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Happy Go Stuckey

Tethering Grace & Togetherness

A childhood favorite revisited

August 31, 2009 by HappyGoStuckey 1 Comment

     
    When I was five years old, my family was invited to pick blueberries at a private farm belonging to a friend of my dad. Apparently, it was a banner year for their blueberries and so we were told to pick as many as we could eat or freeze. They provided us with 10 and 15 gallon buckets and we went to picking. As you can imagine, this was a huge treat as we were a family of 7 and fresh blueberries just were not in the weekly budget. We picked, and picked and picked until we were blue in the face, and fingers I might add. Then the entire family entourage schlepped home to properly deal with this great unexpected blessing. Many of the berries went into the freezer— so many in fact that we had blueberry cobbler, blueberry pie, blueberry pancakes and blueberry muffins for several years. I am not exaggerating. We lived on blueberries. Oh, and deer meat. So in truth, we lived on blueberries and bambi burgers. But that’s a blog post for another day.

       Ten years later, when my parents moved to the house they currently live in a bit farther out of town, my Dad took up gardening. From then on, he was lovingly referred to by my Mother as “Mr. Green Jeans” because everything he planted grew and grew very well. He decided to try his hand at blueberry bushes and they grew very well. Thus, we were reunited with the sweet little antioxidant. Of course, back then no one mentioned how full of antioxidants and nutrients blueberries were—they just stuck them in muffins and called it a day. My mom, not wanting to let a good berry go to waste, furthered her talent of berry-goodness and often made the most divine blueberry muffins ever. Seriously good, I’m tellin’ ya. I have recently tried my hand at her recipe, (complete with melted butter. Sigh.) and they just aren’t the same. Maybe because my feet now touch the ground when I eat them. Who knows? Never the less, I still love them whenever I go home — provided my “mommy” makes them. There are times when I want desperately to re-create my Mom’s recipes… see: the apple pie incident. And then there are others when I feel the need to branch out. Last night was one such occasion.
   Lance and I decided to have brinner (Breakfast for Dinner) and I got to work making a frittata. Crustless Quiche-type thing filled with veggies. (Recipe to follow.) Try it with your own combination of fillings. You’ll like it. I also wanted to make a healthier version of the famed blueberry muffin. I was thinking somewhere along the lines of…oatmeal… whole wheat flour… juicy berries. I consulted Joy the Baker, whose blog I thoroughly enjoy reading. She had an Oatmeal Applesauce Blueberry muffin recipe. And can I just say that she has yet to let me down? Oh, my. They were amazing.  So amazing that I plan to make them for the Queen of Blueberry Muffins this weekend when she comes to visit us! I’m that confident in them! I cannot take credit for Joy’s recipe as it is hers and her alone—but I would like to direct your attention to her pretty little blog and encourage you to try the recipe. You’ll be glad you did. Even better, you won’t be mentally kicking yourself all day for indulging as they are full of healthy ingredients and not full of butter. What are your favorite “breakfast for dinner” ideas? Do tell!
Frittata
You will need a non-stick 12 inch skillet with Tbsp. of Olive oil. Heat until oil is smoking. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.
Sautee 8 oz. Mushrooms and 3 tbsp. of minced shallots until fragrant and browning. Add one diced tomato, and 8 julienned basil leaves and cook until tender and water has nearly evaporated. Remove from heat.  (You can use any combination of sautéed vegetables that you like, only be careful that they are not giving off too much liquid.) Crumbled bacon; cubed or sliced ham; or thinly  sliced leftover steak would also be great. Experiment!
In a bowl beat 7 eggs, add 2 tbsp. of half and half or milk and fresh ground salt and pepper. Pour egg mixture over the veggies and top with 2oz. crumbled feta or other cheese (cheddar and swiss are also great.)  Gently shake skillet so eggs incorporate to the bottom of the veggies evenly.
Place skillet in 350’ oven for 15 minutes or until puffy and cooked throughout. Garnish with fresh herbs or scallions and serve in wedges.

Our vacation…
An Exciting Announcement!!!

Comments

  1. Mom B says

    September 1, 2009 at 12:18 pm

    I really enjoyed reading about your childhood memory and now my mouth is watering for blueberry anything! Your “brinner” looked absolutely delicious and I can't wait to try the muffin recipe! Gotta make sure I have a skillet that can go in the oven, then I'll brave the frittata. What a wonderful cook you are!

    Reply

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Hey There!

I'm Cynthia and I'm so glad you're here. I am an introvert with an extrovert's love of gathering people together. I love good books and capturing moments. Whether you visit me here or on my own front porch, I'll be the one holding the Iced Coffee for us both.

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happygostuckey

Some of the rhythms we took up in ‘20 we will co Some of the rhythms we took up in ‘20 we will continue to sigh into in ‘21.
Baking sourdough, watching it bubble and rise and fill our BlueHouse with the scent of a good, long, posture of patience— I absolutely need a second serving of this.
While we wait, and whatever it is that we wait for— may the space between be made sweeter by the knowledge that we never wait alone.
You can’t tell by their joy, but the day I snapp You can’t tell by their joy, but the day I snapped this photo was somewhat of a regular day.

What looks like a winter beach vacation was actually the tail-end of a masked lunch stop in the middle of a pandemic road trip.

This sparkling moment of sun-splashed fun was sandwiched between brutal conversations about regular life, especially the hard parts.

And this is how it is. 
These bits of life that we never see coming, they are enveloped between all that makes us tired, weary, sighing pilgrims in a world that was never really meant to be hospitable in the first place.

This photo reminds me to look again at our year, our season, our circumstances.

To look a second and third time.
To keep looking as long as it takes to see that the joy of our right now isn’t gone, it just might be hiding in the shadow of all that’s hard.

Brokenness is never vague. And we don’t have to search very long to see it both within ourselves and around us.
Sometimes the weight of that fact is crushing.
And then, sometimes it reminds us even more clearly of the light shining in darkness.

Joy is an act of defiance against despair and I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling rather defiant at the moment.✨✨✨✨

@hopewriters #hopewriterlife 
#feastingandforaging #hopelenses #getaftergrateful
Endurance can feel like standing still. Especially Endurance can feel like standing still. Especially if what we’re called to be about is the same as yesterday and last month. 
It’s difficult to meet each day with the same fervor and joy for what we are called to do, especially when at present, the progress seems small and immeasurable. 
But even then, perhaps especially so — our faithfulness matters.

When we cannot yet see the other side, the light at the end of this particularly long tunnel, we begin again.

Not because we will always wake with fresh energies and bright, sparkling hope for what comes next, friend. But because the God of Endurance (Romans 15:5) dwells within us.

“It is the grace of endurance granted to you by the God of endurance that provides you with everything you need to continue to be what he calls you to be and do what he calls you to do between this moment and the moment when you cross over to the other side. When difficulty exposes the weakness of your resolve and the limits of your strength, you do not have to panic, because He will endure even in this moments when you don’t feel able to do so yourself.” — Paul David Tripp, New Morning Mercies

#hopewriterlife
Stuckey, party of two. Always ready to run out for Stuckey, party of two. Always ready to run out for paper towels... especially if the store is in convenient proximity to a quick date for croissants and dirty chai for two. Love my forever coffee companion even more at the start of this new year. Wherever he’s going, I’m riding shotgun.
We have learned... The inestimable value of a goo We have learned...

The inestimable value of a good camp chair, for they have been used for everything from soccer benches and coffee dates to theatre seats and church pews.

What our neighborhood streets can offer in the way of an outing—from the colors of spring to the sparkle of Christmas.

To hold plans with the loosest hands possible.

To rejoice in things found. Time. Margin. ...and enough toilet paper to share with a neighbor.

To give grace and accept it for ourselves.

The hilarious joy of a group text complete with “have you seen this meme yet?” 

To pivot. And then pivot again.

To find more joy in candlelight closer to home, instead of the bright lights of traveled cities.

To perfect our pizza dough recipe and truly learn to prefer it over dinner out.

To work with yeast and flour again and again— until the message of waiting for something really good dusted our apron fronts and kitchen floors.

And in our house, we learned how to be unexpectedly unemployed. We learned how to honor that new found space with needed grief and desired hope. How to be grateful for true friends who prayed with us, held questions with us, and hoped with us. We were reminded of our true identity and that it will never rest in a job. 

In a year in which we’ve all lost quite a lot, you and I have been given so much as well. Some of what we’ve lost we have learned to be without. Some, we won’t go looking for again.

In 525,600 minutes and in all the things, found and lost and found again— there is far and away more to be grateful for.

And we choose joy.

✨Happy New Year, dear friends!✨
Not rushing too quickly into a new year over here. Not rushing too quickly into a new year over here. Though the one in our rear view window is one we wouldn’t choose to repeat, still it was one full of God’s nearness.

One day I’ll write it all down.
But for now I’ll just say,
we were not alone. 🕯
“Once in our world, a Stable had something in it “Once in our world, a Stable had something in it that was bigger than our whole world.”
C.S.Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia

Joy to the World, friends.
Behold. The most apropos Christmas Eve 2020 desser Behold. The most apropos Christmas Eve 2020 dessert ever. Made from a wonky gingerbread cake that did not cooperate.
We shall not go quietly into 2021.
We will fight back with beauty and joy and candles... and fresh whipped cream made by an eleven year old with sparkly green eyes. 🎄❤️✨
Merry Christmas from the Fam! { 👉🏻 swipe for Merry Christmas from the Fam! { 👉🏻 swipe for Stuckeys in their natural habitat.) 🎄🕯❤️✨
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