First Gingerbread House

Oh, my goodness

Our neighbors gave me this gift ... something for me to put together with the grandboys. Sounds like fun, and it was? Luke (3) did the tree and kind of helped put the house structure together, until he pressed too hard and the back of the house broke in half. Then he lost interest and just wanted to play. Richard (6) just wanted to eat the candy, and when I said "No, because I'm not sure the candy is real", well, he went off to play. The oldest grandson, David, is wiser than his 9 years, and he never came within 20 feet of the project.

Suffice it to say:

1. Don't expect me to regift this.
2. Don't let the picture on the box intimidate you.
3. Do use whatever strength you have to get the frosting out of the packet.
4. Do use your creativity because it's not going to look like the picture on the box.
5. Expect it to take you longer than you imagined.
6. Enjoy the masterpiece. It is going to be the centerpiece on the kid's table at Christmas!

MERRY GINGER-MAS!!

Cookin' with Dr Pepper

I just happened to be looking for Luke's play lizard and of course I checked under my bed for the lost critter. To my surprise (uh, no lizard) I did find a box of old recipes. Inside the box was this treasure and much more that I will plan to share now that I'm in blog-mode again.

TABLE OF CONTENTS: 

Our Story Opens; The Central Theme; Background Personalities; Sensational Subplots; and 

Exciting Endings

1965

The Kissing Book

Rich went for a walk this morning up behind our back fence and into the Santa Monica Mountain Reserve. This is not an unusual activity for him. When he came back home, he handed me a book, and said "Here's a story for you." Here comes the unusual. About 300 feet into his walk he looked down and saw a book on the ground. The title? You guessed it, "The Kissing Book".

The section titles cover it all ~ Prelude to a Kiss, Kissing Fundamentals and Kissing as an Art Form. I skimmed the pages and found 6 Kissing Drinks. Here is my personal favorite:

Summer's Kiss (Mixed Drink)

1 oz. Amaretto

3 oz. Cranberry Juice

Pour over ice into glass.

The best parts of the book for me were the black and white illustrations. A little trivia is that the author, Tomima Edmark, is a tireless researcher on the subject of kissing. And now I must go do some laundry!

Tortilla Soup

It's funny where inspiration comes from. Last night Suzy, Mike and family came over for some Tortilla Soup. Suzy made it, and it was very yummy. So, this morning I decided to watch the 2001 movie, "Tortilla Soup". Very yummy. Second time I've seen it and I must say Raquel Welch is fabulous, never mind the food. However, there was this easy idea. Cherry tomatoes filled with guacamole and topped with the tiniest of round tortilla chips. Adorable.

Never mind that I paused the movie to have a bowl of Cheerios. Back to the film. Just watching the hands chop, grill, and arrange and serve the food reminds me of Jen in the kitchen. Graceful and creative, and always a most delicious presentation. Very, very yummy.

I found this recipe for Tortilla Soup so this is my version of Sharing Sunday. Oh, and I changed it up just a bit:

Ingredients

2 cans (14 oz each) chicken broth 1 can (10 oz each) Mild Diced Tomatoes & Green Chilies, undrained 1 can (8 oz each) Tomato Sauce 2 cups of vegetables (Celery, carrots, cauliflower, green beans, corn) 1 can dark red kidney beans 2 cups water 18 tortilla chips, broken 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (1/2 cup = 2 oz)

Directions

Combine broth, undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, vegetables and water in medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Soup serves 6. Use chips and cheese to garnish the soup. Avocado could be wonderful, too. Change it up: Use more diced tomatoes and less chicken broth and skip the tomato sauce. Use some cumin.

A Usual Sunday

Not the greatest of weeks, but today is a new day, and the first day of a new week. I pampered myself with a Chick Flick in bed and I knew just how it would evolve about 30 minutes in, but I watched it all anyway. Some great, great lines and it was filmed in San Francisco. The acting? Not so formidable, but you can't have it all. And today, I just needed some gentle music and a familiar setting.

Ally has a friend visiting from Minnesota and since this is her first week end here, Ally called to ask if I could make the traditional family Sunday dinner with all the usual food (pilaf, chicken kebab, salad). I said "Yes" of course. Ally's friend is a girl named Hope, but for some reason I call her Faith.  I'm going to think this is mystical and magical, not just a Mema thing.

Anyways, life is all around us so I'd better get going. I don't want to miss anything (on purpose), and the fridge? Well let's just say that it's not quite ready to be raided.

Super Bowl Sunday

No secret that The Zigs are Steelers fans so tomorrow is a big day for us. Must admit that it's way more fun to win so let's see if we can have a big lead going into those infamous last 2 minutes of the 4th quarter. Go Steelers!

Book Review ~ 2

My neighbor, Michelle, is an avid reader. Last summer she shared a novel with me, The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I remember that Michelle gave it to me on a Friday and needed it back for her Monday night Book Club. This brief "reading window" might be a good way to measure a great book. 

The setting: Jackson, Mississippi in the 1960's. As I read and engaged in the lives of The Help's characters, I reflected on my life in the 60's. Was my home, San Francisco, on another planet? I was 13 then and I already knew plenty about ethnic diversity, but civil non-rights, maybe not so much. That decade was one continuous history lesson that I read about each morning in the newspaper and heard about when the family watched the evening news on television. But did I live it? Not as deeply as many, I believe, at least not until High School. I think that was when I grew up. Think about it: Medgar Evers, Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, Watts, Malcolm X, Vietnam. How could I not live history?

Anyways, back to the book. As aware as one might be of "The South" and racial lines, Ms. Stockett's book brings it home in an intriguing weave of story lines. Lots of truth and stark, unbelievable realities. This was one of those books that I just didn't want to put down once I started reading it.