Of Hospitals, Holidays and Happy Late New Years

Okay, so shouting "Happy New Year!" now that it's almost the end of January seems a bit like finding some goodie in the back of the fridge you had hid for bit of a treat just to find when you open it, the smell is worse than a guys' locker room (at least the one at SCF after a tournament)! I don't know if that really has anything to do with what I had started thinking about writing tonight, but I am sure there's at least a couple of you that might get it.

Keatley kids, or should I say, young adults,
 trying to be serious (before bursting into hilarity!)

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas season. Ours was really quite amazing as we celebrated with all of the kids~while realizing there had been a possibility one could have not been with us. You see, Mary had gotten what we thought was just a stomach flu the Monday before Christmas. She ended up being rushed via ambulance to Salem Hospital after having passed out twice and throwing up a few times in the course of a couple of hours. David and I were at work then got the phone call from Brian saying she wasn't feeling well and to get home. By the time we left the salle, we had called him back and told him to call 911. He called back in a short while (already I had starting losing track of the time). He said for us to go straight to the hospital. Upon arriving, we found out she hadn't gotten there yet, and so we waited. After a bit, we were shown into a small triage room where lay a very ill-looking young lady. Finally, they took her into the actual emergency department & started checking for what was wrong. The doctor was terrific as were the nurses. We had all thought she was just dehydrated and that fluid would work to get her better, so we could go home. Little did we know how ill she really was. Two and a half hours and three bags of fluid later, her blood pressure was still around 80/30 and not getting better. Being the clueless mom, I figured that wasn't too bad until I saw the doctor's worried face, not to mention all the tests & consultations that were going on. About 2am, they told us she'd be going up to ICU which let me realize the gravity of the whole situation. She then spent the next two days in ICU hooked up to all kinds of machines, not being able to hardly eat & still smiling and joking with the wonderful staff that had to do all kinds of things to help try to get her better. She starting improving by Wednesday evening & they transferred us to a "regular" room for the night. We laughed about it being like going from the Hilton to Motel 6 (the room, but by no means the staff- they were all great). We came home Thursday, and she started what has been quite a long road of recovery. She spent most of her Christmas week at home- with the exception of Christmas night at the Fordyce's. Brian took her for a re-check on Christmas Eve day with Dr. Farah, who told Mary to "never, ever get that sick again". It was then explained that her body had gone into hypovolemic shock. Once we actually knew what had happened, we were all so grateful for her still being with us, and for the amazing care & prayers she received during her stay at the hospital and during recovery. It has taught me so much about being grateful for each minute I have with my family and how much I love my kids!
 

Our Epiphany Feast table
all decorated by Mary

Mary was starting to feel good enough to be able to host our 1st annual Epiphany Feast on January 5th. She had been planning this since the beginning of Autumn, and I knew it meant a lot to her for us to have it. We had invited the Matitches and Fords for a traditional English dinner (with, of course, a few Keatley "twists"). We even had English "crackers" complete with paper crowns, trinkets & silly jokes. We enjoyed roast turkey, chestnut dressing, gluten-free forcemeat (the British word for sausage) dressing, boiled red potatoes, mashed potatoes, bread sauce, roasted parsnips & carrots as well as a salad brought by Cristina (very un-British, but for we Americans, nice to have some green vegetables). This was all enhanced by a variety of wine, hard cider and beer as well as sparkling lemonade for those who needed something non-alcoholic. After lots of good discussion along with the dinner, Cari made some delicious cappuccinos for a few guests while the rest of us enjoyed hot mulled wine or tea. This was the intermezzo before singing Christmas songs & listening to Joshua play his penny whistle for a bit. Then it was on to desserts- panettone bread pudding and berry cheesecake (brought by the Matitches). Fully sated, we sat and talked some more until everyone realized the time and remembered that we all needed to arise before the sun the following morning so as to be to church for 7:00 a.m. Mass.

So our "holiday season" passed in what felt like a whirlwind. Mary is slowly, but surely recovering, Joshua is back at school, David started his second to last term at Chemeketa, and Cari is busy at work as well as re-vamping her apartment. Brian has been enjoying his books- his latest are a few books about pairing wine & food and one about making sausage. This year has so far started with me trying to get our home a bit more organized which is why I am hoping to actually stay up with my blog. To be honest, it helps me feel more accountable- even if hardly anyone reads it. I realized I am probably not ever going to have a bunch of followers, and that's okay. If I can help one person try something new or make someone laugh a bit, then it's worth doing. That is something I can for sure do in 2013, along with continuing to have a grateful heart!

Here is the recipe for the Panettone Bread Pudding. You'll probably have to wait until this coming Christmas to make it as that's when the pannetone can be found. If you can't wait, you can always make the pannetone and egg nog yourself! Hmm, wonder if "Groundhog Day Panettone Bread Pudding" sounds good???


Panettone Bread Pudding:

• 1 (1-pound) loaf panettone bread, crusts trimmed, bread cut into 1-inch cubes

• 8 large eggs

• 1 1/2 cups whipping cream

• 2 1/2 cups egg nog

• 1 1/4 cups sugar

Directions

To make the bread pudding: Lightly butter a bundt pan. Place bread cubes in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk the eggs, cream, egg nog, and sugar to blend. Pour the custard over the bread cubes, and press the bread cubes gently to submerge. Let stand for 30 minutes, occasionally pressing the bread cubes into the custard mixture. Pour into bundt pan.(Recipe can be prepared up to this point 2 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake until the pudding puffs and is set in the center, about 45 minutes. Cool slightly. Spoon the bread pudding into bowls, and serve with sweetened whip cream.

Meet Me In St. Louis~ Celebrating St. Louis' Feast Day

Saint Louis of France- King, Husband, Father of 11

Yesterday marked the Feast Day of King Saint Louis (read more about him here). This had significance for our family since he is Brian's patron saint. We feel fortunate to live close to St. Louis, Oregon & the pioneer-era St. Louis Church.

St. Louis Church-
built 1847

We have attended numerous Saturday morning Masses at St. Louis & we knew we would want to attend for sure yesterday. Father Eric Anderson celebrated a beautiful Mass in the second oldest Catholic Church in Oregon with the church almost full to capacity. We then went out to breakfast at the Sassy Onion and had a fun surprise as my folks along with sister Dawn & bro-in-law Jeff happened to be there too. I think Brian was wondering if I had planned to meet them, but since Josh was the one to choose the restaurant, he figured out it truly was a surprise. We all had delicious breakfasts as well as some really good coffee (Josh liked it so much, he ended up drinking four cups). I am always pleased to be able to have a good cup of coffee when I am eating out, and Sassy Onion does a great job with a good "cup of joe"!

We also stopped at a new favorite place to get groceries~ Cash & Carry~ for a few things. I have been going there for quite a number of years to do large meals such as Great Expectations & different retreats for which I have cooked. A few months ago, I realized their prices are very comparable with Costco, and the service is terrific. Knowing this, plus the fact that they have a great website with all of their prices and specials listed (not to mention the easy grocery list I can make on their website), we have started shopping there fairly regular. We did pick up some essentials along with some tea for Josh to take back to school next week, Chai (enjoyed by most of the family) & a large wheel of Brie to make my "Father Todd's Baked Brie" this week sometime before Josh heads off to Thomas More again.

I also planned on making a special meal to celebrate Brian's "Patron Saint Celebration" as we call it in the Keatley family.

Since St. Louis was French, I went with a bit of a French-themed meal with a few variations thrown in for fun. We ended up eating a bit later than I had wanted, due to the lamb taking a bit longer than expected~ that's what I get for roasting an 8 pound boneless leg of lamb late in the afternoon. I wanted to serve the lamb French-style, so I just added lots of fresh herbs, a bit of olive oil & roasted it in a 375 degree oven for about 2 hours. Along with the lamb, I made cheesy grits (okay, not too French, but really tasty), green beans & salad with homemade honey-dijon dressing. This was served with the Willamette Valley Vineyards Oregon Blossom wine (one of my new favorite summer libations)~ great with the lamb!

Sel Gris- adds a crunchy, salty goodness to
lots of things, including desserts!

Mary had made meringues that we were going to fill with whipped cream & fruit. The strawberries that we had made the week before had gone bad, so we poured caramel sauce over the whipped cream instead. Keeping with my French theme, I sprinkled some sel gris (grey sea salt from France) over the cream~ mmm, thus calling it "Meringue avec Caramel et Sel Gris"

Crispy meringue topped with whipped cream,
caramel & sel gris~ a perfect way to end the day!

Here is the recipe for the meringues. They look a lot harder to make than they are! We also like to top them with fresh fruit and whipped cream or even ice cream!

Meringues

3 egg whites 3/4 cup white sugar

DIRECTIONS:

1.	In a large bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Slowly beat in sugar until very stiff and glossy. Using spatula and spoon, spread mixture onto parchment or silpat lined baking sheets, forming 4" circles (you can get about 6 on each large sheet). Make a small indentation in the center of each meringue.
2.	Bake at 190 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 2 hours. Turn oven off, and leave meringue in oven for 1 hour. Cool on baking rack for another hour. Store in air-tight container.

From Farm to Feast

When Joshua returned home for the summer after a most amazing semester in Rome, we expected him to be able to find a job somewhat quickly. Within a week, he had submitted close to 10 job applications for jobs which he was definitely qualified. After hearing from not one business in a week, he decided to wait it out a few more weeks while gratefully starting to teach a few lessons at Salem Classical Fencing as well as helping me around the house with long-awaited projects that needed finishing.

Still not hearing from anyone, we all wondered if he was going to spend the summer without any being able to earn some money for school. In June, a surprise job offer came his way from our new friends, Raymond & Annette Fordyce of Fordyce Farms. We attend Saint Joseph's with the Fordyce family & had the opportunity to start to get to know them as we attended different holiday celebrations with them over this past year. Anyway, Joshua was offered a job to help out at their farm~ doing everything from helping at the u-pick strawberry stand to picking apples to sorting blueberries to working in the farm store. He has had a wonderful time & has learned a lot about farming & customer service. A special added bonus has been being able to help Mr. Fordyce with his "intellectual stimulation" as they have had numerous conversations about everything from philosophy to politics to music. I told Joshua this has been terrific to help keep his brain in gear while home from Thomas More College of Liberal Arts (plus it has given him someone other than me to talk with [insert "mom smirk" here]). 
Another benefit has been getting to know the Fordyces (mom, dad & six awesome kids)~ We've enjoyed spending time with them and building relationships. I have especially felt blessed by getting to know Annette as we seem to have so much in common (not to mention, she is really fun to make laugh)! One more benefit has been being able to go to their farm store to get the delicious produce and baked goodies- plus Graham's ice cream. I've tried all kinds of new produce plus we've got a nice variety of berries sitting all bagged up in our freezer straight from the farm. I also must talk about Raymond's scones. Now, you all know how much I like to bake. I think I am actually a pretty decent baker. This being said, the Fordyce Farms scones are the best I have ever tasted~ moist, just the right amount of fruit, chewy but not dry...I could go on, but my mouth with start watering. If you get the time to go out to the farm, do so---soon. If you can't make it this summer, be sure to go to the Salem Public Market this fall to pick up some of their scones or stop by their store for the hay maze in October!

Now that I have waxed (eloquently or not) about Fordyce Farms, I want to share a recipe I made with berries from their farm for the Feast Day of Saint Maximilian Kolbe~ I have shared before about celebrating Feast Days with special food before. The kids and I were heading to another family's farm to help prepare for the Saint Joseph's Knights of Columbus Chapter's Oktoberfest booth & I wanted to take a dessert to share. I decided on a strawberry jam tart. I made it using strawberries from the Fordyces along with puff pastry and homemade yogurt. It was a big hit with everyone who tried it. They especially liked the significance of the design and colors- red for martydom & white for purity.
Here's the recipe for you to try for your next Feast Day Celebration~

Strawberry Jam Tart

Ingredients

• 1 pound strawberries, sliced
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 sheet (9-inch square) frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 1/4 cup plain yogurt (homemade or store bought)
• 2 tablespoons honey

Directions

1. Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees . In a large saucepan, cook the strawberries, sugar, cornstarch and vinegars over medium heat, stirring, until syrupy, about 7 minutes. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring, until reduced to about 1-1/4 cups, 10 to 15 minutes; let cool.
2. Meanwhile, on a lightly floured work surface, roll out the puff pastry into a 10-by-14-inch rectangle. Place in 9 x 13 baking dish and fold the edges of the pastry inward to form a half-inch rim. Spread the strawberry mixture within the rim.
3. In a small bowl, combine the yogurt and honey and dollop over the jam. Bake until the crust is golden, 22 to 25 minutes. 

Camping...Catholic-Style

"Wherever the Catholic sun doth shine,there's always laughter and good red wine. At least I've always found it so. Benedicamus Domino!"~Hilaire Belloc 

 So it's been a while since I've posted anything. This probably means no one (except maybe my kids) will probably read this. You know what, I am totally okay with that. In order to perhaps entice a few others to read this, there will be a recipe at the end that you should definitely try.
The three oldest kids and I (Brian stayed home & Mary is working up at Camp Howard this summer) just spent an amazing weekend with a group of about 65 others from St. Joseph's on a Knights of Columbus-sponsored camp-out. This was a Cove Creek Campground on the south shore of Detroit Lake about 1 1/2 hours out of Salem. We arrived Friday, promptly (well, pretty it was pretty prompt) set up the tent & headed to the group spot where our friends Bill & Ann had dinner ready for us. After eating an enjoyable spaghetti dinner, we got to meeting the others who were there for the weekend. This would be done over the ever-popular camping tradition of s'mores. About 12 families were represented with ages ranging from 2 up to ??? (I'll never ask). 
With full stomachs, we settled down for the night. Before I knew it, morning came with birds singing, children laughing and boats motoring on the lake. The kids and I lit a small fire to start the day in our site, along with some chai tea. Heading again to the group spot, a delicious breakfast of an egg/ham/onion/pepper scramble plus sourdough or buttermilk pancakes and fruit was ready for us.
After breakfast, most everyone went for a hike- 5 miles round trip up the side of a mountain. Needless to say, I stayed back at camp with a few others to "guard everything". The hikers had a great time, and we all gathered for a lunch of sandwiches with all the fixings plus watermelon and yummy brownies made by one of the younger girls, Emma. The afternoon was spent in the water of Detroit Lake- not too cold plus sunshine and blue sky made it almost idyllic.

Cleaning up ourselves after that (with a few of us trying the coin-operated showers), we headed over to celebrate Mass with Father Pitstick in the "group spot". It was really wonderful, and the towering trees made a beautiful backdrop. We also had some more families be able to join us for Mass and dinner which made the evening even more special. Dinner followed- hot dogs, 3 kinds of sausages & numerous salads plus pies that the Fordyce's brought from their farm. These were enhanced with a selection of beers, including Ellie's Oatmeal Stout from Seven Bride's Brewing (my favorite libation with sausage) and a bottle ofDi Majo Norante Sangiovese that Josh had chosen at Roth's Vista on the way out of town.
Another round of s'mores followed accompanied by Serena on guitar and singing from my oldest, Cari. We also brought out the makings for banana boats, one of our favorite camp specialties. How fun it was for me to share these with a group of people who had never tried them.

Bernini

 After the younger kids headed off to bed (of which there were a large number), most of the adults and teens stayed at the campfire talking and discussing things from the artwork of Caravaggio and Bernini to Napoleon Dynamite.

Caravaggio

Those of us who were old enough to imbibe also enjoyed some raspberry cordial (or raspberry-infused vodka) made by our "resident Kiwi", Paul. It was a wonderful way to end the evening before heading back to our tent and my comfortable air mattress.

This morning was the Keatley's family turn to cook breakfast. We had decided to volunteer for this since the kids are all old enough (Cari reminded me that this was the first time we had been camping with all of my kids being adults- remembering, of course, Mary wasn't with us). We chose to make eggs, bacon and Double-Berry Buckle. It's a take off on "Nora Richards' Huckleberry Buckle" recipe that I first got when the West's invited us to go huckleberry picking many years ago. Due to my low supply of huckleberries, I decided to use a blend of huckles & blues or huckles and kotatas that I still had in the freezer. I made six 9x13 inch pans full (using disposable foil pans which worked great) plus one 9" round gluten-free buckle for Cari and anyone else that needed it. She ended up being the only one, so she is happy with her "ready-made" breakfast for the next couple of days. The whole breakfast turned out great & everyone really seemed to like the buckle. 

We then packed everything up. Cari, David and I helped at the "group spot" while Joshua packed everything at ours into the suburban. Saying goodbye to those we had spent this pleasurable time with, we headed off towards home and the "real world". Making a stop at the Stayton Dairy Queen for a treat~ which we recommend for both their goodies as well as the great service~ we drove into Salem, deposited Cari at her apartment and arrived home to unpack while already looking forward to next year's camp-out!

I did have quite a few requests for the buckle, so here is the promised recipe to try~

Not my buckle, but a reasonable facsimile.

Double-Berry Buckle
Batter:

1 cup of sugar                         1/2 cup of butter                     2 eggs 

1 cup of plain or vanilla yogurt (I like to use homemade plus you can use milk, sour cream or 1/2 & 1/2 if that's what you have)

4 cups of flour

5 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon of salt 

4 cups berries- can use a combination of huckleberries, blueberries, Kotata or other blackberries

Topping:

1/2 cup of sugar

1/3 cup of flour

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/2 cup butter

Mix all batter ingredients well in mixer or by hand. Spoon into 9″ x 13″ pan that's been sprayed with non-stick spray. 

Combine the topping ingredients in mixer or by hand.  Sprinkle over top of batter. 

Bake for 45 – 50 minutes at 375 degrees. Sometimes this takes a bit longer to bake, so be sure to test for doneness with skewer or chopstick.