Feeling Creative: A Yummy Sandwich & Veggies

I'm home at 8 pm tonight. Whew! Monday's start early for me. I attend an Enameling class taught by Jan Harrel at Glassell School of Art. Class begins at 9:30 AM which means I need to leave the house at 8:15 at the latest since I'm driving from Spring, Texas. However it is always worth the early call, and long drive. It is so good for my creative spirit to walk into the Art School, see and chum with my fellow metal artists, and get my creative juices flowing from the inspiring Jan! I went to my studio after, and the juices really began to flow - I just started working, enameling, then annealing some copper squares, then hammering, then opened a book that inspired me 10 years ago... I really needed all this today.
The last several weeks has been.... well, a very tough time in life. My Mom fell on March 6, 2012. This was the second break of a hip in two years. She rallied again, as usual, but started to fade soon after. She just was not strong enough this time. So just a week before her 94th birthday, she quietly passed to heaven and was welcomed in Heaven by her love, Woody, and a chorus of others to a better and happier place. My sisters and I planned a memorial service in Shreveport, La. It was sweet, sad, happy and joyous all at the same time. We said a fond farewell. We were warmed and comforted by friends. If you have ever hesitated to send a note or make a call when someones Mother dies, as I have in the past, I now know how comforting each and every note, text, and facebook reply can be. It's amazing how she shows up in spirit: a moment in a movie, the smell of bread, a song on the radio.
When we got back home from the service, my husband and I knew another difficult time was ahead. The next morning, we waited by the phone for him to hear from his boss whether he had a job or not. We knew... well, I knew that we would prevail, and find a better, new chapter in our lives if we had to.... but still it was one of those anxious filled, sick feeling in the stomach, mornings. He finally got the call, and soon, still on the phone, he was giving me the thumbs up signal. WOW. I was so happy and proud that he was able to retain his job with the company. We were happy for the rest of the day, but knew that something else would be hanging over his head. On Wednesday, he would have to call 6 great employees that they no longer had a job. We made it though that week, more aware of the power of caring friends, prayers and the importance of our long lasting, 35+ years of being together, to help each other in times like these.
His new job has changed to cover the area south of Houston and South Texas. We have been talking about moving closer to "Town" , rather, "H" town for about 6 months, especially since I decided to move my studio closer to my school and Galleries, where I sell my creations. It became more obvious with his new job, how much this made sense. So in the recent week, we have been looking for a new home in Houston, and will putting our home in Spring on the market soon.
We had a "stager" at our house yesterday, ( a new profession in the past few years?) suggesting all those things to "show" our house. It all made perfect sense but, it is still takes an emotional toll for a stranger to come in to your house and ask you to take down the pictures of your grandchildren, and strip down the vine I have been nurturing and pruning for the past five years. And she wants me to iron my pillow cases!!! I don't think so....

OK - now for the recipe:
On my way home I was dreaming of stopping by our favorite BBQ place and ordering a chopped pork sandwich "to go." Alas, they are closed on Mondays! Grrr. I drove into the parking lot, said some choice four letter words, then drove on. I began thinking.... fish sticks? (in the freezer) NAH! OK, I'll just open my white wine and fix a turkey sandwich. Then I thought of the grilled veggies I've been wanting to make. Mental inventory of the fridge told me I had some carrots, and some yummy asparagus. OH - and I have a vidallia sweet onion - CARMELIZED onions came to my mind. Anyway, here is what I whipped up after and long day, and past few weeks:

Turkey Sandwich: pretty much the usual: toasted whole wheat bread, a little mayo, with crumbled goat cheese, smoked turkey sliced extra thin, fresh spinach, walnuts, avacado, carmelized onions ( fried in oil, when they start to get dark, sprinkle with turbinado sugar and remove from heat when start to brown.)
Veggies: I sliced several carrots with an old fashioned julianne or mandoline cutter, into ribbons lengthwise. coat with olive oil in a long dish. Throw in a few oz.s of Pomograntite juice or other, lemon juice, S&P, Ginger powder, garlic powder, Tony's. Then micro for 2-3 minutes to soften. Prepare a grill pan with a bit of oil and heat.
Slice your vidalia onion thin. then cut circles in half. Throw all into a oiled iron skillet and start to brown.
Make your sandwich, stove grill your carrots and asparagus, then put it all together - you know the drill.
It was SO yummy.
Life is about to change again..... but there is always: Wine, caramelized onions, friends, lovers, and the creative spirit.