A trip to Kingston

We recently decided to explore a part of East Tennessee we hadn't been to, the town of Kingston. It's not very far from Knoxville, but it was a nice drive through the country. Kingston Pike is one of the major highways in our area, and if you keep heading west on it, you'll end up in Kingston. It starts as Cumberland Avenue near downtown and UT's campus, also known as U.S. Route 70. Before Interstate 40 was constructed in the 1960s, it was the main road from Knoxville to the western edge of Knox County.

An afternoon thunderstorm rolls in as boaters enjoy Watts Bar Lake.

It was about a 30 minute drive, and we ate at Red Bones on the River, one of the few restaurants in Kingston. Red Bones serves a variety of dishes, but we focused on their seafood and sandwich options and ordered alligator tail as an appetizer. I had a shrimp poor-boy, and David ordered a sirloin steak sandwich. Our window view overlooked the lake.

Red Bones on the River is right off the main road with outdoor and indoor seating.

It was a nice afternoon outing, even though we stayed on land. Maybe some day, we'll own a boat, or at least have some friends who do. :)

Another view of Watts Bar Lake

A year with Cash

It's been a year since Cash joined our family, so we celebrated his first "birthday" with us last weekend. Since we don't know the date our rescue cats were born, their birthday becomes the day we brought them home with us. Cash's birthday is July 18, and Sammie's is November 1.

We celebrated by giving Cash and Sammie "special" canned cat food for dinner, which they absolutely love and could eat every day.

Ironically, our neighbors next door brought over two birthday cupcakes since their little girl had a birthday party. Cash and Sammie thought the icing was too sweet, so David and I enjoyed the treat.

Happy Birthday Cash!

Homemade Herman pizza

We made homemade pizza Friday night using Herman bread as the pizza dough. So delicious! It was a thick pan-style pizza with turkey pepperoni, black olives, roasted garlic and sauteed mushrooms as the toppings. We baked the crust for about 15 minutes first, and then added the tomato sauce and toppings and cooked another 15 minutes. Finally, we added mozzarella cheese and baked it another 5-10 minutes at 350 degrees.

I realize that while I've mentioned Herman bread before on this blog, I haven't explained what it is or how I make it. My mom started making Herman when I was in middle school. Herman is the sourdough-based starter that people have used for years, primarily in the South and similar to Amish Friendship Bread, from what I've read. The bread doesn't taste like traditional sour dough, but it's very good. It's not too sweet or too sour.

Once you receive a cup of starter, you take Herman out of the fridge and feed him every three to seven days with a mixture of sugar, water and dried potato flakes (the kind you would use to make instant mashed potatoes). You can either use a cup of the starter after it has sat out for several hours to make Herman, through the cup away or give the cup to friends to start their own Herman offspring, which my mom and I have done many times.

After moving to Knoxville, I asked my mom to bring a cup of starter when they visited a few years ago, and I started making Herman. It's not hard, but you have to remember to feed him and be patient when first mixing him up with all the ingredients, especially the bread flour. Herman can be fickle. Some days he likes to rise in a perfect mound shape, and other days, he doesn't. Bread loaves and rolls (Dolly once ate a entire Herman roll off my plate!) can be made, and I've taken both to parties and given a lot of baked Herman away, just like my mom. Everyone strongly adores Herman for the most part, and if you don't, there might be something wrong with you! :)

Last year, I started adding Italian seasoning and garlic salt to the dough to spice it up a bit, and we really enjoy it. I also use olive oil at times instead of corn or canola oil. I've never made the cinnamon rolls using Herman, but my mom has, and they are delicious.

My friends used to give me strange looks when I told them I had to feed Herman or that I had brought some Herman to share at a party. Now, they just smile and realize they are about to enjoy a special homemade treat.

Fun on the river

We had a great dinner at Calhoun's on the River Saturday night with some great friends who are moving to North Carolina soon. I've written about them before, and I can't believe how grown up Sara and Aljosha are now. Katerina and Iso should be very proud of them.

Sara told us that they're moving to the other side of the mountain, which is true since they are crossing over the Great Smoky Mountains into western North Carolina. She also said her brother is big, but he thinks he is bigger than he really is. :)

After dinner, we fed the ducks and geese with the extra bread from the restaurant.

A visit to this part of Knoxville isn't complete on a summer evening without jumping into the fountains and water falls. 

They were both soaking wet but loved every second of it.

Have a great time in North Carolina. We'll miss you!

Summer sunflowers

Sunflowers are my favorite flower, and while I wish these were growing in front of our house, they belong to our neighbors. I can't believe how tall they've grown, but they could use some rain. (It was the second hottest June on record in Knoxville with little rain.)

I do have a sunflower to look at thanks to a birthday gift from my parents in May. It's a solar-powered sunflower that stays outside during the day and then lights up at night. I keep it on our back porch and can see it lit up at night.

During a storm one night last week, the wind was very strong and knocked it over, so we brought it inside.

Here's a better shot of how it lights up. Cash is in the photo too. Can you find him? Thanks for my sunflower Mom and Dad! :)

Sleeping the summer away

Here are a few recent shots of Sammie and Cash sleeping the summer away. They like to be close at times, but they also need their space. Cash is definitely more active than Sammie, who could sleep all day and night. However, after his spazzing episodes, he crashes and doesn't wake up for anything unless the doorbell rings, and then he gets scared and hides under the bed. He's a great watch kitty! :)

Since we can't trust Cash on our back porch, he likes to spend hours in the garage on top of the car. I know it's hot out there too, but he loves it. In honor of the Fourth of July, I thought about dressing Cash up as George Washington and Sammie as Betsy Ross, but they weren't feeling it.

On a bittersweet note, Dolly gained a kitty friend in heaven this week. Our good Florida friends, Brad, Mandy, Ryan and feline sister Kelsey, had to say good-bye to their beloved cat Cali, who had kidney disease like Dolly. We know how hard it has been on them, and they continue to be in our thoughts and prayers. It's a comforting thought that Dolly was there to welcome Cali, and they are now chasing birds, squirrels, and lizards together. (Sammie hates fireworks and wants to make sure there aren't any in heaven since Dolly didn't like them either. I assured her there are only soothing trumpets.)

Speaking of fireworks, Happy Fourth of July! We're having BBQ chicken, Bobby Flay's grilled sweet potato salad, grilled veggies and ambrosia for dessert. Sammie and Cash get a canned salmon and shrimp feast! :)

Picking a peck of peppers

We've cooked a variety of pepper dishes recently, thanks in part to our Sam's Club that sells a combo pack of six (two yellow, two red and two orange) for around $7, a great deal! They are pretty to look at, and I like the flavor a bit more than green peppers.

After making fajitas a couple of times, we decided to make some stuffed peppers. I remember my mom making delicious stuffed peppers filled with rice, tomatoes and hamburger meat. I added a new twist by adding corn, black beans, and tomatoes to the dish below. Another idea came from the back of a jambalaya box. I made the jambalaya with sausage meat and rice like I usually do, and then I stuffed the peppers with the jambalaya. Yummy!

The last recipe I made was Paula Dean's brunch stuffed peppers on Father's Day. I substituted turkey sausage for the bacon and used green peppers. Using green and red would make a nice Christmas brunch dish, and yellow and orange would be nice for Easter.

The peppers are easy to make, and there are plenty of leftovers that heat up nicely for a second meal. How many pecks of peppers can you pick?