What the world needs now. . . .

It's that time of year again--time for end of the year reflections.  The media started earlier this week doing its annual re-cap of  important news events.  There are stories of great tragedy and sadness mixed in with incredible tales of love, compassion and kindness.  The Wall Street Journal described it as:  "a year of conflict, a year of tragedy, and for some a year of hope."

But there's just not enough.

In a world full of snarkiness (I know. . .I'm a chief contributor to snarkiness) there's just not enough kindness and compassion.  All too often our reactions to those around us are less than kind.  Someone cuts us off in traffic and we comment on the other driver's abilities or family heritage.  Clueless people make comments to us that show no thought or kindness and we bristle then retort back. 

What happened to "Do unto others as you would have done unto you."  

I'm not much for making resolutions.  But this one seems worthy.  Rather than being the funny snarky girl I'm going to work on being the girl who treats others with kindness.  Not a doormat.  But someone who tries to remember that each person has struggles.  And it's not my job to make the struggles more difficult.  But to do what I've been put here to do. . .to help others.  And I do so hope some kind soul out there is ready to help me out too because I'm just going to be honest here--I need help too!

Looking out into the world I see hardship and struggle.  But I also see friends helping each other.  Sometimes it's a simple note saying "you are wonderful!" and other times it's bigger stuff like taking someone shopping, paying off a debt for a friend or maybe even someone you don't know.  The world needs more of that.  And a little more prayer wouldn't hurt either. 

Yummy English Muffins!

I used to wonder about people who started a blog then stopped posting to it.  Now I know.  It's not always easy to keep up with everything!  We had a busy first semester of the school year and have been working to enjoy our Christmas break (despite a rash of illnesses across the family).

Yesterday my middle E and I made a delicious treat for the whole family--English Muffins!  We doubled Isa Chandra Moskowitz's recipe in Vegan Brunch and did this:

2 cups of water
2 tbsp sugar
6 tbsp margarine at room temperature
2 1/2 tsp salt
2 1/4 c unbleached wheat flour
2 1/4 c all purpose flour
2 tsp yeast
Some cornmeal for dusting

Place the first 7 items in the bread machine in the order listed.  Use the dough setting.
Preheat the oven to 350 F.    The recipe calls for you to preheat your pans before you bake the muffins; we used a baking stone and did not preheat.

When the dough cycle is complete, take dough out and knead on the counter for 1 minute before you roll the dough out to about 1/2 inch thickness and cut circles using a cookie/biscuit cutter (the double recipe we did got 16 muffins).  Pat both sides in the cornmeal.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium heat. Brown each muffin for a minute or two on each side. Be careful to not crowd them in the skillet.

When you remove the muffins from the skillet put them directly into the oven. Bake for 6-10 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack for one hour before eating.

I'm told they freeze well. Mine disappeared well. Also I cheated and used my bread machine to mix the dough. And I used rapid rise yeast which goes straight in without the first step in water with the sugar (make sense?)

Good news!

My kiddos are all asleep.  In their own rooms.  On time.  Without complaining.

Better news. . .the two young girls I wrote about the other day who were in the accident?  They are home too.  They are sore and have some healing.  But they are sleeping in their own beds again.

Good stuff.

Baby Mine

One of my babes cannot sleep tonight.  I've been in her room for about 90 minutes, sitting on the floor grading tests while she tries to settle for the night.  Probably end up telling her to scootch over so I can just sleep in her room too.  After all, sleep is the most important part of the day, right?

Playing her some Alison Krauss right now.  Love love her "Baby Mine"

And yes, I pretend to dislike putting kids to bed every night.  Not fair it should fall on me every night right?   Why should I have to be the one to watch the clock and make sure they get to bed on time?  Besides that, putting kids to bed and staying with them until they are settled means I don't get to watch what I want on TV (OK, there's not much to watch there anyway).

But one day they won't need me for bedtime anymore.  This is our time.  And they are so precious when they are sleeping.  So for now I'm going to embrace the snuggles and sleepy yawns along with the little voices that say "but I want you to stay here Mommy."

You're Gonna Miss This. . .

Or so they say.

Tonight my children are going to sleep in their own beds.  Not without some fight because what kind of kids would I have if they just went to bed without question or delay?  (Sick kids--that's what kind of kids they would have to be!)

But tonight I celebrate the endless questions and raised voices and fight over unimportant stuff.  I'll even (almost) celebrate the artistic mess left on the dining room table, despite repeated polite requests to pick up the artsy stuff.

Because tonight I know of another mother who doesn't have the luxury of such petty worries.  Tonight this mother and father are sitting in the hospital with two of their children.  Such a beautiful family, a family in so much pain right now.

Just yesterday we were all at the soccer field.  Their youngest daughter and my oldest had a game.  All the parents and siblings were there. . .my younger girls, their older girls, their youngest child (the lone boy in the crowd).  Looking back I realize how rare it is that all eleven of us make it to a game at the same time; usually somebody is missing, playing chauffeur no doubt for another one of the kids. But for that idyllic moment we were two families basking in the early afternoon sunlight.

But sometime after that something went terribly wrong.  Two of their babies landed in the hospital, one with serious injuries.

My heart aches for them.

Keeping them in my prayers that they will all get back to sleeping under one roof again soon and back to the moments of thinking "I'm going to miss this?"

Postscript/Update--one of the girls is home from the hospital; apparently the other one is not as bad off as was reported yesterday.

Classic TV

I started writing this thinking that I didn't used to watch that much TV but now I'm thinking that my parents allowed more TV than I realized.

Sunday nights--The Wonderful World of Walt Disney

Monday--Little House on the Prairie

Tuesday??

Wednesday--Emergency!  And for a while it was the night for Little House (I had something on Wednesday nights for a while and kept missing my show but my sister got to watch it.  I remember being really happy with it moved to Mondays because we had CCD on Mondays and my sister couldn't watch it that night either)
 
Thursday nights were something else.  When I was really little we watched The Waltons.  And then when I was in high school we had the Cosby Show.

Surely there was a Friday show but I don't remember one.

Saturday nights were all about Mary Tyler Moore, The Bob Newhart Show and then The Carol Burnett Show.  Goooood stuff.

Fortunately the kids have reruns to watch!  One of mine calls The Cosby Show "that funny man's show."  She thoroughly enjoyed the episode "First Day of School."  That's the one where Cliff gets the job of waking the kids up for the first day of school. . .a task that is considerably more difficult than calling them for the last day of school!

As I write this they are giggling through "Calling Dr. Huxtable," the one where Cliff gets called to deliver a baby but gets to take care of 3 mamas in labor.  And in the meantime Vanessa's friend lights up and smokes in her bedroom. . .then Theo busts her for it.

Somehow TV today comes no where close to what we had when we were kids.

I wish they could watch The Carol Burnett Show.  They would love it too!

Karma got me. . .

It was a rough few days.  Karma definitely got me back for my (very wrong!) pleasure in another's misery.  At first it seemed I would escape any harm.  Things were falling in place.

And then it all unraveled in a most demoralizing, crushing, non-stop train wreck.

I thought that surely I would sleep and it would improve the next day.

Nope.

But after work yesterday I stopped in at the library to pick up my Jack Reacher book (excellent series by the way--can be read out of order but OCD demands I read it in order).  And I got a surprise at the checkout desk.  Mat Kearney's newest CD came in for me.  I can't remember how I found his music but I am a fan.  And his latest CD has the incredibly catchy "Hey Mama" as the first release.  Love!

I am pretty sure that Karma has taken a turn for the better.  

Greek Cigars

Even the name is intriguing.  I came across this recipe one day when searching for recipes with ingredients we liked but mixed up.  Only 4 out of 5 in the household like these so they don't make it into the meal rotation all too frequently.  But they are labor intensive so I wouldn't want them all the time anyway.

The folks over at Woman's Day provide the recipe and even a visual how-to :-)  Enjoy!
 Greek Cigars Recipe

How to Make Greek Cigars

Karma

My mom hates when I call out "karma" when the kids get what they have coming to them. She's probably right on it too. After all, she's been right about an awful lot of things over the years.

But I firmly believe that what goes around comes around.  You treat others with kindness, you get kindness in return.  You treat others poorly, that's what comes back on you.

Sometimes karma is just downright hilarious though.  Of course I realize that just by saying it out loud I am setting myself up for some snap of karma.  But when you see someone who believes she is superior intellect and better at pretty much everything and she lords it over others and she gets called out on it. . .well. . .it's just really tough to not sit back and smile over it.

Petty?  Yes, I'm sure it is.  Say something is lacking in my character?  Yes, I'm sure it does.

But I cannot help it.  Right now I am just feeling like someone else finally got what was coming to her for years of being "better than" the rest of us.  Sadly I know it won't have any lasting effect in how she behaves.  But for a moment, she had to feel the way the rest of us often do at her hand.

Some of my Favorite Things

3 day weekends

A good cup of hot chai latte

Open windows on a cool fall day (or a just starting to warm up spring day)

The sounds of Saturday mornings from when I was a kid—chainsaws across the neighborhood (looking back, I have to wonder who it was that always had to cut up trees on Saturday morning!), the record player in the living room stacked with the “Sounds of the 60s,”  some E Power Biggs and Marvin Hamlisch playing “The Sting”

Snow days.  I don’t care that they have to be made up eventually.  There’s just something magical about snowdays with hot chocolate, a big pot of soup and a good book.

Florida.  I love a good beach vacation.

Michigan blue skies

Fudge.

A well-timed phone call

Friday nights at home.  I remember when I thought that was the worst way to spend a Friday night; now I love my nights at home.

The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall

Friday after school we had errands to run after school.  One of them left us just a few blocks away from the Wall.  I told the girls that we had to stop at the Wall first. . .the other things could wait.  We called for a family meet at the Wall; their daddy was on his way home from work and was just a few blocks away from us when we called.  Perfect.

The older girls walked with their dad.  Our youngest stayed with me.  She's seven.  She had a lot of questions and quickly picked up on the hushed voices and slow pace of the walk along the wall.  She asked why were all the names on there.  When I told her about the war and about the soldiers' experience she got very quiet.  I thought she was going to cry.  I was already choking back tears.

My husband and the other girls were already through the walk . . .I wondered why they went so fast.  They soon came back with a printout.  My husband's uncle was killed in Vietnam, just about a month before he was born.  So they had gone to get the location of Richard's name.

We walked past tributes. . .pictures, cards, drumsticks, and beer.  Two Vets were sitting on the grass reminiscing.

It made for a sober start for the start of the weekend.  But I think it made an impact on the girls.  Hopefully we get them to DC in the next couple of years to see the Wall. They should do the etching for themselves of their great-uncle's name.

The power of a Lullabye. . . .

It has been a rough night.  I was in a lousy mood.  And then my girls came in full of stories about their school day.  Not all of the stories were good.  One of my angels had a really rough day.  It hurt.  Watching your babies (no matter how old they are) when they are hurt is just miserable.  I simply cannot understand the meanness that comes from other kids at school. 


Sometimes I just can't solve the problem of someone else trying to steal my kid's "awesome!"  But I can be there to listen and keep reminding her that she is awesome.  We love her.  God loves her.  And one day she will find that people do love and appreciate her "awesome" almost as much as we do.

I put the girls to bed tonight with Billy Joel's "Lullabye."  Tears were flowing.  And then the one who had the terrible horrible no good very bad day finally settled.

xoxoxo for my awesome girls

(To fully understand the "awesome" bit please see  Waking Up Full Of Awesome)

How do you thank the ones that have taken you from crayons to perfume?

Shamelessly borrowing the title today from "To Sir, With Love"

I was talking to a friend today.  His son has had a less than stellar school career so far.  Nothing huge. And not his fault either.  He's just stuck with a group of kids that make the school days miserable.  I feel for that kid.  Big time.  One of my children has had similar struggles.  One day our geeks will inherit the earth.  And they will be darn nice people; the kind of people who treat others the way they want to be treated.

Gloating about the people my kids (and others like them) will grow up to be is not the point of my writing today though.  Today I want to sing the praises of the incredible teachers and principal and parents that made up my grade school experience.  I kid you not, just thinking back on it makes my eyes tear up a little.  Really.  Because of these amazing people, I had exactly the kind of school experience that every child should get to have.  One that is full of all the right memories.  

Kindergarten was in this big old room with hardwood floors that creaked.  We had wooden tables and chairs that creaked.  My friends included Darren and Jenny.  We had an Easter egg hunt. . .at a public school!  What can I say, it was the 70s.

In first grade we had "private rooms" and a teacher who (I'm sorry!) appeared old enough to be my grandmother.  She was very sweet and gentle.  She taught me to write and spell.  We were to think before we wrote the word for our spelling test.  No erasing allowed!  Side note. . .I ran into my 1st grade teacher some 30 years after she had me in her class.  She remembered me.  And guess what?  She looked exactly as I had remembered her.  I wasn't sure if I should tell her that or not though. . . .

Second grade.  That was the year that I got to read Little House on the Prairie out loud to my classmates.  And we did multiplication tables--it was a race to the moon!  And I was the first one to the moon!  My reward?  I got to meet the math teacher for the "upper grades."

Third grade was where I met my best friend.  It was also the grade where another very good friend lost her dog.  And her parents announced their divorce.  My teacher that year was the quintessential 70s elegant lady.  She had a complicated updo and wore fashionable clothes.  She also had "Now or Laters" in her file cabinet (that's what she called them so that's what we called them).  We got one when we were especially good.

When we hit fourth grade we were in the intermediate grades and  got to switch rooms for our classes.  We got lockers.  Our homeroom teacher was related to a famous football player.  He was the teacher who told us "Get the lead out" and expected us to behave like little adults.  Fourth grade was also where we got to start musical instruments at school.  Mrs. H was the best.  She gave so much of her time getting us started on the right instruments.

By fifth grade we settled into our role as the kids in the middle.  We had the locker thing down pat.  Switching classes was no big deal.  We were getting so much better at our instruments.  I'm sure Mrs. H was thrilled with that!  My memory is fuzzy but somewhere in here we had the unveiling of our Nature Center on the back of our school property.  To a kid, it was amazing and huge.  Even though I had a woods behind my house, the one at school was different.  For one thing, I wasn't supposed to go in the woods behind my house because it wasn't ours.  But the school woods had a trail and stumps for sitting on while we  had a discussion.

In sixth grade we were magically the "upper grades" responsible for helping the younger kids.  We had industrial arts class and home ec (I think?  Or did we have to wait until 7th grade?)  Well I do remember for sure that by 6th grade we had "all city band and orchestra"  Monday night practices at Washington.  The patience shown by that group of instrumental music teachers. . .corralling pre-teens and making us sound good.  Incredible.

Seventh and eighth grade had special gifts.  We got the chance to be in choir along with band/orchestra.  I remember great nights of music.  We had the Christmas choral program and a spring concert.  The concert wasn't just standing on risers singing.  Nooooooo.  We had costumes and choreography.  We were something else!  We had our school band/orchestra concert.  We wore trendy at the time (but wow, so dorky in hindsight) uniforms.  We got to participate in the art show at the mall.  We had a spring luncheon in home economics and we got to invite local celebrities then show them around our school. And then there was the eighth grade play.  Parents volunteered to help create sets.  Our teachers stayed late to have practices with us.  They made magic happen on that stage. 

Along the way there were field trips.  Lessons in kindness and acceptance.  Parties thrown by room mothers who were allowed to and able to make amazing cookies and cupcakes.  We had book fairs.  We had reading programs. . .I remember helping cut out the feet to be the footprints that marched throughout the school with our book titles on them.  Another year they were circles to make up the bookworm.  And when we met our reading goal as a school, we got to watch "Pete's Dragon" in the auditorium.

The good old days.  Made possible by some pretty darn incredible parents, teacher and a fine principal.  The ones who taught us that we were there to help each other.  The ones who set us up in a loving caring environment that stressed the value of learning from the books and learning from each other.  People who pushed us to be good kids who could look out for each other.  One step at a time.

Somehow "thank you" hardly seems sufficient.

Blizzard!!!!

So I had an awesome surprise at the end of my workday yesterday.  One of my students who graduated more than 10 years ago has kept in touch with me and my family.  When my last class left I had to step out of my room so I locked my door.  When I got back, my room was unlocked and there she was.  With my afterwork snack just waiting for me.

Strawberry Cheesequake Blizzard.  This girl is gooooood.  We haven't been able to go for a Blizzard in more than a year but she remembered my favorite.  What a special treat!  What a special friend :-)

And now, all my kids can focus on is "can we get a Blizzard too?"  Along with "They have a buy one Blizzard, get one half off special right now!"  They had to rush through baths to get a bedtime treat.

Personally, I think a Blizzard treat would be perfect for my birthday too.  I'm always a fan of cake for my birthday but this year I do believe we might expand the treats to include Blizzards right after school.

Back to the 80s!

Sometimes I just don't know why I do what I do.

Like pull out the 80s CD that I found in my sister's car.  And then play it for my kids.  So that we can make "Come on Eileen" part of the morning commute every single morning.

But it's fun.  There is nothing like the 4 of us singing at the top of our lungs with the windows down as we drive down the levee (I must remember the cop  hiding out on the levee this week.. . .it's one thing to be that mama who listens to music far too loud in the morning and something entirely different to get busted for speeding on the levee. . .nevermind that it's really easy to pick up speed on that straightaway).

I think there are something like 20 songs on the CD.  But the kids are aware of just 2--Dexy's Midnight Runners and a little song from Adam Ant.

But we also have Billy Joel on another CD so we can blast "Uptown Girl" whenever we want to mix things up.

Somehow the day just goes better when we've started it off with some great 80s tunes.  Maybe it just makes me feel like a teenager again. . .back when life was simpler.

Rat Race

Yay!

I do love my family. And I do love my job.

But I hate those weeks where I don't know if I'm coming or going.

I am fairly certain that I have something to do every single evening this week.

But I'm fairly clueless what exactly I'm doing from one night to the next. 

Two of the kiddos are in soccer.  One of them says she has practice 2 nights this week.  I know she has games 2 nights this week. The other one says she does not have practice at all this week (yay!) but she has 3 games (awwwww!)  Unfortunately for me, none of this is written on 1 calendar for me to be able to plan anything.  Each evening as we finish an event I ask what is on the schedule for the next day.  And in the morning I double check with them to confirm my memory.  Yes I realize this makes me look old and that I should probably write it down but I never seem to have the calendar and people in the same room at the same time.  And so what if it makes me look old.  Age isn't nothin' but a number, right? 

Off to do my homework. . . .have to make the most of my time.  And I'd really like to catch a few winks starting a little earlier tonight.  Tomorrow is going to be another busy day/night!

Back to the grind

It's been good.  Really it has.  There's just this great energy that comes along with the start of a new school year.  And yet it is exhausting!  Wearing real shoes all day.  Standing in those shoes.  Talking.  Eating on someone else's schedule.  That all takes some getting used to again.

Plus the laundry demands!  I've done laundry every night this week!  When we are home in the summer, what difference does it make if laundry gets done every day?

I do miss having a full mug of coffee then making chai latte for my oldest daughter and myself.  And I do miss being able to stay awake for the news at 10.

But I have also met some really cool people.  And I have had the opportunity to reconnect with some I had lost contact with.  And my own kids are having fun being back in school.  So it's good.  Even if it is exhausting!

End Notes

It’s the end.  The end of another summer together.  

Looking back, I know I had some goals.  Among them:

• The girls will practice piano (daily!)
• The girls will get a book from the library to learn how to type properly.
• Soccer players will practice their skills.
• We will start running as a family.
• We’ll spend lots of time at the pool.
• We’ll learn to put things away as we go and do it right the first time.
• Around the house. . .maybe paint.   Definitely get the basement squared away including cleaning the carpet we picked up from a friend to put in the basement.
• Read—a lot.

 In reality, here’s what we accomplished:

•  Piano lessons for the summer had to be cancelled because our beloved teacher was unable to have them.  We were really sad.  I did a few little lessons with the younger 2 but the oldest pretty much took a vacation from the piano.
• We never picked up the typing book. Maybe next summer?
• Soccer players worked on their skills when soccer started 2 weeks ago.  Surely that counts for something?
• We did make an attempt at the running as a family.  But intense heat/humidity, lack of proper running shoes and a wide range of ability hampered this one.  I can say that 2 of us who formerly said “I hate running more than anything else” did manage to say “running’s not so bad” and I’ll take that improvement.
• Oh yes, lots of time at the pool.  Precious little of it was spent at a pool that we had to pay to use.  Some very special friends allowed us to use their pool anytime we wanted.
• We still haven't learned to clean up as we go or do things right the first time.  Maybe one day. . . .
• As of this moment I have read 30 books over the last 10 weeks.  I might be able to knock out 2 more before we have to be back at school.   
• The carpet downstairs was not cleaned nor was the basement organized.  But I did paint!  When we moved in all the walls had the same color of flat paint.  I liked the color but I missed the personality of our old house with rooms that fit each of us.  My middle daughter saw the perfect green for her room for just $5 in the mistints at Lowes.  From there it was a done deal.  It would be the summer of painting.

I started in the middle daughter’s room to create the pink and green room she wanted.  Then moved to the youngest daughter’s room to create the 2 shades of pink princess room she desired.  And I have to admit that at one point I was scared of what her room would look like with the turquoise comforter and curtains next to the princess pink.  But it worked. 

Next on the agenda? The girls bathroom upstairs.  I had a little surprise for them in there.  Since their bathroom is truly theirs (rarely used except by them/their friends) and they each have a sink, I painted the walls in front of and behind their mirrors with their signature color from their rooms.  The bathroom is a rainbow of bright green, princess pink, and angelic yellow set against the soft lavender of the rest of the bathroom.

Finally, my oldest got her room done.  She wanted the same yellow as we had at the old house.  Luckily we were able to get it mixed at the paint shop where we bought that color some 10 years ago.  Her room is more grown up than her younger sisters.  Something I both love and nearly loathe at the same time; I'm not ready for her to be so grown up.  Where did my little baby go? 

After all that painting I was just done.  Done done done done done!  I declared no more painting. . .at least not until July.  

Then July hit and I did it.  The powder bathroom needed some pizzazz and I had leftover paint.  So 6” stripes all the way around.  The master bath needed something too.  Fortunately the stripes in there could be wider.  Then the master bedroom looked too plain.  A couple of coats of a soft blue and it is just right.

I had hoped to get a bit more painting done.  I have a plan for the laundry room.  And the stairway to the basement.  And the hallway upstairs.  But that’s it. . .I promise, no plans for anything else!  (Not until next summer anyway)

But it will wait.  The last few days at home are too precious to spend worrying about the house stuff that didn’t get finished.  It’s time to enjoy being together for those last few days before we have to go back to our other lives at school.

Belbows and Lellow

Days gone by.

And nearly forgotten.

Therefore worth retelling.

Kids say the darndest things.  One of mine called pizza "pee-pee" early on.  She also had "pig's feet" whenever we went out to eat.  Yup, she'd look the waiter in the eye and proclaim "I'd like the pig's feet please." And we would discreetly translate it for him. . .chicken tenders.  She ate "chicken butter" too.  I know.  How gross, right?  But no, chicken butter was her name for chicken salad. 

Fast forward a few years and another little one with funny names entered our world.  She had a thing for "belbows."  That's what she called elbows.  Not because they were fat.  Just because she was a little girl.  For years I had to wear shirts/sweaters that she could slip her little hands up my sleeves to feel my elbows.  She preferred mine to daddy's but she love love loved my mom's.  We never were able to get a real explanation of why it made her feel better but it clearly comforted her.  We didn't have to do anything but make sure she would be able to feel our elbows.  When she couldn't, she'd ask for them--"Belbows???!!!"

Lellow.  Certainly not unique to my kids.  But one of those kidspeak classics that always makes me smile.  This morning we were reminiscing about belbows and pigs feet when I remembered "lellow." The girls all told me that they learned to stop saying "lellow" when they went to preschool.  They had the same preschool teacher and she was the one who taught them to say "yellow" instead of "lellow."

These days they don't have nearly the kidspeak that they used to have.  One of them rarely even calls me Mommy; now I'm "Moommm."  Even the youngest has all but abandoned "mama" to call me "Mommy."

Sometimes I miss the old days when I was Mama and the biggest problem the day held was making sure that my sweater sleeves were loose enough for for her to reach my elbows.

Pizza!

It’s been a regular part of our lives for as long as I can remember.  And I’m not talking about restaurant or even frozen pizza.  I’m talking about homemade crust and sauce pizza.

When I was really little we made it from the Chef Boyardee pizza kits.  By the time I was in 7^th grade though my mom had discovered a crust recipe that was easy enough to make and that was the only kind of pizza we had with any regularity at our house.  The recipe was printed on thin cardboard, cut out from the label on a pizza pan I think.  We kept it on the bulletin board inside the cabinet door on the far left side of the kitchen.  Over the years it got stained from mishaps and had many holes punched into it as we took it down and put it back every time we made pizza.   It’s still my basic pizza crust recipe although curiosity has led me to make changes here and there.

Over the years we perfected the pizza sauce recipe too.  My mom tried a myriad of seasonings including oregano, crushed red pepper, basil, parsley and fennel.  

It used to seem like a big deal to make pizza for supper.  Not because my mom made like it was.  It was just clearly something that took more effort than frying up a hamburger in a skillet on top of the stove.  But then one day it just wasn’t any big deal anymore.  And I came to love the fact that by the time the pizza went into the oven, you could clean up all the prep mess leaving just plates, glasses and a couple of easy to clean pans.

Basic pizza crust:

3 c all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

2 packet Rapid Rise yeast (4 ½  tsp if measuring from a jar)

1 c water

3 Tbsp olive oil

Mix dry ingredients then add water and oil.  Mix into dough.  Knead until smooth then let rise in a warm spot.  (We used to put ours in the dishwasher—clean, no dirty dishes—for the dry cycle).

I now pull out my bread machine to make it even easier.  I put the water and oil in first then salt, flour and yeast.

Tweaked pizza crust:

2 ½ c all purpose flour

1 c tortilla mix (I get it at Walmart)

2 packets Rapid Rise yeast

1 c water

3 Tsp olive oil

2 Tbsp sugar

Whichever recipe you use, after it has had 20 minutes to rise you need to divide the dough into 2 balls.  Lightly flour your counter and roll the dough out using a rolling pin.  Peel it off the counter and put on the pizza pan.  Then top with sauce, cheese and your preferred toppings.

Pizza sauce

This one is tricky to write out because I never measure anything.  But here goes:

1 small can tomato sauce

1 small can tomato paste

Red pepper

Oregano

1 Tbsp sugar

Mix tomato sauce and paste in a small bowl.  Fill the tomato sauce can with water and add to the mix.  Stir in 1 tsp crushed red pepper, 1 Tbsp oregano and 1 Tbsp sugar.

This makes enough sauce for 2 12-16” pizzas.

Pizzas get topped with 1½-2 cups of cheese.  We usually use shredded mozzarella but have been known to use Colby Jack or a pizza blend.

We always use pepperoni.  Usually we dice up onions and green peppers.  Sometimes we brown up some ground beef for a meatier pizza.  Or slice tomatoes to put on top.  My husband’s favorite is pepperoni, onion and banana peppers.  

Pizzas bake at 425° for 15-20 minutes, depending on how “done” you like your pizza.

Memories of Summers at the Monastery

Last week the girls and I took an impromptu trip to a monastery.  It was a special place for me growing up.  I was named after the Mother Superior of this monastery (she was also my mom's first grade teacher). 

It was a magical place when I was little.  The church was incredibly beautiful; I always imagined when I got married it would be in that church, just like Maria in The Sound of Music. 

My parents would sit on park benches and visit with the nuns while we ran around the grounds playing tag and racing each other up and down the spiral steps of the towers.  We got to ride horses with the high school girls who were students at the academy.  We got to play tennis with them.  We sat on the bridge in the garden and chatted with them.  I thought the girls were amazingly beautiful teenagers.  Many were international students, fluent in multiple languages.  Sister always told us that those high school students were as enchanted with us as we were with them, that they came from far away and missed their little sisters.

Sadly the academy closed some ten years ago due to a lack of funding.  And most of the nuns that my family visited have died.  We were able to visit with one of the three that my family still knows; she was one of the music teachers so of course she asked if I still play.   We talked about the importance of music in the schools.  She gave us a tour of the completed renovated church.  It is still beautiful but a different kind of beauty--partly due to the changes they made in the church and partly due to me being grown up I suppose.  As we sat and visited in the very grown up cream colored visiting room I was so happy that we made the drive and thrilled that sister was able to see us..  We were dressed for hiking around on the grounds and I felt uncomfortable being so casual.  But the kids were well behaved and genuinely enchanted by the monastery and our visit with Sister.

After spending an hour or so with Sister we went out on the grounds.  First stop was the cemetery to see the gravesite of the nun I was named after.  Then we found her best friend.  After that it was a trip down my memory lane.  We went through the grotto.  We sat on the bridge.  We walked across the tennis courts.  We went out to the old horse barn. They listened politely as I told them once again about my first ride on a very tall horse named Toby.  Toby.  The horse that took off running when we got to the clearing and the students apologized profusely to me for it.  Turned out that tall old gentle Toby was losing his eyesight but the girls always let him run when he got to the clearing.  Later we walked over to the lake and had a massive giggle fit trying to take a picture of the 4 of us by holding the camera out and squeezing together. 

In time we headed back up the hill to the car.  Along the way we stopped to peek in the windows of the hall that the students have lived in and had their meals and classes in.  So many meals in that dining hall with Sister.  . .so many hours sitting in the lounge with her and my parents.  She used to dig out her change so we could get sodas and snacks from the vending machines.  I don't remember the drinks so well but I remember that we would get a bag of Bugles to share.

We decided to run up the steps to the monastery again and use their bathroom (renovated from back when I was a little girl but the hallway door is the same pink wooden door as I remember) before taking one last run through the tower. 

We got back to the car and they asked me when we could go back.  One of them wants to see where the nuns really live.  We used to get to eat in the nuns dining room too.  The last time I was there for a funeral I was able to eat in that hall.  I don't imagine I can get that for my girls.  But their genuine interest and immediate love for the simple beauty of the monastery made me smile.  If nothing else, this summer I gave them a little piece of my memories.

Dog Days of Summer (aka, the end is near)

We're nearly to the end of our summer vacation.  Sad.  Every year we start the 10 weeks full of hopes and dreams of what we'll accomplish.  Afternoons at the pool.  Movies.  Sleepovers.  And as it winds down I always wonder "are the girls happy with how the summer turned out?"

Today one of the girls desperately wanted to go swimming.  But it's so hot and humid that even a trip to a pool with plenty of shade isn't appealing.  Hubby suggested we go to the movies tonight.  I wasn't a fan of that simply because of the cost.

My alternative?  Family movie night at home with popcorn and fudge.  When I was a kid I loved it when my parents would make popcorn and fudge for us.  Mom's fudge was really sweet. . .melt in your mouth granulated deliciousness.  I've never tasted fudge from anywhere else like hers.  When we were little we were allowed 2 pieces of fudge in an evening.  This of course meant that you had to choose the 2 biggest available pieces or try to claim that your pieces were small enough that they didn't count as 2 actual pieces.  And it had to be eaten with popcorn--even as a kid I knew sweet and salty was the best combo for a snack! 

We make it using a Magnalite pan (hard to find those these days) on a gas stove.  Every time my mom has tried to make it at someone else's house with a different brand of pan or an electric stove, it just wasn't the same. Good thing I have a set of Magnalite pans! 

Now we just need to agree on a movie and get the popcorn ready!

Favorite breakfasts at home. . .

I’m not really a fan of traditional breakfast foods, except maybe on the weekends.  I’d much rather have pizza for breakfast than have a bowl of cereal.  So when I come across something I like for breakfast, and it’s actual breakfast food, well, that’s nothing short of a miracle.  Today I want to share a couple of my favorites.

Steel Cut Oats

These generally need to cook longer than Quaker oats.  But the difference in flavor makes it worth the extra effort.  Plus these can be cooked overnight in a pan with a lid on it..  Simply boil 6 cups of water.  Add 1 ½ cups of steel cut oats.  Stir.  Turn off the stove and cover.  In the morning all you have to do is stir and reheat.  It’s that simple!  Love mine with a touch of honey.  Leftovers can be kept in the fridge for about a week.

Dutch Babies (I know. . .one of the kids questioned the name too!)

4 eggs

1 c flour

1 c milk

4 Tbsp butter

About ½ Fresh lemon

Powdered sugar

Preheat oven at 475° F.  Put the butter in a glass baking dish and put it in the oven.  Let the butter melt until it sizzles.  While the butter melts, whip the eggs until.  Add milk and whisk again.  Add flour and whisk until smooth.  Pour into the buttered baking dish.  Bake for about 12 minutes.  It will puff up nicely.  Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle with fresh squeezed lemon followed by powdered sugar.  In my household, this will feed 3 people.

Some people also put a little jam into the mix before baking (not more than ¼ cup).

Some people also like it with cinnamon or nutmeg in the mix before baking.

Today I'm hungry for Meatball Souvlaki. . . .

We seem to get into ruts with our eating.  One day I was determined to find some new meals but nothing so exotic that the pickier eaters would revolt.  Enter Meatball Souvlaki!  I found the recipe on the Woman's Day website but made a few modifications for our family.

Meatballs:
1/2 c plain bread crumbs
1 egg
1/3 c water
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1 1/2  lb ground beef

Mix the above and form into meatballs.  These can bake at 500 for about 15 minutes.

Cut 1 lb medium zucchini into 1/2 inch rounds and 1 medium red onion into 1/2 inch thick wedges.  Place these in a separate baking dish and drizzle with 2 tsp olive oil.  Roast for 15-20 minutes.  You may stir them in the middle of the roasting.

The original recipe called for mixing the meatballs and veggies for another 5-10 minutes of roasting.  We always keep them separate until we assemble the plates.

While these roast, you need to make the yogurt sauce:
1 c plain Greek yogurt
1/4 c water
1/3 c chopped fresh mint
1/4 tsp each:  salt, garlic powder, ground cumin

To assemble, place 1 pocketless pita on your plate and top with zucchini/onions then meatballs.  Drizzle with yogurt sauce.

This meal takes about 45 minutes to put together from start to finish.  If you already have meatballs in the freezer, it goes faster.

The funny thing about this recipe is that we liked it so much, it became a new "rut" for us.  So easy to pull together on a school night that it landed on the weekly menu a few too many weeks in a row!

Another one for the freezer. . . .

How did we do it?  We used to live without A/C. . .heck we even played outside in the middle of the summer!  My girls now act like they might melt outside, unless of course they are in the pool.

When it's so hot outside, I am not a fan of spending much time in the kitchen fixing a big meal.  So whenever I can make some extras to stick in the freezer, I do.  One of my favorite lifesavers from the freezer is meatballs.  I have 2 recipes that I really like. . .1 for Meatball Sub sandwiches and one for Meatball Souvlaki.   They can be used interchangeably. My kids are split on which ones they like best.

Beef Meatballs for meatball sub sandwiches
1 1/2 lbs ground round
1/4 c shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 c breadcrumbs
1/4 c tomato sauce

3/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp crushed garlic (from a jar--check the produce section of your grocery store)

Combine the above ingredients.  Mix well.  You should be able to get about 30 meatballs.  Place them in a shallow baking dish and bake at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.  Let cool and put in Ziploc bags to freeze for later use.

To make meatball subs, get hoagie buns, mozzarella cheese and your favorite marinara sauce. Sprinkle cheese on the buns and place them in the broiler for a couple of minutes.  Warm meatballs in the microwave or on top of the stove.  Warm the marinara sauce separately.  Assemble sandwiches.

Tomorrow--Meatball Souvlaki!

Amazing Blueberry Buckle

Last year I went looking for something else to do with blueberries.  I had a vague idea that I’d heard of a blueberry buckle so with the help of Google, this is the one that I found on the Not Quite Sure Blogspot.  Once the girls and I made this one, we didn’t bother to try any of the other recipes I’d found.  The cake is moist and delicate.  It isn’t a time consuming treat either.  It can be mixed up quickly.  Still, when I make it I usually double the recipe so I can have an extra one for the freezer. (8” round aluminum baking pans slide into a Ziploc bag very nicely.)  We also like to make it with diced peaches or strawberries.

Blueberry Buckle (Barely modified from the Not Quite Sure Blogspot)

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter
1 egg
2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup milk
2 cups blueberries

Crumb Topping
1/2 cup sugar (can be brown, white or a combination)
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup soft butter

Preheat oven to 375. Spray an 8" round aluminum baking pan with nonstick spray like Pam. Cream sugar, butter, and egg. Mix flour, salt and baking powder. Add to butter mixture alternating with milk and blend thoroughly. Fold in blueberries. Pour into pan.

Mix topping ingredients with your fingers until it is the consistency of small crumbs. Spread topping on batter.

Bake 45-50 minutes.

This summer's obsession--Chai Green Tea Latte!

A co-worker who lives close to Starbucks used to bring me treats.  Everything she brought was good but no Starbucks nearby and no desire to drive across town meant I had to create my own.   What follows is my version to make a whole pitcher of Chai Green Tea Latte for less $$$ (and calories!) than Starbucks.

Chai Green Tea Latte

Use the following tea bag mix:

2 plain green tea

4 Stash Green Chai Tea

1 Tazo Calm Tea

Boil 5 cups of water.  Let tea steep for 6 minutes

While tea steeps put 1 cup of water in a pitcher with 1/3 c of sugar.

When the tea is ready, add it to the sugar water in the pitcher.

Put 2 cups of skim milk in pan and steam over low heat until small bubbles form at the edges of the pan.   Add milk to pitcher.  Stir.   It can be served warm or cold

As written an 8 oz serving has 56 calories, 32.5 mg sodium and 11.2 grams of sugar.  In time I’d like to cut the sugar back but for now this is pretty good!

***Starbucks Chai Tea Latte Soy Tall has 190 calories, 70mg sodium and 35 grams of sugar

***Starbucks Nonfat Chai Tea Latte Grande has 200 calories, 125 mg sodium and 42 grams of sugar

Nutrition information is from Sparkpeople :-)

Kuchen like Mom used to make

A few years ago I was digging through some cookbooks and found a 1970s era recipe booklet from Fleischmann's tucked inside another old cookbook.  As I read through the recipe it brought to mind the kuchens my mom made when I was a kid.  I decided to give it a whirl and discovered that wow, these tasted just like the ones Mom made.  I made some changes to the recipe like using Milnot and then doubling and tripling the recipe (and then learned how to fit 6 in my oven at a time).  I prefer to have a stash of these in the freezer all the time so we can have a treat from time to time.

Basic Coffee Cake Dough
1 cup milk
½ cup sugar
1 tp salt
½ cup margarine or butter
1/4 cup warm water (105-115°)
1 pkg Fleischmann’s Active Dry Yeast
1 egg
4 to 4 ½ cups Gold Medal or Gold Medal Wondra Flour

Scald milk; stir in sugar, salt and margarine. Cool to lukewarm. Measure water into large warm bowl. Sprinkle in yeast; stir until dissolved. Stir in milk mixture, egg and half the flour. Beat until Smooth. Add remaining flour to make a stiff batter. Cover loosely with aluminum foil; refrigerate at least 2 hours. (Dough may be kept in refrigerator up to 3 days) Finish as directed in individual recipes.

Each Basic Coffee Cake Dough will make 3 8 inch round kuchens

Mom's Kuchens
Divide dough into 3 equal portions. Pat dough into greased pans. Poke into dough with fingers or the end of a wooden spoon. Dribble 1-2 tablespoons of Milnot (or milk) on each dough. Then put 1/2 to 2/3 cup of light brown sugar on top of dough. Sprinkle each kuchen with cinnamon sugar. Let rise until doubled (45-60 minutes).

Bake at 375° for about 30 minutes. You may want to start checking them at 20 minutes if you like “pale” kuchens.

If you make these in 8" aluminum pans, they slip right into a Ziploc freezer bag.  When you take them out of the freezer, you can pop them out of the pan onto a plate and then put in the microwave for about a minute to thaw.  

Yuuuuuuum!