Straight Running Crazy News, BATTLE 2018 , and leaving a legacy

Hey y’all! A new podcast is up! You can find the link to listen at the bottom of this blog post. And/or you can subscribe for free on iTunes. I know, however, that some of y’all are having trouble following the transition, so I’ve tried to transcribe most of it for you here…

Welcome back to All Things Southern folks! I’ve enjoyed pulling together another show for y’all. I’ve got some opening news you can lose, only I couldn’t so I had to bring it to y’all…And then, we’ll talk chicken. Balsamic roasted chicken with herbs, to be exact, and I’ll have my friend Dr. Joneal Kirby in to talk about BATTLE 2018. Afterwards, we’ll close with a few devotional thoughts, so if you’re ready…let’s chat…

Occasionally startling straight running crazy type of things cross my radar. The kind of “you don’t say?” news that leaves me shaking my head.  My next move is generally to skip through Google for the rest of the story, which is where I usually find that my great discovery is old news to most people. In many of these cases, ignorance is bliss.  Still, when this kind of thing happens, I feel compelled to bring my discovery to the All Things Southern porch for discussion. Such is where I find myself today. Please feel free to share with me any experiences you have had or that you might be planning to have in the field of toad licking. I’m all ears.

Yep, I said toad licking. As in, licking your toad.  

My beloved farmer brought this novel lifestyle to my attention. He who is generally even more clueless to the greater madness out there than I am, had gotten his information from a fellow farmer. They were discussing how drug testing was once unheard of on the farm, but now, before hiring labor, they were finding it necessary to have applicants screened for all sorts of mind altering substances, and how people were steady finding ways to outsmart the drug tests while continuing to get high. And that’s when this other farmer told my farmer about people licking toads to get high. My man still had an incredulous look on his face when he came home and shared this info with me at lunch. For the record, Phil said if I told y’all about it to make sure I pronounced my “d” sound. We’re not talking toe sucking, y’all, we don’t do that either, but we know it’s a thing. It’s toad licking that has us bumfuzzled.   

Of course, once Phil went back to work, I had to research the subject. You know I did.

One of my first thoughts was whether or not Toad Suck, AR got its name from this strange behavior. The answer is no. There’s another interesting story there, but I’m trying to stay on track.

From what I understand you can’t just lick any old toad, y’all. It has to be a special toad. And guess what? As so often happens, I was knee deep in my research when supporting evidence hit the news:

It happened July 25^th, 2018 in Arizona.  And I quote to you from the headline:

Wildlife officials in Arizona said toads are being stolen from a conservation area and the thieves are believed to be planning to lick them.

Are y’all still there?

Randy Babb, an Arizona Game and Fish wildlife biologist, said the thieves were likely planning to lick the toads, a practice that induces hallucinogenic effects.

Mr. Babb told KNXV-TV that Sonoron desert toads are the toads of choice for toad lickers. Apparently, they are the largest toad in the Southwest. They can reach sizes of more than 2 pounds and can live up to 20 years.  I suppose that translates to more looney per lick.

Clearly, the thieves were wanting to get all hopped up. Get it? Sorry. I had to…

But really, in all seriousness, and because I always have y’alls backs. Here’s a warning—if you do decide to get into toad licking, and you do find the right toad, one that doesn’t belong to someone else, do be careful not to overdose. My understanding is that one can ingest too much of this froggy feel good stuff. Overdosing is possible, even death!

So, how many licks does it take to die from toad poison? Well, the jury is still out. Hopefully, a little dab will do you.

 

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Back to the All Things Southern kitchen with

“Balsamic Roasted Chicken with fresh herbs”

Four-six chicken breasts

Balsamic glaze:

2 cups balsamic vinegar

½ cup brown sugar, (sometimes I substitute molasses or honey)

Salt and pepper

Fresh parsley

Welcome back to the All Things Southern chicken, y’all. Last week I encouraged y’all to grab those hot rotisserie chickens when you’re at the store, whether you plan to cook, or not. Remember? I told you to pull that meat off and store it in the freezer for quick meals. But, hey, let’s just say you haven’t done that yet, but you do have raw chicken breasts on hand and you’re short on inspiration. Well, here I am to save the day!

I’m going to share my Balsamic Roasted Chicken with fresh herbs. It’s become one of my go to ways to coax tons of flavor out of the bird and you can use the meat in a multitude of dishes. Let’s get started.

We’ll begin by preheating the oven to 400 degrees. Then we’ll rub our chicken breasts down with salt and black pepper and set them aside. We’ll prepare a heavy cast iron skillet with a tablespoon or so of olive oil and heat it up on the stove top over a medium high heat. Once the oil heats up, we’ll sear our chicken about two minutes on each side. The goal—getting that beautiful golden brown char on the outside while sealing in the juices.

Next, we’ll cover it with foil, transfer it to the oven and let it cook about fifteen minutes. Meanwhile, we’ll make the game changing glaze by mixing two cups of balsamic vinegar with a half cup of brown sugar. We’ll heat it in a small boiler on our stove top until it gets thick and reduces by half. That should take about 12-15 minutes. Give or take. Don’t hold me to it folks.

Now, we’ll pull our chicken out of the oven, brush it with the glaze and return it, allowing it to bake another fifteen or so minutes. Your chicken is ready when it reaches an internal temp of

We’ll drizzle it with more of our reduction and top it with freshly chopped parsley before serving. This chicken gets along with most any side, and that reduction—put it in the fridge and use it to top veggies, salads, meats, etc.

Try my Balsamic Roasted Chicken with fresh herbs, y’all. You’ll return to it again, and again, and again, or my name isn’t Shellie Charlene.

 

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Friends, I didn’t transcribe the interview with Dr. Kirby, but here she is with her darling Randy. I do hope you’ll follow the links to join us at BATTLE 2018!

 

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On Leaving a Legacy

So, my bestie and I had a great time at the beach. I shared some of those pics on the site for y’all last week, and I’ve got a couple more for you here. 

Morning Light, my Favorite Time on the beach with Jesus

 

The marine life was quite eager to see us

 

We cleaned up, occasionally  rarely

 

I call this my happy beach pic. God’s ocean is so big and we are so small.

And on that note, this would be a little footage of my footprints being washing away with the waves.

footprintsvideo

I hope what I’m about to say won’t sound morbid. It’s not my intention at all, but my disappearing footprints set me to thinking.  The reality is that one day I’ll be mourned, and if enough times passes before Christ’s return, eventually I’ll be forgotten — here on earth.  

The same is true for you.  I don’t know what you’ll do with that truth, but I’ll tell you what I hope to do. “Redeem the time.” Ephesians 5.16

 I’ve been so slow in my life to understand the privilege of relationship Jesus offers us on this side of heaven. “So foolish was I, and ignorant; I was as a beast before thee.” — Psalm 73:22. 

So slow. So feint of heart. So slow to even want to die to self, slower still in learning learn how to die and keep dying. And yes, so conditioned to expect less than the full glittering promises I find in the Word. 

My ignorance leaves a prayer on my lips. 

 If we have tasted the deep peace of living beholding the One we’ve believed, if we have discovered the adventure of pursuing His divine heart and refusing to settle for what we know of Him, may it be that we leave legacy marks in the only place it will ever matter, in the human hearts of those with us, those around us, and those coming after us. 

 On the other hand, if you haven’t tasted and seen how sweet He is, it’s past time to fix that, too. Email me if you have questions, or need help. I’d love to point you to Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life.

 That’s it for this week, folks. Thanks for dropping by! I’ll see you right here next week if the Good Lord’s willing and the creek doesn’t rise. This is Shellie, with hugs for all!

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