Mary Ann Dames, M.S., R.D.

I'm a bit mixed up in September what with school starting and all so you'll be getting access to two posts today. Reading Monday and Recipe Wednesday. Scroll down for Snowy Surprises.

Several years ago I met Lois Harris at a children's writer's retreat. She was struggling with coming up with a recipe for a blog post for her Mary Cassett picture book biography. I volunteered my services. And, low and behold, my blog took on the Reading, Writing, and Recipe format you see today.

In her honor, I create a recipe each time one of her new picture book biographies comes out. Here is what she has to say this time: "Similar to my other two picture book biographies, Maxfield Parrish: Painter of Magical Make-Believe will be released in September. During my research, I learned that Maxfield lived to be ninety-five and spent his last sixty-eight years in a small New Hampshire town often isolated by severe winter snowstorms. Maxfield ordered many supplies by mail, including chocolates. I can imagine him donning snowshoes, tromping down to the mailbox, hoping his box of chocolates had arrived."

I imagined Maxfield trudging through snowdrifts, hoping he'd find his chocolates. As soon as I had that image in mind, I knew what I wanted to create for Recipe Wednesday.

You can substitute granulated sugar for powdered sugar if you think the "snow" is too messy. Or you can leave off the sugar all together. It still tastes as yummy, having everyone going back for more.

Snowy Surprises
1 1/2 sticks (3/4) cup butter or margarine at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
36 chocolate kisses++ (I used Hershey kisses)
1/2 cup powdered sugar*

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, beat together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add egg and vanilla extract, stirring until combined. Gradually add flour and mix well.

Gather the dough into a ball. If it crumbles, add water, a teaspoon at a time.

Smoosh small pieces of dough into a teaspoon. You should have about 36 pieces when you are finished smooshing.

Wrap each one around a chocolate kiss.
Roll the dough in you hands until smooth.



Place about 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake in the 350 degree F oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until the bottom edges just start to brown.

Place the powdered sugar in a zipper bag. Place two or three cookies in the bag and gently shake to coat. Place on a cooling rack set over paper towels or wax paper to catch any powdered sugar that falls off. Continue until all the cookies are coated.


++ To make this vegan, use a few vegan chocolate chips in place of the chocolate kiss.

*If the powdered sugar has lumps, sift it.

Makes about 36 cookies.

Mary Ann Dames, M.S., R.D. ©2011

Watermelon is oh so juicy and refreshing on a hot day. Lemonade is a thirst quencher. Why not combine the two for a nice Labor Day picnic treat?

Watermelon Lemonade
About 6 pounds of watermelon, weight includes rind
4 cups lemonade, with sugar or diet

Cut the rind off the watermelon. Cut the watermelon into chunks, removing any seeds. Put the chunks into a blender or food processor. Whir until smooth. You will end up with about 4 cups of puree. Put it in a 2 1/2 quart pitcher.

Add the lemonade. Stir to combine. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Note 1: You can strain the puree to get out any fiber but I like it just the way my blender does it.

Note 2: You can adapt this recipe to make more or less of the drink. You will notice the ratio of watermelon puree to lemonade is 1 to 1. Hey, do I see a math lesson here or what?

Makes about 2 quarts.
Mary Ann Dames, M.S., R.D. ©2011

Visit Sparky the Dog web site for fire awareness activities and games as well as instructions for an origami dog.

At U.S. Fire Administration you can find crossword puzzles, coloring pages, and word search.

Meet Amazing Americans and more at the Library of Congress' "America's Story" site. Brief biographies of famous Americans include the various presidents, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Harriet Tubman, Pocahontas, Langston Hughes, and Frank Lloyd Wright.

At McGruff.org you will find stories, games and more. Included are tips on Neighborhood Safety. Provided by the National Crime Prevention Council.

Labor Day celebrates people who work hard all year. Many businesses are closed but some people such as nurses, dietitians, firefighters, and police work that day. So do some sales people.

Visit my Labor Day post from last year for more books.

Find this book on Neigbhorhood Helpers at your library.

Lee Bennett Hopkins collected poems in Sharing the Seasons, a Book of Poems. The poems are divided by the seasons -- Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter. Look at the 12 poems about Summer. You will find one called "August Heat." No one knows who wrote that. But I know Joan Bransfield Graham who wrote "The Day After Labor Day." After you read it, think how you would feel as a seagull. Would you be glad the summer crowds were gone and you had the seashore to yourself?


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I remember the smells of the first day of school.

A dress crisply pressed after being hung on the clothes line smelled of grasses and fresh air.

Freshly shampooed hair braided tight into pigtails and ends chewed smelled like freshly mown hay.

The dry smell of chalk powdered the air when I was chosen to be the "eraser monitor" and go outside to clamp the two erasers clean.

The fruity smell of punch that lingered in the red smile around my mouth after snack time.

The waxy colorful smell of purple crayons. Red ones. Violet. Magenta. Oh. The places those smells and colors took me.

The smell of my mother's perfume as I was wrapped in her afterschool hug.

Writing Friday is meant to be a quick writing or verbal response to a prompt. Write for 5 minutes or less. Don't worry about spelling or grammar. Keep the pen moving. Now read what you wrote, finding the gem within, the raw emotion or that special turn of phrase you might have unknowingly written. Enjoy.


Are you excited about school starting? A bit scared? Or nervous? Can you hardly wait to see your friends or play on the play ground?

Tell how you are feeling.

If school has already started, what was the first day like?

As a mom, I was always looking for interesting and nutritious afterschool snacks. Ones that were easy to make, too.

I found low fat wholegrain mini-pancakes at the freezer section of the grocery store and the rest is history. I bet these would be good with flaked coconut, too. Or even making full size versions for breakfast.

Pancake Snackers
2 low fat wholegrain mini-pancakes (I used ones by Eating Right Kids.)
1 slice of banana
1 teaspoon peanut butter
Maple syrup, optional

Let the pancakes warm to room temperature. (If you can't wait, they are still good cold.)

Spread the top of one pancake with a teaspoon or so of peanut butter or other nut butter. Top with a slice of banana. Put the other pancake on top.

Drizzle with a bit of maple syrup.

Serves 1.

Mary Ann Dames, M.S., R.D. ©2011

Has school already started where you live? It is not too late to read about the school. Read my Ger Ready for Kindergarten Month post from last year to for more books.

In Old House, New House at the beginning of summer a little girl and her parents move into an old house in the country by the cranberry bog and a bullfrog creek. She makes friends. At the end of the summer, her parents tell her they are moving to a new house far away. She doesn't want to leave her friends.
"How I hated to see
that summer end
and the house I loved
disappear 'round the bend."

Later
"We drove out west
and what did we see?
A new house for us . . .
and new friends for me."

Like so many children, the family moves during the summer. They have to make new friends and start a new school. I moved 8 times and went to 12 different schools.

Author: Phillis Gershator. Illustrator: Katherine Potter.

A young pirate (actually an ordinary boy) experiences the first day of school in A Pirate's Guide to First Grade. Pirate speak is scattered throughout but a glossary on the back endpapers tells all. "Arrr! Shiver me timbers, what a slobberin' moist mornin'!" are the first words the boy says when he wakes. That's because "Me great scurvy dog slurped me kisser when I was tryin' t' get me winks!" Get ready for a fun read although a bit of a tongue twister if read aloud. 8-)

Author: Jame Preller. Illustrator: Greg Ruth

On the first day of school the teacher asks, "what do you hope will happen this year?" The students share their wish. "I hope I get the best seat on the bus." "I hop I won't be a vegetable in our school play!" "I want to take the class pet home for winter break." Do you wonder what the teacher wishes for? Read This School Year Will Be the Best to find out.

Author: Kay Winters. Illustrator: Renée Andriani.

A de Alumno El primer Dia de Escuela de Deron is totally written in Spanish although an English version is available as Deron Goes to Nursery School. Thanks to the clear photographs, I was able to follow the story even without understanding Spanish. Set in Africa, Deron and his mama prepare for school by shopping for a backpack, shoes and fabric. Deron's mama makes his shirt. Now Deron is ready for his first day of nursery school. His teacher greets him and introduces him to the other students. Everyone sings, dances, and learns the alphabet. After an afternoon siesta the teacher reads a story to the class. Deron's mama meets him after school. Deron is tired but eager to go back to school the next day to play with his new friends.

Author: Ifeoma Onyefulu

July 19 is Stick Your Tongue Out Day. So what better recipe than an easy Popsicle to lick.

One nice thing about this recipe is you can use almost any fruit. Another nice thing is if you start with frozen fruit, you can eat this like a soft frozen yogurt rather than waiting for popsicles to freeze. The third nice thing is that the measurements don't have to be exact.

Raspberry Popsicles
Ingredients
12-ounce bag frozen raspberries or other fruit (fresh or canned - drained - is okay, too)
About 1/2 to 1 cup plain unsweetened nonfat yogurt+
Honey to taste

Combine the fruit and yogurt in a food processor or blender. Whir until smooth.*

Taste. Add honey if needed. It will depend on the sweetness of the fruit and what your personal taste desires are.

Pour into popsicle molds.** Freeze until firm.

*If you don't want the seeds, process the raspberries by themselves. Pour through a sieve and then add the yogurt and raspberry puree back into the food processor bowl.

**If you don't have popsicle molds, pour into small paper cups. Cover with small pieces of aluminum foil. Poke a stir stick or popsicle stick through the aluminum foil. Freeze until firm.

+Plain yogurt should be gluten free. If you decide to use a flavored yogurt, it should also be gluten free but double check by reading the label. Definitely avoid yogurts with cookies or granola added.

Makes about 2 cups. Each of my popsicle molds hold 1/4 cup so I was able to make 8 popsicles with a tad left over for eating right away. The number of popsicles you get will depend on the size of the mold or paper cup.

Mary Ann Dames, M.S., R.D. ©2011