A “Kale” of a Weekend

This weekend, we went to the mountain house with Aunt CC.  It was our second time in a month, which is basically a miracle because sometimes it seems we NEVER get up there.  The highlight of the weekend – kale chips.  Well, not really.  But the farmers’ market (where we got the kale) and the porch time (where we ate the kale chips) and the major diaper blowout on the way home (a “kale chip diaper” according to Patrick) were “milestone markers” for the weekend.  It all started with a fun visit to the Ashe County Farmers Market on Saturday morning, while Daddy got in a quick 9 holes of golf.  We bought tomatoes, squash, jalapenos, other hot peppers, more tomatoes (we seriously got about 4 different varieties, including my favorite purple Cherokees), cabbage, corn, and (drum roll) KALE!  I’ve been wanting to get the fam to try this “super food” for a while now, and so the farm that grew kale using only horses and organic ingredients won . . . and I was SUPER excited about making kale chips (I read about them on another blog a while ago, and figured I’d give them a try after my sautéed kale failed MISERABLY with Patrick, who thought they were way too similar to collard greens).  CC and Spencer LOVED them (ok, so that might be a slight exaggeration but they at least ATE them without complaining).

Ok, so you MIGHT notice the dogs getting in on the action.  Yes – Briar and Lucy also loved kale chips.  But I did NOT take that as an insult -  I mean, who doesn’t want their dog to be super healthy, too (nevermind the fact those dogs eat anything, and I do mean, anything!).  

This is how Patrick (and similarly, Anne Louise) felt about them:

Don’t panic – she wasn’t choking per se, but maybe I can admit that you needed a little milk (or margarita) to wash them down.  But they were still good.  While they were cooking, Patrick and Anne Louise coincidentally took an escape route hike down the mountain to our neighbors’ house.  We love Nana’s amazing neighbors Travis and Jean, and although Patrick just went down to get a scoop of dishwasher detergent, they gave Anne Louise and Spencer a teddy bear AND a book.  AL absolutely LOVED it and asked to take another hike this morning.  After our delicious kale-chip snack (and being ever so energized from our super food – haha), CC, Spencer, Briar, Lucy, and I met them half way to walk back up the hill.

(Yes, AL is in her pjs from her nap, and yes, I know they don’t match – but Nana has a rule about the mountain house and its been in effect for as long as I can remember – you can wear whatever you want all day any day.  So for our little Wheezy, she wanted her Pjs. Nana would be so proud.)

For dinner, we took advantage of the farmers market goodies and had chicken and shrimp tacos with TWO kinds of salsa (corn & black bean and mango & black bean – both with YUMMY fresh tomatoes, fresh peppers, fresh cabbage slaw, and fresh corn).  It was awesome.

This morning, we took our SWEET time in the 67 degree weather to enjoy the porch.  This picture below is Anne Louise wanting to be “Puppy Anne Louise” and lie down on the porch like the dogs.  She is hilarious – even wanting us to “pet her” and give her “treats” (aka, more muffin).This is “Puppy Anne Louise” playing “fetch the stick” (yes, the stick is invisible, and no, I’m not even joking --- this entertained her for a good 10 minutes – and got some energy out for the car ride home . . . so we played along.  I love love LOVE that little girl and her imagination!!!!).Spencer watching, and probably wondering what in the hell “kale” her big sister was doing.Ready for a muffin treat:Speaking of muffin – Briar was all over Spencer while she was eating her muffin.  Spencer, who usually is NOT a fan of Briar in her face (or her vicinity for that matter) had a BLAST teasing (and sometimes feeding) Briar.And then back to the heat and humidity we came – it was a helluva “kale of a” family weekend!