A Summer Storm, in Three Takes

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Verona, Wisconsin, June 29, 2015. Things pass through pretty quick at this time of year.

Grab a Book: Summer-Evening Edition

Suburban Chicago, June 1961. Relax after work.

Maybe I should rethink my boycott* of air travel.

Pierre the French Poodle calms jittery travelers at the Dane County Regional Airport.

*I have flown once in the last twenty-four years. Low carbon footprint, baby.

Duck!

Verona, Wisconsin, May 2, 2015. Let's film them while they're getting along.

"I thought, is that a way to make money? ... Maybe I could fly around. I could be the flying nun."

Los Angeles Catholic sisters don't think Katy Perry is an appropriate buyer for their former home, the Immaculate Heart of Mary convent.

Babos Receptai (Part 12)

Whoa, you say! This is not the handwriting of my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana! How can it be one of "Babos Receptai?"

This recipe was written for me by Tatjana's daughter, Jonė. It's a recipe for Lithuanian Crumb Cake. Although that treat is ubiquitous in Lithuanian cuisine (the crumb cake appears at weddings, teas, and fashion shows), my paternal Grandmother rarely baked it. Tatjana thought her cake, "Babos Pyragas," was much better. I disagreed, and I was disappointed we had no "family recipe" for the Crumb Cake. Fortunately, my Dad's twin sister had one.

Here is how I wrote up the recipe:

Trupininis Pyragas

3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

about 1-1/2 cups lingonberry preserves, or other tart jam

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and adjust rack to the center position. Preheat a baking stone for thirty minutes. Butter a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan and dust it all over with fine, dry breadcrumbs. Shake out excess crumbs. Set the prepared baking pan in the freezer while you prepare the ingredients.

Sift together the flour and baking powder and set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar thoroughly until very light in color. Add the egg and the vanilla extract and continue beating until very smooth. On lowest speed, or using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the sifted dry ingredients, combining only until the flour disappears.

Reserve about half (approximately 3 cups) of the dough in a small bowl and set aside. Press the remainder of the dough into the prepared pan. Spread lingonberry preserves evenly over the dough. Carefully crumble the remaining reserved dough over the preserves.

Bake about 30 to 34 minutes, or until lightly golden. Remove from oven, transfer to a wire rack, and allow to cool completely on the rack. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

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BONUS!

A few years after I tweeked this recipe, I started baking it with a cottage-cheese filling. The cheese version is my favorite; here is the recipe:

Trupininis Pyragas su Varškė

Crust:

3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Filling:

1/2 cup granulated sugar

finely grated rind of one-half lemon

2 egg yolks

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

scant 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

scant 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1-1/2 cups (12 ounces) cottage cheese, drained (measure before draining)

3 tablespoons instant-blending ("Wondra") flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and adjust rack to the center position. Preheat a baking stone for thirty minutes. Generously butter and flour a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan. 

For crust: Sift together the flour and baking powder and set aside.

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar thoroughly until very light in color. Add the egg, vanilla extract, and sour cream; continue beating until very smooth. On lowest speed, or using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the sifted dry ingredients, combining only until the flour disappears. The mixture will (and should) be crumbly.

Reserve about half (approximately 3 cups) of the dough in a small bowl and set aside. Press the remainder of the dough into the prepared pan.  Place pan in the freezer while you prepare the filling.

For filling: In the workbowl of a food processor, mix together the sugar with the lemon rind until the rind is finely chopped. Add the egg yolks and beat for about one minute, until the mixture becomes thick and pale in color. Add the butter, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Process until smooth. Add the cottage cheese and process until the mixture is entirely free of lumps. Add the flour and process with 2 or 3 on/off pulses.

Spread the filling over prepared crust. Crumble the reserved half of the dough over the filling.

Bake for 30 to 36 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown slightly. Remove from oven, transfer to a wire rack, and allow to cool completely on the rack. Store in airtight container at room temperature.

Well Attended

Tinley Park, Illinois, June 1967. The girl in the blue pants is my friend Kris.

Wait for one hour after you eat.

Suburban Chicago, June 1974. My Best Friend and I know it's safest to wait before we go swimming.

Big Jim

 

Marquette Park, Chicago, 1983 or 1984. The governor of Illinois participates in the parade welcoming President Reagan to Marquette Park, the Lithuanian neighborhood.

Boggy Reunion

 
Colombia, 1954. My Dad's friend Casey sent this snapshot to illustrate the flora near his farm.

Shade

Near Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada, August 1959. We used that umbrella for many years.

A Closer Look (Part 40)

Southwestern Lithuania, about 1909. This is Mr. Irene's Great Aunt Petra. She stood for this photo shortly before she sailed to the United States.

Here's the original post.

Bench Art

Brookfield, Wisconsin, May 2015. It's not quite "yarnbombing."

Fascination

Wasaga Beach, Ontario, Canada, July 1957. Family members staged a number of snapshots around that piece of driftwood.

Thanks to my Toronto Cousin for making that photo available to us.

Picnic Culture: Patio Storytelling

Suburban Chicago, June 1969. The woman standing, wearing sunglasses, is Godmother. Standing on the left is my Mom; my Mom's best friend, Donna, sits on the left.

Wildflower Reunion

Glacier National Park, Montana, July 1966. Most of the wildflowers I see are yellow or purple.

Related by Marriage: Guest

Vilnius, Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, July 1983. Mr. Irene's Dad visits with an aunt.

Class Notes (Part 11)

Kaunas, Lithuania, about 1934. On this Class Notes page, an army colleague of my Mom's Dad got his inspiration from a folk song:

Through the forest of pines
The sun began to shine.
Through the window's glaze
You gazed.

From Major J.

Reflective Reunion

Verona, Wisconsin, May 2015. No, the crane family has not returned. I'm just reaching back.

"Where's Dad?"

Suburban Chicago, June 1959. Mom knows I'll learn to walk quickly if she points me toward Dad.

Centered

Kaunas, Lithuania, 1936. Kaunas Nina may be too young to get the joke.

Thanks to Kaunas Nina's daughter—my Kaunas Cousin—for making this photo available to us.

Piggyback

Brookfield Zoo, 1966. Sometimes it's better not to walk after eating too many sweets.

The Boss's Car

Howard Lake, Minnesota, May 5, 1950. Friends of my maternal Grandfather, Jake, wrote, "We're next to the boss's car, at the boss's beach."

Beauty Pageant

Goat beauty pageant.

Rainy Reunion

Verona, Wisconsin, June 2015. This beauty showed up during a break in the showers.

A Small Catch

Lake of Bays, Ontario, Canada, July 1969. I always wear a life vest.

Evening Practice

Suburban Chicago, February 1969. Mom practices after she returns from work.

Welcome, Summer

Near Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada, August 1959. This photo is from the summer when my Parents vacationed without me. That trip generated my favorite home-movie clip of Mom and Dad.

A Favorite for Father's Day

Suburban Chicago, April 1962. I revisit the image of Dad and me in the remodeled Rec Room.

Father's Day Card

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Suburban Chicago, June 1966. "Father's Day" didn't become a national holiday until 1972.

Checking, in Three Takes

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Verona, Wisconsin, June 19, 2015. She notices us.

Don't lose count.

Suburban Chicago, June 1963. It's easy to lose count if you work on a two-color project while you watch television.

A Closer Look (Part 39)

Near Vilnius, Lithuania, about 1920. Here's the original post.

June-Bloom Reunion

Verona, Wisconsin, June 2008. The single-flowered Hollyhock is my favorite garden plant.

Swiss Drive

When we traveled to Europe in 1971, we realized we preferred the wild scenery of the American West. In Switzerland, by contrast, even "remote" spots had been touched by civilization.

Earlier today, I mentioned the seasonal opening of the Going-to-the-Sun Road. The drive along that road isn't for the meek, but it's breathtaking.

How does this drive through the Swiss Alps compare?

"Moscow is stationing 'thousands of troops, including mechanized and naval infantry brigades, military aircraft, modern long-range air defense units and hundreds of armored vehicles in the territory.'"

Kaliningrad.

Guidance

Seligenstadt, Germany, about 1947. My Mom's friend leads her daughter.

The road is open.

Glacier National Park today opened the Going-to-the-Sun Road.

Here's a clip of the drive we took 49 years ago.

Glance

Brookfield Zoo, 1966. Avoid direct eye contact with strangers.

Related by Marriage: Together

Suburban Chicago, November 1967. Mr. Irene, Uncle D, and a group of cousins and friends gather in the living room. It looks like someone has a crush on Mr. Irene.

Class Notes (Part 10)

Kaunas, Lithuania, September 26, 1934. On this Class Notes page, my Mom's friend wrote, "From your classmate, Irene K."

Early Containers

Madison, Wisconsin, June 2004. We're just getting started.

The Tchotchkes Shelves

Suburban Chicago, 1967. This photo shows the items on display in the Rec Room (see also here, here, and here). Did you have a troll doll?

Monitoring the traffic.

On Google Sheep View.

June Misery

Kėdianai (?), Lithuania, about 1938. My friend V writes, "About this time in June, 1941 my grandparents, who were school teachers and uncle (he was 16) were part of the Soviet's mass deportations of Lithuanians to Siberia. They were put on a train in a cattle car and taken to Yakutsk, Russia. The anniversary of this holocaust is never mentioned in the media. So, today I honor their memory. My grandfather Petras [M.] perished in a Siberian prison camp." (Links added.)
 
Thanks to my friend V for making this photo available to us.

Effort

Verona, Wisconsin, August 2008. I no longer put this much work into the border.

Holy Communion (Part 23)

Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 1998. Toronto Matas resembles his older brother.

Thanks to my Toronto Cousin for making this photo available to us.

Related by Marriage: Resting Spot

Calvary Hill Shrine, Stone Park, Illinois, Spring 1960. Mr. Irene's Mom, Mr. Irene, and Grandpa Stanley take a break before climbing the stairs.

Favorite-Field Reunion

Door County, Wisconsin, August 2000. It's a nice place to settle.

Nike Zeus

Michigan (?), Summer 1961. We saw the missile during one of our trips to an air-and-space show.

Exchanging Portraits (Part 48)

Kaunas, Lithuania, about 1940. My Dad's friend passes along a keepsake.

Seventy-Five Years Ago Today

The Soviets occupied Lithuania. Here are a few photos family members took that day.

She walks by quickly, in three takes.

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Verona, Wisconsin, June 2015. I felt sad when I saw this young doe. She is about the size of the deer I hit this past winter (car was mostly okay, and we were fine).