Article posted May4, 2011 to www.timesfreepress.com by Barry Courter
BARRY COURTER: Last week’s storms left many of us faced with varying degrees of hardship and challenge. We were fortunate at the Courter house that all we lost was power. With a little luck and ingenuity, we managed to save most of what was in the refrigerator. In fact, thanks to Kelley’s talents and creativity, we ate fairly well.
Combining what we had in the fridge, some fresh herbs from the garden and some fresh bread and sausage from Chattanooga Market, Sunday’s meal, eaten al fresco on the porch, was an homage to old-school cooking and doing things local. We called it our Lights-Out Ragu.
All of our meals were cooked over charcoal, and most of it was cooked in a cast-iron skillet made down the road at Lodge Manufacturing. I even used my morning newspaper to light the charcoal.
KELLEY COURTER: I hate to throw anything away, especially when it comes to food. So when the power went out, I knew we would need to quickly use the things we had on hand. After the first day, it seemed possible we would not have power for a few days, so the cook in me kicked into high gear.
I really wanted something Italian but knew from earlier in the week, when we tried to boil eggs on the grill (which did eventually cook, by they way), that the water would not come to a boil for pasta. That’s when I thought that beans would be a good substitute, and so it began.
Then I remembered that it was the first day of Chattanooga Market, so I was off to see what other items might be fitting for the feast. I ended up with Italian sausages from Link 41 and freshly baked roasted-garlic ciabatta bread from Bluff View Bakery. We rounded out the meal with fresh seasonal strawberries with whipped cream.
We have made the best of a bad situation this past week. It has been a challenge to acclimate our routine for the past few days, but I can’t complain, as others have it much worse. My own mother and father’s home was destroyed in the Easter tornado in ’97. I remember the devastation, destruction and shock that one goes through. I also remember the wonderful people who helped with supplying coffee, water and a simple sandwich.
Barry and I extend our prayers to all the families dealing with hardships caused by the storm.
Lights-Out Ragu
11⁄2 teaspoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1⁄2 bag matchstick carrots
1 stalk celery, sliced
4 large cloves garlic, chopped
1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 sprig fresh rosemary, chopped
3⁄4 cup diced grilled roast pork loin
1⁄4 cup white wine
1⁄2 cup Nicoise olives
11⁄2 teaspoons brown sugar
Black pepper to taste
3⁄4 cup chopped canned tomatoes
In olive oil, sauté onions, carrots, celery and garlic until wilted. Add cinnamon, rosemary and pork, and sauté until slightly brown. Deglaze with white wine, then add remaining ingredients and simmer to a slightly thickened sauce.
Set aside.
![CTFP: Stay-at-home mom finds busines niche sewing kids clothes
by Karon Nazor-Hill, Chattanooga Times-Free Press
Julie Novak, 39, has been making her own fashion creations since she was 10 years old.
“My mother taught me the [sewing] basics, but it was when I took home economics in high school that I learned to make things I had to wear,” she said.
Today, the married mother of two is sewing for a living. Nearly two years ago, somewhat on a whim, she started her own little girl’s clothing company, Jules for Kids.
Now a stay-at-home mom, Novak had headed the 4-H program in Hamilton County for a decade and had started teaching school when she became pregnant with her first child, E.J., now 7. Her sewing business was launched a year after the birth of her second child, daughter Ruth, 3.
Something people would be surprised to learn: “I’m actually an introvert. I’m very outgoing, but I thrive on time alone to rejuvenate and refresh.”
“When Ruth began walking, I started making everything she wore,” Novak said. “I got many compliments. So in the fall of 2009, I decided to make 25 outfits and sell them at the Chattanooga Market.”
The response, she said, was overwhelming.
“I started with an inventory of 25 dresses. Now I have 225,” she said, noting that she spends an average of 50 hours a week sewing. “I do it mostly at night after the children go to bed.”
Novak said she’s living a dream.
“It’s fun and amazing how far you can go in a year.”
Novak also sells her clothing online at julesforkids.com](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lj6he749ob1qfpsfao1_250.jpg)
