Panic At The Flea Market, Great Grillin' And Some Improv

Panic At The Flea Market

Going to the flea market used to be a Sunday tradition, but we've had so many projects going on around here that we've been skipping it. Yesterday, though, we thought we should start bringing the tradition back. After all, the flea market only runs through October and that will be here soon enough.

The temperature was climbing and we didn't get out the door as early as we had planned. By the time we got there, it was in the upper 80's and the humidity was high. There wasn't a cloud in the sky for the sun to hide behind. You could break a sweat just by standing still.

We had made our way around the outer perimeter and down one row of vendors. As we started down the second row, our daughter said she was too hot to keep walking. I knew she was disappointed that she hadn't gotten a new video game at one of the booths, so I thought she was just being pouty and I didn't take it too seriously. After a few more steps she again said she couldn't walk any farther, but this time we noticed she had gone very pale. Clearly, she wasn't being pouty, she was sick. Just as my husband reached out to pick her up, she folded in half. He grabbed her before she could hit the ground.

We carried her to a concession area while people looked at us curiously. She and I sat down at a picnic table while my husband got her a cold drink. She took a few sips and then we carried her to the car and left with the air conditioning blaring.

She was fine after that. By the time we had finished lunch, her color had come back and she said she felt good. She stayed indoors most of the day because we had the air conditioning on and we didn't want her to get over heated again. I think it was just a case of being overcome by the heat. It was scary when it happened, though.

Great Grillin'

The heat and humidity never let up, but it was still a great day to grill. We decided we wanted to make something fun for dinner, and what's more fun than mini burgers? We used ground chuck, and instead of rolling it into meatball sized balls and flattening them, Mr. Willoughby spread the meat into a large rectangle on a cookie sheet. He then cut it into rectangles, the way you would slice a pan of brownies and put them on the grill. We used small brown and serve style buttermilk rolls as buns and created a topping buffet with condiments, cheese, onions and mushrooms.

We all enjoyed having several little burgers instead of one big burger because you could create completely different toppings on each one. We also decided that cutting the meat into rectangles would be a fast way to make regular sized burgers for a crowd. It's much faster than hand shaping each patty.

Some Improv

I picked up a new variety of marshmallows yesterday, chocolate and vanilla swirl. I had never heard of them before, so as soon as I saw them, I knew I had to get them. We had been planning to have a fire in the fire pit and I thought they might be fun to toast.

It was still awfully hot and muggy last night, so we decided against having a fire. We had been excited about trying the new marshmallows, though, so a little improvisation was needed.

We used wooden skewers and toasted them over the flame on the gas cooktop.

Yes, the one in the picture is mine. I did get a little carried away and held it over the flame for a bit too long while I was trying to get a picture. It became engulfed in flames while I was zooming in. It was still tasty, though!

For my own piece of mind, I must remind you that, if you're crazy enough to do this in your own kitchen, be extremely careful. Children (and adults trying to take pictures) should be carefully supervised!