I wish I had a photograph to show you. The kitchen was too dark, too hot and too cramped. And I was just too teed off, anyway.
Last night I woke up at 1:00 a.m., and did not fall asleep again until the birds started chirping their sweet little heads off around 5:00 a.m. I woke up to an empty coffeepot, no coffee in the house...zippo. One hour left for me to get ready for work. My sweet husband (my crazed look would have scared anyone out of the house) was sent off to the local coffeehouse for some caffeinated brew. I threw together a bag lunch, grabbed my cup and went off to the shop. After a day of extremely boring work (why, of all days today?!) I headed home to what I refer to as the “Second Shift”.
Facing a pantry of very slim pickings for dinner, I managed to find two lonely cans of tuna. I did have some leftover dough in the refrigerator from the last Slug that I had made. Aha! Tuna salad on rolls with broiled cheese on top—dinner for the non-vegetarians, straight cheese rolls for the veggies. After dinner, I faced a new dilemma; I had forgotten to make bread earlier. The little darlings did not have any to make their sandwiches with! Being a mom, and always ready to fly by the seat of my pants, I decided to bake some pb&j muffins. Of course there is no jam, no jelly. Aha! I have a jar of apple butter in my refrigerator! I should have stopped there. But I didn’t. I eyed the soybeans soaking in the corner, ready and waiting to be processed. I’m a mom! I can do four things at once if I have to, right? After all, I could probably make soy milk with my eyes closed by now!
In the space of a half-hour, I was juggling two emergency loads of laundry (we have a band concert tomorrow, mommy!) two batches of soy milk, and a muffin recipe. Meanwhile, the oven had been preheated very nicely, thank you. Crowding the counter with the soy milk machine, two muffins tins, measuring cups, measuring spoons, etc., I diligently carried on. One batch of soy milk down, cooling on the stove. One muffin recipe half done, waiting for the rest of the liquid ingredients. I measured out the oil and poured it in. I measured out the peanut butter, and in it plopped. I began to stir. Hmmm...seems a little...OH *%$!!!#@!!* You all know what I did—
My beautiful batch of soy milk was now swimming with oil and peanut butter. It was now 9:00 p.m. I am sweating, the muffins still need to be baked, and the soy milk machine is beeping at me. I want to throw everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) in the sink and go to bed. You all know I didn’t. Visions of my mother flashed through my head. She is standing at the kitchen counter, in the middle of August. Steam is rising from the canner on the stove. It is well past midnight, but when produce needs to be processed, it doesn’t wait. She has six children to feed, nothing is wasted.
I scooped out the peanut butter and added it to the correct mixing bowl. The soy milk, alas, could not be saved. I finished up the muffins and put them in to bake. I made the second batch of soy milk and put the okara in the refrigerator. I put the last load in the dryer.
Happy Mother’s Day to all those mommies out there who never give up!
