It is no secret that I love horse racing. I love the rich history and any excuse to make delicious food and cocktails, well, I’ll take it! Mr. M2C and I attended a charity event a couple weeks ago during the Kentucky Derby. It was great fun! We got to dress up and I even wore a hat. To top off the afternoon, I picked the winning horse! “I’ll Have Another” took it home in the run for the roses and helped me donate my winning’s to the Anne Storck Center.
Now it’s time for the Preakness. The Preakness is the second hurdle in the race for the Triple Crown. A feat that has not been accomplished since 1978. We might not be able to make it out to Pimlico in Baltimore next Saturday but that won’t stop us from celebrating right here at home.
First let me give you some background on some of the more popular traditions associated with the Preakness.
Black-Eyed Susan Blanket
“A long-standing Preakness tradition is to drape a blanket of Black-Eyed Susan’s across the shoulders of the winning horse. The 18X90 inch blanket takes three people two full days to create. First they attach a layer of greenery to a perforated spongy rubber base. Then they string more than 80 bunches of Viking daises together on flocked wire and interweave them into holes in the matte. The ends of the wire are snipped closely and the whole back of the blanket is covered with thick felt. Because Black-Eyed Susan’s do not bloom until June in Maryland, the centers of the daises are daubed with black lacquer to recreate the correct appearance. The blanket is then sprayed with water and refrigerated until it is presented to the winner on Preakness day.”
The Painting of the Weather Vain
“As soon as the Preakness winner has been declared official, a painter climbs to the top of the replica Old Clubhouse copula to paint the weather vane. He applies the colors of the winner’s silks to the jockey and horse, which will remain there until a new winner is declared in the next year’s Preakness. The practice began in 1909 after the original building’s arrow-shaped weather vane was struck down by lightening. To replace it, the Maryland Jockey Club commissioned an ornamental iron worker to forge a vane in the form of a horse and rider. It was christened that spring by coating it with the colors of the silks of that year’s winner, Effendi, and has continued ever since.”
The Woodlawn Vase
“Created by Tiffany and Company in 1860 as a trophy for the now defunct Woodlawn Racing Association, the Woodlawn Vase is presented each year to the winning Preakness owner. An assessment in 1983 of $1 million easily makes its silver design the most valuable trophy in American sports. Until 1953, winners were awarded possession of the vase until the following Preakness. That all changed when A. G. Vanderbilt’s Native Dancer won it but his wife did not want to take on the immense responsibility of the vase’s safekeeping. Now the winning owner is awarded a $30,000 sterling replica on a permanent basis while the perpetual is on display at The Baltimore Museum of Art and brought to Pimlico under guard for the annual running of the Preakness.
Standing 34 inches tall and weighing 29 pounds, 12 ounces, the Woodlawn vase has a colorful history as rich as the classic race at which it is presented. Moving from winner to winner since its creation in 1860, its passage was put to an abrupt halt with the outbreak of the Civil War. While the war was on, racing was put on hold and the vase had to be kept safe, lest it be discovered and melted into shot. To keep it out of harm’s way it was buried at Woodlawn with others of the Moore family plate and then dug up again for the next competition in 1866.”
How do you capture the history of the Preakness at home? Here are a few ideas:
Pimlico Crab Cakes
- 1 lb. Crab meat (preferably back-fin)
- 1/4 c. Mayonnaise
- 2 T. Parsley, minced
- 1/2 t. Salt
- 1/2 c. Soft bread crumbs
- 2 Eggs, beaten
- 5 drops Tabasco sauce
- fine cracker crumbs
- 1 stick Butter
- 1 T. horseradish (optional)
Combine all ingredients except crumbs and butter and mix together lightly. Form into desired size cakes but do not pack firmly then pat lightly with cracker crumbs. Chill for an hour so they are easier to handle.
Heat butter in a large skillet and fry cakes until golden brown on all sides. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately.
Black-Eyed Susan
- 3/4 oz Vodka
- 1 1/4 oz Kentucky Whiskey
- 3 oz Sweet and Sour
- 2 oz Orange Juice
- Garnish with an orange slice and a cherry
Serve in a tall glass with ice!
Gather the family this weekend, pick your horses, make a plate and settle in for 137th running of the Preakness.
Sources: Preakness.com
If you’ve been following along, you’ll know that I am on the road to becoming a vegan. It’s a slow road for me and I’m ok with that. I have my diet to around 90% vegan. My addiction to lunchtime sandwiches has me hanging onto that last 10%.
Otherwise, we are all eating pretty healthy. We feel better and look better everyday. A few months ago I was reading a story about gross things that are in our food. One of the things was human hair in bread….human….hair…let that sink in….
I was horrified! That is when I started baking my own sandwich bread. It has been so easy and it tastes amazing! Before you ask…NO, I do not have a bread machine. Bread machines are for wimps! I do however, have a kitchenaid stand mixer that does most of the heavy lifting. Kitchenaid stand mixers are not for wimps!…just sayin’
Since I have had such success with my bread recipe and the kids approve of it, I thought I would share it. Happy baking!
Homemade White Sandwich Bread
1 1/3 Cup Water at 110 degrees
½ cup honey
1 packet active dry yeast
3 cups bread flour
½ TBSP Salt
- Place honey in a 2 cup measuring cup. Add warm water and stir. Sprinkle yeast on top of water mixture. Leave until ½ inch head forms. About 5-7 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add flour and salt to bowl of mixer.
- Once your yeast has proofed, add it to the mixing bowl and knead with a dough hook
- Form dough into a soft ball and place in greased bowl. (Make sure you run the ball of dough around the bowl to grease the dough.
- Cover with a clean cloth and let rise until it’s doubled in size
- Once doubled in size, punch dough once and transfer to loaf pan
- Cover with clean cloth and let rise again until doubled in size
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes
- Immediately turn out onto cooling rack
Water temp should be between 110 and 120 when you add it to the honey
Sprinkle the yeast on top of the honey/water. It should start to sink.
Yeast will gush to the top of the cup
It's ready to add to the flour when it looks like this
Add more flour as needed throughout the kneading process
Make sure the bowl is well greased and roll the ball of dough around in it to coat it with oil
Make sure the dough at least doubles in size
This is the fun part! Remember, only one punch!
Make sure the loaf pan is well greased
Make sure it doubles in size again. Don't rush the rise!!
Turn bread out onto cooling rack as soon as it comes out of the oven!!
I love flowers, fresh grown fruits and veggies as well as aromatic herbs. I love the idea of walking out back picking something fresh and making it for lunch or dinner. The problem is…
I kill plants! Not on purpose but it ALWAYS happens. It’s a gift I suppose. But now I am eating almost 100% vegan and baking my own bread for heavens sake! If I am making my own bread from scratch, I should be able to grow a tomato and maybe an herb or two…right?
I decided to give it a try. I bought a “patio tomato”. I planted it in a big pot, sat it on an outside table where it would get plenty of sunshine. I almost wet myself the first time I saw a little yellow flower. Then an actual green tomato started to form and you would have thought I was 10 again at a New Kids on the Block concert.
At this point I was feeling pretty cocky. I mean…I grew a tomato! HA! All I had to do now was wait until it got red…right?
I watered and watched, watered and watched, on and on for the next few weeks. Finally I had this…
Looks pretty awesome. The kids and I were so excited, standing outside in our pajama’s ready to pick a perfect tomato. So finally we did!…
This is what we found on the other side…a worm that had eaten itself to death on my tomato! So disappointing. I think I decided that I am not good at growing tomatoes because I am not in the business of worm hunting! Gross!
Rules are good right? I mean, without them, there would be complete chaos. The dogs would eat off the kids plates, I would have to replace toys, scrape stickers off the walls and most likely make frequent trips to the ER. Rules are essential.
But where is the line?…
Lately I’ve been feeling like I have so many rules for the kids and the dogs that all I do is discipline. Things have become too complicated. I’m sure the kids have noticed. I am always on them about something and it makes the days long.
It really started to cross my mind this week when I was in Ansley’s classroom for a mother’s day brunch. I noticed one of the boys had taken 3 rolls of colored tape and made the most impressive spider web. Once the other boys joined in they stuck most of the toy cars in the tape. They handed the teacher a giant colored tape ball and asked her to get their cars out. I watched her calmly extract each and every car, cut the tape and hand it all back to them.
Watching this, I couldn’t help but ask myself how I would have reacted if that were my kids…NOT WELL is what I came up with. I would have freaked out!
I’m hoping I’m not alone when I say, that I am always struggling to feel like I have control. Gripping tighter and tighter trying not to lose order and slip into chaos.
I think I realized the other day that in order to avoid making them clean up a mess, I don’t let them do anything that would cause a mess in the first place. I’m going about this all wrong and it’s time to change things up.
Fingers crossed that things don’t get too messy!
I have been somewhat MIA lately and it’s not because I don’t have anything going on. Actually it’s quite the opposite. I have so much going on, the days are starting to smoosh together and I can hardly tell one day from the next.
A month ago, we decided that Ansley needed an activity. I made a list of different activities that she could do and how much they cost. We sat down as a family and she decided on cheerleading. That sounded good to me. I mean, she will get lots of excersize (Haven’t you heard? Cheerleading IS a sport) and make new friends. The plus side was it had an up front cost and the season lasts until December. It seemed cheaper than shelling out $180 a month for gymnastics…
I headed out for sign-ups with Ansley and was expecting to pay my money and get all the info…what I got was a bunch of moves to teach to Ansley along with a chant and a time to come back for “cheer clinic” What is cheer clinic? Oh, I’m glad you asked…that is where I drive my not yet 5 year old to a football field with 170 other girls to learn cheerleading moves so that she can come back on Saturday and tryout…that’s right…TRYOUT!
I was in over my head from the beginning but I want to set a good example and follow through for my kids. So I helped her learn the moves and we went to every clinic…all week long. After the first night…she was ready to quit. I was tired, she was tired and I had half a mind to throw in the towel with her…but I wouldn’t feel good about it.
The next morning I mustered one of my best motivational speeches to date. I want to give my kids the push they need. It’s a very thin line to walk…not too much push but just enough to get them going. I want them to land somewhere between pro athlete and couch potato. Besides, if all my hard work pays off and they do hit it big, I want them to buy mom a big ‘ol house and a convertible! If they hate me, I’ll be forced to write a tell all book to gain my fortune and that sounds like a lot of work! I’m just kidding…I’d be happy with just a house…
Anyway….
I gave a great speech. I can’t remember everything I said but it ended with our living room sounding like a locker room before the big game “Who’s a Charger’s Cheerleader?! ANSLEY IS!” It was obnoxious…but it worked. We practiced for a long time that day and she was much more prepared that night at her clinic.
Let me take a small side step here and say that these clinics are just as much for the parents as they are for the girls. The parents that drop off kids in dirty clothes and messed up hair 30 minutes late are taken note of. If you make the commitment…follow through people!
Saturday morning finally came and it was time to tryout. I was a nervous wreck! She was confident and relaxed but I was running around like I hadn’t slept in 4 days and the Russians were watching me. They started calling girls and she was FIRST! I was in a silent panic. Even though she knew some girls were going to get cut and there was a chance she wouldn’t make the team she was ok with that. Me? I was still having trouble with the fact that I would have to pick up the pieces the next day when her name wasn’t on the now infamous “list”.
She was in and out in no time. She came bouncing out with a sucker and talking about how everyone loved her. She gave no other details.
Sunday went by very slowly but finally it was time to go check “the list”. We made our way to the wall and Ansley started looking for her name. She didn’t find it…
I told her to look again…and again…and again…and again….finally I asked her “What is this name?” She said “Ashley! Oh no I didn’t make it!!” I asked her to say the letters out loud and she spelled A-N-S-L-E-Y….”I MADE IT!!!!!!”
Now, the fun starts. A summer filled with stunt camps, car washes, fundraising and shoe fittings. All in preparation for football season. I’m not exactly sure if I’m cut out to be a cheer mom but I guess we are going to find out!
Do your kids do sports or activities? How do you find balance in their schedule?
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