Meringue and Pierogi

The fun of meringue. It is so very versatile. I started out making the traditional mushrooms for the Buche de Noel. And that led to other things like bunnies to accompany the mushrooms. They are so damn cute. It's just sugar, of course with some egg whites. They are baked low and slow to avoid excessive color and so they are safe to eat. Hell, I eat egg white raw all the time and never get sick. But, to be safe, I am careful when I am cooking for other people.




Oh, the lovely pierogi. Most ethnic groups have their version of the pocket of dough wrapped around their favorite (or most accesible) filling. We Polish have the Pierogi. It is a light, yeastless dough that is gently rolled thin, cut, filled, sealed and boiled in water. Then I fry it in butter and serve it with sour cream. My choice for my 4 dozen pierogi is potato, bacon and cheddar. They alone should earn us Poles some respect.

Second Grader's are Sweet Too!

My sister sent me this story and it's the type of stuff I love. It's clever, but not invented or embellished. I was once a preschool teacher (actually a teacher of the year for Children's World Learning Center one year) and it was a source of the most clever responses.


The 'Middle Wife' by an Anonymous 2nd grade teacher

I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself, but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second grade classroom a few years back. When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually, show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it in to school and talk about it, they're welcome

Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater. She holds up a snapshot of an infant. 'This is Luke, my baby brother, and I'm going to tell you about his birthday' 'First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in my Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord.'

She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The kids are watching her in amazement. "Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and going, ''Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh!" Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. 'She walked around the house for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!' (Now this kid is doing a hysterical duck walk and groaning.) 'My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have a sign on the car like the Domino's man. They got my Mom to lie down in bed like this.' Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall. 'And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew!' (This kid has her legs spread with her little hands miming water flowing away. It was too much!)

'Then the middle wife starts saying 'push, push,'and 'breathe, breathe. They started counting, but never even got past ten. Then, all of a sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff that they all said it was from Mom's play-center, (placenta) so there must be a lot of toys inside there.' Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat. I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, when it's show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder, just in case another 'Middle Wife' comes along.