Cucumbers with Comeback Dressing ala da Creature

da Creture was allowed to pick one of his cucumbers today and he only eats cucumbers with da Mama's special Comeback Dressing. 

He wants everyone to know how to make it, so I decided to share a recipe for a change.

This is an evolution of my grandmother's shrimp sauce that was one of those happy accidents a long time ago when I didn't know the difference between cayenne pepper and chili powder and has been a family favorite ever since.  It is good on cucumbers, shrimp, sharp cheddar cheese, salads and as a coleslaw dressing (just cabbage and comeback, yum!)


da Mama's Comeback Dressing

1/4 c. mayo (I use Kraft)
1 1/2-3 Tbsp ketchup (I like it more ketchupish for shrimp, less for cabbage and salads)
1/2 tsp prepared mustard
Four or five good shakes of Worcesteshire sauce
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
lots of fresh ground black pepper (or cayenne)

Whisk together.    Adjust it to your tastes at will and enjoy! :)

da Creature's Garden, or "How do your Triffids Grow?"

Growth is inevitable.

Sometimes, growth is perceptible.

Then there is da Creature's Garden, where growth is a little bit reminiscent of Sci Fi horror flicks.

Every day we go out there and things are proliferating and giantizing (there is substantial growth one can SEE every four hours or so...creepy creepy creepy).  We are convinced that if you stand still for a bit, the cucumber plant is going to grab hold of you.    For instance...this cucumber was two inches shorter just yesterday morning:

So, da Creature is quite proud.  That picture is of his seedling from science at school.  He was absolutely the best in class at growing cucumber seeds, and so the result had to, of course, migrate to our kitchen table when it was no longer part of science class, and here we are, a few scant weeks later, and I find myself wondering, "whatever will I do with this massive proliferation of pickles?"  :)

Then there is the corn.  He insisted on planting corn.  We warned him that da Mama wasn't gonna till the whole back yard so he could have corn and that it didn't like standing up all alone and that we wouldn't be here when it "corned" but still....he HAD to have corn.  So there is his corn, all staked and tied up in unnatural contraptions so it won't blow over in the wind.  It is now beginning to flower.  It's huge already and causing the occasional Triffid nightmares. 


He loves gardening.  I love basil and oregano and making super de dooper pasta, so he tolerates my herbs in his tomato, corn, and cucumber garden.  The rosemary tree which interferes with his gardening gets pruned each year to allow sunlight to get to the tomatoes.  But I know, come winter, when I want to make PORK or ROASTED POTATOES, that I'll have fresh rosemary and the tomatoes will be compost.  Corn?  I scoff at you, da Creature.

da Creature's Bird-day Party

We LOVE Angry birds.  I have bought every single logo bearing product available in our area and many from the internet, most for this party.  We gave away as much as he received.  A good time was had by all.  There were games, giant birds, giant pigs, golden eggs to find, jumping, tossing of birds, chanting of rhymes, and cake, ice cream, and red and green Hi-C.  You're either on the King Pig's team, or your on the Red Bird's team... choose your side.

As for the whole "sensory processing disorders" in bright glare, too much color, noise, smells, and chaos, it was, well, stimulating, to say the least.  We kept the kids searching for the golden eggs we hid before the party in their slack times, and forced a lot of social games to keep people playing with da Creature.  He never noticed the kids playing with each other rather than with him.  I consider that a real triumph of the day.  They probably interacted with him more than they do at school, which is good, but still there is understandable distance.  After all, they have been up close and personal with meltdowns, flying books, choking Brody, and various screaming and slamming of fists, talking in gibberish, and generally causing the teacher to stop everything and deal with him.  This makes the ease of interaction fall apart.  It is noticeable in larger groups.  I used to feel sad, now I just make better plans.

Everyone there won a prize.  This helps.  You won prizes when you played games that involved da Creature.  This helps too.  Positive reinforcers.

Da Creature's perception of the party was entirely positive.  :)



These are ALL the great shots from the party, and captioned for your entertainment.  Happy Eighth Bird-day, my darling baby boy.  It has definitely been a trip getting here.  SLIDESHOW NAVIGATION NOTE:  To restart the slideshow, just reload the page.  Don't click on the arrow, it takes you to Picasa Web Albums directly, which is kind of hard to use.