Ultimate Pecan Challenge

Here is the recent text transcript of my sister Tricia and I as I finalized the needs for our upcoming South Carolina family vacation.

Me: Beach towels?

Tricia: Yes

Me: good vacation attitude?

Tricia: yes

Me: Big toenail?

Tricia: Optional

Me: Whew!

Tricia: This just in, big toenails required. I repeat, big toenails required!

Me: Shoot. I am on my way for a pedicure...I am asking for a discount.

Tricia: lol

Yes, it is true. I am going on a beach vacation without a big toenail. I wish I could say that I lost it running a marathon or doing some other great feat. But really it was just clumbsiness and a huge storm window that landed on my big toe.

I thought I could muddle through. Black toenail, black polish. But no, it fell off leaving me beach-bound without my big toe properly covered in some fancy beach friendly polish.

Well, enter the ultimate pecan challenge. The big toe cover-up. What do you think? It is working for me. And will have to for the next week anyway.

Battle Pecan is on. Starts with me on Sunday. I am planning a pecan infused lunch menu (for 20). Pecan crusted pork shoulder, spicy pecan slaw and a green bean salad with goat cheese and candied pecans. I have tried bits and pieces of this in preparation but we will have to see how it goes.

That aside, me and my pecan-adorned big toe are off to the beach!

Gorp-a-licious memories

I dropped off Kellan and her friend Nikki at Girl Scout camp in Wisconsin on Sunday. It was like going back in time. Everything was the same except that these girls get flushing toilets. A big upgrade, congrats Girl Scouts.

I got almost teary wishing I was 10 again and headed off to camp with my best friend Jenny Wilcox. The two of us LOVED girl scout camp. I bet if I called her today she and I could sing camp songs for hours. We could also tell you how to start a fire, what sassafrass root looks like, how to dig a latrine and build a shower in the woods, and how to check for ticks.

Anyway, camping leads to campfires, leads to food. And lets face it, 10 year old girls don't care about food when they are camping. But you do need GORP.

To make GORP, mix all this together :
Raisins, peanuts, M&M's, sunflower seads, fruit loops, chocolate chips, dried cherries, corn nuts, cheerios....and anything else dry and tasty...like perhaps PECANS.

Kellan gets home on Friday. I think as part of Battle Pecan I will make her and Nikki each a brown bag of GORP for the long ride home. I hope we are singing camp songs!

It Was Trash Talking

Really, it spoke to me. From the alley behind my house. There she was, big and beautiful like the tacky bar light that my back porch was begging for. The trash was there for the picking and I must admit, Brady and I acted like real pros.

We spotted it...drove slowly by...pulled into our garage...Brady jumped out of the car and with a ninja-like manuever grabbed this beauty...we closed the garage door and took her into the kitchen to really get a good look - and to see if it worked.

Oh , it works alright. I mean, check out that flaming pimento. This is going to be the talk of my backporch gatherings this summer. The porch is now officially open for cocktails -- well as soon as my neighbor who threw this out officially moves (and won't see her trash on my back porch).

Battle Cookie

Adam is my little inventor.  Although he likes his dad or brother to put together lego sets for him, he spends more time in the random lego bin making monsters and vehicles and weapons that he thinks up.  He won't want to do his standard piano practice but would rather make up his own songs.  Basically the kids you DON'T ask to help you put together a piece of IKEA furniture.  Who needs instructions ... let's just figure it out.  That's Adam.

So when he said to me the other day, "I want to do battle cookie."  Of course my response was, "Sure!  What are you making?"  He had thought this through already, "A Joe Joe (trader joe's version of the Oreo) dipped in caramel and sprinkled with mini-chocolate chips."  How can a mother say no to something like that?

So the next day we made caramel and gave it a try.  I thought they would be just a mouthful of sugar with no real taste but we were all pleasantly surprised.  They tasted awesome.   The buttery caramel was the perfect compliment.

My son's creativity had inspired me to think of my upcoming battle, Battle Pecan.  So here was a little invention of my own.