This Means War!

I love summer. I love staying outside until almost 9:00 when the last of the sun disappears, I love hot, sweaty days at the beach, and I love a glass of ice cold lemonade after spending time in the July heat. When I was a kid, my brother and and I would set up a lemonade stand in front of our house and charge a dime per cup. Back then, that was a lot of money and we would use our profits to buy a new Nintendo game. (No, not a Nintendo Wii--the original Nintendo. Yes, I'm that old.) We didn't tell anyone that it wasn't really lemonade, but Crystal Light. It was much easier not to deal with all that sugar and lemon-squeezing business. Plus, that's what my mom kept in the pantry. Ahh, childhood...

Now that you know how big of a lemonade (or lemon-flavored Crystal Light) fan I am, it will come as no surprise that I picked up The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies.

The two main characters, Evan and Jessie, are brother and sister, each with a problem. Evan is going into fourth grade and can't think of anything worse than having his baby sister in the same class next year (Jessie skipped a grade). Jessie, who loves math and numbers, doesn't even realize Evan is upset, until he starts a lemonade stand with his friend and doesn't include her. To show him up, Jessie gets Megan Moriarity (Evan's crush) to help her build a lemonade stand, with a fancy sign and free snacks. Before long, the two of them realize that they are lemonade competitors and declare war. The first sibling to earn $100 is the winner (or whoever earns the most money by Sunday), and the loser has to hand over whatever earnings he/she made to the winner.

Jessie and Evan will do anything it takes to win the war, including giving away freebies, lowering prices, franchising (opening up more businesses), and sabotaging each others' stands. The results are pretty funny and will have you rooting for either Jessie or Evan to win the war.

The book also includes Ten Tips for Turning Lemons into Loot written by Jessie and Evan and gives the definition for lots of business terms, such as joint venture, underselling, negotiation, and total loss. ***DO NOT have a lemonade stand this summer without reading this book! It could be the difference between making enough money to buy a game for your Wii or making enough money to buy a Wii!

Recipe to Read By: Zesty Lemon Squares

You don't have to squeeze any lemons for this recipe, although if you really like juicing lemons go right ahead. (Just be careful not to squeeze any lemon juice in your eye--that burns like a banshee and will ruin the whole baking experience.)

Ingredients
1 1/2 sticks of butter, softened
1/2 cup of confectioners' sugar

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons lemon zest (I looove zesting lemons. They look so funny when you're done, like they're naked. Hehe.)

2 tablespoons sugar

Directions
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the confectioners' sugar.
Mix the flour and the salt together in another bowl, then add this to the butter mixture.
Add in the vanilla and the lemon zest and mix well.
Gather up the dough into a ball and wrap it in wax paper. Put the wrapped ball in the refrigerator for four hours. (Or one hour, if you're really impatient like me.)
Take the dough out of the refrigerator and let it sit while the oven is preheating. (Turn the oven on to 325° F.)
Press the dough into an 8-inch-square pan. Sprinkle it with the sugar.
Bake about 20 minutes, just until the edges of the dough start to turn a light brown.
Remove the pan from the oven and let it cool.
Cut into 2 x 2-inch squares.

Serve with lemon-flavored Crystal Light to balance all of that sugar.

*Recipe courtesy of http://www.lemonadewar.com/

Ruby Holler

I know you should never judge a book by its cover, but this cover just looks inviting, doesn't it?


As soon as I picked up Ruby Holler it began to whisper softly to me, "Come inside, dear reader, and make yourself at home at my incredibly cozy, charming little cottage and enjoy some sizzling bacon and piping hot pancakes with fresh butter. Don't you want to frolic in the shade of my secluded yard, climb these ginormous maple trees and just escape life in general?" "Yes, yes I do!" I found myself yelling to no one in particular. "I adore pancakes and sizzling bacon and frolicking in shady yards! I must read you right now!" And so my journey to Ruby Holler began.

Florida and Dallas (a.k.a. The Trouble Twins) have lived at the Boxton Creek Home for Children since they arrived on the doorstep as babies. The ramshackle (meaning run-down) orphanage is run by Mr. and Mrs. Trepid, the nastiest, most horrendous excuse for childcare providers ever known.

They were middle-aged, cranky and tired, and growing stiff and cold as winter-bound trees. They believed in rules, and their rules were posted on doorways and in hallways and above each child's bed. There were general rules and kitchen rules, bathroom rules and stairway rules, basement rules and outside rules, upstairs rules and downstairs rules, clothing rules, washing rules, cleaning rules, rules upon rules upon rules.

To top it off, Florida and Dallas were confined to the absolute rear of the house, where they slept in two tiny cubicles huddles side by side, ate mush for every meal, and were constantly screamed at. Sounds like a great place to grow up, huh? (This would be a great time to go hug your mom and tell her "thanks" for not leaving you orphaned in Boxton Creek with putrid people like the Trepids. It's okay if she looks confused--just go with it.)

As with all orphan-themed novels, when things couldn't begin to get any worse, they start to look up, albeit slowly. By some twist of fate, the twins are invited by Sairy and Tiller, a sweet, older couple who live in Ruby Holler, to accompany them on their last great adventures. Ruby Holler turns out to be everything the cover suggests and more. The children swing from the great trees, play in the crystal clear stream, eat their fill of delicious homemade food, and constantly wonder when this crazy couple is going to show their true colors by locking them in a basement, calling them thieves, or making them sleep in a snake pit, as families in the past had done.
After many days spent working on the boat and preparing for the trips, the foursome part ways in a trial (meaning practice) run before the actual expeditions. Through many obstacles ("compass? what compass?") a near-death experience (boating without knowing how to swim), and having all of their gear stolen by thieving teenagers, the group comes to two conclusions:
1.) Florida and Dallas have seen their last days with the putrid Trepids and 2.) Maybe leaving the Holler wasn't such a good idea after all.

*Recipe to Read By: Florida, Dallas, Sairy, and Tiller's Mission Accomplished Cake
This cake should be eaten after any huge challenge that has been accomplished despite many obstacles. This includes, but is certainly not limited to, pulling an "A" on a social studies test even though you fell asleep halfway through, surviving a night in a haunted cemetary with a full moon, leaving the dentist a happy camper, successfully hiding your brussel sprouts under your shirt without your sister telling on you, etc.

Directions
Start with a big red bowl.
Dump in some chocolate syrup.
Drizzle in some honey.
Drop in a handful of pecans.
Add more chocolate syrup.
Toss in a handful of chopped red cherries.
Open a jar of peanuts and dump those in.
Go ahead and empty the rest of the jar of chocolate syrup into the bowl.
Find a bag of cookies, smash them up, and dump the whole bag in as well.
Pound the dough with a wooden spoon.
Eat raw. And whatever you do--DO NOT let your mother see you making (or eating) this!

This recipe comes straight out of pages 291-292 and has not yet been tested by my taste kitchen staff (this includes my husband and crazy Kendall, the lab). Please let me know how it turns out and what kind of cookies you use. I'm thinking left-over Girl Scout cookies would be exceptionally tasty...or Mint Milanos perhaps? Nutter Butters? Oreos???

Granny Torrelli Makes Soup

What is your granny like?

Is she tiny and frail? Round and jovial? Does she love to cook or tell stories? Is she a cheek-pincher? Does she have a bunch of cats and knit you horrendous sweaters? Is her hair blue? Does she smell flowery or moth-bally? Does she live around the corner or miles away?

I love grannies of all shapes and sizes (even the mothball variety), and I especially love grannies who cook.

I consider myself very fortunate to have a granny who cooks--and to add to that fortune an Italian granny who cooks. Pizza, spaghetti, lasagna, gnocchi (pretty much anything with a vowel at the end) is made from scratch by my Nonna. And don't even get me started on her cinnamon rolls. Mmmm...Drool...

Tip of the Day: If you don't have an Italian granny you need to go out and get yourself one right now. Trust me, your tummy will thank you.

Zuppa! Granny Torrelli is one of those Italian grannies who cooks. Just like at my Nonna's house, there are copious amounts of soup and pasta cooking going on in Granny Torrelli's kitchen. However, unlike my Nonna, Granny Torrelli serves up a side of advice along with her zuppa. Rosie is the main character of this delicious book and also the granddaughter of Granny Torrelli. Many hours are spent in the kitchen with Granny Torrelli, as Rosie tells of the ups and downs of her relationship with her best friend, Bailey.

The soup is almost done. Granny Torrelli sits down, props her feet up on a
chair. "Come on," she says, "sit yourself down. Put your feet up." She always
does this before we eat. She says people rush too much. She likes to take a few
minutes to smell the food and relax before we go rushing around gobbling it up.
The soup is almost done. Granny Torrelli sits down, props her feet up on a
chair. "Come on," she says, "sit yourself down. Put your feet up." She always
does this before we eat. She says people rush too much. She likes to take a few
minutes to smell the food and relax before we go rushing around gobbling it up.

Rosie and Bailey are neighbors and were born only a week apart. They are like sister and brother, only better "because I chose him and he chose me." In addition, Rosie has always been Bailey's helper as he was born visually impaired. The two have a falling out and Rosie, hurt and confused, turns to Granny Torrelli for advice. Between the combination of Granny's heartfelt stories (which will have you laughing out loud or running for a tissue) and the soothing aroma of the soup, Rosie begins to learn a valuable lesson about love and friendship.

Tutto va bene! All is well when Granny Torrelli makes soup!

Recipe to Read By: Granny Torrelli's Italian Vegetable Soup

I know this is a baking blog, but this book was screaming for a soup recipe. Zupa! Zupa!

Ingredients
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 leeks, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 zucchini, thinly sliced crosswise
2 (13 3/4-ounce) cans quartered artichoke hearts packed in water, drained
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
10 cups vegetable broth
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
4 ounces dried wide egg noodles
Freshly grated Parmesan

Directions
Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat.

Add the leeks and saute until translucent, about 8 minutes.

Add the garlic and saute until tender, about 2 minutes.

Stir in the zucchini and artichokes.

Season the vegetables with salt and pepper.

Saute until the zucchini are tender, about 10 minutes.

Add the vegetable broth. Stir in the thyme and cook for 2 minutes.

Cover the pot and bring the soup to a simmer.

Decrease the heat to medium-low and simmer gently until the flavors develop, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes.

Increase the heat to medium-high. Add the noodles and cook until al dente, stirring constantly, about 5 minutes.
Ladle the soup into bowls.

Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve.

Granny Torrelli's Notes: Prop your feet up, inhale the aroma of the food, and relax.

Buon appetito! Mangia tutto!

*Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy

I’ve always wanted a sister. Having a sister meant double the wardrobe and slumber parties every night of the week. Not that growing up with a brother was completely awful. He played his fair share of Barbies and was my “student” every time I played school in the garage. He never even put up a fight when I ordered him to write I will not pick my nose and wipe it on my desk 50 times on the chalkboard. (Thanks, Hayden—you’re the best!) But sharing clothes was never an option and I would have died before sharing a secret with a boy. Those are things reserved for sisters. The Penderwicks is a book about sisters. It’s the kind of book where you want to say goodbye to your family and jump right in and become a part of theirs.

Each of the four Penderwick sisters is wonderfully unique and likeable. There's Rosalind, the oldest of the four and a mother-figure to her younger sisters; hot-tempered Skye, dreamy Jane-an aspiring author; and shy Batty, the baby of the family who doesn't leave the house without her wings. Mr. Penderwick is a widow who takes his daughters on a summer trip to the Berkshire Mountains, where they rent a cottage at the back of an enormous mansion. The mansion belongs to Mrs. Tifton, an uptight, high-heel wearing snob who reminds me of Cruella DeVille (minus the streaked 'do). Mrs. Tifton has a son, Jeffrey, who immediately befriends the adventure-loving Penderwick girls, much to his mother's chagrin.

The plot of the story involves the girls' attempts to keep Jeffrey from being sent to military school and dodging Mrs. Tifton's efforts to keep the girls away from Jeffrey. The ending leaves you with a warm and fuzzy feeling and a strong yearning for mischief. (Yes, I am 27 years old and still found myself plotting a way to jump through hedges and chase bulls).

Even if you don't want a sister or truly despise the one you have, you'll still find yourself wanting to be a part of the Penderwick clan.

Top five reasons I want to be a Penderwick:

5.) They use cool acronyms like MOPS (Meeting of Penderwick Sisters) and OAP (Oldest Available Penderwick)

4.) Their dad lets them get away with ANYTHING. Then he gives them a hug and a kiss on the head and tells them to "stay out of trouble" with an endearing look on his face. Honestly. Whose dad does that??

3.) The oldest Penderwick bakes a mean batch of brownies.

2.) They keep each other's secrets.

1.) Four sisters? That's quadruple the wardrobe!

Recipe to Read By: Rosalind Penderwick's Brownies

If I were a Penderwick sister I definitely would want to be Rosalind. She has a heart of gold and more patience than I ever had at the age of 12. As the oldest Penderwick, she often bakes brownies for her doting father and younger sisters. However, as Rosalind, I would know better than to ask Skye to keep an eye on anything in the oven. She'll let them burn and then blame it on me. That might cause me to lose my temper, which is very un-Rosalind-like. Hmm. Maybe I should be Skye Penderwick...Or write mystery novels like Jane...Or talk to dogs like Batty...

Ingredients:
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine, melted
2 tablespoons water
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Baking Cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Powdered sugar

Directions:

PREHEAT oven to 350º F.

Grease 13 x 9-inch baking pan.

COMBINE granulated sugar, butter and water in large bowl.

Stir in eggs and vanilla extract.

Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt in medium bowl; stir into sugar mixture.

Stir in nuts.

Spread into prepared baking pan.

BAKE for 18 to 25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out slightly sticky.

Cool completely in pan on wire rack.

Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Cut into bars.

*Recipe courtesy of Nestle

Love, Ruby Lavender

"Good garden of peas!"

Ruby is a barefoot tomboy with a hankering for mischeif and a love for chickens. She and her grandma, Miss Eula, live in the sleepy town of Halleluia, Mississippi, where everyone knows each others' business and nothing exciting ever happens. When Miss Eula leaves for Hawaii, Ruby's world turns upside down. Ruby is left to fend for herself against the horrible Melba Jane and to raise two baby chicks on her very own. I loved reading the hilarious letters Ruby and Miss Eula write back and forth to each other and found myself yearning to live in Halleluia by the end of the book. If you find yourself speaking Ruby-lingo with a Southern accent, wearing overalls all day/every day, and plotting ways to steal chickens DO NOT FEAR. It happens to everyone who reads this.

Recipe to Read By:

Ruby's mom's Zucchini Bread (makes 2 loaves)

Ingredients

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 cups sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs, beaten

1/3 cup water

2 cups grated zucchini

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, water, zucchini and lemon juice. Mix wet ingredients into dry, add nuts and fold in. Bake in 2 standard loaf pans, sprayed with nonstick spray, for 1 hour, or until a tester comes out clean.

Ruby's notes: Don't get any notions about sharing one of the loaves. They are GOOD and you'll eat 'em up quicker than you can say Halleluia, Mississippi. (For those of you priss-pants picky eaters: you can't taste the zucchini--I promise! Just eat it and quit your foolin'!)

*Recipe courtesy of Ruby's mom (who got it from Paula Deen of the Food Network--shhh, don't tell!)