1. To me, “Do you think God has a walking cane? He is really old.”
2. To Asher, “I don’t know if we even know what you are talking about. You are just taking random words and putting them in a sentence.”
Jude’s Quote of the Day
“Mommy, this is bad — Levi believes in Santa.” (We have always tried to teach our kids from the start about the real meaning of Christmas, including the fact that Santa is not real. Sounds like we might have missed one of them. Easy mistake.)
Grandma Olson’s Recipe Box: Brownies
Brownie Ingredients
| 1/3 | Cup | Butter |
| 1 1/2 | Squares | Unsweetened Chocolate |
| 1 | ts | Baking Powder |
| 1 | Cup | Sugar |
| 1 | ts | Vanilla |
| 1/4 | ts | salt |
| 2 | Eggs | |
| 1/2 | Cup | Nuts (Optional) |
Directions
- Melt butter with chocolate in 2 quart sauce pan.
- Add remaining ingredients.
- Blend thoroughly.
- Spread in 9″ x 9″ square pan.
- Bake at 350º for 25-30 minutes
- Sprinkle with miniature marshmallows
- Cool & frost
Frosting Ingredients
| 6 | TBS | Margarine |
| 1 1/2 | Cups | Sugar |
| 6 | TBS | Milk |
Directions
- Boil for 1/2 minute
- Remove from heat & add 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- Beat well
- Spread over miniature marshmallows quickly
Grandma Olson’s Recipe Box: Lefse
Lefse is an old family favorite. It goes back generations on both sides of my family. It’s a Scandinavian confection, and part of our heritage. We look forward to this time of year, around Thanksgiving and Christmas, because someone in the family is usually making Lefse. I think I might have even told my wife before we got married that she was going to have to learn how to make it to help me carry on a very long family tradition. I just might have to drag that promise out again sometime soon.
The traditional way they’re eaten is to butter them, then sprinkle with sugar and roll. I like to add cinnamon as well.
Ingredients
| 3 | Cups | Salted Mashed Potates (warm) |
| 1 | TBS | Sugar |
| 1/2 | ts | Baking Powder |
| 1/2 | Cup | Lard (melted) |
| 1 1/2 | Cups | Flour |
Directions
Roll and fry.
By roll and fry, this is what she means: Mix the ingredients just as you would any dough (bread, cookie, etc.). It will make a ball, which you’ll divide into individual pieces. Roll those pieces out with a rolling pin until they are very thin. Once rolled out, they are cooked over a large griddle. They aren’t actually fried, as they are dry, and you don’t grease the griddle. They’re cooked much like a tortilla, and come out similar.
Grandma Olson’s Recipe Box
A few weeks ago, my dad came by after work to take Jude to Karate. Dad takes Jude to Karate (almost) every Monday after work. He usually works in the area, and can fairly easily schedule Monday jobs such that he doesn’t have to go too far out of his way to come by. He really enjoys the time with his oldest grandson, and we appreciate that he tries to take Jude when he can.
While he was here (he sometimes shows up hours early and hangs out at the house), we got to talking food. I had a bunch of green tomatoes that I had no use for. The frost had killed the plants, and so the tomatoes needed to be picked. He said that my Grandma, his mom, used to have a recipe for a relish that used green tomatoes. When she died, my cousin Kiley, out in California, got her recipe box. It was something he really wanted, and he got it. Since it’s been 16 years since she died, I had forgotten about most of the details, like that all of us grandkids got to pick something we really wanted from her apartment to have before the family went through he things. Kiley went straight for the recipes.
I got to thinking it would be great to get my hands on that box. I tracked down Kiley via his dad, my uncle, and asked if I could borrow the recipes so I could scan them into the computer and put them into electronic form. Kiley’s family uses many of the recipes, but they’ve long ago memorized their favorites, and have little actual need of the cards any more, so he was happy to send them to me. I got them yesterday, and went right to work scanning them so that I can send the box back to Kiley. It has a lot of sentimental value, I want to be sure he gets them back.
My plan is to refer to the scans and type them out. I’ll post some of them here. First up will be her Lefse recipe. My hope is to eventually have them all in typed format that can easily be copied and pasted. Maybe I’ll even put together an ebook, “Grandma Olson’s Cookbook” or something along those lines. Until then, the easiest way to see what recipes have been posted is to click here.
Jude’s Most Troubling Quote of the Day
“Mom, I’m 6. You know you’re going to be a grandma soon.”
Asher’s Quote of the Day
Asher saw a picture of earth on TV and yelled out, “Earth! Earth! We live on that planet!”
Levi’s Quote of the Day
Levi, who wants to be an astronaut, told me this morning, “Mommy, the sun is made out of hot gases.”
Our Bad Little Good Boy
Our 2 year old, Asher, is trouble. He doesn’t listen. He bullies his brothers. And, his latest trick is to drag a chair or a ride-on car over to the counter, climb on the counter and get into the steak knives. To our horror, he recently stabbed a tomato with a knife he had grabbed. But, he happens to be insanely adorable and articulate. This morning when Jude and Asher were still laying in bed, trying to wake up, Jude told Asher, “You’re a good boy, Asher. You’re a really good boy when you are sleeping.”
Asher’s Quote of the Day
Asher, who is 2 years and 2 months old and who still wears diapers told me this morning, “I want to watch a show while pooping in my pants.” Sure thing, he refused to try the potty and indeed pooped in his pants shortly after making that statement.