A very sad day

I have not been writing any posts lately. On Sunday a dear friend of mine lost her battle with Cancer. She was the Mother of one of my best friend's. She was kind and smart and supportive and always smiling. I never heard her complain. Her funeral was today and it was one of the most moving services I have ever experienced. She was sick for about a year and a half and she did many things during that time. She traveled and went snorkeling, went to the theatre and just lived. She taught me by example so many lessons. She was courageous and strong. I will miss seeing her and talking with her and the love and warmth I felt being in her presence. She would have met her first Grandchild any day but just could not hold on until the birth. I am so sorry for my friend who lost her mother. It is a very hard thing to watch someone you love mourn so deeply. And even though I know she is watching over us all, tonight I wish she was beside us.

Lil' naked Muffinface - and a long overdue apology.

A rare childhood moment when my clothes are on. Hey, I kind of look like Suri Cruise.

Apparently when I was a lot younger I liked to be naked and never felt ashamed or even aware of the fact that I had nothing on. My mom tells stories of trying to get me ready for my bath and she would turn around for 2 seconds and find me across the street knocking on the neighbors door to see if they could come out and play. Then there was the time I rode my big wheel naked to the piggly wiggly. I think the cops might have been called on that one. One day I went to the back of my pre-school class while the teacher was reading a story and just took my clothes off.

I tell you these stories so you will understand the day the paperboy knocked on our door and asked to see my mom and I brought him upstairs to where my mom was taking a bath - that I really didn't think anything of it.

Sorry Ma.

My friend's Jake and Debra sent me this pic

Guess where I will NOT be on Monday?
Just the sign is creeping me out.

Check it out!

My little brother's post on People + Food!!

http://peopleandfood.blogspot.com/

Friday night chili and latkies!

My awesome and talented friends Rich and Heather (pictured above) had me over for dinner last weekend. They made three kinds of chili to accommodate their guests. One regular, one without meat and another without onions. Oy!

I had the real stuff and it was some of the best chili I have ever had. The photo credit goes to Heather since I had already started eating before I remembered to take a pic. I was in a feeding frenzy of great proportion. Seriously. It had been so long since I had chili I forgot just how good it can be with a little sour cream and shredded cheese melting on top. I neglected to get the recipe so if Heather or Rich read this maybe they can add it to the comments section.

We all used to live together and were recently reunited at the reunion party they threw a couple weeks ago.

It was great hanging out with them again and I hope there will be many more meals together.

Poor little Muffin Face - confessions of a middle child.

It's Friday. To celebrate lets have story from Muffin Face's past.

I was in the 3rd grade. We lived for a year in Allentown PA. Yucky place really. We had moved from TX and I was probably reading /writing at a 1st grade level (if that). I know, not much has changed in that department. Anyway. I don't have tons of Allentown memories because we were only there a year and it was a long time ago. We lived in a big old house that my mother probably spent the entire year re-decorating. In the lowest level of the house were two huge rooms. One was my bedroom and the other side was a playroom. in between these two rooms was a cedar closet that we were all scared of. My mother told us if we went in there and shut the door we would die. She was always saying funny things like that.

So the second level of the house was a living room, dining room, kitchen - and so on. The third level of the house was were the rest of the family had their bedrooms. Some nights I stayed in my brothers lower bunk bed so I wasn't so far away from everyone. But most times I was probably very content in my own far away space.

My sisters room was all pink. I was always a little jealous of that. One day she was given a brand new ink blotter. The next day someone wrote "This is Junk" on her perfect new pink ink blotter.

I wouldn't have known about this except for the spanking I received for writing it. I remember not being very surprised that I was being punished. Odds were I had done something to deserve it, right? But it was confusing none-the-less. Just what had I done this time?

Later that night my little brother (who was in Kindergarten at the time) looked at my parents and confessed that he was the one who wrote on the ink blotter.

I sat back and waited for my parents to shower me with apology's and maybe even presents. I was sure they felt just terrible. I was prepared to be gracious and tell them that, while the pain was palpable, I was a big enough person to let this go. I sat there in eager anticipation. My parents looked at each other in shock and amazement until finally they looked at my brother, tears in their eyes, and said "We had no idea you could write! And what lovely penmanship. We are so proud of you. "

This is a true story.

People + Food

As you may or not recall my Sissy started a second blog called People + Food. There is a link to it on the right hand side of this blog. She simply wants people to send her stories about food. It can be your favorite food, your favorite recipe to cook, favorite restaurant or favorite food memory. I finally got around to sending her a story. It is fun and I challenge all my readers to send in a story. I know you all have lots of food memories too!

Here is what she asks for more specifically:

Two of the main passions in my life are people and food. I started a new experimental blog, hoping to capture the two of them in a unique way, but I need your help. I am looking for input from diverse people, both ethnically and geographically. I need only two things: a portrait photograph (mostly face/head) and a food memory. That's all! I think the site will be fantastic, and take on a life of its own. Right now, I am just trying to get it started. Your food memories will not be edited, I will not comment. Under your photo will be your full name and your food memory, as you write it. If you have any questions, please e-mail me at the link on my main website, www.andtheeggs.net. Also on that site, on the upper right hand corner, is a link to the new blog. Or click here to access it- www.foodandpeople.blogspot.comThank you for your consideration!!

And here is my Contribution posted there today:

There are so many great food stories in my memory. My family was lucky enough to have many, many meals together while I was growing up. And while I have fond family memories and recipes, I have also been lucky to learn different recipes from other close families. It is no secret to anyone who knows me that, fortunately or UN, I have had my share of boyfriends. Some say I like variety - like a good tapas plate that has a little of everything. Due to this I have learned some great recipes from the mothers of my boyfriends. Recipes that I would never have normally come across. You can say it was an added bonus. If love don't last forever, well, the recipes will and have.

It is hard to pick a favorite but I will say one of the top recipes I was ever taught and still make to this day is Mrs. Organ's Cream Chipped Beef. This recipe fascinated and thrilled me. Yes, you heard me right. You see, Jews don't eat meat out of can unless, I suppose, they are trapped in a bunker, lost somewhere. Needless to say, I had never seen or heard of this delicacy but Steve kept talking about his mother's creamed chip beef like it was heaven drizzled on a biscuit. I try to be adventurous when it comes to food - at least tasting it if not loving it. My parents taught us to try everything once. I just wish I had realized then that they were talking about food.

Anyway, Steve's parents live in an idyllic log cabin home on the side of a mountain just minutes from West Virginia. Visiting there was always a treat but -- on special occasions --it got even better. I was not sure what to expect when I sat down for breakfast with the whole family - the smell of the biscuits and the chipped beef were almost too much for me to handle. It smelled that good and tasted even better. It was creamy and salty and the biscuits were crunchy. I think I ate two full plates and fell into a food coma. So the next time I made sure to watch the whole process so I could learn how this magical recipe was made. She was kind enough to share this family recipe with me and gave me many helpful hints. Some of the things also apply to other recipes I have tried since then. For instance, the creamed chipped beef starts with a simple roux. I had never done that before and since then it has been in so many recipes I can't count them all. I am grateful to have had that opportunity to learn a recipe that I never would have learned. So, variety may be the spice of life, but it was also my ticket to the best creamed chipped beef anywhere.