I'll Stick With The Girls

The boys are off to a week of high adventure camp with the young men in our ward. Their week includes: sleeping in tents, repelling of cliffs, riding bikes for miles and miles in the heat, hiking to a cave that might be filled with bats, wake boarding in the freezing cold water of Flaming Gorge and floating down the Green River over category three rapids. Sounds great - if you are a boy.

My Dad didn't have any sons so he tried to make us do some boy stuff - which didn't fly at all. The worst was when he took us down the Snake river and he didn't put enough air in the raft. After the raft sat in the cold water for a few minutes, it got soft and when we hit the first rapid, it folded in half and we were all dumped into the freezing water. My mom made my Dad tie a rope across the middle of the raft so my cousins, my twin sister and I would have something to hold onto as we went over the rapids. This ended up being a bad idea because when the raft flipped, my cousin Kristy, who was probably seven or eight at the time, got caught on the rope and almost drowned. Thank goodness my brother-in-law, Rob, swam underneath and chewed through the rope so she could go free.

I think I will stick to girls camp where we did crafts, danced, sang and had a hot shower at the end of the day!

I received an interesting email from my Mom saying if you eat 4T. of fresh pureed asparagus in the morning and 4T. in the evening, it will help fight off cancer. It came from an article titled, "Asparagus For Cancer," printed in the Cancer News Journal, December 1979. It is pretty convincing, but I don't really like asparagus. My husband loves to soak a few stalks in water and then grill it on the barbecue, but I haven't ever found a way to eat it that I liked, until I found this recipe. In a few weeks, we can stop along the side of the road where the canal runs and pick wild fresh asparagus. I guess I had better learn to like it!

Asparagus and Sausage Risotto

In a pan, heat 1T. olive oil and then add one 16oz. package of sausage, 1 chopped onion and 1/2C. fresh mushrooms. Stir frequently for 3-4 minutes until the sausage is lightly browned. Add in 2T. butter and 1C. Arborio Rice. Stir constantly for two minutes then add 1/2C. chicken broth - when it is absorbed by the rice, add another 1/2C. - continue doing this until you have added 4C. chicken broth. Stir in 1/2C. white cooking wine. Remove from the heat and stir in 2C. sliced fresh asparagus that has been cooked crisp-tender and 1/3C. parsley. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.