>Rhubarb Crumble Cake: It’s not just for breakfast!

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>The original recipe for this cake came from Michelle at Scribbit. I’ve made a few modifications to fit my family. For example, Michelle’s family likes coconut, and mine doesn’t, so I always cut or replace the coconut in her recipes. In this one, I’ve worked in a tiny bit of wheat flour and oatmeal. I baked this for supper, but the family likes it for breakfast, too. Do I need to mention it’s great with coffee? No, I didn’t think so.

Rhubarb Crumble Cake

1 1/2 cups sugar, divided

3 tablespoons corn starch

3 cups rhubarb, finely chopped

3/4 cup milk

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/8 cup quick or old fashioned oats

3/4 cup butter

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 cup almonds, finely chopped

1/4 cup walnuts, finely chopped

1 beaten egg (or 1/4 cup egg substitute)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine 3/4 cup sugar and corn starch in a medium saucepan and stir in the rhubarb. Cook over a low to medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Cool and set aside. In a small bowl, stir together the milk and lemon juice and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the flour and remaining 3/4 cup sugar. Cut the butter into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter until the mixture is crumbly. Removed 1/2 cup of the flour mixture and set aside. To remaining flour mixture add the oats, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and nuts. Combine the egg and milk mixture and pour over the flour mixture. Stir until just moistened. Spread 2/3 of the batter over the bottom and sides of a greased 9-inch springform pan or 8 inch square (will rise slightly over top!). Spoon the rhubarb filling over the batter. Drop the remaining batter over the rhubarb by spoonfuls. Sprinkle with reserved flour mixture. Bake for 50 minutes (longer if you’ve doubled the recipe and shorter if it’s in individual dishes). Let it cool (a little) in the pan on a wire rack. Cut into slices and serve at room temperature or slightly warm with whipped cream on top if desired.

Did I mention that it’s great with coffee? Oh, yes, I did.

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>Mom’s Taxi

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>9:50 – Amigo gets teeth cleaned, staff there remind me to call orthodontist.
10:40 – La Petite gets teeth cleaned
Some time in here I have to make sure Amigo gets lunch. My appointment at the DDS is tomorrow.
11:45 – Grandma picks up Amigo for weekly noon organ recital
Amigo will go home with Grandma so that La Petite and Mom can go to their early afternoon appointments.
Now make sure La Petite gets lunch – a rare chance to spend time with her alone.
1:20 – I get my eyes checked, prescriptions renewed, order new contacts, find out I have “some cataract growth” starting in one eye, but it’s “nothing to worry about yet.” Can a cataract be insignificant?
1:40 – La Petite gets eyes checked, prescriptions renewed, and orders new contacts and glasses.
Go pick up Amigo. Come home.

Oh, that’s right. I still need to think up and create supper. And Husband is working an outrageously long day that started at 3 AM, so we have no idea when he’ll be home. We only know he’ll be exhausted.

July is the only month we can schedule days like this. I’m home from school, La Petite’s work hours are winding down, we’re back from vacation, and Amigo hasn’t left for camp yet. We have enough freedom and flexibility that when the crazy day is over, we can separate before we drive each other crazy.

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>In the Headlines

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>Reactions while surfing news channels until Amigo’s favorite shows come on:

Image of Jesus spotted in tub of ice cream
This won’t end up on eBay, will it? How on earth would it ship?

Obama wants everyone to speak Spanish.
This crawl was misleading. Obama recommends that American students learn a second language; I agree. But that could be a whole post of its own!

And then there are the random discussions with Amigo, who isn’t quite the news junkie he was when he was younger.
“Mom, is A-Rod married to Madonna? They’re talking about A-Rod, Madonna, and divorce.”
“No, honey, Madonna might divorce her husband, and she and A-Rod are friends.” Well, I’ll try. But Amigo is 16, and he’ll figure it out. He doesn’t read tabloids, but he likes comedy shows. He’ll hear the whole story — if there is a story here. A-Rod has a local Little League field named after him because he did some of his minor league play here; not exactly a role model right now, is he?

“Mom, who’s Jesse Jackson? What did he say to Obama? Was it racist?”
“Well, it was really crude, so I’d rather not quote him right now.” (We were out for lunch in a downtown restaurant) “It was inappropriate, though, and he has to apologize. No, it wasn’t racist.” Well, race was a factor, and how do I explain this? Amigo claims to hate politics, so there’s a point at which he’ll tune me out. I do want him to know that there are limits to what people can say, even a famous leader.

And don’t forget the stories that remind me of random trivial lines from TV shows…
“Sam & Ella? Who’re they?” (M*A*S*H*)

And the headline you thought I’d link, the story you know I’ll follow until it ends…. No, I don’t believe Favre will play again. But that’s, my friends, a post in itself. Brett, please say it isn’t so!!

So now, with all that in mind, I think I’ll make an extra strong pot of coffee and start reading the Sunday paper.

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>Rationalizing vacation decisions

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>I’ve earned this. I’ve worked hard, Husband has worked hard, we deserve a break. (Hum McDonald’s old commercial jingle here and think of Barry Manilow.)

It’s our anniversary! Our 24th! All right, that’s not a milestone, but why wait for the 25th?

We’re budgeting carefully. We traveled off-season, packed our own snacks and drinks, and resisted large souvenir purchases. The cottage rental is reasonably priced; much more appropriate for our needs than a luxury hotel or resort.

My souvenir sweatshirt was in the 60% off bin.

Postcards are not just a souvenir; they’re a communication device. They’re also an educational tool; I can use them in my class next year when we study the states. Oh! Oh! Does that mean I can write off the cost of the trip as a professional expense? Nice try, but no. The price of the postcards, perhaps, but that’s all.

We’re doing our part to stimulate the economy! That’s it! We’re spending money to help rejuvenate the national economy. Geez. Has it come to that? I have to invoke Big Dubya to rationalize my vacation? That’s sad.

Blog posts! Just think of all the material for blogging! It’ll make great content! Attract more readers! Make more pennies on my ads…

To tell the truth, we saved and planned for quite some time before heading out on the road. This is not a $5 a Day bargain trip, but neither is it a luxury vacation. It’s just right for our middle class family. And that, my friends, needs no rationalizing.

But if you want to find out What I Did on Summer Vacation, it’s all here.

Review of the trip through coffee
Pennywise on the road
Farmer’s Market
Green grows the garbage
Best/Worst Awards
One “lump” or two
Oh, no. What’s that noise?
Mug shot
Navigating in Braille

Enjoy!!

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>Teachers and Politics and More – oh, my!

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>You might be a teacher if – you find yourself correcting grammar, even in direct quotes.

“That work cannot be done if we do not have a Democratic president in the White House!”
-Sen. Hillary Clinton, quoted on Huffington Post.

This is a double negative. The statement would be much stronger in a positive sense. How about:
“That work can only be done if we have a Democratic president in the White House!”
Now the statement still has a passive voice in it: “…can only be done…” which will be stronger in active form. Consider: “With a Democratic president in the White House, we will meet these goals!” -or- “We will only accomplish that work with a Democratic president in the White House!” -or- “A Democratic president will accomplish these goals!”

Senator Clinton, you’re one of the strongest women I know. Please work with your writers and keep your statements strong and clear, to make sure the media picks up the best and most important statements made by you. I mean, the best and most important statements that you make!

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>role reversal

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>I came home from the July Fourth Fireworks to find La Petite sitting on the couch holding a clipboard: my clipboard, with my latest and greatest rough draft of a grad school project. She had pen in hand and was proofreading, revising, and making suggestions.
I used to do this for her. The last time I proofed one of hers was a full three years ago, when she was a freshman in college. Now she helps her friends when they need advice, and now, yes, now, she’s helping her mother.
The comments all sound like a 21-yr-old. Here’s a sampling:

This is a long and confusing sentence.
What the cr** is this supposed to mean?
Make this verb active, not passive.
Check APA style.
Is this really related to (the topic)?
RUN ON! OMG!

Then there were the comments she made that built on my own comments and revisiions.
My notes: Run-on
Hers: Yup. You dangled a participle, too.
My notes: best word?
Hers: Yes.

The next morning she referred to my run-on sentences as “Awesome” as in “Mom, that run-on sentence that was the whole paragraph by itself? That was awesome.”
Maybe she meant awe-inspiring. After all, I did teach her writing class in 6th grade. She got some of her skills from me, somehow.
Later, though, she had to ask me how many cups were in a quart. Then she had to ask if we had any three-quart containers for the planting kit she wanted to assemble. Snicker. Mom still knows best. Wait…I was her math teacher in 6th grade, too….

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>Must be my rapier-like wit.

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>

You are a Knife


You are precise, determined, and detail oriented.(So why can’t I get this darn thing to align at the top of the post?!)

You mean what you say, and you say what you mean. (I meant what I said, and I said what I meant; a Daisy is faithful, 100%. Sorry, Horton, I stole your catchphrase.)

You enjoy taking risks and living on the edge.(I’m not sure about this one. The edge of what? I hope there’s coffee.)

You are a controversial person. Your opinions tend to be divisive. (My politics lean left, if you didn’t know that already.)

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>Great Grandma’s German Potato Salad

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>Guest Post by Husband, the better cook in the family. Based on this piece of history, maybe his talent is genetic!

Great Grandma Frances’ German Potato Salad

This recipe was handed down to us. I remember looking forward to eating this as a young child. We would arrive at Grandma’s house on 14th Street in Milwaukee and the kitchen would have this wonderful almost sweet and sour aroma. It can be served warm, which is how I like it best, or you can make it up in advance and serve it chilled. Enjoy!

3 pounds, about 6 medium, Red Salad Potatoes
1/2 cup sliced White Onion (A Sweet Yellow Onion may be substituted.)
2 Tablespoons Flour
3 Tablespoons Sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Celery Seed
1/8 teaspoon Pepper
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup Vinegar
6-8 Slices Bacon cut into 1 inch pieces (I prefer the Patrick Cudahy Thick Sliced, Double Smoked style in the black labeled box).

· Combine Flour, Sugar, Salt, Celery Seed and Pepper into a small bowl or Tupperware dish so they are thoroughly mixed.
· Peel and slice Potatoes into bite size, 1/4 inch thick pieces. Boil until they are cooked, yet still firm, drain.
· In an Electric skillet, cook the Bacon until crispy. Set bacon aside on a paper towel to soak up the grease. Drain all but about 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease out of the skillet.
· Sauté Onion in the hot skillet with the bacon grease for 2 minutes.
· Sprinkle in the dry ingredients mix. Stir in the Water and Vinegar. Stir constantly until it bubbles then let it reduce to a syrupy consistency.
· Reduce skillet’s heat to simmer, blend in Potatoes. Blend bacon into the mix. Let simmer and stir occasionally for 30 minutes.

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>Water, water everywhere

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>The lovely Mir: I always think of her as my source for tasteful bargains. Recently she was showing off her container garden, thriving despite the Georgia drought and watering restrictions. Reading through her post’s comments reminded me that water for a garden doesn’t have to come from a tap. The technical term is “greywater.”

  • Leftover coffee. In my logic, coffee grounds are good compost. Coffee itself, once it’s cooled and no longer delicious, must be okay for my plants, right? Right.
  • Let the water cool after cooking pasta, and use it to water plants. The mums love it. The petunias would, too, if I could reach them with the heavy pot.
  • Fill a bucket with dishwater from the sink. Even with a dishwasher, there are a few items that need to be hand washed. In fact, a couple of wine glasses sit beside the sink awaiting that chore right now, as does my wood cutting board.
  • The somewhat-dirty water from rinsing the coffepot. Mainly water, with a little “flavor” added, and it goes in the herbs that grow in the cappuccino mugs on the deck. Appropriate, yes? Yes.
  • Leftover ice from a fast-food drink. I don’t like to admit that I buy these, but I’ll state for the record that the ice cubes do not land in the garbage. They melt quickly over the rhubarb or raspberries.
  • The final ounces in a sun-warmed water bottle from a road trip or baseball game.

I still covet a rain barrel. Family, maybe next Christmas? Buy it now, though, for the best deal. You can hide it behind Husband’s model train layout; I never mess with that. Or behind the lawnmower and snowblower; I haven’t used those since I hurt my wrist tendons on the pull-start, embarrassing but true. That’s okay; I’d rather weed the garden or stir the compost than mow the lawn.

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