Have you ever reflected on a moment and wished you could step into a time machine and linger there for just a little while longer?
The photo below represents one of those moments for me…I am sandwiched between my two sisters. Connie on the left and Nicole on the right. To say we were buds is an understatement.
Each of us, in our own way, was just on the cusp of a new stage of life. Nicole – relatively new to high school and experiencing all of the fun, drama, and self-discovery that comes along with that…Connie, relatively new to college and experiencing all of the rigors, independence, and self-growth that comes along with that…and I, relatively new to marriage & career and experiencing all of the joys, new-partner focus, and future planning that comes along with that. Whoa!
This photo was taken by Dominick (honorary sister back then) during a “sister weekend” in Albany. It was the late 80’s and we were visiting Connie at school.
Man! Look at those eyebrows and all that hair and those denim jackets! I think we kept Levi and scrunchies in business!
There are a few things I remember most about that weekend. First, the drive to Albany with Nicole. I was teaching in a middle school then and had just started a new unit on Paleontology. Poor Nicole…by the time we arrived, she knew more about the Mesozoic Era, Triceratops, and Herbivores, than she probably ever wanted to know. She was a very good sport and quite a captive audience! Not that she had a choice…I was very excited about dinosaurs back then and I wouldn’t shut up about it!
The other thing I remember is more a feeling than an event…I’m actually not sure if I am attaching this feeling to the memory now, but I’m certain that even then I knew that those times would become further and fewer between, causing me to feel so blessed to have that time together. I see it on our faces. They were my peeps.
My sisters were the catalyst that first launched my maternal stirrings…it is true. I think siblings strike a special chord in our capacity for unconditional love in a way that nothing else does during childhood.
You can probably tell that my sisters and I have had some fun times through the years both outside the kitchen and, of course, in it. The stories I could share about cinnamon toast, Steak-ums and fried onions, Archway cookies, flour fights and monkey bread….you don’t really have to read between the lines to know we reallllly liked these things. A lot. So much so that I’m pretty sure we all experienced a sugar-induced coma as a result of our over-indulgence on monkey bread one day. There’s actually a very colorful story surrounding monkey bread, if only I could remember it…
The story is blurry for me now, and perhaps the ladies could tell it better… but I’m certain that fateful day did the most damage to me…I only recall preparing the bread, eating the entire bread, along with my partners-in-crime, and then POOF! The memory of the rest of the day is GONE! It is a mystery! I haven’t had monkey bread since, and I’m almost certain my sisters haven’t either. How sad. However, we learned a very important life lesson that day – we cannot be trusted alone with anything that contains brown sugar, cinnamon, butter and biscuits.
We’ve grown. We’ve matured. It’s time. Let’s do this thing!
As a nod to our blue-jean jackets I thought I’d make Blueberry Monkey Bread.
Enjoy….with a little moderation, please!!! Yes, I am talking to myself!
Blueberry Monkey Bread
- Category: Dessert
Ingredients
- 3 pkgs. of Pillsbury Country Style Biscuits (16 oz.)
- 2 Tbsp. cinnamon
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
- 1 stick of butter
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp. water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Thoroughly grease a bundt cake or round cake pan.
- Mix sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
- Cut each biscuit into 6 pieces.
- Cover each piece in the sugar mixture.
- Arrange one layer of of biscuit pieces in the bottom of the pan.
- Sprinkle about a quarter of the blueberries on top of it.
- Repeat adding layers until you reach the top of pan.
- In a saucepan combine the butter, brown sugar and remaining sugar cinnamon mixture.
- Bring to a boil.
- Add water if mixture is too thick.
- Pour over biscuits and bake for 45-50 minutes or until done.
- Lift and turn out onto a cake plate.
Enjoy it while it’s warm! And my advice to you my friends…never, ever, be alone with it! Play it safe! Find a partner or two or three…
Ciao!
UPDATE: Yes – I was correct in saying the details are blurry now…my sister Nicole said she wasn’t there for that rather delicious day! Oh boy – that means Con and I did all the damage!! Sorry Nic, you would have enjoyed it!! XO
you had a recipe for a flat looking blueberry pie. I have searched this site and have not found it. Would you give me the recipe again…….Thank you
Sorry, friend…this is the only blueberry recipe I have so far…you must have seen it somewhere else. Peace.
Omg! The picture speaks a 1,000 wonderful words!!! I love it! And that trip and our monkey bread story!!! I refuse to eat it again til I make it with my big sisters!!! Yours looks to die for!!! I second Connie’s thoughts- this summer!!! I love you guys!!! Xoxo ❤❤❤
Yes!! It’s only right that the first time we have monkey bread again, it’s together…oh wait – maybe I “tasted” it for my post…Love you, Sweeta!
Oh My God!!!! I love this picture and I remember that day so vividly…we had such a great time! I can’t, of course, remember anything from “Monkey Bread Day” other than the monkey bread, our complete consumption of the whole thing, and that we loved it…after that nothing…sugar induced memory lapse I suppose! This recipe looks to die for and I request that this summer we make it together…eat the whole thing…and take another crazy sister picture! I love you!
Ahhhh – good times! Done. And. Done! Love you, Sweeta!