Food Friday Returns!

Hi!  It’s been awhile since I posted a Food Friday hasn’t it?  I’ve been sick…and busy and well, my dishwasher was broken for 3 days, need I say more? #firstworldproblem

A little bit of catch up, here’s what I’ve been up to in recent weeks, besides hiding from SNAKES and such (ewwwwww) ..

*Dying.  No, I’m not exaggerating.  I felt like death basically beginning over Labor Day weekend until last Friday.  Super fun!  And then I made the mistake of going to the dr’s office on Tuesday after Labor Day.  Note to self:  NEVER go to the dr’s office/clinic the day after a long holiday weekend.  I spent 2 hours there for the dr to finally see me and tell me I was sick and old and prescribe me a plethora of pills and a knee brace.  Huh?   Apparently at 34 my knee and my immune system just aren’t what they used to be.  Somebody please get me some cheese with my wiiiiiiine.  Good news is I feel human again, GI Joe never got it, and the boys had it but bounced back quickly.  Bad news is Dakota has it and has it bad.  We’re all about the sharing.

*We had Ryder’s friends over 2 Friday nights ago for a belated birthday celebration.  Actually, it was just another ploy of his to stretch out his birthday week into a full month.  He’s one smart cookie.  Anyway, they had a blast and did the following:  watched GI Joe blow stuff up, played in a hay fort, shot and caught frogs in the pond, played in the treehouse, traipsed across the pasture with BB guns in hands like they were on a Davy Crockett expedition, ran from the llama, ate cupcakes that looked like hamburgers (Ryder’s choice), drank Butterbeer and played kickball in the yard.  Oh and they took home the following party favors;  a watermelon that they got to pick from our garden (seriously, they asked and then when I said yes they thought it was the coolest thing EVER!), a spent bullet (or is it shell? Clearly I have a lot to learn regarding ammunition still) from the gun GI Joe used to blow stuff up, really stinky/muddy shoes and socks from the pond and a smidge of hay fever.  You guys, do we know how to throw a party OR WHAT?!? They had a blast and apparently word has gotten around that the Koons Zoo is the place to PARTAY because Blade had friends at school asking when they could come over.  So we did it all again last week and already they’re requesting a return visit.  I love being the “place” where they want to hang out.  If we continue that through high school I’ll be happy and I will bake any number of cupcakes to ensure that that happens.

*I should also tell you that all this partying on Friday night landed Blade and I in the ER on Saturday afternoon.  He’s the one that built the hay fort in the barn for Ryder and his friends to play with and of course, because he’s Blade and a straight up hillbilly, he didn’t have a shirt on.  By the next day his back and shoulders looked like this!

Isn’t that pretty?!?  Not.  He didn’t itch as bad as you might think but was definitely uncomfortable.  We were worried it was chicken pox, which GI Joe cannot under any circumstances be exposed to, or a rash that would continue to get worse all weekend.  In the ER, he had to tell the dr. what he’d been doing the night before, “Well, I built a hay fort in the barn and then I got in the pond because you can catch frogs a lot easier if you’re IN it.”  The doctor looked at me and said, “Country kid huh?”  She determined it was some kind of bug that he had encountered while playing in the hay, probably hay fleas (EWWWWW) or some other such thing.  She told him, “I’d tell you not to play in the hay anymore but that’s probably useless so at least next time you play in the hay can you put on a shirt?”  A shot of Benadryl later and we were on our way. 

*Looking out my kitchen window down at the pond and discovering a NAKED Ryder toting his BB gun.  Buck naked…with a BB gun.  I took the most awesome picture of this that I will definitely be displaying at his graduation party and wedding reception wherein he is covering his goods with his gun.  It should almost be a hillbilly postcard. His reasoning for being naked at the pond?  “Little bug or fish things kept getting in my swim trunks.”   Right, so where do you think those bugs are going to target now that YOU HAVE NO CLOTHES ON?!?  Hello DIRECT ACCESS.  Honestly, I wish he had just an ounce of modesty, just an ounce.  Let’s hope he outgrows this no shame zero modesty phase before he’s in his teens.  Help us all.

*Oh and you know what else I did while I was dying?  Watched a lot of TV, which is highly unusual for me because unless there’s laundry to be folded or it’s late on a weekend night I cannot slow down enough to watch, with the exception of the Kardashians and now “Married to a Jonas” on Sunday nights, obvs.  Anyway, I’m somewhat ashamed to admit that I have now watched every episode to date of “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo”  .  Have you watched this?  How can this even be real?!?!?  It’s like a train wreck I just can’t turn away from.  I have to admit I am a sucker for thick southern accents but ummm, huh, just WOW.   On a more civilized note, I also spent a fair amount of time catching up with Blair, Tootie, Natalie, and Jo on the Facts of Life.  I forgot how much I LOVED that show.  And still do.   Quality television at it’s finest my friends.  Also, HOLY MULLETS.  You know what else makes you feel better when you’re miserable and sick?  HGTV, any and all shows.  The end.  I now want to move to Puerto Rico, Atlanta, GA, a lake in New Hampshire, and some weird city in Mexico that isn’t even near a beach but the houses were SO AMAZING and relatively inexpensive! 

And this drink I'm about to share with you?  This drink will cure whatever ails you.  OK, maybe not cure you but at least alleviate symptoms and give you a brief reprieve from miserableness (totally a word) and make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. 

My mom was never a coffee drinker but she had a mug full of this tea, called “Spiced Tea” every morning.  It was her coffee. I have no idea where it originated but there was always a mason jar full of it on our counter and when we were sick, especially, she’d make us some.  And now I do the same for my kids.  They call it “Special” or “Magic” tea and trust me, I’ve been making a lot of it in the past 2 weeks.  Since it’s that time of year, I feel like you should whip up a batch to have it on the ready should you or your loved ones feel a little sniffly or if you just need a warm, fuzzy, Vitamin C pick me up in the morning (afternoon or night). I also love it in the evening before bed, as long as I make it with decaf instant tea because yes, I'm a hundred and if I have caffeine after 5pm it keeps me up all night.  Either way, I suppose it's better for you than say, I Do I Do Wedding Cake Ice Cream.  Or heck, go wild and have it with your evening snack!.  You just need it in your life.

Spiced Tea

1 (9oz) jar of Tang-it's pretty much impossible to find a 9 oz jar of Tang anymore as it normally comes in a big container that's like 24 oz or something just buy that and do a little over a cup of Tang.  Look at that I just did math...kinda.

1/2 c. sugar

1/3 c. instant tea (decaf or reg)

1/2 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. ground cloves.

Mix it all together, store in an airtight container or jar.  To make a serving, 4 T (or spoon fulls) per one mug of hot water.  We usually put 4 healthy spoonfuls in a mug, then put water over it, stir, put in microwave for 1 min-1 1/2 min, stir again, add more water if after the foam dies down the mug isn't full.  Taste.  If it's watery add a little more Tang mix.  Enjoy.

I'm telling you this stuff is magic.  And if you don't like tea don't think you'll automatically hate this because it's alot more Tang than tea. Try it, you'll see. 

Have a great weekend!