Obviously there has to be a good side to teaching, for if there wasn’t, no one would do it. There are many great moments in teaching. Many of those moments you will never know about, and that’s the hard part. So often it is years later after you were that child’s teacher that you realize the impact that you made on that child. And it usually never the kid you would have thought.
Case in point. I had a student when I taught 6th grade. Her older brother was in 8th grade and struggling something horrible in science. At the time the science teacher was what one might call technical(you might know it as dry and boring) and he could just not catch on. A very shy kid, he finally got the nerve to ask me after school one day for help while his sister was hanging out reorganizing my books(slave labor comes cheap when you have goodie-goodie’s in class ). I was the type of person who likes to use more real life terms. I tell people the real term but I also translate to real people speak. You know like when I go to a fancy restaurant with my husband and the menu says Potatoes Gaufrette, I turn to my perplexed hubby and say “waffle fries” and he understands.
Apparently I had an impact. So much that his senior year of high school he nominated me for a state award for best teacher through out his years. I was not eligible as I was never his actual teacher but the high school was nice enough to forward me the 4 page essay about how my simple after school lessons shaped the boys life. He is now a science teacher in New Mexico.
But my proudest moment of all came of at all places the State Fair. My parents and I were in the livestock section watching cows be judged. We mostly wanted to just be in the shade as it was a balmy 95F in October in AZ.
My first year of teaching I had a student who was a pain in the ass to put it mildly. I team taught and so he was not actually in my homeroom, but I saw him for two classes. M and his dad lived in their car. I taught in a poor district where 96% the schools students qualified for free lunch. Many teachers coddled him because of his circumstance, which in turn made him be more of an ass. I rode him hard all year and he never rose to the challenge. I chalked M up to one that got away and one that made me drink a lot of beer after work.
So imagine my surprise when a voice from the past spoke. “Hello Ms. G, it’s a pleasure to see you again.” In a slight state of shock that he even came over to say hi, I asked what he was doing here. He told me how he had gone to live on a boys ranch for homeless children and how to earn their keep they helped run the farm. He had raised a cow and was showing it and hoping to place so that the cow would sale, as he would get to keep the money. He asked if we would stay and watch his cow. I said sure. He was not up for about an hour. He sat with my parents and I going over all the things they look for in the judging and how things were in general in his life, including the program that he felt changed his life. Then when he got up to go and prepare his cow he said to me, “I want to thank you for never treating me different than any other kid in your classroom. That really meant a lot to me. “ I held back my tears when said that but they minute he left my mother had already pulled the Kleenex from her purse.
I watched M get first place for his cow that day. I pretty much was a ball of tears. So not what I thought my day at the Fair was going to be. So not the student I thought I would ever hear that from.
Speaking of good things….these Marshmallow Crunch Brownie Bars are so very fantastic. I made them for my husband but I am pretty sure I ate more of them then he did. You want to talk about a super after school treat…these are it!!!!

Marshmallow Crunch Brownie Bars

Brownie Ingredients:
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2/3 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, divided
1 ¼   cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
½  tsp salt
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Topping Ingredients:
7 ounces mini marshmallows
1 ½  cups milk chocolate chips
1 cup Jif peanut butter
1 TBSP unsalted butter
1 ½  cups Rice Krispies
Preheat oven to 350F.
Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.
In a medium saucepan, melt the chocolate, butter, and ¾ cup of the semisweet chocolate chips on medium heat. Stir occasionally while melting. Set aside and cool for 5 minutes. In a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, place the eggs and whisk thoroughly. Add in the sugar and vanilla. Stir the melted ingredients into the egg mixture, mixing well. Stir in the dry sifted ingredients and mix well. Fold in the remaining ½  cup semisweet chocolate chips.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and even with a spatula. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the corner of the pan comes out with moist crumbs.
Remove the brownies from the oven, and immediately sprinkle the marshmallows over them. Return the pan to the oven for 3 more minutes.
While the brownies are baking, place the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter in a medium saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until melted. Remove from heat, add the cereal,and mix well. Allow this to cool for 3 minutes or so.
Spread the mixture evenly over the marshmallow layer. Refrigerate until chilled before cutting. Makes 12 3×3-inch bars.

Adapted from Buttercup Bakes at Home by Jennifer Appel

My husband works in the computer industry. When he first met me he had considered leaving it all and becoming a teacher. One of the things he liked about me was that I was a teacher. Then he saw my paycheck. He told me that I got paid a lot more than what he thought. Then I had to break it to him…that was my paycheck for the month…not the week like he thought. Ah. His desire to teach went away….quickly.
There is a reason why they say teaching makes a great second income….because it make a lousy first one. Mine was particularly sad as the whole time I was teaching, Arizona was ranked 48th in pay for teachers. We didn’t really have unions and your contract went from year to year. You were lucky to get $500 increase each year. Most years the pay scale was frozen. With the exception of the year I was in curriculum my pay over a 10 year span only went up $6K…and I have a lot of education to help me move over on the scale.
The teaching world and the corporate world are very different. My husband would talk about taking in a movie at lunch and I would just stare at him. A movie? I got 30 minutes. In which I had to drop my kids off and make sure they made it through the line without killing or molesting each other, this usually took about 10 minutes. By the time you made it to the teachers lounge, heated up your lunch and sat down to eat it, you had about 4 minutes to digest it. Because after all you had to go to duty and again make sure the kids did not kill or molest each other. You learned to eat the hot stuff in the teachers lounge and eat your fruit and sugared baked goods out on the playground. Or better yet, if you were good like me, you could train the kids to bring you snacks. Bribery wont get you good grades from me but it’s never bad to have the teacher on your side.
My husband would also talk of bonuses. Bonuses? What is this bonuses you speak of? Why a bonus to a elementary school teacher is not getting lice, pink eye or strep throat through out the year. That was our bonus. Retiring? You see corporate world handing out nice watches and what not. In teaching you get something the primary teachers no doubt made out of Popsicle sticks and glitter and IF you were lucky a $20 gift certificate to the Olive Garden.
Then there are stock rewards. Don’t even get me started on that.
My hubby’s review time came around and he received the trifecta: raise, bonus, stock. I of course being happy for him, felt the need to bake him his favorite, Red Velvet Cake. This Bundt cake comes from a Christmas magazine…yes I am already thinking about Christmas treats. I can always trust Paula Deen when it comes to things like Pound Cakes and Red Velvet. It doesn’t have pecans in the glaze which was slightly disturbing to my Southern husband but he liked all that same. If you too are a Red Velvet fan it will not disappoint.

Red Velvet Pound Cake

1 ½ cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
5 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
½ cup buttermilk
½ cup sour cream
1 (1 ounce) bottle red food coloring
1 tsp distilled white vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Glaze(recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 325F.
Grease and flour a 12 cup Bundt pan. I used minis…makes about 12 of those.
Cream together the butter and sugar on medium high speed with an electric mixer until fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add eggs, one at at time, scraping down after each addition.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, salt, and baking soda.
In a small bowl, combine buttermilk, sour cream, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla.
Gradually add flour to the butter mixture, alternately with the buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Spoon batter into prepared pan(s), and bake for 50-60 minutes(30-40 for the smaller). Bake until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cool for 10 minutes. Remove from pan(s), and coll completely on a wire rack. Drizzle cooled cake with Cream Cheese Glaze.

Cream Cheese Glaze
(I highly suggest that you double the batch…I ended up making more)

1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
1 TBSP milk

In a small bowl, beat cream cheese at low speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until combined. Add milk, beating until smooth.

Adapted from: Paula Deen’s Holiday Baking magazine 2008

That would be me…in bits and pieces. Well, not that bad, but I have been roughed up pretty nicely the last two hockey games and almost got into a fight, with a guy(I wasn’t the one going to throw the punch…classy, eh?) But I am left with a fairly bruised back and a whole lot of aches and pain. The good news is even though the men seemed to have taken their asshole pills that night, we did win both games(no help by me though ).
I thought I would take a little time out to update you on life and answer a few blogging questions that have been either left in comments or emailed to me.
First off. The square pan. The square pan that I make my muffins in is from Target(in store, not online). I have seen them sold on Amazon.com. So if you want one try those two places.
Second. My mother’s Pear-Nutmeg Jam recipe. Scroll down and wedged in between photos of her there is her recipe. She is called Lady Jane so that is what I called the jam. My mother says you can leave out the butter but if you do you will get foam and you will have to remove that. Since I am only the person who gets stuck chopping up the fruit and not the actual jam maker I will/would trust her on this.
Third. I am still waiting for Michael Phelps to stop on by the house and eat my french toast(sans shirt…all other clothing optional ).
Forth. Have you been checking out my other blog, Northwest Noshings? If not you are missing out on yummy things like Smoked Gouda, Gruyere and Ham Pizza with Walla Walla Onion Pear Sauce.
Lastly. After 8 months of staring at dead weeds and dirt we finally got ourselves a backyard(well, side yard actually). You can scroll down and see those photos as well…plus my herbs.
September is rapidly approaching. I would love to say that it wont be busy but somehow each month seems to get a little more full than the last. Sigh. This weekend is my only weekend of nothing and I shall enjoy it. I see sitting on my butt and watching bad 80’s movies in my future.
To start off September we are going to the Herbfarm, my favorite, to see how they interpreting BBQ. Should be interesting as they have built an outdoor woodfire stove for it!
Of course just the start of September makes me happy as that means Fall is coming(though with the weather we have been having, it’s already here!). I have already busted out the pumpkin and make pumpkin bars. And believe it or not I already made Christmas cookies. It was for a shoot, I’m not that insane, though I did listen to Christmas music to get me in the mood. Nothing like Jingle Bells at the end of August to get you in the festive holiday mood.

(Yard Facing West)

(Yard Facing East)

(Some of my herbs)

I saw this on many a blog so I thought I would do it. I guess I am fairly adventurous as I have eaten 81 of the 100…including bugs. You have got to love entomology class.

 1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile (I’ve had alligator so I think that counts)
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes(allergic)
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper(thought I was going to die)
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam Chowder in Soudough Bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar (just the cognac)
37. Clotted Cream Tea
38. Vodka Jelly/Jell-O(hello, I did go to college people)
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (crickets decent, grasshopper not, ants make my mouth itchy, mealworms decent)
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk(I have taken first place in goat milking at the county fair…I know you are impressed)
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth $120 or more
46. Fugu (not worth dying)
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine (fine Canadian food)
60. Carob chips (vomit)
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian(I bit the bullet and did this after seeing Anthony Bourdan…the smell is soooo bad)
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake (all of the above!)
68. Haggis (It’s not that bad people)
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings or andouillette
71. Gazpacho (only white which does not have tomatoes)
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost or brunost (you have to love cheese that taste like peanut butter…or at least it does to me)
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang Souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom Yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. 3 Michelin Star Tasting Menu
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse(not that I know of but I am sure in some of the countries I have been to I have eaten it)
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake (fried rattlesnake to be exact….taste like chicken)

(My mom and me at the Seattle Aquarium…those hats were for kids but we didn’t care)

Lady Jane’s Pear Nutmeg Jam

(Makes eight jars, eight oz each.)

Ingredients:
4 cups pears, peel, core and finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
7 ½  cups granulated sugar
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 pouch of Certo (liquid pectin)
¼  or ½  tsp unsalted butter
 
Before you start: Buy pears that are firm, ripe fruit. Wash and rinse jars and screw bands. Use new flat jar lids (Boil water & pour over jar lids, cover and let sit).
 
Prepared fruit: Measure exact amount of prepared fruit into 6 or 8 qt pot. Stir in lemon juice and nutmeg, plus butter (this helps eliminate foam).
Measure exact amount of sugar in a separate bowl, stir into fruit, bring mixture to full rolling boil or high heat. (a boil that doesn’t stop when stirred, stir constantly). Stir in the pectin quickly, return to full rolling boil exactly 1 minute stirring constantly- remove from heat.
Ladle quickly into the prepared jar. Fill to within 1/8 inch from the top. Wipe jar rims and threads, remove lid from water, dry and cover jar and screw on band. Turn the jar upside down quickly and go to the next jar, leave them upside down for five minutes. Then turn upright.
 
It may take awhile for the lids to seal. You will hear an audio “pop” when they do. Check seals by pressing center of the flat lid with your finger. It will be down and not pop up. If the jar does not seal after a couple of hours then you must refrigerate that jar. Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours. Then store in a cool, dry place.
 

(My mom and her puppy, Fionna)

I started to feel bad as of late that I was not doing any inspired by Dorie recipes and therefore my readers were not getting any recipes. Well this weeks pick(by Amy of Food, Family, and Friends)  was a Chocolate Banded Ice Cream Torte. It is suppose to be raspberry but I went ahead and made a Honey Lavender Ice Cream. Tartelette had made a beautiful looking lavender panna cotta a while back and it had me wanting to make lavender ice cream ever since.
The original torte has more layers of chocolate, but since I made a mini, only one was fitting. I also didn’t top it with chocolate like you are suppose to. I was in the mood for more lavender than chocolate.

Honey Lavender Ice Cream

2 cups heavy cream
1 cup half-and-half
2/3 cup lavender honey(or any honey)
2 tablespoons dried edible lavender flowers(can be ordered through Penzey’s)
2 large eggs
1/8 teaspoon salt

Bring cream, half-and-half, honey, and lavender just to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, then remove pan from heat. Let steep, covered, 30 minutes.
Pour cream mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and discard lavender. Return mixture to cleaned saucepan and heat over moderate heat until hot.
Whisk together eggs and salt in a large bowl, then add 1 cup hot cream mixture in a slow stream, whisking. Pour into remaining hot cream mixture in saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until thick enough to coat back of spoon and registers 170 to 175°F on thermometer, about 5 minutes (do not let boil).
Pour custard through sieve into cleaned bowl and cool completely, stirring occasionally. Chill, covered, until cold, at least 3 hours.
Freeze custard in ice cream maker. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden.

Adpated from Gourmet Magazine, September 2003