June-July 2009

Delta Dish
Volume 5 Issue 6

*** Random Thoughts

Let’s call this the June-July issue. Or, I got it: the summer issue! I didn’t mean to skip an entire month and half of another month. We got married at the end of May and got back from the honeymoon in Charleston, South Carolina several days later and the next thing I knew, it was the end of the month and I wasn’t quite sure where June had gotten away to.

We’ve been cooking, quite a lot, and organizing and doing laundry and going to work and just being. We’re old married folks now!

Best,
Keetha

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*** Great Quotes
Katydids sing like a symphony
Porch swing swaying like a Tennessee lullaby
Melody blowing through the willow tree.
-- Pam Tillis

I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens, but just those that bring simple pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string. -- Lucy Maud Montgomery in Anne of Green Gables

*** Fun Food Idea
Have we been doing some grilling lately. And by “we”, I mean Jeffrey. My job is to help chop things and tote them from the kitchen to the grill. He is the griller in the family. I guess every family has one designee.

One of my favorite things to do is cook one thing and make several meals from it. Jeffrey grills a marinated chicken and we make chicken salad with it for lunch and dice the rest to go with pesto on pizza. Over the Independence Day weekend we grilled (notice that generous use of the word “we”) sliced squash along with shrimp and vegetable skewers. We had a few pieces of squash left over. The next day when we had chicken quesadillas for lunch, there were a few slices of grilled squash tucked in the tortillas

Cooking once and eating twice or three times means a little time planning but saves time in less trips to the store. Less money spent at the grocery, too.

Jeffrey came up with this shrimp marinade:

2 pounds of jumbo shrimp (16-20 count)
1/4 cup white wine or chicken stock
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
juice of one lemon
juice of one lime
zest of one lime
1 bunch green onions, with a few inches of green, thinly sliced
1/4 cup freshly chopped parsley
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp salt

Shrimp kebabs:

Peel and devein shrimp and set aside. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients but shrimp. Add shrimp and stir well. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3-4 hours.

Remove shrimp and thread onto skewers. Grill over medium-high heat for 5 to 7 minutes being careful not to overcook. Serves 4.

Leftovers can be used for quesadillas (quesadillas are a great way to use up leftover entrees) or to top a spinach salad. To make a spread, mince shrimp and combine with cream cheese and/or sour cream. Add a few chopped green onions and serve with crackers.

*** Pass It On
If there’s someone you think would enjoy this newsletter, please forward this issue in its entirety. Email me at kudzuuu at gmail dot com to subscribe.

*** Hit the Highlights - a sampling of blog posts
I keep opening the kitchen cabinet just to look

Country living

Photographs

Wedding posts:
Rehearsal dinner

Wedding morning

Ceremony

Reception

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*** Shameless Bid for Commerce

“Keetha DePriest Reed's "More Culinary Kudzu: Recollections and Recipes from Growing Up Southern" is part cookbook, part collection of wonderful essays on food, family and growing up Southern and altogether great fun… I would very highly recommend "More Culinary Kudzu" to anybody who enjoys good food and good writing as well as to anybody who wants to find out more about the South. As for me, I only have one question left - how do I get invited to one of their family reunions?” – review by ReaderViews.com

*** Recommended Reading

On the plane home from our honeymoon in Charleston, South Carolina, I finished “The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie,” a grand mystery in the old tradition. It was such fun to read. I’d never heard of the author – Alan Bradley – but I’ll be on the lookout from now on. Apparently this is the first in a series and I’m already looking forward to the next one.

More book recommendations and book talk.

*** Adorable Thing My Child Said

We left church and were walking across the street.

“What did you learn today in Sunday school?”

“Nothing,” he said.

“Nothing?”

He clarified: “I don’t know because I wasn’t paying attention.”

*** Mississippi Writers Guild
The Mississippi Writers Guild sponsors writer workshops, conferences, writer retreats and reputable writing contests. Membership dues are only $40.00 per year.

The Mississippi Writers Guild is a non-profit association of writers from all over the state and is a growing part of Mississippi’s literary art landscape.

*** Reminders and Unsubscribe Info.
The August issue will go out around August 5th, which, believe it or not, is back to school time around these parts. Lunchboxes and plaid and sharpened pencils and that new notebook smell!

If you would like to unsubscribe from this newsletter, simply send an email with “unsubscribe” in the subject line to kudzuuu at gmail dot com - we’ll miss you but won’t harass you about staying or coming back.

2009 © Pecan Street Press. All rights reserved.