Dinner Table Crescendo

• Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp •

This is a very "tossed together" recipe. The measurements are not precise, so increase or decrease as you see fit. This really is a recipe that you can make work depending on how much fruit you have on hand.

For Filling, Combine:
• Rhubarb, sliced (about 4-8 stalks)
• Strawberries, sliced (about 1-2 pints)
*other fruit combinations should be fine, if you wish!
• 1 c. sugar

After soaking fruit in the sugar for a bit, add:
• 2-3 T cornstarch
• 2 t. lemon juice
• 1 t. vanilla

Pour into baking dish (pie pan for smaller amount, up to 9 x 13" if larger quantities.)

For Topping, Combine:
• 1 c. oats
• .5 c. butter (softened)
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1 c. flour
• 1 t. cinnamon

Mix well (adding a smidge water if difficulty coming together) 'til large crumbs form. Sprinkle over filling and bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes or 'til filling is bubbling and topping is golden brown.

**This makes a lot of topping ... but not really a problem, if you ask me.
**If you'd like, melt the butter and use half the topping to press into bottom of pan and top with remaining mix.

In Which We are Together Again

So good to have Pops home again. After being gone for a memorial service in California, we are so glad to be all together. In honor of Lucette's birthday and Pops' return, we had a particularly yummy (yet not-too-time-consuming!) dinner. It was a little slice of heaven hearing them all squeal and wrestle in the backyard while putting the meal together.

Wrestling and good food? That's a party in our house.

Glad-To-Be-Together Menu:
• Broiled Flank Steak (Better on the bbq but ... outta' grill gas)
• Broiled Zucchini & Squash
• Baked Beans (from a can but w/ molasses dumped in)
• Crescent Rolls (Whoops, forgot to serve them! Have you ever done that?)
• Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp

A Given Gift

A beautiful day to celebrate a beautiful girl. Fresh herb starts from Grammy and slices of sugar-dusted pound cake,

Sunshine and strawberries,

Bunny cuddles, loved ones, and her very own polka-dotted sewing box,

A creamy blue sewing machine, just her size.

Her smile, my heart.

Lucette's 7 Year Reflections

Do you feel any older today, Lucette?
Actually ... I do. And taller too. It happens each year right before my birthday ... I feel it in my knees.
-------
Did you have a nice birthday, my dear?
Oh, yes. It was the best ever.
What made it special?
I have my own bunnies and my own sewing machine!
I'm so happy that you are happy, Lucette.
(Happy sigh.) You have to wait 7 years for a birthday like this.

Good Little Things

I watched a French foreign film recently and the chic main character favored striped blue and white Breton tees. Love them. In fact, I might wear them everyday 'til I'm 70. Well, maybe not, but I do think they are just about t-shirt perfection.

After getting dressed this morning, I was looking through some necklaces to compliment the shirt and came upon this little ladybug. Pops gave it to me the day Lucette was born, 7 years ago tomorrow. He thought it would be a sweet thing for a baby to look at while cuddled up with mama.

Somehow, the gift means more to me now than when I first received it. Funny how good things are like that.

Acquiring a Fondness

Recently I posted about my distaste for ironing. Blah. However, I was fascinated by the comments. Such a polarizing chore! It seems you gals either love or hate it. Now, the cringe crowd ... I get it. But some of you relish this task as almost an art-form. Well, knock me over with a feather!

Always one for a chore gimmick, I was particularly curious by Kelly's comment about how she loves to use spray starch and how crisp and lovely the garments turn right before her eyes.

Figuring housewives have been starching for centuries, mustn't there be a homemade version I could concoct and even make sweet smelling? Yes, of course!

After a little research, here's what I ended up with: Mix 1/4 c. cold water with 1 T. cornstarch. Mix well. Add about 3 cups of very hot water, stirring to combine. Add a couple of drops of lavender essential oil, if you'd like (It'll make the house smell good, too). All done! Wait to cool, place in spritzer and shake well before each use.

Kelly, you're right! It is kind of fun to hear that crackle pop of the steamy iron and watch the wrinkles vanish. Now, those of you who use the store bought starch ... if you try the homemade version, will you let me know if you think it competes? What other tips do you all have for me? I think I just might be developing a new fondness.

An Early Birthday Surprise

They are here. Can you hardly stand how cute they are? Due to logistical circumstances, Lucette's birthday surprise comes early and we are all giddy with glee.

Please meet our new friends: Butter, Harvey, and Nibbles.

Their outdoor pen is not quite completed, but I think we are glad for the excuse to keep them indoors with us for a bit.

More pictures to come. Must go pet bunnies ...

A Beautiful Attempt

I'm a little late in clearing out the garden box and starting the spring seed plantings, but I just haven't been ready to uproot these cauliflower plants. Aren't they stunning?

True, they've grown over two feet, like some sort of cruciferous Goliath. And yes, I confess, the yield was a big fat zero. No actual cauliflower grown here.

But really. Gardening is about the process and enjoyment, no? I have a very darwinian attitude about gardening. If it thrives, it's a keeper. If it doesn't ... it better, at the very least, be pretty or it's gettin' ripped out, never to be planted again. And believe me, I've ripped out my share of failed attempts.

I've always loved the quote from William Morris saying, "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." Isn't that good? I think it would apply nicely to the garden, as well.

What are you going to try planting this year?

Because She'll be Wild with Delight

Miss Lucette has a birthday this Saturday. She doesn't know it, but the project Pops has been working on ... it's not just a peculiarly placed fence.

Mama and Pops came up with the perfect birthday idea for her. Pops is doing all of the work and Mama just watches with approval. She's going to love it.

Care to guess along with Lucette? You'll have to wait 'til her birthday right along with her to find out. (And in case you were wondering ... we're not actually growing boys out of 5 gallon buckets.)

No Time for Uppity

Normally, I'm not a fan of unpretentious crackers. You see, I'm a bit of a cracker snob. I like them all hoity-toity in their whole grain finery. But the saltine? Golly. They're just so darn good.

Time for lunch? Defrost some split pea soup from the freezer (thank you Easter ham-bone!), slice up a bit of cheddar-jack and whip out a sleeve of soda crackers. Yup. I love a little square of crispy niceness.