The View From Mrs. Sundberg's Window

It Took a Moment

June 30, 2009

Listened to the show Saturday and it was not bad. It had been one of those hot windy days where you see little ripples of heat on the road and everything feels dry and crackly and the word "lemon" makes you salivate. The kids had ridden their bikes over to the church parking lot where a fire hydrant had burst and water was shooting everywhere. Apparently the fire department was taking its sweet time on purpose since nearly every kid in town had shown up and was playing in the water and the small pond that had been formed.

It wasn't unbearably hot, but by the time I'd finished washing all the windows, I was thinking a shower would feel nice. So I undressed in the mudroom, where I threw my clothes into the laundry basket, and was halfway up the stairs when I remembered the bottle of cucumber shower gel I'd picked up at the store on Friday. It was still in the car. I went back down the stairs, and instead of getting dressed, I just grabbed Mr. Sundberg's trench coat from the mudroom closet, put it on, and went out to the garage, shutting the door behind me.

The shower gel was in the car along with some Fourth of July cookie decors and a package of thank you cards and some Orange Crush and Tootsie Rolls. I'd forgotten I'd picked up these things, and it was a lovely surprise. The fact that I'd locked myself out of the house was not. Long story short, I spent most of the afternoon in the car, waiting for Mr. Sundberg to come home from his fishing outing, paging through the car manual trying to figure out how to turn off that dang little green light on the dash, eating two-thirds of the sack of Tootsie Rolls, drinking one can of Orange Crush and opening another, and writing five thank you cards to various neighbors for produce so generously shared this spring and summer.

I don't know how long I'd been there before I fell asleep, or how long I'd been asleep before I woke up, but when I did wake up, it took a moment. Mr. Sundberg's car wasn't in the garage next to mine, but the door had been opened and there was a Post-It note on the window next to me. It read, "Went to get some wine. Back in a few." And he was.

Teriyaki Shish Kabob
Both kids and adults will love these kabobs. They're light and tangy and lovely on a bed of rice. Serve with tropical drinks with those little umbrellas in them, and a slice of key lime or lemon pie on a hot, windy day.

1/2 cup dark corn syrup
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup dry sherry
1 tsp. fresh ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 to 2 lbs. boneless sirloin or chuck steak

Small mushrooms, zucchini wedges, water chestnuts, cherry tomatoes, pineapple chunks, onion chunks, carrots, or other vegetables of choice. Cut steak into 1 or 2 inch cubes or thin strips, as desired. In large bowl, combine corn syrup, soy, sherry, ginger, garlic and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Add steak strips and toss to coat well. Cover and refrigerate, stirring occasionally, several hours or overnight. Remove steak from marinade, reserving marinade. Thread steak onto shish kabob skewers alternating with vegetables. (You may parboil the mushrooms, onion and zucchini for 5 minutes before grilling, if desired.) Grill about six inches from hot coals, turning and basting with reserved marinade about seven minutes, or until done to your liking.
Enjoy!

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