The Autodidact

You never know what might come of a trip to the grocery store, and over the years, interesting things have happened there. Last week, I was at one of my usual stops on grocery day, waiting in a slow line with the 4 younger kids. The 8 year old, who loves to find analogue clocks and figure out the time, was studying the big clock on the wall. Only the 3,6,9, and 12 were on the clock, and the minutes were not marked off, so he was really enjoying the challenge. We discussed it and I gave him a bit of coaching, helping him think it through. He figured it out and by then we were almost done being checked out. We loaded the cart and went on our way. I gave it no more thought. Later in the day, when I realized I had forgotten a few things, I went back to the store by myself. The cashier spotted me in line, smiled and said: "weren't you just here?" in a friendly way. I recalled that she was the cashier from earlier, and remarked at what a good memory she had. She said she reme

We may have had our last dinner together as a family. At least, as a family that still all lives under one roof. The 21 year old begins moving out this weekend and will be officially out of the house in a few days. It was a simple meal. Nothing special. Just some soup. The younger kids and I had been eating for a few minutes when my husband and the 20 year old came home. Then the 21 year old arrived a few minutes later. People came and went and shuffled places around the table. There were a few squabbles and I had to send the 5 year old away from the table for a bad attitude. She later decided to eat her dinner and returned. I think the 16 year old left the table in tears and then came back. Someone threw a balled-up napkin across the room. The conversation started with discussing a tragic death of a police officer from a hit and run, to politics, then on to abortion. The younger ones drifted into the adjoining living room while the 4 older kids and my husband and I talked. The 13

New Years dinner calls for a seafood pasta dinner in our house. This year, I tweaked it to create something a bit different and new.  This will be an approximate recipe- I was cooking on the fly. Cook up your favorite pasta- this time I used Penne.  Cook some shrimp, scallops and sausage. You could use chorizo or Italian, You could also add mussels or any other meat that appeals to you. I also added green onions and bell peppers to the seafood. For the sauce, I blended in the Vita Mix some milk, Romano cheese, butter and yogurt and a pinch of flour. Once thoroughly blended, I added taco seasonings.  Mix everything in a large serving dish and serve immediately.

Here's a quick and easy one-pot dish that even the kids could make. This was adapted from an old recipe from one of my favorite cook books- More with Less. This makes enough for my family of 9 with leftover for a few lunches. Cut up: 6 cups potatoes 3 cups carrots 3 cups chopped celery 3 cups frozen corn Place veggies in a large pot with 1 1/2 cups water and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are mostly done. Add 5 cups of milk and heat- but do not boil. Stir in salt and pepper to taste. Stir in 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese until melted. It's that simple. Enjoy!