Spring Showers Bring….

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May flowers? 

Well it is May, and it is showering so I guess that is true, but about the only thing ‘flowering’ are those hardy tulips and daffodils. After an afternoon of garden cleanup on a record setting hot day for May, those were the only flashes of color I saw. Still, the ground has finally thawed and the perennials are struggling to catch up. 

I can’t say there is much I’m a fan of with respect to living here in the frozen hinterlands, however, an exception are the storms that roll in across the plains bringing thunder and lightening. 

Having grown up in the Pacific NW, We lack that broad open sky that the great plains affords. As such, lightening was not nearly as spectacular. Oh, as Oregonians we were ‘blessed’ with rain alright, lots and lots of rain. We natives jokingly teased newbies we were born with webbed feet. Lightening, however, was not nearly as associated with storms as it is here.

Here, the lightening can be seen for miles and what a spectacular show it is! There are three types of lightening that come to my mind. First are the traditional cloud to ground. The type I grew up with. Gigantic bolts followed by the ‘CRACK’, and sonic booms so loud the windows on my house shake and you can feel the concussion. I’ve had them so close to the house I feared we’d be struck. In fact, my neighbor was struck and it took out her power. We’ve had houses burn down with lightening strikes. With that type of lightening, we nearly always hear the sirens, warning people to get off the golf course and under cover. 

Second is the lightening that ‘crawls’ across the sky. It looks like a spider-web canopy of light filaments shooting across the sky. The clouds are high above with lightening underneath, a perfect backdrop to showcase its beauty. It’s breath-taking, and many times I stand at the window of my bedroom on the second floor so I can see the entire skyline and just take it all in. The thunder associated with this lightening is rolling, like the swells on the ocean. It’s more rhythmic and sounds almost like a tympani drum. This lightening is my favorite.

The last is what I’ll describe as flashlight tag by the angels. The clouds are like a blanket cover overhead and the flashes of lightening are high above them. All I see from my vantage point are pulses of light. It’s as if the angles themselves are playing flashlight tag high above our heads. Sometimes I can hear the distant rumbling of their feet, sometimes not. Sometimes I picture them tip toeing above the clouds, waiting to silently sneak up on their opponent. 

And so I sit here at my kitchen table sipping a steaming cup of coffee and watch the gentle rain, listening to the gentle rumble of thunder after a flash of light, I wonder what this spring season holds for us. Will we be the northern tip of tornado alley, bringing it’s thunder, lightening, wind and hail? Or will the good Lord give us a reprieve after a brutal winter. All I know is that winter has finally released it’s grip and summer is soon to follow. Halleluja. 

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Peanut Butter and Jam.

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Peanut Butter and Jam.

Finally!
The breath of spring is in the air after a dreadfully long and brutal winter, a winter I feared would never end!
But at long last, it is here.

Peanut Butter and Jam?

I know you are all thinking: ‘What does a Lilac tree and peanut-butter have in common?’

Well to me, Lilacs and Spring go together like Peanut Butter and Jam.

With the arrival of spring, the windows of my house are thrown open, blowing out the doldrums of winter and infusing it with the fresh scent of spring. And it is not spring without the pungent smell of lilac wafting through those wide open windows.

With the late snows my tree is not yet in bloom, but it soon will be. And soon my house will be steeped in the aroma of spring.

Maybe I’ll have a PB&J just to celebrate.

Billie Rupp’s Popcorn Balls

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Here is my second attempt to post my godmothers wonderful popcorn balls. It appears wordpress is not exactly easy to navigate for someone who is technologically handicapped. My wonderful, reminiscent ramblings were deleted somehow, some way I’ve yet to comprehend.
So back to old school, type it up in Word and then copy/paste. I’m never going to rely on word-press to save my draft for me, no Sir-E-bob. (UGH! SO FRUSTRATING!)

When I was 6, my parents moved our family up from California to a cul-de-sac in the western suburbs of Portland, Oregon. I have fond memories of that house: riding my banana bike with ‘reins’ (a piece of string) tied to the handlebars of which I had vivid fantasies of riding some great white majestic mare; making mud pies with my brother, digging caves in haystacks of cut drying wheat in the fields next to our housing development, playing on our Jungle Gym; and going over to Mrs. Rupp’s house, a wonderful woman who would become my Godmother.

Mrs. Rupp you see, always had something wonderful going on in her kitchen. My own mother was a stay at home mom, but as we all know, the grass is greener elsewhere, and my mother was a busy woman. My little brother and I would regularly traipse over to see what interesting thing she was working on, and hopefully score a treat.

Mrs. Rupp had the best sarsaparilla ever. She made the syrup from scratch and kept it in a mason jar in her fridge. She’d fill a tall glass with ice, pour the molasses colored brown liquid in, then fill it with old fashioned seltzer water. Half the thrill was holding the glass up and letting the bubbles pop in our noses. Mrs. Rupp’s mother made shrunken apple ‘people’, which created a mixed reaction of ‘neato’ and ‘gross’. But, the memory most fond for me was of her popcorn balls.

You see, every Halloween, Mrs. Rupp handed out homemade popcorn balls. Creamy, sticky, caramel-loaded goodness that we waited a year for. Those were the days eh? When people actually handed out homemade goodies like real candied apples (bright red and shiny), real lollypops, homemade divinity and fudge, real candies. Oh yes, those were the days alright, and lest I start on a rant about the world we live in now…we’ll move on.

My Godmother would hand them out at Halloween, but I make them over the Christmas holidays. I prefer to give baskets of homemade treats over store bought trinkets which end up in the trash. I wrap my popcorn balls up in waxed paper and tie them off with a piece of string or colorful rubber band, and nestle them in with other homemade goodies. So, as we begin the Christmas giving season, here is the gift of my Godmothers famous (at least in my mind) Popcorn Balls:

Pop 1/4 cup of popcorn kernels and pour in to a large bowl.

In a saucepan melt:
1 stick of salted butter (extra for your hands and molding)
30 large marshmallows
1 cup of brown sugar, packed

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You could use unsalted and add back a bit of salt, but I just use regular salted butter. The marshmallows I buy are Gluten Free, be sure to check the ingredients if you are intolerant. I supposed you could make your marshmallow from scratch, but I don’t bother. If you do, a bag is 10 oz and you don’t use the entire bag, so I’d estimate you need about 9oz.

Once the mixture is all melted and all the marshmallows have turned to goo, pour the whole thing over the popped corn and stir to mix.

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Then take additional softened butter and liberally rub it all over your hands. Grab a lump and form in to a ball, putting on some waxed paper (or parchment) to cool. Try not to compact them too much. They should be kinda loose, just packed enough to keep them in their shape. See in the photo below? These are not lead balls of sugar. When they cool, you want to be able to pull them apart, its half the fun!

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You will likely need to reload your hands more than once to keep the mix from sticking and making clubs out of your hands. You’ll want to work fairly quickly to keep the mix from setting up. I recommend for large quantities you make multiple batches instead of doubling. Its easier to work with while warm.
Note: If they are too warm, they will not stick together. Just wait another minute and try again. Keep your hands covered in butter to keep them from sticking to your hands-which can be frustrating!

That’s it! I hope you enjoy them as much as we all do. I hope they become a tradition in your house, and if you have any questions, leave them in the comment section below.