Here in the Des Moines area, Halloween is called “Beggar’s Night”. It is celebrated with everyone decorating their homes and yards…and handing out lots of good candy. This year my good friend Doug and I accompanied my two youngest Iowa grandchildren, who were splendidly dressed as Elsa from Frozen and Wolverine! Doug and I were dressed as Winnie-the-Pooh and Grumpy the padded dwarf! My daughter made the wonderful Elsa costume and the train flowed behind my granddaughter in the Autumn breeze. Of course, my five year old grandson had a bit of difficulty grasping candy from the different bowls with Wolverine’s claws but he managed! To receive candy, each little fun-dressed beggar has to tell a joke!
Afterwards, we returned to my daughter’s home and had bowls of delicious broccoli cheese soup made from the Pioneer Woman’s recipe! Alll in all, a fun night in October…
It has been an Autumn to remember in Iowa. Trees with leaves the color of gold, crimson, bright orange and deep amethyst. Great temperatures. Skies a gorgeous blue with snow white clouds, bright sunshine and a cool brisk breeze…and lots of pumpkins!
Last Friday was the perfect day to travel to Center Grove Orchard for a day at the pumpkin patch with my daughter, three of my precious grandchildren and my good friend Doug.
Located in rolling hills covered with pumpkins and a beautiful farm setting, Center Grove Orchard was a pleasant surprise. We began our tour with the little duck race propelled by old fashioned hand pumps.
Visiting with the goats (especially the little kids) was, of course, my favorite. Then the rest of the farm animals: the ducks, turkeys, chickens, pigs, sheep and horses. Need I say, I love farms!
There were tractor go-carts for the kids, a huge inflated jumping deck…
and then, of course, the giant slide (it’s longer than it looks!!!) that the grandkids talked grandmom (me!) into doing down. You’re sitting on a large feedsack and sliding down…very, very quickly! If you’re wondering why I’m reclining while my grandchildren are sitting up, well…I wasn’t prepared that it was so lightning FAST and it knocked me down. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Grandkids: “Grandmom! You’re SUPPOSED to sit up!!!” Grandmom: “You didn’t tell me it was so FAST!!! I can’t sit up!”
And what’s a trip to a pumpkin patch without a fun hay ride on a tractor-pulled wagon loaded with bales of hay and a memorable trek through a six-acre muddy corn maze?! My first time in a corn maze!
Since the pumpkins fields were so muddy, my daughter purchased 4 pumpkins and 2 bushels of apples which she has ALREADY turned into delicious apple butter and apple sauce! The Country Store also sold lots of other homemade goodies!
If you’ve been reading my blogs for any length of time at all, then you know I’m Southern. I was born in the Delta of Mississippi and grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. My roots are there. I fell in love and got married there many years ago. My children were born there. I have a long list of family and friends there. And, yes, I still have a Southern accent…
It was the first day of October and a Wednesday I’d been looking forward to. I was flying home to the South. It had been three long years since I had flown into Memphis…and that had been on the sad occasion of my beloved sister Gerry’s funeral after she had lost her courageous battle with ALS. As the plane circled and descended into Memphis, I picked out a few familiar landmarks: the winding Mississippi River, the Memphis-Arkansas bridge, the “Pyramid” and LeBonheur Children’s Hospital. Soon the plane was landing.
Memphis skyline from the air. (Wikipedia)
Penny and Mike picked me up at the airport and we headed back to their home. They were headed south to Gulf Shores the following morning for a few days, so this gave us some time together until the following week. Penny fixed a delicious meal (including one of my favorites – Southern Fried Okra!) and we enjoyed time together before they drove me 45 minutes out to Sharon and Tommy’s home. I call Sharon “my baby niece” but she’s actually only two and a half years younger than I. She is my beloved late sister Dot’s only child. After the death of her father when she was four months old, we all lived together and Sharon and I grew up like sisters.
I had flown with painful “fluid behind my eardrums” diagnosed by my doctor on Monday and once I arrived in Memphis, it proceeded to get much worse. Unfortunately, I was sick! My long-time Memphis allergies had hit with a vengeance. Sadly, I missed my dinner with my dear friends from Lakeside Hospital where I had worked as a Registered Nurse with emotionally disturbed children for ten years. I hope to make it up to them in the Spring! Sharon took me to her doctor on Thursday where I got a shot and a CBC which verified it was allergies. I was a sick puppy nonetheless. The shot was a big boost and I felt much better the next day. Sharon and I made it to the luncheon at Grisanti’s with my high school friends I had not seen in so many years! It was wonderful to see everyone and, somehow, the years just melted away.
Below: My KHS buddy David and I. David is the youngest member of our graduating class and I am the next-to-the-youngest member! We had not seen each other for 51 years!! He is the same wonderful guy as always. He has a PhD and is a well-loved professor at a local university!
Below: Kathy is my best friend since the ninth-grade at KHS and I’m amazed to say that’s 55 years! She is as beautiful as ever! We see each other after any length of time and just pick right up where we left off. We had a “sleep-over” one night during my visit and her sweet husband patiently put up with us pretending we were sixteen all over again. We had the 60’s music playing in the background and reminiscing over days gone by. Before we knew it, it was 1:00 a.m.! Her sweet husband Bill treated us to a delicious dinner at Houston’s, a Memphis landmark for the past 31 years. I enjoyed meeting one of their three sons, a very handsome young man. I also introduced her and her sweet grandson and granddaughter to ancestry.com and we began a search for their family tree. Her grandchildren thought that was cool and will be a big help with it!
Below: I was so happy to see my cousin, Joy, and fellow KHS graduate at the luncheon as well (although she’s 6 years younger than I). You can tell by looking at us that we come from the same strong McGregor stock! Her grandmother was my father’s sister and one of my favorite aunts! We took one look at one another and marveled at how much we favored one another!
I loved my time with Sharon and Tommy. Sharon is a wonderful cook and made several terrific Southern meals – including delicious homemade meatloaf, her amazing mashed potatoes, Southern vegetables and hot cornbread. Another night she made delicious homemade chicken noodle soup and salad. I was getting a bit spoiled!
The following Tuesday, we headed to the “hills” of Mississippi for a visit with my precious sister Eunice and her dear husband Eddie. We had so much fun with them! They live on 5 beautiful, treed acres with a barn and a beautiful horse named Cherokee. Eddie is the “horse whisperer” and can make a horse do anything! Unfortunately, since his hip replacement, he can no longer ride but still enjoys Cherokee. Eunice is a great Southern cook and made a delicious dinner of pork chops, mashed potatoes, squash, green beans and hot cornbread. Sharon made the dessert which was one of my favorites – banana pudding. Another day, Eddie took us all out to dinner for another Southern feast. They have a wide front porch all the way across the front of their home and each morning would find us out there sitting in the rockers or porch swing, enjoying our coffee and visiting. Eddie recently turned 83 but doesn’t look a day over 70 and gets told all the time that he looks like George W. Bush!
While we were there, we all drove to Pontotoc, Mississippi, to visit the cemetery where my parents, grandparents and other ancestors are born. The old white church has been taken down but, other than that, it looks the same. I took photos of a lot of the tombstones to use with my family history research. After the Guinn Cemetery, we drove over to the Springville Cemetery where my maternal grandparents and other maternal ancestors are born. Again, I took photos for the family history book I intend to finish when I’m snowbound this Iowa winter!
Below: my beautiful sister Eunice at Guinn Cemetery. She is 11 years older than I am. We are the remaining two of the four McGregor daughters. I promised her I would be back in the Spring. We cannot wait so long to see each other again!
We left Pontotoc and headed for New Albany, Mississippi, where we visited their very neat town square…complete with several quaint antique shops and my favorite bakery: Sugaree’s! I can’t begin to describe how delicious everything they bake is! We bought one slice of their amazing white cake with homemade caramel frosting and two chocolate cupcakes to share four ways! I would love to have bought the whole caramel cake! They ship frozen by the way, so check it out. It’s unbelievable!
On Thursday afternoon, we said a sad goodbye to Eunice and Eddie and headed north to visit my niece Cindy. We ate dinner out together that night at McAlister’s (although I skipped my favorite sweet tea since it was so late!) and enjoyed our visit and laughter. Cindy teaches music history at the local college and could easily have been a concert pianist. She entertained us later with a few numbers which I loved. I videotaped it but I’m under strict instructions not to share it! But I will say she’s amazing!
Below: Cindy, Sharon and I attempted a “selfie” with my iPad (an iPad photo isn’t too flattering) but I think it turned out cute!
On Friday, we drove over to Greenwood, Mississippi, to eat lunch at the Crystal Grill. I had a Southern vegetable plate with cornbread muffins and a slice of their famous chocolate pie with mile-high-meringue! It was so good! After lunch, we trekked around downtown in the rain, enjoying the well-known Mississippi shops. I purchased a small pottery candle holder and a ceramic cross. Sharon bought me a beautiful robin egg blue/green ceramic soap dish which I love. (Thankfully, I made it home safely with everything!). That night, Cindy prepared a delicious tortilla chicken casserole, fresh green beans and salad. She had also made a wonderful apple spice cake!
Below: In the Delta of Mississippi, Greenwood is “the cotton capital of the world”. We saw field after field of beautiful snow-white cotton.
On Saturday, we said another sad goodbye and headed back to Memphis…to Penny and Mike’s home. We enjoyed hanging out together, having a delicious Southern dinner and watching a few favorite shows on television. Penny and I did some shopping the day before I flew back. I did manage to get it all in my suitcase and it wasn’t over the limit! On Wednesday morning, Mike and Penny drove me to the airport – in the midst of Memphis rush hour traffic – but we made it with time to spare.
It was a wonderful two weeks filled with lots of memories and I’m looking forward to returning in the early Spring!
After a busy weekend, I have a few goals for today: organize my desk & file the papers that have been stacked up for a while and buy groceries! I enjoyed having my daughter and her family over to “hang out” yesterday afternoon while their realtor had an open house for their home. They’ve purchased 6 acres in a nearby small town and are looking forward to building there. Since I did not have any goodies on hand, my ten year old granddaughter and I made homemade brownies which were delicious. It was decided by my grandchildren that Grandmom needs to buy groceries! Since the weather is cooler right now, I’ve been in the mood for a delicious “Yankee Pot Roast”! Sounds like a dish for one night this week…
The recipe and post below was featured in my previous blog, My Southern Heart.
Yankee Pot Roast is quickly becoming one of our favorite meals. True, there is some prep work involved but it’s worth it in the end. It is a delicious meal! It’s essentially an entire meal in a Pampered Chef stoneware bowl or dutch oven – whatever you have. Tonight, I’m serving it with a small tossed salad and hot cornbread muffins.
Every time I prepare this, I’m reminded of the time, years ago, that my older son brought home his precious fiance to meet us. She grew up in upper New York state and I thought it would be a fun idea to surprise her with Yankee Pot Roast. The funny thing is that she had mentioned to my son that she was hoping for some good Southern cooking! In the end, I prepared both and we all fell in love with her…and, thankfully, vice versa. They have been happily married for about 16 years now and have 3 beautiful daughters.
Here they are…the ingredients all assembled and ready to become delicious, tender Yankee Pot Roast. The only thing missing are 2-3 fresh stalks of celery which I didn’t have.
Yankee Pot Roast
One 3-4 pound beef roast, or larger depending on size of family of course ( this one was a 2 & 1/2 pound eye round roast). Rump roast is hard to find here but is my preference.
Kosher salt (about 1 tablespoon)
Lawry’s Seasoned Pepper
3-4 fresh carrots (or more if you’re cooking a larger roast)
2-3 fresh stalks of celery (or more for larger roast)
4-5 large Idaho potatoes (or more for a larger family) (washed, peeled – or not – and cut into quarters)
2 cans Beef Broth or 1 large box of beef broth
1 & 1/2 cups good red wine (This one is a merlot from Columbia-Crest in Washington state. Reasonably priced and good for this dish.)
1 large onion cut in quarters (the small onions above came from our garden so I used what I had)
4-5 cloves of fresh garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of Herbs de Provence (if you’re not using fresh herbs also, increase to about 1 & 1/2 or 2 tablespoons)
3-4 sprigs of fresh rosemary and fresh thyme
2 sprigs of fresh tarragon (all the fresh herbs came from my garden this morning)
Flour – Just enough to dredge roast really well.
Liberally sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of Kosher salt and Lawry’s Seasoned Pepper all over roast.Dredge the seasoned roast in flour.Preheat the Extra Virgin Olive Oil…Saute’ the veggies in the preheated EVOO until slightly browned…just enough to give them some color.
Remove the vegetables to a separate bowl and brown the roast on all sides on medium-high heat.
Remove the roast and add the beef broth to the hot pan. Stir to “deglaze” the pan or get all the good pan drippings off the bottom of the pan. Add the red wine to the beef broth and stir briefly.
Combine the roast, carrots, onions, minced garlic, celery and herbs in stoneware bowl or dutch oven. Pour the beef broth/wine mixture over it. Cover tightly with lid and tightly wrapped foil on top of lid. Bake at 300 degrees for about 2 & 1/2 hours and then add the potatoes cut into quarters. Bake for another 1 hour or until potatoes are tender. Enjoy!
It is 46 degrees and raining (again) this morning. There are so many beautiful shades of green here in Iowa that I cannot complain about the rain. Hopefully, all this rain will evolve into the amazing jewel tones of Autumn…my favorite season. My farmer friends tell me, however, that they need more very warm days and sunshine to mature the crops. So, we’ll pray for just that and an abundant, successful harvest here in the Heartland!
A couple of nights ago, I made these muffins and, to be honest, they’re even better two days later. Something about all the flavors and the moisture of the prunes having time to absorb. I wouldn’t say that they are my favorite muffins ever, but they were very good with a cup of fresh coffee on this rainy morning.
Now, if I’d put Banana-Prune Muffins in the title, you would probably have skipped on by, right?! They really are good – try them!
Banana-Prune Muffins
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter (melted)
1 egg
1 cup mashed, ripe banana
1 & 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup finely chopped & pitted prunes (or chopped chunky if you prefer)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees (175 degrees C). Prepare the muffin tins with Pam, grease & flour OR use paper liners as I did.
In one bowl: Combine and whisk all the dry ingredients together.
In a large bowl, combine sugar, melted butter, vanilla and egg. Beat until smooth. Blend in the bananas.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir just until moistened. Gently mix in the prunes.
Spoon into prepared muffin cups.
Bake in preheated oven for about 20 – 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
It’s was 56 degrees in Iowa this morning with bright sunshine and clear blue skies…reminding me that my favorite season is quickly approaching. I’m under the weather this morning after several nights of much less than adequate sleep, so I will put the praise music on and enjoy a time of worship here in my porch rocking chair.
Yesterday afternoon, my friend and downstairs neighbor Susan and I ventured out in the beautiful weather for a few hours. The goal wasn’t necessarily to purchase anything – although I did find a tiered stacking rack for the spices in my pantry and a couple of Autumn dish towels. The goal was just to enjoy the afternoon. Apparently, everyone else in West Des Moines had the same idea!
We ended up eating a late mid-afternoon meal at one of my favorite places – Famous Dave’s. Memphis Barbecue was featured on the menu as well as Georgia Pulled Pork (which I had). Having grown up in Memphis, I wondered how Dave knew so much about Southern barbecue. Click the link and read his story! Believe me, if Famous Dave’s were in Memphis, they would give Corky’s and the Rendezvous a run for their money! Everything I’ve eaten there is delicious.
To be honest though, barbecue always makes me homesick for the South, since it’s a Southern “comfort food”. In the featured photo above, I am having Corky’s barbecue at Penny’s house the Friday night after Thanksgiving in Memphis in 2012 with my niece Sharon and her husband Tommy. I miss them and can’t wait to see them on October 1st when I fly into Memphis!
