A Little Bit of Sugar, A Whole Lotta Love

Beignet:  (ben-yey) Fr. a fritter or doughnut

Obviously whoever wrote THIS definition for the dictionary, has either never sampled this delight, or is the master of understatement.  A Krispy Kreme is a doughnut.  A cruller is a doughnut.  Even a Bavarian Cream is a doughnut albeit a very superior doughnut, I'll give you that.  But a beignet....a beignet is an EXPERIENCE!  It is a light, melt in your mouth, yeasty, tender, powdered sugar confection so incredibly delicious, is brings a tear to your eye.  I'm tearing up right now just thinking about it!!!!

Well, last week two of my grandchildren and I made beignets.  It is quite a process.  It took approximately twice as long as it would have taken if I had done it myself!!! BUT, would not have been as much fun.  I made the dough after church in the morning and set it to rising.  It SMELLED like heaven, if you like that yeasty smell.  I could dab some behind each ear and on my wrists!  Then after dinner, and the dishes were done, we began actually frying them.  At this point, the procedure is very simple.  Roll out the dough, cut into squares, fry in oil, cover in powdered sugar, eat.  Simple unless you are using child labor.  All of a sudden, two children turns into a herd.  Both want to roll, and Sophie knows where I keep the extra rolling pin, so all of a sudden I have one rolling with supervision, and one going rogue.  Then there is the pizza cutter which must be shared.  A squabble ensues and I am praying no little fingers end up being "shortened".   Once they were cut and arranged on a cookie sheet, Gramma set to frying.  They don't take long in the oil, and they puff up so beautifully.  Out of the oil, I drained them on another cookie sheet covered in paper towels and set them to cooling.  Now, my little helpers took the main stage.  They were in charge of putting the beignets into a bag with powdered sugar and shaking.  And they did.  With gusto.  With waaaay too much gusto!  We had powdered sugar everywhere!  My kitchen was so sticky, when I walked across the floor I was afraid my socks would come off!

As the beignets were piling up (the recipe makes a LOT, but you need a LOT as they are just sooooo delicious) my little Sharon kept asking for more.  She claimed she only had two, but she had sugar from nose to chin each time we looked at her, even after I kept wiping her up.  So after everyone had their fill (diet???? what diet???) we made some deliveries and took some to my mother-in-law and a few others. 

We have plans to make them again, BUT, not until summer when we can do it outside, and when I have all the grandchildren here......and their mothers!  There is something about cooking with kids, my grown up kids included (thanks Cari for the help!) that grows a woman's heart.  The bonding, the laughter, the "sweetness" of enjoying the moment.  More than satisfying.  More than pleasurable.  Whats the word I'm looking for?   Ah yes, gratitude for the blessing of little fingers.

FRENCH QUARTER BEIGNETS

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 envelope active dry yeast
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 cup evaporated milk
7 cups flour
1/4 cup shortening

Oil for frying
confectioners sugar

Mix water, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl and let sit for 10 minutes
In another bowl, beat the eggs salt and evaporated milk together.  Mix the egg mixture into the yeast mixture.  Add 3 cups of flour to the yeast mixture and stir to combine.  Add the shortening and continue to stir while adding the remaining flour.  Remove dough from bowl, place on a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth.  Spray a lg bowl with nonstick spray, put the dough in and cover with plastic wrap or a towel.  Let rise in a warm place for at least 2 hours.  (Mine was longer and they were sooo light)
Preheat oil in deep fryer to 350 degree
Roll the dough out to about 1/4 inch thickness and cut into squares.  Deep fry a few at a time, turning, until they are a nice golden color.  Drain for a few seconds then toss them into a bag with confectioners sugar to coat.  Hold the bag CLOSED (I know you know this, but make sure the kids know it too!!!!)  Shake.  If you have leftover (hard to believe!!) just pop into the microwave for 10 seconds.....just like fresh.  Enjoy!!!!

Easter People

Last month, a young man growing up in our community was murdered while living in Austrailia.  He has been brought back to be buried here this weekend.  I did not know him, nor do I know his family, but his death has touched many who live here.  We can all feel the horror of so violent a death, and our hearts go out to a mother and father who must bury their son, family who will surely miss their loved one, and extended friends who will agonize over the senselessness of so tragic an end. 

Young people are not supposed to die.  They are supposed to outlive their elders, to live on to have children and grandchildren of their own.  And no one should have such an ugly death.  At times like this we cry out to God, "Why?  What good can come of this?"  We feel that if we just know God's intentions we could accept, and it would be easier to bear.  It won't be.  What we are really asking is, "How?  How can I trust you again, Lord?  How could you do this to me?  How will I ever live through this?"  It is all too human.  We focus on the agony that this death brings us, and it scares us.  This too, is all too human and understandable.

But, we forget that our God lost a son too, and he is familiar with and shares our grief.  And while we think that our grief is too much to take, He carries the greater portion of the load on our behalf.  He sent us a Saviour, and a Consoler. After a time, our grief is assuaged, and we begin to notice the angels and helpers He has sent to guide us through the darkness of our loss.  We are an Easter people....we believe in sun after the storm, dawn after the dark night, and resurrection after death.  We cannot live in hopelessness forever.  We live out our resurrection in many ways.....by believing that though evil things happen in this world, the world is not evil, that there are more good people than bad, and that though sadness may once again enter our lives someday, goodness and happiness will be present as well. 

I pray that comfort comes to this family, and for eternal rest for all who have entered the next life unexpectedly.

A Bra, A Bra, My Queendom for a Bra

My apologies to Will Shakespeare for bastardizing his famous line from King Lear!   However, to find a good fitting brassiere is the quest of many women my age.  I feel kind of funny writing about it, but it has been on my mind since retiring.  I entered retirement with a few simple goals: to watch more than the first 15 minutes of the Today show, to finally make a coconut cream pie, and to find a good fitting bra.  Two out of three goals have been checked off, but I am beginning to despair of ever attaining the third.  Sigh!!!

I wonder if Queen Elizabeth has the same trouble.  I mean really!!! How does she shop for that which every woman, royal or not, wears?   Can she just go into Harrods and ask for a 36C?  Or does she have them specially made?  Who measures her?  And when she says, "We need a little more support, and less back fat"  is she using the royal "we" or is she referring to "the girls"?  Just wondering.

And speaking of back fat....that is just the BEGINNING of the troubles that befall the unDDeniably DDazzling, DDelightful and DDivine women seeking to be comfortable while looking aDDorable!!!!  What about comfort???  What about "top spillage"?  What about "side boobage?"
Recently I went into a woman's store advertising expert consultation.  The "expert" poked me, spun me, measured me and proceeded to give me the same size bra that I walked in with, only with the "comfort strap" hiked up so far, that I looked like I had these huge cones coming out of my neck!!!  In a couple of hours, everything was "down around the equator" if you get my drift.

I also succumbed to the current TV craze advertising the Ah! bra (Genie bra to some) which details the all way stretch fabric, promising comfort AND support!  Comfort, YES!  Support, not so much.  My daughter who also bit on the comfort/support premise suggested I wear two at a time, since they are so lightweight.  I tried it.  More support for sure, but it cut off the blood supply to my arms and I had pins and needles all day long.  Again.... sigh.

I have come to the conclusion that the only way to get a good fitting bra is to....gulp....lose weight.  I am not sure I am prepared to get that drastic!!!  Sooooo......back to the hunt.  In the meantime, if you see me on the street, and I am tugging, pulling, squirming or something else, just smile and know....it's not you, its my bra.

"Little Black Book"

A little over a year ago, my daughter gave me a "little black book", and no, it's not what you think.  This journal was to record my thoughts, my history, and hopefully give insight for future generations as to just who I am.  Whew!  Talk about pressure!

I am sandwiched in between two generations of writers.  My mother, the inspiration for the little black book, was a blogger of daily life long before the internet was even dreamed of.  She kept this journal nearby and when we kids saw her jotting something down, we would always ask her if what she was writing was about us. Lots of times, it was. She recorded what it was like to grow up during the depression, what life was like in the 50's, the things her children said and did.  She was funny and insightful.  She not only wrote about the sunny side of life, but also the tragic and heartbreaking aspects of her life, the loss of a child, starting over as a single woman in her later years, watching her family grow up and move away.  She was brutally honest with her feelings.  She saw most things as blessings, even though it was not always apparent at the time. 

As she descended into the nightmare that is AlzheimIer's, these journals became a boon to the family. We, of course, had no idea of the scope of her writing....there was not just one little black book, but many installments!  My sister took on the task of organizing the vignettes, and my brother had it bound to a lovely book that is a treasured keepsake.    We all have our own copy.  Though she is now gone, we still have her through her words.  While reading her thoughts on the advantages of "pockets" I can still see the twinkle in her eyes, or shed a tear while reading about putting children to bed at night and being impressed by their innocence.

Then, there is my eight year old grandaughter who has proclaimed her avocation to be an author.  She has what it takes...a wild imagination, a burning desire, and great punctuation!  I predict she will be a force to contend with in future years!

I fear that my writing style may be a bit offputting!  When something excites me, I am full of exclaimation points!!!!! and never use one when I can use three or four.  I also like dot dot dot.....when I would be speaking......and I want to pause for effect.....I use the mental dot dot dot, so when I write......I also employ the dot system!!!!!  Another bad habit (altho some would not say it is a truly bad habit, but disconcerting none the less) is my penchant for parenthesis.  I LOVE them.  When I have another thought (and believe you me, I have TONS of thoughts) I love to let you know that it may not be the main point I am try to make, but important to me nonetheless!!!!  Which brings us to CAPITAL LETTERS!!!!!  I think you know what I mean when I use them!!!!

So dear reader (and I DO hope someone reads this SOMETIME) I am going to try to do the online version of the "little black book".  This is my first attempt.   Cari, I'm sorry it took so long, so let me know how I did!!!!!