April brings the Easter Bunny, flowers and trees budding out, a last minute frost sometimes but the best thing is a renewal of HOPE. If we ever needed a renewal it would be this spring of 2021..right?

This story will put a smile on your face from the Thoroughbroad years. Back in Louisville in the late 80’s the girls celebrated the month with a “Spring Fling Luncheon” at Kristen’s house. We were greeted at the front door by a lovely artificial floral wreath in pastel colors. Once the door was opened we entered and were handed a libation or an orange blossom tea, you made your choice and walked into her living room. Kristen’s house was always a treat. She decorated for all holidays and with her artistic background it was always amazing. From furniture to fabrics to her original artwork it was just the place to be on this lovely sunny start to spring.

After catching up on everyone’s March activities, we were directed to the dining room for a delicious lunch. Main dish was a Chicken Ginny Rose whose recipe came from another friend of the gang…Cindy who was one of the best cooks any of us knew.(all recipes are below). It was accompanied with herb bread, a cucumber and rice salad and an asparagus with delicious vinaigrette. Everyone’s dishes deliberately did not match but all of the pastel colors and patterns played perfectly with her low bowl centerpiece of a gathering of eggs of all colors and greenery to nestle them in. Simply perfection…and that was before we ate our meal!

We got on the subject of golf, as Kristen’s husband was the GM of Valhalla and now would be the busiest time of year for her and her husband with golf outings, events, tournaments and general entertaining. That brought us to Robyn telling the gang that she and Scarlett were taking classes at one of the public courses to get some exercise and since both of their husbands played early every Sunday, they could probably go with them sometime.

Robyn was pretty good, Scarlett on the other hand, let’s just say she was still learning. The golf pro told all of the women in the first class that they should not let the men intimidate them and that they did not necessarily enjoy having women on the course. He said, “They will try and rush you, they think women play too slowly. In fact, they are the slow ones. They watch golf on TV and see what the pros do and try to mimic it. Now these pros are playing for big money so they will step up to hit, then step back, swing a number of times in the air to loosen up, play with their grip, then hit the ball. The men will want to do the same thing. It is hilarious so our ranger will yell at them saying this ain’t no Easter egg hunt you are not looking for a swing, hit the ball already.” With that said we felt at ease. So, the girls headed out to the first whole, then the second and on the third some men had caught up with them and yes you guessed it, they started rushing them, getting closer and closer until one of the men hit a ball into our group! A big no no so one of the older women who played very well yelled back. On to the next hole and they hit into us again. Now she was fired up and so she went over to their ball and hit into the woods…a very accurate shot. We thought they got the message. On the fifth whole there is a Porta-Potty and she had to go, as soon as the door shut and she dropped her shorts, one of the men hit a ball which landed right on top of the plastic roof of the potty. It made a huge noise and that door few open and she came out with her shorts and panties down around her ankles. She pulled her drawers up, jumped on the golf cart and drove straight up the hill to them and they scattered like rats. She drove around them like an Indian circling a wagon train until she had cussed each one of them out then headed to the Pro Shop to turn them in. We watched as the men scattered to another whole no where near us. We to this day honor that older woman for showing us we need to stick up for ourselves. Isn’t it funny that 30 years later we are still having to fight for the same consideration men have been given?

Asparagus Vinaigrette

2 lbs asparagus (6-8 spears per person)

Pick them with smooth skin and tight buds and ½” in diameter and 2/3” green.

Roast them on a baking sheet in the oven until slightly charred remove and let cool. Dressing: 4 Tbsp peanut oil, 2 Tbsp olive oil, 2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar, 1 Tbsp lemon juice,  ¾ tsp salt, ¼ tsp pepper, 1 garlic clove minced, ½ tsp Dijon mustard, 1 Tbsp fresh parsley, chives, tarragon, basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, dill (rub if dry herbs between your hands as you add them.

Mash the salt, pepper and garlic together until a paste. Add mustard, herbs, vinegar, and lemon juice and blend well. Whisk in the oils and slowly cream. Makes ½ cup of mixture. Pour over the roasted asparagus and enjoy.

Herb Bread

Buy 2 loaves of a deli – style bread and cut a slice almost thru the loaves lengthwise. Mix spices in a softened butter and spread over the top and down into the sliced area. Place the loaves in aluminum foil each and bake at 400 for 10 minutes.

1 stick butter, 1 Tbsp Fresh parsley, ½ tsp of basil, dill weed, oregano, garlic salt. We used McCormick brand dried herbs.

Rice & Cucumber Salad

2 cups water

2 Tbsp vinegar

1 cup rice

1 cup diced cucumber

1 cup chopped green pepper

½ cup chopped green onion

2 chicken bouillon cubes

1 tsp celery seed

Pepper to taste

½ cup mayo

1 cup plain yogurt

Mix water, vinegar, chicken cubes, celery seed in saucepan and boil, add rice cover and simmer 15 min. Remove from heat pour into a colander and rinse quickly. Pour into bowl and add remaining ingredients mixing well and chill…it is better if made a day ahead.

Chicken Ginny Rose

5 oz apricot preserves

5 oz orange marmalade

1   8 oz bottle creamy Russian dressing

1 pkg dry onion soup mix

Mix all ingredients together and pour over 8-10 pieces of chicken and bake in 350 oven for approx. 40 minutes. Serve on a platter so everyone can pick their favorite piece of chicken…this will be a family and company favorite!