Slaving in the Kitchen

Last month's blog post was about slaving in the kitchen, too. Ooops. I really don't do as much baking as I used to, but I can't resist telling you about my amazing discovery today.

I don't know when I last made Rice Krispies Treats, but it's been a l-o-n-g time. Things have changed! I remember melting the butter and marshmallows in a pan on the stove and stirring the sticky mess with a big spoon till it was all melted ... but not scorched. Then I added the Rice Krispies, trying to stir gently so the crispy bits of rice didn't turn into rice flour.

Then came the fun part: trying to get it all out of the hot pan and into the buttered 9" x 13" pan. There was always enough left in the pan and on the spoon to nibble on for a day or two. (Yes, I'm exaggerating a bit.) Next, I buttered my hands and quickly patted the concoction to the edges and into the corners of the pan. "Ouch! That's hot!" Later I learned that using waxed paper instead of my buttered hands was somewhat less painful.

Fast forward to 2018. Pat brought me a big bag of marshmallows that she found on clearance. Weldon used to eat marshmallows like candy, but he gave that up. So, what was I going to do with these marshmallows? The obvious solution: buy some Rice Krispies and make the sticky treats. And today was the day.

Let me tell you, things have changed. I followed the recipe on the marshmallow bag. Melt the butter and the marshmallows in the microwave! Using the "new" silicone spatulas, stirring in the crispy rice and dumping the whole works into the 9" x 13" pan was easy-peasy. I used the spatula to pat the mixture into the pan. Nothing stuck to the bowl, nothing stuck to the spatula, nothing stuck to my hands.

I didn't realize I had blog post material here, or I would have taken pictures while I was actually doing the work. As it is, the photos were taken after sweating and slaving in the kitchen for five to ten minutes.

I'm not the first woman who, because of her deep love for her family, has slaved all day long in the kitchen. Perhaps you'll remember this commercial of just such an amazing woman.

Today's lesson: An old dog can learn new tricks.

Line Drawing

After spending 11 years as a single-again woman in the "big city" of Charlotte, NC, it was quite a change to get married and move to the country. In September we will celebrate our 8th anniversary, and, if I do say so myself, I think I'm doing a pretty good job of adjusting to life on the dairy farm.

In either locale, the homemaker's chores are pretty much the same (cooking, cleaning, baking, canning & freezing, laundry, mending, making do) ... but multiplied by 10 or so. "Wait a minute!" you say. "You were one person, you married another person, so that makes two. How can you say your duties were multiplied by 10?" You'll just have to trust me on this.

In addition to the household duties, I try to be helpful around the farm. I can drive the Bobcat or tractor when needed, I jog over hill and dale to help round up the cows when they "get out," I take care of lots of kitties, and I help milk cows every morning and evening. I'm even beginning to learn about gardening, both flowers and vegetables. Baby steps....

Yesterday afternoon I heard Weldon hollering, "Get out the pot!!" I hurried to the door to see what was happening. "Turtle soup!!" he cried.

This is where I draw the line.