The Magic of Cooking

We interrupt this discussion of all things magic to thank K, my darling Southern college buddy blogger. K has bestowed the honor of the Uber Amazing Blog onto me.



K, for those of ya'll who don't know her (and probably won't b/c her blog is private), is one of the coolest girls I know. She's smart, pretty, fashionable and would have intimidated the crap out of me at Baylor. She's got oodles of friends and a cute new boy she's dating, so it's a wonder she actually enjoys reading all my wacky stories. I'm honored, I truly am. I'm uber honored, in fact.

Update: If any of ya'll want an invite to K's blog, e-mail knf28@yahoo.com.

The Uber (synonym to Super) Amazing Blog Award is a blog award given to sites who:
~ inspires you
~ makes you smile and laugh
~ or maybe gives amazing information
~ a great read
~ has an amazing design
~ and any other reasons you can think of that makes them uber amazing!

The rules of this award are:
* Put the logo on your blog or post.
* Nominate at least 5 blogs that for you are Uber Amazing!
* Let them know that they have received this Uber Amazing award by commenting on their blog.
* Share the love and link to this post and to the person you received your award from.

The five Uber winners are:
1) Paula, for her ability to make me uber-crave French/ Italian Toast Pizza five days after she posts it
2) Grace, for her uber-love of cinnamon
3) Pumpkin, because she just went to pastry school away from her husband and family and needs some UBER cheering up.
4) Marji, because she's uber nice
5) Pam, for her uber delicious Mexican recipes that have me eating more tostadas than any girl who wants to fit in her jeans should...

And two UBER bonuses...

6) Linda, who needs some uberness after a family death
7) Katherine, who is always uber supportive with all my wacky stories

Thanks so much K! Ladies, congratulations!

And now, for more Bizzy and Sprinkles....

For the previous post of Kitchen Magic, read yesterday's post.
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Sprinkles grinned and waved her hand in the air. "The first thing you need to learn," she said, twirling a wooden spoon between her fingers, "is to love food."

Bizzy snorted. "I do love food," she said, looking down at her not-so-girlish figure and wincing. She hadn't picked up the best eating habits in college.

Sprinkles shook her head and wiggled the spoon at her. "No, you love fat and sugar and preservatives and feelings of comfort. You don't love food. If you loved food, you would relish the bite of an apple or the crispness of celery as a stalk broke. You simply pour a box of macaroni in a pot and eat it watching Sex in the City DVDs as you whimper about how your life is nothing like theirs."

As Bizzy's eyes widened, Sprinkles crinkled her nose. "I don't understand that show anyway," she wondered aloud, hopping on the spoon like a pogo stick. "It's just so....shiny." Sniffing in disgust, she waltzed across the cooktop as she danced with the spoon. Bizzy would soon learn kitchen fairies had a very short attention span. The only way to make them focus was to involve food.

Bizzy's cheeks burned and she looked down to the ground. "Is it that obvious?" she whispered. "Am I that pathetic? I must be the only Southern girl in the world who can't cook."

Sprinkles groaned and bashed her head into the microwave. Flour exploded from her hair and floated in the kitchen air.

"See, this is the problem," she moaned. "You're too busy stewing in your own pity party to make an actual stew! Who cares if you don't know how to cook? That's what you're here to learn!"

"But I only have a few days!" Bizzy wailed. "How can I learn to roast a turkey and mash the potatoes in that short of a time?"

Sprinkles sighed and cradled her face in her arms. "Kitchen fairy," she shouted in a muffled roar, banging the spoon into her head. "I'm a kitchen fairy. I just re-did a old kitchen into this new wondrous creation in front of you thirty minutes ago. What do I have to do to impress you, transport a chef here?"

Bizzy perked up. "Well, actually..."

"Do you know how rude and obnoxious professional chefs are to kitchen fairies?" Sprinkles howled. "Forget it." Bizzy's shoulders slumped and Sprinkles rolled her eyes. She opened the oven door and pulled out a pan of chocolate chip cookies. A blast of warm air hit Bizzy's face as the scent of warm chocolate filled the air.

"Were those baking when I got here?" she asked as Sprinkles placed the pan on the cook top, sliding closer to the warm cookies. Her mouth began to water.

"You really don't get this whole magic thing, do you?" Sprinkles snapped. She whirled around and held her hand out, standing protectively in front of the warm cookies. "Stop. You can't have one."

Bizzy's face twisted in a scowl. "Why not?" she snapped, looking mournfully at the cookies. "You can't eat all those yourself."

"Sure I could," Sprinkles countered. "I've eaten entire pies for snacks. That's not the point." She pulled a carrot from behind her glimmering wings. "Eat this."

Bizzy looked at the carrot in disgust. "Look," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "I know I gained a few pounds from stress eating, but I'm going on a diet right after Thanksgiving. A few cookies won't hurt me."

"This has nothing to do with your weight, you twit!" the fairy roared, slapping the carrot on the oven as the glasses in the cabinet rattled. "Just eat it!"

Bizzy sighed and took the carrot. She detested carrots and could normally only eat them with ketchup. Wrinkling her nose, she bit off the end and chewed. It was dry and bitter in her mouth, crunching in her ears as she chewed. She had never felt more like a horse in her life.

"What do you taste?" Sprinkles asked.

"A dry, nasty carrot," Bizzy answered, spitting the mouthful in the trashcan. She couldn't bear to swallow it.

Sprinkles raised her eyebrows and pulled a cherry tomato from a pocket of her dress. "Try this."

and tingled her sinuses. She spit it out in the sink and scraped her With a sigh, Bizzy popped the tomato in her mouth. The acidity of the juice burned her tonguetongue with her teeth, trying get the taste of her mouth. "That was really gross," she informed Sprinkles. "Give me a cookie now. I played your game."

The kitchen fairy rolled her eyes. "This is going to be harder than I thought," she muttered. "Close your eyes," she ordered.

Bizzy shook her head, but she closed her eyes.

"What do you smell?"

"Chocolate chip cookies that you're hoarding," she responded promptly.

Sprinkles sighed, trying to keep her temper in check. "What do you smell?" she repeated. "Don't answer, just smell."

Bizzy took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of warm cookies. She waited a minute and took another deep breath. This time, she smelled roasted turkey. Cocking her head, she took another deep breath. Now she smelled stuffing. And mashed potatoes. Was that pumpkin pie?

Her eyes flew open and she gasped. She was back at her childhood home, standing in front of the dining table that had been passed down from generation to generation. The table was filled with her mother's crystal dishes for a Thanksgiving feast. A roast turkey shone on the table next to a rich bowl of stuffing and creamy mashed potatoes. A tiny bowl of cranberry sauce was next to her aunt's special corn salad and a plate of rolls so fresh they steamed. On the sideboard lay the pies: pecan, pumpkin, apple and even caramel for her diabetic uncle Joe, who always said if he had to go it would be with a piece of caramel pie on Thanksgiving.

Taking a seat, Bizzy inhaled the plate that had already been filled for her. The second she took a bite of the tender turkey, she thought she would melt. The stuffing was savory and the potatoes were so creamy she could have sworn it was ice cream. Every dish was better than the next. By the time she got to the pecan pie, she thought she would cry with pleasure.

She had just taken a bite of the warm pie when she felt her teeth crunch down on something. Bizzy looked up and started.

She was back in the kitchen of Mrs. Patterson's cabin. Sprinkles was watching her carefully. Bizzy looked down at her hand and saw the carrot clutched between her fingers. She took another tentative bite and grimaced. She was eating carrots, not pecan pie. A satisfied grin spread over Sprinkles' face.

"That is how you love food," Sprinkles said. "Do you understand now?"

"Anyone is going to love turkey and dressing and pie over this," Bizzy snarled, waving the carrot at her. "That was a terrible trick."

"It was necessary," Sprinkles corrected her. "You loved what you were eating because of the memories and nostalgia. That lead you to appreciate the flavors and the taste and how it made people feel. That's true love of food. You weren't thinking about yourself, you were thinking about those who helped make the meal and those who would enjoy it. You're not ready to learn how to cook."

Beaming, Sprinkles scuttled off to a cabinet as Bizzy scowled after her. Cracking the cabinet door open, she began to pull down cookbook after dusty cookbook. Bizzy reached for a cookie and took a bite, closing her eyes in bliss. She didn't care what Sprinkles said, cookies were much better than carrots. "By the way," she called over her shoulder. "The dinner you ate had no calories. You can thank magic for that."

Bizzy took another cookie. The doorbell rang, and she flew to the kitchen window. The happy grin on her face drained into pure horror.

"Oh no," she croaked, the cookie shaking in her hand. "They're here early."

To be continued...

We have a fun week coming up Invisible Friends! It's Thanksgiving week here at the Pond! Not only will you have whimsical stories and more food than anyone could eat in a year, but each post will feature something I'm grateful for! We've got the conclusion of Kitchen Magic, a new Twirl, lots of tasty treats and more! Stay tuned!