A brief visit to Goshen and Jackson

Janice and I enjoyed a very brief visit with Mother, Don, Rachel, Evelyn, Alan and Eleanor, and the Linds this past week.  The after-lunch photo is hardly flattering, yet it is very natural.  It was good seeing Mother and Rachel looking well. 

On the way to the Detroit airport, we stopped in Jackson to visit with Frank and Lori.  We spent some time in their jewelry shop.  Customers came in, despite the unexpected dump of 5 inches of snow.  We drove during several whiteouts, which was no fun (or the wrong kind of fun).  Again, I took only one photo, but the food was delicious:  salmon done in a lovely mustard sauce freshly made, and stir fry veggies of all sorts.  The rich vegan pie came later.

In the beginning, the brothers said, "Let there be coffee!" And it was good!

Each part of each day of our 2010 Brothers Reunion began with or somehow included coffee. Interestingly, aside from our traditional trip to a fabulous ice cream farm (yes, farm), we never ate out. Since we prefer to do the cooking ourselves, this draws us into the general kitchen area, which means that at least one of us will think to ask, "Anyone care for coffee?"

Paul has spent decades discerning which outfit roasts the best beans to his satisfaction, exactly what measure of beans is required for the perfect pot, how to best grind the beans, etc. I have no idea how many bags of roasted beans were consumed, but they did the trick.

Alex was the sole male uninterested in coffee that weekend. Judging from how much he slept, he could have used a cup or two, but nevertheless, he kept a watchful eye on everything.


Paul either produced each and every pot, or taught yet another brother how to use the equipment at hand.

Paul was also ever ready to refill cups as might be required. After all, when two brothers are engrossed in on-line poker, there is obviously no time to get up and make coffee. As evening approached, we usually switched to decaf.


As 17th-century Londoners discovered, sipping excellent coffee is the perfect way to keep conversation flowing.


Occasional breaks were taken so that Mark could try to convince Frank to get a new camera (". . . and, it's a tax write-off!" . . . .)


And at times, one was simply forced to wait for the next pot to be brewed . . . .


Thanks for all the coffee, Paul!

We Brothers Rolling In Dough

A decade and two weeks passed since our inaugural brothers reunion held in Springfield, Ohio in the year 2000 at the home of Paul and Kay.  This July we came full circle back to Springfield to their welcoming home for another gathering with great fun and food along with time for some of the deeper stuff.  We want to recognize that Kay was instrumental in bringing about the first reunion, an important milestone, and graciously thank her for this invitation into their home again.  We were also very thankful that you had central AC on this particular weekend of blistering heat!

Here is a compilation of photos taken by various brothers as bread, cinnamon rolls (Mom's recipe) and yes, pasta was made.

 The yeast is good.

 Bruce made sure that no mistakes were made.

Frank possibly indicating that one loaf wouldn't be enough.

Okay... so instead of one oven busting loaf Paul made three.

Warm, aromatic and lightly toasted with cereal and fresh fruit.  A great way to start the day...




.........




...along with a dozen eggs and a pound each of bacon and sausage.  We are growing boys.

If you want a perfectly browned sausage Bruce would be the go-to guy.

Cinnamon Rolls

What is as sweet as the first day of Spring?  That would be Mom's cinnamon roll recipe rendered to perfection by brother Evan.  All it took was one of the brothers saying, "how about some cinnamon rolls?" to get the ball rolling.  Evan remembered that he'd posted the recipe on this very blog at an earlier date  (blogs do come in handy now and again) Paul had a freezer full of an assortment of flours and the rest is history.

The evening before.

Putting the goodies on the dough (a portion was raisin-less so Bruce wouldn't have to remove the pesky things).

The first two of four plates.

A close up of the goo before baking thanks to the miracle of macro photography.

YUM!

And Then There Was Pasta

I got a free hand-crank pasta machine many years ago and never used it although I'd threatened to on several occasions.  Over the July 4th weekend friends of ours, Emily and Tony Presti, came out to the house and I talked Emily into helping me make pasta.  She said the last time she'd helped she was 12 years old.  That was when her mother discovered there was pre-made pasta in the grocery store and never made it again.  It went okay so I figured we brothers could do it just to know the process and have a greater appreciation for the boxed stuff.  Anyway it felt like 100 degrees outside and we had a whole day to clean the kitchen should things go horribly awry.

Experienced flour-men, Bruce and Paul looking on bemused as Mark gets mired in "sticky finger syndrome".   They saw it coming.

Paul to the rescue, note my fingers but hey, my shirt is clean!

The process is going well.  Each two passes through the machine we went to a thinner setting then finally ran the sheets through the cutter side opting for a linguini shape. 

 Next time we'll make the dough even drier so separation by hand won't be required as much.  The new L.L. Bean mallet came in very handy.

Evan produced a lovely fresh tomato sauce and all was well.  I hope someone has a photo of the pile of steaks that Bruce and Frank grilled on the deck (mine a perfect medium rare as requested).  Local steamed corn,  cucumber from the garden and fresh mint tea made for a great dinner, with sparkling conversation of course!

Springfield, Ohio

I found some photos on my hard drive that were shot by Paul and Kay in 2005 when they hosted us at their home in Springfield, Ohio. I think the cherries indicate that it took place in June or thereabouts. We all had such a great time. This occurred before the We Five Brothers blog existed. I enjoyed looking at them so much that I thought I would share them on our blog. Nice shooting Paul and Kay!

Paul knows the sweetest fruit is near the top of the tree where they get the most sun.

Bruce's pot holder experiment goes horribly awry!

We Five Brothers

The best way to cool the feet.

The Steakmasters. They sure know how to grill a steak or twelve!

Three fifths of our better halves.

We brothers, seemingly giddy about going on a car ride. That's just what happens when we all get together.

Visiting Grandpa and Grandma in October

Toward the end of October, six of us were able to visit Goshen. Our official reason was celebrating Grandpa's 90th birthday. Obviously, we know that his birthday comes on December 30th, but I fear flying in December, the approach of the promised flu season, and customary snows and delays, so we decided to visit in October rather than December, which was just fine with Grandpa. He was amazed that he is reaching that milestone, for I doubt that many of his ancestors were so fortunate.

Grandma gets around beautifully in her power wheelchair, negotiating the hallways nicely. The chair is so obviously crucial if she is to visit Grandpa or go beyond the dining hall in her unit.





On Sunday morning, we met in Grandpa's room for church, which was being broadcast on Grandpa's new HD TV, a little birthday present from "We Five Brothers". We were pleased to see that he could operate it, listen to some football, and of course church.



Paul found the sermon particularly fascinating that morning.


The six of us visitors enjoyed a Sunday morning breakfast together in Dan and Anne's beautiful home. They were doing volunteer work in Woodstock, India but very graciously let us use their home in their absence. Since the brothers enjoy cooking together, this was a treat.








I believe this competitive game took place Thursday evening in Grandma' suite.


The worst draw possible:

Frank is visible through the windshield