Eight Years Later

I can remember exactly where I was and what I was doing that day. I live eight miles from our nation's capital and I grew up in Upstate New York.

On September 9, 2001, I was laying in bed with my husband and newborn baby and the phone rang. It was my mother-in-law and she said, "Turn on the news." I turned it on just in time to see the second plane crash into the second tower. I was devastated. My little brother lived in Tribeca, right down the street from there. Then, my husband's cell rang. It was my brother-in-law. He was driving through Arlington, VA just a few miles from my home through a small tunnel that passed the Pentagon. He said,"Oh my God. I think I just saw a plane crash into the Pentagon. I just came through the tunnel and there was a lot a smoke." I used to take the metro to work. I just quit my job to stay home with my new baby. The place where I would catch the train was in the Pentagon. I had probably sat next to some of the people that died that day.

When I was a little girl, my father owned a couple of businesses in New York City and when we would drive into the city my father would always say, "Look Baby. There they are (The Towers)!" You knew you were headed to the Big Apple and your adventure would be starting. They were the welcoming arms into that city.

All I can say is that I think about that time and how it affected me. I watched our President and the mayor of New York and the firefighters, law enforcement and our military and I was proud that in all of that chaos, I found strength in watching the love and pride of our nation pull together. I found a new love for my country.

God Bless us all.

Food for the Soul ... just in time to wash away the pain.

I've had an interesting week. One filled with a lot of new and old family drama which means it should be a spectacular writing week.

It's time to pick up all the piles of dirty laundry and chuck them out the door. Memories are like old clothes and I'm beginning to realize that maybe the best way to heal old wounds is by taking the junk I’ve stored away in the deep recesses of my mind and systematically go through all of it and organize it. What get’s thrown away? What do I keep? Why am I keeping it. Why have I held on to it? And why am I just finding it now after all of these years?

I had a very interesting conversation with my sister and realized that my mind had blocked out so many things that happened to me as a child. I don’t know why that happens to some people. Is it God’s way of protecting a child’s mind until they are strong enough to face things? What I do know is that for some reason, I’m seeing things clearly and am looking forward to remembering both the good and the bad things that have happened. Now let’s hope I have the courage to find my way to the wardrobe that holds the answers. I can see the light at the end of that tunnel.

It's time for something to lift the spirits. Get it right and it will be light and airy. Get it wrong and it might sink but will still be tasty in the end.

So this week’s recipe is:

GRAND MARNIER SOUFFLE with help from Cook.com

1 c. milk
4 eggs, separated
1 tbsp. Grand Marnier
1/3 c. flour
1/3 c. sugar
Dash of vanilla extract

Bring the milk to a boil. Mix flour, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla extract in a bowl. Pour the hot milk into the egg mixture while whisking it. Pour back into the pot and cook at low heat, beating with a spatula until thick and smooth.
Beat the egg whites until they almost have soft peaks, then add one tablespoon of sugar, continuing to beat until peaks form*.
Gently fold the batter into the egg whites, trying to deflate as little as possible.
Place about 2 tablespoons of the souffle mixture onto the top half of the crepes and lift lower half over it (1 fold made). Then fold again to form the crepe into quarters (second fold made.
Place them on a cookie sheet and bake them in a 400°F oven for 15 minutes.
Sprinkle some confectioners sugar over the crepes when they come out of the oven and serve.