Winter Garden Sprouts

I did not eat anything green, except for green beans, until I was 19. The fact that I am a small farmer and run a farmers' market is quiet humorous to my mother who frequently found my veggies hidden in napkins, fed to the dog, and many other creative ways I found to clean my plate without actually having a veggie cross my lips.

Last week, we had a couple of beautiful days in the 60s that I was able to get out and work my garden, prepping it for this summer's market garden. Then, it snowed. Crazy weather.

I had one problem while laying out my garden, a good problem. I still have beautiful brussels sprouts growing from my first ever winter garden.

This crazy weather has not hindered the plants one bit! I wish I could say that for my washing pile, two boys playing in the snow and putting on dry clothes all day will wear a Maytag out. Oh, and wear a mom out too.
Look-a-there, beautiful. Brussels sprouts for dinner when I was a kid would have been a very traumatic event, ranked right up there with beets.

They are delicious and my kids LOVE them. And, guess what? Fresh, PROPERLY PREPARED brussels sprouts ARE NOT SLIMY. It’s true. They are solid, and crisp, and taste great!

Here is what you do: Wash the brussels sprouts well. Trim the stem ends and remove any raggy outer leaves. Cut in half from stem to top and gently rub each half with olive oil, keeping it intact (or if you are lazy, like me, just toss them in a bowl with a glug of olive oil).

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat in your largest skillet, I cook strictly with cast iron which I am sure makes everything taste better. Don't overheat the skillet, or the outsides of the brussels sprouts will cook too quickly. Place the brussels sprouts in the pan flat side down (single-layer), sprinkle with a couple pinches of salt, cover, and cook for roughly 5 minutes; the bottoms of the sprouts should only show a hint of browning. Cut into or taste one of the sprouts to gauge whether they're tender throughout. If not, cover and cook for a few more minutes.

Once just tender, uncover, turn up the heat, and cook until the flat sides are deep brown and caramelized. Use a metal spatula to toss them once or twice to get some browning on the rounded side. Season with more salt, a few grinds of pepper, and a dusting of grated cheese (if you want and who would not want cheese?). While you might be able to get away with keeping a platter of these warm in the oven for a few minutes, they are exponentially tastier if popped in your mouth immediately.

Try it Mikey, you'll like it!
The Park Wife

My Crafty Vintage Planner

I am not crafty. I want to be, but I am an utter craftiness failure, Martha would be so disappointed in me.

I have crafty friends and get inspired by their cute projects, then I fall under the spell of ribbons, card stock, and frills. I just know that the next project will be the one that launches my craft goddess career. But, then I plug in the glue gun and reality hits, and well, some second-degree burns.

With sloppy project completed and burns healed, I forget the previous disaster and stop by Hobby Lobby. The cycle continues. Oh what a tangled web I weave, hey, I have not tried weaving yet, I will put that on my crafty to do list (that has disaster written ALL over it).

Recently, I saw a tutorial on Just Something I Made on how to make a Vintage Book Planner. I love old books and needed a planner for the year, so I gave it a whirl. I know, you are sighing right now thinking "is she really going to go there, has she learned nothing?" Nope. Call me Scarlet O'Hara, I am strong-willed and might even try to make a ball gown out of some old curtains one day, while sewing my finger to the material I'm sure. Anyway.....

First, I found this FABULOUS book at our little community library book sale. Seriously??? It is titled Charm: The Career Girl's Guide to Business and Personal Success. Published in 1964

Look at this cuteness! And, oh my, here is the first paragraph on the preface page: "Every girl has within her exciting potentialities that can be discovered and nurtured to help her become a more attractive, more interesting, more appealing person. Charm has been designed specifically to help her make the most of these potentialities so that she can achieve success and happiness, both in her work and in her personal life."

While I tend to go heavy on manners and social etiquette, yes, my Mississippi upbringing runs deep, it is also hilarious to me. Some of the chapters are: Improving on Nature (yes ma'am, I need that), Your Wardrobe (there is no mention of buying that cute wrap dress at Goodwill, hmmm), Your Sound Effects (not going there), and Making the Most of Five-to-Nine (sound like the chapter I focused on in my early 20s).

So, I converted this book into a book planner. I cut out the insides and added cute paper that created a flap on each side to slide my planner in.

I added my cheesy planner on left, I will replace with a much cuter one now that I have my crafty vintage book planner look completed. On the right, I added a journal for note taking at the 2, 687 meetings I go to.

I am loving it! Then, I added a little holder with one of the pictures from the book for my The Park Wife blogger cards and my Southern Belle Farm Chic cards.

I am very happy with it, I have a cute planner and only one major burn on my finger.

Here are a couple of quotes from the book:

"Don't try to seem important. The other person's prime concern is his own importance. Your charm rating rises in proportion to your ability to lift his feelings of importance. Give him a good opinion of your heart and he'll automatically have a high opinion of your mind." (pg. 271)

"If you can't say something favorable, keep your thoughts to yourself. Better yet, try to weed out those critical thoughts; they can't help but dull your charm." (pg. 271)

"The surest way to a man's heart (good roast beef not withstanding) is through his ego. If you can inspire him or give him a higher vision of himself, you have presented him with the most marvelous gift any man could desire. The woman who can do this is always cherished and adored." (pg. 448)

Charmed, I'm Sure,
The Park Wife