Grandma's Kitchen Table

Pas-Tability II

(Click on photo for enlargement.)  Monday.  Last day of April.  5:00 a.m. swim practice...we are off and running with a good start.  Spring spruce up begins today, as do the choir rehearsals for the Italy tour this summer.  We can see the end of the school year coming down the road...hip hip hooray!  It's a great day just to be alive...and excitingly enough, tomorrow is May!  Here is another favorite pasta salad.

SHRIMP PASTA SALAD

1 pound farfalle (bowtie) pasta (cooked, drained, and rinsed with cold water)

Pint or more of grape tomatoes

1/2 English cucumber, peeled (or not) and diced

1/2 pound Feta cheese (diced)

6 green onions, whites and greens, (sliced)

16 oz. steamed shrimp (peeled and deveined), cooled

Banana Pepper rings, optional

Black or green olives (sliced), optional (best with Greek olives if you have them around)

Green pepper (diced), optional

1 teaspoon capers, optional

DRESSING:

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon Greek seasoning

½ teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

2/3 cap grated Parmesan Cheese (fresh is best, but the green tube works also)

Put the first ingredients in a very large bowl.  A very large bowl.

Mix the dressing in a small bowl or glass measuring cup (easier to pour when you are finished) and whisk it until it becomes thicker and creamier.

Pour dressing over Pasta ingredients and mix well.  Cover.

Serve immediately or refrigerate for several hours and serve cold.  Because of the shrimp in it, serve cold and keep only for a day or two.  (Usually I put the shrimp in a separate container and we mix it in as we need it so that the salad can keep a little longer.  You can always use the shrimp up easily in shrimp cocktail or something if it goes beyond the second day and you haven't eaten it all. )

                                                      

Banquet Table

The Carmel Swim Club Annual Awards Banquet was today and, as always, we had a great time seeing everyone and enjoyed visiting with all the kids in street clothes and dry hair...sometimes it is difficult to recognize some of the swimmers as 99% of the time we only see them in swim togs with swim caps or wet hair!  They all clean up really well.  There are just short of 300 swimmers in our club, so the banquet for swimmers, parents, and siblings, etc., is always a big deal.  CSC is ranked 23rd in the nation and 2nd in the Central Zone.  Last year CSC had the number one girls 13-14 relay in the nation and Matt's relay had a Top 16 National Time.  Not bad for a land-locked town in the middle of the country.  Photo here is of Matt and his best swimming buddy, Mike...the two of them in looks totally opposite, but in personalities very similar.  And, best of all, Mike lives right down the road from us!  Brunch, awards, photos, speakers, and drawings for prizes (Matt got a really nice new swim bag with which he was thrilled).  End of short course season, now we are in long course...three months until summer state...three months until age up.   As far as awards go....two of the winners were, coincidentally enough...

Growth Tables

Our little crabapple tree beside the garage at the end of the driveway...so pretty in bloom this time of year.  The week has flown by so quickly!  Thursday found us at the Indianapolis Museum of Art for our monthly art tour gig with the teenage homeschoolers in our group.  Shelley is really getting into blogging as when we finished, she said, "I call dibs on the posting about the IMA today on the blogs!"  And a fine job she did of it, too...if you want to check it out, visit Shelley at http://insomnimom.blogspot.com/ for Thursday, April 26th.  That night Matt sang at a dinner for the Prince and Princess of Yugoslavia which was interesting and fun for him.  Interesting because, since Yugoslavia is no longer a country in its own right, he was singing the Serbian National Anthem, the U.S. National Anthem, and Back Home Again in Indiana.  Fun because Matt dearly loves to sing at special gigs like this.

Friday we spent seven hours in testing...bone scans, CAT scans, etc. for Matt's recurring painful back...which we thought was probably due to growing so quickly in the past few months, but turns out to be a chronic condition treatable by therapy and a back brace (and restrictions on the butterfly and breaststroke in swimming...aren't we lucky that Matt's two state competitive swims are the backstroke and freestyle?).  Whew...a mother always worries, so this was good news for Mark and I to hear at the end of the day...you just never know, and I tend to be the worrisome type anyway when it comes to my boys.

We are rejoicing in warm weather and shorts season!  Normally this is something we always rejoice in after long cold dreary winters (I am definitely not a winter-loving kind of gal), however, this year we have additional reasons to rejoice.  For the past four months, with Matthew's growth spurt, each and every month we have had to have the pants rehemmed and we are now out of any extra room to expand lengthwise in all his pants.  At 14, he is a little over six feet tall and still growing.  I am thinking shorts are the way to go from here on out until the snow flies again.  We went clothes shopping today (best to do it while Alex is out of town at scout camp as Alex has not experienced said growth spurt, thus making it unnecessary to score an entire new wardrobe..."it's just not fair that Matt grows so tall all the time and outgrows everything each year").  Matt's swimming shoulders don't help the shirt size situation either...mediums fit elsewhere, but those shoulders finally breathed a big sigh of "ahhh" when he tried on the large size.  As I was sitting outside the changing room, I had a new appreciation for the parents of all the tall people I have known...and being tall myself, I tended to outgrow things each year also.  When the boys were six and we were perusing the closets to see what fit and what did not, Alex, who has always been small and slow to grow, said, "Mom, I am NOT wearing this (in his hand he had a really cute blue shirt with a big green frog on it...one that Matt had worn at age 3).  NO self-respecting six year old would be caught dead in this, even if it does fit me, Mom!"  I had to agree...what was darling at three, certainly was not acceptable at six.  In the pursuing years, I have tried to cut Alex a few deals here and there so that he can get some new things each season also...even though he can usually wear the same size for three years running.  It is, after all, a small thing to ensure a bit of peace and respect in this regard. 

Pas-Tability I

It's pasta season around here!  The golf clubs come out of storage, the backyard pool is open and ready for warm weather, there are even more swim team practices, scouting activities, biking, roller-blading, the joy of being outside, and a busy family on the go...pasta salads are our favorite way to eat when the weather is nice and we want to be out in it...our oven gets a rest most of the summer and we make friends again with the outdoor grill.   Here is the all-time favorite of the guys around here, and coincidentally enough, my most-requested-ever recipe.  You can keep it in the frig all week, but it never lasts that long around here.  Don't use bottled dressing...this one listed is what makes the salad so yummy! 

PIZZA PASTA SALAD

1 pound rotini pasta (cooked, drained, and rinsed with cold water)

3 medium tomatoes (seeded and diced) (or whole cherry or grape tomatoes as desired)

1/4 pound brick cheddar cheese (cubed)

1/4 pound brick Monterey Jack cheese (cubed)

3 green onions, whites and greens, (sliced)

3-4 ounces sliced pepperoni

Black or green olives (sliced), optional

Green pepper (diced), optional

(Basically whatever you like on a pizza or salad you can add it…artichokes, banana      

            pepper rings, capers, etc. – I change it up depending what is on hand at the time.)

DRESSING:

2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

½ cup red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons dried oregano

½ to 1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

2/3 cap grated Parmesan Cheese (fresh is better but the green tube works also)

Put the first ingredients in a very large bowl.  A very large bowl.

Mix the dressing in a small bowl or glass measuring cup (easier to pour when you are finished) and whisk it until it becomes thicker and creamier.

Pour dressing over Pasta ingredients and mix well.  Cover.

Refrigerate for several hours if you want to serve cold.  We also like it just room temperature.  We even warm it for 30 seconds in the microwave until the cheese just starts to ooze and serve it that way at times.  It packs well for picnics.

Often, I sprinkle large Caesar Cut Croutons from Marzetti on the top before serving as the crunch is a nice addition.  (Don’t do it earlier or they will get soggy.)  At home we serve them on the side and each one can add them or not.

Birthday II -- Bridge Table

Happy Birthday, Jeff!  Here is a photo from last year's celebration...no wait, this must have been a few years ago...oh, I remember now...IU law school 1977...yeah, that was a bit ago...like 30 years!  Mark the Hoosier, Kayte the Hawkeye, and Jeff the dapper New Yorker in a sport coat...what on earth were you doing in a sport coat that night???  (I don't remember that ever being a regular part of your campus attire.)  Good friends, good times, good golly that was a long time ago!  Here's to those days in Bloomington at IU, Andy G. and Rob P.,  shirt pockets stuffed with "interesting articles from the newspaper to wow Kayte with," library trips where we studied and you checked out all the girls instead of the books, decorating doors, my cupcakes, and our yearly phone calls each April since then for our birthdays.  What's New York have that we don't have to keep you back there all these years?  Oh, yeah, I remember, that fancy beautiful New York chick you fell in love with and married...she may be wonderful, but we still hold her responsible for your defection!  See you there in two.  Until then...meet you at the bridge table on the net...have a great birthday, old friend!  (If you click on the picture it will get larger and you can see...no gray hairs, no receding hairlines, no wrinkles...no kidding!)

Algebraic Tables

On teaching Algebra to less than fully enthusiastic 8th graders:  "Yes, absolutely, you will definitely use Algebra in some form every day for the rest of your lives.  Algebra is very useful and you will enjoy knowing all these things forever."  That's my story and I am sticking to it.

Birthday Table

Yes, it's true...Queen Elizabeth II and I are celebrating our birthdays today.  Hers might be going a tad more royally, but I am having a fine time of it here as well.  I rose at 5:00 a.m. to get showered and drive Matt to swim practice...twice as a matter of fact, as he forgot that his swim bag was in Dad's car since Mark picked him up from practice last night so they could go golfing, Matt forgetting to switch out the bag between cars...Dad never drives early morning practices...Dad is probably not even aware that there is such a thing as 5:00 a.m.  Back to the house, load the swim bag, up to the pool...hmmm...a great start...we really don't make enough trips to that pool in a day as it is...up, back, up, back, up, back, up back...can't wait for that boy to get his driver's license!

Matt had his Incoming Fall Student Freshman Retreat at Guerin Catholic High School - Home  wherein all the newbies were given a tour of the school via a "very fun and cool scavenger hunt," met other newbies, had food and refreshment, heard various speakers and saw various little film clips dealing with the school, etc....even played some outdoor games.  Noon to 4:00.  He loved every minute of it.  I did a little laundry...yes, Virginia, there really is laundry even on birthdays and national holidays around here.  Thank goodness for washers and dryers of today!

Matt and Mark golfed 5:40 until 8:00...Alex being grounded for yet another smart mouth infraction...you would think anyone with his high IQ would have figured out the cause/effect relationship here in this smart mouth/grounding regard...apparently not.  It is one of the few areas he seems to be slow on the uptake.

At 8:30 my guys hosted a birthday dinner for me...prepared by them, complete with a pretty pink and white cake with flowers. Very tasty...bistro steaks, steamed broccoli, cucumber and tomato salad, and crostini topped with melted Gorgonzola and walnuts...very nicely done, all of it. We also witnessed cleanup by said guys, and while at times I have found that this is sometimes more painful than it would originally seem in the offing, I decided I wasn't willing to tackle that part myself and enjoyed the time off.  On Monday night Mark is taking me out to eat to celebrate...sans teenage boys who have been known to finish off appetizer, salad, dinner, every roll in sight, and dessert before Mark and I have even made our way through a salad.  I am looking forward to it.. Mitchell's Fish Market....something fishy with my name on it...what's not to love about that?!

The photo above was taken 50 years ago...I was two at the time...that's a lot of candles on said cake...who knew we would get this old this fast?  The advantage of marrying an older man (3 years older in my case) is that no matter how old 52 looks...in July 55 will look even older:  that does something for a girl's ego where age is concerned.  It's awfully sporting of him to capitalize on that for me. 

All in all, a great day just to be hanging around with my guys, chauffeuring Matt a bit, receiving Birthday cards, emails, IMs, and calls, and reading whenever I could sneak it in.  I wouldn't have it any other way.  Well, maybe for something with the Queen in London, but short of that....

Confirm-atable

Confirmation!  Matthew and Alexander received their fourth sacrament last evening at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church located, conveniently enough, in our backyard.  Makes parking easy.  It doesn't seem like 14 years has passed since those two little babies were being baptized there, even less like 7 years ago that the little guys were receiving the sacraments of Penance and First Holy Eucharist there, and now 7 years later...Confirmation for our two teenage sons.  I guess, possibly in another 7, we could be witnessing the sacrament of Matrimony, but I am rather hoping that the 7 year stretch reaches a bit further...more like 10 years maybe.  Chosen Confirmation Saint names:  St. Ignatius of Loyola for Matthew and St. Peter for Alex.  Beautiful day, beautiful Mass, beautiful smiles...beautiful life!

More on the Sea Diamond

The Sea Diamond struck rocks on April 5th, took 15 hours to sink, and was declared sunk on April 6th.  It was reported that everyone was safely rescued, however, later the information was updated to include two passengers who were presumed dead as they had not been located.  A very sad ending to a wonderful ship.

Cartable

I spend a good deal of my life in the car carting my sons about town for various activities and social engagements.  They will be 15 this year...I don't know who is looking forward to their driver's licenses more, them or me.  Not that I don't enjoy what I do, it is just that with the active lifestyle we seem to be maintaining, there are days that not turning the key in the ignition sounds like a vacation for which I am long overdue...particularly in respect to those 5:00 a.m. swim practices...followed closely by the 5:00 p.m. swim practices.  Around here we call it car-to-the-pool-ing and it happens six days a week.  After 8 years, I am thinking most anyone would be looking forward to the release date.

As I am driving about, I often wonder what is going on in other people's cars.  Surely others are also experiencing the rampant chaos that often accompanies our trips in the car.  I see all the cars going to and fro, wondering if they are all indeed just coming and going with no little mini-dramas happening within the interiors.  Meals on wheels are not uncommon in ours...we sometimes go from event to event with nary a dining table in sight...a quick drive through usually fills the need for nourishment on the run.  I have found with boys, especially teenage boys, eating is just a means to an end...there is not a lot of slow savoring of the meal or lingering at the table over meaningful conversations.  We often change clothes in the car...a swim team locker room is not any more (and often times a whole lot less) conducive to donning suit, tie, etc. for Cotillion...it is a bit like Superman, only instead of a telephone booth, the boys enter the car in one outfit (swim gear usually) and exit in something completely different, the aforesaid suit and tie for instance.  We listen to music, watch movies, study, chat, plan, dream, share meaningful bits...all in the car.  The car has become more than just a means of transport to and fro...it is our life in miniature.

So, what goes on in all those other cars I encounter each and every day?  I always wonder.  Especially when the boys were small, I would look over and wonder if we were the only loony transport on the streets that day.  Everyone else seemed so normal as I glanced at them at the stoplights, etc.  Nothing unusual ever seemed to be going on in anyone else's cars.  One of my favorite examples of looniness, for instance, was one day going from a library program to violin lessons.  We ran through Wendy's for a meals on wheels lunch. On the freeway, about 20 minutes into the trip, Alex says, "Mom, I think I have a problem here."  He was five...this was not unheard of at this stage of the game.  "Yes?"  "Well, I pushed my thumb through the bottom of my Coke cup and now if I pull it out, all the Coke is going to come out."  Okay, I am thinking...stay calm...be the adult here...respond nicely.  "Okay, Alex, just hold it there until we get to your lesson, about another 10 minutes."  "I can't because it is really cold and my thumb is starting to not feel anything and it is also oozing out the sides a bit."  At this point, Matt, also five, said, "Alex, there is a cup in the cup holder right beside you, maybe you can pour it into that cup."  I said, "Great idea...will that work?"  To which Alex responded, "Well, I guess I can do that, but I used that cup to trap a bee inside, and I can still hear him moving around a bit.  If I take off the lid, the bee might fly out and sting us."  "A bee?  A live bee?  You have a live bee in that cup?"  "Yes, he was on the window and I trapped him in the cup so I could let him loose when we got home."  "Alex, do not open that lid...I will pull over as soon as I get a safe shoulder."  Definitely someone else's life...my vision of my life bore no resemblance to occasions such as these.  I pulled over, we corrected all the ills, let the bee go free, and proceeded on our way.  So, what does go on in other people's cars...it always seems like more days than not, our car is operating out of the norm, more on the loony scale.  I am sure I will miss it when it is no longer a given...but as I leave now to go pick up my swimmer from practice, I am sure that before I return home, there will be some point where I will wonder..."What exactly is going on in that car over there...it looks fairly normal...can I ride with them instead?" 

Compa-Table

Yesterday Matt and I joined long standing homeschooling friends for lunch at Pizza Hut for our monthly eat and chat.  Children of various ages in various groups occupied various tables and we moms had a chance to sit at the Mom Table and enjoy friendship and food...we all look forward to it each month.  Camera in hand, I requested a photo, saying, "How would you like to be remembered in Matt's scrapbook?"  They all leaned in very closely to one another and gave big beautiful smiles.  I thought to myself:  "Yep, that is exactly how we will always remember them."  We are all different in ages, backgrounds, interests, and talents.  We are all opinionated and committed to our sometimes differing beliefs.  Despite the differences, we all truly enjoy and respect one another.  I see that reflected in our children...that they have come to be that for one another also, despite ages and interests.  This fall Matthew will be attending a Catholic high school and we will miss these little homeschool gatherings.  We are already feeling the loss. 

Accoun-Tability

Okay, by now it should be fairly obvious that I am going for a month of incorporating the word "table" into my blog titles as often as possible.  Bear with me...the month is bound to end sooner rather than later and I will move onto something else.  Sometimes the kitchen table is witness to those aspects of life which aren't quite so enjoyable in the memory cells...lessons of being held accountable for actions taken.  Yesterday was the first day, after a two week suspension (and subsequent grounding and loss of virtually all privileges and electronics while under "house arrest" by the parental units for those two weeks), that Alex was allowed to ride the school bus again, punishment resulting from an infraction for a less than desirable choice he made regarding proper bus behavior.  Alex's version:  "Well, I was sorta looking at this kid's backpack on the bus and it was kinda near the window, sorta maybe a little too close, and it kinda sorta fell out of the window accidentally."  The bus driver's version, "Alex and a friend were playing keep away with another friend's backpack and Alex hurled the backpack out of the window as the bus was moving down the road."  Hmmm...probably don't need to specify which version we chose to believe came closer to actuality.  Result:  Mark and I needed to drive Alex to school each morning and retrieve him in the afternoon, not a favorite occupation on the "Make Time For" chart.  One rainy morning a student pulled the fire alarm at the school, forcing the students to be assigned waiting spaces in the parking lots, stalling the drop off lines, causing untold confusion and delays, making everyone late for everything by about an hour.  My wonderfully patient husband who never raises his voice or gets upset, calmly looked over at Alex in the passenger seat and said, "If you get kicked off the bus again, I will have to kill you."  In jest, of course, but Alex, never hearing anything like this from Dad before, said, "Okay, Dad, I get it."  I just chuckled when I heard about it, thinking that even after 28 years of marriage, there are still some surprises every day.  It was decided around the table that evening that if the bus privileges were revoked ever again, the expectation would be that said student would be hoofing it to the school on his own two feet...a full two miles each way each day.  The thing about parenting teenage boys is that you are full of optimism...like this threat would actually maybe work in some way.  Also as a parent, you realize your chances are pretty slim on most issues most days.  People always say, "Oh these are the types of things you laugh about in the future."  Bring it on...I hope they are right.  Maybe some year, long down the road, when we are gathered around the table with "remember when" Alex stories...well, maybe.  Until then, it may be best to not rest too often or close the eyes too tightly.

A Diamond in the Rough

Sea Diamond:  During the ICC choir trip to Greece last June (2006), Mark and Matt cruised onboard the Sea Diamond cruise ship for four days around the Greek Isles.  This morning, while eating breakfast at the Sunrise Cafe, Matthew drew our attention to a news blurb on the sinking of a ship in the Mediterranean and we watched in disbelief as it detailed the sinking of the Sea Diamond on Thursday, April 5, 2007.  Apparently, the ship encountered rough currents, struck rocks, and sank off the coast of Santorini, Greece.  It took 15 hours for the ship to sink and all passengers were able to safely debark.  It's a small world.

Eggs-ci-table!

Around our table yesterday we colored Easter eggs, as we do each year, the boys (teenagers now) maybe doing it more to "humor Mom" with memories of years past than for the out and out glee it had inspired previously.  I have seen all those beautifully colored labor intensive Polish Easter eggs and always wanted to attempt making one.  Maybe next year.  This Easter we colored them as always, bright and beautiful with minimal efforts at anything artsy.  Comes from being in a family of men...I am in need of some feminine cohorts around here.  We had a dye kit that was going to be my salute to craftiness as it used oil based paint, put on with a swirling technique, complete with a finishing touch of glitter.  What a mess...we had a good laugh over it after making only six before Mark and Alex headed out to purchase the plain old Paas Egg Coloring Kit with good humor about Mom's efforts at trying to jazz up the egg coloring process.  Here is my favorite recipe for Egg Salad to use up all those brightly colored eggs.  Happy Easter...we are truly Blessed in the Risen Lord. 

EGG SALAD for SANDWICHES

One hard boiled egg

1 teaspoon Hellman's mayonnaise

1/4 teaspoon Gray Poupon mustard

1 teaspoon sweet pickle relish

pinch of salt and pepper

pinch of celery seed

pinch of paprika

pinch of dill

Peel egg, dice, and mix in bowl with the remaining ingredients.  Use immediately or refrigerate for later.  Can increase recipe by multiplying ingredients times the number of eggs you wish to use.

Stability and the Table

We planted this pear tree in 1992, the year my two sons were born.  It was under six feet tall at the time.  Now Matthew is over six feet tall and the tree is approximately 32 feet in height.  Watching it change from season to season (white, green, gold, brown), I love the feeling of steadfastness it represents while people and things in our lives come and go through the years. Its branches hold untold nests, songbirds, and the occasional squirrel.  It is greeted in the mornings and we bid it goodnight after walking the Tibbies before bedtime. The tree has become an old and valued friend...and today it looks particularly spectacular!

Growing up in Iowa, virtually everyone important in my life sat, at one time or another, around one of my grandmothers' kitchen tables.  In college, my world widened, I moved to Indiana, and I began to notice that fewer of my new acquaintances even knew my grandmothers.  Last March it forever changed when Grandma Ohl passed away and April was the first time I did not have a grandmother residing in this world. As long as she was alive, despite the Alzheimer's, there was still that hope of being around her kitchen table once again.  I am thinking that there must be more memories for my family around our kitchen table...something a little more difficult to achieve these days with distances between families, generations, and schedules.  Renewed focus in this area.  This weekend is Easter and our boys will be dining, visiting, and playing cards and games around their grandmother's kitchen table.  It unites people and generations and yet we usually think so little of it.  It wasn't until my ex-sister-in-law reflected sadly, "I can't believe that I won't be sitting around their table anymore and that someone else will be sitting in my chair from now on," that I stopped to think of the importance of that table and the relationships gathered together at any given time.  I have never taken it for granted since that day, and I hope this inspires a renewed appreciation for the simplest of gatherings around the tables, holiday or everyday.

My Grandma's Kitchen Table

April is my favorite month.  My birthday is in April, so maybe fulfilling the continuum of time makes that so.  Today is April 1st:  my mother's grandmother's day of birth in 1896.  If she were alive today, she would be 111 years old.  It seemed like a good day to learn something new...blogging.  I stumbled upon blogging quite by accident and found it interesting.  The lure of the curious Kat in me.  My name is Kathryn and I live in the Midwest.  I am midway through life, a life that is very good. 

 

Bloggers all seem to have such purpose in their blogging endeavors.  I would like to say that I am directed and have a clear cut mission.  Alas, like most things in my life, I am directed, but the clear cut mission part usually comes later.  As I was growing up, I was fortunate to know two great-grandmothers and two grandmothers, all of whom we visited regularly, finding ourselves sitting around the kitchen table chatting while preparing meals or visiting over cups of coffee and glasses of ades.  For now, that is my vision:  to be back in thought around my grandmothers' kitchen tables, chatting, doing, being together.  So, in honor of the birthday girl, today's table is dedicated to my great-grandmother Birdie.  On the day of her birth, her mother, convinced that this baby would be a boy playmate for older brother Charles, did not pick out a name for a girl.  During labor she would hear over and over again that spring bird whose call sounds like "Birdie, Birdie, Birdie" outside her bedroom window.  The sound was comforting and distracting for her and when the baby girl finally arrived, she decided her name would be Birdie.  Today I am hearing that little bird signaling that spring has arrived and as I look out the kitchen window at the various budding trees, the spring flowers, the bright green grass, and warm temperatures, I agree:  it is April 1st and Spring has arrived!  Happy Day! 

BIRDIE'S SPICE CAKE

Birdie Asenath Gilbank Lawver Luck

In a medium stove pot, mix together:

            1 cup sugar   

            1 cup cold water

            1/2 cup unsalted butter

            1/2 teaspoon salt   

            1 teaspoon cinnamon

            1/8 teaspoon cloves   

            1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

            1/2 pound raisins

Stir until butter has melted.  Boil one minute.  Remove from stovetop.  Add 1 teaspoon baking soda.  Cool.

When cooled, mix in 1-1/2 cups sifted all purpose flour and stir one minute.  Whisk one egg in a small bowl and add that to mixture, stirring for another minute.

Pour into buttered 8 or 9 inch baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes.

If your conscience allows, you can frost when cooled, but it is very fine with no frosting or just a sprinkling of confectioner's sugar on top.  This is great to bake when you want the house to smell wonderfully inviting and cozy.  And be forewarned, if you bake it with your windows open, your neighbors will all find excuses to drop in!  The recipe can be doubled easily and baked in a 9 by 13 pan.