Summer Fun at Gramma and Papa's House

I spent many fun hours watching the boys and their neighborhood friends ride their bikes

Taking a break from the heat to watch a little Caillou

The squirrels kept us busy keeping the bowl full

Lots of squirt gun fights

Ivan kept himself entertained

Silly boy!

I made raspberry, strawberry and blackberry freezer jam

Time for a juice box

Many water-balloon fights

Too much fun!

Wiley trying desperately to get his dad wet!

Lots of great memories from Summer 2011!

Not One, but Two Great Scones

Our daughter and her family stayed with us for a few days before they moved north, which was very nice for us. It was great having them real close before they moved away. It's a mom/gramma thing! One of her family's weekly excursions is a trip to Starbucks for "coffee" and blueberry scones, so I decided to make some scones that could knock Starbucks socks off! 

Let me say they were amazing! We all enjoyed them very much. I had to hide two of them in the cupboard so my son-in-law and dear hubby could enjoy one the next morning. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of them, but the great recipe comes from "The Joy of Baking" blog and you can find the recipe for Blueberry Streusel Scones at this link. You should try them! They are so good! I will definitely make them again. My son-in-law told me they were the best scones he had every eaten, so of course, that made them extra special!

I found myself thinking about those scones several times after they were gone and considered making them again, but I decided it was mainly having our family staying here with us that made me think about them so fondly. Once I realized that, I decided I would wait until they were back for a visit before I make that recipe again. One thing for sure, all that thinking about scones made me decide I had to make a batch of scones. I had several bananas and peanut butter always sounds good, so I decided to make scones with banana, peanut butter and a few chocolate chips!

You can see little white chunks of bananas in the picture. I don't like to mash the bananas too vigorously because I like little bites of banana. I added crunchy peanut butter as the fat, but you can use creamy. As these scones began to develop, I made mental notes of getting the ingredient ratio right because it's all about getting the dough right; not to sloppy wet and not too stiff. Once you have the ingredients mixed together, you don't want to over mix them because that will make them tough as rocks! They turned out even better than I had hoped or expected. They are so easy and very fast to put together. I'm not going to call them super "healthy," but they don't have butter or cream which is a staple in most scones and they are certainly healthier than many others I have made! :-)

When dear hubby came home and saw them on the counter I told him they started out as scones and ended up more like a big cookie, which puts them somewhere between a scone and a big cookie, so I am calling them "skookies."

I put them in the freezer the same day and it has been nice to take one out to enjoy every couple days. They are still very moist and are just as good straight out of the freezer. I have tried very hard to wait until they are completely defrosted before taking a nibble but, alas, I don't think I have managed to do that yet!

Enjoy!

P.S. Enjoy your day today! It is the last full day of Summer 2011! Fall officially begins at 5:05am tomorrow!

Chicken Stew

Stew is such a great meal for those cool (cold and wet) fall and winter days, here in the northwest, but as I was making this chicken stew a couple of weeks ago for dinner, it was 93 degrees outside! I must have lost my mind, but it sounded so good, I couldn't help myself! It must have been that good old fashioned smell-a-vision that convinced me. Central air helps too!

Two days before, I had watched Giada De Laurentiis make this recipe on "The Talk" and it looked great and I was convinced that it would fill the house with wonderful smells. I don't remember trying any of her recipes, but I have decided that I need to take another look at her recipes. This recipe was very simple and easy to make and other than the homemade broth, it was ready within an hour.

I always keep boneless skinless chicken breasts in my freezer, but this recipe called for two chicken breasts with ribs so we bought a whole chicken. Adding the chicken with bones and skin adds more flavor. Dear hubby cut it into pieces for me and I used the "extra parts" (neck, back, organs) for making a nice broth. I made the broth early in the day, refrigerated it and skimmed the fat off before using. I will probably try making it with boneless skinless chicken breasts in the future. I will use a little Fond de Poulet Gold, which you can find at Amazon.com if your grocery store doesn't carry it. This should give the stew the extra flavor you get from cooking the chicken with bones and skin, without the extra fat.

We served it with a slice of rustic bread for dunking into the broth. The second time around, dear hubby made some garlic toast from the leftover bread which was really good too. It made me realize that I was missing the flavor of garlic in the stew. I will be making this again in a few weeks, when fall is actually here, and I will be making a few changes. It wasn't as full of flavor as I expected it would be. I'm thinking that I will add more fresh basil, more onion, fresh garlic,  and I want to play around with some spices. If I come up with something I like better, I will update the printable recipe.

Enjoy!

Empty Nest Syndrome - Take Two!

When we took our "baby" daughter to Seattle to start college in 1995, wow, that was hard. I was in full on "empty nest syndrome." Eventually, I adjusted to not having her in my life on a daily basis. Life does go on! I filled my life with activities that kept me busy and around other people. First and foremost, I went back to school! It felt good to do something for myself! Very quickly, my life was full of excitement and challenges and there was no time for "empty nest syndrome."

Now I find myself living another version of "empty nest syndrome." My daughter and her family moved to Seattle last week. My grandsons are no longer a part of my "almost daily" life. Like most transitions, this process has been difficult, but I am looking forward, not backward, and I am embarking on the next chapter of my life. I'm not sure what that will include, but I am ready and open.

Several months ago, I saw a sign that really stuck in my head. It read,

"Don't cry because its over, Smile because it happened!"

I shared it with several people, of course, not knowing that it would very soon have a deep meaning in my own life! Through this summer I have been busy spending as much time with my grandsons and daughter as possible, making "smile" memories to keep me going after they were gone.

Fortunately, they are only 3 hours away, so we are in the process of working out our new "normal." I never wanted or expected to be a part-time gramma, but here I am again, looking for something meaningful to fill those empty spots in my days. I don't know where or what that will be, but I am open to what life brings my way.

I will be okay, but I'm not sure about these two. If we could just convince our doggies that life is still worth living without their boys.

 Such sad doggies!

They want their boys back!

Watching and waiting!

September 11, 2001 : A Different Kind of Memory

I realize that today, most of this country is thinking about the terrible terrorist attack that happened 10 years ago. It was the kind of day that you remember exactly where you were, what you were doing and how you found out news that forever changed history. 

I have that kind of memory of when President John F. Kennedy died. Our school class was on a field trip to a museum in downtown Portland. It was a regular day and then suddenly, teachers were whispering, then teachers were crying and we were all left confused. What was happening? They wouldn't tell us. We were loaded back onto our buses and driven back to the school. They sent us all home, I guess so our mom's could tell us what happened. At home, we sat by the radio listening to Walter Cronkite for the rest of the day. I will never forget the sound of his voice coming over our radio for hours. It is forever etched in my memory. 

I also have a memory etched in my memory of September 11, 2001 that is probably different than most. My son, Alan, and I were living in my parents basement. Not by choice but by necessity. My husband was at home in Los Angeles, working during the week and flying up to Portland on weekends. I woke up early that morning and turned on the TV around 5 am. I watched as the first plane hit the World Trade Center. And then the second plane hit. It barely registered in my brain that morning because my focus was elsewhere. My son and I were up early to head to his chemotherapy appointment. Even as we were sitting in the hospital waiting area, all the TV's were showing the horror of the attack, it all seemed surreal. My reality was that my son was fighting for his health and life! Cancer was our biggest enemy that day and continued to be for the months that followed.

So, today I will pause and remember how life changed for this country 10 years ago, but my heart still remembers the stress, fear and sadness I felt while my son was fighting cancer. Today I am most thankful that 10 years later, our son is happy and healthy, and living life to its fullest level. Believe me, you have no idea how true that statement is!

Ten years cancer free!

To all of those who have lived the past 10 years without their fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, husbands, wives, sons, daughters and loved ones, we are all thinking of you today and remembering your pain and loss. 

We will never forget!

Happy Labor Day!

Was that a fast summer or what?! 

It has been a very busy at our house this summer!

Enjoy the holiday today! 

Sadly, it is the last "official" holiday until Thanksgiving!

Labor day always feels like the last day of summer but, the September equinox is on September 23 at 9:04 this year. So, enjoy more picnics and keep those bright white pants and shoes in your closet!

Really enjoy the last 18 days of Summer 2011!

Orange, Cardamom and Almond Granola

 If you like cardamom, you will want to make this granola. It is a very easy and it makes 2-1/2 cups which is a good amount. Sometimes 5 or 6 cups of granola is too much, especially for two people. It bakes on one pan and it bakes for 20 minutes. I enjoy a little granola on my yogurt so this was the perfect amount for me, especially since I am usually the only one in our house that eats granola. 

I used a teaspoon of cardamom in my batch which might be a little to much for most, unless you are a big cardamom fan like me. The other thing I realized in making this granola is; if you only stir it once half way through, you get more granola clusters rather than just individual pieces of oats and nuts. I love my granola crunchy and this was very crunchy. Next time I make this recipe, I plan on using half agave nectar and half honey.

Enjoy!