Monthly Archives: August 2007

>Another recipe: Depression Cake

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>I’m drinking less coffee these days.
Oops, sorry, you fainted. I’ll start over. Are you sitting down?
I’ve been drinking less coffee lately. I keep finding myself with extra coffee left over, and I don’t like to waste it by pouring it down the sink. I can pour small amounts into the plants on the deck, but there are limits. I don’t want my petunias shaking from a caffeine high in their hanging basket.
Here’s a recipe that lets me use up as much as two cups. You can replace the coffee with water, if you prefer. I think the coffee gives it a richer taste. If you don’t have leftovers, make two cups of instant. Decaf, half-caf, or full strength, it doesn’t matter.

Depression Cake
(Named for a historical time period, not a state of mind)

2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups strong coffee
2 cups raisins or currants or chopped dates
½ cup applesauce
2 cups all-purpose flour (or 1 cup all-purpose, 1 cup whole wheat)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. each ground cinnamon, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg
1 cup chopped walnuts or almonds (optional)
Powdered sugar for garnish (or serve with whipped topping)

Preheat oven to 350.
In large saucepan, combine granulated sugar, coffee, raisins, and applesauce. Simmer 10 minutes. In large bowl, blend remaining ingredients, except powdered sugar. Stir raisin mixture into flour mixture. Pour batter into well-greased and floured 13 by 9 pan. Bake at least 30-40 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Let cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar or serve with whipped topping.

Adapted from a recipe in a California Raisin cookbook put out at least ten years ago.

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>10 Ways to Leave your… Zucchini

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>We have a bumper crop this year. I have about four cups of grated zucchini in the fridge waiting to be turned into cake or bread or some other sort of goodie. I nearly turned away La Petite’s boyfriend Saturday when he walked up the driveway carrying two large zucchini and a couple of banana peppers. So here we go: a few ways, some real and some not, to get rid of the excess. Feel free to suggest more! I have at least three growing in the garden jungle even as we speak.

10. Give them away to neighbors and friends.

9. Give them to relatives.

8. Place a few on the neighbor’s front porch, then ring the doorbell and run away.

7. Grate a little into spaghetti sauce. Stew. Soup.

6. Go to the farmer’s market and sneak yours onto the vendors’ tables when they’re not looking.

5. Grate some for the freezer. You’ll love it in January.

4. Feed some to the rabbits, wild or pet.

3. Convince the neighborhood kids to use a big one as a baseball bat.

2. When someone tries to give you a zucchini, insist they take two tomatoes in trade.

1. Offer a zucchini “free with purchase” at your rummage sale.

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>Not just a metaphor: The Juggling Act

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>In the final graduate class toward my Masters Degree, all of the class members were describing their personal growth and professional progress as they had passed through the program cycle. We were seated in a circle, and Deb was showing us a collection of photos that represented critical points in her journey. My friend Sara was seated next to me. The classroom windows were tall and narrow, so only a few of us sitting exactly in the right place could see outside.

Beyond the window behind Deb, on an entrance road that passed rather close to the building, a juggler appeared. Yes, a juggler. Big yellow shoes, baggy black clown pants, bowling-pin style clubs spiraling through the air. Sara and I exchanged glances, then looked back at Deb and tried to concentrate. The juggler walked on, and a parade of dog-walkers following him. This group of people — it had to be at least 75 to 100, just counting the two-legged folk — strode along as though they were marching for a cause (which was probably the case!). By this time, Sara and I could no longer look at each other. The longer the line went on, the closer we came to laughing. When the dogs and their humans were fading away, a helicopter landed on the campus lawn.

Yes, a helicopter.
Deb had no idea.

Every story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. The beginning of this one is the setting, with Deb telling her story. The middle? The ongoing parade outside the school. The end would have to be the part where we told her what was going on during her presentation. Sara and I held onto our sanity and our drama skills to at least feign focus until Deb was done. Then, during our break, we told her the whole story. I was wiping tears from my eyes, and so was Deb. Truth is stranger than fiction, and this was one of the strangest things to happen to us during grad school.
Yes, we are still friends. Deb’s a fabulous teacher and a great juggler herself, a mother of three and teacher in a low-income school in our fair district. Her sense of humor took her through this whole cycle of grad classes, and served her yet again when we let her know what kind of distraction she’d been fighting and she hadn’t even known it.

As the school year looms closer, and my personal juggling act gathers momentum, I always think of Deb, and the juggler who started the whole crazy parade outside the window. This story has smile value, and that’s enough for me.

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>Funday Sunday on — Saturday night?

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>Let’s see the TV listings. Brewers play the Astros at 6:00, and Packers play the Steelers at 6:30. The Brewers are neck in neck with the Cubs for the leading record in the National League. The Packers are playing a preseason game. Doesn’t count for the record, and the starters will only play the first quarter if they even play that long.
What to watch?
The answer, sports fans, is obvious.


Score update!! Both Brewers and Packers won Saturday night. doesn’t Damian Miller look cute in his Cheesehead?

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>A Family that Plays Together, Stays Together

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>Quality time. What is it? Families eating at the table together, cheering each other on during games, running errands and chatting in the car. My family sits down to eat together several times a week. We don’t always get all of us to the table, with work schedules and other commitments, but we do our best. And after supper, we sit down together and watch Jeopardy! One thing we love to play together is Trivia, in any form or fashion. Sometimes we’ll get a little punchy after playing for a while, especially when we’re playing an all-weekend overnight tournament. And with that in mind, over tired and with apologies to Dr. Seuss, here goes.

You could play baseball or backyard croquet.
You might go biking. Every nice day.
But what if it rains? And what if it snows?
Turn on TV, sit around, blow your nose.
When the sun doesn’t shine,
And it’s too wet to play.
You might sit in the house, on that cold, cold, wet day.
Or…
You might talk to each other. Or dance ’round the room.
Or play the piano and sing a good tune.
And if all that low-tech can’t give you a smile,
There’s always the Wii, and its Boogie for style.

This post is brought to you in conjunction with Parent Bloggers Network & EA’s Wii-Boogie, a family gaming experience. Shake it. Sing it. Create it.

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>School Supplies and More

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>My to-do list is long. Longer than I like to admit. I’ll list a few items, and then I’ll feel so proud as I cross off each one. That’s the real reason for making a list, isn’t it? Just to cross things off?

To get ready for school:
Read through new Reading curriculum.
Sign up for training in new social studies curriculum kits.
Read through new science units.
Buy workshop materials for Reading and Writing workshops.
Read new math curriculum.
Find articles on CGI math.
Read new Writers Workshop materials.

Prepare new classroom. (Oh, my, this is going to take DAYS)

Get a key to the new room.
Unpack boxes.
Organize teacher manuals.
Organize desk.
Organize book nook – reading corner.

Maintain sanity by doing as much of this as possible either outside or with classroom windows wide open and coffee (hot or iced) on desk.

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>More Random Thoughts

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>From Gwendolynn at gwendomama: I’ve been tagged with the Eight Random Things About Me/ Meme. I’ll warm up the fingers ( fdsajkl; fjdksla; thequickredfoxjumpedoverthelazybrowndog) and see if I can dredge up eight interesting things about me. Oh! They don’t have to interesting? Just random? Phew. That’s a relief.

First things first:

HERE ARE THE RULES… We have to post these rules before we give you the facts.- Players start with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.- People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blogs about their eight things and post these rules.- At the end of your blog post, you need to choose eight people who get tagged and list their names- Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they are tagged.

1. We have pet rabbits because I am allergic to cats and dogs and because my daughter loves rabbits.
2. My house is a cluttered mess right now because we are preparing for a rummage sale. A little clutter is okay, but we’re way past that level now. It’s outrageous.
3. My popcorn addiction is almost as strong as my coffee addiction. Almost.
4. I’m a bit frustrated with my weight. It keeps going up, and I keep developing health issues (back, foot, wrist) that prevent me from working out or doing my favorite exercise, walking.
5. I didn’t go to BlogHer. Maybe next year.
6. Our house is old, built in 1890. I’m eternally grateful that Husband knows how and is willing to handle most minor repairs and even some of the major work.
7. I’m beginning to turn my thoughts toward autumn and the start of school. I will start reading the new curriculum manuals as soon as the laundry is done. You’ll just have to use your imagination to estimate just exactly when I’ll get to reviewing the curriculum for my new grade level.
8. I am a die-hard Harry Potter fan. I have read all of the books, and I’m now joining my son (age 15) in reading the last one together. The movies are good, but they don’t stack up to the books.
9. I prefer healthy cereal for breakfast, with fresh fruit on top if I can get it. My husband calls it “Nuts and Twigs.”
10. I love freebies and super bargains, and my favorite place to find them is the lovely Mir’s Wantnot.net.

I tag — oh, so many people have done this one already!! Leave a comment if you haven’t been tagged yet and would like to participate. The more the merrier!

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>Overlapping Seasons make for a fun weekend

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>We watched a little of the Packer Family Night scrimmage on television last night. It was a little discouraging. The only decent pass reception we saw got called back for a penalty. Thank goodness it’s only the pre-preseason at the moment.

But today, we’ll exchange our green and gold for Brewers Blue, and (hopefully) watch them keep their spot at the top of the National League. I rarely buy overpriced game-day souvenirs, but if something turns up that would be perfect over the fireplace, it might just come home with us. I have enough souvenir cups, but if it’s really hot, I’ll get another. We have great seats this time. Who knows — maybe we’ll come home with a ball!

Win or lose, let’s hear it for those sausage races!

Update: The True Blue Brew Crew started out with a bang and ended with a fizzle. The Phillies came from behind to tie in the 9th, and moved ahead in the 11th. The Brewer Dudes never caught up. Well, the Chorizo won the sausage race at the seventh, and the choir that performed the national anthem sang so well they gave me goosebumps. The positive outweighs the negative.

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