Here's your sign

I'm studying right now to take the first portion of the bar exam, the professional ethics exam (called the Multi-state Professional Responsibility Exam).

I thought it would amuse you to know that students at my law school routinely struggle with this exam because they are too ethical. I am running into this same problem on the practice exams.


Here's a sample question:
A woman alleges that she was assaulted by a very wealthy businessman. She contacted a lawyer about representing her in a suit against the businessman. After several discussions with the lawyer, the woman decided to employ another attorney instead. The businessman was later charged with criminal assault, and the trial was televised. The lawyer watched the trial, and was astonished when the woman testified to facts that the lawyer knew from their previous discussions were false.
The lawyer sent a letter to the court notifying it that the woman had perjured herself.
Were the lawyer's actions proper?
Answer: No. It doesn't matter that the woman lied because the disclosure was in confidence.
So, here's your sign: you thought she did the "right" thing, didn't you? You are too ethical to do well on this exam :) It's been a real adventure trying to learn to think this way.

On another note, I finally got my first tomato!! Even though we've enjoyed cucumbers, beans and bell peppers, there is something so rewarding about that first red tomato.

I'm staying busy studying for this test, and my reward will be a week-long visit from my parents! I am really looking forward to having them here, and all I have to do is push through this rotten week of studying legal ethics.

I hope to have more to share after their visit, so stay tuned!

Kelli

Feast your eyes

It's summer. This means 2 things: I have more time to cook and I have access to ingredients that I can't get any other time of year. Oh, sure, you can get strawberries or cucumbers all year, but they don't taste, look or smell the same because they weren't picked today 20 miles from my house; they were picked 3 weeks ago in Chile, or worse, grown hydroponically. After last summer, I even converted Andy. We no longer eat baby carrots (try a taste test with the garden ones, and you'll never eat a wet baby carrot again) or tomatoes out of season. Since we can't grow oranges in Minnesota (or even peaches, which makes me pretty sad) I still haven't convinced Andy that there really is a season for oranges and this season isn't it. We're far from going organic free-range vegan, any other such silly food snobbery, I mean "life choice", we just want to eat things that taste good. And baby carrots, seriously, do not taste good.
So here's my favorite things I've picked up at the farmer's market this month:

• ground lamb from a local rancher, which I made into spiced lamb meatballs. If you aren't a lamb person, try this with ground turkey or pork:

• Heirloom tomatoes and fresh basil, which I made into a Shrimp Panzanella (general recipe). If you haven't tried Panzanella, it's fresh, bursting tomatoes, cubes of day-old bread, and basil with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Add grilled or sauteed shrimp, and this one's a real winner:



• Sugar snap peas and new potatoes (so fresh the skins were peeling off), both of which I steamed, then tossed with red onions, some dijon vinaigrette, and I folded in a can of tuna and topped with a few Kalamata olives for a quick Salad Nicoise (let's pretend that's French for cool, refreshing and delicious.):



• Fresh berries, especially strawberries and raspberries. I muddled (smashed) some raspberries with a huge bunch of mint from my garden and one sliced lime. Then I added 2 oz. light rum and filled the tall glass with ice. I topped it off with club soda to make the prettiest, most refreshing Mojito I've ever tasted. If you are looking to go non-alcoholic, replace the rum with 2 oz. of a lemon lime soda, and be sure to call it a Faux-jito.That's my latest, greatest adventures in everyday food. As I'm putting this together, it seems appropriate to thank my Mom for the lovely dishes that make my food look even prettier, and our friend Anna for the oh-s0-cool Mojito glasses.

Until next time, ever yours,

Kelli

It's Bliss

I don't know what it is about summer, but it's like we have nothing else to do but wax philosophic about younger days, and complain about the weather.

I had the truly rare opportunity this past weekend to actually enjoy the summerness of it all. I hate the heat, so my enjoyment most likely stemmed from the break in the oppressive heat wave. I was tickled to go to a friend's bridal shower. Naturally, I had to get my craft on and put this cute little card:It says "All the things you'll need to be happy forever...You've already found in each other."

It was a tea party, and I can't tell you how sweet it all was. We had tea sandwiches and the table was decorated with herbs growing in teacups on saucers. All I have to say is, Woman after my own heart.

The bummer of the weekend was that my car was being "fussy." I'd call it car trouble, but I've had car trouble. Bad. And this was just the power-steering going out. I'm counting myself lucky. Besides, it gave me the opportunity to watch my husband and father-in-law roll around on his garage floor fixing it (for only $13), while I sipped cold drinks in the shade on the porch swing. We had such delightful weather Sunday. After the guys finished up the work on my car, they made dinner (!) and we ate on the swing in the shade.

Today, I had an appointment cancel, so I unexpectedly had the whole day free. I made the spontaneous suggestion that Andy and I head to the lake in our neighborhood and rent a canoe. So, we did. I know what you're thinking "Kelli voluntarily paddled around in nature?" It was so nice! But I think the best part was having a quiet hour with my husband, and the mutual agreement that, while it was lovely and we could understand how someone would love the lakes, we would never miss the mosquitos if we lived somewhere else.

Rest assured that I had no idea how much I looked like something out of Huckleberry Fin until just now.

Here's a little video from our adventure:

We were brave and paddled back into a little cove filled with lilly pads and saw this beautiful Heron. I hope you can see it and that you can remember to bask in this long days while they last. We'll sure be singing a different tune in just a few months.

All my love always,

Kelli

Martin el Jardin

As promised, I finally have pics of the garden (for a reminder of last year's efforts, you can visit my blog archives for the summer months of 2010.) Andy has taken to naming our garden Martin el Jardin (this is Spanish for Martin the Garden, but you can imagine how Mar-TEEN el Har-DEEN is more fun.) I was joking yesterday that it's really like our other child (the cat being first), since I stand out there for hours every week with my arms folded over my chest beeming with pride like a parent seeing their child's accomplishments. So, Andy and I are the proud parents of Marcelle, the cat, and Martin, the garden.

Here's Martin pretty early this summer, I think this was the first week of June:

We had the great fortune of having our mint, sage, oregano and thyme come back from last summer (heaven only knows how because we got 7 feet of snow this winter.) That's why the one end looks particularly well-appointed and everything else looks sad and small. I planted pole beans in the row on top there, that were just coming up, and cucumbers down at the end. The empty patch in the middle is carrots (now) and there are 2 tomato plants and 4 pepper plants. It's been a work in progress, but now, we're looking like this:
I added a trellis along the side for the pole beans and cukes to vine up, and boy did they! I also decided I had a serious deficit of basil, so I've planted 4 varieties over the last four weeks. I also added rosemary and cilantro, cut back the mint and gave it to friends, and then went really crazy and put in garlic, shallots, chives and another pepper plant (now up to 5 varieties.) It's pretty packed! But, everything is looking really good.
We've had a few jalapenos, 3 "gypsy" peppers (a mild yellow pepper), a bell pepper and a poblano, and we got our first cucumber last week.
We have lots of little green beans and cukes and tomatoes, but I have to go out every nite to spray my homemade deer deterrant so that the poor plants will survive the midnite snacking. We have had several infiltrations when it has rained over nite and washed off my special sauce. I look forward to gardening some day where I can just turn our cat loose to scare off the munchers, but in the meantime I whip up a mixture of hot sauce, onions and garlic and then strain it into a spray bottle and then spritz the garden. It works for the rabbits, too, although we've been lucky not to have problems with that again this summer.
That's our update for now, but certainly more to come!

I Feel Really American

It has not been particularly summer-like here in Minnesota until recently. I have only had to water my garden a few times because we've had rain nearly every day of June (I promise, pictures of the garden are coming!) But, last week, just in time for 4th of July, things really warmed up, the clouds mostly cleared, and we got real, summer sunshine. In honor of this, I had my Study Group Girls over for a BBQ get together. I was feeling pretty starved for classic American BBQ.
On the menu for this fabulous gathering were Mojitos to quench our thirst, grilled chicken with homemade BBQ sauce (recipes below), coleslaw, potato salad, corn on the cob, fresh fruit and homemade ice cream.
My friends and I lucked out and got pretty perfect weather for outdoor dining, so we took our feast to a picnic table on the grass outside our apartment and dug in. It was fantastic!
To top it all, Andy's cousin got married this past weekend, and like any good big family, it was a weekend-long event. We had the rehearsal Friday, the AMAZING wedding on Saturday (the bride and groom hired a German accordian player to entertain the guests during cocktails and dinner-so, so fun!) and then, because we just weren't quite tired of each other, the whole big family gathered on Sunday for a cookout of burgers and hot dogs and all the accompaniments. After our super-stuffed dinner, we lit sparklers (they were wedding favors from the clever bride and groom) and some pretty flashy fireworks. As we sat there polishing off our strawberry shortcakes and rhubarb pies, watching the little ones run through the grass with the sparklers, I said "I feel really American right now." Perhaps it was the gathering of family, and newly weds and new inlaws, and friends that become part of the family, and the blend of BBQ smoke and sulfur from the fireworks, and it just comes together to make one realize that this is what we live and work for in America: one weekend to really enjoy being free.
Because summer is just beginning, here are my BBQ recipes that are sure to please:

Buttermilk BBQ Chicken
This chicken will blow. your. mind. I will never grill chicken any other way again. It is so moist, so flavorful, and easy. The BBQ sauce is almost unnecessary. For the chicken, I used drumsticks and leg quarters the first time, and then added a few boneless skinless breasts the second time. Just pull the breasts off a bit earlier (about 4-5 minutes per side).

6 lbs. chicken, preferably bone-in
1 1/2 c. buttermilk
1 Tbs. Paprika
1 Tbs. Seasoning Mix, like Mrs. Dash, Montreal Steak or Lawry's ( I used a specialty one)
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. black pepper
8 cloves garlic, minced or pressed in a garlic press

Whisk together all ingredients except chicken in a medium bowl or glass measuring cup. Divide chicken among 2 gallon-size zip-top freezer bags (I feel like these leak less). Divide the buttermilk mixture between the 2 bags, then seal. Squish the buttermilk around a little bit, then refrigerate. Marinate at least one hour, and up to 24 hours in advance, flipping the bags over about once an hour.
I was too hungry to wait last night, so they were just under an hour and they were just as good.
Heat grill to medium-high (or if you have some saint-like patience, lower heat, but, again, I was starving both times I made this.) Brush the grill grate. Take a paper towel and dip it in vegetable or canola oil. Using a pair of tongs, sweep the oiled paper towel over the grates. Then, place chicken on the grill, discarding excess marinade. For drumsticks and leg quarters, I did about 5-7 minutes per side, then did the little shuffle to move less done ones to the hot spots on the grill and the more done ones to cooler spots for another 5 minutes, for a total of about 15-20 minutes. The breasts I did only a bit over 10 minutes. All chicken should be tested with an instant read thermometer and should read 165 degrees in the thickest part. I find that because the chicken is so moist, though, it's almost impossible to overcook it if you want to be on the safe side and leave it on a few more minutes.

Kelli's Sweet Heat BBQ Sauce
1 can Dr. Pepper (can't be diet-won't work right)
1 can beer (Pabst Blue Ribbon works well)
1/2 c. Ketchup
2 Tbs. Dijon mustard
1 Tbs. Tobasco or other Cayenne hot sauce
3/4 c/ brown sugar
2 Tbs. Worchestershire sauce

In a medium saucepan, whisk together ingregients until brown sugar dissolves and mixture is smooth. Bring mixture to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer for 2-3 hours, or until mixture is reduced by half. The sauce should be just thick enough to start to coat the back of a spoon, but if you like a thicker sauce, continuing reducing.
Remove from heat and serve with any BBQ dish. Keeps in fridge up to 2 weeks in a sealed container. Makes about 2 cups.

Happy Summer, everyone!
Kelli