Jon always makes fun of my over use of the microwave. The running joke in our family is “Who is a better cook?” The kids yell “Dad!” However, if you ask “Who is better with the microwave?” they immediately yell “Mom!”
Well babe, here’s an article for ya. I am actually thinking outside of the box and down with the newest trend.
Except I didn’t read anything in the article about the beauty in using the microwave like I do – for heating frozen dinners and corn dogs?!
We baked for hours the other night – sugar cookies with bursts of sprinkles and chocolate chips loaded on them, banana bread with crushed nuts spread on top, rice krispy treats, traditional chocolate chip cookies. We had big plans to deliver them to neighbors and friends but only ended up delivering them to two neighbors. Everyone was gone. Darn, more for us and our family.
Ri and I kept devouring the cookie dough so I diverted our attention to the cookie cut-outs. We had big ideas to trace the cut-outs onto construction paper, cut them out, and place them on the dinner plates but we decided to play the Flintstone card game instead. Our hands were tired from rolling dough, right?
We had to teach Mario how to be a gracious loser since he threw a fit every time Maria won. Ri finally lost a game (I think she did it purposefully to appease Mario) and she shook his hand and congratulated him.
His response: “Since I shook her hand, can I still tease her that I won?” Baby steps, I guess…,
We had our cookie contest on Monday at work. I was so slap happy on Sunday from being laid up in bed sick all week that I decided to bake and join in the contest.
I knew M&M would be on board if it involved baking cookies. I racked my brain over a creative cookie to make and out of nowhere thought of a gavel. An office full of lawyers most of whom have been in front of a judge in the course of their practice, would certainly enjoy them. Maria agreed (after I showed her a picture of one and she realized we’d be able to buy giant marshmallows) and the process began.
I only bought one container of chocolate thinking that would coat 20 huge marshmallows – it coated 5. You can see my ineptitude in baking…. We had to use caramel dip for the rest which looked like thick alien slime.
Maria kept sneaking swipes of the melted chocolate with her finger and Mario kept eating the marshmallows after we dipped them on chocolate. So all in all we ended up with 4 chocolate gavels and 10 caramel ones.
Maria asked if I thought that we’d win the contest and I told her in an I quivering tone, “of course!” I told my colleague this and she immediately went to task creating a Grand Prize certificate for Ri announcing that she won “Most Creative” prize for the gavels. She was smitten when I showed her that evening.
“”I knew we’d win, mom!”
Love her confidence.
Maria and I hung out this evening while Jon and Mario drove to Marion. Prior to their drive to Marion, we made dinner. Actually, I should say, Maria made dinner. She overheard a lady at the salon talking about how she made dinner for her mom starting when she was 6 years old, and that was all it took to get Maria in that mindset.
She poured pancake mix and water into a bowl. She filled a bowl full of chocolate chips and tried to mash them. When that didn’t work, she microwaved them (smart girl). She added the chocolate into the pancake mix. I poured them on the griddle and she flipped them. She also made eggs (she microwaved them). She got out our plates and syrup. She nearly did it all! Another year and I expect chicken parmesan and shrimp scampi…. And the chocolate pancakes were pretty darn good. I could have stood a few chips in them too but overall they hit the spot. Mario ate a few but he was too excited about going to Grandma Ionno’s house.
After dinner, Maria took off with me on her bike. We stopped at her friend’s house to play in the sprinkler (in her clothes) and by the time we left, it was close to 8:15. We cranked it home and I pulled out the lawn mower. I told Maria to grab a book or her markers and come outside while I mowed. A few minutes later, I saw her on the deck with her water and crazy straw. She sat on the deck chair watching me without any book or markers. When I moved to the front, she moved with me sitting on the front step with, still, just her water and straw. I kept waiting for her to grab something from inside or complain about being bored but she didn’t. She just waited for me to finish while sitting patiently and thinking about … well, I have no clue. And that is good. It was her time to be still and mindful. And I was so excited to see her be able to do this, and not be begging for the iPad or leapster or even a book.
Something I have a hard time doing.
But seeing her renewed my challenge to take that itme to be mindful myself. Funny how your children look up to you without having any idea how much you learn from them. And so tonight, I sat at the kitchen table for a whole five minutes before I scanned the computer for the latest news and updates. Hey, it’s better than nothing!
Maria loves to cook. She would much rather cook macaroni and cheese than draw a picture or play Wii or read a book. In fact, she has her own recipe for mac-n-cheese that is pretty daggone good (she allows for a much more generous portion of butter and milk than is typically added).
Tonight, she concocted a brand new dish for me. A dessert – my favorite. She named it “Yogurt Pizzazz.” Before bringing it to me, she acted like she was a waitress. She held her pad and paper and took my order. When I said I was not hungry, she begged me to eat. Then I said I wanted chocolate, and she said I needed something a bit healthier. She described a dish that would have calcium in it and fruit. I would love it. How could I not be sold? Mario stood by her side whispering “Ria, I am going to be the waiter and you be the cook, ok?”
Chef Maria and her yogurt pizzazz!
They left for a few minutes and returned with my yogurt pizzazz. Maria had mixed vanilla yogurt with chocolate syrup and fresh strawberries. Not bad at all. In fact, pretty darn good and the name fits it perfectly. Who knows, she just may be the next Rachel Ray or (gasp) Martha Stewart?!
"MOM!" 