is Cuisses de Grenouille aux Herbes (Herbed Frog's Legs) from Chocolate & Zucchini; Baking:  From My Home to Yours (Dorie Greenspan), this week's recipe is Coconut Butter Thins, and can be found on pages 145.  You can cook/bake along, too!

FAV NEW FIND:   Curly Kabob Skewers (p. 48 in the new Sur La you-know-where catalog); 15 inches long and curl into 8 inch diameter circles so they fit on a dinner plate; four for ten bucks...how cool are those...and my birthday is coming up, so I thought I would leave this page open on the counter with a big star by them!  Just in time for summer grilling season!   

FAV THING TODAY:  There's swimming zones, of course, always a favorite, and the NCAA tournament is a happening thing, always a favorite, so I guess I have two today.  Matt has another new best time from this morning in the 200 Freestyle.  He went in with a 2:02.97 and clocked a 1:59.63 this morning, so he is one happy boy this afternoon.  He is first alternate tonight for that swim, so if someone scratches, he will get to swim in the finals.  If not, he is swimming on the 800 Freestyle relay this evening, so he will swim either way. 

GOING TO:   Watch swimming, watch basketball, watch and see if I can get two more rooms checked off the spring cleaning list, and most of all going to have a wonderful time next week on spring break!   

PRAYING FOR:   Safety for all travelers, especially all the spring break families, and yes, I admit it, a new best time and Junior National cut for Matt in the 100 Backstroke, please join me. 

Between

     We have sunshine!  We have beautiful yellow daffodils!  

      Here we are between swim sessions, rejoicing in a new best 50 Freestyle time on the first day of a four day meet.  Matt is swimming at the USA Swimming Speedo Champions Series (we are Central Zone Section 3) here in Indy at the Nat.  The boy went in at 25.20, and clocked 25.14 at the morning's session. 

      While he was happy to have dropped 6/100ths of a second (always rejoice at the drops!), his goal of getting it under a 25 has eluded him for months, so he is hoping for a chance to get back in the water for finals and whittle away some more time. 

      After a refueling stop with several of his teammates, tons of pasta at Noodles, they are all supposed to be home resting before heading back to the pool at 3:15.   So, we are just kicking around this afternoon enjoying the time together between doing this that and the other. 

      Here's the link for the Live Scoreboard for those of you who are interested.  Matt's events are as follows:  Thursday 50 Freestyle (Event 5); Friday 200 Freestyle (Event 10), meet starts at 9:00 a.m. and Event 10 follows the first event which is the Girls 200 Freestyle; Saturday 100 Backstroke (Event 18), meet starts at 9:00 a.m. and Event 18 follows the first event which is the Girls 100 Backstroke; Sunday 100 Freestyle (Event 32), meet starts at 9:00 a.m. and Event 32 follows both Girls and Boys 200 IM and the Girls 100 Freestyle.  Evening finals Thursday, Friday, and Saturday start at 5:30 and on Sunday at 4:30.  They follow the same order as pre-lims.  Here's the connect for the schedule for those of you who know how to read such a thing: click here.  You need to scroll down a bit to get the Order of Events schedule. 

      Have a great Thursday...the weekend is only a day away! 

 

Whisk Wednesdays: Pintade à la Cévenole (Guinea Hen with Mushrooms and Chestnuts)

      The recipe prepared for this week's Whisk Wednesdays' assignment is from Class 22, Part 4:  Pintade à la Cévenole (Guinea Hen with Mushrooms and Chestnuts).  It can be found in the cookbook Le Cordon Bleu at Home on pages 187-188. 

      I could not come up with a guinea hen, so I just used chicken...chicken thighs to be exact, because that's what the guys would eat as they have had chicken breast a couple of times this week and I think that if I serve any more chicken breast, there will be a walk-out.   

      I loved this recipe.  It just went together nicely, everything was cooked separately and then placed into the pot and into the oven for the last little stint. 

      There are lots of fun ingredients in this recipe:  chicken, shallots, bacon, pearl onions, oyster and crimini mushrooms, chestnuts, and red wine (I used merlot from Mondavi).   

      The whole dish tasted so wonderful!  Really lovely moist and flavorful chicken.   It was a big hit...well, except Mark did not care for the chestnuts.  He indicated that the next time I make this dish, he would be just fine without the chestnuts, so I will either leave them out, sub an additional mushroom type, or keep them in (my first choice as I loved them) and just make certain that none land in his portion.  I think they added to the overall flavor of the sauce, and he loved the sauce, so maybe it was just the texture of the chestnuts he did not care for.   

      The only chestnuts I could find were canned ones imported from France (at $9 a can, you can be sure I won't be making it with the canned chestnuts all that often).   

      Chestnut season is definitely not now, and when I tried to see if I could order them online, guess what...none could be found.  So, I went with the canned.   

      I am thinking, however, that this is such a great dish (and fairly easy with a low to normal pan ratio) that I might like to try this with the chestnuts I can find in the autumn.  Just to see the difference, as I am sure there is one.  Sort of like a huge difference between fresh green beans and canned ones.  The little chestnuts are actually kind of scary looking...they look like a brain, seriously.  I had never had them before and I thought they were good...a nutty meaty taste. 

      Ah, well...despite the chestnuts, this dish won rave reviews.  And, I was able to throw it together for lunch between swim sessions, who knew?  Now when I go back to the pool and anyone asks, "So what did you do between sessions?"  I can say I went home and made and served my family a Le Cordon Bleu lunch.  It always makes me seem way more interesting than I actually am. 

      If you would like to see how the other Whisk Wednesday members fared in this class, click here, and then on the Whisk Wednesdays connect to individual bloggers, or better yet, come and join us!  Shari has the ingredients posted on her site at the click, so while we can't post the recipe instructions, you can at least look at the ingredients, and I bet you can figure out a lot of it from there.

Next Week's Assignment: 

Class 23 Les coquillages, escargots et cuisses de grenouilles – Shellfish, snails and frog’s legs
• Class 23, Part 1:
Cuisses de Grenouille aux Herbes (Herbed Frog's Legs) from Chocolate & Zucchini (if you click on Clothilde's site, she has the recipe posted...she is our guest recipe chef this week as our home LCB book did not include a recipe for frogs legs...and well, what can I say, Shari was all about trying to make frog legs as it went with this class...and the rest of us figured we were all game if Shari was).

Tuesdays with Dorie: Blueberry Crumb Cake

      This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Blueberry Crumb Cake, can be found on pages 192-193, and was chosen by Sihan of Beffudlement.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Sihan's site above and she will have it posted today.  

      Can you believe my luck...another week with no chocolate, and look ahead, another week again next week!  Not only did this recipe not have chocolate, it had blueberries and lemon, two of my favorites. 

      I would love to say I handled this recipe well, but I think I am going to need another go at it.   

      The batter came together so nicely.  It was beautiful batter, just a lovely texture, and it smelled of lemon sugar...all those plump little blueberries nestled inside.   

     

     

      The topping went together easily and, come on, what's not to love about butter, flour, sugar, and walnuts?  I put it all in the pan, carefully calculating the volumes for an 8 inch square pan which I wasn't using, and a 9 inch round springform pan, which I had decided to use (so it would fit nicely in the domed cake stand). 

      I baked it for 55 minutes, the timer went off and the whole house smelled just wonderful...of blueberries, vanilla, warm sugar, lemon, but it was definitely not done in the middle...65 minutes...75 minutes...the middle was supposed to test knife-clean when it was done.  When I got to near-enough-for-me-knife-clean, the outside and top of the cake were a little darker in color than what I would have liked.   

      Maybe the round pan was not a good idea...but somehow, I can't see that the round pan was the culprit.  Anyway, I cooled the cake, sliced a small piece as a sample (to make sure it was good enough to serve to the guys and all, right?) and it tasted just fine.  

      I am eager to check my favorite TWD bloggers to see if they encountered any similar problems and if so, see if they know how to fix it.   

      In the meantime, the guys were more than happy to put away a fair share of this cake and they said it was very good, with the whipped cream topping or without.  (As you can see, Mark is a firm believer in having the whipped cream be at least as high as the actual dessert.)  While I liked it, I would have liked it a lot better if it had been less dark in color on the outside...I know:  I am way too picky, it's true.   

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Jayne of The Barefoot Kitchen Witch is Coconut Butter Thins, and can be found on page 145.

Click here  and then click on individual bakers' blogs at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways people interpreted their quest.  It is too late to join the online TWD baking blog, but you can always join us in spirit as the recipes for upcoming weeks are posted on the site and you can bake along in your own kitchen.  See you there!

Through

      These little beauties have been making me smile all week...little flowering bits here and there all popping up and adding colorful spots throughout our landscaping...I look forward to it every year. 

      Well, we made it through the weekend with most of our goals accomplished, and some accomplished that we didn't even know we had at the beginning. 

Spring cleaning:  4 rooms (The Men's Den; the Den; and two half baths)...we didn't get the 5th one done (the Laundry Room) as someone was inspired to go through ALL the books in the book cases to determine if there were indeed some books that could be gifted elsewhere.  Did you get that...through all the shelves, through every single book (some two deep on the shelves), throughout the entire shelving system(s) we have here at the house.  I'm not complaining as it feels really good to have all that done, and it isn't often we actually get motivated enough to take on that little chore and see it through, so I am happy that he was so inspired on Saturday.  (It helped tremendously that most of the bookcases are located fairly close to the television, and therefore the NCAA games.)  

      So, I am feeling really good today about all that.  I'm also feeling pretty good because I am currently 4th in the NCCA basketball pool that Mark's office runs...and since you asked, Mark, Matt, and Alex are all TIED for 34th.  I'm just saying...I'm in a good position this year...I have actually won it once, Mark has won it once, and Alex has won it once and been in the top three a couple of times.  And, I ALWAYS do all my own picks with no help or input from anyone else, just in case you were wondering and all.  

      A fair amount of yard work was completed.   

      I didn't quite get my book finished, so the transcontinental is still in the Sierras. 

      All in all, it was a great weekend...various people in and out, various fun things to do, and all this sunshine making our grass green, the leaves sprouting out in varying colors, and even some flowers blooming, is contributing greatly to my general attitude about the weather! 

      Hope you all had a great weekend...gotta go as the timer on the oven just beeped and my TWD dessert for tomorrow is done...all I can say is that it smells like blueberries, warm sugar, and vanilla throughout the house.  Don't you wish you were here?  Me, too, I wish you were here as well!

Since

      Since it's Saturday night, and since the guys enjoy hanging out in the Men's Den playing any number of video games, and since I had a freezer full of numerous cartons of excellent ice cream, and since they all love ice cream, it seemed like a good way to add to the evening, and definitely a good use for all that ice cream!

      It's been that kind of evening around here...NCAA games, teens hanging out, my very excellent book available for time outs and such. 

      Hope you are all enjoying yourselves at your house, since it is the weekend and all! 

      (In the photo:  Matt, Mike, Nick, and Josh; Not in the photo:  Harrison, who arrived too late for the group photo.)

Friday's Favorites Fare

READING:

Nothing Like It In The World:  The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad by Stephen E. Ambrose.  It all started with those Lincoln books.  And then the Jackson book.  I decided my next little reading jaunt was going to include either the steamships or the canals. 

      But, what can I say...it all REALLY started back on my 18th birthday, which was a Saturday, in 1973.  It was my senior year of high school and my friend and I decided we were going to do something crazy (well as crazy as it gets for Iowa kids back in the early 70's anyway) and drive clear across the state of Iowa to Council Bluffs to visit my friend's sister who lived there.  Living on the edge, I know. 

      Anyway, we did that and while we were there, the sister took us on a little tour of, of course, the Bluffs.  These Bluffs are fabulous...you can stand there day or night and have the most magnificent view that seems to go on forever and a day.  While everyone was "oohing" and "aahing" over the vision, I noticed two plaques:  one that said Lewis and Clark stood there and the other that said Abraham Lincoln had stood there.  Wow.  Impressive.  I was standing on the very spot that these men stood upon. 

      As we toured, we saw the golden railroad spike that marked the eastern terminus of the Transcontinental Railroad and then, much to my delight, the very place where Lincoln met Grenville Dodge and inquired of him one thing:  "What's the best route for a Pacific railroad to the West?"  The rest, as they say, is history. 

      So, as I was reading the Jackson book and the Lincoln books, the tug of Lincoln's dream of the Transcontinental Railroad began it's pull...his dream, although he never got to witness it completed, was the defining "go ahead" that put all the right men in all the right places at all the right time together and made it happen. 

      After the Civil War, vast numbers of Southerners had nowhere to return, their homes gone, their way of life a thing of the past, and these men saw the opportunity to do something important and amazing:  to build a railroad that would span the United States of America.  And so they did.  These men, men like them, immigrants, especially the Irish, the Chinese from California, the financiers...all joined forces and did what everyone said could not be done.  Fascinating reading. 

      I first touched on it from that moment staring out at what would be the railroad route west in Council Bluffs.  When I went to college, I had the opportunity to be part of a history seminar that started out west and worked its way east via California's Central Pacific Railroad.  In that seminar grew my love of Far Western history, the missions, the gold rush, movements of expansion, civilization, mountain explorers, the Native American tribes, and people like Moran and Remington and Bierstadt, etc. etc. who captured it all in their art.  I fell in love with it all.

     When I mentioned to Mark that I was headed for railroads instead of steamships, he perused the wall of the floor-to-ceiling bookcases we have in the den, and surfaced with just the right read.  This book.  I opened the first couple of pages and saw the names of Lincoln, Dodge, Huntington, Sherman, Stanford, Crocker, Hopkins, Judah, Durant, Ames, and Frederick Landers (of Bierstadt fame), and while these names might not mean anything to you, they were old friends of mine from back in that college seminar when I learned them and knew them as well as my own. 

      The first chapter began in Council Bluffs, Iowa, with Lincoln and Dodge meeting by accident, Lincoln there for speeches promoting his candidacy for presidency and Dodge there for various business reasons.  The transcontinental railroad had been talked about in Jackson's time...a dream for 30 years, but on that day in 1859, it became a reality because the right dream hit the right two men at the right time.  Other issues of the Civil War quickly became more dominant than the one occupying the time and thoughts of just where this railroad should be built...the southerners obviously wanted a southern route and the northerners wanted a northern route:  slavery became the issue in the debate over location as the northerners did not want the slave owning states to control the transcontinental railroad.  Lincoln and Dodge came up with a plan and Council Bluffs was it. 

      I'm not sure if I chose this book, or if it chose me, but I just know that by the end of my weekend, east will meet west and the two railroads, the Central Pacific and the Union Pacific, will be one when they joined in Utah in 1869 (technically it was a year later in Colorado, but Utah likes the hype).  I tend to get excited about things like that.  Those who know me well are rolling their eyes and yawning...but it has never deterred me for a moment:  I am a history nerd!  The Transcontinental Railroad changed the history of the United States like nothing else...how much more interesting can it get than that?

LISTENING TO:  Billy Joel...once in awhile I just go completely out of character and listen to unaccountable blasts from the past.  Don't judge me too harshly.

COOKING THROUGH:  Le Cordon Bleu at Home (Le Cordon Bleu School of Cooking), this week's assignment is Pintade à la Cévenole (Guinea Hen with Mushrooms and Chestnuts) pages 187-188; Baking:  From My Home to Yours (Dorie Greenspan), this week's recipe is Blueberry Crumb Cake, and can be found on pages 192-193.  You can cook/bake along, too!

FAV NEW FIND:   Lemongrass Powder...I can't always find lemongrass, so this will do in pinch! 

FAV THING TODAY:  It's officially the First Day of Spring and there are NCAA games on all day, the weekend is almost here, what more do you need of a Friday?

GOING TO:   Watch the NCAA Tournament games, of course, spring clean (goal would be another five rooms), do some yard work (that would be mostly Mark, let's give credit where credit is due, after all), and hopefully a trip to Noblesville and one to Elwood for visits. 

PRAYING FOR:   More patience.  And, then, some more.  Please join me, or pray for whatever you are striving for in your life.

Whisk Wednesdays: Cailles à la Normande (Quail with Cream and Apples)

      The recipe prepared for this week's Whisk Wednesdays' assignment is from Class 22, Part 3:  Cailles à la Normande (Quail with Cream and Apples).  It can be found in the cookbook Le Cordon Bleu at Home on pages 212-213.

  

Quail, okay...not something you can find easily in Indiana, but I did manage to come up with four little (and I mean little) quail courtesy of a quail farm in Georgia, frozen. When I unwrapped them, my first thought was, "Ohhhh...they are so little...like babies..." and I wasn't sure I could actually go through with it.        

 

 

 

 

 

      Despite the hesitation, I seasoned the little birdies, trussed them up a bit to tie their little legs together as they looked a little indecent without the trussing, wrapped their breasts in the bacon like a little shawl (no fatback could be located this week), to keep them moist while cooking, browned them in the pan, and baked them in the oven for 20 minutes at 400.  It smelled really good in the kitchen...poultry and bacon has a way of enticing one to the table!  Mark and Matt also enjoyed eating the bacon with this...in the recipe it said to discard the fatback, but when I went to discard the bacon, there were many cries of "No, don't get rid of the bacon, we want to eat that!"  And so they did, commenting on how good it was with the sauce on it. 

      I made three inch croutons as a little bed for the quail, as instructed (well, it said four inch croutons, but my loaf of bread would not do a four inch cut, so I went with three inch ones.  Note:  the four inch would be better as the little quail would rest completely on that size, so next time I will have larger/taller bread on hand).  This worked nicely for elevating the quail and soaking up a little of the meat juices and the apple/brandy/cream sauce. 

      Oh, was that sauce so good...plus it had the added attraction for me of getting to set things aflame in the kitchen, on purpose, which is always fun! 

      I could not find little golden delicious apples, the only ones available were HUGE, probably twice the size of the little bitty quail, so I did not broil and caramelize them the way they described in the book as they would have been way too large in proportion.  Instead, I just diced the apples and did it that way (easier to eat at the table this way, too).  

      I figured the guys would like the quail, but there wasn't a whole lot of it, so I made some little lemon scallion brown rice tartlets and snuggled the caramelized apples in those, along with some steamed carrots on the side, and a mixed baby greens salad.  There were comments made, as guys like to do, of course, about this little bitty bird being an "appetizer." 

     As a meal for men and growing boys:  Quail would NOT be it.  Unless you owned a flock of quail and could readily make several dozen per meal...at $5.00 a quail, however, it's not happening here anytime soon. 

      The quail was tasty and delicious, I had never had quail before, so it was fun to try something new, and I would like to order it at a French restaurant sometime to see what the chef does with it.  Unlike the guys, I thought the portion size was just fine.  I would make this again as Mark particularly enjoyed it very much and indicated that he would like to have it again.  It was that good.   

      And, I have a whole bottle of Calvados to figure out what to do with if I don't...maybe Dorie has something coming up that requires Calvados.  Oh, I am having the greatest time learning new cooking techniques and recipes!

      This one was so delicious and definitely will have a return visit occasionally here.

If you would like to see how the other Whisk Wednesday members fared in this class, click here, and then on the Whisk Wednesdays connect to individual bloggers, or better yet, come and join us!  Shari has the ingredients posted on her site at the click, so while we can't post the recipe instructions, you can at least look at the ingredients, and I bet you can figure out a lot of it from there. 

The Next Assignment
• Class 22, Part 4:
Pintade à la Cévenole (Guinea Hen with Mushrooms and Chestnuts) pages 187-188 {You can substitute Duck breast if you like.}

      

Tuesdays with Dorie: French Yogurt Cake with Marmalade Glaze

     This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is French Yogurt Cake with Marmalade Glaze, can be found on pages 224-225, and was chosen by Liliana of My Cookbook Addiction.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Liliana's site above and she will have it posted today.  

      First, let me just say that I know you are all in shock that I got this posted before the midnight hour on Tuesday...what can I say, I couldn't sleep, so I figured I might as well be productive and post my entry!   

      Lemon cake!  Lemon is my favorite flavor, so I was very excited to see this recipe chosen this week as it seems like a good week to have a slice of cake.  Maybe two.  I was not disappointed...it is absolutely delicious!  (And for the record, one slice is very rich, so cutting it in half is a good option, so there you have it:  two!)  

      There's lemon zest in the batter, and there's lemon in the glaze.  Yep, lots of lemon.   

      The cake goes together easily, you don't even need to get out the mixer, you just use a whisk and a bowl.  It bakes in a small loaf pan (so really, you might want to just make two if you have a household of men who like big slices, so that you might get to have two pieces for yourself).   

      The list of ingredients is small and easily located.  Some people had trouble locating lemon marmalade, and although I had never heard of it before, my grocery carries a line from Trappist Preserves, located in Spencer, Massachusetts (click for site/flavors/ordering info), which includes 30 different kinds of jams/jellies/preserves/marmalades.  We all love a bit of jelly on an English muffin, and these products are very good!   

      So, did the guys like it?  Absolutely.  They thought it was absolutely wonderful.  (The photo does not do it justice as they ran out of patience with me and just wanted to EAT the CAKE!  Matt did manage to pat his tummy in full appreciation, however, before they both took off with plates and forks to enjoy Dorie's dessert of the week.) 

      Tonight was a big night...Mark took Matt out and bought his first electric razor, so the lemon cake upon returning was like a little party...need to celebrate all these firsts in a young man's life you know.  I know, I am such a M-O-M! 

      The cake was great...very easy, very economical, very tasty...go ahead, make this one!  It's very very good.

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Sihan of Befuddlement is Blueberry Crumb Cake, and can be found on pages 192-193.

Click here  and then click on individual bakers' blogs at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways people interpreted their quest.  It is too late to join the online TWD baking blog, but you can always join us in spirit as the recipes for upcoming weeks are posted on the site and you can bake along in your own kitchen.  See you there!  

Friday's Favorites Fare (On Monday)

PHOTO:  Sue V. sent this photo over of the CHS boys at high school state swimming winning their second place trophy and rings, etc.  Since a lot of the swimmers tune in here at GKT, I knew they would enjoy seeing this photo up today.  We are so proud of those boys!  Second at State...WOW  All their new best times...way to go, guys! (Can click on photo to enlarge.)

LISTENING TO:  Van Morrison (He was featured week before last on the Sunday morning news show I like to watch, so I figured a dusting off of his work would be in order.  Not disappointed.)

COOKING THROUGH:  Le Cordon Bleu at Home (Le Cordon Bleu School of Cooking), this week's assignment is Cailles à la Normande (Quail with cream and Apples) pages 212-213 {You can substitute Partridge if you like.}; Baking:  From My Home to Yours (Dorie Greenspan), this week's recipe is French Yogurt Cake with Marmalade Glaze on pages 224-225.  You can cook/bake along, too!

FAV NEW FIND:   Mini-chocolate chips...one of the TWD bloggers emailed the suggestion to me for using them instead of having to chop chocolate...what a great idea.  These things are really really tiny! 

FAV THING TODAY:  We managed to get 5 rooms spring-cleaned over the weekend, the guys did the carpets even!  Feels great.  Only 10 more rooms to go!  Oh, and windows...but I don't do windows, we hire those done...way, way too many windows in this house to even think of trying to get all those in (well, that's my thought anyway).

GOING TO:   Since this is Monday and all, I'll do a recap.  We watched basketball and did spring cleaning in between bench times.  Actually, even during the spring cleaning, the ballgames were playing pretty much.  Saw ALL the Big Ten Tournament games.  Okay, Purdue won, and I even cheered a little.  That said, my firm belief is that I don't like the idea of the post-season conference tournaments because I firmly believe that the team in the conference who wins the most games throughout the season, is entitled to, and should be given the honor of, being that conference's winner.  Just because you win a conference tournament, doesn't mean you should get the title for the whole year's worth of work.  Just my thoughts on these tournaments.  But, since I don't make the rules, and never once have even been consulted, I do watch the tournament and try to be happy for the winner.  I felt really bad for MSU who deserved to win the title, however, for the record and all.  And, it would have been fun to see TI shave his head!

PRAYING FOR:   Patience. 

READING:  Encyclopedia of Herb Gardening.  I am enjoying looking at all the green in the pictures and thinking that soon, very soon, things will hopefully be greener around here.  Am learning a lot about how and where and why to plant various herbs, as am stepping it up again a bit this year as last year went so very well.  I had lovely fresh herbs well into late fall!

Whisk Wednesdays

      The Whisk Chicks are all taking a week off to play this week.  We will return next week with more of our astounding accomplishments while attempting to learn how to prepare fine French cuisine. 

Tuesdays with Dorie: Lemon Cup Custard

     This week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Lemon Cup Custard, can be found on page 387, and was chosen by Bridget of The Way the Cookie Crumbles.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on Bridget's site above and she will have it posted today.   

      A week without chocolate...and lemon is my favorite flavor!  I was really looking forward to making custard as truly, I have never made or even eaten a custard before.   

      The recipe was really easy:  milk infused with lemon zest heated, whisked together with four eggs and a half a cup of sugar, and that's pretty much it.  After pouring it into the little bowls, it bakes in a water bath for 45 minutes, cools to room temperature, and gets nice and chilly in the frig for a couple of hours.   

      It looks so pretty and creamy.  It tastes so creamy...and a whole lot like eggs.  Go figure. 

      The portion size is very large...in hindsight, I should have baked this in twelve cups instead of six as one little cup of this rich custard is way way too much.  And, it tastes a whole lot like eggs.  Lemon infused eggs.         

      Matt agreed to pose this week, so people can actually see that my baking is edible, as there are those who question this on a weekly basis.  (I did, after all, join this group to learn how to bake.)

        First, let me tell you, Matt does not like eggs.  I forgot that little fact when I said, "I need a taster photo, are you available?"  He took one bite and said, "This tastes like eggs...."   

      Oops...we started laughing and he agreed it wasn't Dorie's fault that he doesn't like eggs, so he said, "It isn't that bad for eggs..." and gave a thumbs up, while putting the bowl aside and hitting the cookie jar instead. 

      Mark thought it was good.  I liked the lemon part (I am not a big fan of eggs either usually).   So, all in all, it looks like Mark gets to eat a whole lotta lemon custard this week! 

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Liliana of My Cookbook Addiction is French Yogurt Cake with Marmalade Glaze, and can be found on pages 224-225. 

      Click here  and then click on individual bakers' blogs at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways people interpreted their quest.  It is too late to join the online TWD baking blog, but you can always join us in spirit as the recipes for upcoming weeks are posted on the site and you can bake along in your own kitchen.  See you there!

 

Whisk Wednesdays: Fricassée de Poulet à l'ail et à la Sauge (Chicken Fricassee with Garlic and Sage)

     The recipe prepared for this week's assignment is from Class 22, Part 2:

 Fricassée de Poulet à l'ail et à la Sauge (Chicken Fricassee with Garlic and Sage).  (It can be found in the cookbook Le Cordon Bleu At Home on pages 324-325.)

      The recipe this week did not require a lot of prep or pans or fancy ingredients.  It was just plain and simple French farmhouse cooking at its best.  

      It called for a chicken, cut into parts...which means I went to the store and just selected the parts we liked for the recipe (no one here is going to eat wings and necks and backs, etc., for example).   

      After browning the chicken in a small amount of olive oil, 20 cloves of garlic were added with one cup of dry white wine.  Yep, you read that correctly TWENTY cloves of garlic, I did not mistakenly write 20 for 2 or something along those lines.  Simmering the chicken and garlic for five minutes, adding a bunch of slivered sage, and the whole pot was ready for a 30 minute stay, uncovered in a 375 degree oven.   

      After 30 minutes, the lid was placed on the pot, and another 10 minutes cooking made mine completely done.  The chicken was tender, moist, and flavorful with a hint of garlic (really, the garlic cooks down to a mild taste) and sage. After the chicken was cooked and set aside to keep warm, the liquid is reduced to half, creating a wonderful wine/garlic/sage sauce to spoon over the chicken. It was also very tasty.   

      The best compliment I can think to share is that Mark said, "This is so good...I would eat this once a week."  Mark's a beef and pork guy, so once a week for a chicken dish is high praise indeed. 

      The dish seemed fairly rich, with the sauce, and all, so I just served it with a cheddar biscuit and a fresh spinach salad with dried blueberries and freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano...Mark poured a glass of the wine I used, and dinner was served. 

      Very easy.  I would make this again definitely.  (Note:  while I left the skin on for browning and cooking, I don't really care for chicken skin, so I removed that on my portion and it tasted lovely that way, very clean and fresh.)   

      Everyone is having a bit of fun suggesting we post this, that, or the other of a week.  It was suggested that we all post our recipe/book holders so that we could see what everyone uses to hold their recipe and/or book each week while they cook.  Hmmm...I don't really have anything like that, and what you see here, is just how unprofessionally my kitchen is run on a daily basis...I just plop the chicken decor from the countertop on the book and it works fairly well.  I can't wait to see everyone else's holders as on the member exchange they were discussing stainless steel and Lucite and this fancy thing and that fancy thing, and I thought, "I think I will just remain silent on my method..." until they decided to post it all!  Now you know...this Whisk chick uses a chick and her chicks!     

If you would like to see how the other Whisk Wednesday members fared in this class, click here, and then on the Whisk Wednesdays connect to individual bloggers, or better yet, come and join us!  Shari has the ingredients posted on her site at the click, so while we can't post the recipe instructions, you can at least look at the ingredients, and I bet you can figure out a lot of it from there. 

The Next Assignment

• Class 22, Part 3:

Cailles à la Normande (Quail with cream and Apples) pages 212-213 {You can substitute Partridge if you like.}

 

 

Please NOTE:

The Whisk Chicks are all taking a week off next week just to play.  Seriously, we all figured we would just throw caution to the wind next week, do something absolutely frivolous and fun, and maybe even not cook a thing all day!  If you want to know what each one of chose to do with the unexpected windfall of time, you'll have to join the group as we are posting it privately on our member exchange.  Or you can bribe each member separately if you really really want to know.

From

       Our little Whisk Wednesdays group has gotten to be quite fun.  There are less than a dozen of us, which makes the group seem small and cozy.  We all love to cook, but we are all busy with lives that keep us on the move and occupied, so there isn't a lot of pressure to "get posted or get out," each week, although posting is definitely preferred, everyone is pretty laid back and not into finding fault.  (Thank goodness or I would have been ousted long ago!)

      While what you all see is the completed dish each week (or in my case,  whenever I can get around to it), we also have a site where the members can post questions, answers, thoughts, share whatever they want at the time, and sometimes just a bit of chit chat each week.  This has been such fun for me as the other members are entertaining as well as enlightening about all the cooking they are doing in their kitchens.    

      Through this little venue, Michelle organized a swap to add some cheer into the cold winter days we were having...okay, Glennis lives in California, but we let her play anyway...  The assignment was to have a secret partner (Michelle matched everyone up) and to send your partner something(s) that was/were your kitchen favorite(s).  

      Melissa drew my name and here is the box of goodies that she sent to me! 

      Since we all don't really know each other, except through the group, we were busy reading each other's blogs trying to come up with things we liked, but also things that our partner might not already have or might enjoy owning a new version of the item. 

      Melissa knew I liked to scrapbook and make cards, so she sent some items along those lines. 

      She sent a very cool cutting board, which I do not own any like this, and believe me, I have a dozen cutting boards (seriously), all of which I like for different things and use exclusively for those different things...don't ask...LOL, so I am excited with this new one as the surface is really different and very enjoyable to use.  It is my new vegetable cutting board.  One of the nicest  things is that it has a hole in the corner (like a paint palate) so that when you are transferring the vegetables from cutting to the pan, for instance, you can insert your thumb in the hole and the grip is perfect for doing that task...hard to describe, just go to the store and check this out...it is wonderful.  She sent the 12 by 9 size which is the perfect size for my family when I cut vegetables.  It's knife-friendly, non-porous, eco select, dishwasher safe, heat resistant, natural wood fiber....okay, just go check this out at the cooking store:  Epicurean Cutting Surfaces...I love this already and the next size up is going on my birthday request list as sometimes I have very big vegetables, like fennel and squash and those huge zucchinis you get in the summer, etc.  So great.

      Included also were some new dishtowels in my kitchen colors, always nice to have new dishtowels. 

      She included a salt and pepper grinder which operates with just one hand...I do not have one that uses just one hand for holding/grinding, so this is terrific!   Being Melissa, she wasn't certain the peppercorns that came in the grinder would be any of good quality, so she swung by Penzy's and got a package of her favorites for me.  How nice was that? 

      I love the shopping tote that she sent, handmade by someone she knows, such a great fabric, and I use these kinds of bags for all my shopping, grocery and otherwise, on a weekly basis: mine, of course, not being this stylish and fun, so this is a very nice treat to have such a lovely tote. 

      And, since she knows I am a little bit bookish (read that A LOT bookish), she found a book entitled Things Cooks Love and included that for me...the book was a lot of fun to read, filled with interesting, and educational information...a good read...I would know, as I have been doing that instead of cooking my Whisk Wednesdays food the last couple of weeks...the book is portable and can go with me anywhere, my kitchen is not!  That's my story as to why I have finished the book and not the cooking. 

      Thank you so much, Melissa, you came up with an entire box of wonderful surprises and I will use each and every one of them with the added pleasure of knowing they came from you and our little group of Whisk Chicks.

      If you would like to see what the others received in their boxes, you can click on the Whisk Wednesdays site and then click on each blogger from the Blogroll and they have them posted on their sites.  Michelle, this was tons of fun...thanks for organizing it!

Tuesdays with Dorie: Chocolate Armagnac Cake

       This week's Tuesday's with Dorie recipe, from the cookbook Baking:  From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan is Chocolate Armagnac Cake:  The Cake That Got Me Fired, can be found on pages 279-281, and was chosen by LyB of And Then I Do The Dishes.  If you would like to try the recipe before buying the book, click on LyB's site above and she will have it posted.  If you want to see why this cake got Dorie fired from a job, you will need to buy the book and read all about it. 

      I am slightly late posting this week, mostly because I didn’t get the cake made until yesterday.  The recipe was fairly easy and I baked it as specified, etc.  The only changes I made were to replace the Armagnac with rum because I had rum (still working on that original bottle from Rum Guy) and I didn’t chop the chocolate, just proceeded right to the melting stage instead.  (Why is it that the directions always have us chopping the chocolate before melting it?  Anyone?)   

      Okay, so what happened here (see photo)?  Well, it’s like this…I had a lot going on, cooking numerous things at the same time, was a tad distracted, and misread the directions about cooling the cake in the pan, mistaking two minutes for ten minutes.  Apparently taking the cake out of the pan at two minutes was not a good idea…it all fell apart.  I just sort of smooshed it back together and thought, “Oh, well, the glaze will cover some of it and I’m pretty sure the guys are going to eat this no matter what it LOOKS like.   

      I was right…it would not win any beauty prizes, but it was, according to them, “absolutely excellent and delicious and you can make this any time.”  The next time, however, I will wait the ten minutes before removing the pan.

      The glaze helped cover a multitude of sins, but the amount specified in the book did not completely cover the cake…I ran a little short as you can see in the photo…however, I will try this same amount again next time as it might be just short due to falling in the cracks and crevices of the smooshed together parts.    

      Only one tester in today’s photos because Matt was at church serving for Benediction and Mark could not wait for him to return to cut into the cake.    I think he asked me about ten times if he could “finally have some of the cake?” He looked so pitiful standing there with his fork and all, that I sliced him a piece before Matt returned home.  I’m not sure which he enjoyed more actually, the cake or the Northwestern win over Purdue, but I do know he liked the cake an awful lot.  

      Next week's recipe was chosen by Bridget of The Way the Cookie Crumbles and is Lemon Cup Custard, and can be found on page 387.

 

    

Click here  and then click on individual bakers' blogs at the site if you would like to see more of this week's recipe and the various ways people interpreted their quest.  It is too late to join the online TWD baking blog, but you can always join us in spirit as the recipes for upcoming weeks are posted on the site and you can bake along in your own kitchen.  See you there!

Above

        Before we lay to rest the 2009 boys high school swim season, I have one more post that I wanted to do about it all.  It's about our Head Coach, of course.   While those who see us often, know how much we think of Roch...I have had to remain a little quiet here in blogland throughout the season. 

       Last year, Roch fell into our laps from the sky...seriously, we were six weeks into the swim season with no coach and weren't sure if we were even going to have a meet to swim in to qualify for sectionals.  Then HE appeared...the coach to end all coaches. 

       Okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration because we do have Chris P and Ian over at CSC and believe me, THEY, too, are the coaches to end all coaches...as are the rest of the coaches at CSC.

       Roch fits right in with the best...we could never pay this man what he is worth in the coaching world.   He always goes above and beyond anything required.   He crunches numbers, he reads everything known to man on the subject of swimming and times and events and swimmers, etc.  He has coached all levels, including college.  He is absolute gold. 

      So, when we heard that he would be doing a bit of traveling for his job during the high school swim season, and probably would not be able to coach Matt this year, we were very sad.  How on earth could we come up with anyone like Roch? 

      Then, he took a step back, we took a step back, and both kinda said at the same time...."Well, maybe we could....." and somehow, with all the crazy schedules, crazy practice times, crazy communications, and the help of Mary Lynn Voigt who would volunteer to be the Assistant Coach and cover what could not be covered when Roch was on business...somehow with all that...we had our Head Coach back for this year. 

      He coached from Indiana, he coached from Alabama, he coached from (believe it or not) Thailand via Skype, and all points in between, texting us during sectionals from airports in Texas and Florida.  I'm not really sure all the places he was when we would get emails, text messages, Skype calls, phone calls, etc.  I just know he made it all happen. 

      Everything was documented, turned in on time, filed, dated, and delivered.  And, while he was not able to make sectionals (since he was in Thailand), he did make it back for all the state events. 

      We chuckled the whole season:  One Swimmer, Two Coaches, International coaching...it was quite a ride.   We are ever so grateful.  Roch has a way of inspiring the whole person in Matt as a swimmer. 

      It was Roch who suggested having "Totus Tuus" on the state shirt...Guerin's motto this year taken from Pope John Paul II's Apostolic motto of the same.  It means "Totally yours" in Christ through the Trinity and With Mary.  That's the kind of coaching Roch is able to pull off and the kind of inspiration that can convince a sophomore that he CAN get to state in both events, he CAN place in the top 16 in both events, and he CAN do it again next year.   And Roch is all about giving proper credit where proper credit is due:  Totus Tuus.

      For a truly wonderful year, we have ALL Matt's coaches, Guerin and CSC, to thank...and for making a high school swim season possible at Guerin, we have Roch to thank, for without him, it never would have happened.  We are incredibly lucky...or as Roch would say, "Rich in Providence."  Rich indeed.

 

Over and Past

       Matt holding up his state swimming shirt for Guerin.  It's now past history...state swimming finals for 2009 are over.   

      How did Matt do?  Well, he did a fantastic job.  He finished 13th (out of 32) in each swim, the 200 Freestyle (pictured at right, Matt in white cap, lane 7) and the 100 Backstroke. 

      He was happy with that...thinks one can always do better, but for a sophomore, with two more years to swim state, he is feeling very good about his two finishes in finals.   

      He was very happy just to even make the finals actually.  Last year he made state in one swim only, the 100 Backstroke, but he did not have a good enough time to come back for finals on Saturday.  (Finals are the top 16 swimmers in each event.)  So this year, he had times good enough to come back on Saturday's finals in both swims...that meant a lot to him to be able to do that.   

      All on his own (with no relay or anything), he scored 8 points for his school, so Guerin ended up in 43rd place (there are 406 member schools in Indiana as swimming is a one-class sport here, not all of them, obviously, represented at state, etc., but still Guerin didn't do too badly as there were teams at state that finished below that score).  (Pictured at right are Matt, Coach Roch, and Coach B, the Athletic Director at Guerin, who once again, came to both sessions to watch and support Matt swimming.  Very nice of him.) 

      The BIG NEWS is that the CHS boys finished SECOND at State and they all get these fancy rings and bragging rights!  We are so excited for them!  Congrats to all the CHS guys...well done, well deserved!  We are very proud of all of you! 

      We are very proud of the The Boy also...it is very exciting to watch him swim and do so well in something he loves.  Here are a few photos that I managed to get with all the distractions going on:  one of Mike mounting the podium for his Championship Finals finish,   one of Matt and JJ getting ready for the 100 Backstroke, they had the lanes next to each other,     one of Harrison gathering up all his gear after his 50 Free swim, not all he had hoped for, but he did a wonderful job, and a photo of Jay (courtesy of Buddy) with his Go Harry shirt on. 

      We all had a great time being together and watching and cheering for all the kids. 

      What's next?  USA swimming continues...the swimmers are all reunited in their CSC team now with Chris P at the helm, and upcoming events were USA Time Trials today, USA Divisionals next weekend, USA State, and USA Sectionals, all before the end of the month.  And, so it goes with meets and championship meets from now until the end of summer, where in August, he hopes to be in Washington State at the Junior National Championships.   It never stops...but, it's been a very good thing for all of us. 

      Oh, and there are the NCAA playoffs this month, etc.  March Madness is truly March Madness around our house...in swimming and basketball watching! 

      One last photo from yesterday, again courtesy of Buddy, a photo of Laurie and Ali at the meet:  Ali had studying to do!  Laurie and I sat beside each other and had a great time chatting throughout the meet.  She even brought her knitting.