A Year Ago

Stanley 1996-2008

One year ago today, my sweet, little Stanley died.

We adopted him from the shelter on Halloween when he was about 6 months old. (I know, a black cat on Halloween!) We knew that Oliver needed a brother. When they took "Dante" out of his cage and handed him to my husband, Stanley climbed up his arm, walked across his shoulders, and headed toward me. I didn't even touch him. I just said, "He's the one."

Stanley was an athlete who performed spectacular leaps. He could catch sparkle balls and toss them back. (He would also put them in my shoes.) He loved tuna and roasted turkey (and would help himself if given the chance). Stanley was very quiet. You would see his mouth open and then you would hear the delayed, raspy-squeaky meow. He was my constant companion after an extended hospital stay. Day or night, he was by my side. Stanley loved my ears.

We knew the end was coming. The vet said that he wasn't in any pain. We decided to let Stanley live out his days basking in the sun on the patio, rigging up a leash so he could explore within reason. After I would get home from school, Stanley and I would hang out in the hammock or a chair in the sunshine while I studied. We ran a hospice for Stan. Whatever we could do for him, we did.

I found Stanley in the morning. I knew he was gone before I even turned on the light. Everything was too still. I can't remember what I did yesterday, but I remember everything about that day.

My heart was, and remains, broken.

Apple Crisp for Two

When I first got married, one of the hardest things I had to figure out was how to cook for TWO people. (I was used to cooking for a family of five.) Sure, there's benefits of having leftovers, but when you have had to eat the same thing for what seems days on end...it gets a little old. I found that one of the more challenging things to make in a manageable size was dessert. And so I bring you...

Apple Crisp for Two

(Please note that although the ingredients are listed correctly, the pictures are of a double batch. (My brother stopped by the night I was making this, and since he let me sculpt his head out of clay, I thought it would be nice if I fed him, too.)

Crisp Part
3 Tablespoons flour
3 Tablespoons butter (softened, not melted)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup uncooked oats


Apple Part
2-3 medium-large apples cored, peeled, and sliced
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
3/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 Tablespoon flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the 3 Tablespoons flour, butter, brown sugar, and oats in a bowl and mix until well combined. (The easiest way for you to do this is using your fingers. Pretend it's oat play-dough.) Set aside.

Place apple slices in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, mix the granulated sugar, spices, and 1 Tablespoon of flour. Sprinkle this mixture to the apple slices and toss until everything is evenly coated.

In a greased baking dish, arrange the apples in an even layer.

Take the oat play-dough (in whatever amount you feel comfortable with working) and smoosh it out in your hands to about the thickness of a cookie. Lay this over the apples. Repeat with the remaining oat-play dough. The goal is to completely cover the apples. If some apples are poking up, or there are holes here or there, that's OK. If you need to "patch" thinner areas, that's OK, too.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes at 350 degrees until the apples are soft, the crisp is brown, and you can see the juices bubbling and thickening. The time may vary depending on the size of your baking dish. (The double batch I made for the pictures took 40 minutes.) Let stand for at least 5 to 10 minutes before eating so you don't burn your mouth.


My Tips

My original recipe for this was just the crisp part. I would season the apples like I would for a pie--just "eyeball" it. Then I remembered that my cooking challenged friend probably didn't know how to do that. Adjust the seasonings to your taste. You might find that the apple part is a little too sweet for your liking.

I use firm apples that are recommended for baking such as Granny Smith or Jonathans. I have absolutely no use for Red Delicious apples. They are pretty...nasty. Apples like McIntosh are soft (and mealy) and work better for a sauce. But use what you like.

I usually lean toward using more apples, as they cook down.

Sprinkle cut apples with lemon juice to prevent browning. (I plunk them in a bowl of water with lemon juice and drain them right before I'm ready to assemble everything.)

I use "old-fashioned" oats because I prefer the texture. Use what you have. Go "nuts" and add some walnuts to the playdough.

You can serve this with ice cream if you wish. Vanilla or cinnamon would be good. Chunky-Monkey...I'm not feelin' the monkey love.

Use the crisp part with other fruit. Season whatever fruit you have like you would for a pie of that flavor. Adjust the sugar to taste. With juicier fruit, make sure you add flour (again adjusting as needed). It is what thickens the juice so you won't have soup.

P.S. There's a comment section for a reason. ;)

It's O-V-E-R!

It's official! I am now a licensed funeral director in the state of Wisconsin. (I was issued my license number on Thursday.)

It has been a whirlwind for about the past two and a half years as I scrambled to take prerequisite classes before being able to attend mortuary school last fall. (English majors didn't have to take things like Economics, Business Law, and Accounting...much less Microbiology, Anatomy and Physiology, and Chemistry!) All this while serving my apprenticeship and pre-arranging funerals (which was my job quite apart from everything else.) Even when I was in mortuary school full time (and had about a hour's commute each way) I still was "on call" every other night and weekend, working Fridays, and doing some pre-arranging after school. Crazy, crazy times.

Now, all of that is over. I finished my apprenticeship, graduated at the top of my class (Yeah, I was surprised about that, too.), and passed both the National Board and the State Board exams with flying colors. I now need to find a place for all of my books and this:

It's my brother's head I sculpted from clay. It started out as a plastic skull.
I really like the ears!

I feel that all of my life's experiences have culminated into this profession. From playing in a cemetery next to my grandparent's house when I was little, to trying to find out everything I could about planning a funeral when I was in Jr. High so I wouldn't be "taken advantage of" by a shifty funeral director in a moment of anticipated grief, to going to school for English/Education/Technical Writing, to marrying a minister (remember, he's not one of THOSE types of ministers), to having experiences with various types of losses...everything clicked together as if part of a great puzzle.

I have learned, seen, and done so very much during this time. I've met some really great people (and a few not so great) along the way. I still can't believe I'm done!

I am a funeral director!

Anniversary

We've been married for 19 years. It doesn't seem possible. I don't feel that old!

Loralei's Spaghetti Pie

Since my friend told me she could make spaghetti, I thought that my “Spaghetti Pie” would be a good choice for my first recipe. Leftovers heat up nicely in the microwave.

Loralei’s Spaghetti Pie

8 oz. spaghetti (I use angel hair.)
2 Tablespoons butter
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 well beaten eggs
24 oz. container of cottage cheese (I prefer small curd.)
1 lb. ground turkey (I suppose you could use ground mammal meat.)
2 Tablespoons minced onion
3/8 teaspoon salt
dash of ground black pepper
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
2 to 3 teaspoons of Italian seasoning (this is a pre-mixed blend of dried herbs)
½ teaspoon garlic powder
6 oz. can tomato paste
8 oz. can tomato sauce
Mozzarella cheese (for top)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cook spaghetti according to directions on box. Drain. In a medium sized bowl, combine beaten eggs, hot spaghetti, butter, and parmesan cheese. Toss so that the spaghetti is coated. Place in a greased casserole dish, and press pasta down slightly.

Place ground turkey and onion in a medium skillet. Cook turkey over medium heat, breaking it into small pieces, until no pink remains. (Drain if needed.)

Add salt, pepper, sugar, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, tomato paste, and tomato sauce to the turkey and onion. Simmer until sauce is hot. Set aside.

Spread cottage cheese over noodle layer.






Top with sauce.





Bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and top with mozzarella cheese.



Return to oven and bake until hot and bubbly and cheese is melted, approximately 20 minutes more. Remove from oven and let stand for about 10 minutes.

My Tips
If possible, open both ends of the tomato paste can. That way, you can remove the top lid and push the bottom lid up, which will push the paste out of the can—and you don’t have to scrape out that narrow little can!

Rinse out the tomato sauce can with a little water and dump it in with the rest of the sauce.

When adding herbs, spices, or salt it’s always easier to add more than to correct too much. If YOU are going to eat it, season it to YOUR taste.

If you make the sauce without the turkey (keep the onion) and add 8 oz. of water (or one tomato sauce can full), it makes a pretty good homemade pizza sauce. It will cover 2-3 pizzas.

Welcome!

Welcome to Life with Loralei!

One cool and windy night, I was in a rather rapid Facebook posting exchange with a friend when divine inspiration took place. My friend, who will remain nameless unless she "outs" herself, can't cook. I can, and I love it. Since we live too far apart, I can't have her over and help her down the road of culinary mastery. I thought that perhaps I could have some cooking lessons via a blog. I plan on starting out with some pretty basic things, as she confessed to setting things on fire when she tried to bake (and she wasn't trying to brulee anything at the time). Yes, I know there should have been an accent in brulee, but I don't know how to do that with this blog thingy...yet. It won't be long before she'll be cooking up a storm (and the fire department won't need to be alerted)!

So that was the inspiration. However, I also plan on using this space as an outlet for my verbosity (I'm sort of infamous for my lengthy typing and love of e-mails) and sharing some of my...well...LIFE! After all, it IS in the title. Besides, I should take pictures of something other than my cat.

Thank you for stopping by, and I hope that you enjoy your visits. (If you have any suggestions/requests as to what I should cook, please let me know!)