This Was Not My Idea

This chick here in this here picture is my sister, Nancy. She is not known for her passion for the domestic arts. She is known for being an amazing therapist for kids and adolescents who have been through the toughest of times. Due to her history of apathy regarding food storage, cooking, and home improvement, I was more than a little surprised when she requested my help with her summer project: canning cherries.

You see, there's this guy in her life named Bill, and she is mighty fond of him. He is mighty fond of canned cherries. She cooked up the idea to surprise him by canning cherries.


Unfortunately for Bill, our plans for surprise were somehow foiled, and he was dragged into the project. He was a good sport, though, and helped with the whole project.

Harper helped, too, by pitting cherries, even though we had decided not to pit the cherries. She did enough for two jars of her own.

Sam got sucked into Nancy's project, too, because he is the most domestic of us all. We were assisted by cherry canning directions from a Google search. Sam says I look like a Stepford wife in this picture, but I seriously don't have the hair for that, in my opinion.

Although I trust the directions from the Google search, I'm not sure I trust our canning skills, and I am somewhat concerned about botulism or other side effects. Bill said they are great, though, and I think that's what really matters.

Nate's Picks

Nate had a few weeks in Florida in July, and when he got home, he was eager to return to his favorite activities. I was eager to comply, as he will always be my baby boy, and I missed him in a ferocious manner.

First, he wanted to go to Gateway to play in the fountain. It was a particularly hot day, and I warned him that it would surely be exceptionally crowded. Nate, however, saw that fact as a positive, and insisted that, "It's better when it's crowded, because I can make more friends!" I watched as he chatted up kid after kid and just made himself right at home.

It's not so much that Nate loves squishy, sweet, stuffed animals, but he does love Build-a-Bear. He enjoys the process, I think, much more than the final result. He loves to choose the sound, help fill up the critter, give it a bath, and register his new pal. I indulged him, because, you know, I missed him an awful lot.

His most favorite Utah summer activity of all is going on the Alpine Slide in Park City. He begged for many moons after he returned to Utah, but because of my surgery, I couldn't go. Even when I was mostly healed, I still didn't have the ability to pull the sled for the Alpine Slide, so we tried the Alpine Coaster. Here's a picture of the ride up, which was very smooth and peaceful:

Now. Do you have a strong stomach? Because if you do, you may watch this video clip of our Alpine Coaster ride. The soundtrack is Nate screaming non-stop. Of course, he has been begging to go again before it snows.

Whether You Want it or Not

I was scolded today. By two friends in two faraway places. Seems they are tired of looking at "Eye Scream." In its place, I will share a recipe Sam and I made this week.

You see, we are both trying to incorporate more whole grains into our diet. We hit Whole Foods and picked up pearl barley and quinoa, and cooked up this dish, which was surprisingly delicious. My mom makes it often, and she adds soy sauce, so perhaps we'll try that next time. Oh, and we only used half the butter. A whole stick of butter seemed to defeat the whole healthy feature we were going for.

Since Sam was there, too, I should post a picture of him. I didn't take any photos of him chopping or stirring, so here's one of him from our Costco trip:

And, whether you want it or not, here's the recipe:


Barley Pilaf

1 ½ cups pearl barley
½ cup butter
2 medium onions, chopped
½ to 1 cup celery, chopped
½ to 1 cup carrots, chopped
½ pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
4 cups chicken broth

Directions:

1. In a heavy skillet, lightly brown the barley in half of the butter. Remove to a 2-quart buttered casserole.
2. Sauté the onions and mushrooms in the remaining butter until tender. Add to the barley. Pour the chicken broth over all and combine well.
3. Bake covered in a preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour. Remove the cover and bake another 1 to 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally. Add additional broth or water if barley gets too dry.