Of Food and Thought

Salt Lake City 1st Presbyterian Church

2012-02-07T13:40:00.000-07:00

I've suddenly have this yen to take pictures of architecture. It's become a bit of an obsession. Last Mother's Day, my wonderful husband, Dan, gave me a camera that could take some great pictures. First, I was obsessed with flowers and nature (still am). Then I add architecture to the nature compulsion. I bet you all wonder if I am still stuck on food--well, yes I am. I will keep cooking my grandma's recipes for good or ill, but for today you get the Salt Lake City 1st Presbyterian Church.

This is just the side door.

I didn't even take pictures of the front because I thought the side was so beautiful.

Little window -- would make anyone want to pray.

Lovely!

What would it be like to live here. . .Witch houses continued

2012-02-02T14:13:00.002-07:00

Here are two more avenues houses that I have always loved and been a little afraid of. I passed the gold one every day on my way to elementary school. I thought a Persian witch lived here.

This grey house is adorable now, but picture it as I saw it when I was a little girl, with peeling black paint and everything in disrepair. It was the only house that I was truly scared of. We always skipped it on Halloween.

Everneath Book Launch! Go Brodi!

2012-02-01T12:37:00.000-07:00

Brodi Ashton's book launch was January 24th. I am sorry that I am a week late with my pictures, but I have an excuse--we moved! Again! Yea! Most people move around the country or the world, we move within a 4 mile area. Anyway, another tale for another day, because this blog is all about my sister-in-law, The Amazing Brodi (sounds like she's a magician--well she is--with words!). It was actually one of the most exciting evenings I've ever had. I wish that said more, because I am a little boring, but I know it would have been exciting even for Evel Knievel.

The King's English in Salt Lake City hosted the launch at it's neighbor the 15th Street Gallery. It was packed and quickly became standing room only. Brodi gave a wonderful and very funny presentation about the publishing process. She wrote about the launch on her blog here and here. She then moved over to The King's English and signed and signed and signed.

I've watched Brodi through this whole process and she's amazed me with her dedication, tenacity and writing ability. She is going to have an amazing career and she's earned it!

Waiting in the wings.

The King's English supplied the cake.

Brodi's family on both sides provided the food.
We love to bring food to any occasion.

The Book

The Crowd!

Yep, I waited in line to get a signature!
Yep, I look like and am a crazed stalker!
You go Brodi!

Utah State Capitol Roaring

2012-01-11T13:50:00.000-07:00

My daughter had an extra credit assignment that involved locating various architectural styles around town. I saw the assignment on my desk and made her promise to take me with her. So, when we had a little time after Christmas we went around town taking pictures. It was so fun and I got a little carried away. I thought I would start with Utah's State Capitol Building which I think is beautiful.

This is a bronze sculpture of Massasoit. It was made by Cyrus E. Dallin a notable Utah sculptor. Dallin was born in Springville and is famous for this sculpture of Massasoit as well as the Angel Moroni on top of the Salt Lake City Temple. I found this out when I became very curious as to why Massasoit was greeting visitors to the Utah State Capitol.

Massasoit was the leader of several Wampanoag groups located around where the Mayflower landed and where Plymouth Colony was founded at the time of the arrival of the Mayflower. He probably helped save the pilgrims from starvation and has a very interesting history. While the history didn't match up with Utah at least the artist did.

After we paid our respects to Massasoit I spent a little time with the lions. As you can see I especially liked the lions!

Majestic,

Timeless,

Different light, different color,

Great down to the detail of paw and fur!

I had to include the mural of seagulls as well. What is a the Utah State Capitol for if not to immortalize Utah's great stories.

What would it be like to live here. . . Castle Valley Outdoors

2011-12-06T12:12:00.001-07:00

My Uncle Glendon passed away this fall. He was loving, generous and so good to us as his extended family. I haven't been able to write about his funeral yet--I will, but not yet.

My sister-in-law Brodi wrote a really beautiful account of his funeral that made me cry--here's the link.

Here, I am going to write about something he created in the high desert plateau of central Utah--in Emery County, Utah to be exact. It might just be my favorite place on earth and we have been able to spend our Thanksgiving there for years and years. This Thanksgiving I was extra grateful to him for allowing us to be part of his family.

You can get to Castle Valley Ranch from I-70,

from the Moore Cutoff Road (this is a nice little drafty cottage),

and from Utah State Highway 10 that goes from Price to Emery--my favorite highway in the world and I have to drive it in the daylight. If I don't get to see the scenery in the light I get a little cranky. This is a must because when I drive out of Spanish Fork Canyon and turn on to Highway 10 the sky opens up and I feel free! With only 8 inches of precipitation a year it is incredibly dry but the flip side of that it is also ecstatically sunny!

Here is a long view of Castle Valley Outdoors--Castle Valley Lodge on right, Muddy Creek Lodge in the middle and Pioneer House on the left (hidden by trees).

Views, view everywhere

Camaraderie in the cold

Sparse and hardy vegetation

There is fish in that thar pond!

Fire pit for s'mores

Seriously, someone in our family left gasoline out--just so my son's eyebrows could almost get singed off.

Breakfast view

Windy walk around the lake

Sunset on the fields

Sunset on the plateau

Time to go home. I hate to go back home.

Thank you Uncle Glendon for a life well lived and great memories we all treasure.

Cheers to people who. . .

2011-12-05T14:27:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I get tired. This may be proved by my lack of blogging, lack of cleaning, lack of gumption and today by my lack of mascara.

When I'm tired I like to try and be inspired--on my walks here are some things that inspired me.

People who plant grasses and let them be. . .

People who put swings over sidewalks. . .

and people who don't rake their leaves. . .

Goodonya people!!

What if I lived here. . .

2011-11-11T13:44:00.001-07:00

One of the main reason I like to write stories is that I like to imagine what life is like in different settings with different people. I can't pass a house for sale or even rent without wondering what would it be like to live there. I can see possibilities in grand mansions and little apartments. So the other day I drove through the avenues and I saw this house.

When I was little and lived just a few blocks away I loved to walk by this house. I think it was yellow back then and I imagined that this was a good witch's house. There are a lot of witchy houses in the avenues, one in particular I would cross the street to avoid. I'll post a picture of that later. It was black with turrets and I thought it was very scary (now it's baby blue and really well maintained--disappointingly un-scary!).

Send a picture if you have a "What if I lived here house too."

Ode to Fall

2011-11-11T13:11:00.001-07:00

Last week I realized that I was dreading winter so much that I was not enjoying a truly beautiful fall. Fall is probably my favorite season--especially this fall. It has been warm and the leaves have taken their time changing.

I immediately repented of neglecting fall and decided to take walks at my lunch hour.

I love kicking the dry, crunchy leaves,

remembering sunflowers,

and sun bleached grasses. .

This is your brain--No, this is your brain on drugs!

2011-11-11T09:55:00.001-07:00

Maybe it's because this building is in Vegas, or maybe it is because I've read too many post apocalyptic and dystopian society books lately, but does this look like a building or the aftermath of some catastrophe.

Maybe this angle is better,

or this one,

maybe here,

Nope--still disturbing. It makes my heart palpitate a bit just to look at the pictures!

Are you wondering what this building houses--something like a casino, a trendy restaurant, or maybe art, well, you would be wrong because this is a brain institute--a brain institute. It is the Cleveland Clinic and The Lou Ruvo Brain Institute in Las Vegas.

The clinic has incredible goals:

". . . the Lou Ruvo Brain Institute, have collaborated to create a highly specialized clinical center to advance the research, early detection and treatment of neurological diseases including Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
The goal of the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health is to prevent the disabling symptoms of chronic brain diseases and to prolong healthy, vital aging in people at risk for dementia or cognitive disorders."

Hopefully the quirky nature of the building helps raise awareness. Go brain team!

I am actually a fan of Frank Gehry--I think his architecture is interesting, fun and thought provoking. With the brain institute he definitely succeeded on the thought provoking!

Here are some Gehry buildings I love:

Disney Concert Hall in California

Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain

and look at the amazing Star Wood Hotel in Spain

But a brain institute--that looks like a very, very disturbed brain--is well, disturbing!

Hopefully those goals are achieved--and people can actually think in there.

There's No Place Like Vegas!

2011-11-09T13:59:00.000-07:00

As you already know two of my daughters and I went to Vegas last weekend for the Vegas Valley Book Festival. It was an eye opener for me, because the Festival was downtown--which is so much different from the Strip. I can sum up what we saw in one word --kitsch! Kitsch, kitsch everywhere--there is nothing more beautiful than kitsch against a bright blue sky.

Where else in the world can you see a red pumps floating in the sky that have the added benefit of glowing at night.

Or, star spangled bikini women against a backdrop of a patriotic parking garage.

Or, bare bones casinos that advertise everything they've got. Coffee Shop--CHECK, Bar--CHECK, Gambling--CHECK, and what else, Free Parking of course.

We ate at The Beat coffee house. The food was okay, but the atmosphere was very hip. My husband would have loved their record collection.

We also ventured out of downtown and off the Strip to the Komex restaurant for dinner. Yes, you know Komex food, it's everywhere. Everyone loves their Korean Mexican fusion restaurants. We all had the Bulgogi Burrito which is a type of Korean Barbecue style meat (in our case beef) in a classic Mexican style burrito. It was super yum--on my scale of yum, super yum is the yummiest. I wish I had been brave enough to order the kim chee with it.

Every restaurant has to have Chinese placemats with their chips, salsa and guacamole.

Vegas makes multicultural work baby!!!

Vegas Valley Book Festival Paranormal Ball--Where we were all winners!

2011-11-07T11:50:00.002-07:00

We had the best weekend! The Las Vegas Book Festival was amazing and the Paranormal Ball, well, who could resist that! Even though the Paranormal Ball was the last thing we did at the festival--I just had to start this blog post there.

You cannot really read the sign they kneeling before, but daughter S and L are both pointing to where it says, "The Paranormal Ball, Hosted by Brodi Ashton, with other authors attending." There were many other authors there and I thought it was incredibly generous of them. There was probably about 60 people at the ball and about15 of those were authors--we were able to sit and chat with many and it was quite amazing. For a list of the authors attending and some of their books read on--they are listed below where I mention the panels we attended.

Here we are in costume--so, I have to explain the costumes because they are from Brodi's Book that doesn't come out until January. Daughter S is the main character from Everneath, Nikki. She is dressed to attend a rock concert of the Dead Elveses--a band in the book. Daughter L and I are band members of that evil band! Don't we just look like rockers! It was really silly--but fun! Daughter S drew our wonderful Dead Elveses t-shirts in our hotel room. (Sorry, daughter S that I chose the picture with your eyes closed--but it is the best picture of me and the blogger chooses!)

I have to admit that I felt like an over-the-hill cougar on the prowl in Vegas. Not exactly my favorite look.

Daughter L was very paranormal, she could play the guitar and hula hoop at the same time!

Here are my girls with the talented Brodi Ashton who was taking a break from her hosting duties.

Here is Brodi hosting and handing out books. They gave many books away and we won two!!!

Brodi may just kill me, but I had to put a picture of her dancing the Electric Slide. Now that is a host that takes her duties seriously!!! There was no way you could stand on the side--we all had to dance!

I thought our Utah authors--Bree Despain, Brodi Ashton and Emily Wing Smith looked incredible. They were angels, but I don't think I knew why their wings were black. It's a mystery.

Daughter S was recruited to help hand out books!

While the Paranormal Ball was decidedly fun the Vegas Valley Book Festival was quite amazing! They had several different things going at once. First of all it was just a great book festival--there were panels, book signings, poetry readings, face painting, singing and yummy food carts. Then there was a special Children's Book Festival with a fun play area and authors--and finally this year the Vegas Valley Book Festival added a YA section to the festivities.

The Young Adult section is where we spent most of our time. We went to a couple of panels that were amazing and we were able to ask questions and listen to distinguished authors.

Here's a taste of what we saw:

1st Panel: What's hot for teens in fantasy and paranormal fiction.

Rachel Caine (the Morganville Vampire series), James Dashner (the Maze Runner trilogy and 13th Reality series), Becca Fitzpatrick (the Hush, Hush trilogy), Sophie Jordan (the Firelight series) and Bree Despain (The Dark Divine). Veronica Wolff (The Watchers series), Tera Lynn Childs (Oh. My. Gods) and Rachel Hawkins (the Hex Hall series).

In this picture: A side view of Becca Fitzpatrick, Rachel Caine, Bree Despain, the very funny James Dashner, Sophie Jordan and Tera Lynn Childs.

I wish I had taken a picture that included the moderator Rachel Hawkins because she was quite hilarious and also Veronica Wolf because she was thoughtful and interesting and she just shot the breeze with us at the ball.

2nd Panel: Contemporary teen fiction: the dark and the light.

Jay Asher (Thirteen Reasons Why), Daisy Whitney (The Mockingbirds), Liz Gallagher (The Opposite of Invisible), Stephanie Perkins (Anna and the French Kiss), Emily Wing Smith (The Way He Lived) and Lisa Schroeder (The Day After).

Pictured here: Lindsey Leavitt, Emily Wing Smith, and Daisy Whitney

3rd Panel: Blending Realistic Fiction With Fantasy.

Jay Asher (The Future of Us), Heather Davis (The Clearing), Cat Patrick (Forgotten), Lindsey Leavitt (the Princess for Hire series) and Suzanne Young (A Need So Beautiful). Daisy Whitney moderates.

Sorry I didn't get a picture of that.

The amazing thing was there weren't a ton of people, so we could actually talk to the authors. We stood in line and received a free ARC of Bree Despain's next book The Savage Grace that doesn't come out until March 13. Then we were able to have her sign it too!

Thanks Bree!

Here is daughter L with Sophie Jordan getting her book signed.

I am not usually a embarrassing raving fan--but this was just too fun!

I'm off to the Paranormal Ball-Should I wear a paranormal shoe to ensnare the paranormal prince?

2011-11-03T11:12:00.000-06:00

I am going to the Paranormal Ball this weekend at the Las Vegas Valley Book Festival! Yep, you heard me--the Paranormal Ball. Why, you ask? Because that's who I am--I am a paranormal ball aficionado. I've been to them all (okay this is the first)!

Actually I am probably very close to one of those beautiful people who might go to a Star Trek convention--actually a paranormal ball is a step up from that--so all you paranormals out there--I am NOT dissing you!

I actually have a very good reason to go--besides the dressing up. My sister-in-law Brodi Ashton is the host with the most at the "Vegas Valley Book Festival YA Paranormal Ball!" Honestly, this is just something I have to go and see for myself.

I am quite excited--I get to take two of my daughters and head off to the bright lights of Vegas. We get to dance, meet some pretty amazing authors, support gifted family members and maybe even dress up! The problem is now--what to wear? I have one more day to decide.

If you want to read a very interesting and informative discussion on why a Princess Leia costume would not be appropriate at a paranormal ball please check out Brodi's Blog. Just for your information in that post I am NOT sister-in-law 1! (No offense intended sister-in-law 1, but it still had to be said.)

Here are some options--I could be an angel:

Technically these are cherubs!

He's no Angel baby--
Except he is!

I could be a vampire:

But isn't that just so trendy!

Could anyone really do vampire any better?

There are so many choices--fairies of course are in the mix:

So cute and deceptively dangerous!

There are: devils, demons, witches, mermaids, nymphs, sirens and the list goes on and on and on.

I think I am confident enough to just be Angelina Jolie--Don't even try and tell me that there is nothing paranormal going on there! (That goes for Brad Pitt too.)

So do any of you have any ideas?

You will just have to tune in next week to see what the final decision is! If I return at all--who knows what could happen at a paranormal ball!

Arizona -- The Beautiful and the Bizarre

2011-09-29T12:08:00.001-06:00

As you know if you read this blog--I love to drive. This love translates into encouraging road trips--I have an unwritten rule that if a destination is under 15 hours or so, we get to have some family togetherness in the car!

My husband loves music and often I combine my love for driving with his love for music. When a band he likes isn't coming to Utah, but is coming within that 15 hour zone of fun I try to get tickets. For Dan's birthday I bought tickets to Jethro Tull in Phoenix (12 hours or so! Yippeee!) I know getting tickets to Jethro Tull dates us and is geeky proof that we are stuck in a music time warp, but there you are. (The Jethro Tull concert is a whole different blog post.)

I have never driven to Phoenix (I am not counting the debate tournament in high school--because we drove all night and it was winter--and I was in a school bus!). We approached from the Las Vegas side, after having a nice visit with some family there. Then after the rocking concert we drove home the other way through Sedona and Flagstaff.

I came to one major conclusion, besides the fact that Arizona is beautiful, they have freaking strange plants! I kept having to pull over and take pictures. It had been an unusually wet spring in Arizona and almost every plant decided to bloom.

Do you think there could have been a few more prickles added to this stem?

This flower only bloomed at night and it was truly astonishing.

Doesn't this look like it needs to be growing on the ocean floor.

Time to grow--I know--sideways!

Thumbs up!

I had to pull about thirty of these lovely little prickles out of running shoe with tweazers.

We're not in Kansas anymore.

And the lucky Everneath ARC winner is. . . .

2011-09-24T00:00:00.000-06:00

I really have to thank you all for making this week fun. I had a great time and cannot wait to have more contests. I plan on giving out more books soon including Everneath when it's published in January 2012.

I hope this doesn't offend anyone, but I had to use my University of Utah hat--it has never failed me.

To be fair I wrote the names on paper, checked to see if you commented on Brodi's and my blog and then underlined the name if you followed my blog too. Then I cut them into exactly the same size strips and folded each in half. I was trying to be unbiased and professional -- like those accountants they always introduce at the Academy Awards.

And the winner is . . .

Donna K. Weaver!!! Yippeeee!!!

What's for lunch and Sunday dinner? & 2 days left to win an Everneath ARC!

2011-09-22T12:07:00.002-06:00

To all you Everneath ARC hopefuls just today and tomorrow until midnight to enter! The clock is tick, tick, ticking away.

Now on to Grandma Florence's cookbook!.

September begins in my grandmother's cookbook with a discussion of the school year looming in front of all those homemakers and what to make for those pesky lunch boxes.

"Nine months of lunches lie ahead--lunches to be carried to school! These lunches must contain all the nourishment of a good home 'sit down at the table' lunch.'"

My sit down at the table lunches this summer have been mac and cheese, hot pockets and noodles prepared by my own dear children--so I am actually hoping school lunch is a bit more nutritious. In my defense I do supply fruit for them to snack on too--will that save me in the motherhood department!? Will I still have nutrition services knocking at my door?

I love her suggestions--but if you are going make these sandwiches make sure you buy a meat grinder--because it is used alarmingly often:

Big Boy Sandwich: Rye bread, butter, Swiss cheese, chopped mustard pickle.
Mock Ham Sandwich: Ground bologna, mixed with sweet relish and mayonnaise.
Meat Loaf Sandwich: Hamburger roll, meat loaf, sliced dill pickle, lettuce
Peppy Sandwich: (Don't you just love that name!) Whole wheat bread. Add 1/3 cup evaporated milk to 2/3 cup soft yellow cheese, cream well. Add 1 cup shredded dried beef, 2 tablespoons drained horseradish. Makes 6 large sandwiches. (Where do I buy dried beef? Is it just beef jerky? Oh the mystery.)
Salad Sandwich: Whole wheat bread, grind 1/2 pound of bologna or cooked ham and 3 hard-cooked eggs, mix with 2 T chopped pimento, 1/2 cup drained sweet relish, 1/2 cup salad dressing. Makes 6 sandwiches.
Irish Sandwich: Put through meat grinder 1 1/2 cup corned beef, 2 hard boiled eggs, 1 slice day old bread, 5 sweet pickles and mix with 2/3 cup salad dressing and 1/4 cup dry mustard, pepper, 1/4 cup shopped ripe olives, and about 1/4 cup salad dressing (I think that is Miracle Whip).
Deviled egg sandwich: Whole wheat bread. Mix together 6 chopped hard-cooked eggs, 1 teaspoon grated onion, salt, pepper and about 1/4 cup salad dressing.
Ham and Peanut sandwich: Grind 1/2 pound of ham or bologna, add 1/4 cup finely chopped salted peanuts, 3 T drained sweet relish, about 1/2 cup salad dressing. (Ham and peanut, who would have thunk it.)
Beanie Sandwich: Whole wheat bread, try mixing drained cooked navy beans, ground ham, grated raw carrots and salad dressing.

Although I find these recipes intriguing and kind of want to try them, (the same way I want to try nachos at the movie theater--did that sound snobby and rude?) the one thing the sandwich creations have in common is--my kids would not eat a single one of them! (Well, maybe my older kids would eat the Deviled Egg Sandwich, maybe.)

Later in the same chapter grandma moves onto safer ground--event meals, but most specifically, Sunday Dinners. I found the recipe below old fashiony yummy!

Pork Chops on Rice

6 loin or rib pork chops cut 1 inch think (I just used the Costco boneless pork chops--I just love them!)
1 T fat
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1 cup rice (okay so I did 2 because my family loves rice)
1/2 cup raisins (I used dried cherries--family still inexplicably hates raisins)
3 cups water (6 if you double the rice)
3 bouillon cubes (I did 5 for doubling --in the future I would only do half of the bouillon, it was too salty)
Dash of nutmeg
1 1/2 cups milk (3 if you double the rice)

Brown the chops in the fat, seasoning with salt and pepper.

The meat would have been prettier if I had just browned it a bit longer!

I wanted to make this a one pot meal so I used a pan I could put in the oven and wiped it out after browning the chops to prepare for the rice.

Add the rice to the water and bouillon cubes.

Bring to boil and stir, cover tightly, and simmer about 15 minutes or until rice is tender and water is absorbed.

Add nutmeg and raisins (dried cherries)

Add milk, and season to taste.

Pour into baking dish--In my case I just kept using the same pan. Place seasoned chops on rice mixture.

Cover tightly and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Uncover and continue baking for about 15 minutes.

I let the meat rest for a minute and then sliced the pork to serve. You could serve the pork chops whole--they were very tender. This was an old fashioned dinner, but quite yummy. It was also definitely a guilty pleasure meal because the rice was creamy and trending towards mushy--but good mushy (if you can imagine that).

I loved the dried cherries, but I think the raisins would have been better. The sweetness of the fruit added a nice counterpoint to the salty rice (a little too salty--I will take out one of the bouillon cubes when I cook this int the future). I paired it with broccoli and butter braised figs. Everyone loved the dinner.

By the way what was your favorite lunch to lug to school?

The ride to Wendover definitely has its moments.

2011-09-21T12:00:00.001-06:00

Sunset at Grantsville, Utah

I Know I'm Crazy When. . .& 4 more days for you to win an Everneath ARC!

2011-09-20T11:51:00.000-06:00

All right everyone 4 more days left in our "Everneath Arc Giveaway Extravaganza." Here is a quick recap of the rules:

1. Comment on Brodi's Blog
2. Comment on My Blog
3. Become a follower of my Blog

Then you are in the hat! I will choose a name out of said hat Friday at Midnight!!! (I thought midnight added quite a bit of drama.) I will post immediately thereafter.

Now onto "I Know I'm Crazy When:"

1. I become part of a fruit co-op and every Saturday morning I have to wake up at 6:15am to go get fruit and veggies.

2. I blow dry my hair on my way to work by opening all the car windows and sun-roof. When I arrive at work I close my office door to curl my hair, hoping no one will notice I went in with fly-away, disheveled hair and came out perfectly coiffed.

3. I keep getting optical migraines where I see glimmering, iridescent triangles and I don't think they are all that bad, kind of pretty.

4. I join Weight Watchers and immediately have an unshakable craving for Carl's Jr. Jalapeno Burger (20 points), KFC Mashed Potato Bowl (18 points) and pizza (10 points a slice). There are about 30 points allocated a day. Who needs to eat the rest of the day?

5. I like to jog, but it hurts my back. I like to jog, but it hurts my back.

6. I decide at 4:00pm on a beautiful fall-ish Saturday that I have to see Wendover, Nevada. I wake up normal, buy my fruit, do my chores, go grocery shopping, watch a Lacrosse game, take a little nap and then have an unquenchable desire to see the Great Salt Lake, Salt Flats and Wendover, Nevada. I even try to talk my husband into it, but for some strange reason he wants to watch a football game--lame! (Because if I can talk him into it for some reason I seem less crazy!)

So, I set off on my own. Wendover is the arm pit of the west dessert, but it is wonderful in its unapologetic pandering to the vices of wayward Utahns--because no one else in the Universe would find it convenient to go to Wendover, Nevada. It was just a 4 hour round trip--that's not too crazy--is it?

Take a gander at Wendover Will with his cigarette in his mouth. You would have to be crazy not to want to make the trip!

Now tell me when you know you are crazy.

Everneath Contest--Because I care for you that much!

2011-09-19T07:49:00.000-06:00

I know if you have stopped by my blog over the past couple of months all you have seen or heard has been crickets--my mind has been empty and my life has been distracting. I know--excuses, excuses. I have to tell you that I have been thinking of you and trying to find a way to kick off the blog again, well this weekend an opportunity of a lifetime arose.

Last Friday my brother nonchalantly stops by my office at work and sets a book down on my desk. Nothing unusual there because he is quite the avid reader and likes to share his favorites. I look over and see that it is an advanced reader copy (ARC for those of us in the know) of my sister-in-law, Brodi Ashton's book, Everneath. I became really excited, because I had yet to read the fully edited, gone to the presses version and I thought he was letting me borrow it! (I've been in a family line waiting for the ARC for weeks.)

Then he said "This is yours."

I look up in disbelief--"Mine" I ask in a muted whisper, my voice stolen by unbelief.

"Yes, yours to do with what you will!"

(The above version of events is dramatized because in reality there was some embarrassing squealing.)

So, after reading it greedily and letting my daughters read it greedily it is now up for grabs to you--because I just have to share the joy!

Thumbs up from Daughter L

Not only am I excited that I know someone who has an agent, editor, and publishing powerhouse behind her book, but I am excited because it is a truly, truly, truly exceptional book. It is a Young Adult Paranormal Romance. While that industry description says a lot it doesn't say nearly enough. It is beautifully written (as good as any literary fiction), it has soul, wonderful characters, absorbing plot, consuming twists and turns and it makes you cry, smile and sigh.

I loved it from beginning to end and the first time I finished it (after I had that moment of sadness when you finish a book you love and know that you have to leave that wonderful world) the hair on the back of my neck stood up on end--yes, it was that good--it was as if I could see it being published and loved by millions. I also was a little sad because now everyone would know what a great person Brodi was and I would have to share her.

So, I have this crazy good, signed by the author, book to give away. It has already been read by some reviewers, so it has the slightly worn look of a beloved book shared by a few respectful readers.

Here's the deal--I am giving this ARC away--but not for free. You have to do three things:

1. Make a comment on my blog--any comment on any of my posts in the past or until Friday the 23rd of September, 2011.

2. Make a comment on Brodi's blog.

3. Become a follower of my blog. (If you are already a follower--then good for you and you are already a step ahead!)

Then I will put the names in a hat and choose!

Stay tuned because the countdown to release has just begun--other prizes coming soon!

Sunflower at Wheeler Farm

2011-09-19T07:46:00.000-06:00

Who knew Hickory Burgers would give me a feminist crisis!

2011-07-12T15:08:00.003-06:00

Cooking these burgers sent me into a feminist crisis. I grew up a no holds barred feminist--a product of the Seventies. My father actually gave me Gloria Steinem books to read. I went to college fully intending to mix family and work, but I turned out to have a very conventional mother/housewife life. For almost 2 decades I turned out to be a feminist in thought more than deed.

My grandmother as I have said was quite amazing, she taught at the University of Utah, wrote articles and wrote a book. She was on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Young Women General Board for decades. She traveled with the church extensively throughout the world, so I asked my mom how she did it. My mom told me that all their dinners were prepared ahead of time and frozen and that Grandma did most of the housework. On Saturday mornings everyone worked, but they did different things. I say she was pretty liberated in deeds, but I am not sure about thoughts. Her book is full of advice for women taking care of families and the importance of that role.

I went to work several years ago, when my youngest was 9. I kind-of always knew I would be the kind that would want to work outside the home. The only way I can describe myself when I am home all day is lethargic--I stretch out the most mundane tasks to take all day and end up feeling like I never get anything done. I don't like housework and I wasn't disciplined enough to get it done and then go on to other things. Don't get me wrong, I love being a mother and I am really grateful that I was able to stay home with my kids while they were toddlers. I am also grateful that most days I am off by three and can be home when my kids get home from school.

When I went to work my husband got everyone to do their own laundry, but other than that I am still mostly in charge of the house and cooking. We all clean up after dinner and everyone helps clean the house on Saturday, but if I want the bed made or our bedroom cleaned, I do it. I work 30 hours a week and my husband works 40-50 hours a week--it makes sense that I do most of the housework. Is it a gender role?--probably. Although I have no problem asking for help and I make my children do all the same chores regardless of gender.

I am going to take you back in time (insert wavy lines here emphasizing time travel) where men are men and women are there to prepare things for men--yes, back to the 1960's. This time travel brought to you by a section in my grandmother's cookbook labeled "Barbecuing--A Man's Delight:," note the italics added by me:

"A man loves an informal party, especially an outside barbecue, calling for no tie, sport shirt, slacks, and soft shoes. It isn't just the comfortable clothes that sell the barbecue idea to him, but outdoor cooking is man's cooking. He is king, and the food has a zest. It's fun, as a guest, to watch dinner in preparation,and as an added dividend here is the wonderful fragrance of tangy sauces, of charcoal, and of sputtering meat. The following are recipes he will enjoy preparing. As a wife, see that all ingredients are handy and that there is a big apron to cover the expanse of him, and then stop hovering, walk away, and be the happy hostess."

I totally love that big apron line to cover the "expanse of him!"

In today's world, where many of the lines are blurred between gender roles, I find it really interesting that not that long ago there was such certainty in who does what and why. Grandma makes statements that are quite funny to read today and she said them without a hint of irony. There was no hedging--this is what he does and this is what she does. In some ways in a world where we don't really have to accept any limits or roles this certainty seems confining, but also just a little comforting to know exactly what is expected. I don't know--I think it's better to negotiate in a family and come to a conclusion that is fair to everyone.

Anyway, all I really wanted to write about was burgers!

Hickory Burgers

1/3 c catsup
1/2 c finely chopped onion
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
4 soda crackers, finely crumbled (I put mine in a sandwhich bag and rolled over it with a rolling pin.)
8 slices Cheddar cheese
Hickory Salt (I couldn't find a hickory salt so I used McCormick Grill Mates Mesquite)

2 pounds ground beef

2 eggs

Combine all ingredients except cheese. Mix well. (Isn't all that raw hamburger appetizing?) I ended up having to use my mega spoon and then fingers!

Form 16 thin patties. Place the cheese slices on half the patties; completely cover with the second pattie. Seal edges well. Sprinkle with hickory salt (Mesquite), grill. (I had to broil mine due to weather issues.)

Serve on toasted buns with sliced tomatoes and sliced dill pickles.

This is a really flavorful hamburger and putting cheese in the middle made it quite moist. The only problem was I couldn't really taste the cheese--which I like to do on a cheeseburger. I think because of the mesquite salt, it ended tasting a bit like a sausage burger, which was really quite yummy. The hickory salt added a smoked flavor that I liked, but I think I would like this better as meatloaf rather than a hamburger.

The kids and husband gave it a thumbs up though and would eat it again.

Hearing Voices

2011-07-01T13:38:00.002-06:00

I've been thinking about voices. I am the type of reader that once I find an author I enjoy I will read everything they've written just because I love the voice of the writer (without regard to quality). I am like that with blog authors as well. The voice of some bloggers just resonate and I miss that when they don't post.

I've been nostalgic lately which is not really in my basic personality. I don't have many regrets and am always ready for the next thing in my life, but lately I've been looking back.

I went to the wedding of the daughter of a great friend. I used be a neighbor too and many of the wedding guests were dear friends. I saw parents of another great friend whom I had known since 7th grade. I went over to talk to them--the dad had been my Bishop as well as my Stake President and the mom had always been a lovely person in my life and I suddenly got really and embarrassingly teary! When I saw them I realized I just plain missed them. I thought of how much they and their daughter had been a big part of my formative years and I felt lucky, but also sad that their voices were heard so little in my life.

In our house their are many sounds. My husband learning a new guitar song, my daughter playing hymns, my youngest daughter and son playing and fighting together. I love to hear my children practice their instruments, no matter how bad or good they sound. My daughter who is a flutist would practice for hours and I loved her warm-up scales and TOFU as much as concertos. (I am still not sure why we called it TOFU.) There is a real beauty to learning music.

I also love the voices of my children; one of my most driven and focused daughters has a laugh filled voice, while another's voice is musical and gentle, one is a person of few words--but each word is either hilarious or insightful and often both. I have one daughter who often speaks in a monotone, but she has the most original thoughts of anyone I've ever known. My son's voice is energetic, negotiating and love filled. Anyway, I love their voices and when they are out of the house there is a real void.

This is the first summer I've spent without my twin daughters. One decided to serve a mission and is in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and the other decided that she would like stay and work in NYC where she spends the rest of the year. (By the way, doesn't New York get enough of her--NY is very selfish!) When they are around they are non stop talkers so their voices are sorely missed.

The traveling twins.

Then their are other voices I miss. Those of people that have passed on. Every extended family gathering I really miss my grandmother and she's been gone for 22 years. She had a strong, true voice. I never met my husband's father, but I miss him too.

I've moved around a bit and had the opportunity to meet some really lovely people and some stay in my life and some just naturally drift away. Each one with their distinct personalities. Some friends were toxic and it was better to just let time and space create distance, but I miss them too.

Check out the Everneath Cover!

2011-06-24T13:55:00.000-06:00

Gold star moment!!

I just had to put out a quick post for my sister-in-law Brodi Ashton. Her cover has just been revealed and it totally rocks!! It's on the Page Turners blog.

Look for the book in January 2012. Check out her blog, Brodi Ashton, in the meantime it is always worth reading. If you want to read an interview with Brodi and maybe win an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) of her book check out these blogger's posts: Cranberry Fries and (Windy) Like the Weather.

Go Brodi--Write on girl!

Vegetable Salad Dressing

2011-06-21T12:37:00.001-06:00

I have learned one thing from cooking my grandmother's recipes: We cook much differently now. Based on this conclusion I have to reiterate my disclaimer--Cook at your own risk. I love the bread recipe, but without additives like lecithin etc., it is tempermental. It is just a little trickier cooking recipes that are over 50 years old, but it is like a little history lesson. I think it's fun.

Here is my grandmother's advice for summer cooking:

"You will notice that almost every menu is an oven dinner and in each case the dishes may be prepared ready for the oven in the morning and set in the refrigerator until time to bake before dinner in the evening. All the fuss and mess can be over early in the day. Organization is all it takes to discover extra time in which to read!"

I like that advice--anything that gives me more time to read. Hey, here's a thought, order in pizza--that gives a lot of time to read!

Today's recipe is an illustration on the difference in cooking styles. I enjoyed this mayo based salad dressing, but it seemed very old fashioned to my kids and I could barely get them to try it. It is quite yummy though and I thought it was a great change of pace from vinegar and oil dressings. I will make this again, but it probably won't be my go to for salad dressing.

Vegetable Salad Dressing

1 cup mayonnaise

1 T lemon juice

1 t sugar

1/2 green pepper chopped fine

3 T finely chopped green onion

1/2 cup finely chopped, well-drained cucumber (I put this in a colander and let it sit, but it didn't drain much)

1/4 cup finely chopped radishes

1 t horseradish (I sadly had to omit this at my house because I am the only one who loves horseradish!)

Salt to taste (I added pepper, because I love pepper)

1 head iceberg lettuce cut in wedges

Combine all ingredients and chill.

Serve over lettuce wedges.

The Shamrock Plant

2011-05-20T12:04:00.000-06:00

My sisters (both by birth and marriage) are remarkable. It has been a huge blessing in my life. They alway seem to know when to call and they also give thoughtful gifts on special occasions. I have to share one particular example--sister E gave me these purple Shamrocks on my birthday. I just had to take pictures of them with my new Mother's Day camera (thanks hubby).

This particular plant changes throughout the day as the light changes. I rotate it each day because it bends towards the light like sunbathers at the beach. I have it at work so I can stare at it all day. It is even forgiving--one weekend I forgot to water it before I left and all the stems were completely wilted--but after a good dousing and a couple of days it was back to its present glory!

I've put a photo stream of this plant on the blog, just so I can enjoy it wherever I go.

Notice the fluorescent light reflection
in the window!

Back to Food! Best Whole Wheat Bread

2011-05-18T14:53:00.004-06:00

I have several people comment on my Planet of the Apes post. (They were not entirely positive if you know what I mean!) I know I shouldn't have summarized all of the Planet of the Apes movies--but I just couldn't help it! I keep talking about them to people and I just see their eyes glaze over. The extreme and utter badness of those movies has caught my imagination like nothing else. They are a testament that a concept can perpetuate itself and people will actually write scripts, produce and yes, years and years later pay to see. It is beyond comprehension. So I apologize for the previous post--but I JUST COULDN'T HELP MYSELF!!!

So, due to popular demand, back to the food--and comfort food at that.

My grandmother made wonderful breads. I remember when we came for dinner that her house was filled with the smell of bread baking.

The recipe that follows is one of my favorites and is also a standby of mine. I use it when I want fresh yeast bread that doesn't take forever or require special ingredients. It is consistent and yummy--but also basic. It only requires one rising which is also fantastic.

I like her thought about baking bread from her book, "Years ago I remember hearing a sweet little elderly woman say she always offered up a prayer as she kneaded her dough so that the bread would be good, and the materials she was using would not be wast3ed. Those were pioneer days when every grain of wheat was precious, but it still is a good idea today."

There is something magical about making yeast breads. You take disparate and the most ordinary ingredients; flour, water, yeast and at a point (during the kneading) it becomes something entirely new and extraordinary. it becomes a warm, smooth, silky beautifully malleable mound.

Best Whole Wheat Bread

1 yeast cake (2 1/4 t. dry granular yeast)
1/3 c lukewarm water
1 T shortening
1 T honey
1 T molasses
3 c milk, scalded (scalding is unnecessary--see below)
6 cups whole wheat flour
1 T salt

Soften yeast in lukewarm water.

Melt shortening and combine with honey, molasses salt, and scalded milk. I heat the milk--scalding used to be necessary to kill potentially harmful bacteria in milk and destroy enzymes that keep milk from thickening in recipes. Pasteurization accomplishes this for us these days--some people still like to used unpasteurized milk so scald away if you do.)

I just melt the shortening in the
warm milk.

Cool to lukewarm and combine with the yeast mixture. (Another great thing about not having to scald the milk is that with only warmed milk you don't have to wait for cooling.)

Wet and dry ingredients before mixing.

Add enough flour to make a soft dough and knead it thoroughly (for at least 10 minutes), use extra flour if needed.

Here is where the magic happens!

Shape into 2 loaves and place in well-greased loaf pans. (I coat pans with a vegetable spray.) Let rise to not quite double in bulk (about 2 hours); whole wheat dough sours if allowed to rise too long.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until well done. (My oven bakes this much faster--the bread baked in about 50 minutes--so watch the oven! I tested it when the top looked golden brown by taking it out of the pan and tapping it on the bottom--if it sounds hollow the moisture is baked out and it is finished. You could use an instant read thermometer and if it is 200 degrees F. it is finished.)

The bread freezes well. When it is cold just wrap it up in aluminum foil and place in a plastic bag. (I found that with this basic bread it is best eaten fresh. I thought it was a little dry and crumbly after freezing.)

For a change of pace try this recipe using shredded wheat as part of the flour. (I must say I have not even thought of doing this. If I am ever brave enough to try I will definitely let you know the results.)

Proof of Lack of Ambition - Planet of the Apes Marathon

2011-05-04T12:24:00.005-06:00

I used to be ambitious.

Yes, I could end the post here because well, I used to be ambitious.

But, even though I lack ambition I do still like to talk and write excessively and therefore need to illustrate the point.

I went to my 20 year high school reunion a few years ago (okay more than a few). I had several people tell me that they thought I would be doing more or at least doing something. (Because having 5 kids really isn't doing anything--that's for sure.) Not in so many words and stated much more kindly but that was the jist. That is what happens when you reach your worldly peak at 18. I was, after all, voted by my high school peers to be the most likely to become President of these here United States. (It could have been most likely to succeed. I can't remember--Heather was the other one so she could let me know.) I was a high school peaker. Although I peaked there as far as outward appearances, I feel like I blossomed in college. I loved the anonymity of it and oh my, the learnin', I loved that. It turned out that I liked solitary pursuits better than public ones. Anyway, this paragraph ends the justification for my lack of ambition.

But here's the proof.

I had the best Spring Break of my life this year. We had a stay-cation. Dan and I had to work until Wednesday so the stay-cation started out slowly. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday each child still at home picked a day to make us all do anything they wanted. However, the festivities began on Tuesday with a serendipitous discovery.

Tuesday

In the evening we found a treasure trove on cable that we just had to record on our DVR. A marathon of Planet of the Apes and all of its sequels! Who needs California when we have a DVR. We unfortunately didn't catch the first two of the marathon so we happily started our marathon with #3. (We later bought 1 & 2 as well as the re-make! Not pathetic at all.) I'm not sure any of us really wanted to watch these movies, but when presented with such a rare opportunity who are we to say no. Who knew there were so many Ape movies?

Spoiler Alert: Proceed with caution there are a lot of spoilers below!

Escape from Planet of the Apes
In the third movie, two of the Apes who were supposedly destroyed completely by Charlton Heston in #2 found a way to come back in time to human earth and are the toast of the town. The female ape is pregnant and someone thinks them smart apes procreating is a VERY BAD idea and they must be destroyed.

Wednesday

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes

Well they had procreated and left their child with Ricardo Montalban, a circus owner. The ape mom switched the little smart ape with the baby ape of another, less sentient, ape. Ricardo raises him in obscurity until the ape is discovered because he cannot stop talking. He leads an ape revolt (because apes that can't talk are now servants to humans!! We could only hope!!)

Thursday

Beginning of Staycation and our youngest child (an 11 year old) made all of the choices.

Skate Park

Picnic at said park

Skate Store

Rest while he played video games

Dinner

And

Battle for the Planet of the Apes

Battle for the Planet of the Apes - #5 is also extremely exciting. The apes have moved to the country because the cities are uninhabitable (humans used nuclear weapons to try an eradicate the apes).

The apes now have human servants. Humans have proven to be inferior to apes because they are soooo violent and will kill each other on a whim. The leader from the previous movie is back and he wants to find out more about his parents and goes back to the city -- where surprise surprise there are mutant humans who want to kill them! The apes win again, but decide they must treat the humans as equals. Hurrah!!!

Friday

Youngest girl (14) makes all the choices:

Shopping

Lunch at Cafe Rio

Quick rest at home

Ice Skating

Lovely walk on Jordan River Parkway

Dinner

And

Planet of the Apes

The movie that started it all. It is much better than the sequels by the way. There is an awful lot of skin shown by Charlton Heston and his mute and not so smart girlfriend, Nova. Charlton is sent on space ship, in stasis, for space exploration. They crash land on this strange planet that is ruled by apes and humans are rounded up like, gasp, animals. He shows them he can write and talk which proves to be a big problem for their ape religion. Eventually he escapes and finds out that he has been on earth all along -- big reveal -- he comes upon the Statue of Liberty embedded in sand.

Saturday

Oldest at home, girl (17) makes all of the choices:

Sleep in (she is, after all, 17)

Eat lunch at Joseph Smith Memorial Building (There was a boiler room furnace smoke scare and we had to be evacuated by very alarmed elderly people - only to be let in 10 minutes later as the crisis was over -- very exciting.)

Go to Temple for baptisms (who knew there would be a run on the temple and we were there 4 hours)

Youngest Child and I had a grand time seeing every movie etc at visitors center

Rest (we always have to rest)

And

Beneath the Planet of the Apes

I know I am having way too much fun and I cannot even imagine anyone still reading this post, but here's my favorite.

Another astronaut crash lands on the planet. He also discovers that apes rule, he befriends Nova. When he escapes from the apes he finds an underground rail system that he discovers is the NY subway system--much angst ensues. Then he makes another surprising discovery -- there are mutant humans here too, who use telepathy to hurt others, trick the apes so they are not discovered and pray to a huge nuclear weapon. Yep, a huge nuclear weapon. He meets up with Charlton who remembers this weapon, from his own time, as one that could totally destroy the earth and its atmosphere. He must stop them from using it. The apes find the underground system and just as they are about to conquer the human's Charlton for no apparent reason detonates the weapon. Yes, we are left with the knowledge that no matter what, humans will try to annihilate the planet.

Sunday

Back to normal, except for an evening viewing of the re-make, Planet of the Apes 2001 style. The MARK WHALBURG version. First disappointed note--he keeps his astronaut clothes on the whole time! I had to watch Charlton half naked--it just doesn't seem fair.

The apes are kind of amazing in this version--special effects have come a long way. Once again an astronaut lands on a planet after going through a time warp space type storm. He is trying to recover a chimp and spacecraft that was sent out.

He lands on the planet and is taken prisoner etc. He figures out that a rescue mission was sent for him and that spacecraft's genetically altered chimps populated this planet, hunting and enslaving descendants of the humans he worked with. (There is a lot of time travel hullabaloo!) He caused all of the problems!! He teaches them to get along and then leaves on a space ship to return to earth--he returns and here is the biggest spoiler of all! EARTH IS INHABITED BY APES -- THE LINCOLN MEMORIAL IS ACTUALLY OF AN APE I LIKE TO CALL APERAHAM LINCOLN!!! It is devastating.

There you go. Proof of my lack of ambition. I would rather watch 6 Planet of the Apes movies than do anything productive. Just in case I feel ambitious in August I can quash that with a viewing of the new prequel Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

In Memory of Amy

2011-04-29T13:37:00.002-06:00

Amy

A year ago today my sister-in-law Amy died. I have not been able to write about her all year and find it just as hard to write about today. Amy was everything. She was a joy to be around, funny, beautiful, silly, infuriating, thoughtful, selfish, good, short-sighted, anxious and bright. I personally think her ultimate quality was goodness. Everyone loved her and she genuinely wanted to make people happy.

At her funeral I was shocked by the number of people that came through from "Sharon's" the restaurant where she worked. Everyone had a nice story to tell about how she brightened their day. This included teenagers, to families, and to an elderly gentleman from my neighborhood.

We moved two days after she died and it turned out to be a quite a time of turmoil. We had to find homes for pets, pack, start a new school and experience her passing and funeral with respect and care. I especially wanted to give my husband Dan room to do what he needed to do. I found that I have had a hard time mourning--I am not usual a denial type of person, but in this case I have been. The funeral was beautiful and everyone (all 6 siblings) gave wonderful talks. We received a beautiful bound copy of all the talks from Dan's sister and I can't seem to even get through one to this day without crying. So I prefer not to read them or even think about it.

Yet, I drive her car.

My camera's broken so here is a good
likeness of "Zippy"

It is the thing that reminds me most of her. Her Volkswagen new beetle--a bright orange bug. It has the fake orange flower in the little vase by the steering wheel and everything, a total girlie car! After she passed we took over payments and my 17 year old daughter was supposed to drive it, but it's a manual transmission that I can't seem to find the time to teach her (of course I don't really want to).

It is a fun, impractical and turbo charged car. We've named it Zippy Naranja because it is orange (the Spanish word for orange is supposed to add an exotic flair) and Zippy because well it is quite zippy! It is a car to be noticed in--I used to prefer to be understated while driving, but not anymore. I see people giving each other slugs as I drive by. Many mornings as I drive my other daughter to junior high I pass these two adorable girls with long red hair that must be twins, and I watch to see who slugs who as I drive by.

I've had several elderly ladies stop me as I've parked and ask if I like to drive it. I tell them that I love it--they look at it longingly and them tell me how much they hate to park their SUV's and then one even sighed. At a stop light in Logan, Utah I had a little boy who was probably 8 lean out his window and tell me, "I love your car." Then just two weeks ago a little girl stopped by it and say to her mom, "I want a car like this." When I stopped to unlock it she said to me, "Do you like your car." Of course I said "yes."

Every experience I've had reminds me of Amy. Even her car brought joy to people even though it is so impractical. It is terrible in the snow, it hardly fits two comfortably (and I am a mother of 5), the windows don't like to roll up, but they love to roll down. It is made for little people, I have a hard time fitting my groceries in it let alone me bum! Yet, I find myself not encouraging my daughter to learn how to drive it--let her have the mini-van--it keeps her humble.

I was sad when I realized in December that the car no longer smelled like Amy. Then just this week when it was finally warm I got in the car and the smell was there. Amy was still there. I've kept most of her radio pre-sets (I had to add NPR) and I can't seem to throw out this one particularly Amy-like frosted pink lip gloss in the arm rest.

The car is full of contradictions, and so was Amy. She was a tragedy and a triumph. She'd had problems but had been sober for three years. She battled anorexia until the end. She brought happiness and frustration to all who loved her. She was fastidious and careless. Just before she passed she had the flu and my wonderful mother-in-law had been with her all evening trying to keep her hydrated and get her to go to the Emergency Room. She refused to go and later that night Amy passed away.

Because she was alone when she died an autopsy was required. All they could say was that she died of natural causes. No specific thing, just a tired body. She was a couple of years younger than me, but her body wasn't. It seems like such a waste of joy to have her gone, but it also seems such a triumph that she overcame so much.

Well, I like to think she is still spreading the joy in her little orange Volkswagen even if it does have a new driver.

What to make after 18 inches of snow? Chili Con Carne!

2011-03-09T12:43:00.011-07:00

Yesterday I woke up to 18 inches of snow. Winter obviously does not want to release its icy grip and so I needed some comfort food. I decided it was time to share with you the recipe I cook the very most from my grandma's cookbook. It is "Best Ever Chili." I love it because it is easy, yummy and just a little different than other chili recipes.
But first, earlier in the cookbook she gives a recipe for chili con carne. Here is exactly what the recipe title looks like--Chile Con Carne (with corn bread--serves 6). There is a great recipe for the corn bread that is cooked using "corn-stick" pans. (I had to look this up -- see the picture to the left.) But this is not the funny thing--then she just says open a can of chili and spoon it over the corn sticks. Homemade bread--canned chili! That is the contradiction of this book -- some of the recipes are quite difficult and extra yummy and they sit side by side all sorts of convenience recipes. Nice to know that we may all have our little inconsistencies and so we should just celebrate them. Go canned chili!

Below is her great and from scratch recipe for chili.

Best Ever Chili

3 c chili beans (These are the dried variety set to soak overnight. You may of course use canned chili beans they are certainly easier and often have better texture. I went to the internet for this conversion--3 cups of dry chili beans = 9 cups of beans after soaking and boiling. There are 1.5 cups beans per 15 ounce can. So you would need 6--15 ounce cans. Is that clear or just more cloudy? I have a link on how to hydrate beans below in the directions.)
2 bay leaves
2 pounds ground beef
4 onions, chopped
1 bud garlic, minced (I use at least 4)
1 quart canned tomatoes
1 T chili powder
1 T cumin
1 T salt
***1/2 t curry powder (You may think this is weird, but it makes the chili. Although when I make this I usually only use 1/4 t curry powder and I think it is just enough of the flavor without saying --oh my heck this chili has curry powder in it!)
Cayenne pepper to taste

Wash chili beans, put in kettle (isn't that just cute "kettle!") with 6 cups water and the bay leaves. Boil until tender. (Here is a link on the process if you need a little help like I do: "Preparing Dried Beans" The link says to use 3 times the water, so it would be 9 cups of water not 6.)

Boiled beans and the rest before mixing.

Fry meat, onions, and garlic until brown. Add to drained beans with remaining ingredients. Simmer for about an hour.

All mixed and after an hour of simmering -- Yum.

With all the fixings and ready to eat. Nothing better on a cold and snowy day.

Birthday Joy

2011-03-01T10:44:00.001-07:00

My daughters did make me this adorable
and very yummy cake though!

I had a panic attack the night before my birthday a couple of weeks ago. I realized I was going to be half of 88 years old and there was no way that I could claim NOT to be middle aged any more.

Then I started to worry that I hadn't done enough with the first 44 years. All those wasted hours of television, iffy novels, and sleeping. Then I had a terrible thought--the next 44 years could be worse. Harder things could happen (really isn't that inevitable after all).

I better stop writing; I'm working up to another attack.

I couldn't sleep all night and ended up watching HGTV re-runs deep into the morning. Strange existential crisis.

Happy Birthday to me--and a nice cheery post to you!

In a culinary rut? Try salad burgers!

2011-02-02T13:19:00.002-07:00

My grandma's cookbook, Of Food and Thought, begins with January. The sub-headings are "Think Up New Project," "Wheat for Man," "Fun to Get Up in the Morning," "Let's Turn Over a New Leaf," "There is a Silver Lining," and "Quicker by the Dozen."

I've thought up a new project (borrowing heavily from grandma). Check! I made wheat for man--which I will share with you another day. Check! I never find it fun to get up. No Check! I've turned over a new leaf and found dirt below (I guess I need to start digging). Check! I'm looking for the silver lining but let's just leave it at that--after all nothing really is shiny in an inversion. No Check! I am looking and I have yet to crack the code of quicker by the dozen. Maybe in February. No Check! This paragraph is a little depressing--sorry--I find the cookbook inspiring, tender, and most of all, intimidating.

Here's a sample of how I feel inadequate from January's chapter:

"Fun and nourishing lunch bag ideas:

1. Chopped meat turn-overs in place of sandwiches
2. Chopped peanuts added to ground ham and salad dressing for a nourishing sandwich filling.
3. Dates stuffed with creamed cheese.
4. Graham crackers put together with creamed cheese.
5. Dried fruit, dampened and rolled in powdered sugar.
6. Corned beef sandwich. Break the corned beef into pieces and combine with pickle relish, prepared mustard, and mayonnaise. Season to taste and spread on rye bread.
7. Spiced apple cider or apple juice--good with ham on rye.
8. Thinly slice the top of hamburger buns. Scoop out the center, butter, toast lightly. Fill with egg salad and sprinkle with minced chives. Cover with top of bun.
9. Sandwich made with three parts salted peanuts and 1 part carrot put through the grinder. Spread on graham bread. (What is graham bread?)
10. Scoop out the core of an apple and fill with chopped raisins."

Did I mention this cookbook came out in 1965? Before the feminist revolution! Lunch at my house is make your own or eat at school.

For January grandma has 36 recipes. This does not include the 40 or so mini recipes she throws in like the ones above or a fun new idea for supper--"Pancakes can be used for dinner as well as for breakfast. Try them some night with creamed salmon over them and a crisp salad on the side." Somethings are better left untried! She has lists to liven up breakfast and after school snacks. I have to admit she is a little bit daunting. Breakfast at my house (similar to my lunch philosophy) is peanut butter toast or cereal, period--where my motto is everyone fends for themselves.

I remember thinking when my twins were about two and poked their darling heads up next to my bed at 6AM every single morning saying, "I want to eat," that I could not wait to teach them how to pour milk. Which I did as soon as they were strong enough to hold a one gallon milk jug. I am often, a do the simplest thing kind of woman, not the make anything extra type. So, reading my grandma's book is good for me! Right?

So I studied the recipes to find one outside my comfort zone, as well as my family's, and had a brilliant idea, Salad Burgers!

Grandma said, "High protein salads contain eggs, meat, fish, cheese, or gelatin and may become the piece de resistance of the meal."

Salad Burgers

Makes 10 rolls

1/4 lb grated cheese

3 sliced hard-cooked eggs

1 can tuna

2 T chopped green pepper

2 T chopped onion

2 T chopped stuffed olives

2 T chopped sweet pickles (my family would have revolted at this so I used dill)

1/2 c mayonnaise

(I love ingredient pictures, I just think each individual food is so beautiful, just by itself!)

Mix all the ingredients.

Cut 10 wiener rolls (hot dog buns for those of us who don't like saying the word wiener).

Spread salad on rolls.

Wrap each roll in aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes in a 250 degree F oven.

That's a lot of foil.

Unwrap and eat.

Now for my turn--I think this could actually be good, but no one in my family liked them because the buns got soggy! Yuck! Even I, who can for all intents and purposes eat anything--seriously anything (except cow liver), did not like this. I got about 3/4th the way through one. I made my son try it and he gagged--yes it's true, but he also gags on yummy food so I'm not sure it's a definitive judgement.

Honestly, forget the tin foil. Toast the buns, put on the spread, then broil. It would make a yummy and festive tuna melt--If you like that sort of thing.

Poor Man's Fruit Cake - The fruit cake that brought me to tears (actually to weeping)!

2011-01-31T15:26:00.000-07:00

I saved "Poor Man's Fruit Cake" for January with two reasons in mind. First, how fitting is that a fruit cake for January is called Poor Man's. Second, by the end of December I was really tired!!! So, I thought I'll do it the first week of January, then the second and so on and so on. Here we are the last day of January and I finally finished my fruit cake odyssey.

Everything was going really well. It was an easy recipe and since it had no candied fruit in it I thought it had a good chance of being my favorite. So yesterday, Sunday afternoon, my family wanted to go for a little ride to get out of the gloomy inversion, but I had to stay home because the recipe calls for 1 1/2 hours of baking. I put two loaves in the oven--one was a little over full so I knew to watch them because they would finish at different times. I was being extra careful because I wanted to give one to my Dad for his birthday that day--he just loves fruit cake. The first loaf finishes--and I thought--c'est magnifique! I had created a beautiful, golden brown, shiny fruit cake. It had little scalloped edges from the pan it was baked in--it was a cutie patootie! I knew the second one would not be as beautiful--it was a little bloated on top and wouldn't have that perfect curve that is so important in quick breads. I also thought it might get a little too brown before it finished baking inside. Not to worry I at least had one perfect loaf to give!

I take it out of the pan to cool and go into my bedroom to rest for 10 minutes (who wouldn't need to rest after plumping raisins etc!). My family arrives home and I hear them talking happily in the kitchen. I ignore my exhaustion and go to greet them. They were huddled around the carcass of my beautiful fruit cake as they ate and hacked at it. Not a slice or plate in sight, just eating where they stood. They looked at me and said something like, "slurp, slurp, gobble, gobble, yum, smack, lick."

My baby--they were eating my baby. They looked like dingos eating my baby! I exploded and started to weep. This is not an exaggeration--I was weeping over my little perfect cake--for about a half an hour. I tried to explain to myself and them why, I stuttered, "I stayed home to make this, It was for my aged father, Didn't you see how perfect it was? I take pictures of my food now before we eat it you know! Who eats like this--what are you savages?" They looked at me like I was from outer space and vacated the kitchen. I then took the carcass and was able to slice up half of it and take a picture for the blog. Alas, my father had to make due with the slightly bloated, a little too brown, excuse for a fruit cake that then emerged from the oven.

Once you weep over a fruit cake you really have had the complete fruit cake experience and probably shouldn't make any more for at least another 11 months.

Here's what my grandmother says about "Poor Man's Fruit Cake." "When you make such a rich cake, it is always good to make a poor man's cake for the children to enjoy during the holidays."

This cake is much healthier than the others - with less fat and sugar. It has a ton of raisins and currants and some nuts. It is yummy though and also a much easier recipe.

It has one funny ingredient 2 teaspoons of cocoa, and I honestly think it is just to give it a darker color so it looks richer than it is! Although I do think the cocoa does add a bit to the flavor profile.

Poor Man's Fruit Cake

1 cup seedless raising
1 package currants (still don't know exact amount, I found a box at the supermarket and used that.)
3 cups water
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter (grandma calls for shortening, but I hate shortening and only use it if I'm scared butter won't give the right texture after baking. Butter just tastes so much better to me and it worked great in this recipe.)

Put all ingredients in a sauce pan and cook for 15 minutes. Cool to lukewarm.
This was really yummy smelling! Can't you just smell it -- buttery, sugary, plumpy raisins.

4 c sifted flour (remember I never sift)
1 t salt
2 t cinnamon
2 t nutmeg
2 t cocoa
1 1/2 t soda
1 t boiling water
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup broken walnuts

(A lot less ingredients than the previous cakes)

Beat the eggs well, add the soda that has been dissolved in the 1 teaspoon boiling water. (Still don't know why we put the soda in boiling water.) Fold in the sifted dry ingredients alternately with the cooked fruit and liquid. (I just poured the dry ingredients over the wet and folded away). Fold in the walnuts.

Line the pans with waxed paper and grease them well. (I just greased my pans and it came out fine--it was a risk though.) Bake in 300 degrees F. oven for about an hour and a half. Place pan of a water on lower shelf of oven while baking the cake. This amount will make 2 regular sized loaf pans and one small one. (For some reason I totally missed putting water on lower shelf and the part about it making a 3rd smaller loaf. I better start reading through the recipes better. No wonder my second loaf was bloated!)

Here are the 4 and 1/2 slices I had left after the vultures vacated the kitchen. If you like raisins it is very YUM!

Emergency Fruit Cake - The No-Bake Variety

2010-12-21T14:10:00.001-07:00

Here is the third recipe for fruit cake in my Grandmother's book. It is quick and easy -- has less fat, but loads of sugar. (That kind of sounds like butt loads of sugar - it has that too. Don't tell my grandmother I said butt loads--that is very vulgar.)

I am going to quote my Grandmother because I just love what she says, "Between a busy Christmas and New Year it is easy to run out of fruit cakes baked in November, and this no-bake fruit cake can be easily made to fill this void." So I know you are all running out of fruit cakes right about now! So here goes an easy and fun version.

This reminds me a bit of Rice Crispy Treats, but made extra Christmassy by having graham crackers as the binding agent and of course lots of nuts and fruit!

No-Bake Fruit Cake

1 pound marshmallows
3/4 cup scalded milk
1 pound nuts (I used pecans)
1 pound of candied fruit (I only did a 1/2 pound - at husband's request)
1/2 pound currants (My addition to make up for lack of candied fruit)
1 pound of dates cut into pieces (I used the food processor)
1 pint bottle of maraschino cherries
1 pound graham cracker crumbs (Once again the handy dandy food processor)

Melt marshmallows in scalded milk. I also had a low heat on under the pan to melt them a little faster.

Mix all dry ingredients together.

Combine marshmallows and dry ingredient together in a large bowl. Then pour into bread tins. I just poured it into a large casserole dish because I wanted to cut it into stars. It was so sticky that I had to use wax paper to get it at an even level.

This is the best part, my grandmother said to cover with foil and then let it RIPEN in the refrigerator. RIPEN. I put it next to the Diet Coke so that it felt comforted as I do when I know Diet Coke is in the fridge.

I assumed it was ripe this morning so I cut it into stars. I had to put this picture in again, because it is just so dang cute and very, very sticky! Only one more fruit cake recipe to go!

Hostess Fruit Cake -- The low of the season!

2010-12-20T08:37:00.001-07:00

You make think that I've exhausted the whole fruitcake angle, but no, I have not! At a white elephant party last week I actually stole this 1 pound Hostess Fruitcake.

I stole it for several reasons:

1. I had never seen one before.

2. I currently have a strange and not altogether healthy obsession with fruit cake.

3. It was small 8 x 2 inches but quite dense at a pound.

4. I have enjoyed many a Hostess treat in the past.

5. I LOOKED AT THE NUTRITIONAL LABEL

I know it is unreadable here but here's the list:

1. 420 Calories per serving

2. 4 serving per package.

3. So every 2 inches has 420 calories for a whopping 1680 calories per package.

4. 72 g carbohydrates per serving

5. 12 g of fat per serving

6. It says it expires on Feb 15, but doesn't give a year -- highly suspicious.

It sounds like that white paste stuff that you put in a 72 hour kit to keep you alive while help is on the way.

Well I ate a small bite.

A very small bite -- see that little bit gone from the bottom right hand corner. It was the worst thing I have ever tasted and I am an equal opportunity food eater--I'll try anything! It took a Coke Zero and a Tab to erase the taste. Too bad I don't have the ability to erase the memory. Was that too harsh?

(I have nothing against Hostess personally--but stick to Hostess Cupcakes!!)

Hints for the Perfect Fruit Cake

2010-12-13T14:19:00.004-07:00

The other day, as I lugged a very heavy bag of fruit cakes into my book club, I wondered why I had just spent 4 hours the previous night making something that I knew most of the people would not like one bit. It gave me no small measure of perverse joy. I'm not sure what that says about me. I was NOT disappointed, however, when I received more than a few positive reviews. Maybe I can help preserve the taste buds for fruit cake for one more generation. It is a large mission but one I take up humbly.

I have found that for me it has become an acquired taste--just like my Aunt Dorothy's brew she made in the bath-tub and I was the only one with a sophisticated enough palate to enjoy. Yum! Those were the days. Anyway, back to fruit cake, honestly I have found that I'm craving it.

So while I have taken a few days break from making fruit cake I thought I would still keep your appetites whetted by what my grandma suggested from her book. This should be your map to the fruit cake universe.

Grandma’s Christmas Cake Suggestions

Of Food and Thought, Page 375

*Don’t dry out fruit cake by over baking.

*Remember most fruit cakes are worth their weight in gold so follow directions carefully.

*Don’t skimp on ingredients—if you want to save, just make smaller recipes.

*Cool fruit cake in pan, and be sure it is cold before wrapping.

*Store fruit cake in foil or in air-tight container. Keep in cool place.

*Fruit cakes improve on storing; flavors blend and become more delicious.

*If fruit cakes are wrapped in cloth dipped in fruit juice, be sure the cakes are kept cool so mold does not form.

*Chill fruit cake before slicing, and the slices will be thin and perfect.

*Any of these cakes may be baked as cookies, if a little more flour is added.

*Try serving hot wassail and cheese with thin slices of fruit cake.

*Fruit cake crumbs are good sprinkled over ice cream.

*Fresh-colored gumdrops may be cut thin and take the place of candied fruit in fruit cake cookies.

*For New Year’s Eve garnish large silver platter of fruit cake with real sprays of holly.

I had to bold the information about mold--it is important--mold is bad. No moldy fruitcakes is my motto.

So then I thought--Hey I have some suggestions too:

*If you give fruit cake to anyone over 60 they will love you! It will bring back memories of their childhood and you will have fans!

*Fruit cake is heavy and is great for arm strength.

*Fruit cakes hold doors open really well.

*Fruit cakes seem like they are healthy, but really they are not, don't be fooled. You WILL GAIN weight if you eat too much. (My too tight jeans told me that this week!) And really, don't you want to get fat by eating uncontroversial yummy food like chocolate cake!

*Fruit cake is an expensive hobby.

*Be prepared for ridicule, here are some of the quotes I heard, "I didn't know anyone wanted to make fruit cake anymore." "My husband did not enjoy your fruit cake." I also heard a lot of guffaws and outright laughter when I handed people their heavy little package.

*Do not throw fruit cake--it will go through windows (Ours was caught before it actually hit the window, thank goodness.)

Please add your suggestions for fruit cake. It would be greatly appreciated.

The moment you've all been waiting for--Fruit Cake #2!

2010-12-07T11:08:00.003-07:00

It is time for fruit cake #2 while I am still high from the success of fruit cake #1. This is a sophisticated concoction. My grandmother wrote, "The following recipe makes one of the best white fruit cakes you could ever dream of." It is called "Fred's White Fruit Cake." I decided to check with my mother to see exactly who this Fred character was, but she hadn't heard of him or of white fruit cake for that matter! He must have skills to be in the cookbook though so I forged ahead.

Here's the recipe, once again my comments/changes are in red

Fred's White Fruit Cake

1 1/2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
4 cups flour
1 t cream of tartar
1/2 t soda
1/3cups sweet milk (no idea what this is, neither did my mom, so I used half sweetened condensed milk and reg milk!!??)
12 egg whites, beaten stiff
2 pounds white raisins (you heard me 2 pounds - I used regular because that's all I had )
1/2 pound candied pineapple sliced thin
1/4 pound candied lemon peel (cut into small pieces)
1/4 pound candied cherries (leave whole)
1/4 pound candied orange peel (cut in small pieces)
(For all of the candied fruit I bough already cut up fruit cake mix in a two pound container - totally cheating)
2 1/2 cups blanched almonds
1 cup shredded coconut

A plethora of expensive ingredients--again.

Soak the raisins overnight and dry thoroughly. (I so did NOT do this.) Mix with other fruit and nuts.

Cream the butter and sugar until very light.

Sift the flour and cream of tartar three times. (I just kind of mixed it in nicely.)

Add to the butter and sugar mixture alternately wiht the milk to which has been added the soda. (Again I don't know why she likes adding the soda to wet incredients before incorporating, it must be some kind of chemistry thing I do not understand.)

Fold in the fruit lightly. (I had to get out the BIG spoon again--and I could not do it lightly.)

Fold in the beaten egg whites. (The mixture was quite dense I ended up having to break the dough with my hands and then fold in the egg whites. There is hardly any dough--with lots of fruit and nuts, but amazingly it all sticks together.)

Prepare four loaf tins by greasing well and lining with greased wax paper. I oiled 10 mini loaf tins and filled them 3/4s the way up. Because they were disposable foil pans I didn't need to line with paper because I knew I could get the fruit cake out. Bake at 275 degrees F. for about 2 hours or until baked when tested. I baked for about 1 1/2 hours in the smaller tins and I checked often.

Remove from pans, remove wax paper and cool. Paint with fruit juice. (Be careful not to use too much and soak.) I didn't remove the bread from the pans until it cooled a bit, then I turned them upside down on a cooling rack. I didn't paint with fruit juice, because I didn't want them sticky when I wrapped them up.

Wrap in wax paper and then in foil. Fred says he stores his cakes in a stone crock to which he adds a cut apple. Isn't that charming! Then occasionally he unwraps the cakes and repaints with juice and wraps them again. keep them in a cool place. Also charming and a little scary.

Here's the final product.

This cake has a chewier texture less like a cake and more like a cookie bar than the "Rich, Dark Fruit Cake" recipe. It also has a much more candied fruit flavor because there aren't any other flavorings like cinnamon or nutmeg.

Yes, the middle should be up--not DOWN! Thanks for pointing that out.

Look at that piece--quite a little fruit cake fiesta going on there!!!

Well, two of the four fruit cakes are baked. I am already exhausted.

10 Pound Fruit Cake - Are you kidding me?

2010-12-03T10:41:00.004-07:00

Warning! Baking fruit cake can
make you batty!

Well, tonight has been a great education. I decided to make Grandma Florence Pinnock's "Rich, Dark Fruit Cake." Several disasters, about $1,000 worth of ingredients later and it is now safely tucked in the oven for THREE HOURS. I put it in at 9:30pm. Note to self: Read all of the recipe before beginning to cook at 8:30pm to see if you are going to be up all night waiting for it to bake!

According to my lovely grandma "Many, many years ago, as far back as we can read, fruits were gathered and dried and saved to mix with eggs, sugar, spices, and flour, and baked as special treat at Christmas time. Fruit cake recipes have been handed down in families for generations to be used at this holiday season." She has 4 fruit cake recipes in her book, Of Food and Thought. Yes, you heard me, in her cookbook published in 1965 there are 4 different recipes for fruit cake.

Things I've learned:

1. Fruit cake is like a religion.
2. In the past there seems to be an unnatural love for fruit cake.
3. Now there seems to be an unnatural hate of fruit cake.
4. My grandma loved fruit cake.
5. She wanted to share the fruit cake joy.
6. Don't spill the egg whites, they are hard to clean up!

Questions Remaining:

1. How could candied fruit be so gross? It's candy and it's fruit it just doesn't add up.
2. My grandmother says you can store these fruit cakes for a month -- does that make you scared?
3. This recipe makes 10 pounds of fruit cake. Is that really necessary?
4. Will these fruit cakes I make and give away last for an eternity in the great game of fruit cake roulette? Will it ever be ingested or just given away like a hot potato?

Time for pondering now. Think of a serene song as you contemplate.

Now, before you begin:

1. You will need super sized cooking implements, don't just try cutting all that candied and dried fruit up at one time in your food processor it -- Oh no, you will need either an industrial size food processor or work in batches (you could learn the hard way by letting it seize up before everything is nicely chopped).

2. You will need super sized bowl for mixing. Don't just try your wimpy Kitchen Aid you've had for years--it will start making very scary noises. I also only had one spoon capable of folding in the egg whites at the end.

3. I laid out all of the ingredients before hand--because there is a large amount of work to do just to prepare them to be mixed in. Here they are below (Note the 2 lbs of nuts, the 12 eggs, the full pound of butter, and the 2 pounds of dry and candied fruit)

Rich, Dark Fruit Cake
"First, a rich, dark, heavily-fruited cake, perfect for a wedding cake or a very special Christmas cake."

1 lb butter
2 cups sugar
12 eggs
1 1/2 t soda
2 t nutmeg
2 t cinnamon
4 1/2 cups unsifted flour
2/3 cup molasses
2 packages puffed seeded raisins (seriously what size is a package of raisins? Unnecessarily vague)
1 package current (Cruelly vague - was vagueness the way to go in the '60s?)
1 pound dates, pitted and cut in small pieces
1 pound walnuts
1/2 pound blanched almonds
1/2 pound pecans
1 pound candied pineapple
2 cups maraschino cherries

(Phew! That's a lot of ingredients)

I've had to do some major interpretation for the instructions. It seems as if we speak a different cooking language now. I feel a little as if I've entered a worm hole and come out where I am just supposed to be able to infer the meaning in several places. I will point those out in RED.

Cream the butter and the sugar. ('nuf said)

Add the egg yolks, well beaten and then add the juice from the cherries. (Separate the eggs and save the whites -- they are important. And by the way -- it doesn't tell you this above but drain the maraschino cherries and save the juice!)

Add the soda to the molasses and beat until thick and add to the first mixture. (I have no idea why we need to add the soda to the molasses, but just do it! My grandma said so!)

Then add the flour and the spices sifted together. (Self explanatory)

Clean and wash the currants and separate the raisins, blanch and split the almonds; cut the cherries and pineapple into pieces and add the dates and mix all the fruit together and add to the cake batter. (It was at this point my mixer started to whine! TIPS: 1. currants come washed now --if you can't find currents use craisins, I did. 2. Separate the raisins? I don't even know what that means! 3. Thank heavens you can buy blanched split almonds! 4. I cut all the fruit up in a food processor in BATCHES 5. You will also need to chop the walnuts and pecans.)

(At this point I poured all of the batter out into a HUGE bowl and then mixed in the nuts with the only spoon in my house capable of stirring this concoction.)

Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks and then fold into mixture. (This was a little like folding sea foam into clay soil, but it did work to lighten the mixture.)

Yes, the heavy wooden spoon is standing straight up in the batter.

Use a large 12x9x4 inch pan. (I didn't have a 4 inch deep pan, so I used a larger casserole dish and it seemed to work just fine.) Line the pan with 3 layers of greased heavy paper. (I used parchment paper.)

BAKE AT 275 DEGREES FOR 3 HOURS! (Bonus: You will have time to update your blog and clean the kitchen, because everyone else will be asleep.) You may bake the cake in a number of separate loaf tins. This amount will make a ten pound cake. the advantage of cooking it in one large pan and cutting it into loaves after baking is that there will be less crust, and the flavor is improved.

Fresh out of the oven. I tested it with a knife to make sure it wasn't overcooked.

Cool in the pan and then remove the paper from the cake. Store carefully.

I let it cool the rest of the night and then trimmed it up for placing in cellophane bags.

It made 14 mini loafs - You heard me 14! Sorry about the difference in color from the two pictures the first one was taken with a brighter flash. The cut up cake looks more like the real thing. The same thing happened to the picture below.

Here is one sliced ready for my children's breakfast. I thought it tasted quite yummy (but then again I had just invested 5 hours), they were ambivalent.

Here is the loaf cut up -- see all the fruit and nuts. I gave one to my mom this morning and she said grandma left the fruit bigger so you almost got whole fruits, but the taste was pretty similar.

Now I just need to give them away and see if I get re-gifted with my own fruit cake this Christmas. Will it be like a fruit cake chain letter? With me sending out 14 of just this variety I think it's inevitable.

Tune in soon for more Grandma Florence fruit cake wisdom!

Of Food & Thought - Grandma Pinnock

2010-11-23T20:35:00.002-07:00

My Grandma Pinnock was amazing. She was a formidable person, but also funny and delightful. She worked hard for her family, for her church and was a woman before her time. She graduated from college back when women didn't even go to college. She taught cooking and other classes. She wrote and wrote and wrote. She was a member of the Young Women's General Board of the LDS church for more than three decades and traveled from Africa to Asia during that time. Let me tell you you didn't slouch around her!

She also wrote a cookbook in 1965 that was published by the Deseret Book Company called Of Food and Thought. She wrote articles for The Improvement Era magazine and many of the articles are in the book. She ruminates on traditions, feeding the "royalty" that is family and has simple motivational stories and poems. She believed in the power of good food to nourish body and spirit and tie families together. She was famous. I remember when my violin teacher in 1975 found out that I was the granddaughter of Florence Boden Pinnock, she gushed about how she always used her cookbook and would read the articles while she waited for whatever she had created to cook. I found it startling that the woman even knew her.

I can't really separate my Grandmother from food. In fact my first real food memory is Thanksgiving Dinner at her home. It was an event. She had beautiful china and dishes and every place was set. I sat with cousins my age and felt grown-up even at the kid table. She had just a simple galley kitchen by the time I knew her, but the food it could produce--oh my! I remember watching her push pats of butter deep into silky roll dough just before she baked it. I also remember thinking that her food was the culmination of all that was good in the world (of course others contributed to the menu and my mother is known far and wide for her cooking skills).

After Thanksgiving Dinner all at least 23 relatives and often more guests would retire to the large basement family room. I remember we would all lay down on the floor and talk and eventually more than a few would fall asleep. My grandpa snored like a freight train and his belly would shake just a little. He was funny even when he slept. In that room with people I've loved all my life, I think that I developed a true sense of family and security!

I've been reading her book and am finding myself quite nostalgic and missing her. I've always used her chili and rolls recipes, but not much else. So, I've decided to make my way through the book. I think I will skip the deviled egg casserole--but maybe not--it could just be what the doctor ordered (although not the Cardiologist!). They are wonderfully old-fashioned and sometimes outright funny.

So today I turned to the Chapter labeled "November" and cooked.

Baked Ham with Citrus Sauce

She writes, "Just the right sauce can raise and ordinary meal to a gourmet's delight. Use care in choosing the sauce for the "gander," or any other bird, meat, vegetable, fruit, or desert. Try some of the following saucy sauces--your meals will have zest."

Citrus Sauce

1 can mandarin oranges 1 T cornstarch
1 13 1/2 oz can pineapple chunks 1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t cardamon
1/2 t nutmeg

Drain the oranges and pineapple. Reserve the liquid. Combine cornstarch, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom. Add orange and pineapple liquid. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly. Fold in oranges and pineapple and heat through. Serve hot with ham slices.

Here's the skinny--

Crushed pineapple is better and don't fold in the fruit. I think it works better as a sauce with the fruit broken down a bit. I also found the sauce too sour and added a 1/3 cup brown sugar. It was still tart, but not so tart my kids wouldn't eat it. I also think it would be a great sauce on pancakes or waffles or even a filling in a white cake! It was yummy--old fashiony yummy.

I paired the ham with my own sour cream baked mashed potatoes and my Grandma's veg medely --which is just defrosted Frenched beans and peas fried with onions in butter with salt and pepper (I added garlic for a little kick). My Grandma does love butter.

Patience Is Not My Virtue

2010-11-04T11:03:00.000-06:00

Waiting

That is what my life is all about at the moment; waiting. There are exciting things just around the corner, but at the moment it's all about passing time. Hopefully not wasting time. I find that when I have a lot on my mind, but not a lot of ability to do anything about it, I get a little stymied, okay immobilized, no really it is more like paralyzed! Here are my solutions.

Eat chocolate - I have eaten a lot of chocolate over the last couple of weeks. Yes, the sugar devil is back (although it is 10 am and I have not had any sugar yet this morning - Yea!).

Join Twitter - I haven't tweeted yet, but I am building up my courage. I am enjoying other people's tweets though. I just learned that you should capitalize Twitter (proper noun) but not tweet (can be used as a verb and/or noun).

Take long walks in the beautiful Olympus Cove. It smells all piny and has been incredibly lovely this fall. I also love the architecture. There is a lot of very modern homes and the landscaping is unusual as well. They've really blended into the hill and there are only a few McMansions in my area.

Practice cello - My son has taken up Suzuki cello. That takes up time and also includes double tasking by letting me spend quality time with my son! Go cello.

Type aimless things into Google Search - Like, “Is there anybody out there?” Well there's the Pink Floyd song, a website that lets you type in existential questions and a whole heck of a lot of people looking for ET.

There’s my sister-in-laws blog – If only she posted every day instead of Mon-Wed-Thurs. Here's the link Brodi Ashton. She's also sold her first book - or in actuality a trilogy called the Ever'neath. I am so excited I've put her on a Google Alert so I get all the news. Yes, that means I am stalking my sister-in-law.

Check my bank account - Not empty, not full.

Check my children’s grades - Could be better – could be worse.

Avoid thinking - This I do in very creative ways and is a very large category.

Ways To Avoid Thinking

   1. Paint nails - I've painted my nails for the first time in years. I even pushed back my cuticles and moisturized them.

   2. See movies - often! At least once a week, hopefully more. I loved The Social Network by the way. Also does it seem like there are an awful lot of movies about old, retired, crazy, dishonored, disheveled, cast- out spies these days. Like, The Replacements, The A-Team, RED, The Expendables. Well I've seen all of those (Except The Expendables - that didn't stay in theaters long enough).

   3. Compartmentalize - I work out in the morning hard and then eat chocolate. They are totally separate. Food - exercise how are they related again? When I have something that I have to do I just pretend that I don't know that I have to do it. I do it anyway, but I didn't have to think about it so it isn't painful. 150 cookies for the Halloween Party - not me, until 9:00pm the night before and they magically get done!

   4. Watch every new show of the fall season (and every old show)! That does wonders - 3 hours can pass by in nothing flat. By the way, I love The Good Wife. I could watch Julianna Margulies forever. Just her eyebrows entrance me! I've also discovered "On Demand" with Comcast. I can watch so many more shows - like Law and Order: UK. Did you hear me LAW AND ORDER: UK. There can never be enough Law and Order period.

I hope you endure waiting with more grace than me. If you have an idea, please let me know.

William James Quote of the Week

2010-10-22T11:25:00.000-06:00

“Wisdom is learning what to overlook.”

Marriage Myth Number Uno: Over time we will grow more alike. Ha!

2010-09-30T21:26:00.002-06:00

I've been married 22 years 1 month and 8 days. I am not an expert--but let's just say I am experienced! I think it would be valuable at this time to share my vast experience with all of you, to help you along that rose strewn rocky path, by uncovering some marriage myths.

So young and so hopeful!

I think one of the most dangerous myths is: Over time we will grow more alike!

I love my husband--I look at him today and think how lucky I am. I could never have guessed all the good he had in him. I still find him astonishingly handsome and still sexy (kids don't read that part). But -- I have no idea what is going on in that brain of his.

We have given up even being interested in each other's t.v. He finds my shows boring! Fantastic shows like America's Next Top Model. (I love watching dumb beautiful people! I can't help it - they can be teenage vampires, hot burned ex-spies, hot disgraced doctors, you get the picture.) He hates cooking shows and he's bored by home decorating shows (okay so no shocker there). He is even bored by --yes, you should be prepared to gasp -- Law and Order! He has an aversion to gruesome detective dramas like the CSI's of the world. I don't know why but I love those (maybe it's back to the pretty people doing anything, even gross things). He also doesn't love B end of the world movies that I've grown oh so fond of.

So what do I find him watching when I come into the bedroom --Arrested Development over and over and over, Thirty Rock (ok I love that too) and anything that has Chevy Chase, Mike Meyers, John Belushi, John Candy, or anyone who was ever on Saturday Night Live ever! I like these guys too the first time I see the movie, but the tenth, no way. Also what is it with men and movies where people throw-up. I hate seeing people throw-up!

Then there's music. I know he is the expert, but I am tired of classic rock. You can boo me all you want, but I want something new. He has a huge aversion to basic pop -- I don't -- because I need something in my life that I don't have to think so hard about even if it's Delilah! We do have common ground on Eric Clapton, Beatles, John Mayer and Radio Head. Phew.

A few years ago - a few pounds ago and blond hair! Oh my!

The saving grace after 22 years is that we are much more tolerant. If he listens to Led Zeppelin, I don't tell him that he is going to H E double hockey sticks. When I'm watching the Lifetime Movie Network he just snorts and leaves instead of thinking he has to sit and watch and then finds himself unable to keep from making wisecracks all the way through.

Now that's heaven.

Hate

2010-09-20T10:38:00.001-06:00

I ask God to bless you every day

it's a breath a wish a sigh

in the car, bath, private spaces

my heart.

Every prayer fervent

like for a child at war

a lover absent

a sick heart.

I pray as if there is joy in my heart for you.

He blessed me

I'm not afraid anymore

I don't hate anymore

My only prayer now is that you won't always

hate me.

The Creepiest Place on Earth

2010-09-16T09:52:00.002-06:00

(For some reason I cannot get this post to format correctly--please ignore the spaces.)

We visited Oregon for our summer vacation. We spent 4 days in Portland and 4 days at the beach. We had a great time. We thought driving up to Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood would be a nice Sunday activity. It’s a bit of a drive from Portland, but it was a beautiful sunny day so we made the trek.

Now , for your information, Timberline Lodge was used in some exterior shots for the movie, The Shining. When you approach the mountain as well as the lodge their austere nature can be otherworldly.

The Shining is really the only horror movie I have seen. I saw it for the first time at a slumber party in high school and being of a highly sensitive nature I spent most of the movie in the bathroom reading a magazine. It is also one of my husband’s favorite movies and every time he watches it, just hearing the music sends me screaming outside.

So, the exterior of the hotel creeps me out, BUT the interior--Oy vey!

The interiors for the movie were not filmed at the lodge—they were filmed on a sound stage. The interiors at Timberline do not even look like the ones in the movie. Yet, the inside of Timberline still managed to raise the hair on the back of my neck. It is dark, claustrophobic, and I know it supposed to be rustic, but it somehow for me it crosses a line.

Now for the decor and I must make a disclaimer, Timberline Lodge is heralded for its decor, so it may have been the way I was feeling on the day, or my small mind going small places.

Here is one of the architects Gilbert Stanley Underwood. Note the little Timberline he is holding, the small crow and the dog with a leash falling like blood from his neck. It struck me as a spine chilling.

Does it feel a little medieval torture chamber to you?

This is the Women's Restroom