Early morning conversation

Kristine: Ohmygosh, I wonder if I'm having a hot flash. All of a sudden, I am so stinkin' hot. (Fans self.)

Robert: You look really cute.

Kristine: Thanks!!!

Robert: You actually have some color in your face. I think you're flushed.

Recipe -- Turkey Burgers with Mushroom and Blue Cheese

While in Pennsylvania, we visited the amazing Allentown Farmers Market. This isn't just a few fruit stands set up in a big parking lot. We're talking more than 60 stands, 90,000 square feet of indoor shopping, produce, deli meats and cheeses, Pennsylvania Dutch and European baked deliciousness, food for now, food for later, an incredible assortment of everything one could possibly want--all at prices comparable to my local grocery store.

Included among the peperoni rolls, the strudels, and the pickled eggs, we saw Blue Cheese Buffalo Burgers. It brought back memories of the many times I used to buy these in Colorado Springs. I was inspired.

Trevor and I also ate veggie burgers that had been prepared earlier by my cousin, a noted vegan chef. The burgers were wonderful, but the literally hours-long preparation was not for me. Still, I was further inspired. When we returned home, I found this recipe.

TURKEY BURGERS WITH MUSHROOM AND BLUE CHEESE

1 lb. lean ground turkey (I used 99%)
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1. T. oil
2 T. soy sauce
1/2 t. kosher salt
1/4 t. pepper
4 oz. container crumbled blue cheese

Mix all ingredients together. Form into patties. The recipe calls for 4 patties; I was able to make 6, but we use small buns.

Instead of bbqing, I pan sauteed at just over medium heat for 6 mins. per side.

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Trevor's friend declared them "awesomely delicious." When he was done, I told him there were mushrooms in the burgers. He was floored; he refuses to eat mushrooms. Trevor loved me more than he ever did before. Robert thought they were really good. Holly. Well, Holly took one look, said she didn't feel well, would eat later, and left. LOL.

I froze the remaining patties, but I think it would be best to cook them before freezing. (Wouldn't the mushrooms get soggy by being frozen?)

Delicious, healthy, feel-good about yourself meal.

Hope and change

Robert got this back as change last week.



Robert says instead of hope and change, there's now truth in change.

LOL.

Visit to Clinton

One of our planned trips was to visit Clinton, NJ, where my sister and I were born. Clinton was a sleepy little town then, and while it still isn't big, it's on the western edge of the New York City Metropolitan Area. But we moved to California in 1966, and I've never been back.

The Red Mill

My parents moved here from California in 1962. It was a familiar area to my dad, who was from Bethlehem, just over the state line. My parents both worked for Lockheed, my mom in Plainfield, my dad in Metuchen, each on the other side of the state. Although my dad was taking night classes at Rutgers (close to Metuchen), this still must have been quite the commute in the early '60s.

South Branch of the Raritan River

They bought their first home in a then-brand new development adjacent to Lingerts Pond. Appropriately, our street was called Lingert. It was a bit sad to see it is now one of the less kept-up houses on the street.



We circled the block, with Holly taking pictures, and then we headed downtown.



My Aunt Loretta came along for the ride. We dressed according to the weather forecast--high 60s. Buuut it was 20 degrees cooler! I'd scoped out several restaurant choices a few weeks ago, and we settled on The Clinton Towne Restaurant, which turned out to be a fantastic choice!

After lunch, we ran across the bridge (in an unsuccessful attempt to stay warm) so I could get a few more photos.


The weather definitely changed our plans to walk in the town and visit the different shops. Instead, we headed back to southside Bethlehem, to see the house my Grandma lived in as a child. My dad lived here too as a child, and currently one of my distant cousins lives here.



We drove past St. Cyril & Methodius, our family's church since its inception in 1907. (Okay, really, how cool is that?)


The building was cleaned last year, and you can see that there was some problem with the stones weeping.


A really neat day; I'm so glad we had the opportunity to have my aunt give us a real tour. I hope that by memorializing some of this by blogging, my kids will remember this for decades to come. I hope they have the same opportunity to share this with their own kids.

Amazing, never before seen photo!!

A bit of a health fanatic, my Uncle Al never eats red meat or sugar. And I mean NEVER. But he goes to his favorite coffee shop every day for coffee, and in honor of our visit, he brought home a dozen of the WORLD'S BEST DONUTS for us.

Mary Ann Donut Kitchen has been around since the '60s. Krispy Kreme? Blue Collar Joe's? They've got nothin' on this place, don't even come close.

To further honor our visit, Uncle Al even ate one. I got my camera to memorialize this amazing event. They sent the photo to their own kids, who otherwise might never believe it happened.



Great donuts, great family . . . not necessarily in that order though!

Moms can never exhale

The kids and I drove up to visit family in Allentown/Bethlehem last week. You can imagine us flying up the highway, enjoying our six hour drive.

Except that when Trevor pulled his ear bud out of his ears, one of the buds stayed in. The cord came out just fine though.

He was so stunned that Holly was the one who broke the news to me.

He could feel it moving around just a bit, but it was about to fall out.

I am thankful that he's 13 and could tell me what happened. (Don't we all know a little kid who didn't tell and later had to have surgery?)

I am thankful that he could sit still in the car, not freak out, and not stick his finger in his ear in a useless attempt to get the bud out.

I am thankful for a random CVS in a random town, for a pharmacist who is a mom first. She could totally relate, eased my stress considerably, and provided directions to a nearby walk-in clinic if I could not get the piece out myself. I bought a pair of tweezers to try first.

I am thankful for a son who continued to remain calm under the circumstances and could hold his ear up just right so I had a straight shot in.

I am thankful that the bud had edges that were easy to grab. And that I GOT IT on the first try.

Yes, I should have put a penny next to it to show its actual size.

And I'm thankful that that was the extent of our excitement on our drive.

Recipe -- Dinner Roll Sandwiches

Using leftover dinner rolls, I made these delicious little sandwiches for lunch. They would be quite appropriate as a party appetizer or to take along to a potluck.

DINNER ROLL SANDWICHES

1 pkg. of 24 dinner rolls (Hawaiian rolls or otherwise; I used leftover potato rolls)
thinly sliced deli-style meat, such as ham, turkey, or roast beef
thinly sliced cheese, such as swiss, mozzarella, pepper jack
1 stick butter or margarine, melted
3/4 T. horseradish
1 T. mustard
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 T. poppy seeds
1/2 T. garlic powder
1/2 T. dried minced onion (I crushed to powder form)

Preheat oven to 325.

Taking care to not separate the rolls, slice in half horizontally. Place bottom half of rolls in pan or baking dish. It's best to fit them to the pan, but there can be extra space in pan, if necessary.

Layer with meat, then cheese, and put on top half of rolls. Brush with butter mixture. Bake for 20 mins., until cheese is melted. Slice through rolls and serve.
Keeping rolls

Last weekend

Trevor left Friday morning and spent three days with friends at an alpaca show.

Holly took her SATs Saturday morning. And survived.



Robert and I took her out to dinner that night.

On Sunday, Holly and I drove to Charlotte, NC to attend a large college fair.



I don't think she found anything too interesting, but it's always good to keep options open. It was a beautiful day for a drive too.



It was the start of daylight savings time--a busy weekend, cut short by one hour.

An early bedtime fits in perfectly. Yawn.

Love is in the air

I love this time of year. The days are longer, the sun is brighter, and I get to look at curriculum choices for the upcoming school year. Trevor will be using My Father's World Ancient History & Literature next year. I'm piecing it together from different sources to save $$$, but this is the portion I ordered directly from MFW. I can't wait to dig into the Guide and watch how the year come together.



The thrill of choosing never gets old.

Speaking of my Prius . . .

Left the house today and got gas. Drove to Roanoke and back, a combination of highway and city miles. I didn't use the ECO mode (makes the car drive like a Yugo); I drove at or above the speed limit; and my tires are not overinflated (which improves Prius gas mileage).

Yep. 64.7 mpg. It won't last for the full tank of gas, but it's fun to see. Most tanks of gas average 57 mpg. I really do love this car.

Spring

As long as I bundle up, it's been warm enough to walk. Trevor is a great motivator for me and can usually get me out of the house. This is my favorite view when we are heading toward home.



We first drove down this road three years ago. I fell in love with the street and wished we lived here.

My kids are homeschooled.

I drive a Prius.

I ate tofu last week.

I voted for Ron Paul today.

Exactly how in the world did I end up like this???




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The Ron Paul thing is almost understandable. Only Romney and Paul are on Virginia's ballot, no write ins allowed. I loathe Romney and found a bit of joy in voting against him today.

Mirrors

Floor mirrors!! I saw these in photos of an online friend whose home is for sale, and I fell in love with them.


And that light switch there on the wall? We realized last month that it connects to the two lamps on either side of the couch. There's a matching light switch at the other end of the room, and we found out it connects too. We've lived here for almost two years. I think my mindlessness is rubbing off on poor Robert.