Some days its just not worth gnawing through the straps....

Seriously, I know there is unfathomable devastation in Missouri, and there are problems with our government, and there are people who are hurt and struggling, and orphan kittens with big sad eyes in dark alleyways - plenty of big important things to worry about.  But I have to come clean here, and admit that I'm stressing to the point of insanity about our upcoming Garaguation party in 3 days!  And while, again, following the do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do method, the party will NOT be in the garage, but it will be outside... at least that's the plan.  The weather, though no where near as bad as impending tornadoes, is still not promising for Saturday, in fact it looks like rain.  Which means we'd have to switch to plan B, which again, is NOT the garage, but the house.  And the house, while not quite exploded by 200mph winds, does look a bit like some incendiary device has gone off.  And there are still things to purchase, and order and prepare!  If I didn't fear the devil (and some women's prison) I'd seriously consider a well placed match....

How I Killed Osama Nasty Tree

A rainy day, an affluent weed infested area, and the family's approval--this is the story of how Nasty Tree was discovered and ultimately killed.

An infestation of shallow rooted terrorist weeds, has long held my backyard hostage.  It became apparent that these weeds, which, if left un-pulled, grew into trees, had a complex underground root structure, and it was discovered that they emanated from one all powerful leader – Osama Nasty Tree.  But which tree it was, I could not be sure.  I made it clear that killing or capturing Osama Nasty Tree and the sleeper cells of weeds he spawned was one of my highest priorities - the family agreed.  

According to my initial assessments, Nasty Tree could be hiding in a weed infested area in the northwest corner of my yard. We developed the theory of Nasty Tree’s whereabouts through leads gained from Nasty tree’s inner circle and from rogue weeds we had captured. Finally, I was able to track him down to a sprawling weed infested area in my yard, a relatively affluent enclave favored by weeds of all ilk. The area was massive, and tightly guarded, which raised the initial suspicions that this was more than just an ordinary weed patch.  Many of his weedy associates in other parts of my yard and throughout the region are living in much more dire conditions, you have to be wondering what they’re thinking at this moment when they see that their leader was living, relatively speaking, high on the hog.

Early Saturday morning in my yard, despite the rain, the strike began, but we were doubtful that Nasty Tree would go down without a fight.  We constructed a full-scale mock-up of the weed infested area in The Garage, to practice the most effective ways of breaching its perimeter and assaulting various numbers of defenders. I monitored the operation in real time. In The Garage, the mood was tense.  A stealth raid wasn't the only option I considered.  We had the option of Roundup bombing the weed infested area, but opted in the end for the stealth raid, so that no other flora would be killed in the operation.  A family chainsaw was lost in the operation because of mechanical failure, creating more white-knuckle moments in The Garage.

While the killing of Nasty Tree is a huge milestone in the battle against Nasty trees everywhere, the battle ahead remains difficult. This does not mean we are putting down our guard as far as Nasty tree is concerned.  It may be a mortally wounded tiger that still has some life in it, and it's dangerous. We need to keep up the pressure. 

Friend Networks, and Recipe Sharing

This past week we had a gathering of what was once the Mighty Moorhead High Theatre Parents.  We meet socially about once a month now, having been thrown together, 120 of us, in 2007 by the happenstance of our kids being cast in a show. We're down to about 30 now, but what remains is the core, the heart and soul of the best, strongest, smartest, most successful parents I have ever been lucky enough to call friends.

Inspired by a recent question posed by Mrs. G. about friend networks, and this morning by Green Girl in Wisconsin's query about where people get their recipes - I decided to share one of my creations.  Disclaimer: I am NOT a food blogger, and I have a crappy camera, what you are about to see is actually WAY more delicious than it looks.

For this impromptu potluck, I was asked to bring a side dish, I decided to share a dish that always goes over well.  My made up Midwestern spoonable version of Elote, the delicious fire roasted corn on the cob sold by street vendors in Mexico and Southern California.

You start with a large bag of frozen corn, 1 bag of grated Mexican cheese blend, Parmesan cheese, mayo, 1 can of chopped green chilies, cayenne pepper, and lime juice.

Spread  the corn out on a cookie sheet, then put it under the broiler until it starts to brown, flip them over so the other side gets a tan as well.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, mix about a cup of the mayo with about a third of a cup of the lime juice.  Add a can of chopped green chilies - I also add 1 can of chopped jalapenos.  Let the corn cool a bit, then pour it into the bowl with the mayo/lime/chilies and add the grated Mexican cheese along with about a third of a cup of Parmesean.  Fold that all together and sprinkle with cayenne.

Serve with chips, or as a vegetable side dish.  Trust me, this easy peasy dish always goes over well, and is fit to serve your bestest friends (both real and imaginary) in the entire world!