In A Pickle

Last time I posted a bread recipe. Here are recipes for pickles that are nearly always served with meals in Middle Eastern restaurants.

I'm really fond of the pink turnip pickles. The first time we ate at Bethlehem on Clark Street in Chicago we were served a small dish of these pickles, and some small, hard, very sour green olives. They were my favorite part of the meal - almost.

After eating these pickles in countless restaurants all over Chicago I finally asked the server what they were called. He looked at me for a moment as though I were insane, then said, tersely, "turnips".

I probably turned pinker than the pickles and somehow managed to let him know I wanted the name of the pickles in his language. His opinion of me did not seem to improve as he shrugged and muttered what sounded like "lef".

I have since seen recipes for these pickles called "torshi lift", torshi left" and "kabees el lift" so I guess that's what he was telling me. I'll stick with turnips.

Turnip Pickles

1 lb white turnips quartered if small,
or cut in 1 inch chunks if large
1 small beet scrubbed and sliced
1 1/4 cups water
2/3 cups vinegar
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar

Place the turnips and the beet into a jar large enough to hold them - one that has a close fitting lid.

In a non-reactive pot (glass, enamel or stainless steel) Combine the water, vinegar, sugar and salt and heat, stirring, until salt and sugar are dissolved. Cool, then pour over the turnips in the jar. Cover the jar tightly.

I store these in the refrigerator. They are ready to eat in a week.

Note: The beet is there to color the turnips, but you can eat the slices if you wish.

Quick Middle Eastern Style Pickles

8 cups of vegetables, cut in chunks
I use a mix of cabbage (outer leaves removed), cauliflower, carrot, celery, onion, red, green or yellow peppers, green beans, radishes, peeled garlic cloves, etc.
red chili pepper flakes or cayenne pepper
2 cups vinegar
2 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon kosher salt

Place the vegetables, tightly packed, in large jars. I like to mix them up so you get a mix of pickles when you dip into the finished pickles.

Add a chili pepper, some chili pepper flakes or some cayenne pepper to each jar, to taste, for spicier pickles.

In a non-reactive pot (glass, enamel or stainless steel) heat the liquid with the salt until salt is dissolved. Cool, then pour over the vegetables in the jar. The vegetables should be completely covered.

Cover jars loosely until completely cool, then cover tightly and keep in the fridge (the original recipe says they can stay on the counter a few days but I put them right in the fridge). Pickles are ready to eat in a few days and will improve after a week or more. Keeps refrigerated one month.

An easy to make salad, often served with felafel and schwarma, is Jerusalem or Lebanese salad (depending on the restaurant). Basically, it's diced cucumber and tomato dressed with lemon juice, olive oil, parsley and tahini. Sometimes it contains onions, never lettuce. This is good to eat with your pilaf or to stuff into your felafel sandwich.

And for a refreshing beverage to go along with your Middle Eastern meal, make some mint tea.

Fill your tea pot with the usual amount of tea. Any black tea will do. Add a handful of fresh mint leaves or a spoonful or two of dried mint. (If you don't have mint growing in your yard, find a friend or neighbor who does). Add boiling water and steep about five minutes. Serve in glasses or cups with lemon and lots of sugar. Sugar cubes or lumps are especially fun.

Don't get pickled!

Quotable Quotes; In the category Look Ma! No Hands!

“I don't want a pickle, just want to ride on my motorsickle.” Arlo Guthrie

Bread

I received some requests from family members for recipes so I will be posting some occasionally.

This recipe comes from a family cookbook that someone brought into Bill's shop to be copied for family members. It is titled "Arabian Recipes" and appears to have been "home published" and illustrated with hand drawn pictures, mainly of certain implements (like a felafel mold) and techniques (like rolling up pastries).

Here is a recipe for bread that is similar to that served in some Middle Eastern restaurants. We have had bread like this at Kabul House in Skokie and at Cafe Denir on Lincoln Avenue near the Athanaeum Theatre. It is similar to a foccacia in that it is dimpled all over in a regular pattern, and is soft and puffy. The bread we were served had been sprinkled with black sesame seeds before baking. It is a delicious bread for dipping in yogurt or sauces, for scooping up things like baba ganoosh, or for topping with tidbits from your plate, sort of an open face sandwich.

I imagine it would be good to use in a fattoush salad when it is stale. When it is fresh and warm, it is delightful.

Middle Eastern Bread

1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups bread flour
(you can substitute up to
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
in place of the same amount
of bread flour if you wish)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon yeast
1 beaten egg yolk for glaze
nigella, black sesame or
poppy seeds optional (see note)

Follow the instructions for your bread machine and use the dough setting. Or, dissolve the yeast in the warm water with the sugar and a hefty pinch of the flour. Let stand in a warm place until foamy and yeasty smelling, about 20 minutes.

Add the salt and stir, then the olive oil. Stir in the rest of the flour a little at a time. If you have a Danish Dough Whisk (pictured here) the job may not go any faster but it will be more fun and you will feel like a professional baker.

Turn the dough out to a floured surface and knead until smooth, then oil your bowl and put the dough back in, turning to coat with oil. Place a piece of oiled plastic wrap down on the dough or cover with a damp dish towel (not a terry cloth one) and set in a warm place to rise until doubled, about an hour or so.

When risen, or when the bread machine beeps, cut the dough into three equal size pieces and roll these into balls, then into 6 inch circles. Cover with the oiled plastic again and let rest 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 450º f.

Dimple each dough circle all around with your finger tips until they are about 1/4 inch thick. Press your finger tips all across the circle to form dimpled rows and ridges, then turn the dough 90 degrees and repeat in the other direction.

Brush the tops with beaten egg and sprinkle with the seeds, place onto an oiled baking sheet and bake 9 - 10 minutes until puffy and golden. Serve at once.

Note: Nigella seeds, also called black onion seeds, are tiny, angular, deep black seeds with a nutty, peppery flavor. They can be found in Middle Eastern and Indian markets.

If you prefer, brush with olive oil instead of egg and omit the seeds.


Fattoush Salad

Prepare your favorite salad of shredded romaine lettuce, tomato, diced cucumber and other greens or vegetables such as radishes, onions, etc. Garbanzo beans are a good addition. Make a vinaigrette of a few tablespoons each lemon juice and vinegar, pinches of salt, pepper, a dab of spicy mustard and some basil or oregano. Whisk in olive oil to taste.

Tear or cut leftover bread from the above recipe (or use pita bread) into small chunks and toast until dry and crispy on a cookie sheet in a 350º f oven. Watch carefully that it doesn't burn, and allow to cool.

Toss the salad with the dressing in a large bowl. Scatter most of the bread bits in and toss again, garnishing with remaining bread bits.

Quotable Quotes; In the category bread or circuses?

“There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.” Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

My Oh My Oh Mio!

Let me confess right up front the only reason I'm writing this entry is cuz I have PICTURES TO POST! And that's such a rare occurrence for me, I just had to do it.

We travelled to northern Michigan a few weeks ago. If you ever want to spend an entire day driving a straight line to nowhere get on US 131 just north of Grand Rapids MI and keep going. Or get on US 127 south of Houghton Lake and do the same thing. These are the kinds of highways that cause hypnosis and put you to sleep. especially when it's in the upper 80s and there are no clouds in the sky and you don't have air conditioning. If you have a cat with you, barfing in the back seat, so much the better.

Once there, though, the trip became worthwhile. We checked into our motel and drove over to the public access site on the Au Sable to meet Johnny and Tony and Mary. Sadie was with her, of course. After the guys got out of their waders we headed over to the restaurant that had the Friday Night Fish Fry (read every restaurant in Michigan). Only Bill was hungry enough for seconds. I love it when you ask for "a couple more pieces and a few fries" and they bring you another entire order.

Out motel was not the Ritz. I am told that the motels in the area are frequented mostly by hunters and fisherman, less often by vacationers, like us. I am further told that hunters and fisherman are less inclined to concern themselves with amenities like clean showers and floors. They apparently care more about a fridge where they can keep their perishable bait. And their beer.

Bill and I were vacationers. We would have preferred cleanliness over fridgeliness (although we did have a bottle of capsules for Otis that had to be kept refrigerated). Yes, we brought Otis with us. We were unwilling to leave him kennelled at the vet for four days and could not find anyone able to give him his injections so he came with us (thus the previous reference to a barfing cat in the back seat).

Otis hated the drive to Mio. He did not seem to mind the motel. Being confined to one room, we heard him eating and drinking in the middle of the night, which he did several times. He had his pick of beds to sleep on and had the whole room to himself while we were touring during the day. It seems the only thing he did not like was the chair, which had probably served as a dog lounge to previous tenants of the hunter variety. In this picture, he shows his disdain in the way he knows best. Animals and children can express things we are often unable to say ourselves.

We drove over to Harrisburg where we stopped to walk on the shore of Lake Huron, site of many past camping trips and fond memories. In fact, Harrisville on Lake Huron may be the first place the Brents all camped together as a family, but I'm not sure. There are certainly family movies (Brentwood Productions with the famous Pink Privy logo) featuring a be-diapered Madeline toddling along the shore eating pebbles ("those aren't petoskey stones", dad would always say when we watched the movies). But I'm not sure - I think the family may have camped at Rollway's Resort, wherever that may be, the year before.


Sadie had fun trying to herd the ducks and geese swimming in the lake. We had fun watching her. Like most dogs, Sadie loves water. Unlike many dogs she does not lap up water from a lake or river. Instead, she wades in just until her chest touches the surface of the water, then she squats down until it's up to her chin and she "bites" the water to get a drink. Sadie is an awesome dog.

Mio is the place where the Kirtland Warbler makes his summer home (he winters in the Bahamas). This little bird nests only at the base of a tree called a Jack Pine which, as far as I know, grows only in this area of northern Michigan. The Kritland is sometimes called a Jack Pine Warbler. The pines are scruffy looking trees not unlike the pitiful example Charlie Brown chose for the pageant in the cartoon we all know and love. The pine cones will only burst and go to seed when the trees are extremely old, or under intense heat. Thus the forestry department stages controlled burns to ensure the pines continue to reseed and grow, and the warblers will have a place to nest.

Dad and the boy scouts did a giant exhibit on these warblers at one of the scout expos. Mack Lake in the Huron National Forest became our favorite place to vacation and we returned again and again.

It was fun to go back. We had a good time. I hope we'll do it again.

Quotable Quotes; In the category Damned if you do . . .

Camping is nature's way of promoting the motel business.
Dave Barry

The Emperor's New Clothes?

I have a whole bunch of new clothes. Okay, not really, it just seems like I do.

For over 20 years I have kept two boxes (and various and sundry other) of old clothes that were too good to throw out even though I could no longer fit into them. You know the story, one day I'll . . . and they're too good . . . and I looked so good in them . . . and they were my favorite . . . and a million other reasons not to get rid of them.

We emptied the closet when we repainted the bedroom several months (a year?) ago. Somehow the two boxes, three crates, multiple shopping bags and various and sundry just didn't quite fit back into the same space. Seriously, we didn't do anything to alter the size of the closet, the stuff just would not fit.

Then, a miracle happened. Me TV, Channel 23 in Chicago, started showing reruns of some of those great (horrible) shows from the 80s. Who's The Boss, Charles In Charge, The Facts Of Life, Gimme A Break, and I realized - there was absolutely NO WAY IN HADES I was ever going to wear those 20 year old clothes again. I was not going to save them and cut them up to make quilts or pillows. I was not going to look at them without being sick.

Seriously, the sight of Tracy Gold, her hair tied up like a frowzy willow with a shiny gold lycra schmata (Yiddish for "rag"), a similar lycra thing in electric blue swaddled around her hips, a wildly floral skirt swishing around her leggings-clad skinny legs and an equally garish "thing" serving as blouse (can you say SHOULDER PADS?) was all it took for me to realize the stuff in those boxes, crates and bags had to go. NOW!

So Bill built a shelf system to fit on the existing closet shelf. Off to Ikea we went to buy the exact size of plastic drawer/boxes I needed to fit the shelf, and back home to a weekend of closet clearing. The two boxes? OUT! The crates full of old t-shirts and never worn exercise clothes? OUT! The bags of shoes? GONE! The miscellany of dresses, blouses, skirts and jackets hogging closet space? HISTORY!

I was merciless. I pulled out what I could reach and shoved it aside, quitting only when there was no more space outside of the closet to put the stuff. That first weekend two crates were emptied and refilled with exercise clothes, shirts, shoes and other items and given away to charity. The other stuff is hanging on the coat rack or shoved in the living room waiting for the next pick up day. The plastic boxes are nestled on the shelf, and lovingly folded within are winter sweaters and other clothes that I actually do wear.

The bonus? Room enough to actually slide the hangers from side to side. Room enough to actually get IN the closet to see what's there. Room enough to actually hold the clothes I do wear all the time. No more clothes stacked up on chairs and dressers in the bedroom - now they're IN the dresser!

And best of all, skirts and blouses I had forgotten I had (which fit and which ARE in style) are now visible, accessible and WEARABLE! I'm wearing one today. It's like having new clothes that I didn't have to shop for or pay for! And when I go home tonight and change my clothes, I know I'll have a place to put it so I can wear it again in a week or two.

Next charity pick up date is Monday. My goal is two boxes, minimum! I'll be busy this weekend!

Oh yeah! I also went diving in the front closet and pulled out a wonderful Victorian black widow's dress, my costume as Mrs. Sowerberry in Oliver a few years ago (long enough ago that it no longer fits). Remove zipper, hem the now open back seam and it's ready to go to Tony for his Photo Costume collection, complete with black widow's cap and black mourning apron. He'll love it, and I get to hang up a coat! Yippee!

Quotable Quotes: In the category No thanks, I'm just looking.

"Distrust any enterprise that requires new clothes".
Henry David Thoreau, Walden

I Like To Do That Too!!!

You'll notice I added another link. Click on the Hello my name is Heather link and scroll down to the green, yellow and orange crochet hooks in the March 2007 archives. Pay attention to the colorful buttons, thread and other things as you pass. This is a site Louise sent to me and I love the topics and the photos - especially her predilection for lime green and those pinks and pastels. I like her baby booty patterns and the candy looking crochet hooks. Face it, anything that looks like candy has to have something going for it.

I love to make and do - always have. Although I never got around to creating an internet business or "officially" designing, I continue to search out and be inspired by other-people's-patterns. And every once in a while, I make up something original all on my own.

A couple years ago I started making my own gift bags for Christmas presents. I don't know where I got the idea - it was probably inspired by a combination of sources. And the fact that I save everything because it is guaranteed to be something I desperately need within 13 minutes of the garbage truck picking it up once I throw it away after holding onto it for the last 18 years "just in case".

I save paper. Seriously. Lately some companies have been using brown kraft paper as packing material. Long, long sheets of it, crookedly torn off at the ends. I guess they don't have it in a roller with a cutting blade. I can't bear to throw it away. It's better than any old brown bag and NO PRINTING ANYWHERE ON IT!!!

To make a bag, I cut the paper to size, cut a long strip for a handle, wrap the bag section around an appropriately sized box, fold in and glue the bottom so the bag will stand up, and let dry. Then I fold over the top two times (for strength) and fold the strap piece in half twice (for strength), gluing each fold. I tuck the ends of the strap under the folded over top of the bag and glue that, and glue the strap so it stands up pertly from the top of the bag.

It's done. But you can decorate it if you want to. Stickers, glitter glue, scraps cut from wrapping paper or old greeting cards, cut 'em out and stick 'em on. If the brown paper is a little crinkly, the fix is easy. Just smoosh the whole thing and then smooth it out again. Now it looks like you meant it to be that way!

I guarantee even you mother-in-law will like her present if you stick it in a hand made paper bag. I mean, who else in the world bothers to MAKE A BROWN PAPER BAG FROM SCRATCH???

Anybody???

Listen, this is how I keep my sanity. This is why they make jokes about basket weaving and knitting as therapy. Seriously, there comes a point when you are working something out when part of your brain just turns off . . . "let's see, if I cut this piece this long and stick this part under here . . . "

Next thing you know you are in a zone and when you "wake up" you have a beautifully hand crafted brown paper bag. It's amazing!

I was trying to come up with an idea for something to give some of the "girls" in my life - nieces, friend's daughters, children and young adults. The past few years I have saved make up bags - the kind you get free-with-purchase when you buy something at the Clinique or Estee Lauder counter so you can get a free lipstick.

I have filled these bags with everything from candy to cosmetics to baseball cards but I was running out of ideas. Then I decided I wanted to crochet something. Probably 'cuz my crochet hooks and some thread were in the room. What did I come up with? Lip Balm Cozies. You read that right.

Lip . . . Balm . . . Cozies . . .

If I had a digital camera I'd post a picture of them.

Here's how I made them. I crocheted a few stitches to see if it was going to be the right size then I just went to town. Oddly enough my little finger is just about the size and shape of your average chapstick. As I crocheted around and around the thing just kind of fit itself over my pinkie, like the finger of a glove. When I got near the top I worked in a few beads (which I had strung onto the thread beforehand) around the top. Then I crocheted a l - o - n - g string as a sort of a handle and added a few beads into it as well.

Note to self: make handle longer - everyone who got one tried to loop it around their neck like a necklace.

Why a lip balm cozy? Probably because I've never seen one. And everybody knows that the best gifts are things that are unique and have virtually no practical use whatsoever. And when they take up no space and pretty-up some mundane object most people take for granted? All the better!

Maybe next time I'll melt some bees wax, add some lavender or peppermint oil and make my own lip balm. Maybe.

Quotable Quotes: In the category You And What Army?

"I tried being reasonable. I didn't like it". Clint Eastwood

But I Have Nothing To Wear!

Anyone who knows me knows I've been involved in theater since . . . what time is it???

The kind of theater I'm involved in often means I am responsible for costuming myself. The kind of theater I'm involved in means style and accuracy are not often as important as being sure I have something - - ANYTHING - - to wear. I have made/scrounged costumes for everything and everyone from Agnes Gooch to Dolly Levi to Can-Can dancers with lots of Neil Simon in between. A wide variety of characters, periods, styles shapes and (over the years) sizes.

I used to keep a costume closet in the basement - one of those tin things that Bill calls a chiffarobe - but we recently bequeathed that to Don & Louise. I think they reinforced the doors and keep it in the barn to store the kinds of things that raccoons like to scavenge.

Now I have a tiny closet upstairs which will not hold all the costumes I keep. I'm glad I keep them. Last summer, when the costumer was late getting things ready for the school opera because the big fancy opera company (nudge, wink) for which the shop was also doing costumes for Marriage of Figaro, kept changing their minds about the designs, I loaned a bunch of my stuff for my teacher's original opera The Patriots, set during the American Revolution. Skirts, blouses, aprons, waistcoats, most of the women in the show wore something that belonged to me.

When the opera was over, all that stuff just would not go back into my tiny closet, so it sat for a year on a chair in the living room until I couldn't stand to look at it another minute and had to do something. God forbid I should discard a favorite vest or apron. Who knows when SOMEONE might need to borrow a costume again?

Still, this activity requires occasional sorting, weeding out, and discarding of garments no longer in use. Sort of like the semi-annual closet cleaning that used to be done by our grandmothers. I do it too (every few decades).

A couple of times I scoured my costume closet and sent off some things I could no longer wear. A bunch of them went to the church down the street for their theater program. It was gratifying to see 90% of the cast of Meet Me In St. Louis wearing Sarah's Junior Prom dresses from the 70s and costumes I had worn as a nearly anorexic Mrs. Strakosh in Funny girl. Other things went to the park district theater in Skokie. Over the next few shows it was interesting to see children wearing vaguely familiar garments and realize in the second act that they were cut down former "somethings" I had once worn and since donated.

Somehow, I continue to make and collect new (old) things. Hats are the most fun. A flat black straw hat I swathed in aqua nylon net and adorned with rainbow ribbons and the eyes from a dozen peacock feathers; a cheap straw "red hat lady" hat clouded with red tulle, bedecked with a large silver and black velvet shoe clip and two pheasant tail feathers sticking nearly 2 feet straight up into the air; they get better each time.

Now Tony tells me he and a friend are going into the We-Will-Photograph-You-In-A-Costume business and is in need of Victorian and Edwardian flavored garments. Alas, I have given most of that stuff away. But I started a box for him. So far it contains a vaguely Arrow Shirt with a narrow collar, a pair of natty suspenders, a ladies Sailor middy-blouse, a gaudy turquoise two piece "Tailor-Made" ala Eulalie Mackechnie Shinn from The Music Man.

And the piece de resistance, Bill's old high school marching band uniform. A real piece of vintage nostalgia. Not the mod'ren polyester baby blue false-fronted abomination worn now-a-days but a real old style (looks like a train conductor's) uniform in dark blue with lots of braid, cording, epaulets and military style buttons. And Tony tells me he has a conductor's cap that is the image of what Bill wore when marching around Maxwell Park, and we could hear them clear across town on summer mornings or autumn evenings.

What's my point? It's hard to let these things go! Everywhere today we are being told by Oprah, Suze Orman, Fly Lady et al to clear out our closets and get rid of things. Heaven knows I need to do this. I have clothes I haven't worn in 20 years. Fortunately, now that they are showing re-runs of Who's The Boss and Growing Pains on Network TV, I have visual proof that I will NEVER wear these things again, even if I do miraculously lose 150 pounds overnight.

Somehow that doesn't make it any easier to let these "things" go.

I have been purging "things" for over a year. Each month a box full of stuff goes out on the porch to be picked up by the Purple Heart Veterans. Each month it's like pulling out my own teeth to garner these things from closets and shelves and pack them into those boxes, never to be seen again.

The funny thing is, though, that once they're in the box, even before they make it to the porch, I've already forgotten all about them. I certainly don't miss them once they're gone (well, maybe a couple things, but even now I can't remember what they were).

I'm glad to find good new homes for these things that I once used and loved. Especially if I have first hand knowledge of where they are going. If I'm lucky, I'll see them live on in the next play, or maybe Tony will send me some pics of his customers wearing them. But the funny thing is, no matter how many boxes I put out, there always seems to be more STUFF! Does it ever get any less?

Maybe if I keep going, I'll finally come across that THING that I lost years ago, that I've been searching for all these months . . . if only I could remember what it is!!!

Quotable Quotes: In the category They're Not So Little Anymore!

"Housekeeping ain't no joke".
Louisa May Alcott

With Milk Or Cream And Sugar!

I'm a little annoyed, but secretly pleased at the same time.

I just walked by the coffee place at work. This is like a mini-starbux where you can get coffee drinks, specialty teas and sandwiches at ridiculously high prices. But they give you those nifty cardboard cup "sleeves" so I guess it's not all that bad.

Here's what I'm annoyed/pleased about.

As I walked by, I came in from the outside. The door to the building is next to the coffee stand. Some of their supplies are visible through the window from the outside, but not visible when you stand at the counter because they are obscured by machines and people.

Through the window, I saw cans of Hershey's syrup - - - those giant gallon size cans like they sell at the Mega-Lo-Mart. Dark shiny brown tin cans emblazoned with the Hershey's emblem.

I'm not sure why I'm annoyed. I guess it's because I at least like to preserve the illusion that my $5 cup of mocha-java-frappa-chino contains real, quality ingredients. Not that Hershey's syrup isn't a quality product, but it kind of spoils the ambiance to know that your coffee became "mocha" simply by the addition of the same thing that turns your kid's milk into a treat rather than a chore. I mean, maybe I'd feel better if it was a giant can of Ghirardelli or Valrhona chocolate syrup. Maybe.

But I am secretly pleased because Hershey's chocolate syrup is exactly what I use when I make a mocha-java-frappa-chino at home.

Yep!

I'm a secret junk-food-coffee-drink junkie.

Here's how I make 'em.

Make a pot (or even just a cup) of coffee as strong as you like it.

Heat some milk in a pan or in the microwave. Add a good glug or two of Hershey's syrup (or Nestle's or the store brand, it really doesn't matter). You could also just add a couple squares from a Hershey's chocolate bar or a couple of Frango Mints, a spoonful of m&m's, whatever - just so long as it's sweet and chocolaty. Hey, you could even add some Swiss Miss hot chocolate powder. I'm telling you, anything will work!

Get out a coffee mug or latte cup or whatever you like to drink from. Just be sure it's big enough to hold the coffee and the added milk. Pour the prepared coffee and the hot chocolate milk into the mug. Stir to be sure it's well blended. And be absolutely sure not to leave any of the chocolate in the bottom of the pan (you can probably heat it right in your cup if using the microwave - no chance of wasting any)!

Now, just to be sure your specialty coffee drink falls into the junk-food category (why drink it otherwise), get out the can of Ready-Whipped dessert topping, give it a few good shakes, and squirt on a swirly dollop of heaven.

And if you have any, and if you're serving this to your mother-in-law, or if you just really love yourself, sprinkle some chocolate shavings on top of the whipped cream. The crowning touch!

Enjoy!


Quotable Quotes: In the category I'll have what she's having.

"Coffee, coffee I must have, and if someone wishes to give me a treat, ah, then pour me out some coffee"!

Lieschen's Aria from "The Coffee Cantata" by J. S. Bach