My son, talking about his late, great-granny’s funeral: “It was the best ever.”

Why’s that?

“We had donuts!”

Steve: “And up in heaven, Margie is smiling.”

We like sweets.

(Photo by Steve Rawley)

(Photo by Steve Rawley)

(Recipes!)

Man, what a good weekend. We saw Bag & Baggage’s production of “Of Mice and Men” in Hillsboro on Saturday. Went canoing on the Tualatin River Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Heard Greg Brown and Bo Ramsey play at the Aladdin Theater in Portland on Friday. Every time I go hear some live music I ask myself, Why do we never go hear live music anymore? Then I balance the checkbook and it’s zeroed out again and I think, Oh yeah. That.

We caught a Bag & Baggage show last season… Dangerous Liaisons… so good. And I’m not just saying that cuz our friend was in it. We can’t afford season tickets to the Blazers (or the Winter Hawks), the opera (or the symphony), but occasionally we can pull off buying a ticket or four. Usually it’s one or two. But the season tickets were really reasonable for Bag & Baggage, so we went for it. Saw this crazy version of Titus Andronicus that they did this summer… Kabuki Titus. One of the most inspired and craziest shows I’ve ever seen.

It kind of freaked me out.

That’s not a bad thing.

The upcoming season is going to be good, so I’m looking forward to it. There’s a new exhibit up of Greek and Roman art, at the Portland Art Museum. It’s on loan from the British museum and is supposed to be quite good. The kids get in for free, so I’m psyched to go to that one, too. I love taking them to stuff that I never really took part in as a kid (other than the occasional school field trip).

What’s new in your world, artwise or otherwise?

Have a great week!

xo

wm

(Photo by Steve Rawley)

For dinner: Cheese fondue, and Huevos Mexicanos with fresh pico de gallo made from tomatoes and peppers from the garden.

Beautiful weekend, happy family, bliss.

Have a great week, y’all, and L’Shana Tova.

– wm

Broiled Fruit Shakes

Stay with me here. I know it sounds weird, but this is a chilled drink I tried a couple of weeks ago at that crazy New Seasons Market, and it is quite good. It tastes like a Fruit Crisp milkshake.

3 tablespoons brown sugar
3 tablespoons orange juice
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
2 cups coarse-chopped fruit (nectarines, plums, apples or whatever you would like)
2 cups ice cream or frozen yogurt (your choice of flavor)

Preheat broiler to high. Combine first five ingredients in a bowl and whisk. Add fruit; toss to coat. Spread the fruit in a single layer on a jelly roll pan lined with foil. Broil 5 minutes or until bubbly. Allow fruit mixture to cool. In a blender, mix 2 cups of ice cream or yogurt with a few scoops of the fruit mixture. Blend until smooth and enjoy.

Lottie’s Peanut Butter Pie
(This one is in Grandma’s handwriting, on a “Here’s What’s Cookin’” card that’s decorated with pictures of lemons. I’m writing it exactly as I found it. Lottie and her husband Darrell were dear friends to my grandparents for years – they met when they were young married couples, before their children were born.)

1 – 8 oz. cream cheese
1 cup crunchy p. butter
½ cup sugar
1 – 12 oz. Cool Whip

Blend in blender.

Pour into crust.

Choc. cookie crust,
Plain crust,
Graham cracker crust

Bon appetit, babies!

OK, back to writing now. Did I already mention that I was done with my Late, Dear Granny’s cookbook and memoir, and then I came across three more of her cookbooks?

Yes, I did.

Found the cookbooks, that is. As for already telling you this, who can remember?

My point is: They all had her handwritten recipes inside, and well. What is a girl to do? Of course I have to type them all up. Those of you who knew my Granny (i’m looking at you, Cuz 7), know that it was just her style, wasn’t it? To say, Wait, wait, looky here. No, looky. This is what you need/should do/want to take home with you. Do it!

That Nike motto, Just do it!? I think she invented that for them.

At first, I was a little stressed out. Because no offense but I am ready to be shut of this project. I have turned into my Granny’s Girl Friday. I can’t even find my desk anymore it’s so covered with scraps of paper, books and photos. But then I realized… it’s my Grandma.

OK. Back to work, and I’ll let you know when it’s done so you can buy a copy. (PS, I think I’m going to call it, “How Are You, Sugar?” You like that?) (PSS, If you still haven’t purchased a copy of my novel, well, what’s stopping you? lol.) I’m hoping today and tomorrow will be it for typing/writing. My mom is allegedly going over the photos and figuring out captions. Then Steve will do lay-out for it and we’ll be ready to roll it out.

I’ve loved working on this project, but I don’t want it to be the only project I do for the rest of my life, y’know? Besides, as my wise daughter put it: “Think how good it will feel to say, ‘Ah, my book is done!’” Only in this case, it will be “Ah, her book is done!”

xo

wm

“But take solace in this: Gay marriage is happening. Like many drive-through window lanes, it ain’t going backwards. And your bonus is this: You get gay marriage. And all your political opponents are going to get is Type 2 diabetes.” — Jon Stewart

(Photo by Steve Rawley)

I’m writing these exactly how he scribbled them on little pieces of paper. Because little pieces of paper are hard to keep track of, but recipes on a blog are not. (Yeah, he cooks like a maniac, in addition to taking lovely photos. No, you can’t have him.)

– wm

Masala
1 part each cumin, coriander, turmeric, chili plus
2 parts garam masal
onion
ginger
tomato salt

Dalchini Pulao
1 pound rice
4 teaspoons ghee
2 cinnamon sticks
1/4 teaspoon cumin
Pinch of turmeric
Pinch of salt
Water

Fry cumin and cinnamon for 1 minute; add turmeric and rice. Add H20; bring to boil; cook.

Apple blossoms in our yard! I (heart) spring.

(Photo by Steve Rawley)

From my mother-in-law:

Mimi’s Sugar Cookies

1 1/2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
5 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt

Mix dough. Chill before cutting out. Roll out dough 1/4″-1/2″ thick. Bake at 400 degrees for 6-8 minutes.

Quick Icing
2 cups powdered sugar
2-3 tablespoons butter
1-2 teaspoons vanilla
Cream

Add cream and mix to desired consistency.

How ’bout you go buy a copy of my novel to entertain you, in the meantime? Righteous.

xo,

nancy

Oh, Paula Deen, Paula Deen. Jamie and Bobbie… You get over here, too, please, so we can have a little chat.

The Op-Ed pieces are arriving, so here’s mine along with the rest of the flood. She has known for three years she has Type 2 diabetes, and the woman who shares her life, “Y’all, I have to tell ya…” didn’t tell us.

Then she makes a deal with a pharmaceutical company to rep for them, and her son gets his “low-cal” cooking show going and… there ya have it, y’all. Step right up and have a fried treat. Only in moderation. (cough, choke.) Here, try this:

(Photo by Steve Rawley)

Fried Twinkies are just never a good idea. Not even on a dare. “Once you’ve had one, you’ll never go back.” For that matter, donuts instead of buns on a cheeseburger? Equally lousy idea. Cheeseburgers, just your standard cheeseburgers, are a lousy idea all by their lone. Having one once in awhile is OK. If by “once in awhile” you mean “maybe twice a year.” I still prefer mine the way I did when I was a kid — no cheese, no bacon, light on the condiments and lots of pickles, lettuce and tomatoes. Then I would eat about half the burger (one patty, not two or three or four) and feed the rest to the dog.

After we lost Good Dog Gus, the first time we went out for a burger I started to set mine aside for him like always. Steve asked, Who u gonna feed your burger to now? (He eats veggie burgers, as do the kids.) (OK, make that veggie nuggets for them, or just french fries and ketchup.)

I like her shows and her family’s cookbooks, but damn. I like them in a i am hypnotized by you gah, gah, gah way.

* It is possible to make greens without ham and bacon grease.
* Just eat a damn Twinkie if you want one — don’t fry it up.
* Ribs? Once a year, if that, gaaahhhhhh…

Anthony Bourdain called her “the worst, most dangerous person” in America. Yeah, obesity and diabetes and just generally livin’ large and congratulating ourselves for it truly are the worst problems in America, in my opinion. That kind of thinking leads you to health problems, a huge deficit and war. Deen retaliates by saying, “…not everybody can afford to pay $58 for prime rib or $650 for a bottle of wine. My friends and I cook for regular families who worry about feeding their kids and paying the bills.”

You’re worried about the grocery bill? Stop eating meat and substitute beans and rice. Anytime I buy meat, fish or chicken at the store, I go into sticker shock and swear I’m never buying it again. Yesterday, for instance, I was craving salmon cakes. Ten dollars for two of them. And salmon grows here. It isn’t like I’m having it shipped in from Europe.

Why not have some beets, instead? They’re cheaper… and really pretty.

(Photo by Steve Rawley)

Costs? Budget? Don’t forget to budget in the health costs of cigarettes, sodapop, junk food and Pixie Sticks. Who can afford $500 a month for diabetes medicine? Get some exercise, eat right and try to rein that diabetes in if you can. It’s treatable, so much of the time. (No, I am not a medical professional, that’s my disclaimer, what do I know? But that’s what I’ve heard. The docs say that losing even 5 percent of your body weight can get your blood sugars under control. Also, people who are cutting back on or cutting out meat/dairy/eggs seem to be having luck combating diabetes.)

For those of you concerned about my innocent, growing children, “You must feed them meat!” Yeah… that. I would, you know. If they’d eat it. If they weren’t vegetarians. We do multi-vits and cook using cast-iron. Their calcium, protein, B12 and iron levels are just fine. We try to eat right and mostly do OK with it. We could do better.

I do feel a little defensive sometimes, when I hear the voices of critics, or my Dear Late Granny in my head. (I finally finished the recipes and story for her cookbook/memoir, by the way. Go me. It only took me… uh… six years? Lots of bacon, fear not. Feel free to omit it. Also lots of veggie recipes from Steve, me and our family and friends. And 100 dessert recipes. Gawd. I’ll post the link when we’re done editing and get it bound — probably a month or two down the road? #famouslastwords…)

Back to Bourdain… he seems to prefer street food in Vietnam to $650 bottles of wine. When he’s asked, Aren’t you worried about getting sick? He says, You’re more likely to get food poisoning from a buffet in America. True that.

You know what makes you sick? Eating a whole ton of greasy, fried everything. It makes your tummy sick, your skin sick, and it can make you bloated, fat and miserable. I can speak freely now cuz God love her, she’s gone, but I used to be one unhappy chick after I ate a big Sunday meal at Granny’s. Someone would scoop out three-fourths of the bacon grease from a pot of beans, and she would add in another two cups the next time she walked by.

My mom and dad cooked everything simply, without a lot of salt and hardly any grease. We joke that we’d have two or three baked pork chops on a plate, pass them around and around, and there would still be two left over. We didn’t have a lot of money and ate out only occasionally. My friends were all fast food and candy junkies. Doritos, frozen pizza, sodapop and deep-fried burritos left me grimacing. I’ve always had a sweet tooth, though, and liked to bake.

This, by the way, is not moderation:

(Photo by Steve Rawley)

I have had a thyroid condition since I was 12 or 13. It alternates between hypo- and hyper- (cold/hot, down/up, sluggish/restless) so I never had to worry about my weight much until I hit my thirties. Even though I only gained 25 pounds with my first kid, I lost 50 after. Doesn’t that sound great? Nope. God, I was sick. The doctor had my thyroid dose racheted way too high, and between that and nursing my baby, I was dropping a pound a day. I used to joke, Want to lose a pound a day? Ask me how.

I almost bled to death and was exhausted. With our second baby, I gained 33 pounds, and took better care of myself, after. (Both kids were 10-pounders, but I didn’t get gestational diabetes. We grow ‘em big in our families.)

The sugar blues hit during the first pregnancy, once the morning sickness lifted (I was actually sick for most of both pregnancies, except for the first and ninth months). Mad, mad cravings like I’ve never had before. Pepsi, Orange Crush, ice cream, cookies, cake. Dreaming about sugar, baking more than I’ve ever baked in my life. Then we shifted into “kid diet”: mac and cheese, goldfish crackers, apple and grape juice, birthday cakes, Easter candy, Halloween candy… Next thing you know, I’m swooping down into sugar crashes, not eating enough vegetables, fruit, and whole grains, and I’m comforting myself with white wine or vodka. (We bloggers have not done anyone any favors with our “Mama deserves a drinkie” mentality. We’re the new version of the drunk ’50s housewife, partying with her friends and waiting for the men to come home.)

I’ve put on too many pounds.

So I quit drinking last April — it was becoming a crutch, I was worried about diabetes, I didn’t want to set a bad example for my kids. Thyroid/diabetes issues seem to go hand-in-hand, all that hormonal/endocrine stuff ties together. I finally had the surgery I’d been putting off. Two years later, I work out almost every day (half hour yoga, plus an hour on the treadmill, water aerobics — when I make it there– and walks around our hilly neighborhood). I have loads of energy and don’t end up in the ER anymore for health complications (knock wood twice, good Lord).

Every time I have had my blood sugar levels measured, even when I’m feeling my crummiest, “oh you’re fine! and besides, there is no thing as being pre-diabetic… you’re either diabetic or not! and you’re not!” Afterwards, I used to celebrate by stopping by *$$$ for a 500-calorie fancy drink and a 500-calorie slice of poundcake (or gingerbread, scone or cooky). Then one day I read the calorie card they keep behind the counter and now I only go there once in awhile instead of constantly.

Smoking? I quit 26 years ago this coming June. I had smoked for 10 years. I’ll be 50 in two years. You do all that math.

We eat better now, we don’t eat out that often, and I’m trying (trying) to reach for a piece of fruit instead of a cooky.

(Photo by Steve Rawley)

Oh yeah, and I’m hooked on those “House Hunters” shows now more than the food shows.

I’ve lost almost 20 pounds, and would be happy to ditch 5, 10, or 15 more. Grateful that it’s not a bigger number than that, but if it was? I’d deal with it. Look, I’m not telling you all this personal information to be all nyah-nyah — I’ve worked hard, and I’ve faced some pretty tough challenges with all of this health crap. You know when I reach for more snacks? At night, when I’m watching TV and mmmmm big steak mmmmmmm onion rings mmmmmmm ice cream sundaes.

As a society, we’re bombarded with this. I want to feel good, not crummy. That’s what motivates me. I want the same for Steve and the kids.

So Deens… I don’t think you’ve ever set a good example, foodwise, and I don’t think you’re helping much, now. Give some credit to those of us who are trying. C’mon… step right up.

Grateful on Tuesday for things people send me in the mail.

This week I’ll be reviewing another batch of books from Kids Can Press (ages 4-7 looks like the target audience for these three titles), and reviewing a batch of cookies, too. Yes, it’s a rough life here at Wacky House, what with all the reading materials, cookies and writing. Plus, I get to do all this in my pajamas and take a nap whenever I want. #mydreamjobthankyou.

First of all: I like this publishing house. They have some great titles. (I knew this already, but they sent me an impressive catalog along with my stack of books and man. Good selection.) I want to get a copy of “Ankylosaur Attack,” by Daniel Loxton, with Jim W.W. Smith, and perhaps “Biomimicry,” by Dora Lee and Margot Thompson. (Cool things from the natural world and the human inventions that have been inspired by them.) And you know I’m crazy about anything by Melanie Watt (the Chester books, Scaredy Squirrel, etc.).

“My Name is Elizabeth!” by Annika Dunklee and Matthew Forsythe, is a sweet book about a little girl with a big personality. Elizabeth! There is a queen named after her, even. She is not Betsy. Not Liz. Not Lizzy. Not Beth. Got it? Is anyone gonna listen? The art is reminiscent of some of my favorite kids’ books from the ’60s. (Forsythe did the illustrations with pen and ink, gouache and digitally.) Fun — his work looks vintage and brand-new at the same time. The story is engaging and I loved how it clipped right along.

I’m keen on science books for kids, especially for younger kids. They crave science and often don’t get enough opportunities to do experiments at school. Adrienne Mason and Claudia Davila’s “Motion, Magnets and More” (subtitled “The Big Book of Primary Physical Science”) is a compilation of four books: “Move It!,” “Touch It!,” “Build It!” and “Change It!” Lots and lots of info on materials, mass, structures, solids/liquids/gases, and… what science book would be complete without experiments and projects. Kids can learn to make their own ice cream, paint with salt, have races with Ping Pong balls and lots more. This book will be fun for kids, parents and teachers alike.

Scot Ritchie dedicated “Look at That Building! A First Book of Structures” to his dad, “Ross Ritchie, one of Canada’s great architects.” Aww. I mean, c’mon now. Awwww… So right away that tells you two things: 1) This guy loves his dad and 2) He’s going to look at architecture through the eyes of a child. Sally, Yulee, Martin, Pedro and Nick have a project in mind: a doghouse for Sally’s dog, Max. Along the way they learn about foundations and floors, walls, beams and frames, shapes and columns and even green roofs. Instructions are included for making a “Mini Doghouse” out of craft sticks, construction paper, glue, tape and marshmallows. That brings me to treats.

BzzAgent sent us a delightful package this week. Cookies! Two boxes of them. The DVD of Harry Potter 7, Part 2, that we pre-ordered showed up today, too (under separate cover, of course). Really, this was a banner day over here. Here is our take on the cookies:
1) “Very tasty with my coffee au lait.” — me
2) “Good. Like Chips Ahoy, but not as crunchy.” — Steve
3) “They were good. Yummy!” — Wacky Girl
4) “They were so good, but kind of dry. I need more!” — Wacky Boy

So there you have it, folks.

(PS — Please see my disclaimer.)