Road Kill Cafe

• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 tablespoons soy sauce
• 6 tablespoons honey
• 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon dried herbs de provence
• 1  teaspoon ground paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, blend the olive oil, soy sauce, honey, and vinegar. Mix in the herbs de provence, paprika, cayenne pepper, allspice, and black pepper.

2. Place chicken breasts in a medium baking dish, and coat with the olive oil mixture. Cover and marinade several hours or overnight.

3. Heat grill to medium high, grill chicken on both sides 4-5 minutes. Reduce heat, move chicken to foil that has been placed on the grill, but off the direct heat. Cover with more foil and continue to cook until juices run clear, about 10 minutes.

4. Place marinade in small saucepan and heat to boiling. Use this to drizzle over finished dish. 

5. Serve over rice.

It is that time of year again. Time for the the highway 127 yard sale, the signs are up, rental spaces offered are gone and the yard sale overload will soon begin. This is an event that covers 450 miles across 5 states. It begins in Covington, Kentucky and runs through to Gadsden, Alabama. The sale begins August 2nd and runs through August 5th.

We are fortunate enough to live off of hi-way 127 and I have been watching the progress made in creating areas for folks to set up and sell their treasures. I am hoping that it will not be as hot this year as it was last year. That, for me, put a dent in the fun of wandering around and looking at the myriad of things available for sale.

I am looking forward to going and wandering around. There is just so much to see and so little time to try and see it all. I picked up a couple of interesting bargains last year and I hope to add a few more this year.

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
• zest of half a lemon
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1-2 cloves minced garlic
• ground black pepper to taste
• crushed red pepper flakes to taste
• 1 1/2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined or 1 1/2 pounds scallops (can also do a combination, if desired)

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large, non-reactive bowl, stir together the olive oil, lemon juice, zest, parsley, garlic, and black pepper. Season with crushed red pepper. Add seafood, and toss to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat grill for high heat. Thread seafood onto skewers. Discard any remaining marinade.
3. Lightly oil grill grate. Grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side, or until opaque.
4. If desired, make a second batch of marinade to toss with cooked pasta to make a bed for the seafood.

There are signs of the changing seasons, signs of changing weather and signs of the times. There are traffic signs, no trespassing signs, things that are good signs and things that are bad signs. There are also informative signs, descriptive signs, advertising signs, warning signs and the “it’s easy to find, just follow the signs.”

There are signs that are motions or gestures by which a thought is expressed or a command or a wish is made known. A sign can also be a character used in musical notation, or one indicating a mathematical process.

You can communicate by using sign language, sign your life away or sign your name as a token of assent, responsibility or obligation. Or you can choose to ignore all the signs.

Sometimes you can get so wrapped up in what you are doing that you can’t see the signs until you are hit between the eyes, or in my case just below the shin. Yesterday I was out mowing, wanting to get it all done in a timely fashion and keeping an eye on Hunter. I only had a small amount left to do and was really wanting to finish. I ignored the rumbling of thunder echoing from the distance. I ignored the faint flashes of lightning.

The one thing I couldn’t ignore was the hidden piece of wood in the grass that flew out from the back of the mower and hit me just below the shin. Once I finally got both my eyes back into their respective sockets, I looked up and saw the dark storm clouds moving rapidly towards our valley. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to finish the patch that I was mowing before it began to rain.  I took it as a sign that it was time to quit.

I know I am a day late with this, yesterday was a crazy day……………

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound bacon
• 2 tablespoons onion powder
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons dried basil
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon ground white pepper
• 1 tablespoon ground cayenne pepper
• 5 tablespoons paprika
• 1 pound large shrimp – peeled and deveined

DIRECTIONS

1. Cut bacon strips into thirds.(or in half, depending on the size of the shrimp) In a large saucepan fry bacon 5 minutes, they should remain somewhat limp (bacon is not yet fully cooked). Drain on paper towel.
   
2. Combine onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, basil, thyme, black pepper, white pepper, cayenne pepper, and paprika in a medium sized bowl. (To regulate the spiciness of this dish use the white pepper and cayenne pepper to taste). Coat shrimp with the spices.
3. Inset wrapped shrimp on skewers (if using bamboo skewers, soak in water first)
4. Either grill on med. hot grill or broil until bacon is crispy and shrimp is pink. Turning every 2 minutes or so.
5. Good as either an appetizer or serve on a bed of rice.

Savory Fresh Green beans

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, rinsed and trimmed
• 3 ounces coarsely chopped pancetta
• 1 shallot, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• salt and black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the green beans and boil 3 to 4 minutes until just tender. Drain beans and immediately plunge into ice water. Allow to sit in ice water until cold, then drain well, and set aside.
2. Cook pancetta in a large skillet over medium-high heat until crispy, then set aside. Reduce heat to medium, stir shallots and garlic into the pancetta fat, and cook gently until the shallots and garlic have turned dark golden brown, about 10 minutes. Place pancetta and green beans in skillet; toss and cook until warmed through, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.

I spent a good part of the day yesterday working in the yard.  After finally getting some much needed rain,  it was time to mow the yard. While it still has some major brown spots, and now a large area that has no grass at all, it looked better after being cut. I think that it will be awhile and take a few more rain showers to return to its lush state, it looks better than it has in a while.

I have all but given up hope of getting any rhubarb this year. First the poor things were frozen off three times by late cold temperatures, then they had to deal with sweltering heat and lack of rain.  I take it as a good sign that they are no longer lying limp on the ground and that there are new shoots sprouting up. Time will tell I guess.

I have lost two of my peony bushes and the rest are in a state of stunted growth. They should be so much bigger by now, but hopefully with continued rain showers they will start growing again. I am hoping that the ones that died off still have a spark of life left in the roots. It would be so nice to see some new growth starting.

The lilacs that I planted are still alive and green, but like most everything else there hasn’t been much sign of growth. But just the fact that they are alive gives me hope that they will be able to catch up. Unfortunately all the honeysuckle that I planted along the outside of the fence across the front is gone. I cannot find one single living plant.

After the last rounds of rain that we have had there is once again water in the creek. It is not  back to its normal self, but there is a small flow to it now. I think I have missed the sound of the creek most of all.

I was awoken at 4:30 this morning by a strange noise. In my groggy state it took me a minute to figure out just what it was…….

A brilliant flash of lightening followed by a reverberating crash of thunder confirmed what I was hearing. Rain. It was such a marvelous sound and I said a silent prayer that it would continue. We have had a few teaser showers that didn’t amount to anything and I really wanted to have some substantial rain. I closed my eyes and tried to go back to sleep lest I would scare off the thunderstorm. I think I managed to doze a little.

Finally I got up at about 6am. I tentatively looked out the window and it was still raining! In fact it rained steadily, but not pouring down, until about 1pm. We have gotten a glorious 1 3/4 inches of rain so far. We should be getting some more showers later this afternoon or this evening.

The rain that we have had so far has washed the dust off of everything. I could almost hear my thirsty lawn drinking up the gently falling water. I stood at the back door with my first cup of coffee just watching and listening to the rain with the accompanying lightning and thunder. It was the most beautiful sound that I have heard in a while.

Inspiration lately has been as elusive as the rain. Just when it seems that we will be involved with a rainstorm, it dwindles, then vanishes into thin air. Much like my inspiration for writing, I have an idea that wanders away when I sit down at the keyboard. Maybe I am too focused on watching the clouds and hoping for rain. Or maybe I am just much too easily distracted.

My once green and lush lawn has turned to a mostly brown and wiry graveyard. In the dead and dying grass the dogs have worn dusty paths. Any breeze that passes only stirs up forlorn dust devils that coat everything in a grimy veil and hangs around where the air is still.

We have had a very few teaser rain showers that were short lived and while it did provide a little moisture, in the end was only enough to settle the dust for a while. We once again have the promise of some rain and I can only hope that it comes to fruition. A good thunderstorm complete with a soaking rain would be far more enjoyable than all the fireworks displays planned for today. Most of the displays around here have been canceled anyway, due to the dry conditions.

It is so sad to walk down by the creek, whose musical chatter has been silenced. Most of creek bed is dry, there are only small pools of water that remain, and those are shrinking with every passing day.  There is a forlorn rattle to the still green, but parched leaves on the trees as the breeze passes through.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lime, juiced
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (or 2 minced cloves)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
• adobo sauce from canned chipotle peppers to taste
• 4 (8 ounce) beef sirloin steaks
• salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl, mix the lime juice, olive oil, garlic, oregano, and cumin. Stir in chipotle peppers, and season to taste with adobo sauce.
2. Pierce the meat on both sides with a sharp knife, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and place in a glass dish. Pour lime and chipotle sauce over meat, and turn to coat. Cover, and marinate in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 hours.
3. Preheat grill for high heat.
4. Lightly brush grill grate with oil. Place steaks on the grill, discard the marinade. Grill to desired doneness.

This is also good with chicken breast or pork loin. Just increase the marinading time.