Thinking of Ben, my friend at work gave us some deer baloney. Thanks, Tammy! Once Ben laid eyes on it in the fridge, I knew he would remain agitated until we had a plan for its consumption. That Saturday morning, like usual, he began clamoring for “special breakfast.” What is “special breakfast,” you ask? Well,…
Category: Life With Ben
We’re Off to See the Wizard!
The CTL’s production of The Wizard of Oz this weekend was amazing! As the wizard, Ben felt a wizard cake was in order. What is a wizard cake, you ask? Whatever your answer is, yes, you’re right. It was the first thing I could think of to say when Ben wanted to be feted with…
A Date With Bacon
Ben and bacon. Can you think of a better match? I can’t! This week, Ben suggested breakfast for dinner: biscuits with sausage gravy, and scrambled eggs. To his great delight, I beat him to the bacon punch, and suggested we add bacon-wrapped dates to the menu. On Christmas, his cousins made dozens of these for…
The Ramen Approximation
When Sophia struck off on her own adult life after college, I made her a cookbook including recipes I knew she loved. One of the recipes I included was something I called “The Ramen Approximation,” and it included notes for a new cook about the most efficient way to produce something ramen-ish that tastes way…
Present Tense
Phil, the historian’s son, could be said to be a man of the past, constantly accumulating knowledge and artifacts from earlier times. As a teacher, I not only plan for the future, I shape it. But, Ben? Ben is all in on the present. Sure, he remembers any good meal or time he ever had…
My Associate
The past week has been rough. First, I got sick and stayed in bed coughing, staring, and dripping for five days. Two days in, Phil succumbed. According to our tests, it wasn’t Covid, but it sure wasn’t pleasant either. While I was at the height of misery, Ben happened to be home due to weather,…
Church Pew
The yuletide season is upon us and I should tell you a lovely Christmas story. Instead, I’ll tell you what could be a chapter in a book called Ben’s Church Antics. It must have been about ten years ago that our family put on a spontaneous Christmas pageant of sorts, and it is time to…
Old Seoul
If you are waiting to see how the whole cannoli thing from last week worked out, skip to the end. If, however, you are interested in Korean, Mexican, Hawaiian, and Mennonite cultural appropriation (can one appropriate her own culture?), then you’d best read straight through. This week, Ben asked for Taco Tuesday. I confirmed that…
Cannoli Crime and Punishment – A guessing game for our readers
We did not have cannolis for dessert this week. In fact, I’m pretty sure that nobody in the family has had a cannoli for years. Why? We have a family secret: a tale of cannoli shame and regret. If you were to hear three cannoli tales, could you ferret out the real one? Tale #1…
Meach
When Ben was very young, just learning to speak, he created his own contraction to use when presented with any culinary choice. The word is “meach” and it means “some of each.” This year, our Thanksgiving holiday embodied the spirit of meach. As usual, people began arriving late Wednesday afternoon. Ben and I made chicken…