Playing with Matches

Sadly, Pokemon Master is not in my Future

An unsupervised trip to Home Depot can result in a detour to several fireworks tents. He's a bargain hunter like me, so the bag o 'works in this picture was quite a deal. Who knew they deeply discounted last year's duds and this year's dented boxes!!??!!

As a mother of an only child, I wear a lot of hats: mom, friend, sibling. The last one is the hardest. You see when you only have one, it's up to you to fill in the gaps.

I have a techy kid. You know, Bill Gates in a smaller package. Which can mean many things. He may invent some computer chip required multiple times by every household in the world some day, so I'll live in a really great nursing home. Or, he'll always live in my basement. Gasp, did I really say that out loud? Young One, this is one more thing that you're just going to have to forgive me for. And hopefully, by the time you read this, you'll be old enough to understand (or at least be rolling on that big pile of green that your computer chip invention has led you to.)

(OK, now honey, money ain't everything and I hope that along with the smarts, cute glasses, and that dimple that gets me every time, that you've at least learned that from me. Go for happy kid and the rest will follow!)

I'm wandering here...

Anyway, video games, strategy games, technical discussions on the merits of one gadget over another, well, they permeate our discussions. And I hate to admit that I don't follow very many of them that well. In fact, I've decided from now on that every time D or Young One starts mentioning this techy jargon that I'm going to launch into a speech about the renal system or how to make a roux.

I just don't get much of it.

And I think I'm a better person for it!

I curse the creators of much of this garbage gaming, craziness card collecting and trading, and more pieces of plastic crap that I can step on barefoot on midnight trips to the bathroom collectible action figures. I've had to try to learn the fine points of Warcraft, Halo, and hear endless conversations about the evolution of Nintendo.

And I love it all. Yes, sometimes I pull from the depths of my soul levels of patience that I had no idea existed. Yes, sometimes, I may say the wrong thing (like the time I misprounounced a character's name IN FRONT OF the gang of friends). I love the fact that my son is normal, healthy, smart, and quirky. I love that he wants to talk to me about all this stuff (despite my learning disability). I love that he's found something that he loves.

And that's really what it's all about.

So, I'm off to take a crash course by Googling Warcraft (his current obsession). I've been informed that Pokemon is for kids (um, and you aren't?) and so the title of this post isn't even valid. Oh well, I've finally become my mother. I'm almost, but not quite, obsolete.

Garlic What?

I'm a pretty devout foodie. There are not many flavors or ingredients that I'm not familiar with. Not that I've tasted everything, mind you, but I read a lot and try to keep myself on top of food trends and different World cuisines.



When I opened my first CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box that contained garlic scapes. I was clueless. Not only had I never heard of them, but I wasn't quite sure what they were at first glance. I had to read my box note just to see what they were.



Now, I'm wondering how I let these seasonal treats escape me. I'm a garlic fiend. I love all things garlic and to not know about scapes, the tender green shoots that appear before the bulbs do, well, that's just unforgivable.



Now the Internet is a great thing. It makes finding out about anything as simple as point and click. Over and over and over again, I stumbled upon garlic scape pesto recipes. So, I knew I just had to try this. But, could I achieve pesto nirvana without adding all the nuts, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese that traditional pestos require?



In a word, yes. Here you go. If you find garlic scapes at your grocer or local farmer's market. Snatch them up. Grab them all, then gleefully race home ignoring all the people wondering what the heck you're doing with curling, green onion looking thingies. Make this quick recipe and freeze it in ice cube trays. I've been doing that with my homemade basil pesto for years. Then when you're crunched for time, boil up some of your favorite pasta and toss with pesto. Two tablespoons flavors 1/2 pound pasta. Instant dinner.



The Great Scape Pesto

You can use this to top pasta, top toasted ciabatta bread, on grilled sandwiches, or stir into some plain hummus or blended white cannellini beans for a fantastic dip. Bring it to a potluck and be prepared to lecture on the beauty of the scape.



1 cup garlic scapes (about 8 or 9 scapes), top flowery part removed, cut into ¼-inch slices

1/3 cup walnuts, or pine nuts, or almonds

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil--I bet you could cut this down even more, but don't sub, only extra virgin

enough fat free chicken broth to make it a good consistency--forgive me for the vagueness, I'm not good at following recipes

¼-1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese--not the unforgivable stuff in the shaker can

½ teaspoon salt

black pepper to taste



Place scapes and nuts in the bowl of a food processor and whiz until well combined and somewhat smooth. Slowly drizzle in oil and process until integrated. Scrape sides of bowl and add a small amount of chicken broth. The consistency should be pesto-like (duh!) or like natural peanut butter if you've never had pesto before. Scoop pesto out of processor and into a mixing bowl. Add Parmesan to taste; add salt and pepper. Keeps for up to one week in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. Or freeze in ice cube trays, pop out and store in a freezer bag. Take out whenever you need a quick fix.



(Now, if you're not a recipe person like me, this is how I'd do it. Buy as many scapes as you can. Clean as described above. Chop and place as many as you can in the food processor. Pulse a few times and add the nuts, a tablespoon at a time. Shocker: I always measure oil and nuts and other high calorie foods. I never used to, but I do now. Amazingly, a little goes a long way and in order to live healthily, I've decided I have to make this concession. Oh, yeah, back to the freestyle method. Pulse the nuts until chopped, add oil (measure to use the least amount possible), add chicken broth until texture is right. Remove from food processor and stir in Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste. Knowing me, I'd probably have to do this several times because if I could find these beauties again, I'd make as much as I could.)

Happy Independence Day!

This is my Great Uncle Bud's birthday. Everybody has an Uncle Bud. That great guy with a country farm to roam on, a river to fish and play in, who always had plenty of firecrackers and smoke bombs, and taught us the greatness of a homemade potato cannon (in case you need to launch produce great distances). I have so many childhood memories of Fourth of July picnics at my uncle's house. HIs wife used to make homemade fried chicken and there would be watermelon and cake, plenty of lemonade and conversation. We looked forward to it every year.

I hope your day is filled with fun and memory making--and lots and lots of fireworks.

My Favorite DayIn My Backyard--Science Museum of Minnesota

Yep, this is actually a picture I took, while in a submarine somewhere in the North Atlantic. I go to great lengths to entertain my son and get good pics.

We just went to the Titanic exhibit at the Science Museum of Minnesota. If the exhibit comes to your part of the world, you just must go. We began by watching an IMAX film about the explorers quest to find the wreck and what it's like to go down there and explore. Absolutely fascinating. Then, on to the exhibit.

When you arrive at the exhibit, you're given a boarding pass. This pass details an actual passenger on the ship. It was easy to begin to feel like you actually were on the ship. As you progress through the exhibit, the story is told with real artifacts and glimpses into personal lives. The highlight for Young One was the real ice wall shaped like the fated iceberg. The rooms that detailed the sinking were noticeably colder which added to the experience. Imagine how cold they were as the ship sunk. We watched with fascination a video of the sinking. I was amazed at how quickly it happened and also how many warnings they ignored.

The unsinkable ship. The audacity. We talked over and over again about how nature always wins.

The recovered items were haunting. Dishes, shoes, eyeglasses, clothing, and many other personal items. All almost one hundred years old. All preserved in the icy shipwreck tomb.

At the end of the exhibit, there is a passenger list. You can find out whether your passenger survived. Mine did, and she was one of four wives on the "Widow Ship" the Carpathia (the rescue ship) who was reunited with her husband. It was eery to stand there and look at the sheer number of names that did not survive.

Should people be visiting the Titanic wreck site? I'm not sure. It is a grave site. I believe it shouldn't be plundered, but I'm fascinated, like so many others by it's mystery. The story, the history, it's all mesmerizing.

We had such a good time, but the only thing that was missing was my camera. I know I couldn't have taken pictures inside the exhibit, but I would have liked to capture my mom and son as we wandered that day. If you're ever in town, do not miss this museum. It's fantastic.

An Icon

There have been many versions of this sign over the years. An older version is in the Science Museum of Minnesota, which we visited this week. Young One did a double take as we walked past the museum piece. Then went back and said, "Hey, I've been there!" And he just happened to be wearing the t-shirt we purchased that said, "I walked across the Mississippi" with a picture of the sign above.

We waited a short time to get a picture taken with the sign. As we waited, we listened to all sorts of accents: Minnesotan, German, Japanese, and Harley Riding Biker Dudes. The last we're having a blast and it was smile inducing indeed to watch them frolic like kids as they crossed the Mighty Miss.

I've been without my camera this week, but we've been busy. Our kitchen floor is being tiled so the house is a complete mess. D fell into a patch of Poison Ivy at Itasca on his bike trip and got Cellulitis from it, so he was really sick (very scary) and ended up on a handful of meds. He was much better in 12 hours. We haven't been staying at home because we're without a kitchen, so we've been at a local campground. Other than a late night skunk visit to our campsite (without sharing it's scent, thank the Lord), the camping was fun. Got to have my mom and brother over for some campfire time and a great grilled dinner--nothing special, just hot dogs. Isn't it great how delicious things are when consumed around a campfire?

We're back home now, tile is almost done, but we're trapped on the second floor of the house. Should make for an interesting day. Young One is busy with computer games and I'm planning to do a little cleaning and sorting and maybe some more writing if I get time.

Looking forward to a relaxing Fourth.

Summer Fun--Water Balloons

Simple pleasures.

I think the "Economic Downturn", those two words that have been shoved down our throats, has forced many to rethink their summer fun. For us, it's always been about the simple pleasures, so we haven't had to make too many changes.

If anything good is to come out of this Recession, then perhaps it will be that more people will be pursuing simpler pleasures. My brother is director at a metro nature center and he's reported that park usage is way up from last year. That's evidence enough to me that people are starting to get back to happier times and they're doing so without spending a lot of money.

Your children do not need fancy toys, video games, or expensive past times. They need love, joy, creativity, and attention. With those simple things, they will thrive. Add sunshine and warm weather and watch them grown into creative adults. (Water with a lawn sprinkler or popsicles!)

Five hundred water balloons come in a small canister for a few dollars. So far, this summer, they've provided endless fun. Friends come over and they're instantly drawn to the hose, the balloons, and creating targets. There's nothing like the sound of eleven year old boys as they whoop and scream and fire away at each other and various targets.

Happy Days are Here Again. You just have to look for them.