#tbt - Baby sister way back when

This throwback features two of my favorite people in the world:  Papa Rist and baby sister.  This picture is from the same family reunion-type event that last week's beautiful picture of my cousin Les came from.

She was such a cute little peanut!  This girl means so much to me and I don't know what I would do without her!  Although I haven't always showed it in a "normal" way - I did encourage her to eat a mud pie once upon a time - I couldn't have made it through a lot of the challenges in my life without her constant support.

10 Years

It's hard to keep the tears from my eyes while writing this or even thinking about it.  Ten years ago, I lost my best friend.  A man many loved and admired and depended on, but to me, he was so much more.

 

I was incredibly blessed as a child, because when my parents were at work, my sisters and I didn't spend our days in a daycare center or with a babysitter or nanny.  We got to spend them at the family farm with Grams and Grandpa.

 

My grandpa was the epitome of the strong, silent type.  He didn't say much, but when he did, everyone listened.  I was one of the few people that got to see another side of him. 

 

I spent countless days riding on the fender of his tractor going back and forth between the farm and fields.  We took many trips to market in the old blue pickup - usually stopping for ice cream on the way home!  And we enjoyed many "lunches" of graham crackers and Ovaltine.

 

I don't know what it was, but there was something about the two of us that just worked.  When we were riding in that pickup together, I heard stories of his childhood on the farm, adventures with his brothers, and humorous moments of his early courtship with Grams.  I didn't know until many years after his death, that these were rare experiences.  He and I shared stories that he never even shared with my dad, and I still just can't believe it.

Grandpa, I'm so glad I got to spend all the time with you that I did.  There is so much of your life still on the farm and I can feel it every time I'm there.  I still love to watch storms from the porch or sitting inside with the door open, because you taught me how to relax and trust that I'm being watched over.  You were such an amazing man and I'm so glad to have shared so many memories with you, I just wish you had been here for even more of them, like my graduation from Stanford.  I wish that I could have you by my side in the future when I get married and have children of my own, but I know you are still in my heart.  I love you and miss you every day, Grandpa.

Berliner donuts

MB is learning her way around the kitchen, and I'm trying to support that.  So when she came to me saying she wanted to make Berliner donuts - which I had never heard of - I was all for it!  We had fun making these together, and they were delicious!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup milk
• 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 packet (or 2 1/4 teaspoons) dry yeast
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• 3 egg yolks, beaten lightly
• 3 1/2 cups (1 pound) flour
• 1/2 teaspoons salt
• Vegetable oil (or other fat) for frying
• Raspberry jam
• Powdered sugar

Directions:

Scald milk in small saucepan.  Heat just until bubbles form around the edges - don't let it boil!  Remove from heat, whisk in butter until melted.  Cool 10 minutes.  Add to bowl of standing mixer with dough hook.

Sprinkle yeast over warm milk mixture.  Add sugar.  Stir gently to dissolve.  Let stand 10 minutes until foam appears.

With mixer on low, add egg yolks.  Gradually add in the flour.

When the dough starts to come together, increase speed to medium.  Add the salt.

Stop mixer as needed to scrape dough off hook.

Mix just until dough is supple and elastic (around 5 minutes).

On lightly floured surface, knead dough gently for 2 minutes.

Place dough in greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise 1 hour until double in size.

Roll dough into small balls.  Place on greased baking sheet and let rise another 30 minutes.

Heat 3 inches of oil in a deep saucepan.  Slip donuts into the hot oil and fry until golden.  Drain on paper towels.

Using a pastry bag with a small tip, poke a small hole in the side and pipe jam inside.  Dust with powdered sugar while still warm.

 

Adapted from Group Recipes



My faith's new home

I grew up with the expectation that church happened every Sunday, and we would be there every Sunday - except for the week of the Turner County Fair.  Unlike most adolescents, I enjoyed this.  Like my dad, I started to feel that starting my week with church just made everything make more sense.

I was baptized as an infant in my grandparents' Missouri Synod Lutheran church.  During elementary school, we switched to an ELCA church for multiple reasons, and that's where I was confirmed.  After losing my grandfather and moving out to the family farm, we returned to the church of my childhood.  That church felt right when I was missing my grandfather, since he had helped build the pulpit and lectern, and had taken a trip out to the Black Hills to bring back stones for the baptismal font and the alter.  I could feel so much of him there.

While in high school, my community lost two sisters in a car accident, which devastated the town.  Out of that loss came a wonderful youth group, F.R.O.G. (Friends Rejoicing Over God), that helped a lot of us get through the trials of high school with our faith stronger than ever.

After that, however, I left for college.  I loved being a student at Stanford, a private non-religious university.  We also have a gorgeous church on campus - Memorial Church.  However, I struggled to find a home in this church community.  The services I went to were non-denominational or inter-denominational in name, but I found them to essentially be Catholic Mass-type services with some elements of Judaism sprinkled in.

This year, after nearly four and a half years of searching, I have found my faith's new home and my new church community.  One of the first times I visited, the sermon examined Psalm 23 and what the shepherd metaphors mean for us since - the pastor assumed - no one in the congregation was a shepherd.  After telling him where I came from and that I was a shepherd, I was able to laugh and talk to many people after church that day.  Now, they all know my name and look forward to seeing me week after week, and that's a great feeling.

#tbt - Les

I was lucky enough to have a cousin less than 6 months younger than me, Les, so we got to do a lot of growing up together.  Les is now a beautiful woman entering her final year of nursing school and I'm so proud to call her my cousin and friend!

This picture was another find from Grams's piano.  We were all gathered at the Centerville Steakhouse for some sort of large family gathering - maybe a reunion? - where we were all lucky enough to have to sing, dance, or play an instrument during the "show."  Oh, my childhood.

 

Creamy quinoa

One day MB and I were both milling around the house, and we started talking about what we were each thinking about making for dinner that night.  We had this crazy idea to actually make dinner together - crazy, I know!

 

We decided quinoa was necessary since she liked it when I made quinoa dishes and let her have leftovers.  We flipped open Betty, and she only really had one quinoa recipe, so we went with it!

 

There were so many vegetables in this dish, I know Tall Dark and Nerdy would have been proud if he had been around to see it (instead of in India).

Look at all those veggies!



This will be a great dish for summertime when I'm wanting something a little lighter, yet still filling and delicious.

 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cups uncooked quinoa
• 3 cups water
• chicken bouillon
• 3 ounces cream cheese
• 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh basil
• 2 teaspoons butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or chopped
• 5 cups thinly-sliced, bite-size pieces of assorted raw vegetables - I used carrots, zucchini, squash, bell pepper, asparagus
• grated Romano cheese

Directions:

Combine bouillon and water in saucepan (to make chicken broth), add the quinoa.  Heat to boiling.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer 15-20 minutes until liquid is absorbed.

Stir in cream cheese and basil.

Melt butter over medium heat in a skillet.  Cook garlic in butter about 30 seconds, stirring constantly, until golden.  Add vegetables.  Cook 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until vegetables are crisp-tender.

 

Combine quinoa mixture and vegetables.  Sprinkle with Romano cheese. 

Spring Break in SoDak

It's always great to go back home.  The place I grew up couldn't be more different than where I live now, but I love both places and the people in them that make my life whole.  I thought I'd share some pictures of my "spring break" vacation in SoDak this year with family and friends.

Lambing season on the farm, and shooting lessons with baby sister and Les.

Jon Pardi, Dustin Lynch, and Jon Pardi concert in Brookings with old friends!

Lola came to wake me up after spending the night at Ash's new house.

Baby sister was wishing we were back in Tahoe, so she tried on her
snowboard coat, one mitten, and MY hat...with her shorts.

A big reason why I made sure to go home in March was to meet baby Rig.

He was a month old and so precious.  And his mama KT was doing great too!

Papa Rist and I leaving the farm together one morning.  Yes, that's fresh snow.

It had been YEARS since I had scraped a windshield.  Not sure I liked it.

Mom's greenhouse got a couple thousand new plants for her students to practice growing!

South Dakota sunset between my farm and my hometown.  What a sight!

I love this girl to death!  My cousin Les, baby sister, and I had a "cousin night" together.

Dinner and drinks, then home for sweats, cookie dough, and Magic Mike.