Stephanie says

I was changing into pajamas when I hear this little voice say "Grandma, you fat."  At age three, Clementine's language skills increase exponentially, but still require a three second translation factor. I say "Huh?" "You fat Grandma."  Well the kid is right.  I am indeed quite fat. I say "I beg your pardon?" and give her a stern, eyebrow raised stare. She figures it out, says "nevermind."  Literally "nevermind."  Kids have no filters. With a somber demeanor, Henry announced to me one day, "Grandma, you're very old. You're going to die soon."  He added, "I'm really going to miss you." "Thank you Henry"

Bought an ice cream churner attachment for my Kitchen Aid recently.  My grandchildren are visiting this weekend, so what better time to whip up ice cream? Fall apples are crisping up in the side yard trees, inspiring Fresh Apple Cake link to apple cake recipe , my favorite apple cake.  I used gluten-free "flour" this time with good results.  The cake didn't rise as high as when made with wheat flour, but tasted wonderful and the crumb was good.  Along with Julia Child's caramel sauce, caramel-sauce-la-julia-child .  I'm thinking a parfait trifecta. The kiddos will rave over this combination. Whatever is left over will go to my library meeting.  I expect my fellow board members to swoon.  Is 10:30 a.m. too early for dessert? The results:  The ice cream is so smooth and silky, no ice crystals, and was scoopable right out of the freezer. Very easy recipe.  Sicilian-Style from Food 52 recipe A cooked-until-thick ice cream base, ju...

The power of Thor's hammer! He was so excited to show me that hammer, but first he had to ask his dad to get it off the high shelf.  Turns out he'd tormented his sister and lost usage rights.  After a stern lecture about hammer etiquette, he got a second chance.  He and the other kids at the party were tossing the hammer back and forth until it went flying over the fence into the neighbor's yard.  Henry was absolutely distraught.  He sat on my lap sobbing over his loss. "Are you wiping your runny nose on my dress?" "Yes." "That's what I thought." The hammer was recovered and the day saved.  I too am a sucker for Thor - harking back to the perfect casting in "Adventures in Babysitting."  The Thor character was a chiseled blond god and a delight to my eye. Some years after that movie, I met a woman of Norse heritage whose son was named Thor.  My imagination went into overdrive and I could hardly wait to meet him.  No...

I’d been out of town when Betsy caught up with me.   The big news was Skip was home and he’d brought along the most beautiful boy she’d ever seen.  I was 17.   That got my attention.   Back to town and worked a shift at a part-time job before going home, her words sparked just a little frizz of anticipation.  Skip and Jim picked me up from work. Hot damn, Bets was right.   Ever meet a person you literally find breath-taking? So strikingly beautiful that you’re stunned into silence?   With whom you just might not be able to articulate an answer, let alone the answer that a very, very cool girl might say.      Oh dear. Thank heaven for Betsy. I might have swooned in a hormonal sea of lust without her warning. That would not have been good. I had a swagger to project.     Ah, but there was this 16 year old Jim McConnell, dark curly hair, (long of course, it was the 60s,) well-proportioned body, sweet ass, a lit...

Two plus weeks without wi-fi at home, tonight I'm perched contentedly in my favorite chair, remote in hand with full intent of binge watching.  Yippee!  "True Dectective" season 3 finale! Its theme song has caught my ear during every episode.  So I multi-task and check on my phone for info on the song, (because this is possible with wi-fi!).  And indeed, the singer is Cassandra Wilson. I'll consider whether I'm too dependent of electronics another day.

I've got some cleaning up to do.   Capricious Mother Nature dumped a foot of snow Sunday afternoon blanketing the valley into winter wonderland.   It was stunningly beautiful.   The temperature dropped after dark and those big, wet flakes froze heavily in the forest.   Breaking tree limbs cracked like rifle shots throughout the night.   It was a disaster zone next morning. The carnage of downed trees, shrubs, telephone lines meant no electricity.   No heat.   No internet, (I immediately suffered political junkie withdrawal.)    No telephone.   Intermittent text coverage. Seems cell towers operate on electricity.   Who knew?   Roads were blocked. I have cereal for breakfast. Made coffee on the campstove out on the front porch and people-watched. This town has 1000 people, many out and about, checking in with friends and neighbors. Dickey’s opened their doors, sans lights, for emergency hardware needs. ...

I've misplaced the original recipe published by Jan Roberts Dominguez circa 1980.  This is a delicious brunch dish. So based on my memory...I’ve learned some cooking techniques in the intervening years – like to salt the water heavily so salt is absorbed into the broccoli. 4 cups Broccoli florets – could probably use 2 – 4 cups more.   I’ll weigh in after this bakes. 2 cups cottage cheese 6 eggs ½ cup grated cheese 1/3 cup flour Baking powder? I sorta remember the original recipe called for Baking Powder but I’m leaving it out for the time being.   Salt.   ¾ tsp Pepper 1tsp ½ cup roasted red peppers, or a small can of green Anaheim chilis.   I hand neither on hand substituted fermented red pepper salsa.   (Fermented food is my new fascination – more about that in future posts.) 1/3 cup melted butter Boil a big pot of water.   Once that boils, add a tablespoon (yep) of kosher salt to water.   Add broccoli florets and...

Whipple Family Saw Mill circa 1950 AlderCraft We Manufacture Fine Wooden Doors   AlderCraft is situated in the small town of Drain, Oregon, in the heart of Douglas Fir country.   We are a 5 th generation family in the timber and lumber industry.   We specialize in the use of locally sourced wood species harvested from our family forests.     Our doors are manufactured using kiln-dried hardwoods to produce stable and high-quality doors.   We also provide trim and trim packages for your home.   Come see us at Booth 189 at the Sonoma County Home & Garden Show for door ideas to suit your lifestyle. www.aldercraft.com

My friend Erin took the plunge last Saturday to benefit Oregon Special Olympics.  It was a high-energy event in Corvallis with a diverse cast of participants, teams including several city police, high school, college, business groups, etc.  Two police boats patrolled the river while several wet-suited emergency technicians stayed in the roped-off plunge area, just in case.     That's Erin gasping for breath on the left.  A stop-action shot instantly understood by the viewer:  Who would voluntarily do this?  People who support a wonderful cause by putting their beliefs into action.  Bravo to all! These Vikings were a fun group!

My son-in-law is glucose intolerant so I'm always on the lookout for suitable recipes, especially ones that use produce from my garden. I grew a bumper crop of spaghetti squash this year.  I've been giving it whomever I can talk into taking some but there's still an 8-pack on the back porch.  An abundance of squash played nicely with Glucose free and brought forth a recipe for spaghetti pie I used to make decades ago.  I located my recipe and just swapped the squash for the pasta.  Voila! It was good and held together well.  This was a leftover piece destined to be my lunch after the photo shoot. Spaghetti Squash Pie Recipe By:Jennifer Meakings and modified by me "An easy baked pasta dish. Great for potluck dinners. Freezes well." Ingredients 1 3-lb spaghetti squash 2 tablespoons butter 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese 2 eggs, beaten 1 pound lean ground beef 1/2 cup chopped onion 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper 1 clove ...