vv 9-23

See You in September
By: Pat Alexander / Art of Entertaining
think in lyrics. You may think it odd, but I have
I to live with it!
I hear a sentence and the words of a song
immediately come to mind. One year, I went off with my family for the
summer leaving my boyfriend behind.
He said, “See you in September.” Say “September” and the words to
the song come into my mind and stick with me all day.
You can say “knife” and immediately I start humming “Mack the
Knife.” Say “pickle” and I sing “My mom gave me a nickel to buy a
pickle.”
I hear the word “Cry” and I sing “Cry while your heart is breaking.”
My older sister and I used to sing it in falsetto outside the bathroom door
to torment our little
sister when she had
a temper tantrum. A
kid thing for sure!
Music is such an
important part of
my life, but I’m not
a singer, and that’s
being kind. It’s a
family curse we
blame on our mother.
She passed the nonsinging
gene to her
daughters, so be glad
you’re not around
when I burst into
song.
Going back to
thinking in lyrics,
recently someone
mentioned “basket.” My head went to “A tisket, a taskit, a brown and
yellow basket.” (And what on earth is a tisket, or a tasket?)
Anyway, somehow that became “biscuit” in my head. I hummed and
sang the words the whole day. So, of course, I baked some biscuits.
Could I use a mix? Nooooo! Here’s the recipe for a biscuit in a basket
– a massive cheese biscuit that looks great and tastes better.
Cheddar Biscuits: In food processor, pulse 1-3/4 cups flour, 2 tsp.
baking powder, 2-1/2 tsp. sugar, ¼ tsp. salt. Add 3 tbs. room temperature
vegetable shortening, pulse until combined.
Add 4 Tbs. COLD unsalted butter. Pulse 4-5 times. Add 8 oz. grated
cheddar cheese and 2 tbs. chopped chives, pulse 2-3 times. Add ¾ cups
WHOLE milk, pulse until just moistened, forming a shaggy dough.
Drop by very large scoop onto greased baking sheet 2 inches apart.
Bake at 400 degrees 15-20 minutes. Melt together 3 Tbs. butter, ½ tsp.
garlic powder and pinch of paprika for color. Brush tops while hot.
Pat Alexander writes about all things home. She is well known for
her cooking, parties and interior design, and consults on kitchen
and bath remodels.
34
September 2023
To Russia With Love
By: Crystal Merryman-Sarbacker /
Out & About
Long ago in the crazy 80s, I took a cruise in
Northern Europe. It was a delightful trip, until
the morning when the Captain announced they had just received word
of availability of an optional trip to Moscow.
For the adventurous travelers this three-day excursion might be
really exciting, so I couldn’t wait to sign up. But it turned out to be
more than I bargained for.
We flew on a Russian jet from St. Petersburg to Moscow. We had been
told our transportation would be modern but I immediately noticed
that most of the seats on board were soiled and broken, and there were
no doors on the restrooms.
The only privacy offered was a knee-high curtain that swayed with
the movement of the plane. But to me the most alarming thing was
the condition
of my window.
It had
gaping holes
around the
glass that
revealed the
outside sky
and looked
like it might
blow out at
any moment.
The only good
news was that
with so many holes, I had fresh air throughout the flight.
Needless to say, I was greatly relieved when we landed safely, but it
was only an introduction to the tour to come.
Fortunately, most of the sightseeing was interesting, as we toured
the palaces of the tsars. And then we were bussed around Moscow to
see Red Square, and other historic sites like the “Five Sisters”, which
were famous high rises which house Russia’s most famous athletes and
celebrities.
It was the comments of our guide though which were the most
telling. She was a government official and she constantly bragged
about Russia, and how well the people lived.
But the more she spoke, the more she revealed, including the many
numbers of people yearly who were intentionally drowned in the Volga
River just before it was frozen over. She laughed as she explained this
was a traditional way to conceal the elimination of troublemakers.
Our excursion ended with another hair raising flight back to St.
Petersburg, where tales of our outings spread like lightning on the ship.
The captain assured us that there would be no more immediate visits
to Moscow.
Crystal Merryman-Sarbacker is an award winning writer &
travel agent. She can be reached at Merryman2@aol.com.