Happy Birthday, Mom!!

Have a great day, Mom! You're the best Mom in the whole, entire, total world!!

The Good Daughter

by: Judith Viorst

She's been a good daughter, my mother Kay
(In contrast to Walter her brother,
Who showed no respect). And she kept her room clean
And she never talked fresh to her mother.

In college she tried, while maintaining straight A's,
To write twice a week or more often
(Unlike that bum Walter, who just called collect
And with news that drove nails in their coffin).

The boys Kay went with were all that her folks
And their gin club and swim club expected.
(The girls Walter went with her folks only prayed
That he wouldn't come home from infected.)

Above-the-waist petting was all she allowed
Till the day she was led to the alter.
Yes, good is the word for my mother Kay.
(Heck knows what the word is for Walter.)

She's been a good daughter, my mother Kay,
As well as a good wife and mother.
She promised her folks that she's taking them in
When they're old. (Could they go live with her brother?)

On how to raise children and which car to buy
She accepts their suggestions, and gladly.
(That Walter, believe me, you can't tell a thing.
He responds to advice very badly.)

Kay, when a card should be sent, sends a card,
And a birthday is never forgotten.
(That Walter can't even remember the day
That his mother was born. Is that rotten?)

At forty Kay can look back on a life
Where she followed the rules to the letter
And won the esteem of her mother and dad,
Except-they like Walter much better.

Butternut Soup with Pear, Cider, and Vanilla

Last time the girls were is town we made 3 separate dishes with cream. I have never seen so much cream at one time in the grocery store, much less in my fridge.

When we were shopping for cream (and a few other non essentials such as flour and eggs) a beautiful butternut squash jumped into my hands at Trader Joe's; I cradled it to my chest and rocked it back and forth in excitement. Katie was the unwilling witness to the scene and she laughed so hard that she almost fell on the ground. What an actress. Sheesh. I tell ya....

The girls eventually left and when I had recovered from being worn ragged (seriously - how do you parents with more than 2 kids do it??) I realized that there was still 1 full carton of cream in the fridge.

What on earth do you do with so much cream?? I used it instead of milk on cereal, hoping that my jeans wouldn't get any ideas and start to shrink. That's what happens when they get really, really tight, right?

Then I noticed the butternut squash sitting as quiet as a church mouse in the cupboard. It was time to make butternut squash and pear soup. It is so hearty and filling and utterly delicious. It goes great with a grilled turkey sandwich or a crusty piece of baguette. Or regular toast. Toast is the miracle cure-all food.

It really is too bad that the girls weren't here to enjoy the soup with me. There's a pretty good chance that they wouldn't have eaten it anyways, but I could have told them how good it was, and they could have raised their eyebrows, laughed, and asked for a PB&J. Good times.

Butternut Soup with Pear, Cider, and Vanilla

3 T olive oil

1 2-pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes (4 generous cups)

2 firm-ripe pears, peeled, cored, and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 medium yellow onion, coarsely chopped

1 C apple cider

4 C chicken broth

1/2 t salt

1/2 c half and half or cream

1 t vanilla

Heat the oil in a small stockpot over medium-low heat. Add the squash, pears and onions and stir to coat with oil. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft and transparent and the pears are starting to fall apart.

Add the cider and bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the broth, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer the mixture, partially covered for about 30 minutes until the squash is tender.

Using a stick blender (or a regular blender and working in small batches) puree until very smooth. Return the soup to the stockpot and add the salt. Continue to cook, uncovered, over medium-low heat, until the soup has reduced to about 1/2 to 1/3 of it's original volume. The final consistency is up to you - when it reaches a thickness that seems right it's ready.

When the soup has reduced, add the cream and vanilla. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Garnish with fresh chives if desired.

The Canary

There is a canary that I've been watching. You know about canaries, right? You keep one around and send it into the mine shaft ahead of you. If the canary dies you know that you should get out of the mine because the air isn't safe. In my context, it means that I can be secure in my job as long as a certain someone keeps his job.

The canary has died. Now the only question that remains to be answered is if the miners can get out of the cave before succumbing. Let the scratching and biting begin....

Cajun Chicken Salad

This salad is absolutely the best chicken salad ever to cross my lips. It started with our monthly Penzeys ad arriving in the mail. Kevin snatched it and hovered over every page. Then he announced that we simply had to go to Penzeys to buy some Cajun seasoning. Without checking the store hours, we arrived half an hour before they opened, and fiddled around in Uptown for a bit.

When we got home we started cooking. And cooking. And cooking. In all, we had three different Cajun spiced meals in three days. Was it extreme? Just really, really tasty.

Something about the chicken being coated with seasoning and pan-fried makes them incredibly tender and juicy. There is just enough of a kick of flavor to keep it interesting and make you want to dig in for another bite. And then another one.

Cajun Chicken Breasts with Salad

3 4-6 oz chicken breasts (or whatever)

2 T Cajun seasoning

2 T oil

Wash chicken and pat dry. Sprinkle with a thick layer of Cajun seasoning. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 4-6 minutes per side depending on thickness. Adjust the heat down a bit if the chicken is browning too quickly or up if it isn't sizzling. Remove from pan and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing into bite-sized pieces.

Salad:

1 head romaine lettuce

1 head leaf lettuce

1/2 tomato, diced

1 small onion, thinly sliced

1 avocado, thinly sliced

Dressing:

1 T Italian seasoning or salad dressing base

1 T water

1/4 C red wine vinegar or regular white vinegar

1/3 - 1/2 C olive oil.

Whisk everything together

Carmalized Cauliflower with Salsa Verde

It's been a long time since I put up a recipe. I know because Mom called to ask if I had fallen off the face of the earth. Maybe. I've been cooking, just not posting. Which is too bad because this roasted cauliflower is F.A.N.T.A.S.T.I.C. and I haven't been meaning to deprive you of it.

I know what you're thinking. Roasted cauliflower? That sounds gross. That's what I thought, too, but after polishing off half a head, I had definitely changed my mind. Kevin even enjoyed it, and he hardly ever eats the food I cook.

Roasted Cauliflower

1 medium cauliflower

2-3 T olive oil

salt to taste

Salsa Verde

1 medium jalapeno, ribs and seeds removed

3 T finely chopped cilantro leaves

2 medium cloves garlic, minced with a pinch of salt

3 T fresh lime juice

4 T olive oil

salt to taste

Prepare the salsa verde first. In a medium bowl, whisk together the jalapeno, cilantro, garlic, lime juice, and olive oil. Add a pinch or two of salt to taste. Set aside at room temperature for at least 30 minutes, and up to an hour.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Wash and dry the cauliflower. Place it stem side down on a cutting board. Slice it vertically, top to bottom, in 1/4 inch slices. Most of it will be in crumbles and a few slices will stay intact. Put it into a large bowl and drizzle 2 T of oil on it. Use your hands to toss to coat the cauliflower. Add an extra T of oil if necessary to coat it all.

Spread it in a single layer on a sheet pan or two, you don't want it too crowded or it will steam instead of roast. Salt lightly.

Bake until it is tender, golden, and slightly brown in spots, around 20-30 minutes. Turn once with a spatula. Salt lightly again.

Serve hot or warm, with the salsa on the side for drizzling.

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

We started making ice cream at 8:45 on a work night. Halfway through grating the chocolate chips, Katie had had enough and she went to play a game on the computer. Kevin came in to help grate the chocolate and left the kitchen in a chocolate massacre. There were melty chocolate shavings covering every flat surface in a 10 foot radius. I started to analyze if he did more harm than good, but then figured that he grated all of it in less than 3 minutes, plus it was already done, so I should count my blessings and give him a big ole' kiss.

After the ice cream was in the freezer I sat down with the laptop to check Facebook. There it was on Katie's status: "I'm so bored."

WHAT THE HECK!??! I'm staying up late for HER ice cream, and she sneaks off to write about how bored she is. What gives?

Then she made up for it, plus some, with this sweet note on my windshield:

(And she laughed the whole time she helped me write this post. Here is a refresher on the nickname Megasaurous Wrecks.)

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

2 1/2 C milk

2 3/4 C sugar

1 t salt

2 1/2 C half and half

1 1/2 t vanilla extract

6 C whipping cream

12 oz (2 C) grated semisweet chocolate

2 t peppermint extract (or less - it was pretty strong)

1 1/2 green food coloring

Scald milk until bubbles form around edge of pan. Remove from heat. Add sugar and salt. Stir until dissolved. Stir in half and half, vanilla, and whipping cream, peppermint extract, and green food coloring.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Freeze in ice cream freezer.

While ice cream is freezing, melt the chocolate and spread it thinly on the back of a cookie sheet. Put the pan in the freezer for 10 minutes, then use a metal spatula to scrape off the chocolate, which will break in thin, rough chunks.

When ice cream is frozen, after removing dasher, immediately stir in chocolate chips.

The Poor Little Piggy

See how sweet this girl looks? The little piggy doesn't think so. This is what she said on our Christmas drive:

"I hate pigs because they are smelly. I want a piggy so I can hit it, and if I miss it's behind and hit it in the head, oh well. Then I would put it in a stampede of wild mustangs. Then I would make it into bacon and then eat it."

For the record, Miranda was against the piggy abuse.