Dinner and Another Schoolhouse

After I put dinner in the oven this evening I gathered the kids up in the car for a quick adventure--I had heard that there was another school building for sale right around the corner of the mountain. We've been in love with this building for over ten years but it's not been on the market until just now.

It sits on a hill and is called Fair View. It was built in the '30's out of blocks of sandstone. Sigh. The field around it had *just* been mowed, the air smelled spicy and sweet, and the last long beams of sun made everything look gilded. We wandered inside and fell in love: twenty-foot ceilings, two main rooms with a mahogany sliding divider, a stage, a long (20 feet or more?) blackboard running along the wall, both pot-bellied stoves still intact with stone chimneys, all the original benches piled in the center of the room. Stone walls, of course.

I called the realtor and a sale is already pending. But. Sometimes things fall through, and the Composer needs an off-campus studio!

We came home to a delicious-smelling dinner done to perfection: oven mustard chicken, Carol's rice pilaf, sauteed Swiss chard, and a nice vinegary romaine salad.

*Oven Mustard Chicken*

In a small bowl, combine about 1/2 cup grainy mustard, 1/4 cup olive oil, 2 T. thyme, and 1 t. salt. Use to coat pieces of cut-up chicken. After they are coated, roll them in fine bread crumbs. Lay in a greased casserole dish and bake at 375 uncovered for 45-60 minutes.

*Carol's Rice Pilaf*

Chop half an onion, two stalks celery, grate two carrots, and mince 2-4 cloves of garlic. Sautee all in olive oil until transparent. Add 3 c. brown rice and stir to coat. Add 6 c. chicken broth (I used about half broth and half water) and salt and pepper. Bring to boil, cover, and turn down to simmer for 45 minutes. Done, as all rice is, when liquid is absorbed and those cool-looking craters have formed on the surface of the rice.