NaNoWriMo

I've discovered that it's really hard to write 1666 words per day for a month. That's 50,000 words in 30 days if you're wondering. Why would I do such a thing? Madeleine's English class is doing NaNoWriMo this month as an assignment, so I decided it would be fun to do it too. It's actually hard and stressful and crazy, but it's fun at the same time. They have excellent pep talks from real writers (the published kind); it's almost worth doing this just to have an e-mail from Jasper Fforde show up in my mailbox. I might even do it again next year, even though I truly believe that the majority of what I'm writing is crap. According to the pros, writing crap is good practice.

Carter's a Kindergartener

He can't tell us what he does there, he can only tell us that he loves it. Carter was primed and ready to go on the first day of kindergarten. The snack was selected, the bag was packed, we were waiting in the driveway in plenty of time. He was so eager to get on the bus that I had to remind him to stop and turn around for his picture. How patient do you have to be to drive a bus? I could never do it.
When he got home, everyone wanted to know what he did at kindergarten, and every time we asked he said the same thing: It's a secret. When I tried again, hoping for some details, he once again told me it was a secret, but this time he paused and added: "...but I love it."

Carter's a boy who likes his secrets, but as long as he's thrilled to get on the bus every day, that's okay with me.

Claire's a Party Animal

For weeks, Claire talked about her three-year-old party, about her friends, her cake, and of course, her presents. The day finally arrived and it was everything she'd hoped it would be. Thank goodness for Malcolm and his willingness to play with a bunch of little kids. They were completely incapable of playing a game, at least not the way most people play them, and during musical pillows she thought the point was to end up on her own pillow every time, even if someone else was already on it and there were plenty of other pillows that were completely open.
She got the green cake she'd been asking for - very low maintenance for me - and she thought all of her presents were fabulous. It took days to recover - for both of us. Now we're counting down to Carter's big O-5.

Giant Sugar Cookies

This is a fantastic recipe I got from Everyday Food magazine, a great source for recipes and available at your local library. Well, my local library. It's also a great little giftie, put one or two in a cellophane bag and tie it with a ribbon.
I use a muffin scoop to make the big cookies and a single batch makes about twelve. You can use a regular cookie scoop, just cook them for around ten minutes.

Giant Sugar Cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup sour cream
Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy,, 2-4 minutes. Add egg and vanilla; beat well to combine. Add half the flour with the baking powder, salt, and baking soda, followed by the sour cream, then remaining flour. Mix just until smooth. Drop mounds of dough, about 3 tablespoons, 3 to 4 inches apart onto baking sheets; sprinkle with sugar. Bake at 350 until edges of cookies are just firm and tops are barely beginning to brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool.

Shoe Shopping

In the media, shoe shopping is portrayed as a highly desirable activity, filled with wonder and delight. True, it is better than clothes shopping, but only because shoes don't usually make my feet look fat.
Of course, no one has yet made a documentary of shoe shopping with Madeleine and Malcolm to shatter the popular positive image that shoe shopping maintains. It's not all their fault; I've never been a fan of shoe salespeople. I've encountered a good one now and again, but in general they fall into one of two categories: overly helpful, or impossible to find. We had the former today, and Madeleine was so annoyed that she composed this poem in the car on the way home.

There was an annoying sales clerk
Whose helpful manner just made her a jerk.
Her guidance I couldn't refuse
As she insisted on finding me shoes.
No matter how hard I did pray
She simply would not go away.
She must have committed a crime
She talked for such a long time.
After she left (for she had to breathe)
My hatred of shoe shopping inside of me seethed.
I dreamt that she had been lynched
Then sadly awoke when pinched.

Recipe of the Week

This is my favorite blueberry pie recipe. I've been eating it for years, and now that I've finally learned to make pie crust (after years of failure) I can make it without having my mommy around to help me. I'll include the crust recipe as well; it's from the Crisco can, but I think it's the higher fat Canadian version.

Blueberry Pie

4 cups blueberries
3/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp flour (4 if frozen)
dash of salt
optional: ½ tsp cinnamon (I put it in)
Fill pie shell, sprinkle with 1-2 tsp lemon juice, dot with 1 tbsp butter. Add top crust. Bake at 400 F for 35-40 minutes.

Pie Crust (makes 1 double-crust pie)

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup Crisco shortening
4 tbsp ice water
Combine flour, salt, and shortening with pastry cutter. Add ice water. I like to chill it in the fridge for an hour or two before I roll it out, and I roll it between sheets of waxed paper.

Recipe of the Week

As I sit here eating my lunch of leftovers, I've been inspired as to what my next Recipe of the Week should be. Plus, I told Shauna I'd give her the recipe. It's a great summer salad and it's easy to fool your kids into thinking the spinach is lettuce.

Spinach & Rice Salad

1 cup uncooked rice
½ cup bottled Italian salad dressing
1 tbsp soy sauce
½ tsp sugar
2 cups fresh spinach, cut into thin strips
½ cup sliced celery
½ cup sliced green onions
1/3 cup crumbled crisp bacon

Cook rice according to package directions. Transfer to bowl. Cool slightly. Combine dressing, soy sauce and sugar. Stir into warm rice. Cover and chill. Fold in remaining ingredients before serving. Makes 6 to 8 servings.