annie blog

On Saturday
this thing walked into my kitchen.

He said, (muffled because of the mask), “I love you, Mom.” And then he tilted up his mask and gave me a smooch.

That’s what these boys are like — tough and sweet in equal measure. It’s nice to get a kiss from Ironman.

Happy Monday, y’all!

On Saturday
this thing walked into my kitchen.

He said, (muffled because of the mask), “I love you, Mom.” And then he tilted up his mask and gave me a smooch.

That’s what these boys are like — tough and sweet in equal measure. It’s nice to get a kiss from Ironman.

Happy Monday, y’all!

Fish
is something that all my boys adore. So we have it once a week, at least. Lately, I’ve been trying to change things up a bit, and so have been trying new recipes.

Some people don’t cook fish because they either don’t like it, don’t know how, or don’t want their house to smell like a catfish joint.

I can’t help you if you don’t like fish.
I can’t help the smell that will pervade your house.
But, I can help you make fish because it’s easy.

First let me link to an article from Food and Wine about a chef named Cathal Armstrong. He is the owner of Eamonn’s in Alexandria, VA. He’s an Irishman and grew up eating fish. So, you can trust his recipes in the linked article to lead you in the right direction. If you need any further proof, just look at the state of our table after we ate at his restaurant.

When a table looks like this, you know that some very happy eating occurred.

If you need further proof, look at these happy people.

If you don’t want to go Eamonn’s route with making your fried fish, you can always dredge it in about 1-2 cups cornmeal that has been mixed with 1 t. salt and some pepper. Coat it in the cornmeal, fry it (carefully) in canola or peanut oil. Don’t forget to flip it half way through. Put it on paper towels after frying. Frying is actually the best way to cook fish for a beginner. You don’t have to worry about it drying out or overcooking it the way you do with other cooking methods.

Now, while your fish is frying away, or, preferably several hours before, you can stir up your own tartar sauce. Please make your own tartar sauce, I implore you. You probably already have what you need on hand to make a great sauce and anything will be better than that bottled stuff. If you need some inspiration, here’s the list of the sauces available at Eamonn’s.

Yum!

Happy Friday!

Fish
is something that all my boys adore. So we have it once a week, at least. Lately, I’ve been trying to change things up a bit, and so have been trying new recipes.

Some people don’t cook fish because they either don’t like it, don’t know how, or don’t want their house to smell like a catfish joint.

I can’t help you if you don’t like fish.
I can’t help the smell that will pervade your house.
But, I can help you make fish because it’s easy.

First let me link to an article from Food and Wine about a chef named Cathal Armstrong. He is the owner of Eamonn’s in Alexandria, VA. He’s an Irishman and grew up eating fish. So, you can trust his recipes in the linked article to lead you in the right direction. If you need any further proof, just look at the state of our table after we ate at his restaurant.

When a table looks like this, you know that some very happy eating occurred.

If you need further proof, look at these happy people.

If you don’t want to go Eamonn’s route with making your fried fish, you can always dredge it in about 1-2 cups cornmeal that has been mixed with 1 t. salt and some pepper. Coat it in the cornmeal, fry it (carefully) in canola or peanut oil. Don’t forget to flip it half way through. Put it on paper towels after frying. Frying is actually the best way to cook fish for a beginner. You don’t have to worry about it drying out or overcooking it the way you do with other cooking methods.

Now, while your fish is frying away, or, preferably several hours before, you can stir up your own tartar sauce. Please make your own tartar sauce, I implore you. You probably already have what you need on hand to make a great sauce and anything will be better than that bottled stuff. If you need some inspiration, here’s the list of the sauces available at Eamonn’s.

Yum!

Happy Friday!

Fish
is something that all my boys adore. So we have it once a week, at least. Lately, I’ve been trying to change things up a bit, and so have been trying new recipes.

Some people don’t cook fish because they either don’t like it, don’t know how, or don’t want their house to smell like a catfish joint.

I can’t help you if you don’t like fish.
I can’t help the smell that will pervade your house.
But, I can help you make fish because it’s easy.

First let me link to an article from Food and Wine about a chef named Cathal Armstrong. He is the owner of Eamonn’s in Alexandria, VA. He’s an Irishman and grew up eating fish. So, you can trust his recipes in the linked article to lead you in the right direction. If you need any further proof, just look at the state of our table after we ate at his restaurant.

When a table looks like this, you know that some very happy eating occurred.

If you need further proof, look at these happy people.

If you don’t want to go Eamonn’s route with making your fried fish, you can always dredge it in about 1-2 cups cornmeal that has been mixed with 1 t. salt and some pepper. Coat it in the cornmeal, fry it (carefully) in canola or peanut oil. Don’t forget to flip it half way through. Put it on paper towels after frying. Frying is actually the best way to cook fish for a beginner. You don’t have to worry about it drying out or overcooking it the way you do with other cooking methods.

Now, while your fish is frying away, or, preferably several hours before, you can stir up your own tartar sauce. Please make your own tartar sauce, I implore you. You probably already have what you need on hand to make a great sauce and anything will be better than that bottled stuff. If you need some inspiration, here’s the list of the sauces available at Eamonn’s.

Yum!

Happy Friday!

You Know That Your Boy
is getting tall when you have to stand on tiptoes to get a shot like this.

It seems like I’m always apologizing for not wearing lipstick in photos. And, yet, I will repeat my apology again.

The light was so pretty today. The leaves, too, were gorgeous. J and I went to my favorite park to see how one of my favorite trees was looking — a sour gum, ever seen one? The sour gum wasn’t beautiful but everything else was, so it was hard to be too bummed about my tree.

October, I love you.

You Know That Your Boy
is getting tall when you have to stand on tiptoes to get a shot like this.

It seems like I’m always apologizing for not wearing lipstick in photos. And, yet, I will repeat my apology again.

The light was so pretty today. The leaves, too, were gorgeous. J and I went to my favorite park to see how one of my favorite trees was looking — a sour gum, ever seen one? The sour gum wasn’t beautiful but everything else was, so it was hard to be too bummed about my tree.

October, I love you.

You Know That Your Boy
is getting tall when you have to stand on tiptoes to get a shot like this.

It seems like I’m always apologizing for not wearing lipstick in photos. And, yet, I will repeat my apology again.

The light was so pretty today. The leaves, too, were gorgeous. J and I went to my favorite park to see how one of my favorite trees was looking — a sour gum, ever seen one? The sour gum wasn’t beautiful but everything else was, so it was hard to be too bummed about my tree.

October, I love you.

Do You Have Plans
for Friday night? The reason I’m asking is that there is a good-sounding show coming to town.

Friday, at Off Broadway here in St. Louis, the Paste Tour will arrive. Now, I’ve only seen one of these people live, and he alone is worth going to see. Langhorne Slim is his name and he’ll give it all he’s got, I assure you. He’ll be joined by Jason Isbell (Southern Rock), Jessie Sykes and Phil Wandscher (psychedelic alt-country), and the Mimicking Birds (don’t know these guys, I’ll have to look them up).

Ticket price is $15, which is a whole lot more than I paid to see Langhorne the first time. Parking is free, however, and they have good beer there, so it might be worth it for you.

You never know, Beatle Bob might grace you with his presence.

Thought you ought to know.

Happy Wednesday, y’all!

Do You Have Plans
for Friday night? The reason I’m asking is that there is a good-sounding show coming to town.

Friday, at Off Broadway here in St. Louis, the Paste Tour will arrive. Now, I’ve only seen one of these people live, and he alone is worth going to see. Langhorne Slim is his name and he’ll give it all he’s got, I assure you. He’ll be joined by Jason Isbell (Southern Rock), Jessie Sykes and Phil Wandscher (psychedelic alt-country), and the Mimicking Birds (don’t know these guys, I’ll have to look them up).

Ticket price is $15, which is a whole lot more than I paid to see Langhorne the first time. Parking is free, however, and they have good beer there, so it might be worth it for you.

You never know, Beatle Bob might grace you with his presence.

Thought you ought to know.

Happy Wednesday, y’all!