Angels Among Us

Listening to the news, it is easy to assume the worst in people. How often have you thought, What was he thinking? Or, What makes person do something like that?!

Heartwarming stories of kind, selfless people are few and far between.

I am happy to report that there are three such people walking among us. Strangers who put themselves on the line to help someone in need.

Last Friday night, my cousin Julie's 19-year-old son, Jacob, fell asleep at the wheel on the way home from the movies, and crashed head-on into a pole. I've only yet been able to speak with my cousin Jen (Julie's sister, Jacob's aunt) and this is my re-telling of her description of what happened that night.

Shortly after the crash, three people - Benjy on his Harley and Mary Ann and Lorena traveling together in Mary Ann's car - saw Jacob's Jeep as they passed by. And they all turned around and drove back to help.

Others didn't. Some slowed down, then sped away.  One man had stopped, but told Lorena he just couldn't help.

When Benjy, Mary Ann, and Lorena arrived, the Jeep was on fire. Jacob was leaning out the window, pleading with them to help him - telling them he, too, was on fire.

None of the doors would open. They tried bending the window frame, but couldn't get him through. From out of no where, Mary Ann handed Benji a knife and they were able to cut the seat belt, pulling Jacob out the window and free of the burning vehicle.

By then a police officer had arrived, and the four of them smothered the flames on Jacob. The vehicle eventually exploded and Jacob was airlifted to a burn center in Orlando.

Jacob has had a skin graft on his leg, and is scheduled for another graft on his arm tomorrow. He broke both sides of his jaw and therefore is wired.  He's making good progress with physical therapy, and by all accounts is in good spirits.

Jacob also got to meet all three of his "angels"! Last night, unplanned, Mary Ann and Lorena arrived at the hospital, only to find Benjy already there. I cannot imagine how Julie and Jacob - and Jacob's dad Doug and brother Cole - must have felt to meet the people who literally saved Jacob's life. What a gift.

You don't have to pull someone from a burning car in order to be an angel. Recognizing what someone needs and stepping in to help is all it takes. I'm sorry that this reminder came to me at Jacob's expense, but am grateful regardless.

Please keep Jacob, his family, and his "angels" in your thoughts.

If you'd like to send Jacob a word of encouragement, please visit his CarePage at http://www.carepages.com/carepages/jacobstover. Though he won't recognize your name, he'll recognize your kindness and good wishes.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Yesterday we celebrated Brian's mom, Sue's, 65th birthday. It was a great day to be out on the deck and I think Sue had a great time celebrating with her friends and family.

In addition to jalapeno poppers and Swedish meatballs, a number of new apps graced a table laden with goodies, and I'll post the recipes for them this week. 

But, no birthday is complete without CAKE - so let's start with that!

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Red Velvet Cake
1 (18.25 oz.) package yellow cake mix
1 (3.5 oz.) package instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
1 oz. red food coloring
1/2 C vegetable oil
1 C water
1 T distilled white vinegar
3 T unsweetened cocoa powder

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour pan(s) or line muffin tin(s) with paper liners.
2. Mix together cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, oil, food coloring, water, vinegar, and cocoa. Pour into prepared pan(s).
3. Bake according to package directions. (I made about 6 dozen mini cupcakes, and they baked for approximately 14 minutes.)
4. Cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting
2 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 C butter, softened
2 C sifted confectioners' sugar
1 t vanilla extract

1. In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until well combined. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar.
2. Store in the refrigerator after use.

Happy Heart Day!

We were out with my brother, sister-in-law, and nieces a few weeks ago for dinner, and somehow the topic of Valentine's Day came up. I didn't catch the start of the conversation but my ears perked up when I heard Kelly deem it a "stupid" holiday. 

My not-so-feminist self was beyond pleased that my teenaged nieces haven't fallen for the commercially-driven hearts and cupids thing that is a big part of Valentine's Day. Or, worse still, the notion that Valentine's Day is a holiday created solely for women to demand things from the men they love and then be completely b*tchy if the gift isn't big, bright, sparkly, chocolately, or decadent enough...which seems to be the case surprisingly often if the women's magazines and TV ads are to be believed.

Not that all of that annoys me too much... ;-)

On the other hand, I have a confession to make: I love Valentine's Day! I can't wait to send cute cards and sweet treats to people I love - family, friends, kids, grownups, and yes, even my guy. I do it because it makes me feel good and because it's a great excuse to remind people that I care about them.

Here's to being caught up in all that is good about Valentine's Day!

How fortunate I am to have a long list of people to wish a Happy Valentine's Day...xo!

Smooch

This is currently my favorite picture...all that is good about a lazy Sunday morning with someone you love, whether you're in the picture or taking it!

Cookie Day

Hands down, my very favorite tradition every Christmas is "cookie day" with my nieces Kelly & Amy.

Our first cookie day was when Kelly was around two. I was living with my mom in Enfield at the time, and I remember her chuckling as I showed her the little, one-inch cookie cutters I had bought...all the better for two-year-old fingers, I thought. Hours - and what seemed like 300 tiny cookies later - I quickly decided the following year we'd use the very largest cookie cutters I could find!!

Amy joined us when she was old enough, and we have spent literally hours measuring, creaming, rolling, cutting, cooling, and decorating. And eating! And laughing and talking and singing Christmas carols along with the radio, and playing UNO while the cookies baked.

When we started, I had to pull kitchen chairs up to the counter so they could reach. I did the measuring and they did the dumping. Then, while Kelly rolled and cut out, Amy and I sliced the refrigerated sugar rolls.

Now they bake and I sit and visit.

Eventually we moved on to gingerbread houses. Kel's would look like something out of Better Homes and Gardens - laden with icing and candy, all precisely placed, almost always with a snowman or kid playing in the yard. Amy's and mine would look like Hurrican Katrina casualties...or something out of the Wizard of Oz. She and I then joined forces on one house - and did even worse.

We never truly conquered the rock-hard icing that came with kits, and well into April I found myself scraping errant bits of plaster-like icing from any flat surface in the dining room.

Last year, we gave up on gingerbread.

This year, we had a guest for the first time - Kelly's friend Austin is here from Arizona and joined us. To be honest, I worried a little that having someone else with us would somehow change cookie day, and it did - for the better. To share something that means so much to the three of us with someone Kelly cares about made the day even more special.

Christmas would not be Christmas without cookie day. How fortunate and blessed I am to have it, and Kelly & Amy. They are Christmas to me.

Lawson Family Christmas

We celebrated Christmas with the B's family yesterday. His brother and his family were in from South Boston, and his aunt was here from New Jersey. We got to his parents' in time to visit with Gramp - I was especially glad, as my cold had kept me from visiting him for a few weeks.

The day got off to a rough start when we temporarily "misplaced" Sambucca. We had let him out shortly after we arrived and about a half hour later, B asked if someone could let him in. His dad came into the living room a short time later and mouthed to me, "Bucca is missing." I didn't give it much thought, as Sambucca NEVER wanders...we went out and called him. Nothing. With my heart in my throat I walked up to the main street, afraid but not really believing he had ventured that far and had been hit. Nothing. B went out in his car, his sister-in-law took her dog in another direction, and I was walking up and down the street calling for him.

I was starting to think someone must have taken him, because - as anyone who knows him knows - Bucca's herding instinct and attachment to B would prohibit him from just walking off.  Then, just as his dad was heading out in his car and as he passed B coming back in his, I thought again "Poker would NEVER wander away. He HAS to be here." I turned back to the house and spotted the garage...sure enough, there he was, right inside the door! Someone must have gone in and closed the door without realizing Bucca was in there.

You have never seen happier people than we were. Buc was nervous and thought he was in trouble, since we all had been shouting his name (with increasing panic and urgency) for about 5 minutes - the longest 5 minutes. The poor pup!!  That would have taken Christmas in a whole new direction...

I starting drinking wine right after that!

Thankfully, my appetite wasn't terribly affected by the dog-hunting drama. B & I were in charge of appetizers and decided to make two new ones. I made this crab dip from Allrecipes.com, one of my favorite places to search for recipes. I love that most of the recipes are posted by home cooks like me, with normal ingredients, and I love to read the reviews. People are really specific about what changes they made, how it worked out, etc. So, never one to make a recipe exactly as written, I pieced together some info from the reviews and used a little more mayo, added sour cream, sauteed the onion w/ some garlic, and added some Cholula hot sauce and finely shredded Monterey Jack cheese, and served with toasted baguette slices. Everyone else loved it, but I wasn't crazy about the texture...I will definitely continue to saute the onion and garlic, but next time I think I'll use less cream cheese and mayo, more Cholula, and will skip the sour cream and cheese. Might add a little cheese and some Panko to the top.

B picked a Swedish meatball recipe from Penzeys Spice. His dad proclaimed they were the best meatballs he's ever had! They were delicious - definitely a keeper!

Christmas Eve Swedish Meatballs

Meatballs:
1 lb. ground beef
1 lb. ground pork
1 lb. ground veal
1 C minced onion (1 large)
1 1/2 C bread crumbs
2 T minced fresh parsley
2 - 3 t salt
1/4 t ground black pepper
2 t Worcestershire sauce
2 eggs
2/3 C milk
1/2 C vegetable oil

Gravy:
1/2 C all purpose flour
2 t smoked Spanish paprika
1 t salt
1/4 t ground black pepper
4 C boiling water
1 1/2 C sour cream
2 whole bay leaves

1. In a large bowl, combine all of the meatball ingredients except the vegetable oil and mix thoroughly.
2. Shape into walnut-sized balls.
3. Heat the oil to medium-high in a wide, deep pan.
4. Brown the meatballs in batches so they aren't overcrowded.  Use tongs to flip them. Figure about 6 minutes per batch, flipping them after 3 minutes.
5. Remove each batch from the oil after browning and set aside. (B drained them on paper towel.)
6. When all the meatballs are browned and removed from the pan, make the gravy.
7. Add the flour, paprika, salt and pepper to the drippings in the skillet. Stir and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
8. Whisk in the boiling water. Whisk well, reduce heat to low, then whisk in sour cream. Add bay leaves.
9. Return the meatballs to the grave and simmer for at least 20 minutes.
10. To keep warm for serving, place the meatballs and the gravy in a slow cooker on low setting.

B followed the recipe almost to the letter with a few exceptions: He used regular paprika (since we didn't have smoke Spanish) and left out the bay leaves (again, none in the house) - would try to use both next time just to see what difference it makes.  Also, since we were in  a rush to get to his parents', we never simmered the meatballs and gravy on the stove top - we transferred both finished products directly to the crock pot and let them warm for about two hours before we served them.  They got better and better as they warmed!!

Hope your holiday season is going well. Next weekend we celebrate with the Martins...always fodder for a good story!