Green & Red Veggie Soup.....by Shell

I have a love/hate relationship with winter.  While I am enchanted with the beauty, I abhor being cold.  This winter has seen more below zero weather than normal.  My common mantra has become: "She's killing me!", meaning Mother Nature. I'm afraid my face is going to stuck on a grimace, I'm so used to gritting my teeth and bracing my whole body for the blustery bitterness. 

I found the perfect cure for winter!  This wonderful winter soup is so easy and scrumptious, it will warm your soul and make you (almost!) look forward to a lovely cold winter day where you can curl up with a great book and feel nourished inside and out. It is not entirely vegetarian, as it has chicken stock, but substitute your favorite veggie stock and vegetarians celebrate!



Green & Red Veggie Soup

1/2 of a large red onion

1 bunch of celery

1 large bunch of broccoli

4 T. olive oil

2 T. garlic

2 T. parsley

1 T. oregano

2 t. celery salt

4 1/2 cups chicken stock

2 small cans of tomato paste

2 T. Parmesan cheese

1 can of peas or the equivalent in fresh peas

 

Chop up 1/2 a red onion, a whole celery and a large bunch of broccoli.  Saute' in olive oil until tender.  Add 2 T. of garlic for the last couple of minutes.  Then add 2 T. parsley, 1 T. oregano and 2 t. celery salt. 

In a soup pot, mix together 4 1/2 cups of chicken broth, 2 small cans of tomato paste, 2 T. Parmesan cheese and one can of peas.  Bring to a simmer and stir, then add your celery/broccoli/red onion mixture.   

Top with homemade croutons!

Fun With Nutella and Other Mixed Nuts by Shell

 I realized I was in trouble when I was elbows deep in a Sam’s Club sized jar of Nutella and consuming it with a zeal I hadn’t possessed about anything in my life for the past seven years.  What is it about nuts combined with vanilla or chocolate and whipped into submission then put in a jar for consumption?  I could live on this stuff!  Combine it with peanut butter and put in on my all time favorite food of all – the humble toast - and even the pickiest of them will be singing Hallelujah! 

It was at this moment of enlightenment when I simultaneously realized with horror that not only did I have this giant jar of chocolate hazelnut spread, but I also owned a pretty good sized jar of vanilla hazelnut spread from World Market.  How did this end up in my cupboard?  I needed to do something fast!  Running to turn on my oven, I accidentally passed by the mirror and noticed my face was smeared with chocolate….I looked like a crazy person!  I grabbed 3 overripe bananas on the counter and my Mom’s cookbook: “From Blueberries to Wild Roses” and made quick work of an altered recipe:

Put the Spoon Down! Banana Bread with Whipped Nut Spreads

1/2 cup sugar

¼ cup brown sugar

1 stick of butter/softened

3 ripe bananas, smushed

1/3 c. nutella + ¼ c. vanilla hazelnut spread (or whatever you have on hand)

1 egg

1 t. vanilla

1¾ c. flour

2 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

¾ t. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Combine sugars, butter, bananas, egg, vanilla, nutella and vanilla hazelnut spread.  Mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a separate bowl.   Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix.  Put in a bread pan and bake for about 45 minutes or until center is done.  Cool completely before serving.  This bread is great with some cinnamon sugar toasted pecans on top (if you have them handy). 

Thanks Mom, you’re the best!!!

Food - Life - Food...by Shell

Food has always been a common theme in our family.  From my Mom writing her cookbook, to our family owning a café, to my husband and I running a pizza parlor, great food runs in our veins, nourishes our body and soul and can make a good day turn great. 

I have had a love/hate relationship with food for some of my life in that my body does not require much of it for survival, however; my entire being craves it for its own necessity.

In most careers that I have been in, food is either a theme, main money motivator, or what the whole office revolves around.  The most mundane job I had, in a cubicle processing insurance forms, actually had an entire cafeteria inside of it.  I would look with envy and confusion as my co-workers would down whole turkey dinners and return to work without falling asleep at their desks.  They would munch hot dogs, smothered with cheese and bacon, with a healthy helping of crinkle cut fries without batting a mascaraed eye lash.  I mostly ate fruit salad or soup.  Sometimes I would just have a little packet of oyster crackers and call it good.  However, this cafeteria had one redeeming quality: pita bread that was so pillowy and chewy, it would make you weep.  I would treat myself once a week to this delight, warmed on the grill and filled with roasted veggies or chicken.  The pita bread steamed when pulled apart and was a culinary delight if combined with red peppers, black olives, grilled onions and sometimes chicken. It truly was the one and only highlight of this job.

Along with owning the pizza parlor, I am a technical services librarian at the library in my town.  You would think that pictures of food in cookbooks would be the only food here.  Not so!  The many patrons in our town share their baking adventures with us willingly.  Often we have lots of treats to choose from and not your average sandwich cookie.  Oh, no, we are treated to the likes of thick lemon bars, cinnamon sugar donut bread, white chocolate dipped pretzels and cherry coffee cake among other delights.  We can wash it down with fair trade organic coffee graciously supplied by the Friends of the Library.  If that isn’t enough, soon after I started this job, my boss showed me the “chocolate drawer”.  Yes, we have an entire drawer filled with giant gourmet chocolate bars. 

I think I am destined to a life revolving around food, a fact I actively avoided for some years.  I no longer run away from it, but actively embrace it.  And, if it makes me blue, I can find easy solace in a giant chocolate bar – I know where to find them.

28 layers of delicious

Imagine a delicately sweet cake made of layer after layer of thin crispy crepes, filled between each is a delicious vanilla bean pastry creme.  Just a small piece of this wonderful dessert is all the comfort food I need.

For many years crepes have been our traditional Chrismas day treat, but only recently have I transformed them into a cake.

Preparing this masterpiece requires only some crepe-making skills and the courage to believe that you can sucessfully stack them to create the many layered cake.

Begin with a crepe batter which has been well-chilled.  Heat the skillet over medium high, adding only a small pat of butter.  Pour about 3 tablespoons of batter into the hot skillet and swirl until a thin layer of batter covers the whole bottom of the pan.  Cook until the edges curl in a bit and become a lovely golden brown.  

Flip this thin crepe over and let it toast a little longer.

Repeat until you have 20 to 30 crispy beautiful crepes (the number of crepes you have depends on the size pan used - I used an eight inch pan and made 30 crepes).

To create the cake, simply place a crepe on a plate, spread with the lovely pastry creme and add another crepe.

Continue to stack the crepes, filling with the creme until, magically, you have a cake!

Dust lightly with powdered sugar; chill for a couple of hours...and serve!

Crepes:

6 tablespoons butter

1 cup milk

3 tablespoons sugar

Pinch of salt

3 large eggs

3 cups flour

Heat butter until it begins to turn a light golden brown, remove from heat.

Heat milk (don't let it boil-remove from heat just before boiling).

Combine flour, salt, sugar and eggs.  Mix well.

Combine butter and milk, and pour slowly into flour mixture, stirring.

(I do most of this in the food processor, but it can be done by hand mixing too)

Cool this batter for at least one hour.

To prepare crepes, follow directions above.

September? Apple Pie, of course!

September and apple pie are synonymous to me.  The wonderful aroma of apples, spices, and buttery crust.......mmmmmm.

The pie, cooling, is irresistible.  Happiness!

O 

Pie crust fitted perfectly into my dish.

Apples peeled and sliced, begging to be placed inside that delicious crust.

Just enough apples for a pie and an extra dish of applesauce.

Apples, still on the tree, waiting just for me.

What I Adore About September~by Shell

Even though summer is my favorite time of year, fall is pretty much tied.  Who can resist an autumn day filled with bright colors and wonderful food? 

Best things about September:

·         Back to school.  I think of back to school as the beginning of the year~not Jan. 1^st!  Everything about going back to school is great.  It’s a fresh start. New outfits (love!) and school supplies also top my list on this category. What’s not to adore about a great fashionable ensemble and newly sharpened pencils with brand spanking new notebooks?  As a returning student, I have my online classes to look forward to as well as meeting new classmates. 

Outfit Inspiration Blog: http://suburbly-chic.tumblr.com/ 

·         Hiking and Biking.  The best time of year, in my opinion to hike and bike.  The trails are less crowded and the cool air in your lungs makes for a restorative joyful feeling in your soul! My husband and I love to find new waterfalls in the UP of Michigan, just over our border.

Waterfalls in Michigan:

http://www.gowaterfalling.com/waterfalls/maps/statemichigan.shtml 

·         Baking!   As soon as the temperature hits 60 I dust off my cupcake pans and cookie sheets and start pouring over recipes on Pinterest.  I long for apple crisp, granola and, like Ter~anything pumpkin!

 

                  Heather (shesdomestic) on has a whole board on Nutella!

http://www.pinterest.com/shesdomestic/nutella/ 

·         Shorter Hours!  Less work and more time to cuddle up with a great book.  Alas, there are benefits to living in a tourist town!

Spend your down time having fun with this hilarious read:

           “Where’d you go, Bernadette?” By Maria Semple

How do you enjoy September?  Share with us!

SEPTEMBER

September, how do I love thee? ..........

In so many ways, this month is, for me, about love and about color.

This is the month I married my beloved, a short 51 years ago.  In September, my first child was born and I fell in love again.  A second child arrived 3 years later, and he too, stole my heart.

Over the years this month has brought our family so many special occasions-weddings, anniversaries and birthdays...times to cherish each other and time to spend together.

September feels soft, warm and familiar to me- nature's colors pausing to soften from the brilliance and lushness of summer before bursting into the flaming colors of fall.  September is a changeling-part summer, part autumn, letting the deep green pallet of the forest turn softly into lighter, muted greens . She softens the hue of a brilliant blue sky a bit and adds a little more breeze to create playful, darting shadows in the woods, much like the fairies my granddaughters love.

Transition begins in September.....charming me once again, just as those sweet members of my family can charm me into falling in love with them all over again!

What I love about September by T

S had a good idea and we're all going to work harder to blog regularly:    Topic of the Day:

What I Love About September, bullet-style:

• The crispness that starts to creep in the air
• Apple Cider and Apple Cider Donuts at the Vermont orchards
• Getting to wear sweaters
• Zeptember on the radio stations across the country!  (Extra Zep is always a good thing)
• it's again time to wear BOOTS!
• Seeing kids climb on the bus each morning, waving goodbye to their parents
• No heat needed, but no need to cool off
• Going for walks with my husband in the cool morning, or in the cool evening.
• that the leaves will soon change (happens later in VT than WI, I've found - usually October)
• Thinking about preparing for Halloween
• Pumpkin-flavored everything reappears (mmmm!)
• that it doesn't stay light out so late - easier to get cozy at home after work
• That October is next--my favorite month!

And What do YOU like about September, friends?

~t

Michele ....With One L.

Like many a little girl, I grew up singing a lot of little jump rope and patty-cake songs:

… My Boyfriend’s name is Sambo, he comes from Alabambo (which we would oh so cleverly swap with the local Lac du Flambeau)  …with a pickle on his nose and a cherry on his toes. E-I-E-I-O, SAMBO!

    …the one about Miss Mary Mack Mack Mack all Dressed in Black Black Black with Silver Buttons Buttons Buttons all down her Back Back Back…

But the one that comes to my mind most--even to this very day--is the name song.  Over and over and over we would sing it – and in my mind, my beloved Aunt Michele’s name is always the name of choice.  Shella Shella bo Bella, Banana Fanna fo Fella, Fe Fi Fo Fella, SHELLA!   

________________________________________

Shella, Shell, S, Michele with one L. Kate’s Great-Granddaughter.  Gus?   She goes by a lot of names.  She is a very hard worker, a beautiful, strong woman.  Determined, creative, innovative, forgiving, accepting, loving.  Stylish, loving.  Aunt Extraordinaire.  And… Cinco de Mayo Birthday girl.

Happy Birthday, Aunt S. ... I spent the week in a hotel for work, spending my evenings thinking about our shared adventures over the years, trying to figure out what was **just right** to blog about for your birthday.  The shopping trips, bagel retrieval missions, whoopee cushions and plastic spiders? Laughing fits where our faces were beyond red?  Laughing fits where me and my sister ended up under the table in embarrassment?!  Nah, none of it was quite right.  But, wow - was I flooded with memories of shared moments!  How many girls get to spend so much time with their aunt as I was blessed to be able to have while growing up?  Not only am I blessed to have you as an Aunt, I have been blessed with so much time with you over the years...

When you were 16 I was born.  I recall you telling me how cool that was for you to have a niece when still in high school.  I may not remember that time myself, but I'm sure we spent many a minute together.  As I grew, I remember visiting you at college and thinking "HOW COOL IS MY AUNT? She lives on her own, far away...So. Flipping. Neat!"  I remember you moving back, I remember meeting your boyfriend, I remember your a.d.o.r.a.b.l.e. wedding dress (SO beautiful and classic, just like you) and was inspired by your small wedding - so intimate and special. (Your wedding is what inspired mine!)

I remember your gift basket business and shrink wrapping basket's in grandma and grandpa's living room.   I remember you opening the coffee shop, and then is when our many hours together began.   I was in 3rd grade when it opened. I was a senior in college when you sold it.  I grew up there, I grew up in your shadow - learning from you (and mom and grandma) ... getting to know you, sharing loving and living life together.  

The shop sold and you opened another business with B, I moved to Minnesota and life changed for a while.  The next time I saw you is when the girls all packed up to come rescue me from Minnesota.  That was a hard time for me, BUTT you ladies made that ride home unforgettable.
Shella, I can't pinpoint one moment we've shared to write about... but I find it comforting that I'm flooded with memories.  That means we've spent a ton of quality time together... time I cherish.

Happy birthday, my dear Shell.  I love you.

-t.

^ Don't ask me, I found it on Google :)

<3 u, S.

Happy Birthday, SHELLA

Springtime, for me always includes thoughts of you, Shell, for this is the time of year when you arrived on this earth. Along with the promise of fresh air, lovely flowers and sweet, warm days, your smile and sweetness have always been easy to love.
Like a rainbow, you brought color to our family as you grew from that tiny baby into the beautiful woman you are today.

Uniquely Shell:
Instead of a blanket, you preferred to pinch my elbow as you nursed.

You could say your ABC's as easily backwards as forward. This, before you were three years old.

You frightened me and always got my attention when, as a baby,you seemed to pass out by crying and holding your breath.

You were eager to go to school before you were four, willing to take your brother's place in kindergarten (even as he was determined to drop out).

You visited each family on the block, giving them updates on neighborhood news (mostly stuff about us, since, at age 4, that's really all you knew about).

You eagerly played the part of student while your older sister conducted her version of school..all in her pretend classroom.

Always curious, your school years resulted in consistently high marks.

On your 8th birthday we awoke to 8 inches of fresh snow...the bicycle you got as a birthday gift had to be set aside for a while.

You were always the peacemaker, smoothing out disputes between your sister and brother.

You blew up our water bed...Ooohhh that's a story for another post!

As a co-owner in our restaurant, I discovered what a fantastic manager and communicator you are and how much the younger employees looked to you as a role model.

You have become such a beautiful, gracious, loving adult....someone I am proud to know.


There's so much more to say.....but really, mostly, I want to say happy, happy birthday, SHELLA!

A biscuit to love

It is not hard for me to love a biscuit, but seems that I am eternally searching for that lovely, soft-inside, crunchy-outside delicious morsel of quick bread. In my quest for this ultimate taste adventure! I admit that I have tasted (and baked) some miserable specimens! But I have also prepared some very tasty little breads, and have come up with the recipe that works best for me. My recipe is simple, and quite easy. It's a compilation of all those that have gone before.
So, today I have decided to make some delicious warm biscuits...I want mine drowned in warm honey and butter, and made with some whole wheat flour (recipe to follow).



I start with some flour, (i use unbleached, all- purpose and whole wheat); some baking powder and a bit of salt. I mix all that together and add some fresh, fragrant butter, work it in with my fingers and into that goes some rich buttermilk ( the secret ingredient).
I know that I must work the dough very little if tender crumb is my goal. I pat the dough out onto a floured surface...transfer to a parchment covered baking sheet. Then I cut it into squares or rectangles and brush with a bit more butter .....bake in a very hot oven for about 15 minutes. Sucess! Steamy, buttery biscuits

New Template, New Feature!

Ooh la la !  A new bright cheerful template just in time for Spring!  Check out the new feature (over there -----> ) to "Follow Us"Happy St. Patty's Day!

~Kate's Granddaughters

That Ba**ard Skunk

Greetings from NYC - La Guardia Airport to be specific.  Today I'm (Ter) off to Ohio for a long work weekend and have found my first down time in months thanks to a 4 hour delay.  It's been a long while since I last wrote and a lot has happened.  Doctor visits, travel for work, working on buying a new car, laundry, laundry and more laundry.  Then there's the story I'm about to share with you-- the story of That Bastard Skunk.  (Pardon the language, but it is definitely appropriate in defining this situation.)  Also, I'm not sure this is a story, or more of a venting place for me.  After reading it, you'll understand why I need to VENT, literally.

Disclaimer, if this story makes you want to contact PETA, you've obviously never dealt with this personally.  I don't care who you are -- there is no living above a skunk. 

About ten days ago, husband and I woke to a putrid, unfortunately familiar, smell.  We looked at each other and he simply exclaimed "NOOOOOOO!!!".  We'd been skunked.   And we weren't even playing cribbage.  We knew the smell because it'd happened to us before.  In WI, one of these little striped beasts chewed his way beneath our house and "let 'er rip".  If you've never experienced this up close and personal, it smells like burnt plastic and rubber at the same time.  It assaults your nose, makes your eyes tear up, and gives you a sore throat and cough almost immediately.  It took us 6 months *LITERALLY* to get the funk out of our clothes, mattresses, towels, hair, pets, pillows.. You name it.  He said that he first time he smoked his pipe after the skunkage, he about lost his lunch.  It permiates e.v.e.r.y.t.h.i.n.g. and I do not wish this experience upon anyone.   We must owe karma something becuase it's happened again, folks.

We owned our home in WI and could take care of this how we wished - so the little buddy met a trap.  Case closed.  But now we rent, and the landlord isn't interested in trapping (and also apparently not interested in closing off the porch which is fully attached to the house -- giving any and all creatures an invitation to nest)...so this has required us to get a little creative. 

Here's a play-by-play of our stink-venture thus far:

• We're awoken to the undeniable presence of Pepe Le Pew and immediately open all windows in the house for the night.  Brrr.....
• Spray a mixture of apple cider vinegar and bleach under the house in all of the openings. 
• mop the floors with vinegar (believe it or not, it helps neutralize the smell-- or so your barely-working smell buds think at that juncture)
• Pepe fights back by lifting tail
• I went to work, stinking.  Rubbed a box of dryer sheets all over myself.  Hardly helped. Created "Sorry I stink" post-its with a skunk cartoon on them. Distribute to co-workers while frowning.
• Began leaving porch light on at night, hoping that will aid in stinky's exodus
• launched moth balls in every opening under house.  Drown them with bleach to get fumes going.
• Note: house now smells like skunk, bleach, and moth balls. Yet again, woken at night to sniffs of him "returning fire".  Officially ready to put up our colonial wall tent and live in the yard.  He can have the house.
• Spray under house with barrage of peppermint oil (from my soap-making supply--frown), dish soap, Vicks Vapor-rub, bleach, vinegar.  Husband says "Ha! That'll teach him!"
• DO we have success?!?  Nothing happened this night!!
• Just to keep scent there, we spray that mixture again.  I also sprinkle cayenne pepper around the house, like I'm seasoning a spicy soup.
• Wake up: **sniff sniff** Eau de Pepe. Frown like Grumpy Cat. He's not getting the message.
• Husband says "Get ammonia".  I bring home.  Fill sprayer.  We lay on the wet, snowy ground at his level, heads almost under the house (dangerous as it's after dark), flashlight illuminating our view.  Husband says "I SEE THE BASTARD'S EYES".  We launch ammonia bombs (full strength ammonia on rags) toward his hole. 
• He scurries out.  We claim victory, yet keep spraying ammonia 2x daily.
• This morning: I wake at 3 a.m. to catch my flight.  Smell hasn't degraded.  I leave the house happy until I land in NYC to a text:  "skunk is back with a vengeance"

The saga continues....

Saturday Musings

It's a cold Saturday morning, and I've just finished a delicious cup of coffee and fresh biscuits right out of the oven.  A great way to begin the weekend.   Over the past weeks, so many topics have come to mind for this post, which I eagerly think about, take pictures for and then move on quickly to another topic!  Time to re-group. Here is the short list:

My early winter visit with Halle and Elle resulted in batches of melted snowman cookies and a spirited couple of hours playing in the snow with visits to the faire habitats.


A week or so later, a delivery to our home of some pallets of pellets resulted in a short visit with the truck driver: a young woman, so sweet, strong and efficient that I took pictures and wanted to tell the world.

Next I began working on a project to make a cupcake stand and to create a wonderful baby shower cake for my nephew, Mark and his wife, Ali, who are expecting a baby girl this spring.

Then a trip to Florida for two weeks to visit my brother,Duf,  his wife, Mysha and their beautiful (almost 2 years old) little girl, Madaline.  My sister Cher stayed with us in a rented vacation home that was not as advertised in cleanliness and comfort.  But the beach always impresses and is beautiful and great for long sunrise and sunset walks. And visiting with Duf and his family is always a wonderful treat.  All in all a restful and good get-away.

Back home, it has been cold and snowy.  But comfortable, and clean. And the biscuits are very, very good!

We're Still Here, World...

Helllllllo World!  Just a quick note to say hi - we're extra busy traveling, working, living this thing called life! 

 

 We're going to try to each start blogging once a week (or more) -- please bear with us as we find time to do so!

Love

Kate's Granddaughters

Food Memories

Greetings and Happy New Year from Ter.  I was thinking this morning, while preparing a big Sunday brunch, about how food has shaped my life and created many memories.  Like most families, ours has been shaped by food and drink.  Just like G blogged about Grandma Kate teaching her to bake bread, my G has done the same for me.  I remember being a little girl, Grandma's "Petite Little Flower" as she so affectionaltely called my sister and myself, and experiencing so many cool food-related things with her.

I remember the picnics on Grandma's living room floor and that drool-worthy homemade cheese sauce she made to top our pasta (that I have NEVER been able to accurately duplicate.).  I remember the Christmas Crepes that were tradition for so many years.  I recall the Cinnamon toast, the monkey bread, the snow ice cream.  I remember getting into her magical car (named Bermelda Lou) once a week and trekking around Northern Wisconsin in search of the best pie.  I remember traveling to Minnesota with Grandma and Grandpa and ordering a hamburger at the Vietnamese restaurant we stopped at.  Yes, you read that correctly.   Although I was too little to remember it, story goes that Grandma and Aunt Shell took me to a Chinese restaurant when I was tiny.  Something about me spitting an almond across the room, or squeezing coffee creamers until they exploded.  They would need to clarify that one...:)  Either way, my point is = family + food = stories. 

The power of food tradition is so strong.  I am enjoying forming new food traditions with my husband.  We go for our clam chowder every other week, which I have already written about... but one of my favorite new things is the mystery of my Friday night drives home from work --wondering what toppings Andy has developed for the pizza this week.  Sometimes it's cilantro, tomato and onion pizza fries -- another time kalamata olives, grape leaves and crispy ham, or crab and spices.  I love Friday mystery pizza night. It's always so good.



Golden funnel cake goodness

As I write this, I am preparing our latest once-in-a-while indulgence- funnel cakes.  This time around the funnel cakes have a bit of cinnamon and rum in them (We tend to rumify everything we can).  I just snuck a piece and it's quite good.   -->

husband's cup and thick "grogg"

<-- Coupled with our spiced Vermont Country Blend Coffee, this is shaping up to be a tasty day.  Another one of husband's newest concoctions is a grogg for his coffee.  It's a thick mixture of raw honey, molasses, cinnamon, fresh ground nutmeg, maple syrup, vanilla and ginger.  We didn't use a recipe - we just hit the pantry and started throwing things into the jug.  It's pretty sweet, but a little goes a long way, making for an earthy, spicy cup that you could never buy in a coffee shop.


Last week we experienced our first Nor'easter (which was easy-peasy compared to the blinstering WI winters we are accustomed to) and were blanket with beautiful, fluffy -glittery snow, perfect for making some of that snow ice cream that G taught me as a kiddo.  A huge, mounded bowl of fresh *WHITE* snow, when mixed with some simple staples, becomes an incredible delicacy.  We took some culinary liberties this time around and added maple syrup - and yes, spiced rum.  Very good!  Below you will find the recipe from the cookbook G wrote... another wonderful memory is trying out all of the foods as she wrote the book...and what a super special thing for a little girl to have a recipe named after her and published?    G's the coolest.

The recipe from G's cookbook...

       

Our 2013 Maple and Spiced Rum Snow Ice Cream

I will leave you with one more memory - that I am reminded of often.  Below is a photo of my cubicle at work... the framed item was given to me by G in a card for my birthday a few years ago.  I believe it sums this post up better than I could ever hope to.  

"The most important things to do are to get something to eat, something to drink, and somebody to love you." - Brenda Ueland.

Happy feasting -- with family.  A lesson I have learned - family is what [and who] you make it.

What are your favorite food memories? Please comment below and share!

-Kate's Granddaughter

The Amazing Perception of Dogs!

I (Shell) am not sure if Great Grandma Kate ever had dogs... Kate passed away about a year before I was born, but canines have always had a special place in my heart.

I’ve  always thought that my dogs know what I’m feeling.  They have that way of giving me a gentle nudge when I’m not feeling so great, licking away my tears and just giving me a good snuggle when that is exactly what I needed.  But, I have never realized just how perceptive my favorite pets are until this past year. 

We have two German short hair pointers, Kona and Sieben.  They are sisters and Kona is the alpha.  Sieben is content being very laid back, bossed around and in general conceding to her older sister’s demands.  They love running on our almost 6 acres of land and are able to mostly tire themselves out hunting shrews, chasing squirrels and tormenting garden snakes.  When we go to work at our pizza place at night, they “kennel up” in a very spacious play area in the basement or their equally spacious kennel outside during the summer months.  Mostly, or so we thought, they just sleep while we are gone. 

The first sign of trouble came this past August when we came home from work to find they had “busted out” of their downstairs kennel and were working on detaching the basement door at the top of the stairs.  Needless to say, we were upset.  So, a new kennel was purchased, put together, secured to the concrete walls and life went on.  Then, a couple of weeks ago, we came home to Kona at the top of the stairs, Sieben in her kennel, and both barking up a storm.  Obviously, they were trying to tell us something.  Being the clueless humans that we are, we didn’t do anything about it.  Hello! Kona, weighing in a barely 45 lbs climbed a six foot high kennel and launched herself out of it! So, when it happened yet again, my husband spent a day putting a roof on their kennel.  However; there had to be something more.  What to do?  I didn’t want to get rid of Kona.  She is “my” dog of the two, the one I picked out.  And, after six years, we are attached.  But, why, all of the sudden is she acting up?

So, I turned to Cesar Milan’s book: Cesar’s Way, and, even though I don’t really agree with some of The Dog Whisperer’s principles, the part about separation anxiety made sense.  Thinking it through a little more, Brad and I have been quite anxious in the past few months, something that Kona had obviously picked up on.  And, I’m probably grumpy when I kennel her up, since I’m not too happy with my evening work situation right now.  I’m sure she notices.  The cure, according to Mr. Milan, is to work your dogs out, for at least an hour a day.  Heck, the book states, it will be good for both of you!

Well, I took the advice to heart and started a couple of days ago, walking both dogs for an hour a day, first thing after waking up (after coffee, of course).  Mind, you, we live in Northern Wisconsin.  Our roads are snow covered!  Today, it was a frosty 2 degrees.  But, as we settle into our pace, it becomes at once renewing and exhilarating.  It’s good to be outside with nature for an hour a day.  Kona and Sieben seem to look at it as an assignment, a chore to get done before going on with their day.  And they rise to the occasion.  I’m sure it is only a matter of time before they realize that it is 7:30 every day when we walk, and they will coax me out of bed and into keeping up the routine. 

It’s three days in, and suddenly, I don’t feel so anxious.  I feel restored and hopeful: something I haven’t felt in a very long time.  These past couple of days, I find myself looking forward to the walk.  My head feels clearer.  My goals have come to light.  My glutes, abs and calves are screaming with life.

Now it has me thinking, who is this helping more, Kona or me? On some level I think maybe she knew exactly what I needed.  After our walk and her treat, she lies down with a contented sigh.  Her work is done here.

My two dogs & I this summer (Kona is up front, of course)

 

What Would Kate Do?

Hi.  Ter here.  I heard something interesting earlier this month that got my wheels a-spinnin'...which made me yearn for a time before my own.   I heard that a financial institution came to a screeching hault and was turning people away because their computers were down.  People couldn't get their money!  This made me wonder: when did we become less capable than a robot or a machine?  Why, when machines spring a sprocket, do we panic and spring a sprocket of our own?   Where is our backup plan and why can't we seem to find it?   I found myself asking:  What would Grandma Kate do? 

I never met Grandma Kate, but from hearing stories of her and the glorious generation she comes from, I bet she would have been able to overcome a sprung sprocket and find Plan B lickity-split.  If the problem happened at a bank, I bet Kate would have counted the money by hand and noted down who took what and when - to adjust the account later.  If it was at a grocery store, I bet they would have started a tab and the patron wouldn't be asked to just "put everything down and come back later for it" - because what if, for instance, they needed to feed their children now?   Why, in this day in age, are we so quick to say "No", and not help our fellow man? (Sure, there are plenty of logical and rational reasons, but it's still so sad!)

Grandma Kate was in my mind for the rest of the day as I performed my tasks. How would she have made a phone call? Certainly not while driving, as I did.  She would have maybe sat at her kitchen table with the *corded* phone. Certainly she would be able to be more attentive to the person she called, than I was.  Of course I couldn't write down the information I was given--my hands were at ten and two (or rather just one at twelve :( ). 

How would Grandma Kate buy that tool her husband needed?  She wouldn't have looked it up on her phone, found, purchased, and confirmed it was shipped within minutes.  She would have dressed, gone to town, talked with folks at the store, and purchased the item.  It would have taken her much longer, but she would have been able to communicate with another soul while I was just glued to a screen.

Grandma Kate, and all those in generations before my own, would have found Plan B simply and quickly because they knew how to communicate with one another.   We may lack trust in our fellow man these days, but maybe it's partially because we don't communicate with them.  Just a thought rattling around in my head...what do you think?  Does our technology"unite us or divide us?  Are we better for having it, or worse because of it?  Feel free to comment below.

ter

Hello & Welcome To Our Blog~From Shell

Thanks for stopping by!  I am honored to be a part of this collaboration, along with my Mom and my Niece, only two of Kate Macke's oodles of granddaughters! 

I live with my husband, Brad of 19 years in a little cedar house at the top of Wisconsin.  When we are not working together at our pizza parlor, we love to go day tripping,
snowshoeing, mountain biking and we just adore hanging out with our two German
short-hair pointers, Kona & Sieben.  As for me, I love reading, writing, creating and learning about people and what insparks them.

My two co-bloggers are amazingly talented women who intrigue and enliven me everyday.  They both have a love of life and would give you the shirts off their backs.  Especially for the past two years, they have been my rocks of never ending support in my very rocky life. 

I hope you are inspired as much as I am about  the beauty in life's little things.  And I hope to be inspired by you!

Baking Kate's Bread

 Bread, mmmmmmmmmmmmm!  For the past three days I've been on a bread-baking marathon.  This year we are gifting our homemade bread for those we care about.  My grandma Kate taught me how to bake bread.  She baked every week: big, golden brown, aromatic loaves.  Her way of teaching was subtle, letting me watch..answering my simple questions; letting me taste.  She had a quiet way about her...but so much strength lie in those quiet ways.
And now, my bread is from her bread, although prepared differently.  Kate would have gasped at the fact that I don't knead the bread.  And I don't proof the yeast.  And I prepare the loaves in a free-form -not traditional bread pans.  But I think she would approve mightily of the taste...still very much Kate's bread in the end.
And me, I think I am very much Kate's granddaughter too.  I have tried to be like her in many ways in my life...achieving that goal sometimes...falling short other times.  But mostly, I think she would have liked the adult I turned out to be.I know she would have given a gentle nod of approval to her great granddaughter Shelly, who is my daughter; and to Terra who holds the title of great-great granddaughter to Kate - my granddaughter.  Both of these young women celebrate life with their curiosity, their individualism and their amazing fortitude.  They continually amaze me.
My interests lie in cooking and baking.  In growing vegetables and some pretty flowers and oh, yes those tantalizing, sometimes delicate herbs.
I love to travel too and to learn of other cultures.
I teach some of what I know, and I truely enjoy that as well.


So, with the rich scent of fresh bread wafting through my home, I send you thoughts of bread, family and love, thoughts of being Kate's granddaughter, and learning how to live on this misty December morning.  And I welcome you to our blog.