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A moment on the lips, a lifetime on your sisal area rug
Published: 12/13/2011 7:30 AM
Last Modified: 12/12/2011 5:26 PM


Trust me, it tasted MUCH better than this looks.

Sauces make me nervous for multiple reasons.

For starters, I've never really mastered my favorite ones, particularly alfredo. Not that I've tried it recently, but my last attempt -- using skim milk, which should've been my first red flag -- was lustrously lacking. The time before that, I scalded it.

Then there's the fat content of my favorite sauces. To top it off, they stain -- especially the one I made this weekend to complement a cheesecake a friend of mine made. But it tasted fabulous!

Having never made a sauce that didn't involve grimacing while trying to twist off a seemingly cemented-closed jar, it was with much trepidation that I web-surfed for something easy but yummy, finally settling on something that received an overall 4.5-star rating from AllRecipes.com. Prep time stated 5 minutes, which meant it would take me 10. I always have to double the prep and cook times.

Anyway, the recipe calls for cornstarch, which you mix with water, then add to the blueberries you've just brought to a boil. But even though I set out a little bowl for the cornstarch mixing right in front of me, I was too busy actin' a fool (probably singing Carpenters Christmas songs, Lord only knows), I measured a tablespoon of cornstarch, skipped over the bowl and popped it SMACK in the middle of my blueberries, whereupon I promptly screamed, "CRAP!" Thankfully, I was able to scoop out the starch with minimal blueberry juice wasted, and I compensated for what little starch remained by subtracting it from the third and final tablespoon I mixed.

The finished product was great, and I was assured such by the hostess of a party that evening, where she served my sauce with her delectable cheesecake. Unfortunately, the serving spoon fell on her sisal area rug and, despite much "Out, damned spot!" and scrubbings with those AWESOME Clorox bleach wipes (which you NEVER want to use as hand wipes, just FYI), I'm afraid faint traces of the sauce will haunt the rug for a while.

Blueberry Sauce
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (I used 2.5 cups because that's how much was in the frozen bag I bought at the grocery store.)
1/4 cup water
1 cup orange juice (I used pulp-free Simply Orange.)
3/4 cup white sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water, for the cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I just eye-balled mine, a dash or two.)
1. In a saucepan over medium heat, combine berries, 1/4 cup water, OJ and sugar. Stir gently, and bring to a boil.
2. Stop singing, or you'll screw something up.
3. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and 1/4 cup cold water. Gently stir the cornstarch mixture into the berries, but DO NOT mash the berries. Simmer gently until thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon, 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in the almond extract and cinnamon.
Note: Thin sauce with water, if it's too thick for your liking.

I bet this would be FABULOUS on pancakes or waffles, or eaten slap out of the bowl if you've had a ridiculously bad day.

Peace, love and haunted sisal rugs ... XOXO


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Living Wright

While other kids were watching "The Smurfs," Scene Writer Jason Ashley Wright was tuned in to "Style with Elsa Klensch." By fourth grade, he knew he wanted to write, and spent almost three years publishing a weekly teen-oriented magazine, Teen-Zine -- circulation: 2. After earning a degree in journalism from the University of Southern Mississippi, he became the medical reporter and teen board coordinator for the Hattiesburg (Miss.) American, a Gannett newspaper. Eight months later, with visions of Elsa dancing in his head, he applied for the fashion writer position at the Tulsa World, where he began working on Aug. 3, 1998. He is now a general assignment reporter for Scene.

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