Carolyn

Phil and Carolyn (Burlington, VT, August 2006)

Back in the early 1990's my father received a phone call from a woman in Vermont who was researching her family genealogy. It didn't take her and my dad long to establish a common relative and a friendship between families quickly followed.

I first remember visiting Carolyn and her husband Phil at their home in eastern Vermont during the summer of 1995. While many teenagers may have found a vacation to a rather remote area to visit adults boring there was nothing boring about visiting Carolyn and Phil, and my siblings and I looked forward to what would become our annual summer vacation to Vermont to visit Carolyn and Phil. Whether we were camping with them along the shores of Lake Champlain, visiting them at their then home in Taftsville or at their more recent home in Burlington each visit was memorable. A gracious host, Carolyn was always more than willing to open their home to us and was an amazing chef be it in the kitchen or preparing something over the grill. While our days were full of relaxation, exploration of the local area and just hanging out there were always many laughs to be had throughout the day and into the evenings.

When I decided I was going to bike across the country with the Illini 4000 in the summer of 2007, Carolyn and Phil jumped to support me and the cause for which I was riding. Additionally they then had the patience to sit and look through my hundreds of photographs listening and asking questions about my summer when my family visited them shortly after I completed the ride. When I decided to ride again in the summer of 2008 they showed the same support.

A week ago, my mother received an message stating that Carolyn had passed away and today my family traveled to Vermont to pay our respects to Carolyn and support Phil and their family. A four-hour car ride each way left me with plenty of time to think and reflect. Looking back I find many parallels between my time with the Illini 4000 and my visits with Carolyn and Phil each summer. During my two summers with the Illini 4000 we were constantly meet with open arms by complete strangers willing to open their homes and lives to us. Carolyn was very much this kind of person, going out of her way to show hospitality toward others. I have no doubt that had I4K ever rode through her neck of the woods she would have been one of the first people to try and invite the entire team into her home regardless of the teams size.

One of the first hosts the Illini 4000 team ever had was a woman from Hawley, Pennsylvania named Florence Brown in the summer of 2007. In just our second day on the road our plans for the night fell through and we were left without a place to stay. While out looking for other possible options Jon met Florance, who after hearing what we were doing offered to cook us dinner and let us camp in her backyard. Carolyn's compassion for others very much reminds me of Florance and the many others I meet each day through I4K.

Carolyn was a women with many talents, a great sense of humor and the ability to make everyone that surrounded her feel like they were important and appreciated. While she may no longer be here physically she will never be forgotten as the memories that those that knew her have will live on in them for years to come. Rest in Peace Carolyn.

Maple Cream Chocolate Eggs

Another nostalgic recipe from my childhood. I was surprised by the lack of recipes for chocolate covered maple cream eggs on the internet. The following is one I found posted on a forum that came out of Women's Day magazine many years ago. Not exactly like the ones I remember from my childhood but close. Happy Easter!

Chocolate Covered Maple Cream Eggs

Ingredients
6 Tbs. Butter
3 oz. Cream Cheese
1 lb. Powdered Sugar
1/2 tsp. Maple Extract
1/3 cup Walnuts (finely chopped)
12 oz. Semi-Sweet Chocolate
1 tsp. Solid Vegetable Shortening

Directions
Line a cookie sheet with wax paper.
Beat butter, cream cheese and maple in a medium bowl with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Gradually add confectioners (powered) sugar and walnuts beating until smooth. Mixture will be stiff.
With your hands roll mixture into egg shapes. Place on was paper and refrigerate for one hour or until cold and very firm.
Melt chocolate in saucepan on low heat stirring frequently. Stir in shortening until well blended. Let the melted chocolate sit at room temperature for about 15-minutes.
With egg on fork use a spoon or spatula to coat the maple centers with chocolate. Use the spatula to push the egg off of the fork and back onto the wax paper lined cookie sheet. (Reheat chocolate if it gets too thick.)
I found it hard to coat the entire egg while on the fork. I had extra chocolate so after coating the tops and sides of the eggs I put the cookie sheet with chocolate coated eggs in the refrigerator for 15-20 minutes until the chocolate had hardened. I then took and dipped the bottom of the eggs in the remaining chocolate so that the entire egg was coated in chocolate. I then refrigerated them for another 15-minutes before boxing them up.
Refrigerate when storing.
(The recipe says it makes 6 eggs but I made 20+ so I guess it depends on how big you want them.)

Maple cream centers before adding the chocolate coating.

Pumpkin Soup

A few years ago I attended a lunch at the college where I was working at the time. The lunch was put on by students in the Human Ecology department as a requirement of one of their courses. One of the items on the menu that day was Pumpkin Soup. I remember it having a very distinct taste, one that I've been trying to replicate ever since trying recipe after recipe with little luck. I recently came across this recipe from Land O'Lakes and was pleasantly surprised with the result. The mix of spices give it a southwestern taste without overpowering the dish like some recipes that I've tried in the past. A great way to warm up on a chilly winter day!

Southwestern Pumpkin Soup 

(I usually double the recipe so I have plenty leftover to warm up throughout the week)

Ingredients
2 Tbs. Butter
1 Medium Onion Chopped
1 tsp. Freshly Pressed Garlic (2 small cloves)
1 tsp. Chili Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Pepper
1/2 tsp. Ground Cumin
2 1/2 cups Vegetable Broth (or Chicken Broth)
15 oz. Pumpkin (I use pumpkin I've frozen from the garden but you can use canned)
1/2 cup Whipping Cream

Directions
Melt butter in a large saucepan until sizzling; add onion, garlic, chili powder, salt, pepper and cumin. Cook over medium-high heat 3-5 minutes or until onion is softened.
Add broth; continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cook, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes.
Stir in pumpkin until well mixed; cook 5 minutes. Stir in whipping cream; continue cooking 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Transfer mixture to food processor bowl fitted with metal blade or a blender (with a double batch I run it through my blender half at a time.) Cover; process until smooth. Return mixture to saucepan; cook over low heat until heated through. Feel free to garnish however you would like.