Scones

Dear Mom,
Every year I agonize over what sort of baked goods to give my neighbors for Christmas. I can knit under pressure but cooking and baking under pressure doesn't work for me. Plus I am surrounded by good cooks. I cannot compete with their delicious cookies, candies and that mouth-watering spiced pumpkin nut bread that Michelle brings over every year. (There might be a cul-de-sac riot if Michelle did not make that bread.)
Finding the right recipe that is tasty/easy/holiday-ish but not a duplicate of what my neighbors are already baking has been my annual challenge. I even pressure myself further by feeling that I should have a "signature holiday treat" for my neighbors.

A few weeks ago I stumbled across this recipe for "Super Simple Scones" in the Harvest Kitchen Gooseberry Patch Cookbook. I have grown to love these cookbooks. They are full of recipe winners and completely support your theory that any cookbook that tells the name of the person contributing the recipe is bound to be filled with only the best recipes. Nobody wants their name associated with a bad recipe.
The Young Lady and I have given this recipe several test drives. We've made several variations and can think of more to try. We haven't had a bad scone yet.
This year my neighbors will be receiving a cloth-lined basket filled with a variety of scones. And if all goes as well as I hope it will, this may become our annual gift.

Super Simple Scones
makes 8

1 1/2 cups biscuit baking mix ( We used Bisquick)
3/4 c. whipping cream

Optional ingredients: orange zest, lemon zest, dried fruit, chocolate chips, cinnamon, etc.

That's it! Can you believe it!?

Place biscuit mix in a bowl and slowly stir in cream. Turn mixture our onto a floured surface and  knead in optional ingredients. Roll and shape into an 8- inch circle. Cut into 8 wedges. Bake on an ungreased baking sheet ( I always use a silpat) at 425 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

So far, my favorite combination of optional ingredients is the zest of 1 lemon and 6 oz dried blueberries.  The chocolate chip scones were gobbled up quickly and I was afraid there might be a fight over the butterscotch chip scones. We've also made cinnamon raisin scones, cranberry scones and a cranberry/orange zest combination.
The recipe is easily doubled. In fact, I think we've doubled it every time and divided the dough so we could make several combinations with one batch.

Love,
Kim

The Traveling Salvation Show

Dear Mom,
We have been singing this Neil Diamond song around here a lot lately...



...because this "popped up" off the country road north of our house.

For the last 5 nights, we have been serenaded with gospel music and lots of revivalist preachin'!
Love, Bonnie Jo

It's gonna be loud

Dear Mom-

The Cul-de-sac Fourth of July Celebration Preparation started a couple of weeks ago.

And he has plenty of fuse.

Boys.

Love,

Kim

Are Crock Pots Collectible?

Dear Mom,
It wasn't until I borrowed your crock pot over the weekend and saw that crock pots nowadays have more than a Low-High-Off switch that I realized that my work horse of a crock pot is a tad out of  date. Maybe even vintage.
YOURS:

MINE:

Try to ignore those rust spots. She works just fine and I have no need to replace her. I just felt a bit stunned to have options when I plugged yours in and was ready to begin the slow cooker process. I had a brief moment of self doubt when I saw that yours says SMART POT right there on it. Would I be smart enough for this crock pot? Have no fear, dueling crock pots are plugged in and will be burbling away today, filling my kitchen with good smells.

I am making dinner for The Zucchini Queen and her family (and mine too, while I am at it). ZQ's Mom is having surgery today and dinner was one less thing she would have to think about. I prepared a mini knitting care package for The Zucchini Queen, too. I neglected to take a picture of it before I gave it to her, but I had another good idea. The yarn and pattern are for a scarf- one of Melissa's 12 Knits of Christmas. The scarf is a 2 row pattern. I went ahead and cast on and worked a few rows of the scarf to get it started. I don't normally knit with straight needles, (I prefer circular knitting needles), but in this case I got straights and here is why: As I said, it is a 2 row pattern. With a Sharpie marker, I wrote a #1 on the end of one needle and a #2 on the other. When needle #1 is the empty needle, ZQ is to knit row one of the pattern. And when needle #2 is empty.... well, you get it, right? Now ZQ won't need to be bothered trying to remember which row she is on when she gets distracted or interrupted. And she will have a pretty scarf when she is finished. And hopefully the knitting will ease a little bit of her waiting time today.

Last night I bound off one of the current knitting project, and until I get it blocked and some elastic sewn into the waist,  I won't know if it will be a really great skirt or a tremendous failure. It better be great because I already have the perfect yarn for a cardigan to go with it. I 'll let you know.

Love,

Kim

Happy Halloween!

Dear Mom,
I'll get you my pretty!!!
And your little dog, too!!!

We had a frightfully fun Halloween night!!  I took off my mask and revealed my true character.  Pipsqueak dressed as my "familiar" (in the words of the Teenager!)  We walked around the neighborhood putting spells on the neighbors that didn't cough up the good candy and we cackled with favorite neighbor friends, too!!  One of our neighbors turns his garage into a haunted house, complete with black light AND strobe light!!  It is the "favorite" house and every year we laugh at all of the screams and giggles coming from their house!!

Part of my witch costume was a pair of knitted socks that I knit in 10 days.  Knee socks!!  I knit them cuff down and sort of came up with the pattern by myself.  [I googled knee socks and couldn't find a pattern that wasn't toe up so if anyone would like a fairly decent cuff down knee sock pattern, please leave a comment or contact me at the email address.]

After the trick-or-treating, we enjoyed time with our neighbors outside around our fire pit.  The kids ran around the cul-de-sac swinging glow sticks over their heads and eating too much candy.  I LOVE Halloween!!!!
Boo!
Love,
Wendy

October First

Dear Mom,
The air is getting crisp.  The mornings are chilly.  Leaves are just starting to turn colors.  Fall is here!  In honor of Fall and October First, I made my favorite Chicken Pot Pie for dinner tonight!

I will give you the ingredients and the method, but let's face it, I pretty much "wing" it every time.  I'm not much for strictly following this recipe. . . . . but no one complains.

Chicken Pot Pie

2 pie crusts (you can use your favorite recipe for making pie crusts or buy them . . .whatever!)

1 roaster chicken, cooked and cubed

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup flour

1 onion, chopped

salt/pepper (whatever looks and/or tastes good to you!)

1 1/2 cups chicken broth (I boil my roaster chicken and then use the broth here)

1/2 cup milk

2 cups mixed vegetables

1.  Heat oven to 425 degrees.  Place one pie crust in a 9" deep dish pie pan.

2.  In medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat.  Add onion; cook until tender, about 2 minutes (or really just until you can get the next ingredients ready . . . )!  Stir in flour, salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring constantly (or not so constantly!), until mixture is bubbly.  Stir in broth and milk.  Heat to boiling, stirring constantly (again, not so constantly!).  Stir in chicken and vegetables; remove from heat.

3.  Pour chicken filling over crust.  Place second crust over filling; flute the edges (if you care).  Cut slits in several places.

4.  Bake at 425 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

On another note, a HUGE congratulations to one of my very most favorite-est neighbor boys.  He made the Jazz Explosion at University of Cincinnati!  Woo hoo!!!  Way to go, favorite neighbor!!  And to celebrate, we had to bake brownie cupcakes from Martha's Cupcakes!!!!

Happy October First to you!  Stay warm!

Love,

Wendy

Zucchini

Dear Mom,

If you listen carefully, you can hear cooks across the state flipping through cookbooks, muttering softly as they search for something new to do with the zucchini their neighbors gave them.

I am blessed to have the Zucchini Queen as my neighbor. Our gardens are the halfway point between our houses and a common gathering place. ZQ manages to raise mammoth zucchinis which seem to appear overnight, or manage to stay hidden in the zucchini foliage until their weight and length makes hiding impossible. ZQ and I have had many occasions to be doubled over in laughter- the kind that leaves your cheeks aching from smiling so big- over our gardens and her zucchini discoveries. We've also been known to share a few laughs on the porch over a bucket of frozen cosmos, but I won't be sharing those stories here.

This is a typical zucchini for ZQ, and I have cleverly cropped part of her out of the picture to protect her identity. I wouldn't want her stalked by the folks from Burpee or hounded by Food Network papparazzi.

For all those cooks looking for something to do with their zucchini that isn't zucchini bread, I offer, as a public service, this zucchini recipe.

Zucchini Queen Patties

makes 6-8 patties

3 1/2 c. grated zucchini

3 T. onion (I omitted the onion when I made these for the sake of My Hero's stomach and they were still good, but would probably be better with the onion)

2 T. fresh parsley, minced

1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese- take the time and grate the cheese yourself, it makes a difference!!!

1 c. soft bread crumbs

1 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

2 eggs, beaten

3/4 c. dry bread crumbs (I used the Italian seasoned dry bread crumbs)

1/2 c. butter

Squeeze as much juice out of the grated zucchini as you can and combine with all the ingredients except for the dry bread crumbs and the butter. Shape into patties and coat with dry bread crumbs. Place on greased baking sheets (or silpats if you have them) and put a pat of butter on top of each patty. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, until golden.

Love,

Kim

Pajama Party

Dear Mom,

Not since the newspaper delivery man's station wagon caught on fire in the wee hours of a Sunday morning about 10 years ago has the cul-de-sac seen so much activity. Or so many neighbors gathering in pajamas.

Last night, just after I climbed into bed to read myself to sleep, there came the sounds of heavy truck engines from out front. I was pretty settled in and trying to ignore the noise and finish my book when the Young Lady walked in and reported police cars in the cul-de-sac. Having not heard any sirens, I got up to confirm the eyewitness report and found 3 police cars, a rescue vehicle and a fire truck. Concerned about a recently widowed neighbor, I went to investigate. A step onto the front porch revealed clouds of white smoke from somewhere near the entrance to our cul-de-sac, but not near the widowed ladies house. I am glad. No medical emergencies for her.

Grabbing a windbreaker instead of a robe because it was handy, I ventured out, barefoot, through my Fit Neighbor's yard toward the epicenter of activity. An older white van was coughing up clouds of smoke, quickly fogging up the area. Fire hoses snake through the street. The kind policeman (who didn't seem to mind answering the questions of a woman wearing a red coat and pajamas which thankfully were the cute Susan Branch summer watermelon pj's and not the little shorts and tee shirt with cherries on them from Target) informed me that the vehicle was empty and no other vehicles had been involved.

Neighbors begin gathering. Most of us in some variety of sleepwear. Through the smoke I see teens clustered and pointing. And nothing makes a person look older than when he/she is standing in his/her pajamas near a gorup of teenagers. Just something I noticed last night.

Now, I do believe that every neighborhood has A Woman Who Knows, and if they don't, they need one. That Woman lives just down the street, and having had toddlers at home at the same time, we became friends over miles and miles of stroller walks. I have not had my finger on the pulse of the neighborhood since our kids outgrew their strollers and we stopped walking together. Not even close. Anyway, I had only just finished listening to the Policeman's answer to my question when I looked up and saw her. Smiling and waving (the area is taking on the atmosphere of a street fair/carnival now), she comes over. With the whole story. I would have been stunned by her information gathering skillz since she knew more than the policeman I just spoke to, but the story begins at her house, so I don't need to be scared of her or anything.

Turns out, her daughter's boyfriend, who has borrowed his family's backup vehicle ~the other 2 vehicles in this family having been totalled/involved in wrecks this past week- which are 2 more stories that I didn't get because it was late and we were in our pj's, and all I need to know about that is that no one was hurt and that not I nor any family member of mine will be driving with the boyfriend or his family: 1, because we don't really know them that way, and 2, because they probably don't have a car to drive right now anyway~ but back to the excitement of last night- boyfriend leaves for home in van, drives about 50 yards and van catches on fire. He safely extracted himself from the vehicle and returns to girlfriend's house to call for help.

A few of us, now having the facts, begin noticing each other's pajama's, recalling the time the paper man's car caught fire (which is now, 10 years later, being described as "The Time The Paper Man's Car EXPLODED and Caught on Fire) and how it left a mark on the street for a really long time, relating to each other how we came to discover that there were all these emergency vehicles in front of our homes, did you hear sirens?! I didn't hear sirens! and then, well, it's late, we better get back to bed, see ya tomorrow! And off we disperse, back to bed.

Where I find My Hero. Who slept through the whole thing, and will probably not know about any of it until he reads the blog.

(Do you think my reading light bothers him?)

Love,
Kim

A Rare Glimpse Into The Highly Unorganized Life of . . . Me

Dear Mom,

Unlike Kim, I will never be caught up. Not on daily, weekly, monthly or even yearly chores. I do have good intentions. My dryer does have dry towels. But that's only out of necessity because the kids need to dry off after swim team practice and meets. And the kids don't go to the "towel closet", they go straight to the dryer. Yeah, don't ask about the other dirty laundry that ISN'T in the dryer, or the washing machine for that matter.

My pantry did just get restocked this afternoon. I had to fit the grocery store in between swim team practice this morning, stroke clinics this afternoon and working a special event at the yarn store tonight. While the food was literally thrown into my pantry, the kids and husband will be fed. Of course, is there ever "anything good to eat" anyway?!

And books?! I have been reading several books. In bed. At night. So I've only been able to manage a few pages before nodding off. And then I forget what I've just read. So I usually have to start over. A lot. I've read several pages from several books, though.

I have also done several photography jobs. I have been the swim team photographer for several years.

I have also been talking to a high profile hotel and have earned the job to take photos of the hotel for an updated website and brochure! When that job is finished, I will let all of you "see" the website! I have also had a smattering of children turning a year older, smiling their biggest birthday smiles and looking equally smug and sweet in new birthday clothes!

No. I will never be caught up. I think I like it this way. I have been spending my "lazy summer days" with my kids, my family, my neighbors and friends. Time we don't normally have during school hours. In the summer, we have long cookouts. The kids have friends spend the night. We solve world problems over s'mores with neighbors. We stay out too late watching fireworks. We love. We laugh. Ahhhhhh. Life's so sweet.

Love, Wendy

The Rocket's Red Glare

Dear Mom,

The 4th of July here on the cul-de-sac is a tradition not to be messed with, and this year, in the spirit of the US Postal System, rain would not deter us from our celebration. We just had to make adjustments for the dampness, and rain ponchos only added to our 4th of July memories. In fact, as a testament to the importance of the day, our neighbors woke to find that their 8yo son had painted his face red, white and blue for the day's events. I don't think the red has washed off yet.

The food and picnic-ing was moved under the shelter of a canopy and into the garage and the grilling was done under a patio umbrella called into action, but as we had hoped, the rain trickled off in time to celebrate the evening with fireworks.

Every year the fireworks themselves get bigger. The Dads have taken it up a level. Or three. I can sum this up in one word. FUSE. I think My Hero has 100 feet of fuse in the garage. (If there is more than that I don't want to know.)Custom built supports are constructed for multiple explosives which are strung together and lit with some of that 100 feet of fuse. Gone are the days we can be entertained by smokey snakes and a sparkly fountain. Thankfully, sparklers will never lose their appeal and we can write our names in the dark, and dance along, twirling a sparkler overhead.

Every year patriotic music plays loudly during the fireworks display. A Cul-de-sac highlight and tradition involves a neighbor modifying a remote control vehicle with a creative display of fireworks which shoot off as the intrepid little jeep circles and dodges the fireworks display in the street.

This year, we seemed to be surrounded by huge display from neighbors and neighborhoods nearby. It occurred to me with all the shrieks and screams and loud percussive KABOOMs, the blasts and rockets and bombs bursting in air, that (God forbid!) should we be attacked by terrorists on the 4th of July, we would all stand there and ooh and aah and maybe even clap before we realized what was really going on.

Once the fireworks are exhausted, we have almost as much fun with clean up, as the kids and adults arm themselves with flashlights and brooms and clean up as much shrapnel as possible before we all head off to bed smelling of smoke and sulfur. Final cleanup the next day insures that no neighbors are left with any debris in the yards.

And a few Dad's I know are already planning on next year's fireworks display.

oh- and the boy with the painted face? up at 3 in the morning up-chucking some of the excitement and junk food he enjoyed....

Love,

Kim

Summer Begins!

Dear Mom,

Today was our last day of school. I host an annual desperate-housewives-mourning-the-last-day-of-school brunch. We make it a priority to have our peaceful brunch with each other before the hectic summer begins. We have so much fun celebrating the school year and prepping each other for the upcoming summer. Friends have moved away and new friends have been welcomed. We eat yummy breakfast food and drink mimosas or coffee with "flavors".

We also throw water balloons at the kids when they get off the bus and give the kids ice pops. This year we filled 750 water balloons!!
It was another huge success and the kids had fun, too! Let the summer begin!

Love, Wendy

Sno-Cone Party

Dear Mom,
It all started innocently enough, on the first Last Day of School, back when the Young Man was in First Grade. I met the school bus on that day, with a grocery store cake decorated like a big sun, and sno-cones. I had a table and beach umbrella set up in the front yard, the sno-cone machine plugged in and a variety of syrup flavors ready - let the summer celebrating begin! The neighbor kids joined in and the Moms all eased into the summer, sitting in lawn chairs, watching the kids play and chatting away the afternoon.
Over the years, the snacks have varied, but we always have sno-cones. I don't know what it is about shaving ice that appeals to the kids, but they love making their sno-cones and choosing the syrup.
The Moms have sno-cones now, too. The frozen cosmopolitan or strawberry margarita kind. And cheese and crackers, bruschetta, and fresh fruit. Laughter. A mellow shifting of gears. One Mom very wisely prepared her dinner BEFORE the party this year, so she would not need to be "challenged" at the end of the afternoon.
This year it was not the kids asking about the sno-cone party, but the neighbor Moms. They grab me a good three to four weeks ahead of that last day of school to tell me how much they are looking forward to the Sno-cone party and the drinks on my porch and I am still gonna do it, right?
I imagine us, years from now, empty nesters, meeting on that last day of school for our sno-cone party. At least, I hope so.
Love,
Kim

There's No Place Like Home

Dear Mom,
My friend WON an all-expenses paid trip to Nice, France!! Instead of taking me, she chose to take her husband and she left me to take care of her house and kids. So, for the past six days, David and I have been housesitting-kid watching. We were "responsible" for 2 houses, 6 kids, 3 dogs, several fish and a leopard spotted gecko. During the 6 days, there were 6 baseball games (3 of which were called due to rain, thank goodness), 2 afternoons of swim team practice for 3 children, a band concert, a birthday, a friend who spent the night (which really means all night movies and video games), a morning of babysitting for yet another neighbor's daughter and a photo shoot. All of "our" children made it to their events on time. We cheered when they won and commiserated when they lost. The children woke up on time and were sent to school with a hug and love. They were fed breakfast and dinner and lunches were packed. We did homework. We baked chocolate chip banana bread twice and Mississippi Mud Bars. We even staged photo ops and daily uploaded pictures to their parents in Nice. I washed baseball uniforms, re-sewed a patch that fell off of a uniform during a grand slide and I did laundry for 6 children. It was truly one of the funnest weeks that David and I have ever had.
But I'm tired and I am going to go to bed. I get to sleep in my own bed tonight.
And welcome home, Kim and Joey! We really missed you! There truly is no place like home!
Love, Wendy

Cancer Survivor

Dear Mom,
Gracie is my neighbor's granddaughter. Today is her birthday. She is four years old. A lively, active, very funny four year old. She is also a cancer survivor. When she was 15 months old, the doctors found a tumor in her kidney. She had her kidney removed and months of chemo, with a central line in her chest because chemo tubes and needles are so painful for a not-even-two-year-old. We had to be careful when we picked her up, even though that is all we wanted to do. Pick her up and snuggle with her and try to make her feel better. We wanted to try to understand. She has a scar that covers the entire width of her belly; a scar from one side to the other side of her. But two years later and if you don't know Gracie, you would never know she had cancer. She is a survivor. And she is also a deep comfort to me in a way no one knows. She is the baby that we held and cradled and drew comfort from when Daddy died. She was only days old when Daddy died so suddenly. In the shock of Daddy, a baby. In Gracie, there are reminders of time without Daddy. Four years already? I still remember my last conversation with Daddy, like it was yesterday; the laugh of Daddy during that conversation. I also draw strength from Gracie, the little four year old that has survived so much already. Gracie, the baby that provided quiet comfort on a cold and rainy April day.
Happy birthday, Gracie girl!!!
Love, Wendy