Dear Florence and Darla,

Please adopt me. You are fabulous and I want to be part of your families.

(To my readers who don’t know Florence and Darla – I spent a happy afternoon making spinach kugel with Florence and nut ball cookies with her adopted granddaughter Darla. Below you’ll find more info as to why I want to be adopted by them).

(To everyone else who I have interviewed – trust me when I tell you, I’m always looking to be adopted and will happily join your families as well. You are all awesome in your own special way.)

(To my actual family – I love you and am happy to be your daughter/wife/sister/aunt/etc. My reasons for wanting to be adopted are mostly culinary. Ready to share your family recipes with me yet? No? Then I’m still going to other people’s houses for food. You’re not losing me. You’re gaining a whole set of my new friends who can cook.)

Reasons I want to be adopted by Florence Arnold:

– Florence makes a great spinach kugel. Using fine egg noodles, the kugel tastes like a cross between a casserole and a soufflé.  According to Florence, “spinach kugel has carbs, veggies and eggs. It’s a meal in itself.”

–She follows James Beard’s advice, even though she doesn’t see a difference. For example, James Beard recommends adding one egg at a time when called for in a recipe. Florence goes along, but admits she doesn’t see the point.

– In all of her baked goods, Florence uses butter. “There is nothing that replaces butter. You can use margarine, but it won’t taste the same,” Florence said.

–Florence has an awesome meet-cute with her husband. At 17 years old, she worked for the Navy as an office clerk. She would type up files and get official signatures when needed. She wanted to write to someone in the service and began corresponding with a man in the air force. They wrote for 9 months until he came home on leave. Their first date was around Passover and all she could drink was wine and champagne. Their marriage lasted 44 years before he succumbed to lung cancer leaving Florence behind to continue raising 2 kids, 3 grandkids and 1 adopted grandkid.

–Note to her grandkids – Florence wants you to know she is waiting for great-grandkids.

–Florence likes to stay busy and is full of great ideas. Faced with wearing extra large sunglasses that don’t fit into a normal-sized case, Florence knitted her own extra large sunglasses case while I cooked with Darla.

–When she was 75, she had her bat mitzvah.

–Now 85 years old, Florence volunteers two days/week at her local synagogue and enjoys going out to lunch with friends.

–Florence’s life advice: “If you get up in the morning, it’s a good day. Make the most of it.”

–Florence doesn’t follow any specific diets. Her great grandmother lived to be over 100 years old and her mother lived to be 98. “It’s all about attitude,” said Florence. “You need to be an up person and have a great attitude.”

– Florence also advised me that when it comes to money, “it’s not about how much you make, it’s about what it buys.”

–Also, “when you get older, you don’t have to prove anything, you’ve paid your dues.”

Reasons I want to be adopted by Darla Synnestvedt:

–Darla knows how to take an amazing nut cookie recipe and make it even healthier.

–Retired from the corporate world at the age of 28, she has traveled extensively and enjoys extreme sports. Need to know the best place to eat in Dubai? Want to know the best place to go rock climbing? Ask Darla.

–She is the kind of person who you meet and immediately list as super-cool. The kind of person you wish you had as a big sister (alas, I’m older). The kind of person who thinks going in on a cow-share is a fun idea. The kind of person Florence’s son & wife met at a holiday party and invited to become a part-time caretaker of their gorgeous house (which happens to be on the edge of a beautiful nature preserve). The kind of person who became so much a part of the extended family that Florence took her on as an additional granddaughter.

– Darla uses homemade vanilla made with rum. It’s a gift from her brother Frank, a baker who designs/creates gorgeous cakes. You can check out his creations here: www.thecakecontractor.com

–Darla doesn’t use microwaves. While I find this impressive, now that I think about it, this one would count as a ‘don’t adopt me’ because I wouldn’t last 2 hours w/out microwaving something.

–I’m trying to eat better and Darla doesn’t eat sugar or flour. She’s tried all sorts of diets and for the last few months has been following the primal diet which is mostly grain and sugar free. She does Olympic weight lifting and found that a high-protein, low-carb diet works for her.

–For her 30th birthday, she gave herself the gift of a personal trainer and works out at Crossfit, a garage gym with pullup bars, barbells and bumper plates. The idea is to master the basics of gymnastics and weightlifting, to be all-over fit.

–An experienced private chef, Darla can whip up any recipe within minutes and make it healthier than the original version.  She learned her craft as an assistant to chefs/food-stylists and is able to artfully present delicious food combining elements of healthy taste with well-designed presentation.

–Darla supports local food growers and gets her meat from Hendricks Farms and Dairy http://www.hendricksfarmsanddairy.com/ She also believes in using all organic ingredients and buys her produce from a CSA in Lancaster called Wimer Organics. http://wimersorganics.com/

–Darla has teamed up with two other journalists on a multimedia road trip called RoadHug. They are going off the beaten path in America to find the best food, fashion and music our country has to offer. Sammy is the fashion maven looking for sustainable, thrifty fashion. She spoke at one of Darla’s journalism classes at Temple University. They formed a friendship and then reached out through their network to find Julia, a NYC singer/songwriter. The threesome hits the road sometime in 2011. Their pilot will be filmed this August in Athens, GA. Follow their adventures at: http://www.roadhugusa.com/

Florence and Darla,

Seriously, please consider adopting me. I’m a great eater, I love talking about food, I’d be happy to learn how to knit and lift weights. At the very least, let me know when you’re ready to go on our own road trip to pick up our cow.

Lessons Learned:
–Florence puts foil on all cookie sheets because James Beard said a shiny surface makes for a better cookie.
–Darla keeps a pizza stone in the oven and will put her baking pans right on top of it. She says it keeps the heat in the oven when you open the door.
–I have got to figure out how to properly use my speedlight flash. It makes such a difference. (Thanks Darla for letting me borrow yours).

Florence’s Spinach Kugel Recipe
Serves 15

Ingredients:
2 boxes frozen spinach
8 oz package fine noodles
¼ lb butter (1 stick)
1 package dry onion mushroom soup mix
1 cup regular sour cream
4 large eggs

Directions:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
-Cook noodles as directed and drain.
-Cook spinach as directed and drain.
-Mix spinach and noodles together.
-Melt butter and add to spinach and noodles.
-Add onion mix and sour cream to spinach noodles.
-Add eggs one at a time and mix in after adding each one.
-Pour mixture into ungreased 9×13 pan
-Bake for 1 hour

Note from Florence: This recipe freezes great. If you plan on freezing it, only bake it for 45 minutes and then re-heat it for 15 minutes. Also, you can substitute broccoli for the spinach.

Darla’s Nut Ball Cookie Recipe
(Adapted from her Grandmother’s recipe)

Ingredients:
½ lb butter
2 cups pecans finely ground
5 tbs sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
-Mix together all ingredients and roll into small balls.
-Place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
-Bake at 200 degrees for over 1 hour.

Notes from Darla: Grind the pecans until they are really fine, almost to a mealy quality. Roughly chopped won’t work well with this recipe. My grandmother’s recipe says to bake at 200 degrees Fahrenheit for over an hour. I’ve refined the recipe and instead bake it at 250 degrees for 50 minutes to one hour. They are finished when they are golden brown. Gently pull them up to check the bottom which should be golden brown. Be careful, they will easily fall apart at this stage. Let them cool before serving.

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