The View From Mrs. Sundberg's Window

I'll be darned if a couple hours didn't pass like moments

April 14, 2010

Listened to the show Saturday and it was not bad. It's been lovely weather lately, cooler and even crisp in the evenings, and I have enjoyed getting outside a bit. Mr. Sundberg spent most of Saturday cleaning the garage, which left him satisfied and glowing, and the kids jumped on the trampoline and went on a nature hike and sat by the river awhile. One of those lovely sunny spring days that get a person craving grilled food and good conversation and a tall cool glass of pink grapefruit juice with a bit of gin.

The storms came rolling in Tuesday and that didn't stop me from a little road trip I'd been meaning to take for some time now. After everyone was off, I hopped in the car and drove along winding roads through thunder and lightning and pouring down rain for a good hour or two, enjoying music turned up loud and the splash of rain on the windshield. I stopped at a café I've been to before and went in and sat awhile, and struck up a conversation with two goodhearted women from Lanesboro, where I went to a Rhubarb Festival a few years back and ate some of the best food I've eaten in all my life.

Turns out these two, Jennifer and Mary, have everything to do with that festival, and we shared stories of the people who live in our home towns and the food we like to make and how we spend our time on Sunday afternoons, and I'll be darned if a couple hours didn't pass like moments. They reminded me that this year's Rhubarb Festival is June 1st, and invited me to come on down, and that got me thinking about how road trips are underrated, and so is time in cafés, and, for that matter, so is the feeling you get when someone you've never met before becomes someone you feel you've known all your life. Familiar. And when you both have a thing for rhubarb sauce, well, there you go. All the more reason to plan another road trip.

Grilled Ham Rolls
If you're like me, you've still got some ham left over from Easter, and here's a fine way to make use of it. Serve these lovely rolls with some potato salad and a pan of bars and you're good to go.

2 cups cubed ham
3/4 lb grated cheddar
1 Vidalia onion, chopped
1 4 oz can green jalapenos, chopped
1/4 cup chopped pickles
1 8 oz can tomato juice
2 T fresh lemon juice1 T mayonnaise
6 crusty round rolls

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients (except rolls).

Slice the tops off the rolls and remove; scoop out the bread from the inside. Set aside. Fill the rolls with the ham mixture.

Replace the tops on the rolls and wrap each in foil. Bake over hot coals or in covered grill for an hour.

Enjoy!

Previous article: « Pardon my joy. As if I can help it.

Next Article: Why Know the Time When You're Having Fun? »