writers’ workshop was great. now i need a cuppa coffee.

WM

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Have a great week — I’m off to a writers’ workshop. Can you dig it?

WM

SALLY TOMATO MARINARA SAUCE
For all those tomatoes you’ll soon be running into…

Saute in olive oil and safflower oil:
2-3 onions
2-3 bulbs garlic

Carmelize a little.

Add:
2 stalks celery
1-2 bell peppers (green, red, yellow or combination)
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons dried basil
salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste

Saute until peppers are soft. Add six big cans of tomatoes (drain most of the liquid off), or fresh, if available. (I sometimes use half fresh, half canned.) Cook at least two hours, stirring to prevent burning. Add two bunches of fresh basil, chopped, and one bunch fresh oregano, chopped. Blend with hand blender. Serve with pasta or use as pizza sauce

We try to have at least six containers of this in the freezer at all times. Microwave it, cook up some pasta, steam a veg, broil some garlic cheese bread — voila! You’re a gourmet.

This one is from Wacky Sister — it’s our new favorite potluck dish.

WM

COWBOY CAVIAR

1 can (15 oz) black-eyed peas, drained
1 can (11 oz) White Shoepeg Corn, drained (or substitute any white corn)
1/2 cup chopped tomato
2/3 cup chopped cilantro
2/3 cup chopped green onions
2 avocadoes, peeled and diced

Dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 – 1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Combine dressing and mix into the first five ingredients above; add avocado.

Serve with tortilla chips.

“The giraffe you thought you offended last week is willing to be nuzzled today.”

— Anonymous

“Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.”

— H. Jackson Brown, Jr., writer

“The belief in the possibility of a short decisive war appears to be one of the most ancient and dangerous of human illusions.”

— Robert Lynd, writer (1879-1949)

My new favorite thing to give to kids for a present: Comic books. PowerPuff Girls, the Incredibles, Scooby Doo — I do not care, as long as it’s cheap and it keeps ’em happy. Less than 10 bucks for two. Wrap a candy bar in with it and you’ve made someone’s day. My mom’s favorite thing when she was a kid was a Little LuLu comic book and a pack of M&Ms. Why mess with success?

The guy who owns Bridge City Comics (3725 N. Mississippi Ave., 503-282-5484) has a nice store with a kids’ section. It’s near the Blue Gardenia, in case you want a cuppa joe and a homemade hoho. And he’s nothing like Comic Bookstore Guy on “The Simpsons,” fyi. He just got married and is very proud of his new wife. Awwwww…… that’s sweet, huh? Also, he has the Sock Monkey series of kids’ books, which made me happy cuz my Wacky Sister loves her sock monkeys. So I bought her one.

There’s a pet supply store a couple doors down, so the pets won’t be left out of the goodies — Salty Dog. Lots of tricks and treats for the critters.

WM

Dear Wacky Mommy: I am sorry. Am I the only one with crazy in-laws? One is a drunk at night and likes to find men and the other one is stuck in the south with his crazy wife and his four kids (Hello—-stop breeding). How to deal with these people? What I would really like to do is just go to the Caribbean and fish for our life. We would have to get a bigger boat. And lots of rum — we are parrotheads.

Signed,

Parrothead Mommy

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1) the corn is as tall as me!

2) we can’t go to Oregon Country Fair this weekend, even though a bunch of our friends are going, but it’s raining so i don’t care, anyway, as the rain makes me “la-di-da, maybe I should build a fire in the fireplace! Oh, wait, I don’t have a fireplace…”

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I’m taking the kids to the library, then to the vet (to pick up meds for cats and dog, not for the kids, fyi), then to the outdoor pool to swim and splash.

Just in case ya’ll were wondering what the Wacky Family is up to today.

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