What happened to that book reviewer, Wacky Mommy? She must have taken the summer off or something…

Here I am, and Chet the Architect is first up on the review list. (“Chet the Architect” is a companion set from Butterfly Artistic Media, 2012. The learn-to-draw book is $14.95. The map and guide to nine New York City museums is $12.99. Unpaged. Both are written and illustrated by Kathryn Koller.)

Man, do I love New York. I haven’t been in many years now. This set of books makes me long to go back, and take the kids with me this time. “Chet” is a good introduction to art and museums, even if you don’t have a trip to New York scheduled in the near future. (The map is pocket-sized and handy to use.) You know what inspired my love of New York museums? Yep. “From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler.” Thank you, E.L. Konigsburg.

Chet McGraw loves to draw. Follow his lead in this built-in sketch book, and learn about NYC’s Museum Mile along the way: Museum for African Art, El Museo del Barrio, Museum of the City of New York, the Jewish Museum, Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, National Academy Museum & School, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Neue Galerie New York, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Have some fun with these books! Your budding artists will enjoy them. The books are aimed at younger children, but I think would be useful for big kids, too.

I am a little enamored of “The Day-Glo Brothers: The True Story of Bob and Joe Switzer’s Bright Ideas and Brand-New Colors” (written by Chris Barton, with illustrations by Tony Persiani, Charlesbridge, 2009, unpaged, $18.95). I came across this book a few years ago, when it was first released. Did you know that Day-Glo colors were created by two brothers, in their family’s basement, circa 1933? I love a good biography, and this one fits the bill. Brother Bob was destined for medical school, but had a bad injury that damaged his eyes and memory and gave him seizures. He had to heal in his family’s darkened basement. Brother Joe spent time with him, trying to figure out more about light and fluorescence, in the hopes of coming up with some new effects for his magic act. They built an ultraviolet lamp, started playing with chemicals (I feel the need to insert, Kids don’t try this at home… even though it worked for the Switzers…) and voila.

It’s a great story for kids — and creative scientists — of all ages.

“Our House is Round” (written by Yolanda Kondonassis, illustrated by the aptly-named Joan Brush, Sky Pony Press, 2012, $16.95, unpaged) arrived in time for Earth Day, but got covered by the litter on my desk.

Sad but true. Ms. Kondonassis, a Grammy-nominated harpist, has released 17 albums; proceeds from some of the records have gone to environmental groups. She is founder and director of Earth at Heart, which is a non-profit organization “devoted to increasing earth awareness through the arts.” “Our House is Round” is aimed at the 5- to 9-year-old crowd.

Wacky Boy’s review: “It’s a good book and it’s good for all types of kids, but especially little kids. It uses not-too-big words, and teaches them big words, too.” The glossary is helpful, and the list of things that people can do to make a difference right away.

Our guest reviewer says that the ideas for helping to protect Earth are “good sense, and not too big of things. They are things that kids will be able to do.”

Guest reviewer 2, Wacky Girl, says, “‘Our House is Round’ is a good book for little kids to learn about pollution and how it’s bad for the Earth. The illustration are nice.”

(My disclaimer.)

We had fun.

(Photo by Steve Rawley)

(Photo by Steve Rawley)

“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

Now, dammit, Steve is going to get all excited thinking I’m fixing all this for dinner. Gah. I don’t think so, buddy. But I might send out for Chinese for us. #peoplewhowritecookbooksdontalwayscook

xo

wm

From my bro-in-law:

One-Pan Rice & Beans With Collard Greens
1 8-ounce bunch collard greens
1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 medium green bell pepper, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup long-grain rice, uncooked
2 cups canned vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
1 15-ounce can red beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons hot sauce

Wash the greens and shake off excess water. Remove the tough center ribs of each leaf. Roll the leaves up in a tight cylinder and thinly slice them crosswise. Roughly chop the greens and set them aside. (You should have about 4 cups chopped leaves.)

Heat the oil over medium heat in a 3-quart sauté pan with lid. When the oil is hot add the onion, bell pepper and celery, and sauté until the onion is translucent, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 45 seconds. Add the greens and stir with tongs until they’re wilted, about 5 minutes.

Add the Cajun seasoning, salt and rice to the pan and stir to coat the rice with the oil. Add the broth and bay leaf and stir to combine. Increase heat to high and bring to a simmer. Sprinkle the beans over the top of the rice mixture in an even layer. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook without stirring until the rice is tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Gently fold the hot sauce into the rice mixture and serve.

Fresh Tomato-Corn Casserole (from my Late, Dear Granny)
Makes 6-8 servings
6 cups corn cut from cob (10-12 ears; or substitute 3 10-ounce packages frozen corn)
6 medium tomatoes, sliced 1/4” thick
1 cup flour
Salt and freshly-ground pepper, to taste
2 teaspoons sugar
6 tablespoons oil
1 ½ cups toasted breadcrumbs

If using frozen corn, set aside to thaw. If using fresh, slice off the kernels, then scrape any remaining milk into the bowl with the kernels.

Dredge the tomato slices in a mixture of the flour, salt, pepper and sugar. Heat the oil to hot in a large skillet and fry the tomatoes until just golden in color.

Butter an overproof 2-quart casserole and sprinkle the bottom with some of the breadcrumbs. Layer tomatoes, corn and breadcrumbs, ending with tomatoes and crumbs. Season with salt and pepper as layers are formed. Bake in a 325-degree oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Serve hot or cold.

Chocolate Brownie Pie (from Granny)
4 eggs
¼ cup margarine (melted)
1 bar (4 ounces) sweet chocolate (melted)
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup Bisquick
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup chopped nuts

Grease pie plate. Beat eggs, margarine and chocolate until smooth. Add brown sugar, Bisquick and sugar.

Press into pie plate. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Sprinkle with nuts.

Updated on Sunday to say: I honestly was going to make all this for dinner when I posted on Friday. I was teasing about sending out for delivery. I have these fits of domesticity, as you may or may not know. Only we were out of collards. And corn (fresh or frozen) and, uh, yeah. No chocolate, either. So we had scrambled eggs or spaghetti or something, I have no idea. But today… oh, let me tell you about today… We had gone shopping, I had everything I needed (except chocolate, which is fine, cuz I wanted to make Banana Bread, anyway.) I made the corn casserole and the greens and beans dish, and they both turned out great. Steve added a layer of fresh basil leaves to the corn casserole and oh my gosh. Yum.

So go for it, enjoy, and tell me what you think. Also, if you make the Brownie Pie recipe… hmmmm. Do you think my Dear Granny mixed up the Bisquick, like from the recipe on the box?, then made a crust and then poured the brownie mixture in? I have no idea. I do remember an awesome Chocolate Pie she used to make, but it was her go-to pie crust, not Bisquick.

If you experiment with that recipe, please advise.

xo

nancy

We went to the beach one week, and the mountains the next. I think sometimes I take Oregon for granted. Here’s a gorgeous pic of Mt. Jefferson for you, to start out your day.

(Photo by Steve Rawley)

Black Butte Ranch in Central Oregon is about fun. We had a great time with the in-laws, and now I’m back to daydreaming about our next trip. I’ll write more later, but for now, pictures! (Steve posted a full set.) The house we rented was built in 1984 by someone who was thoroughly trained up in the ’60s and ’70s. It felt exactly — right down to the art, the fake flowers and the carpet — like my grandparents’ house. Either set. They even had the same sampler on the wall my Dad’s Mom had in her guest room:

“Friends, you are welcome here
be at your ease
get up when you’re ready
go to sleep when you please
we’re happy to share with you such as we’ve got
the leaks in the roof and the soup in the pot
you don’t have to thank us or laugh at our jokes,
sit deep and come often
you’re one of the folks”

Thanks. I appreciate that.

(Photos by Steve Rawley)

This originally ran 9/13/06. Tonight we made it with fresh blueberries from our garden, and sliced, fresh, almost over-ripe peaches. Will serve with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Have a great weekend, everyone!

— wm

Speaking of u-licious, here’s a recipe for you. It calls for canned peaches, but who needs canned when you have fresh, juicy, organic nectarines and plums? (That’s how I made it last night — so good.) One of my girlfriends makes it with canned cherries and it is so rich and yummy. Fresh peaches (or canned) would be great, too. Some people call it a cobbler, but I prefer buckle, because that’s what it does — the cake batter rises and buckles around all the fruit. It’s great by itself, warm or cold, or with ice cream or whipped cream. Enjoy!

NECTARINE & PLUM BUCKLE

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk
4 cups fruit

Melt butter in 350-degree stove in 9 x 13 baking dish. Mix flour, sugar and baking powder; add milk. It will be the consistency of thick pancake batter. Chop up fruit. When the butter has melted, pull pan out of stove and pour batter over butter. Use a wooden spoon and mix it in a little bit. Layer fruit on top.

Bake for 45 minutes or until crust is golden brown.