Traipsing along Portobello Road in London’s Notting Hill district is a glorious way to spend a Saturday morning. However, I urge you to get up and get out there early to avoid being trampled by the throngs of sleepy heads who arrive after 11, as documented below! 
There are all sorts of treats for the eyes and for consumption. The food stalls are in a word…amazing! Feast your eyes on these photos taken by my daughter Brenton on a cool autumn morning in 2010. 
My friend Cherri recently had a double knee replacement. So I cooked and froze several meals to ease her husband’s dinner prep! She loved this Gumbo, so I post this in Cherri’s honor. PS…she is healing magnificently…strong woman!
Breast meat from 1 rotisserie chicken, chopped
2 Tbs olive oil
1 medium red pepper, diced
1/2 large sweet onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 t chili powder
1/2 Tbs ground cumin
1/2 t ground coriander
1 15 oz cans black beans, rinsed, and drained
16 oz can diced Italian tomatoes, not drained
3/4 cup beer
Heat olive oil in large stock pot over medium heat.
Add red peppers, onion, and garlic, and sauté 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add chili powder, cumin, and coriander, and cook 1 minute.
Stir in beans, tomatoes, and beer.
Bring to a boil.
Lower heat to medium and simmer 15 minutes, uncovered, stirring often.
Reduce heat to low,
Add cut up chicken.
Cook another 10 minutes, until chicken is heated throughout.
Serves 6.
I live in a house that was built in 1952. Alas, last spring we replaced all of the inefficient windows that leaked the cooled and heated air from the inside to the outside…and allowed in the cool and hot air from the outside. So in the kitchen I had installed a 6 inch window sill above the sink rather that the standard 2 1/2 inch sill. This allows space for flowers, knick knacks, coffee mugs, and perhaps most importantly a champagne glass while cooking! I spend a LOT of time in my kitchen and want it to be a happy place with fresh flowers and a sunny outlook. Here is a simple example of a window sill “still life” in my kitchen home.
I visited my older daughter and her precious family last week. While she toiled at work I had fun in her efficient city kitchen. I made Meatloaves and Brunswick Stew and stocked her freezer with those treats. I chose those two specifically for the following reasons. I find meatloaf very comforting, especially paired with mashed potatoes (recipes for this yummy starch coming later this week). And the stew is so simple to heat upon return home late in the afternoon. Literally, it can be on the table in under 10 minutes!! I know that it is helpful for worker bees to take something out of the freezer in the morning, and have a simple weeknight dinner waiting to pop in the oven after a full day of business. Of course I played with that darling twenty-one month old precious and precocious grandson of mine in between cooking sessions!! He’s a true charmer…or as his Auntie says…”ridiculously cute”!
You will need:
2 cups low fat, low sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups frozen lima beans
1 1/2 cup frozen yellow corn
14 oz can diced tomatoes
10 oz can Rotel
1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
Breast meat of 1 roasted chicken, chopped
1 cup pulled pork or chopped barbeque
Bring chicken broth to a boil.
Add lima beans and corn.
Cover and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes.
Add tomatoes and Rotel (both undrained), and Worcestershire.
Stir and cook 5 minutes.
Add chopped chicken and pork.
Stir well to combine all.
Cook covered on medium low for 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.
Serves 8.
For meatloaf:
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground sausage
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 green pepper, finely chopped
1 roasted red pepper, chopped
1 Tbs ketchup
2 Tbs Worcestershire
2 large eggs
1/2 cup bread crumbs
3/4 t black pepper
Cooking spray
Preheat oven to 350°.
In a large bowl combine all ingredients except cooking spray.
Mix well with hands and shape into an oblong loaf.
You may use one 5” x 9” bread loaf pan, or 2 mini loaf pans.
Coat the pan of choice with cooking spray.
Press the meatloaf mixture into the pan so that it fits well.
Bake 40 minutes uncovered.
For glaze:
1/4 cup ketchup
3 Tbs Dijon mustard
3 Tbs brown sugar
Mix the glaze ingredients together.
Remove meatloaf from oven and pour most of the glaze on top and spread evenly, reserving a bit.
Return to oven and bake another 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes.
Gently transfer meatloaf to a serving platter and top with remaining glaze.
Serves 6 to 8.
*This recipe may easily be halved for dinner for 2. If you don’t have mini loaf pans, you may simply shape the mixture into a mini loaf and bake it in a baking pan.
The Friday evening after Thanksgiving this past year I hosted the first, perhaps annual, Hardee Pardee! All of the 16 Hardee cousins, spouses and “significants” were in town, and they were not going to all be together at Christmas. So we decided to have a large celebration. Both of my daughters were home, so the prep time was fun-filled and quite lively! Marc made us surprise espresso martinis while we were cooking. Brenton loves a frittata, having spent a gracious amount of time in Spain. She wanted to prepare that; it was the first time I had ever served that at a cocktail event. She cleverly cut the frittata in to bite-sized pieces, and passed it throughout the house. The tray was empty before she made it to the last room. It was a huge hit. So…lesson learned…anything may be turned into a small portion appetizer. Cheers!
This is my kitchen the following morning! Totally worth every effort of the cleanup!!
Dining Room, Evening ~ oil on canvas ~ artist, Karen Lawrence ~ my private collection
This is a painting that Atlanta based artist Karen Lawrence painted after spending an evening in my home. We hosted an opening at City Art Gallery for her earlier that evening and then gathered in my home for dinner afterwards. She photographed throughout the house and developed several canvases from that experience. Both of my daughters received one of Karen’s pieces for Christmas that year to remind them of the home in which they journeyed through the first couple of decades of their lives, and where they still return “home” for special family celebrations. Below are those two jewels!
Look what I wore! Last weekend TD (the don) and I attended the “Revealing Supper Party” for my niece and nephew to reveal the gender of their baby on the way! They had their doctor seal the results of … Continue reading
Saturday Morning Coffee ~ terra cotta, paint, and gold leaf
Artist, Rodney Shaw ~ from my private collection
PegHardee.com Insight into Southern Cuisine and Hospitality 