Adventures in Cooking Our CSA Share: Blueberries Galore!

With a pint or two of blueberries in the fridge and hopes for blueberry picking this weekend, I've been searching my blog for blueberry recipes.  I've actually made quite a few blueberry recipes over the year, more than I realized.  I think of all of them, I'd liked to make the Blueberry Crumble French Toast again and try the Blueberry Cobbler.


TRIED AND TRUE:

Lattice-Top Blueberry Pie a la Martha Stewart

pie dough for two-9" crusts

about 7 cups blueberries (washed, drained, de-stemmed)

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon lemon juice

your favorite wash--egg yolk, milk, water

sugar for dusting (I use raw sugar and cinnamon)

Roll out bottom crust and place in 9" pie plate.

Mix blueberries (I crushed half lightly), sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and lemon juice. Pour into prepared pie plate.

Cut other crust into approximately 1" strips. Weave into a lattice-top (No worries, it's not hard--see here..) Apply chosen wash and dust with sugar and cinnamon.

Freeze or refrigerate pie for 30 minutes to set up. Preheat oven to 400F. Remove pie from fridge and cover edges. Bake for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350F and bake for another 55 minutes, until pie is bubbly and crust is browned.

Allow to cool completely, approximately 3 hours. Yeah. Right.

Martha Stewart with directions written by Mommy Hungry

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Pie Crust

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 cup butter, unsalted and chilled, cut into pieces

1/4 cup ice water

In a food processor, pulse flour with salt and sugar. Add butter. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with a few pea-size pieces remaining. Add water; pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed (if needed, add up to 4 tablespoons more ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time). Do not overmix. turn out onto a work surface; knead once or twice, until dough comes together. Chill dough shaped in discs in plastic wrap, at least 1 hour or up to 3 days.

Everyday Food

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Blueberry Pie

2 pie crusts

2-10 oz bags of frozen blueberries (approximately 4 cups)

1/3 cup flour

3/4 cup sugar

cinnamon, nutmeg

1-2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

Preheat oven to 350F. Place crust in pie plate. Place blueberries (still frozen) in bowl with flour and sugar. Mix together and slightly mash. Spoon blueberry mixture into shell. Cover with other crust, piercing to vent. Sprinkle cinnamon, nutmeg, and sugar over crust and dot with butter. Bake at 350 for approximately 1+ hours, until golden brown crust and bubbly, covering rim of pie until last 15 minutes.

Mommy Hungry

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Sis and Bud's Muffins, a la Martha Stewart

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups fresh blueberries (we used 1 cup frozen strawberries, defrosted, for Bud; 1/2 cup chocolate chips for Sis)

1 cups sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Generously butter a standard 12-cup muffin pan and dust with flour, tapping out excess; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Working over the bowl, toss blueberries in a fine sieve with about 1 1/2 teaspoons flour mixture to lightly coat; set aside the flour mixture and the blueberries. (Or skip this part.)

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or using a handheld mixer, beat butter and 1 cup sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined. Mix in vanilla.

With the mixer on low speed, add reserved flour mixture, beating until just combined. Add milk, beating until just combined. Do not overmix. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the blueberries.

Or, for our muffins, divide batter into two separate bowls. In one, stir in the strawberries; in the other, the chocolate. Continue . . .

Divide batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups. Bake, rotating pan halfway though, until muffins are golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center of one muffin comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool 10 minutes. Turn muffins on their sides in their cups, and let cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

adapted from blueberry muffins in Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook (except, online, she adds 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg for crunchy topping; commentors suggest adding a bit of lemon zest to batter)

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Double Good Blueberry Pie
From the reusable farm basket . . . and it was good (and much like the strawberry pie we made last month). As usual, Sis liked the crust and Bud prefers his berries "plain."

3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water
4 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
1 tablespoon lemon juice
baked, 9-inch pie shell

-Mix sugar and cornstarch in saucepan, add water, and 2 cups berries. Cook over medium heat, stirring until mixture is thick, clear, and boiling. Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice, cool. -Place remaining 2 cups of raw blueberries in pie shell. Top with cooked blueberry mixture. -Chill. Serve with 1/2 sweetened yogurt - 1/2 sweetened sour cream sauce, if desired.

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Blueberry Crumble French Toast
This was my favorite dish at breakfast at the Frederick-Talbott Inn the morning Mama and I went to Winter on the Prairie at Conner Prairie Living History Museum. MMmmmmm! I could’ve been a pioneer with sustenance like this! I sent the cook my mom’s Orange Biscuits recipe in exchange.

bread sliced ¾ inch thick (they use Italian; I used challah)
8 eggs
1 cup milk
¾ teaspoon vanilla
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
¼ cup flour
1 cup dry oats
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (we skipped this)
1 to 2 cups blueberries

Grease a 6 x 10 baking dish. Preheat oven to 375°F. Slice bread in ¾ inch thick slices and place in a single layer in the bottom of the prepared pan. Cut additional bread into small pieces to fill in spaces around slices.
Beat together eggs and milk. Add vanilla.
Pour egg mixture over bread. There should be enough liquid to cover bread. Let sit one to two minutes to allow bread to absorb egg mixture. Turn bread slices to evenly soak both sides.
For topping, blend together with a pastry cutter the butter, brown sugar and flour or use your fingers to work the butter into the sugar and flour; stir in oats. Sprinkle over soaked bread in baking dish. Top evenly with nuts and blueberries.
Bake 30 to 40 minutes or until the bread is puffy and bubbles rise around the sides of the pan. Let sit 5 minutes before cutting into rectangles to serve. Peaches or apples may be substituted for the blueberries. Serve with maple syrup or blueberry syrup.

Frederick-Talbott Inn, Indiana

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Blueberry Poundcake
This is the recipe for the pound cake.  It is really for muffins so just bake for about an hour (checking) if you do the bread.

1/2 c butter

1 c sugar

2 eggs beaten

1/2 c milk

2 c flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 c fresh blueberries

cinnamon/sugar topping (taste fine with or without)

Cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs mixing well. Stir in milk.  Combine dry ingredients and add to mixture- stir to combine. Fold in blueberries.  Fill greased muffin tins and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar (optional) and bake at 375 degrees for 20 min.

Enjoy!
MIss J.D.

Note:  I also added a teaspoon of almond extract.

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Blueberry Smoothie

2 quarts (2 1/2 lbs.) frozen blueberries, slightly thawed; or 2 quarts free blueberries
1 quart pineapple-orange-strawberry juice blend; or pineapple-orange juice
1 quart low-fat vanilla yogurt
8 tsp. Sugar

- In a container of an electric blender, combine blueberries, juice, yogurt and sugar.
-Blend until smooth, about 1 minute.
-Serve immediately in tall glass.
-Garnish with blueberry skewers spiraled with thin stripes of orange peel, if desired.

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Miss M's BLUEBERRY GRUNT*

2 cups soft bread cubes

1/2 cup water

1 Tbsp butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs, well beaten

1 pint blueberries

Soften bread with water. Add all but berries. Layer bread mixture and blueberries in a greased, shallow 1 quart pan. Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour. Serve with cream.

Yield: 4 servings

*Grunt is baked, uncovered or steamed.

Slump if cooked, covered, on top of the stove.

Another recipe:

BLUEBERRY CRISP

4 cups blueberries

1/3 cup flour

1 tsp grated lemon zest

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 3/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup butter or margarine

Spread berries in shallow baking dish or a deep 9" pin pan. Sprinkle with lemon rind. Blend remaining ingredients and sprinkle over berries. Bake at 375 degrees for about 25 minutes. If 1/2 recipe is made bake for only 15 minutes. Best served warm.

Yield: 6 servings.

Miss M

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TJ's Multigrain Blueberry Coffeecake

1 egg 1 cup buttermilk (lowfat) 3 tablespoons oil 2 1/2 cups Trader Joe's Multigrain Baking Mix 1/2 cup sugar 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (do not need to thaw) additional sugar for topping (this is my addition.  I used turbinado)

In a large bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk and oil. Stir in multigrain baking mix and sugar until moistened. Fold in blueberries. Spread batter into an 8x8x8-inch pan coated with cooking spray. (My addition:  dust with a few teaspoons of sugar to add a crunchy top). Bake 45-50 mins in preheated 350 F oven or until top is golden brown and a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 mins. Cut into squares and serve warm. Makes 16, 2-inch servings. back of the box of Trader Joe's multigrain baking mix -=-=-=-=-=-=- Blueberry Crumb Cake Streusel: 1/4 cup granulated sugar 1/3 cup light brown sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg 1 stick unsalted butter, melted 1 1/3 cup flour Cake: 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature 3/4 cup granulated sugar 2 extra large eggs, room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest 2/3 cup sour cream 1 1/4 cup flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1 cup fresh blueberries confectioner's sugar for sprinkling Preheat oven 350F.  Butter and flour a 9" round baking pan. For streusel:  combine 1st four ingredients in bowl.  Stir in melted butter, then flour.  Mix well. For cake:  Cream butter and sugar with mixer on high speed 4-5 minutes, until light.  Reduce to low and add eggs one at a time.  Add vanilla, lemon, and sour cream.  In separate bowl sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  With mixer on low, add flour to batter just until combined.  Fold in blueberries.  Spoon into prepared pan, crumble topping evenly over batter.  Bake for 40-50 minutes until tester comes out clean.  Cool and sprinkle with confectioners sugar.  Enjoy! Miss P.K. -=-=-=-=-=- Blueberry Cobbler 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces, and 8 tablespoons of butter, melted and cooled 1 1/2 cups sugar 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon zest 3 cups blueberries, rinsed 1 1/2 cups flour 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 3/4 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 cups milk Melt and cool 8 tablespoons of butter in 9x13 pan while you preheat oven tto 350. Meanwhile, pulse 1/4 cup sugar and lemon zest and set aside until the end. Mash blueberries with 1 tablespoon of lemon sugar. Mix 1 1/4 cups sugar, flower, baking powder, and salt. Whisk in milk and cooled melted butter. Pour batter in hot pan. Dollop blueberry mixture over dough. Sprinkle with remaining lemon sugar. Bake 45-50 minutes, turning pan halfway, until golden and bubbly. Cool 30 minutes. Cook's Country (with instructions written by Mommy Hungry) -=-=-=-=-=-

Blueberry Crisp

5 cups blueberries

In a bowl, combine blueberries with 4 T. of sugar and 3 T. all-purpose flour.

Place in a 2-quart square baking dish prepared with non-stick cooking spray (or place in a 9 X 13 pan and double the topping recipe).

For the topping, combine 2-4 T. granulated sugar

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup butter - Cut butter into the mixture until it resembles course crumbs.

Stir in 1/4 cup nuts or coconut (I used coconut.)

Sprinkle topping over fruit filling.

Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes. If desired, serve warm with vanilla ice cream

Miss J and Mr. D

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DS's Favorite Punch, a.k.a. How He Ate 2 Pints of Blueberries
1 bottle sparkling cider
1 container lemon sorbet
1 can of pineapple rings
1 pint of blueberries

Combine. Yum.

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Blueberry Freezer Jam
4 cups crushed blueberries
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1.59-ounce package of Ball Freezer Jam Fruit Pectin

Stir sugar and contents of package in a bowl until well blended.

Stir in 4 cups of crushed fruit. Stir 3 minutes longer.

Ladle jam into clean jars to fill line. Twist on lids. Let stand until thickened, about 30 minutes.

Ball pectin package

TO TRY:

Blueberry Biscuit Cobbler

4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries, thawed

3/4 cup sugar, divided

3 tablespoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

3 tablespoons cold butter

3/4 cup buttermilk

In a large bowl, combine the blueberries, 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch,

lemon juice, cinnamon and nutmeg. Transfer to a 2-qt. baking dish

coated with cooking spray. In a small bowl, combine the flour, lemon peel, baking powder, salt, baking soda and remaining sugar; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in buttermilk just until moistened. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto blueberry mixture. Bake, uncovered, at 375° for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve warm. Yield: 8 servings.

Taste of Home

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Blueberry Sauce

In a sauce pan, combine:
2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
1/3 cups flour
1/2 cup honey or corn syrup
enough orange juice to cover the berries
1 tablespoon grated orange rind
Bring berries to a boil and cook for 3 minutes. In a bowl mix 2 tablespoons cornstarch and 1/2 cup cold water until smooth. Stir mixture into hot berries and cook until thickened.

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Blueberry Muffins

2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg, well beaten 1 cup milk
1/3 cup cooking oil
1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
1 tablespoon sugar
-Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and 1/4 cup sugar. Combine egg, milk, and shortening and add all at once to flour mixture. Stir until dry ingredients are moist but still lumpy. Fold in blueberries.
-Fill greased muffin pans 2/3 full. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake in 400 F over about 25 minutes.
Yield: 1 dozen muffins.

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Blueberry Lemonade
1 quart blueberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup fresh/frozen concentrate lemon juice
1 quart water

In a food processor, combine berries, sugar, and lemon juice. Puree until smooth. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve into a pitcher and stir in the water.
Place ice cubes in a clear glass and top with blueberry lemonade.

Adventures in Cooking Our CSA Share: Fruit!

This weeks box will be very popular because of the three fruits--more wonderful blueberries, plus apricots and plums.  They'll also like the corn, cabbage, and cauliflower.  And Bud will definitely like the tuna!!  He'll love making his own sushi or eating it seared.  

I might have to make a blueberry cobbler or some jam (do you have a favorite blueberry recipe?), as Bud can't eat them in yogurt parfaits fast enough.

• Blueberries (keep in fridge)
• Apricots (keep in fridge)
• Plums (keep in fridge)
• Cherry Tomatoes (keep on counter, NEVER IN FRIDGE)
• Sweet Corn (keep in fridge, sweetest if eaten in 4 days or less)
• Boston lettuce (wrap in damp paper towel and keep in crisper)
• Mexican Mint Marigold (wrap in damp paper towel and keep in crisper)
• Green Cabbage (keep in fridge, will last for 1 month or more)
• Romanesco Cauliflower (keep in fridge)
• Albacore Tuna Loin, which can be cooked or eaten raw as Sushi, it is pretty incredible for Sushi, better known as Hamachi.
• Bogart cheese

Summer Fun: My Pool Time

I started aqua therapy a couple of weeks ago in an effort to improve my comfort level in the pool and strengthen my core.  And it's kicking my butt.  Even just hanging from the pool noodles is a work out.  Who would have thought lifting my arms up and down could make my shoulders hurt for hours?  All of which tells me how much I need this.  And the kids enjoy swimming around while I exercise.

I work out with an interesting bunch, all post-surgery--knees and backs.  It makes me feel a).  fortunate that I've never needed surgery and b). grateful that I don't hurt as much as they do.  And it also shows me what a small world Connecticut can be:  one of my pool partners is a lesbian who is getting married in August (out of 5 people, the 2 women are both lesbians??) and my other pool partner, I discovered this morning, is the older brother of the wife (another lesbian!) of my dear first PT--he even stood up at their wedding!    So you can just imagine the conversations!  Wives, weddings, and of course back pain.

We also like to watch the aqua zumba class down the lane from us.  We enjoy the music and the moves and also laugh about how the men in the zumba group hang back like they're not really part of it.  Of course, we can laugh, but we also know that we aren't even nearly capable of zumba.  We talk about joining the class when we "graduate" from therapy.

It's not a bad way to spend two mornings a week or to exercise.  And I like it much better than the treadmill.

Summer Fun: Summer Days and Nights

We've had a busy ten days or so.  Last week was Bud's week at day camp, his third year at this particular place.  It's a traditional outdoor camp with swimming, games, crafts, games, and activities.  This year, he loved the zip line!   It was a rainy week for camp, though, with Thursday being the first day it didn't shower on them.

Meanwhile, Sis was home with me.  Unlike Bud, she had some friends over a few different times, even going to the movies with one.  And then there was her first sleepover!  She had a friend over on Friday.  And it was great.  I realized that my job as the mom was to feed them, provide entertainment, and step back.  Dinner took a little longer than I expected because Sis wanted to cook out on our campfire and the coals weren't cooperating.  But the friend, who has some of the best manners I've ever seen on a child, was really flexible and liked dinner, which was pocket stew and s'mores.  They also caught fireflies and played on the swingset until the mosquitoes got bad.  Then they watched the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special, which Sis's friend hadn't seen, though she is also a huge DW fan.

The only downside is that Bud's own overnight--his first--at his kung fu academy was canceled.  I was mad at the coach because Bud was disappointed.  The coach is probably also canceling kung fu camp, which is also disappointing for Bud.  Good thing Bud doesn't mind too much and that he really likes kung fu.

Last week was also a festival we always go to, this year themed as kind of a country hoedown.  There were even real horses and cowboys and a mechanical bull!  Sis loved the horses and the petting zoo with a calf, a goat, ducks, chickens, sheep, and even a llama.  And Bud line danced the whole night.  "Mom, I will always remember tonight as the night I discovered line dancing."  You should have seen him boot, scoot, and boogie!  I got it all on video, at his request--so he can practice!!

Then over the weekend, we went down to the city to see my in-laws before they head to Thailand.  The kids' great-grandfather, Lao Gong, who is 94+, has metastasized lung cancer.  Ma and Gong are going to stay as long as they can, so this was probably our only shot at the beach for the summer.  And they loved it! They played in the sand and in the waves.  There was a rip tide so they could only wade in, not using the boards Ma and Gong got them.  We also had two wonderful meals and treats from the ice cream truck, not getting home until after 10 p.m.

And now it's another week of camp, this time both of them together.  So I'm home alone, my own "camp" this summer.  In fact, I am taking a camp, a Summer Soul Camp, with Heather Bruggerman of Beauty that Moves.  Just a way to rest and rejuvenate before the rest of the summer.

My Signing Time

I finished my first series of ASL classes; in fact, because I knew so many words already, we finished the whole book, Learning American Sign Language.   I'm taking a second series, this time using the phrase book, American Sign Language Phrase Book.  I love it!  And I'm getting much better.  The kids are picking up a few things; Mama knows a few more.  It comes in handy in public or across rooms or, as we've found, at the ice skating rink where the kids can't hear us through the plexiglass.

When they were little, we used "eat" and "more" and the kids knew all the animals and colors.  Now, we tend to use more (grown up) words, so these the ones I'm working on with the kids (you can look up a lot of these at ASLU, which my teacher recommended):

• hungry, eat, dinner, breakfast, lunch
• restroom
• yes, no, maybe
• help
• later, now
• change
• take, give
• ready
• hurry
• keep
• careful
• stupid
• weird
• funny, fun
• easy
• want
• need, should
• again
• like, don't like
• forget, remember
• more
• make
• fine
• finished
• stop
• always, never
• same, too, different
• understand
• think, know
• talk, say
• happy, sad, mad/grumpy
• hot, cold
• tired
• please
• sorry
• go, come
• start, begin
• cancel
• interested
• who, what, when, where, why, how, how much
• what happened?
• sick, pain
• better
• good, bad
• wrong
• love
• impossible
• bring
• watch, look, see
• worry
• embarrass
• wonderful
• sure, real
• miss
• all, nothing
• here

I'm better at signing than at understanding signs, so my teacher recommended that I watch "Switched at Birth," the ABC family show about a two teenage girls, one who is deaf, who discover they were, you guessed it, switched.  It's actually pretty good--and I love that Marlee Matlin is in it, too.  

So, while the kids are at camp this week, I'm cramming.  And binging on the show.

Summer Fun: Beach Day

My List

Our schedule is always a bit wonky during the summer, resulting in irregular posting here at Mommy, Hungry!  But a list to tide you over until next week, when both kids are in day camp, my one week "off" this summer:

• Bud's camp experience--zip lines, archery, rock walls, oh my!
• Sis's first sleepover
• A country fair 
• Aunt Sis's 80th birthday
• Thoughts on a local moms' FB page--classism, racism, and coyotes
• adolescence
• ASL session one done
• Sunsets
• Aqua therapy and my new lesbian acquaintance 
• my recipe for Spanish-inspired chicken soup, Bud's new favorite
• Karate Kid--patience, practice, and persistence--plus catching flies with chopsticks
• new license plate game

I think that's about it.  For now.

Good Night

The colors change so quickly....Sis and I took these up the street then followed lightning bugs all the way home.  Downside she got 6 mosquito bites in under 10 minutes and we weren't even on the grass.

Brownies Years in Review

I was trying to think what we had done as Brownies this year, and I looked back and realized I didn't record last year, either.  So, here goes--a review of this year and last.  I must be forgetting some for 2012 or we just had a quieter year . . . . I'm not quite ready to plan next year, though I know there will be archery!

2013-14
Badges:

• Kitchen Scientist
• First Aid
• Cookie business--Give Back
• Girl Scout Way
• World Thinking Day
• Bridging to Juniors 

Field Trips:

• Aquarium overnight
• Corn Maze
• Frozen movie party
• Frozen singalong
• Ice Skating

Service:

• Birthday-in-a-bag
• Cookies-in-a-bag
• Pet food collection
• Singing at assisted living facility
• Fleece blankets for hospice patients
• Gifts of Caring cookie booth for soldiers

2012-13

Badges:

• Brownie Quest (4 badges total)
• Cookie business--Know My Customers
• Fair Play

Field Trips:

• horseback riding
• local dinner theater
• Disney on Ice
• Moms' day tea party
• swim party
• backyard night out

Service:

• Create and maintain colonial-inspired garden for historic house
• sing at assisted living facility
• books for Read to Grow
• scarves for community center coat closet

Connecticut This Week

The view out my windshield at camp pick up:

Surprise!

I guess we don't have to debate what kind of a plant/weed it is anymore.

Summer Fun: Birthday Weekend

You know we like to do birthdays up big around here.  This year's was no exception.

Friday:  Celebrations started very early, with kiddos piling into our room at 6 a.m. to open presents.  We had said it was okay because we had to squeeze it in before Sis headed off to camp.  And so they were thrilled with all their Minecraft, Lego, arts and crafts, and Doctor Who presents.  They also got early calls from both sets of grandparents.

Eyeing a friend's watch for 8:12, on the bus, Sis told her friends she just turned nine.  At home, Bud had me watching the clock so I could wish him a happy birthday right at 8:13.

While Sis was at camp winning a first-place ribbon in horseback riding, Bud had a day full of doing whatever he wanted, which mainly included building his new Minecraft Legos, playing Minecraft on the computer, watching "Phineas and Ferb", staying in his pajamas, and eating in the living room in front of tv.  I offered him lunch out, but he preferred to stay home for leftovers so he didn't have to get dressed.  He spoke to both Lambeth, who kindly called from England with Mrs. Lambeth, and to Aunt Banana, who is home with ten-day old Cousin Banana (still working on the nickname).

Mama brought home Carvel Fudgy the Whale cake and special apple pie as their birthday treats, as per request, which we ate hurriedly between Sis getting home from camp and Bud heading out to kung fu (lucky boy also got a little sushi as a post-kung fu snack!)  It was just that kind of busy birthday.  They squeezed in a little more playtime before a late bedime.

Saturday:  Our usual Saturday activities were in full swing--ice skating, an extra historic house family workshop, and even haircuts, plus a special graduation party for the young man up the street.  In between, we got pizza from the new brick oven place in town--really very good--and a movie, Jurassic Park.  We stayed out until almost 10 p.m. at the graduation party, having started at 4!  Sis especially liked swimming in the pool, while Bud enjoyed ping pong.  And of course, all of the older kids hanging around.  I talked with a lot of our neighbors.  It was delightful--beautiful weather and no mosquitoes (only a few pesky June bugs!)

Sunday:  Today we celebrated birthday with Ma and Gong, who drove up for the day.  They took the kids to lunch at their favorite Chinese place and then went on a shopping spree--at the bookstore!  Afterwards, we watched the World Cup final and, while I was rooting for Messi and Argentina, we weren't too disappointed by the final score (besides, it was such a boring game second half that we had lost some interest.)  It was fun to watch with Gong, who having grown up in Thailand has played a lot of soccer and knows all the rules, strategies, etc.  He was even the goalie!  (Interesting man, Gong--he's played soccer, been in the army, served as a monk, and became an accountant!)  Ma and Gong then headed back to the city while we settled in to watch the rest of Jurassic Park, or as Bud called it, Cretaceous Park.

We're heading to bed now, the end of a great weekend.  Happy birthday, kiddos!

Kidbits

After a week of soccer camp, her first full exposure to the sport, Sis has decided she never wants to play soccer!  So, I'll never be a real soccer mom.

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Though they're pretty individual, there are still days when the kiddos act like the twins they are.  Quite independently, they put on the same shirt this morning--Angry Birds--hers in pink, his in blue.  Of course, this time, she playacted being annoyed and threatened to go change!  I told her I'd still know it happened.  She didn't change.


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Bud:  "Mom, let's finish watching Cretaceous Park."

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Summer Fun: Horsin' Around

Sis finished day camp this week in grand style:  she won first place in her camp's horseback-riding obstacle course, with a time of 3:25.  And it was bareback!  At first, I wondered if the giant green ribbon she wore home was just one of many (you know how we are with her generation, everyone gets a ribbon), but, no:  there were two ribbons, one for the older girls and one for the younger.  And Sis won among the younger girls.  Wow!  Who knew she had a real aptitude for horses?  She certainly has horse love now and is asking for horseriding lessons.  Luckily, Connecticut is full of stables so that's do-able.  

My own riding experience is limited to one two-minute sitting on the back of my cousin's horse at some family event.  I was the third or fourth kid on the back of the horse, not even on a saddle, but behind the saddle on the rump and it was too bumpy and high up for me and I begged to get down.  That's it.  My horse-riding career!  But I do have horsey-connections, as aforementioned cousins had horses and rode them in rodeos, doing barrel-racing and clover-leaf and roping calves, etc. etc etc.  We even went a few times to watch them compete.  Fascinating, especially to this city girl.  That's not the kind of horseback riding we have up here in CT, which is English, I'm told, more like the equestrian events you see at the Olympics, or steeplechase, I think they call it. Of course, what Sis took from this story is that people can have their own horses, even in their own backyards!  Not in our part of Connecticut, I'm afraid.

Sis definitely has horses on her mind.  My cousins suggested some books for our new horse-lover, all these titles, beyond Black Beauty and My Friend Flicka, that I'd never heard of, including Misty of Chincoteague, Sea Star, Stormy, King of the Wind, Black Gold, The Black Stallion, Peter Lundy and the Medicine Hat Stallion, Born to Trot, Ruffian, White Stallion of lipizza,and Horse Whisperer, some of which have films, too.  Sis also brought home a small stuffed horse from the camp trading post and pulled out the horse figurines from the little plastic animals she played with years and years ago.    And her American Girl doll has a horse already, too, from last year's birthday.  I guess we've been getting ready for this horse-love for awhile.  Sis even said she'd waited forever to be old enough to attend horse camp.

And she's already planning going again next year.  But at least she didn't ask for a pony for her birthday.  This year.

Summer Fun: Minecraft-athon

With a new update for the so-called pocket version of Minecraft, the creative-constructive Lego-like computer game, which the kids have eagerly anticipated for weeks, we really did nothing but Minecraft today.  Mama had Bud set up, with the update downloaded, by 6:30 a.m. (he had been so excited that he woke up at 5 and read!  He didn't even know we were going to give him the update in the morning!)   He raved and exclaimed about all the new things:  roses!  lilacs!  peonies!  Aren't they beautiful?  Also granite. And emeralds.  He spent half the day building an "infinite world"--with treehouses and a rainbow, called Happy Land.

Of course, we did do a few other things, like eat meals.  And swimming, both my aqua therapy and his lesson.  He also spent a couple of hours with a neighbor boy (really, man, the college-bound older brother of our younger babysitter) playing ping pong and bean bag toss (more on this male-bonding experiment later.)   So really, from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., he wasn't on the computer . . . but otherwise, Minecraft.
 
Sis, who spent a wonderful overnight at camp even sleeping in a pup tent (or really, not sleeping) and having "cotton candy slushies", came home with several horse trinkets (I think she's got horse-fever!  It's about the right age, right?) from the trading post in hand . . . and went right to Minecraft.  She also was very excited about the flowers.  And the "spawn villagers" and "spawn wolf" and "spawn chicken" and even some kind of "spawn zombie."  She only stopped to help make the gravy of her favorite meal, Gommie's baked chicken with rice and gravy, as well as green beans from our CSA (we thought of you, Pop!  No tomatoes really yet.)

I imagine they'll both dream in 8-bit blocks tonight and arise early in the morning for presents (some of which are even Minecraft themed.)

Summer Fun: Camping Tonight*

(*Okay, who among you thought of "Tenting Tonight," the old Civil War song?  It's one of Mama's favorites.  I'm guessing maybe only Pop.)

Sis is away for the next 36 hours and I have to keep reminding myself not to pick her up from camp in an hour.  For the first time, now that she is going into fourth grade, she can elect to stay for the weekly overnight at her day camp.  And she did.  It sook a little discussion--she was nervous about not having Shirt until we reminded her she went to England for two weeks without him, and then she didn't want to eat the pasta dinner until I called to make arrangements to send along an extra sandwich for dinner.  

And so now she's off.  We got extra batteries for a flashlight, rolled up her sleeping bag in a small bundle she'll never be able to duplicate, sent along the (almost always unnecessary) sweatshirt, and packed little love notes in her bag.  We even had the purple plastic soap holder that I think I used to take to camp as a counselor in high school.  (Ah, memories of cold showers under the big, starry Texas sky!)  

Truly, I kinda wish she could've backed me along in the bag, too.  As I've said numerous times, camp was one of the golden memories of my childhood--I went to day camp by bus that left from the local Luby's parking lot as a little kid and then later overnight camp at Camp Robinwood, Camp Agnes Arnold (twice), and Camp Casa Mare, plus a weekend at Peach Creek with my troop in unusually freezing February weather (it got down to 27F and we all thought we were going to die!), and then counseled at Camp Mira Sol (three or four summers), the Boy Scout Camp Strake (oh, the chiggers!), and then at a day camp near Kukyendahl, which name I forget (all the camps I counseled at were for children with special needs.)  

Mama, however, didn't go to overnight camp, except one memorable pre-college experience after she graduated from high school.  And she found sending Sis off this morning (and Bud next week for an overnight at kung fu) really tough.  But I"m so proud of Mama for not breathing a word of her worries and not only letting but encouraging Sis to go.  I'm not sure I would easily be able to do the same thing.  

So I'm proud of both my girls tonight and hope it goes quickly for one and wonderfully for the other.

UPDATE:  There are thunderstorms in the area tonight but a call to camp reassured us that the girls were having fun in safety, with a campfire under a pavilion!  There are also offices to sleep in if the tents aren't feasible.

Summer Fun: Wet Behind the Ears

I started aqua therapy today in an attempt to become more comfortable in the water.  Not comfortable as in "able to swim" but actually physically comfortable.  I swam before I walked, apparently, even being pictured, I think, in the local YMCA brochure in the baby class.  I loved to swim at the neighborhood pool and was even on the swim team for awhile (during which I collected one of each color of ribbon--Mom and Dad tell how excited I was to get a fourth place, completing my set!  I never was sports competitive.)  But swimming has been painful--I feel like all of my joints come undone and just float around, due to the lack of muscle strength but more to the hyperflexibility.  And then my joints don't always go back right.  Now, this is more of my experience of swimming than an actual diagnosis, of course; I just know it is uncomfortable.

So the goal is to learn some movements in the pool to minimize the discomfort and strengthen my muscles so that I can actually swim again.  Today, this involved walking forward and backwards and merely hanging from a floating noodle, which was much harder than it sounds for me.  At this rate, it will be MONTHS before I'm actually swimming again.  That's okay.  I'm happy even to be working on it.

Bud swam while I had my appointment . . . and then swam again at his lesson not long after.  His swim teacher said he has a great freestyle stroke for a nine-year-old and that she expects he'd be good on a swim team by high school.  She even told him he should try to be a life guard.  He didn't really pay much attention to her, enjoying trying to do the splits on the bottom of the pool!  It was nice to hear (and a relief) that both Bud and Sis (who is at day camp this week) have strong muscles.  Maybe they'll be spared aqua therapy in thirty years.

Adventures in Cooking Our CSA Share: New Stuff

No more strawberries, thankfully. But we got some wonderful blueberries, which will probably be all gone in less than a day (Bud has already eaten half a pint.)   And green beans!!!  I've been craving some green beans with onions and red potatoes.  Yum!  The rest--lettuce, cucumbers, squash, beets are all good.  It seemed like a smaller box this week, which is ok.

• Blueberries (keep in fridge)
• Green Haricot Vert Beans, Yellow Wax Beans and/or Purple String Beans (keep in fridge)
• Arugula (wrap in damp paper towel and keep in crisper)
• Romaine Lettuce (wrap in damp paper towel and keep in crisper)
• Salt and Pepper/Green Cukes (KEEP ON COUNTER)
• Zephyr Squash (KEEP ON COUNTER)
• Bunched Sweet Onions (remove tops and keep in fridge)
• Bunched Red Beets (remove tops and keep in fridge)
• Wild Alaskan Salmon and/or Albacore Tunaa
• Our Seasonal Cheese is Kinkead

Summer Fun: Big Weekend

Marked lots of things off our list this weekend:

1. Celebrate July 4th--all weekend
2. Go to cultural festival--Scottish games
3. Make ice cream--today, from the NYTimes, a basic vanilla--soo good!!  Reminded me of Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla, my gold standard (sadly not available up here).  I also made the chocolate ganache
4. Have a barbecue--okay, campfire, but I'm counting it
5. See fireworks--from the car, driving through town
6. Have a dance party--Bud even danced the Sailor's Hornpipe
7. Make a favorite meal--well, not a meal, but Bud and Mama made Ma's Thai cucumber salad
8. Do a 1000 piece puzzle--does a 6,000 piece Nano-Neuschwanstein count?  They're not quite finished.
9. Visit with Miss S--who was so happy to see me; her memory is more noticeably diminished and she covers well, but we still had a great visit.

Not on our list but also accomplished:

• Water fight--twins against me, with hoses.  Their battle cry, "Minecraft!"  I surrendered
• Have a storybook night--we read several of our favorite storybooks from a long time ago

Whew.  Holidays are hard work.

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Vanilla Ice Cream a la NYTimes

• 2cups heavy cream
• 1cup whole milk
• ⅔cup sugar
• ⅛teaspoon fine sea salt
• 6large egg yolks
• 1 1/2-2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. In a small pot, simmer cream, milk, sugar and salt until sugar completely dissolves, about 5 minutes. Remove pot from heat. In a separate bowl, whisk yolks. Whisking constantly, slowly whisk about a third of the hot cream into the yolks, then whisk the yolk mixture back into the pot with the cream. Return pot to medium-low heat and gently cook until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon (about 170 degrees on an instant-read thermometer).  Add vanilla extract.

2. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Cool mixture to room temperature. Cover and chill at least 4 hours or overnight.

3. Churn in an ice cream machine according to manufacturer’s instructions. Serve directly from the machine for soft serve, or store in freezer until needed.

Yield: About 1 1/2 pints

NYTimes (see link for alternate flavors)

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Chocolate Ganache

• 14 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, broken into pieces
• 3 tablespoons espresso, strong coffee or water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup sugar (confectioners’, granulated or light brown)
• 3/4 cup heavy cream, preferably not ultrapasteurized
• 1 pinch coarse salt, more to taste

1.

In a heavy saucepan, combine all ingredients and melt together over very low heat, stirring. (Alternatively, combine in a bowl and microwave at low heat for 2 minutes. Stir. Continue cooking in 30-second blasts, stirring in-between.)

2.

Just before all the chocolate is melted, remove from heat and stir until chocolate melts and mixture comes together. It may appear curdled, but keep stirring or whisk vigorously; it will smooth out. If too thick to pour, whisk in hot water a tablespoon at a time. Taste for salt and adjust the seasoning.

YIELD

About 1 1/2 cups

NYTimes (see link for alternate uses, like truffles)

Summer Fun: More S'mores!

Tonight we had our own backyard campfire cookout, practicing all my Girl Scout skills.  In our new fire pit (alas the old one was destroyed in the garage accident), we set up and started the perfect A-frame fire, after discussing fire safety, the three requirements of a fire (fuel, oxygen, and a spark), the three kinds of firewood (tinder, kindling, and fuel), and setting up a water bucket with a fire stick soaking.  Then, with no paper, no firestarter, just a few extra matches because of the wind (yes, even in the fire pit), I got it lit.  Let the fun begin!

Sis sorted the firewood

The beginning of our campfire

The meal was a bit cattywampus, starting with s'mores.  Then we made our pocket stew dinners--with hamburger patty, onion, mushrooms, peppers, carrots, potatoes, seasoned with Maggi and garlic powder--in foil pouches.  While those cooked for about 30-40 minutes in the coals, we roasted doughboys (crescent roll dough) on sticks, dipping the finished product in sugar.  Then we got to eat the foil packets--yum!  There was even a whole extra packet of vegetables that we all shared; campfires make you hungry!  We had more s'mores and doughboys for dessert, plus banana boats.

The kids did wonderfully well helping with the fire and the cooking.  Sis especially seemed to like to gather wood, feed the fire, and stir things with the soaking fire stick.  Both enjoyed collecting fuel.  Bud liked to pretend he was a witch summoning dark powers; mostly he managed to summon the smoke in his direction (so much for "smoke follows beauty!?!)  He said he wished we could have lit the fire under the giant fire pit and used it like a bubbly cauldron.  We sang a couple of songs, as campfires almost require it, but had done most of our singing and storytelling at our hurricane party two nights before (we turned off the lights, sat around some candles, watched the lightning, sang songs, told stories--NOT ghost stories; I told the tale of the rescue dog Balto--and ate from our stash of snacks, really glad it wasn't truly a hurricane.)

We stayed outside until late, watching the embers die down, and then separated them and sprinkled them with water until they were cool to the touch.  Even the firepit was cool by the time we were done.  And then, with no more smoke, the bugs came out--and our evening came to a close.

Summer Fun: Ceud Mile Fàilte!

We crossed off "go to a cultural festival" from our list today as we attended the local Scottish Games, for the third time (see 2009 and 2012.) And this was the best weather yet!!  Not sweltering and sauna like, but dry and breezy, which was actually the determining factor in our getting up to go this morning.   All the vendors and participants commented on the great weather.

Like years past, one of the highlights was the food:  fish and chips, Scotch eggs, Haggis puff, steak and ale pie, shortbread, and frozen lemonade.  Alas, no delicious Empire biscuits, but there were some really good Welsh teacakes, if you don't mind the cultural cross-over.

Similarly, we enjoyed hearing all the bagpipes and watching some of the dance competitions, this year seeing the Sailor's Hornpipe dance, which is performed in sailor suits and includes movements mimicking rope pulling, swaying on deck, and other sailorly things (apparently, some places say only sailors can perform it!  And it dates back to the 16the century; even Captain Cook encouraged the dancing of it for exercise.)

We missed the caber toss, but I did take a Gaelic lesson!  From a man who majored it in at a Scottish university.  Talk about a challenging language.  Verbs are in the beginning of sentences, nouns have gender, there is no simple "yes" or "no", pronunciations are hard or soft based on dipthongs and the addition of an "h" changes everything, and prepositions conjugate!  I won't repeat the lesson here, as I barely followed it (spoken languages aren't my forte.)  But I did learn that "sláinte," or "cheers" is pronounced slanch-e.  It was fun, but I don't think I'll be pursuing it.

Sis visited all the clan tents, earning a little treat, while Bud most enjoyed buying pickled onions and Jelly Babies from the vendors.  I picked up Maw Broon's Afternoon Tea Book, which seems to have interesting commentary and a style that resembles a scrapbook.  I think Maw Broon is a cartoon character (ah yes, since 1936, apparently.)

On the grounds of an old estate, which partly reminded of us of our hotel in Winchester (but smaller)

I love a pipe band.

Trying hads at a harp

In the magic tree

We finished the day listening to Mac'Talla Mor while Sis climbed around inside the wonderful magical old tree with numerous trunk offshoots undulating around the ground, all enclosed by the voluminous leafy branches.  You could almost believe you'd be transported to Brigadoon through there!

Summer Fun: Happy 4th!

What a day!

It started, as many days have this week, with a short "Phineas and Ferb" marathon, in our big bed.  And then a big breakfast of buckwheat pancakes with blackberry syrup.  I did a lot of cooking midday--wild rice salad, ramen salad, heritage bean salad--and then Sis and I made my Bammie's chocolate chip cookies.  Fourth-generation chocolate-chip cookie bakers!!   We also watched a lot of World Cup--poor Neymar with his fractured vertebrae, poor James Rodriguez who tried his very best for Colombia--as well as the rain that fell off and on all afternoon because of Hurricane Arthur; there was even a rainbow!  Then we had a big steak dinner, the beef straight from our CSA, with all my sides plus roasted potatoes, Sis's new favorite.  

And we talked about the holiday, what it specifically celebrates, and what it means to be an American (Gommie, this is what you missed out on when I said we don't get that excited about the fourth.)  As you have no doubt figured, I'm not a patriotic person, nor specifically proud to be an American (see this interesting NYTimes article on patriotism in the generations.)   The American flag and other such symbols hold little power over me.  In fact, despite promising trends with same-sex marriage rights, I'm pretty discouraged about our country right now especially this week about the Supreme Court and Hobby Lobby and the reverberations of religion, women's rights, money, and power.   I think this is because I am pretty devoted to democracy, equality, and freedom, which seem to have been trampled a lot recently.  While these are hallmarks of the American system in theory, they are also found now in many first world or Western nations.  Having just been to England (plus other countries Mama and I have been to), can we really say that we're superior to them?  Reminds me of "This is My Song" sung to the Finlandia tune:

This is my song, O God of all the nations, a song of peace for lands afar and mine. This is my home, the country where my heart is; here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine; but other hearts in other lands are beating with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.

My country's skies are bluer than the ocean, and sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine; but other lands have sunlight too, and clover, and skies are everywhere as blue as mine. O hear my song, thou God of all the nations, a song of peace for their land and for mine.

So, no, I don't believe in American exceptionalism.  But I do appreciate that our society is more stable and more free than much of the world; that in so many ways, our values are in the right place.  And we talked about that with the kids:.  we can change leading parties without the coups of Thailand and Egypt; we can hold different religious beliefs without the kidnappings and murders of Israeli and Palestinian teenagers; we can disagree with our government without fear of the crackdowns of Syria or Ukraine; we, as women, can vote and drive and go to school unlike women in Saudi Arabia and Afghanistan and Nigeria.  (Yes, I know, this is an oversimplification.)  There is much good here.  But I don't want us to be blinded by patriotic superiority and paternalism.  So we celebrate mildly and talk about it all.

We did enjoy fireworks tonight, quite unplanned, though.  At bedtime, the boom of explosives and sizzle of fireworks began exploding outside.  We could just faintly see the colors up the hill.  And so we opted to hop in the car and drive around to see the fireworks in people's yards, much like looking at Christmas lights.  And what a show!  At one point, we parked on a street where two houses across from each other were dueling--each was sending off professional-grade fireworks and we were underneath them looking through the moon roof of Mama's car, marveling at the display, which lasted 20+minutes.  Loud but beautiful

Upon arriving home, we saw more (but smaller, legal) fireworks down the street and went to join the neighbors, who were congregating in the front yard.  There, Sis and Bud lit sparklers and ran around with the other children, while I caught up with all of the adults.  A diverse group, we were: Asians, Caucasians, lesbians, straight people, married, divorced, dating, single moms, kids with autism, adults in wheelchairs, adults with degenerative disease, teachers, military men, corporate staffers, moms, social workers, all of us hanging out in the smoke of sparklers, chatting and catching up.

Now, that kind of America I can definitely celebrate.

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Roasted Potatoes

red potatoes, washed and cubed

olive oil

salt

Toss red potatoes in olive oil; sprinkle with salt.  Roast at 400F for 30 minutes or so, flipping them halfway.  (I've also baked them 350F for almost an hour, alongside chicken drumsticks.)

Mommy Hungry

Adventures in Cooking Our CSA Share: More Strawberries

I'm up to my eyeballs in strawberries.  I've made jam and strawberry rhubarb crisp and frozen quarts and quarts for later, still with more fresh in the fridge.  And now more are in our CSA box!  Not a bad problem to have, though.  So tonight I made strawberry ice cream sodas, combining the Redwall Cordial recipe for strawberry soda with ice cream instead of cream and even spooning some extra jam into the glass.  Delicious!!!

Otherwise, Bud has requested pickled cucumbers a la Ma.  The rest will probably be served straight or simply sauteed.

We've got:

• Strawberries (2 Quarts) Keep in Fridge- Best if eaten within 5 Days
• Cucumbers-  Small Persian Skinless Cukes, Large Slicing Cuke (KEEP ON COUNTER)
• Purple and White Cauliflower- Keep in Fridge
• Spigarello- Cooking Green, related to Broccoli- Wrap in damp paper towel and keep in crisper
• Dandelion Greens- Wrap in damp paper towel and keep in crisper
• Siberian Kale- Wrap in damp paper towel and keep in crisper
• Sugar Snap Peas- Keep in Fridge, sweetest if eaten in 3-5 days
• Red and Green Lettuce- Wrap in damp paper towel and keep in crisper
• Lamb Chops and Ground Lamb.
• Doe Re Mi Goat Cheese

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Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 3 cups sliced fresh rhubarb or frozen rhubarb, thawed**
• 2 cups sliced peeled apples or sliced strawberries**
• 1 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned oats
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Vanilla ice cream, optional

• In a large bowl, combine sugar and cornstarch. Add rhubarb and apples or strawberries; toss to coat. Spoon into an 8-in. square baking dish.
• 
  
• In a small bowl, combine the oats, brown sugar, butter, flour and cinnamon until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle over fruit. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until bubbly and fruit is tender. Serve warm with ice cream if desired. Yield: 8 servings.

**My note:  I didn't have enough strawberries or rhubarb and so used my leftover strawberry-rhubarb compote.  Delicious.  Also, I would double the oats and cut the butter.  But the kids liked it!

from Taste of Home

Summer Fun: Historical Picnic

It was a beautiful day for a picnic, but I was certainly glad not to have been the one tending the joint over the outdoor fire at the historical society's annual luncheon.  A colonial-garbed cook had been up for hours, turning the spit with the giant ham, as well as making traditional New England baked beans, roasted corn on the cob, strawberry-rhubarb pie baked in a Dutch oven, and "haymaker's switchel."

While everything was delicious--particularly the smoke-infused corn and the freshly picked rhubarb in the pie (one of his pie plates shattered in the Dutch oven.  Woe, the loss of a whole pie!)--it was the switchel which occasioned the most discussion . . . because it tasted like thick prune juice!  Apparently used as a thirst-quencher during haying season, the drink contains molasses, ginger, brown sugar, and vinegar.  That last ingredient isn't particularly unusual in eighteenth-century drinks; it's one of the main ingredients in shrub, too.  It provides the acid when citrus wasn't always easily available.  I think I would've liked it more had it been diluted in carbonated water or just plain water.

But I also loved the syllabub, of which there were two kinds:  one was the traditional layered drink of frothy cream and spirits, the other more like a boozy whipped cream with no separate layers.  Both were tasty.  In fact, the second reminded me of my paternal grandmother's Charlotte Russe, which is a cooked custard with alcohol, probably sharing roots with the syllabub.

It certainly made for a relaxing afternoon to spend some time with friends, with a great meal that I didn't cook or clean up after, and having a midday cordial!

A wonderful historically-inspired spread

See the glasses of syllabub and all the pies?

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Haymaker's Switchel

1/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon ginger
1/8 cup molasses
1/8 cup vinegar
2 cups water

Mix together and serve.

Adapted from Mrs. L.G. Abell, The Skillful Housewife's Book  (1846)

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Syllabub (the separating kind)

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup white wine
1/4 cup dry sherry
juice of two lemons
1 1/2 cups whipping cream

Beat until cream is stiff.  Spoon into glasses.  Refrigerate.  Let settle about 24 hours.  Mixture should separate with cream on top and alcohol on bottom.

NB:  Substitute Port Wine (3/4 cup) for white wine and dry sherry.  Substitute nutmeg for ginger.

historical society docent

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Syllabub (the thick one)

2 cups of whipped cream ½ cup of white sugar 1/8 cup of white wine 1/8 cup of freshly-squeezed lemon juice zest of lemon

Optional toppings: grated nutmeg sprig of mint lemon slice

Whip cream until thick in a chilled bowl. When the cream begins to thicken, add the sugar, white wine, lemon juice and zest of lemon. Continue to whip until thick.

Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Spoon the mixture into footed parfait glasses and garnish with a sprig

of mint, a slice of lemon and a sprinkle of grated nutmeg.

On the Birth of My New Nephew

Dear Aunt Banana,

You've had your second baby!!  Congratulations and best wishes!  Welcome to the world, second Cousin Hungry!  We are so excited and happy that you are here.  And we'll get you a better nickname soon.  (And first Cousin Hungry, welcome to the older-sisters club.  We'll talk about that later.)

As for having a second child, Aunt Banana, I send love and luck.  I have no real advice on having a second child, mainly because my second child came one minute after my first.  Besides, long ago, I made the decision not to give unsolicited advice to moms.  So this isn't advice.  Only observation and reassurance, because I have watched most of my friends have second (and some third) children, talking and listening to them about it.   (Which means this is all about moms.  No dads in my immediate family; no dads in my playgroup.  Sorry, Uncle Soccer!)

Of course, by those second children, even when I was asked for advice, I'd forgotten a lot about schedules, teething, colic, potty training, etc etc etc.  Just like the moms had.  But they figured it out again, under the new circumstances of having a toddler or preschooler at home, too.  You'll remember and figure it all out again, too.

They also figured out juggling divergent schedules (naps were skipped, meals were eaten in cars, first kids went on playdates unescorted, and some events just went unattended), carrying more stuff (not two separate bags, but a more overstuffed bag, and when possible a smartphone for entertainment--how I envied them that!) and prioritizing (houses were messier, get-togethers canceled last minute, Christmas cards late, more tv was watched.)

Those moms were, by then, less worried about teething and tv anyway and more concerned about how to love two or more kids at once.  "I'm ignoring the older one, because I'm always caring for the baby" they'd say.  "I can't give the new baby all the love I gave my first, when I would just sit and look and hold." And always, "There just isn't enough time." They fretted and were frustrated and even scared that they were messing up both kids at once, that it wasn't fair or balanced, that they had to decide, to choose, sometimes.  (And this was long before refereeing fights!)  But with experience, and more sleep, the moms figured it all out.  And you will, too.  There's not just one way, or a right way, to do any of it.  Each mom figures out her way.  You did it the first time and you'll do it again; you'll be everything you need to be and more.  You'll be wonderful.  You're the mom.

And so, we'll be thinking of you in the coming days, weeks, and months.  We know it can be rocky and unsettling, but also miraculous and amazing and affirmative, and so here's wishing you and Uncle Soccer and the two Cousin Hungries lots of love.  Co-opting Keats, I'll say, "that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know."   And there's enough love to go around.

love,
Jamie