Crouton Pie

Easiest Halloween recipe ever: blood-roasted corn!

So much has happened since I last wrote, but the main thing I have to report is that, sadly, Purcell will not be home for Halloween.  Fortunately, he is well enough to make our family's favorite spooky recipe for the crew that's still quarantined in the curling clubhouse.  I'm including it here because REALLY, no matter how chronically fatigued, frantically busy, or perpetually over-committed you are, you can add this spooky side dish to your Halloween menu. 

Blood-roasted Corn

Take 1 whole pomegranate.  Remove all the seeds and place them in a small serving bowl.  Voila!  Those little pomegranate seeds look like you spent hours cooking corn kernels in, well, blood.

Extra benefit: high in vitamins and anti-oxidants!  Much more healthful than actual corn!  If your kids are like mine, they'll gobble up the seeds as an after school snack, or as a side dish next to their Mad Eye Rib-eye and Pumpkin Risotto, washed down with a big glass of cold bat milk (just regular milk, no need to milk a bat!)

Which school supply are you?

Just a quick interruption of "what we did last summer" to give an update on our wonderful Stella Rondo Elementary School.  Bronson's sixth grade teacher, Miss Chenille, new this year, is fabulous.  Her web site included not only a detailed list of school supplies to bring on the first day, but a writing assignment as well.  The kids were assigned to write a paragraph with the following creative prompt:  "If I were one of these classroom supplies, I would be..."

Fortunately, after visiting several stores, we were able to find all the supplies.  Then Bronson chose the box of 16 crayons to write about, saying, "there are hundreds of boxes of 8, 24, 64, and 96, but I am that rare box of 16 that has all the colors any sixth grader needs."  Obviously, he feels ready for sixth grade! 

Stella Rondo Elementary is K-6, so Hailey and Bronson are in the same school again, so thankfully during this stressful time Bronson does not need to be ready for a new school.

Hailey has already decided that if she gets the assignment next year she will be a glue stick.  "I go on purple (my favorite color), and then I disappear, but I'm still there."   Amber is our green highlighter, her big green eyes reflecting and amplifying our family's every mood. I am the three-ring binder, with one ring for each child, keeping us together and organized!

The only problem we had was choosing a school supply for Purcell.  Hailey suggested hand sanitizer.  "For someone who caught one of the most contagious diseases anywhere?" said Bronson, both bitter and proud.

Hailey objected that that was unfair.  "As we speak, he is protecting the world from contagious chronic fatigue," she said, sounding much older than a fifth grader.  I decided it was time to serve an early dinner of crouton pie, then cuddle up with the kids and dogs to watch one of our favorite movies, maybe The Five Little Peppers and How they Grew.

On the road again

It's hard to believe it's almost Easter, and we still haven't settled on a church!  If only we had located St. Chrysostom's in the Dale, it could have been the one.  I just have a feeling about it.  But a still small voice in me says to check out the church that just sent us a postcard. 

Strange to say, the card has no picture of a building.  Just lots of snapshots of smiling faces next to a picture of a hand holding a cellphone with the words "Road to Emmaus Church" on the tiny screen.  Below that it looks like the phone says "Get Directions."  Since the words are so hard to read on the postcard, I tried the dot mobi address on my own cell phone.  Wonderfully, complete directions and times for their Easter services appeared!  Strangely, their two services are at different locations.  Both seem to be somewhere up in the hills.  After our difficulty finding St. Chrysostom's up there, I am a little reluctant to try, but I have good feeling about those cell phone directions. 

Since the service isn't until ten o'clock, we should have plenty of time at home beforehand to do the children's egg hunt, the dogs' egg hunt (I still have to bake the egg-shaped liver treats!), and get to church on time.  As a backup, we could always attend the First Church of Alto Cinco ("A Place for God's Family and Friends"), where they were so friendly to us at Christmas.  I've heard that one of the hidden treasures of our community is their multi-generational, multi-species Easter egg roll.  Long-handled spoons are provided to every creature who wants one for rolling the eggs, but snouts, beaks, paws, and canes are also allowed.  Zinnia told me that her family enjoys it every year, although they are becoming a little discouraged because a duck named Precious seems to always be the winner. 

Little notebooks for little thoughts

Some of you may wonder how I keep track of so many things, with so many balls in the air, between embracing the moment, planning ahead, practicing random acts of kindness, and living and learning something new every day.  The answer: little notebooks.  Keep one in your purse, your car, by the computer, and bedside table.  A small spiral notebook is perfect for all those details that may escape into the ether before you have a chance to do anything about them. 

If desired, at the end of each day or week (don't wait too long, or it can be overwhelming!), you can organize all the notes on a spreadsheet or in a master notebook.  As an added bonus, if you color code your master list you end up with a gorgeous patchwork of your life!

Red Bottom Pie

We ended a wonderful Valentine's Day as usual with a big serving of my homemade Red Bottom Pie. 

The recipe was handed down to me from my Great Aunt Ena, who was a noted leftist in her day and served the pie every Valentine's Day along with a heartfelt chorus of something she called the "Global Love Song."  I can't remember the words, but I recognize the tune when I hear it. 

I adapt Aunt Ena's recipe only slightly.  Instead of crushed plain chocolate wafers to make the crust, I use Girl Scout Thin Mints.  The rest of the pie is similar to a traditional Southern Black Bottom Pie, except the chocolate layer is made from plain gelatin flavored with raspberry jam.  The custard layer gets its pink color from two tablespoons of maraschino cherry juice.  A proud urban Northeasterner (she used to say she never went south of Red Bank, NJ, or west of Pittsfield, MA), she decorated the whipped cream top with Necco wafers.  Since I haven't found a source for Necco candy yet in Alto Cinco, this year Hailey festooned the top with red rose petals--so it actually had a red bottom and a red top, and a much gentler appearance.

Fish and Chips and Vinegar

Back at the computer in my wonderful living room, where I can watch squirrels frolic in the oak tree whenever I look up from the screen, I saw that everyone on the committe just received an email from Mr. Flowers.

Mr. Flowers admits he is familiar with the term meat pie mum, although he never used it in writing.

So what is a meat pie mum?  I think I better just quote Mr. Flowers:

"It's an epithet from the land of Guy Fawkes for mothers who sell junk food to children through the school fence because nothing but healthful food is to be had inside.  The moms and kids seem to be having a hard time adjusting to the new healthy food regulations in the schools there."

I think it was better when the accused did not know what it meant.

Well!  Off to the meeting.  The wonderful thing is that no real meat pie mums exist at Stella Rondo Elementary!  Although I have noticed a few mothers dropping off In-and-Out Burger bags for their kids at lunch time.

Food for the Weekend

So nice to have all the kids and even Purcell in bed and plans for the weekend to consider.  Unfortunately, the color-coded bins I bought for the holiday decorations won't fit through the trapdoor into the attic.  So Purcell will have to enlarge the hole. 

Zinnia has invited us to a Labor Day potluck for families who may be interested in forming a dinner co-op.  She said to call her later to say what we'll bring.  I'm thinking appetizers....a good appetizer can almost replace a meal.

A week flashed by

What a week!  It started with the first meeting of the Among the Ohone committee (more on that later), and just got richer from there.  Jolie Rouson taught the Art Angels Club to make tote bags from empty Capri Sun pouches. Hailey's soccer team had their first practice, and when it came time to choose a name they voted unanimously for her idea!  The kids got into a great routine practicing their musical instruments before school, while I practiced my Taiko drumming in the garage.  Since Leila and Poncho howl during the practicing, Purcell always takes them on a walk during that time.

This afternoon, as I walked Amber in her new memory foam-cushioned Sit-a-While Stroller, it was a joy to see this wonderful neighborhood on the eve of a 3-day weekend. The man who lives next door to the junior high school (one of the top rated schools in the state!), was out repairing his duck-shaped mailbox, which is always vandalized by the students during the first week of school.  Two dads in white dress shirts pulled up in front of their neighborning houses--home early--and greeted each other. 

Earlier in the day, while I was putting Amber down for her nap, I heard something like BB gun shots coming from Trish Vaux's house across the street.  Maybe the high school got out early today!  My own kids are home now, snuggled up on the couch with the two dogs and Purcell watching a video of an old "Gunsmoke" episode, ready for our first holiday in our new home. 

The eLex

I can’t believe that no one in the neighborhood has noticed our eLex.  It has been parked in the driveway because the garage is still full of boxes.  Even though the vehicle is just over the well-trimmed hedge from Lisa Talcott’s lawn, she hasn’t said anything.  Trish Vaux and her red-haired teenage son haven’t commented on it either. But I haven’t seen them for a couple of days.

Getting Settled

Taiko drums in garage next to the extra freezer, music stands next to the piano in the living room, Bronson’s pet python in his bedroom, Baby Mozart attached to the side of Amber’s crib…