Saturn Peaches are one of nature's sweetest, summer treats. They're currently in season, but you have to hurry. The season is short and there's only a few weeks each year to enjoy them. 

Summer Fruits and Veggies

Summer Produce

Summer rewards us for tolerating long, hot days with a bounty of great, fresh fruits and veggies. Our family frequently enjoys "Summer Supper" which is a mean entirely of summer's best sans any meat. The main dish is the bounty of fresh produce--sweet corn, green beans, watermelon, cantaloupe, peaches, etc. Here are some of our favorites.

Saturn or Donut Peaches

These peaches just came into our stores this week. They'll only be available for the next two or three weeks, then it's another year before we can enjoy them again. If you haven't tried these babies, you are missing out on some of the sweetest, juiciest peaches you'll ever wrap your tongue around. These are juice dripping down your arm white flesh peaches. They are flattened and are a flattened shape (like their common names indicate).

They are a little pricey, so bring your pocketbook. Don't bring any sugar. When they are fully ripe, they don't need any. These peaches used to be only available at high-end groceries, but they've become so popular that Wal-Mart Supercenters even carry them.

Pick the fruit with dark red coloring that are slightly soft near the stem. If they are hard and greener colored, you can ripen them in 1-2 days in a paper bag on your kitchen counter.

Sweet Corn

My mouth waters just thinking about fresh from the field corn. Local corn is coming in season in most parts of the corn-growing country. Don't be fooled by "yellow" field corn. To any sweet corn lover, this stuff is cattle feed and shouldn't be served on any table. You want to get the real sweet stuff. I think the white and bi-colored varieties are the sweetest and best.

Pick full ears and shuck it at the store if they provide bins. It saves the mess at home and lets you see what you're buying. Pierce one of the hulls with your fingernail. Juice should spurt out forcefully. That's the sign that the corn is fresh. If the ear is hard to pierce, then the corn will be chewy.

I always boil the corn (preferably the same night I buy it) in water with 2 tablespoons of sugar added. Don't overboil the corn. Once the ears look darker (usually 4-5 min.) the corn is ready.


Mini Watermelon

If you haven't tried the new mini, seedless watermelon, I encourage you to give them a go. We had our first ones a couple of weeks ago and were very pleased with this new variety. The mini melons fit very nicely in the refrigerator (compared to their larger cousins) and ours was sweet, juicy and seedless.

I bought ours at Sam's Club which was selling them two to a package. The ease and convenience of cutting, storing and serving these mini-watermelon makes them my first pick this summer.


What's your favorite summer fruit or veggie? Feel free to post your tips and preferences!

Enjoy a Summer Supper at your house.

Traveling With Kids

I haven't posted recently as we've been on the road visiting family. After 13 years of traveling thousands of miles in the car, I've learned a few things about road trips with kids. Here are some of my best tips.

Entertainment

Whether we like it or not, our kids are accustomed to being entertained 24x7. The car (or plane/train/bus) is no different, except that their movement is severely restricted. Try being strapped into a carseat for 8 hours and see how fun it is. If you don't want endless "Are we there yets?" then you need to plan car entertainment the same way you plan your hotel reservations (ahead of time-hopefully).

Babies & Toddlers

Infants are challenging to keep entertained on long car trips. There are ways to keep the crying to a minimum.

1. Put interesting pictures on the seat back to give the baby something to focus on.
2. Purchase a couple of fresh new toys to hang from their carseat as well as an old favorite.
3. Seat one adult (if you can) in back with the infant to help keep the child comfortable and entertained.
4. Buy a portable potty for toddlers (we used one in the car and it was a lifesaver!)
5. Don't be in a hurry. Plan extra time for your trip so you can stop every 2 hours or so and keep everyone fresh.

Children and Teens
The best suggestion I can give you is --Portable Video System. Whether a DVD or VHS, it is truly a lifesaver. We bought one when our children we preschoolers and haven't been without one since. It can keep you on the road and them entertained for hours, just bring plenty of movies to cover your road time.
Here are some other suggestions to break the monotony.

1. Dollar Store Toys -- or a few bucks you can provide some fresh toys to keep the kids entertained for at least part of the trip and when you get to the hotel. If they lose them on the trip, oh well, they only cost a buck.
2. Glow Sticks--after dark the video systems can be distracting for the driver and when it's past bedtime, you want the kids to sleep. The glowsticks are comforting too when you get to the hotel and the kids want a nightlight.
3. Car Games--Our family always enjoys going through the alphabet and finding something outside the car that starts with each letter. At night on two-lane, less traveled roads, we look for "peepers" (car headlights). The first to say "peeper" and spots a car gets a point and the one with the most points wins. Twenty questions also is a good way to pass time. Here's a nice list of some other car games.
4. Audio Players--for older kids tape, CD players, MP3s (with headsets) can eliminate the fight over which radio station should be playing.

Of course, all ages like snacks. Just remember to plan ones you don't mind cleaning out of car seats and the floor. Chips and popcorn seem to make awful messes and Cheetos, Goldfish, and Oreos don't look great on upholstery. In hot weather, fruit snacks can be a mess. (This is the voice of experience on all of these.) Sipper cups are lifesavers and probably should be used until you are at least 80.
Most importantly, try to get a little sleep yourself before you hit the road. It improves your patience with the inevitable hassles of traveling with kids.
P.S. Don't forget the blessings of Dramamine!

Why didn't I think of that

Keeping ribbon spools tidy

My sister was helping me move and was watching me try to tape the ends of the spools of ribbon. She asked me why I was taping the ends that way, and I explained I was trying to keep them from unraveling and tangling.

She whipped out her scissor and made a small slit in the ribbon spool. She then tucked the loose end of ribbon in the slit. It works just like the slit in a spool of sewing thread to prevent unraveling.

This works great. Now why didn't I ever think of that?

A small snip in the edge of a ribbon spool keeps the ribbon from unwinding. It works just like the notch on a spool of thread. 

May Products We Love

In the ongoing product review this month has one that I'm very impressed with.

Silver and metal polish
MAAS metal polish is one of my new best friends. This stuff is truly amazing. I polished some vintage silver spoons and they look almost brand new. The polish does its magic with little elbow grease. I've also tried it on a stainless steel sink. There's more work to polishing stainless (compared to the silver), but the results were very good. I also used it on a vintage Chuck E. Cheese token, and it looks brand new (my son says it's his "Lucky" token). You can buy it in many groceries and also online. I works on all types of metals, but silver is really its strength.

May Baskets are a Sweet Treat!

May Baskets can be simple. These baskets we made use a plastic cup with two holes paper punched for the pipe cleaner handle. We used self-adhesive foam cutouts for decorations and filled them to the brim with caramel corn and prepackaged candy. A notecard tells whom the gift is from.

Happy May Day!

Drag out the Maypole, pick a few flowers, hang a May basket on a neighbor's door--Spring is here!

May Day celebrations date back over 2000 years ago. Giving out May baskets on May 1 was a lot of fun when I was a child. The tradition seems to have mostly passed away. We try to keep the spirit alive at our house. Since the kids beg for candy from the neighbors at Halloween, why not return the sweet favor at May Day?

Over the years, we've given May baskets to our co-workers, nursing home residents, and our next door neighbors and friends. This year, we're giving baskets to teachers, and our neighbors in our apartment building. We're also distributing some on our new cul-de-sac as a way to introduce ourselves to the new neighbors.

Making your May Baskets
Making May baskets is an easy task. We usually use pretty plastic or paper cups. A paper punch makes holes through which we thread a pipe cleaner handle. We've also used plastic strawberry baskets and construction paper and doilies. Almost any simple container is fine. We've decorated them with silk or live flowers.

Filling Your May Baskets
Here are some suggestions for filling the baskets:
Caramel corn (see recipe from yesterday's post)
Mini candy bars
M&M's
Pretzels
Popcorn
Candy Kisses
Cookies
Nuts
Raisins
Fudge
Candy Corn

Delivering Your May Baskets
May baskets are supposed to be delivered anonymously. Traditionally, the giver hangs or places the basket on the front door. He or she then rings the doorbell or knocks and runs away and hides. Should the recipient see or catch the giver, they give the basket giver a kiss. If the recipient is cute, you can always linger and barely jog away (hoping they know the tradition).

Unfortunately, we live in a post 9-11 world. While we still "ring and hang" at our house, we put a custom printed card (I make the note on a business card in Print Shop) on ours baskets wishing the recipient a "Happy May Day" and letting them know the basket is from our family. That way they don't have to worry about anthrax, cyanide or some other terrorist attack on their front porches.

You're never too old to give a May basket. It's a great way to brighten someone's day, and they don't have to be elaborate or time-consuming. Revive the tradition and share a random act of kindness today!

Need a recipe?

I was looking for a caramel corn recipe that I love. I didn't have it in the limited stash that I brought with me, my Mom couldn't find it, and my sister was in her car when I phoned and couldn't help me. But my sister suggested looking up the recipe on the Internet. As always, Google did not let me down and I found the recipe plus a great Web site.

If you're hunting for a recipe, I highly recommend Cooks.com It has a robust search engine and about any recipe you can imagine. I found my caramel corn recipe in under 1 min. (and several variations on it).

By the way, here's the recipe. It is a little time consuming, but produces caramel corn just like you'll get from a popcorn store.

Caramel Corn

1 c. butter

2 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. light corn syrup

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. vanilla

6 qts. popped popcorn
1-20 oz. bag salted peanuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Grease two large, shallow baking pans. Remove unpopped kernels from popped popcorn. In a saucepan, melt butter over low to medium heat. Add brown sugar and corn syrup. Bring mixture to a boil, stirring constantly. Lower heat, and gently boil for 5 minutes, continuing to stir. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla, salt and soda.

Mix caramel sauce and popcorn (and peanuts-if desired) together. Spread coated popcorn evenly in the two pans. Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Cool and break caramel corn apart before serving.

Fleece is available in a vast array of patterns. From SpongeBob to military insignias, there is sure to be a pattern to suit your tastes or decor.

Warm Up

Since I've been down from recent surgeries, I've had time to do a little "crafting." My recent projects have been those wonderfully warm fleece blankets.

The fleece is readily available at Wal-Mart, Hobby Lobby or any fabric store. It comes in a wide array of patterns from kittens and rainbows to Spiderman and Care Bears, there's likely a pattern or style to match your taste.

The blankets are a snap to finish, and you don't necesarrily have to sew to complete one. Whatever method you choose, you need to finish the perimeter of the blanket. You have a variety of ways to accomplish this task.

Machine Finishing

I've made these blankets for the children previously, using the blanket or zigzag stitch on my sewing machine to finish the edge. This takes less than 30 min. and you have a warm fuzzy for the kids. You could also serge the edge if you have the technology.

You can also sew 2 panels together for a doubly thick blanket. Usually, I just do a single weight as it doesn't get that cold here, but in northern climates, double up for extra warmth.

Hand Finishing

My latest blankets have been hand finished. Since I'm not feeling well enough to sit for long periods at the sewing machine, I've been blanket stitching the edges with yarn. I use standard weight yarn, a yarn darning needle and a skewer (for punching holes). You can finish a standard sized panel in 3-4 hours. (A rental movie helps pass the time)

Here's how to do a blanket stitch:

Blanket stitch is worked from left to right. The needle is brought up vertically and brought out of the fabric with the thread tucked under the needle. (See posted diagram below)

If you don't like sore fingers, then you'll want to prepunch hole for your need to pass through. I found a metal shish-ka-bob skewer works great for this purpose.

At the corners work several stitches in a fan shape from a single hole opposite the corner. That will reinforce and provide a nice corner finish.


No-sew option

Had needles and machines? You still can finish a fleece blanket with hand-tied fringe. Create a template of cardboard that is 18-24 inches long, four inches deep and has 1-inch marks on it. Use the template to mark your blanket edge (use one of those disappearing fabric markers to mark the blanket). Draw a line 4 inches deep on your blanket. Then mark the 1-inch widths. Cut the 1-inch strips to the 4" depth you marked. Once you cut the fringe, tie a slip knot at the base of each strip (You can make it longer or thinner--this is just a suggestion based on my attention span. Thinner strips look nice, but it means more tying.) Continuing knotting all the strips until finished.

When finished, find a loved one, drape and snuggle!

This is a diagram of the blanket stitch. You can use this stitch to hand finish fleece blankets. 

Products we love - April

Each month, I'll let you know about products that we've tried and love. These are our own endorsements and have not been paid in any way by a sponsor. They are my and my family's opinions. If you do or don't agree, feel free to add you comments to the post.

Here are two of our latest favorites:

Philly Swirl Stix

These Italian ice pops (they also come in cups) are wonderful and my kids love them. They have only 48 calories a bar and the come in kid (and adult) friendly flavors. They have a new sugar-free variety at Sam's Clubs that I also would like to try.

The company is small and super friendly. I emailed them and received a personalized response which is a rarity in today's mega-corporation environment. So not only is it a tasty, low-cal snack, but a nice bunch of people to do business with.

Here's the link to their Website: Philly Swirls

Dr. Scholl's Odor Destroyer Spray

I admit it. I have very stinky feet. Add a pair of nylon hosiery and you better pray my shoes can contain the stench.

Actually, I had stinky feet, until I found the newest Dr. Scholl's spray. This stuff actually works, and believe me I've tried them all. I finally can take off my shoes without clearing the room.

Since using this product daily, I have completely eliminated my foot and shoe odor problem. So if you share the stench, try out Odor Destroyers.

Let me know if you found these product reviews useful. I'll post some monthly (or more often if you like them).

Shop 'till ya drop!

No More Store Squabbles

I've only had a couple of great parenting revelations, but here is one of them.

I hate children who whine for items in the store. I've seen children cry, plead, throw tantrums, much to everyone's dismay. None of my children have ever done this due to one simple rule:

If you ask for it, I won't buy it.

Notice the period at the end of the rule. It is critical that nothing else is added. You have to be firm and unbending on this rule. If they ask for milk and it is on your list--you cannot for any reason buy it.

The result of firm adherance to this rule is that your children will not ask for anything in a store. If you have more than one child, there will be sibling pressure to keep them from asking. If they start, all you have to say is "You're asking, so I can't buy it." Always let them know if you had been planning a special treat and they blew it by asking.

For all of our peace when shopping, please use this rule with your own children.

Also, don't take small children to the store after 9 pm, late in the afternoon or anytime when you or the child is tired. You're just asking for trouble.

Go enjoy some peaceful shopping!

The most beautiful bouquets are those picked by a child. I've had three dandelion bouquets this week and they touch my heart more than a dozen roses (of course one would have to receive flowers to have a real point of reference!)  

Being fresh is OK

Being fresh with a co-worker, especially of the opposite sex, might not be OK; but being fresh in the kitchen is definitely OK. Here's some stay fresh tips for various snack foods:

Cereal
My kids love cereal--that is, they love to open cereal but never finish it. Ziploc bags are my best friend. Pull out the cereal bag, push in a new zipper bag (I prefer the zipper Ziplocs) into the empty box and fill it with the cereal, zipping it shut for freshness. Why bother putting the cereal back in the box? The box is what attracts the kids to the cereal, so if you just put the cereal in the Ziploc bag, they won't eat it! It's kid logic, don't try to figure it out.

Potato Chips
Those chip clips really work, but who can ever find one? I'm always left "holding the bag" without a clip. Binder clips, paper clips and clothespins will work just as well as the bag clips, and I generally can find these easier. Kids (or grownups) open up two bags without finishing one? Go ahead and combine them into one. You'll have better luck getting the single bag rather than the two separate bags finished before going stale. Again this is kid logic, so don't even try to understand it.

Marshmallows
Just give up on trying to keep these fresh even with a clip in the original bag. Putting the original, opened bag in a Ziploc and pressing out the excess air seems to work best. You can freeze marshmallows, but I think they lose some flavor and texture when frozen. They can be stored in plastic containers, but the double bagging with a Ziploc is my preferred method.

Saltine crackers
I love my cracker tin. I think it works better than any other solution and keeps the crackers from breaking. I use the original packaging and just use a twist tie to seal the opened package. My tin holds all four packages from the original box. I don't know of any new sources for tins, but you can located vintage ones on eBay for under $5.

Popcorn
The moisture content of popcorn is critical for proper popping. The moisture content is a closely guarded trade secret because it is so important. The best popping corn is undoubtedly Orville Redenbachers, but a lot of it is the packaging. How is it packaged? In a sealed bottle. That's what you need to do, keep your popcorn sealed and at room temp (don't put it in the fridge as that can mess up the moisture content). A clean, dried glass jar with a good lid will work just fine for keeping your popcorn at its freshest.

Happy snacking!

Fluffy Omelets

I've made fluffy omelets, but they are just too much work. You have to separate the eggs, beat the whites until stiff, beat the yolks until thick and then fold them all together. Not being a morning person, this is not a process I'm capable of before 11 a.m.

So how can you get fluffy omelets without all the hassle?

A pinch of baking powder.

I saw the tip in Woman's World magazine, and thought I'd give it a try. Sure enough, the eggs puff right up. When you take them from the heat, eat fast as the fluffiness is short lived, but every bit as light at the well-beaten variety.

Have only 2 minutes for breakfast but want an omelet? I recommend the Schwan's omelets. They are tasty and cook up in about 2 min. in the microwave. Not as good as a fresh one, but a close second.

Bon apetit!

Easter Ham Leftovers?

This week we've been trying to use up all the leftovers from the meal for 20 that I fixed for the five of us. I dredged up an old recipe (courtesy of a couple of phone calls to Mom), made some variations and came up with the following. Total prep time is under 10 min.

Leftover Hoagies

Hoagie Roll (sliced in half lengthwise)
Garlic Butter (mix 1/4 tsp. {or more to taste} garlic powder in 1/4 c. whipped margarine)
2 slices of leftover Easter ham
3 slices of Genoa salami
2 slices of provolone or swiss cheese

Spread garlic butter on one side of hoagie roll. Place ham and salami on roll and top with cheese slices. Top with remaining roll and put two toothpicks in to hold sandwich together. Bake at 450 degrees for 7 min. Serve hot.

Our Somali kitten, Nacho, proofs my copy for this Blog (which explains any typos). If you've got a great caption for this picture, share it with us! 

Creative financing helped us land our new house in Newport News, VA