At my stage of life, there are not many things that I find more enjoyable than time spent with my grandchildren. Last week I was privileged to have two visitors for a couple of days – Vivian (8) and Elijah (4). I brought them home Sunday afternoon, then took them back to their parents on Tuesday evening. The in-between hours were packed with activity.
For some reason, Vivian loves to ride on my zero turn mower. Usually when she asks to do so, there are other adults here, giving me the flexibility to take one child at a time. This time that was not the case. I wasn’t going to leave Elijah by himself while I drove Vivian around my yard, so I had him stand between my legs and told Vivian to sit on the floor in front of me. Our arrangement worked quite well, allowing me to take them farther around my property than I would have if they had ridden separately. Vivian remarked later that she hadn’t realized how big my yard is. The back grows up pretty high, and a neighboring farmer cuts it for hay; I don’t think she knew that it was part of my 4+ acres.
The rain on Monday was very welcome; however, it meant that the kids and I stayed inside all afternoon. Thankfully, we had played outside before lunch. After their quiet time (Elijah took a nap), it was time for sewing and cooking. Each child had picked out a machine embroidery design, and they wanted to watch as my machine stitched it onto the fabric. We did Elijah’s first, as it was not as time and color-intensive as Vivian’s. Then while Vivian watched hers, Elijah and I went to the kitchen to bake the cake he requested. We chose a lemon snack cake since it was quick and easy (I let him pick from several snack cake recipes).
Getting Vivian to go to sleep is always a challenge. She loves to hear stories from her grandparents, and this time was no different. One of her favorites is “the cow in the kitchen” Granny Grace tale that my mother told her children. Although Vivian suggested it, I told my two eager listeners different stories. Soon after it was time to go to bed on Monday night, Vivian began sobbing. Elijah came and reported to me, stating that he didn’t know why his sister was crying. When I questioned her, Vivian declared, “I miss DidDad.” “DidDad” was the title our first granddaughter, Maggie, gave to Bob, my late husband. Vivian had just turned two when Bob passed away.
I don’t know why Vivian suddenly missed Bob so much, and my heart was heavy when I told her, “I miss him, too.” Elijah’s tone was quite mournful as he said, “I never got to know him.” So here was Grammie ready to burst into tears herself. Instead, I told them a fun story about the time Bob and I got glow-in-the-dark ping pong ball guns, turned out the lights, and hunted each other in the dark. We laughed so hard that we woke up our children, who were asleep upstairs. Vivian found it amusing that the kids came downstairs to tell us to be quiet.
On Tuesday afternoon, we made Vivian’s requested “muff-dohs.” The recipe is really for baked donuts, but they tend to cover the top hole of the donut when baked, creating a muffin-like top over the hole in the bottom. That evening, I took them back to their parents. While we were waiting for Jonathan and Heather to arrive, Elijah announced that he wanted to stay at my house for 14 days. “Then we could be your kids,” he stated matter-of-factly. However, he was more than happy to see his mom and dad. One very blessed, but also very tired, Grammie drove home thanking the Lord for time spent with two of her grandchildren.
The theme I decided on for the week was “bread.” I picked a couple of recipes to try; Sunday afternoon my kitchen was a busy place. Muffins fall under the bread category, and the muffin recipe I chose turned out to be a delicious snack. The bread squares are an easy way to prepare hot rolls for dinner. Donuts also fit the theme, so I am adding Vivian’s “muff-doh” recipe. She likes them baked in a mini-donut pan since that is how they end up covering the hole in the center. I told her it would sound better to say “do-muffs,” but to no avail.
Olive Pepperoni Snack Muffins
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano (optional)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 (3.5-ounce) package pepperoni, diced
1/4 cup chopped stuffed olives (or use black olives)
In large bowl, combine dry ingredients. In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, eggs, milk, and oil until smooth. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in pepperoni and olives. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: about 22 muffins.
Easy Bread Squares
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 tablespoon sugar
1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups warm water (120 to 130 degrees)
2 tablespoons shortening
Melted butter
In mixing bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Add water and shortening; beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Stir in remaining flour (batter will be thick). Do not knead.
Cover; let rise in warm place for 30 minutes.
Stir dough down. Spread evenly into greased 13-by-9-by-2-inch baking pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 40 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack. Brush with melted butter. Cut into squares. Yield: 12-15 servings.
Cherry-Almond Donuts
Nonstick cooking spray
2 cups white whole wheat flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
6 tablespoons butter
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup finely snipped dried cherries
1 teaspoon almond extract
Powdered sugar (optional)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a standard-size (3-1/2-inch) donut pan* or twelve 2-1/2-inch muffin cups with cooking spray.
In bowl, combine the next five ingredients. Using pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. In another bowl combine the next four ingredients. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture; stir just until combined (do not overmix).
Spoon batter into large resealable plastic bag. Using scissors, cut off a corner; squeeze batter into prepared pan, filling each cup about two-thirds full. Smooth tops.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until donuts are light golden brown and spring back when lightly pressed. Cool in pan on wire rack 5 minutes. Turn donuts out of pan. If desired, sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve warm.