While I have never actually been to beauty school,  I clearly would have been a drop out.  I love being a feminine female and getting dressed up from time to time it’s true.  But since I changed careers from entertainment to the food business I don’t get the opportunity very often anymore.  And when I do it’s tough since I own very little in the way of make up and fancy clothes.  But one thing I do for a treat is get my “hair did.” And though my hair has had many different styles over the years, as evidenced by this video taken at my son’s wedding, the color has pretty much been the same.

Though a “toe head” blonde as a child, I eventually grew up to be an auburn brunette.  I always thought that I looked a bit out of place in California with light blue eyes, pale skin and darkish hair. Then I went to Ireland and fit right in.  But even when I lived in California I never had a desire to go blonde.  And when I started to get grey hairs and my friends and even my hair dresser urged that going lighter would help to conceal the grey, I resisted.  I think, like many things,  it stems from my childhood.

My mom was what you would call a bottle blonde.  A bleached platinum blonde.  But because we were poor she couldn’t go to the hairdressers.  So she did a DIY deal at home, late at night, while she was in the bath.  But she would call me in during the wee hours to get to the back of her head that she couldn’t reach.  I did the best I could with my little girl hands, but I never liked it.  It was the way it smelled and the fact that it hurt my fingers, since we didn’t have rubber gloves.  And I would usually get teased when I went to school the next day.  Not from the dark circles under my eyes from being kept awake because of the bathroom beauty salon, but because my fingers would literally be burned white…like this…well actually this pic is pretty tame, but I didn’t want to gross you out too much!

When your fingers are in pain it makes it hard to eat and I love to eat!  I  would wish that I could eat things on a stick as I figured I could hold it in the palms of my hands.  But since that didn’t happen I said, someday I’m gonna grow up make every food I can on a stick!  Okay, well maybe I don’t make everything on a stick these days, but the few things I do are pretty cool!  In fact for one of my cooking classes I did an entire menu of “foods on sticks” which when you think about it is pretty handy for entertaining, no forks, knives or spoons to clean. And even the film “There’s Something About Mary”  had a memorable scene about the topic.

Now, when I go to the hairdressers for a root color touch up (NOT blondie, as you now know why) I like to take the girls a little treat.  They barely get time to have lunch and so I figure that a goodie on a stick would be a safe bet.  Not that they have bad bleach burn fingers from working on their clients, as they of course use gloves.  But just for the ease and novelty of it!

And for some of the girls that want to take their treats home I make sure they are all wrapped up pretty in pink!  These treats are easy to make and likely most people have made Rice Krispie Treats at some juncture.  The only difference here is that, you guessed it, it goes on a stick!   If you are so inclined you can also dip in melted chocolate or melted color candy drops and put sprinkles on top like I have.  You probably know the recipe by heart, but just in case here goes…

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 package (10 oz., about 40) JET-PUFFED Marshmallows OR 4 cups JET-PUFFED Miniature Marshmallows
• 6 cups Kellogg’s® Rice Krispies® cereal
• Wooden popsicle sticks

DIRECTIONS

1. In large saucepan melt butter over low heat. Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.

2. Add KELLOGG’S RICE KRISPIES cereal. Stir until well coated.

3. Using buttered spatula evenly press mixture into 13 x 9 x 2-inch pan lined with parchment paper (wax paper). Cool. Cut into 2-inch squares.  Put a wooden popsicle stick in one end. Drizzle with melted chocolate and sprinkles if desired.

MICROWAVE DIRECTIONS: Though I don’t own a microwave, this is an easy hack!

In microwave-safe bowl heat butter and marshmallows on HIGH for 3 minutes, stirring after 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Follow steps 2 and 3 above. Microwave cooking times may vary.

Note

-For best results, use fresh marshmallows.

-1 jar (7 oz.) marshmallow crème can be substituted for marshmallows.

-Diet, reduced calorie or tub margarine is not recommended.

-Store no more than two days at room temperature in airtight container.

-To freeze, place in layers separated by wax paper in airtight container. Freeze for up to 6 weeks. Let stand at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving.

 

So whether you are a natural blonde, or not so much, someone young, or not so much, you can still enjoy these treats on a stick, very much.  And sharing is always a good thing too!  Sharing is caring!

Beautiful Marshmellow-y Love!

YDP

As I have shared with you already, I’ve been doing some cooking tutorials on Snapchat.  Though I do have fun, my lack of tech skills get in the way of succinctly demonstrating the recipes.  So yesterday my hubby kindly filmed me while I made some gorgeous Posh Nosh Nibbles!  Bacon Wrapped Dates with an amazing Balsalmic Reduction Sauce.  Watch this space, as I will soon announce that the Yankee Doodle Paddy Youtube Channel has launched.  But let’s just say it was a nice change to be able to use both hands as opposed to holding my iPhone in one as I video for snapchat, while trying to stir with the other hand.  Besides the fact that many of you don’t have a snapchat account so haven’t been able to see the tutorials I have been posting, and the videos disappear after 24 hours.

I wanted to do a very simple recipe for the first properly filmed cooking demo.  I use the word cooking liberally here.  It is really more about prepping.  But that is actually what I like about this recipe.  These super duper delicious Bacon Wrapped Dates are the perfect nibble to have for a night in watching Downton Abbey with the girls, a Saturday afternoon bite for a binge fest with Netflix, or a “kick off your Sunday Shoes” sit down and splurge on Sky sports.  It is posher than popcorn and nicer than nachos, the usual go-to for some easy make at home snacks.  Though this is a fancy looking treat to present, it is so simple to make it you’re not put off from pulling it together.  And the good news is you only need six ingredients!

And six got me thinking of the Six degrees of Separation. There is a sociological theory that states any two people are only six steps away from one another by a connection through another person or sets of people.  Of course, in Ireland it is probably only two degrees of separation.  I’ll never forget when I was at the Ballymaloe Cookery School and noticed how every chef by the end of the three month course had figured out how they were connected to each other.  Either their cousin dated the other one’s brother, or their moms went to primary school together, or their aunt worked for the other’s grandad etc, etc, etc.  It is funny about that with Ireland how everyone knows everyone.  And also why people have to look over their shoulder a bit when they are gossiping.

Once I told an Irish co-worker that I loved the fact that in Ireland men appear to be so loyal to their spouses.  Coming from LA, and specifically Hollywood, where they practically give awards to men who cheat the most, it was refreshing to live in a place where men weren’t ogling women.  I didn’t hear cat calls, and didn’t see lecherous men craning their heads around when a woman walked past them.  My friend politely stopped me during my diatribe and said, “Oh it’s not that they don’t think about it, it’s just that Ireland is so small, they would be found out for sure!”

Back to the Six Degrees of Separation, and more specifically Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.  This made up mockery of the original social scientific theory was all the rage a few years back. Though I made my living in the entertainment business I never actually took much notice of it until today.  This game basically dissects the fact that most people who work in Hollywood are somehow connected to Kevin Bacon (of Footloose fame).  Kevin Bacon himself has a score of 0 since he is the source.  While I have never worked with him personally  (therefore I am ineligible to have a score of 1) I have worked with people who have worked with him.  For instance, both Meg Ryan and Elisabeth Shue worked with me during my years filming the Burger King commercials as counter girl  (funny enough one of those I did was promoting a bacon double cheese burger).  Since they have worked with Kevin Bacon  I guessed I was only 2 degrees away from him.  But there is actually a website that can determine your ranking without you having to actually figure it out yourself.  It is called the Oracle of Bacon.  I literally just discovered it today and put my name in several times and got results that I didn’t even expect.  I am indeed a 2, which I already knew, but this has so many other actors that I didn’t realized connected me to Kevin Bacon.  Here are only a couple of the many results…

If you are a hard and fast rules person you only stick to feature film connections for this game.  No television shows, no tv commercials, no stage plays etc.  So that is why though I can keep my score at a 2,  I’m not supposed to connect through Meg Ryan or Elisabeth Shue.  Only through films that I have acted in can I be connected.

But I was thinking about it and I am actually connected to Kevin Bacon in so many other ways I could go on for days!  But I will just give you a few examples:  As I shared with you before, I had Tom Cruise over to my house for dinner and they were in a movie together called A Few Good Men, which also starred Jack Nicholson (whose grandsons were in my class when I taught preschool), Barry Levinson was the director of a movie I was in called Wag the Dog, and he also directed Kevin Bacon in one of his early successes called Diner.   Kevin Bacon was in the film Apollo 13, which my daughter sang on the soundtrack.  And he was in a movie with the actress Anne Archer, whose son was a childhood friend of my son and they played ice hockey together.

But the reason I should really get a score of 1, if not for the rules, was that I actually hung out with Kevin Bacon on the night of his Footloose film premiere.  At the time he was dating a lovely girl named Tracy Pollan (who went on to marry Michael J Fox) and we had an intimate post premiere gathering at the home of the director of the film Mr. Herbert Ross.  It was amazing to see this young actor so humbled by the fabulous response to the film, and so shy that he was happy to retreat into a quiet night of champagne and nibbles with a few folks.  I was lucky to have been there.  And I think the only thing missing from that night, were some of my posh nosh nibbles,  Kevin Bacon Wrapped Dates!   And without further adieu, I shall let the red velvet curtains, like in the movie theater, slowly draw open to reveal the recipe…

Ingredients:

1. Pitted Dates
2. Goat Cheese
3. Bacon Slices (streaky bacon)
4. Toothpicks (soaked in water)
5. Balsamic Vinegar
6. Brown Sugar

Gently cut open the pitted dates and place a small bit of cheese  inside (you can also use Blue Cheese or any other you desire).  Wrap a slice of bacon around the date and secure with a toothpick.  Place with the seam side down in a parchment lined baking tray.  Bake in a 200 C/400 F oven until the bacon is completely cooked, approx. 20 mins depending on the size of the dates. You can also substitute dried figs for the dates if you prefer.  And you can use turkey bacon if you don’t eat red meat.  For non dairy folks, use a whole almond inside each date instead of the cheese before you wrap with the bacon.   While the bacon wrapped dates cook, make the balsamic reduction sauce (instructions below)

** Note: The quantities in this recipe are left blank deliberately. You make what you need. If you buy a pound of bacon it is usually 12 slices, and most packages of dates come with 12 dates. Goat cheese is a standard package of approx 6 oz (158 g) and that is what I used to make 12!  But you can adjust depending on how many you want to make which can be four or four hundred if you are having a whopping film premiere party!

To make the balsamic reduction: Combine 1 cup/8 oz of balsamic vinegar and 2 Tbsps brown sugar in a small pan over medium high heat and bring up to a bubbling boil.  Reduce heat to medium and cook until the liquid has reduced by half and is thick and syrupy, about 10 minutes. This sauce is also great drizzled on a Caprese Salad (tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and fresh basil leaves).

So give this recipe a whirl, and while you do so, pop on the song from Footloose and spin around your kitchen a bit for an ‘old school’ fun dance party!  And I’ll end with some of its wisdom..

“Deep way down in your heart
You’re burning yearning for some
Somebody to tell you
That life ain’t passing you by
I’m trying to tell you
It will if you don’t even try

You can fly if you’d only cut loose, footloose”

And maybe you can bop around with me while watching this little tutorial!

Lovin and cuttin you loose!

YDP

 

I woke this morning with 90’s tunes in my head!  It was strange because they were flying at me from one song to the next…Rumpshaker, No Diggity No Doubt, This Is How We Do It, Regulate, and Motown Philly…and it got me thinking two things.  Of course the first was food related!

I had some fig and walnut bread and some fresh figs so I decided to create a brunch theme around them.  For the baked french toast I made a batter of eggs, milk, vanilla, and cinnamon.

Then I roasted some fresh figs in butter and maple syrup. Absolutely beautiful!

 

Besides being a gorgeous looking fruit, figs have so many health benefits.  They are high in fiber, so they are good for digestion.  They have loads of calcium and potassium which are essential for strong bone density.  And they are naturally sweet, though adding a touch of maple syrup just helps to make them nice and gooey!

End result, schamazing!  I topped it with some natural Greek Yogurt and toasted nuts.  I served it with a side of bramley apple sausages, and well, let’s just say my hubby and I are both still in a food coma!  And I even shared a bit with Stella the Pretty Pit!  She was making this face while we were listening to the TLC song, I’m Figgin on You!  Okay, well, we might have changed the lyrics just a bit to go with our theme!   Oh, and I did a little music accompanied tutorial on snapchat (user name blissbakery).

Besides the food, the 90’s tunes got me thinking about all the times I took my kids to concerts in that decade.  One of the benefits of being a young mom I guess, but we loved going to hear live music together and still have fond memories.  It started in September of 1990 when I took my then eight year old daughter to see New Kids on the Block at Dodgers Stadium.  I bought floor seats, the most expensive ones available.  It was part of her birthday gift so I wanted it to be special.  But everyone was standing and we couldn’t see a thing!  So I put her on my shoulders and then stood on my chair.  Not so safe looking back now!  But she was able to see the whole show and loved every minute of it.  Sleeping on her New Kids’ pillowcase that night was all the more sweet!

We also went to see Debbie Gibson, Janet Jackson and Smashing Pumpkins just to name a few.  But one concert in particular was most memorable, but for other reasons.  It was an outdoor concert at the Irvine Amphitheater in the O.C.   It was an hour south from where we lived in LA.  It was at the height of Boyz2Men’s success so they were the featured act, but Montell Jordan and TLC were also on the bill.  Sadly, TLC cancelled at the last minute due to health issues of one of the members.  My daughter was so bummed because they were her favorite band at the time and their song, “Waterfalls” was at the top of the charts.  But the place was packed and the crowd enjoyed the show nonetheless.  Maybe a bit too much.

At one point during the show, my son, ten years old at the time, blurted out, “What’s that smell, did someone let the horses in?”  What he didn’t know was that “someone” was smoking marijuana.  Since I grew up in a house with people who did that, I knew that what we were smelling at the concert wasn’t a stampede of horses!  I politely let our concert going neighbors know that ours was a family outing.  Ah, hello! Ahem!

Situations like those only provide us parents an opportunity to talk about some major life’s lessons .  Just not until the End of the Road after the concert.  I still prefer my highs to be sugar highs, truth be told.  So I’m gonna be Getting Figgy With It and sign off for now to enjoy some more figliciousness!

With big fig love,

YDP

ps. It has been brought to my attention that apparently there are technical difficulties (surprise, surprise) with my blog.  When I post the content on my laptop computer everything looks swell.  But from what I’ve been told, the photos look wonky on a mobile device.  Okay, ‘scuze me!  I’m a “special needs” computer person at best.  I will see what I can do about it, but I really appreciate your understanding in the meantime.

 

Most Irish families would have relished the fact that at least one member was in the religious life.  A particularly proud moment for an Irish Mammy would be the ordination of her son as a priest.  And there would be the requisite celebration.  Of course if it happened to be on a Friday, well tradition would also dictate that fish be on the menu.

While I don’t have anyone from the “religious orders” in my immediate family, I almost did.  The story goes that my mom had unusual means of disciplining us children.  Sometimes she would make us go out for a run.  Maybe to burn off a little energy?  One time, though, my brother and I veered off into an apartment complex with a pool.  We just stared into the glistening water.  It was a gorgeous sunny California day (like usual) and the cool water was very tempting.  My bother happened to be wearing his roller-skates (trying to avoid the dreaded punishment run, he opted to pop on some wheels).  And he being the ‘lil devil that he was, dared me to push him in to the pool.  And I did.  But the old fashioned skates had metal wheels.  And so he began to sink.  No joke!  I screamed for my life, and luckily the residents came to help and he survived.  Needless to say, I don’t take people up on dares anymore.

So my mom opted that for future disciplinary measures she would separate us.  She had my brother run around the block solo (sans skates) and have me run in our backyard.  It was actually quite a long and narrow backyard.  But one day in particular, I think she forgot I was back there running.  My brother had done his stint around the block and was back inside having a cool drink watching cartoons.  And because I was obedient, I kept running.  And running.  And running.  I was waiting for her to come outside and say enough was enough. But she never did.  This went on for hours.  I finally collapsed at the back door and with the little strength left in my eight year old body I reached up and knocked as hard as I could.  When she opened the door, she looked down and said, “Oops, I forgot you were still out here”.  I could hear my brother snicker a sinister laugh from inside.  I suppose it was his way of getting back at me from the near drowning pool incident.

Finally my mom resorted to sending us to church when we were out of line.  Out of line usually meant we were just doing the sibling rivalry thing, nothing too off the charts.  The punishment was that we were supposed to walk to church and pray about what we had done wrong.  It was only 2 miles away, but it felt much longer at the time.  On one day in particular, just after arriving inside the doors of St. Columban’s Catholic Church,  my brother asked me if I wanted to go to confession.  I hadn’t done my catechism classes so I didn’t know what that was.  But he, being a couple years older than I,  told me what to do.  He gave me all the instructions and guided me into the confessional telling me he’d wait outside.  It was a bit daunting, but I thought my mom might be happy that I was remorseful enough that I would be doing this.  After I received absolution, I exited the confessional to find my brother standing there laughing hysterically.  Like, doubled over laughing.  I got scared because I knew we weren’t suppose to talk above a whisper let alone laugh in church.  He finally admitted that he played a joke on me and that he was actually pretending to be the priest inside the confessional.   When we walked back home I burst into the house and announce, “Mom guess what, I went to confession, and Kenny was the priest!”  And so my mom said, “That’s it, Kenny, go back to church!”

So in honor of Father Kenny that was ne’r a figment of my imagination, I am sharing a fish inspired recipe.  So at least we can do one thing properly today, by not eating meat on a Friday!  It even has a black and white color accompaniment, like clerical clothing.  It’s a gorgeous Black Olive Tapenade Crusted Salmon.  And to top it all off, today is Ireland’s National Potato Day!!!!  Whoo HOO!  So I am making a beautiful potato+ cauliflower mash.  I call it Potat-iflower Puree!  But the secret ingredient is none other than my all time favs, Kerrygold’s Butter and Dubliner Cheese!!  And of course my chef’s assistant! I’ll have the demo up on Snapchat (user name blissbakery) if you want to see it.

Crusted Salmon with Black Olive Tapenade on Potat-iflower Puree

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4 fillets of salmon

1 cup of Fresh or packaged bread crumbs

For the Tapenade:

100 g pitted black olives such as Kalamata Olives

1 medium clove garlic

2 Tbsp capers

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 Tbsp finely chopped parsley

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

For the Potat-iflower Puree:

1 pound potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces

Salt

2/3 cups whole milk, divided

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) Kerrygold butter, divided

2 ounces coarsely grated Dubliner’s Cheese (about 1/2 cup packed)

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

½ head cauliflower, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces, including stems and core

2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed

 

To prepare the tapenade, just combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and blitz until a coarse paste is formed. Set aside

Prepare the Potat-ilower puree by putting potatoes and 2 teaspoons salt in a large heavy saucepan and generously cover with cold water (about 2 1/2 quarts). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, until potatoes are tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

While potatoes are boiling, heat about 1/3 cup milk and 2 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan until butter is melted and milk is hot but not boiling. Keep warm off heat, covered.

Drain potatoes well in a sieve or colander and return to hot saucepan. Add milk mixture, ½ cup Dubliner Cheese, and pepper, and mash with a potato masher until smooth consistency. Season with salt and keep warm, covered.

Bring a pot of well-salted water to a boil, then add cauliflower and garlic and simmer until cauliflower is very tender, 13 to 15 minutes.

Drain cauliflower in a colander and pulse with remaining 1/3 cup milk, 1/2 cup Dubliner’s Cheese, and 2 tablespoons butter in a food processor until it’s a purée.

Stir together mashed potatoes and cauliflower mixture in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside and keep warm

Preheat oven to 180 C/350 F. Line baking tray with parchment paper. Place salmon fillets in tray and season with a little salt and freshly ground pepper.

Spread a spoonful of the black olive tapenade evenly on each salmon fillet. Sprinkle with the bread crumbs. Bake in the oven for 15 -20 minutes until done

To serve, place a generous scoop of potat-iflower puree on the plate and gently top with the crusted salmon fillet. Garnish with some lovely petite pois and blistered cherry tomatoes.

 

I’m sure we all have funny stories from our childhood.  Likely even as adults when we get together we reminisce about them.  And this story is our family’s “go-to” and we still tease my brother about his priestly moment in the sun.  But I would encourage any of you reading this to actually take time to write your own stories down somewhere, somehow, someday, and someway.  It doesn’t have to be a blog like this, but in a notebook, or you can make a video of it.  Only today I ran across an old article online about the Importance of Telling Our Stories.  Maybe because of my Irishness, but I am excited by stories.  The Emerald Isle inhabitants defo have the gift of the gab and have endowed the world with using the tip of the pen to put the wit of its men (and women) onto paper.  Other cultures such as the Africans take great pride and pleasure in the tradition of storytelling.  However, all of this is getting harder to do so in a society that won’t read anything with more than 140 characters in it (think twitter).  So if not for anyone else, do it for yourself. Think of writing your story as entering into your own private confessional!

With love and laughter,

YDP

 

 

 

 

Okay,  so you’re probably thinking, what is this for a blog post title?  First off, I won’t be in the kitchen today so there is no “recipe” in front of the title.  Second,  I chose this funny title for the post because I just wanted to show how far I have come in the “tech” world.  I now know all about hashtags (#)!  And this one has to be one of my all time favs!  It is an acronym for Random Act of Kindness.  And if you have been under a rock for the past few years I’ll break it down for you.

Random:  made, or occurring without definite aim, reason, or pattern

Act: thing to do or be done; deed; performance

Kindness:  to be considerate, helpful, benevolent

By themselves, the definitions don’t really say much.  However joined together they are words that become a phrase that become a life changing event.  In essence this ground swell societal movement has been one of the most wonderful things I have witnessed in my time on earth.  And with the ‘plague like’ permeation of social media, even to the far reaches of the globe,  the movement has been supercharged!  Though I’m  a late joiner to snapchatown, twitterlands, and instgramville this is my kind of social media phenomenon.

I have been practicing this philosophy of giving to others since I was a child.  It is one of my purposes in life, to do for others.  And the more spontaneous the better.  It can be as simple as putting money in someone’s parking meter before it expires.  Though parking wardens (police) are figuring out ways to stop that by installing new high falutin parking meters.  But still, you can help someone in other ways like opening a shop door if their hands are full, giving a homeless person a hot cup of coffee and a scone, visiting a senior center and spending time just having a chat, or simply smiling and looking in the eyes at the person at the supermarket check out . Ultimately, it is about heartfelt human interaction.

While I have done all of those things, there are a couple of memories I have of helping others, strangers, without any strings attached, that have left my heart full long after the act was done.  The first time was when I was  in college.  On day one of an early American history course the professor announced he needed a volunteer to take notes for one of the students. She was hearing impaired, but had a sign language interpreter there to relay the professor’s lecture.   She couldn’t take notes because she had to stay focused on the interpreter.  I wanted to raise my hand but I was nervous to volunteer because of my limited computer skills.  It meant I would not only have to type up the notes, which wouldn’t have been too bad, but I had to send them as an attachment through email. Yikes!   Thank God my son, who was in high school at the time, had just taught me how to email an attachment!  In spite of my reluctance I decided to do it because it wasn’t about me and my lame lack of computer savvy, she was the one who really needed help.  So I did this every lecture, twice a week for an entire sixteen week semester.  Then the following year, I happen to have her brother in another class and as he was also hearing impaired I offered to do the same for him. Though I never saw them again, I still have their sweet email responses from all the times I sent the notes.  And I didn’t get extra credit from the teacher, mind you.  But I sure knew the class material super well!  And that helped with my grades!

Another time was when I went to church one day for some quiet prayer.  It wasn’t my normal parish church, but when I passed it I was compelled to go in.  Once inside I noticed only one other person there.  A woman was up near the sanctuary praying very fervently and though her back was to me I could actually hear her tears.  When she finally came down to sit in the pew, just the two of us alone in this church, I asked her if she was okay.  We began a lovely and tender conversation.  She was a widowed mom of six children and all of them were back in her home country of Tahiti.  She couldn’t support them on her wages as a hotel housekeeper there, so she moved to America to help care for an elderly woman.  Her kids were being looked after by her own mother and sisters, and through sending money, they were able to attend schools and were doing fine.  But she missed them so much.  Talking to them once a week and a text here and there just didn’t provide the physical needs a mother has for her children.  She hadn’t been home since she left eight years earlier and prayed that her eldest daughter, old enough now to travel, could come visit her.

I was crying listening to her story.  As a mom myself, I could relate to that feeling of desperately wanting to touch your kids and hug them.  I was overwhelmed with emotion and offered to help by giving her airline miles to fly her daughter over to LA.  If you can only imagine her response!  I think the folks driving by on the street with their windows up could have heard her!  I went home and started to book things, and then realized I didn’t have enough miles to cover the flight.  But I didn’t want to let her down, and so I actually paid for the ticket myself.  I knew in my heart from experience that money comes and money goes, but the joy that she would experience by being with her daughter would last in her heart forever!

She insisted  I meet her daughter when she visited.  A lovely girl who brought me little souvenirs.  We went to mass a couple of times and had a meal or two together.  Not long after we moved to Ireland.  I have never seen her again.  But every so often I get a text from her thanking me.  Or an email from her daughter thanking me.  And I thank God that, though it was a stretch for me financially,  I was able to help her.

I suppose an aspect of this challenge is that, it is a challenge. It could be monetary, or physical, or maybe going outside your comfort zone by talking with a stranger and sharing a smile is enough.  But when you do these things, the goodness comes back.  Not that you do them for any gain at all, but it is inevitable.

Even science confirms that being kind is good for your health!  The Irish Times just today has an article about the research findings.   And though kindness is contagious, it isn’t lethal!  They even have a #Raktivist group if you are so inclined!

While I love to do these acts of kindness myself as I said, I absolutely adore witnessing them. Last year in response to the wave of deadly dares on Facebook, the RAK challenge became a trend.  One night while working in the shop, a lady was about to buy food for her dinner, when another customer came up to the cash register/till and said, “Here’s my credit card, I’d like to pay for her.”  I think the lady was in a state of shock (as you can see by the picture) and I was so excited I almost burst into tears myself.  The lady who paid for the food shared that the night before someone had paid for her petrol/gas (which was about 60 euro) and the only caveat was that she had to do a random act of kindness within 24 hours.

I am inspired by some of my new Snapchat friends that are going out of their comfort zones to make a positive difference.  Fashion illustrator Holly Shortall is on a ferry as I write this heading to Calais, France to lend help with the Refugee crisis.  And Katrina Kelly is incorporating her give away Freebie Friday with a contest for her followers to do a random act of kindness and then snap it.

If this Random Act of Kindness movement had a theme song it would have to be Magic Penny.  It was one of my favorite songs to sing for my kids when they were little. The lyrics are:   

“Love is something if you give it away, give it away, give it away Love is something if you give it away, you end up having more. It’s just like a magic penny. Hold it tight and you won’t have any. Lend it, spend it and you’ll have so many They’ll roll all over the floor. For Love is something if you give it away, give it away, give it away Love is something if you give it away, you end up having more”

My hope is that you will make time in your day to spread the love!  And trust me you’ll end up having more!

Here’s to Random Acts of Kindness and love!

YDP

ps. Though I told Katrina I was exempting myself from her competition (I won another one of her Freebie Fridays a couple of weeks ago) I still wanted to do some #RAK.  So I shared some of my baked goods with several appreciative folks.  But the best was when I brought these roses to a local daycare/creche.  The teachers there were in shock that here was I, some strange Yankee Doodle Paddy lady, who just wanted to thank them for taking care of our most precious asset in this world, the children.

Today is the 33rd birthday of my first born, my daughter, Heather Ann.  This day forever changed my life.

I think becoming a parent is the most precious honor that could be bestowed on a human being.  In the olden days people might have had children as it was simply the thing to do.  No questions asked, everyone did it etc., etc.  I CHOSE to become a mommy.  It was my calling, my vocation, and also my healing.  It has brought me joy and yes at times pain.  But it is the single most rewarding thing I have accomplished in my fifty years on this earth!

As I have shared a bit before, I was abused and neglected as a child.  Being a parent didn’t bring joy to my mother, I don’t even know if she loved us kids.  But once she and my father got divorced things went from bad to worse.  She moved us to California, as far away from him as possible.  She became a drug addict who also dealt drugs to support her habit.  And though she didn’t want me, she needed me.  One of the ways was that (unbeknownst to me at the time) the money I made acting in TV commercials went into her pocket.  As well, even as a small child, I looked after the family, the cleaning, the cooking.  That is why becoming a mom at a young age wasn’t the least bit daunting for me.  I had been doing it already.  The irony, she was actually quite intelligent believe it or not.  And from what I was told, she won a scholarship to college.  But she didn’t go because in those days, most women got married and had children.  Even if they weren’t suited for it, as she wasn’t.

When I decided to become a mother at the tender young age of seventeen,  it was a natural and conscious desire, but also a subconscious need.  I realize now looking back that in a way I was able to heal through being a young mom by pouring my love and attention into my children.  I wasn’t what current pop culture seems to glorify of the  “Sixteen and Pregnant” variety.  I finished school, was married and had a career.  So starting a family filled that next and most crucial chapter.  But I didn’t want to repeat the sins of the mother, and the opposite of dysfunctional can also be dysfunctional.  So I read every book I could get my hands on that had to do with pregnancy, child development, and parenting.  I took classes and attended lectures on the topic.  I knew I wanted to break the proverbial cycle of abuse.  And I did prove to myself and others that it is possible to make a new way!  A good, happy and healthy way.

Of course, it wasn’t always easy.  My then husband was gone a lot.   In essence I was a single mom before the divorce.  And there were some that didn’t always have the most respect for a young mom.  In fact many thought I was the nanny, not the mommy.  Some wrongly assumed I was pregnant when I got married but in fact I wasn’t.  It was actually six months after the wedding that I got pregnant.

But because I was so young, I guess you could say I was able to relive my childhood.  I was growing up with my kids.   Even now I have the best memories of those times that my kids and I would literally go everywhere and do everything together.  People called us the “Three Musketeers”.  And though we are now living spread out around the globe, the times when we are able to be together are amazing and precious.  These days I love seeing the two of them navigate their adult sibling relationship and helping each other out when needed, it is very touching.

This past mother’s day Heather posted this pic of us (taken when we lived in New York) on her Instagram and wrote the most beautiful note.  “Happy Mother’s Day to the best mom in the whole entire world!  Thank you for everything you are and for everything you have done.  I am beyond blessed to have you in my life.”

Wow, okay, throat burning, tears in the eyes response for sure!  The thing is, I am blessed to have her in my life.  I have learned as much from her as she has from me.  My guess is most parents actually learn loads from their kids.  But they don’t like to admit it because of a fear of showing weakness.  Like “I’m the parent, I’m supposed to know it all” mentality.

I am grateful for all she is and all she has done.   In my daughter’s 33 years she has indeed made the world a better place.  She has worked as a social worker serving the most difficult communities with various disabilities.  She is currently getting her masters at U.S.C. (my son’s and my alma mater, yeah).  She is unbelievably smart, talented, hard working, creative, funny and beautiful.  She has a wonderful husband and together they have given me truly the best gift I have ever received, which is the gift of being a grandma (or “Amma” as they call me).  Since both my grandmas passed away before I was born, I didn’t know what to expect.  But I am blown away by of the amount of love I have for them.  And I am awe at what a wonderful mommy she is!  This photo (by Paper Tiger)  was taken this summer just after Hope was born joining big sister Harper…now I have three H’s to love!

So to honor Heather on her birthday, here is a recipe of a fav of hers,  a Cookies and Cream Cake.  I baked a multiplied version of the recipe for my daughter and son in law’s wedding (a mini three tier cake and 150 cupcakes).  As you can see from the pic at the top of the page,  it is laden with Oreo Cookies!  The color scheme for their wedding was black and white so it was perf.  And this pic of her as a seven year old in the black and white dress reminds me of this cake too!  All black and white and fluffy!  It was taken at the Miss Universe Pageant in Los Angeles where she was in a group of “little sisters” to the contestants.  And funny enough, she was paired with Miss Ireland!  So she was one of the original Yankee Doodle Paddy Peeps!

Ingredients:

½ cup (4 oz) unsalted butter, room temp

1 cup (8oz) whole milk

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 ¼ cups all purpose flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

½ tsp. salt

1 2/3 cups granulated sugar

3 large egg whites, room temp

1 cup OREO chocolate sandwich cookies (about 10) lightly crushed

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F/180 C degrees. Prepare baking tins by greasing/flouring 2 round cake tins  or if making cupcakes, insert paper liners into cupcake pan.
2. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy.
3. In a separate bowl sift together flour, baking powder and salt.
4. Slowly add egg whites to butter mixture, mixing well between each addition. Stop the bowl and scrape down the sides from time to time. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the milk to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until only a few streaks of flour remain. Stir in the crushed cookies until batter is evenly blended.
5. Fill the baking tins or cupcake liners. Bake for about 15 min for cupcakes and 25 mins for cake or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. For the cupcakes let cool in the pan for 5 minutes then remove to wire rack

 

For the frosting: This is enough for the cupcakes but you will need more to ice a whole cake

Ingredients:

2 sticks (226 g) unsalted butter, firm but not cold

1/8 tsp salt

3 ½ cups (350g) confectioners sugar, sifted

½ tsp vanilla

½ tsp milk

finely crushed Oreo cookie crumbs

In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat paddle attachment, beat the butter and salt on medium until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low, gradually add the confectioners sugar and beat until incorporated. Add the vanilla and milk and beat until smooth and creamy. Do not overmix or the frosting will incorporate too much air. It should be creamy and dense, like ice cream. Add additional milk, 1 tsp at a time if frosting does not have a spreadable consistency.  Spread frosting on top of cupcakes and then sprinkle with crushed cookie crumbs.**To have enough frosting to ice a whole cake, double the batch (for a 2 layer cake, and  spread frosting in middle and outside)

 

In keeping with the black and white/cookies and cream cake theme, I’ll let a line from the Michael Jackson song “Black or White” sum this whole thing up in a nutshell..

“…Now I Believe In Miracles
And A Miracle
Has Happened Tonight…”

…well at 10:45 at night, on that night of 29th of September, 1982, the miracle of a 9 pound baby Heather being welcomed into my grateful arms!

I love you Hun!

Mom (aka YDP)