Fall = Fair Week!!!

Fall has officially arrived! "Officially" it arrives in DeKalb Co Alabama when the County Fair comes to town.  My boys live for this time of year! It comes in close to the top of their favorite things lists, only coming in behind Christmas and their birthdays. They count the months until it's fair time.  Ironically, it also always falls the week of my birthday.  My big day can't hold a candle to the Fair!




So excited that they've forgot that I'm back here :)

Oliver riding the bull last year

David is almost as bad as the boys when it comes to Fair week.  We are in the middle of Soccer and Football season (last night we had soccer @ 5 and JV football @ 6- home @ 9:30) which is why I had deemed "fair night" to be Wednesday night.  Our church is not meeting and having family night @ the fair that night.    But Nooooo.   Last night, I had to be the bad guy and tell ALL of them (David included)  that we were not going to the fair after soccer/football @ 9:30!  

Now they have decided that we HAVE to go tonight (Tuesday).  The main reason they are so eager to go is to see if their Lego creations won Blue Ribbons. The little boys each entered several creations.  When Parker was little and we lived on a farm, he always entered Chickens in the Poultry show. He won Best in Show w/ his Rooster one year! For you city folk- That's a big deal in the Country!  We also entered my pickled okra, tomato basil jam, peach bellini jam and dill pickles.  So I have to admit I wonder if I even placed in the judging.   I know that we will end up w/ funnel cakes, riding rides and tears when it's time to leave. But then I remind myself, The Dekalb Co VFW Agriculture Fair only comes around once a year, like their birthdays and Christmas.  So it's okay to go several times and indulge.  They are only little for a time and the smiles on their little faces when they are riding the lil scrambler ride, that makes me dizzy just watching them, and is operated by someone I swear I saw on America's Most Wanted is oh, so worth it!!

That smile! So worth every funnel cake I can't turn down!

Cooper & Oliver trying their luck @ the shooting gallery
last year.

We got Parker to ride the bull last year.
He didn't know I got a pic....

FOOD - Roasted Corn Soup

I always love it when I open the mailbox and find the newest Williams-Sonoma catalog.  If there was a specific materialistic key to my heart, it would be cookware/kitchen tools.  Grill pans, Saute' pans, Roasters and the incredible specialty cookware section.....   Ok, I'm back.  Back to my reason for blogging.  

While looking @ the WS catalog I always end up trying at least one recipe that they feature.  This month I was drawn to the Roasted Corn Chowder w/ tomato.  If you've read my blog then you know that my garden has really produced tomatoes this summer.  So I liked the idea of being able to use my tomatoes and bell peppers. And my new grill to roast the vegetables! 
I haven't tasted corn soup and definitely haven't made any.

Some of my corn and tomatoes. My roasted peppers are in the brown bag.

The recipe looked easy enough, so I decided that I
was up to the challange.

There are a few things that I changed it up but nothing to change the final product.   I'll note that next to the official recipe.  

From Williams Sonoma

This recipe was created by the Sussman brothers, Max and Eli. The chefs started testing the recipe early one morning but Max had to go into work before it was done cooking. He texted Eli a few hours later—“how did the soup turn out?”—and Eli texted him back: “I now know what it feels like to open presents on Christmas morning.”

Ingredients:

• 2 ripe but firm tomatoes
• Kernels from 6 ears of fresh corn (about 3 cups)
• 2 red bell peppers
  
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• About 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth, plus more as needed
• 1 tsp. chipotle chili powder
• 1 tsp. salt, plus more, to taste
• 1 cup heavy cream
• Sliced avocado for garnish
• Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
• Paprika for garnish

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 375°F. I used my grill to roast the tomatoes, peppers and corn. I didn't want to heat up the whole house and it was a great day for grilling.

Put the tomatoes in a lightly greased glass baking dish. Roast until the skins darken and the tomatoes are caramelized, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Keep the oven on.

Spread the corn in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast until the edges begin to turn golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Meanwhile, when the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, peel off the skins and discard. Set the flesh, with the juices, aside in the baking dish. Remove the corn from the oven and let cool.

Place 1 bell pepper on each of 2 gas burners. Turn the burners on high and sear the peppers directly over the flame, using tongs to turn as needed, until the skins are blackened all over, 10 to 15 minutes total. (Or place the peppers under the broiler and broil, turning as needed, until charred and blistered on all sides, about 15 minutes.) Transfer the peppers to a brown paper bag and close tightly. Let stand for 15 minutes, then remove the peppers from the bag. Remove and discard the skins, core and seeds.

In a soup pot, combine the tomatoes, bell peppers, yellow and red onions, garlic and corn, reserving a handful of the roasted corn for garnish. Add just enough broth to cover the vegetables and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-high and cook until the vegetables are very tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the chili powder and the 1 tsp. salt.

Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth. While blending, slowly drizzle in the cream. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt. Ladle the soup into individual bowls. Garnish each portion with a couple of avocado slices, a few drops of olive oil, a scattering of the reserved roasted corn and a sprinkle of paprika. Serve hot. Serves 4. I omitted the Avocado - I am the only one who eats it @ my house and I usually have an allergic reaction when I eat them. 

Adapted from This is a Cookbook, by Max Sussman and Eli Sussman (Olive Press, 2012).

IT WAS DELICIOUS!!! We will have this again as the weather cools off this Fall. David liked it, the boys were a little scared. They think corn is best served on the cob, smothered in butter and sea salt.
This was a great recipe. I always think of what else I would do to a new recipe.  I might add some kind of shredded hard cheese. It would also be delicious w/ crumbled bacon as a garnish.

Warning: BOYS MOM

I am the mom of BOYS.  That should be on a t-shirt as a warning to others.  Or maybe as an information site. No, I really think a warning t-shirt would be better. I don't have the sanity to help other confused parents.

       I have several friends that have all boys and we are like a support group for each other.  Sometimes it seems like our conversations start w/ "Has this ever happened at your house?". 
And then we proceed to compare stories about the crazy, off-the-wall things our boys have done lately.  I have friends who have girls too and several boys w/ one girl sprinkled in for sanity.  They too have "boy stories" just not to the extreme of an all boy mom.

      There is something about boys/men that makes them more confident to climb up something not meant to be climbed when there are other boys/men to cheer them on...   I can only imagine that maybe that doesn't happen in households where a daughter exists.  I like to think that a daughter would be a voice of reason or at least report the offense to a "responsible" adult - meaning me b/c David would be in the crowd, cheering. 

      There are things that boy moms have to know.  Like the names of every Star Wars episode in order, and which episode Hans Solo (aka Indiana Jones) was frozen, why we NEED more Lego's and that it doesn't matter how many Lego containers you buy, they are still going to be everywhere!
     Things like how to neutralize the smell of urine in ceramic grout lines and how much blood is too much for your awesome laundry skills, are common knowledge now.  I have to know things like how to repair or replace everything from the ice maker on the refrigerator to the handle on the vacuum cleaner.  They tear up everything! David is as bad as the boys too. He broke the handle on the vacuum and thought we'd still be able to use it.  I ordered the handle the next morning after I tried to use the broken one. I think there are still plastic pieces in my palm.  The handle is now replaced and we are good as new.  The ice maker is waiting it's turn...

As an all boys mom you can never, I mean NEVER let "them" see you sweat!  The "them" I'm talking about are the other parents. The non-boy parents.  They're watching, they know that you can crack @ any moment and they don't want to miss out on witnessing that kind of drama! Keep your cool, you can flip out in the car on the way home. Not really, that's dangerous for everyone. Just keep your cool.  Some boy moms are great @ this, they are usually seasoned veteran's. They can also spot a newbie and swoop in for help.  They are your greatest chance at making it through this.

  My friend can see me about to crack and stop it all with one look.  It's a head cocked, one eyebrow up kind of look that makes me strong and my boys weak.  She's a superhero like that. For our 6 year old's birthday last year she gave him 3 cloth IKEA boxes, 1 filled w/ bottle caps, 1 w/ acorns, nuts & bolts and the last one had john doe credit cards in it.  Oliver was in heaven!   I'd like the bottle caps to stop showing up all over my house upside down, in the dark!  But he was happy and thinks it's great!  She's a superhero like that.  And they love her.

    As much as they drive me crazy, they are precious.  Yes, even David.  I love it when I am picking up laundry and one of them walks by and casually says, "Hey Mom?", "I Love You" and then proceeds to go back from where he came.  I recently stepped on a red wasp.  Gosh that hurt!  That's not exactly what I said :)   Oliver heard my cry and filled a bag up w/ ice and brought it to me. He sat w/ me until it felt better or he couldn't stand my whining anymore.(not sure which).  But he was there!  Moments like these are a jewel in my MOM crown and it is full! 

I recently read a blog about the excitement of living in a boy filled house.  www.testosterhome.com
Rachel has some good stories that make me feel that I am not alone.  I can completely identify w/ what she writes about.  I never thought I'd be so worried about hammers, Sharpies, knives, sticks, bricks, rocks and odd pieces of wire.  They are all potential weapons in the house of boys. They have dislocated an arm w/ a plastic airplane before, imagine what they would do w/ a hammer!

They are amateur archaeologist.  We have a wall outside that is the wall of fossils.  They drag rocks up from everywhere.  Cooper & Oliver found a geode in the gravel @ the football stadium Friday night. We have petrified wood, fossils of trees and plants, a huge stalagmite and several pieces of aged "beaver sticks".  We have small animal skulls and snake skins.  We had a rattlesnake tail but it started to stink so I threw it in the trash. Big Trouble! Not supposed to throw that stuff away, even if it stinks.

These are just a few bits of my boys and their gifts.  They are great and I can't imagine my life any other way. For every bit of grey hair they give me, my heart grows bigger b/c of their sweetness.
My Cup runneth over.....