My Sweet Strawberry Apron

Last week I wrote about the quilt I sewed in high school Home Ec III class. Well, I am not the only one who sewed in high school. My sweet strawberry apron was made by my hubby in his Single's Living class in high school. I use it a lot, especially during the berry season. It gets me in the mood to make jam, pies, desserts, shortcakes and all of those yummy things. He did a nice job on the apron and it has stood the test of time. Thanks, hon.

Little Balls of Evil

I love Dutch licorice. I happened upon these Napoleons when someone my Hubby works with bought them and tried to give them away at work. No bites. So, he brought them to me. It is a love hate relationship. They are so good and yet give me the shivers because they are so...I don't know, strong. For about 6 months I couldn't find them anywhere. But they're back, baby and they're mine. No one else likes them. I gave one to Shelly once and she spewed it out of her month and then slapped at her tongue with both hands, fast and furiously. We were in a public place. I wasn't impressed. And I had warned her, but NO she had to have one.
Reading the back of the bag is pretty much futile as it is in Dutch and I may be Dutch but only know a few bad words. This is what it says, 'Zoete kogels met een pittige salmiakkick van binnen'. Oh wait! In very small print is says, 'Hard boiled candies filled with ammoniumchloride'. I kid you not! May not be so healthy. A white sticker in English is also slapped on the back, the ingredient list is sugar, glucose syrup, licorice extract, licorice powder and artificial color. Sounds good to me.
Contact me if you want to try one. It comes with one rule-you may not spit it out, you must finish the whole candy. Dare you! Double dog dare you!

The Very Best of Summer

We grow the tastiest and biggest raspberries here in the Pacific Northwest. One third of the world's supply right here on my doorstep!
Raspberry Pie

Pie Crust
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 tsp. salt
2 T. milk
3 T. sugar
1/2 cup oil
Mix with a fork and press in a pie pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Watch closely. Cool.
The crust has a salty, sweet taste, I use it for coconut cream pie too.



1 quart raspberries rinsed and set aside.
Glaze:
*Note to head football Coach K, yes, another recipe with a glaze but this one does thicken fast. Don't be intimidated, try it!

1 cup sugar
2 T. cornstarch
pinch of salt
1 cup water
1/4 tsp. red food coloring
Bring to a boil and boil until thick.
Add:
3 T. raspberry jello
1 T. butter
Cool.


Place the berries in the cooled pie crust and then pour the glaze over and place in the fridge.

This pie is topped with whipped cream. I use the heavy cream and whip with vanilla and powdered sugar or regular. Top the pie with whipped cream when ready to serve.
I got this recipe from my Mom and have made it for years. It tastes like summer to me and my family. Max didn't even mind me taking his pic, anything for raspberry pie.

We Be Jammin'

Last night I made strawberry freezer jam, at 10:00 p.m. I worked yesterday, came home and had a ton of stuff to do, needed groceries, had to run Max around, you know, Mom stuff. So, I had a late start and a late finish. Max came downstairs and wondered if I should be having snack mix and a beer that late. Um, no. Robb clearly states in the boot camp rules, no drinks during the week and no eating after 7:00 p.m. But I forgot to eat before seven and I had ten minutes to wait for the jam to set up. I had no choice, people.

The jam looks a bit blurry. I was getting tired. It will be good this winter on scones with whipped cream and butter. Oh wait, I don't eat like that anymore. Bummer.

One thing I had to do last night was dig out the laundry room. The dirty was starting to run into the clean. Ironing galore. It is all finished. Except they all came home last night and took off their clothes. Job security for me.

Hubby is swamped at work, I hope to see him sometime this weekend.

Back in My Day...

I received a glossy, pretty catalog from Target this week. Everything the college student needs to move into the dorm was in that catalog. Rooms with names such as, Dreamer, Clotheshorse, Minimalist, Morning Bird, Night Owl, Planner and Extrovert. Really pretty bedding, great storage units and doo dahs galore. Made me want to go back to college just to decorate the dorm and have everything brand spankin' new.


This quilt is what I took to Dordt College 31 years ago. I sewed it in my Home Ec III class when I was a senior in high school. I also took a hot pot (not pot, like drugs, but rather an electric pot to boil water for hot cocoa in my dorm room). I packed up my fitted sheet, quilt, hot pot, the three towels I got for graduation gifts, family photos, a few school supplies and headed out to college. When I got there I went behind the grocery store and "borrowed" milk crates for a storage system.
The glossy catalog also had every electronic gadget you could dream of owning. We had one tv in the dorm basement, no tv's were allowed in our rooms.
Good grief!
*Please note that I realize this post makes me sound old, but times have sure changed.

Happy Birthday Esther

Happy Birthday, yesterday, Esther! It was my MIL's Bday yesterday, so better late than never... I hope it was happy. Best wishes for a great year. Es is a very sweet lady, her greatest fame is of course, my hubby. Other great things about Es is that she is a good grandma, my boys love her. She is a good cook and for years when my guys were little she did all my canning, salsa, applesauce, peaches, tomatoes. Yum! She is a very gracious hostess, every year she hosts a huge family reunion. A whole weekend of generations, with lots of meals and activities for the kids. We love you, have a happy and healthy year.