Renunion of the Four Maries

NEW YORK FAMILY TIME or REUNION OF THE FOUR MARIES

Earlier this month my daughter, grand daughter, my youngest son and myself flew to Long Island, New York to visit family. Of course we picked the week of rain (it is now sweltering hot there) and flew home as tornadoes hit the Midwest making our plane ride longer and quite turbulent. Many times during our short visit I was grateful for my KITCHEN ART philosophy. What to do on a seven hour plane ride with a one-year-old or house bound in a semi-baby proof home on a rainy afternoon? In KITCHEN ART less is more and simple is best. That's what my grand daughter Zora and I discovered, the simple appreciation of the rain, wind and the nature around us.

So despite the weather we appreciated the lush Long Island foliage and great grandma Blanche's beautiful yard and garden. The rhododendron are magnificent and the vision of Japanese Maple, all shades of maroon, contrasting the vivid green maple is exquisite. Blanche is fortunate to have a huge lawn and garden so every morning my grand daughter and I braved the humid wet weather in search of bunnies and birds. We attentively watched the robins catch their breakfast of worms and the bunnies scamper across the well maintained lawn. Peter Cottonntail came into my mind as our bunny ran towards Blanche's newly planted vegetable garden. We played with bubbles and used pot covers as symbols.

It had been three decades since I had visited my mother's home in the springtime and two decades since I was there with a one-year-old. A usual visit to my mother's house includes running errands, cleaning house, movies at the Cinema and a train ride into New York City for shopping, museums and a possible Broadway show. It was a pleasure to slow down and see the area from a child's eye. The heart of KITCHEN ART---simple pleasures--- watching the animals, the rain, the wind. Spending time with family and on our only sunny morning taking an early morning walk downtown. Joggers and dog-walkers and families all out for a sunny Saturday morning stroll. Everyone smiling as my grand daughter smiled and waved back. The sun and a smile---simple pleasures that make a heart full!

And, it was a pleasure for us to introduce Zora to her East Coast relatives and friends. A pleasure to watch Eric play with Zora with Wendy's stylish hat, a pleasure for great grandma and two of her uncles to enjoy her sweet personality, and a pleasure to interact with the young boy Charlie, who when he asked if I could put the baby on the couch so I could play with him decided, instead, to read to us. Simple pleasures. And, thankfully, while in New York, my son Jove rebuilt my computer, reinstated my blog tutorial, showed me Time Capsule and gave me renewed confidence to begin blogging again!

In honor of Blanche's beautiful garden and the yummy pastries from our local bakery this is KITCHEN ART'S recipe for sweet treat fun.

STAIN GLASS FLOWERS*

This cooking project is both delicious and beautiful. Although it requires adult supervision, children will enjoy the creative process, and as always, enjoy licking the bowl!

INGREDIENTS: 1 3/4 cup flour, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 cup butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 1 well beaten eggs, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 cup yogurt, 1/2 cup crushed clear green, yellow and red hard candies, parchment paper.

TOOLS: two large bowls, four small bowls, cookie tray, mixer, cutting board, spatula, wax paper, pointed knife, oven*, refrigerator, rolling pin or hammer, spoon, sifter.

INSTRUCTION: * Adult supervision required. 1. Blend butter, sugar and egg until creamy. 2. Sift flour, soda and cinnamon together. 3. Mix yogurt and vanilla. 4. Add all three mixtures together, alternating and mixing well. 5. Place in bowl, cover and refrigerate for two hours. 6. While waiting crush the candies: Place red ones between wax paper on cutting board and crush with rolling pin or hammer, then place in bowl. Repeat with yellow and green candies. 7. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. 8. Remove dough from refrigerator and roll on floured cutting board to 1/8" or 1/4" thick. 9. Use sharp knife to cut flower shape. A large daisy design with leaves works well. Once you've cut the outline shape, cut center holes in all sections, leaving thick boarders. These holes will be filled with the crushed candies. 10. Using a spatula, lift cookie shape onto a parchment paper covered cookie tray. 11. Carefully fill holes with crushed candies: green for leaves, yellow for center, and red for petals. The neater you place the candies, the neater your cookie will be. Also be sure to make the cookie walls at least 1/4" to 1/2" thick. 12. Bake for 8 minutes, until edges are brown and candies melted. 13. Cool for ten minutes. Enjoy!

ADDITIONAL IDEAS: Use cookie cutter for outer shapes! Yum!