Asha Anujeeva

Well, our country’s 235th birthday just passed.  It was not  particularly spectacular for me.  I guess I was disappointed in our parade down Main Street.  It seemed a bit too short;  there were no marching bands or baton twirlers (like there were in the fireman’s parade around Memorial Day – that parade lasted for 2 hours!) and it seemed like it was mostly for the political venue.

I remember celebrating the 4th  of July back when I was a child.  It seemed bigger, better somehow.  But then again, things you remember from your childhood always do seem that way, at least for me.  I remember the fireworks and how big and beautiful they were and how long the show seemed to go on, and then there was the big family cookout.  But, as we grow up, I guess reality sets in a bit and things just aren’t the same.  The wonder of childhood is gone.

But, my niece did come to visit and she is in the military and stationed about 5 hours from here.  It was so good to see her and spend some time with her.  This will probably be my last chance to see her before Christmas because next month she is being transferred to Florida and will not be able to just drive up to see me any time she wants to.  So, that part of the holiday was great!!!!

Yesterday I took my niece, Tabitha, to the playground at our local park. I love to have Tabitha visit, but she sometimes gets a little bit excited and has occasionally broken things in my house, so I choose to take her to the playground instead for our visits.

As I watched her play on the slide, climbing up the 10 or so stairs to slide down again some 40 or 50 times and then move on to the swings for a bit and then to the merry-go-round, I noticed that the mulch they had on the ground was made of rubber.  I had never seen this before and found it very interesting and different.

After our playground romp, we went to the local ice cream shop for a sundae.  She decided that she wanted a banana split instead of a sundae. She ordered a hot fudge sundae and I  had my peanut butter sundae (my personal favorite).  Of course, being only 7 years old, Tabitha got fudge all over her clothes and face.  Her mother will have an absolute fit!!!  But, that is what being a kid is all about, isn’t it?  You should be able to get messy when you eat ice cream. 

After Tabitha’s visit, dropped her off at her house (after a little clean up in the bathroom at the ice cream shop) and went home and did a little research.  I found out that there is a company called Rubberecycle Playsafer that recycles old used tires and sells this rubber mulch for use on playgrounds and in horse arenas.  It makes a softer place to land if a horse or child falls, it is good for the environment and gives a person or a horse more sure footing.  I think it is a wonderful idea for recycling of tires and lasts much longer than traditional mulch.

What is the deal with my favorite Bryer’s ice cream, the caramel pecan praline only being in the stores sporatically? I love that flavor, and it seems to only available about 20% of the times that I want to buy it!

Well, I get frustrated and try other flavors which I really don’t care for as much. For instance, today I bought the caramel and brownie ice cream. Not enough caramel. I miss the carmel pecan praline! Don’t you just hate it when you have a craving that you can’t fulfill?

Today I realized that my cooking has gotten into a rut of the same old recipes and the same foods on the menu each night. I am sick of my own cooking!

There are some great shows on cable TV about cooking, so I think it would be a good idea to devote at least one a week to watching a cooking show and expanding my food preparation skills. I also want to expand my knowledge of vegetables. There are so many different fruits and vegetables in the grocery store produce section now. I don’t even know how to prepare and serve half of them! First I need to learn how to select the right one, when is it ripe? Do you peel it or not? Discard the seeds or not? There is so much to learn!

For years I would make a big pot of chicken and dumplings and they always turned out wonderful. It was my “go to” dish for comfort food. I make the chicken by boiling it with onions, then remove the chicken, drain the fat, and cut the meat off the bone and into small pieces. Put it back in the pot with some spices and then make the dumplings. I always make the dumplings with the recipe on the side of the Bisquick box.

I don’t know what has changed, but the last several batches have not turned out well. The dumplings don’t get light and fluffy – they are hard little dough rocks. The food tastes wonderful, but the dumplings keep failing. I have no idea what is wrong and I’m getting very frustrated.