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JUNE 2021
IN KEEPING WITH THE THEME
I love a good theme. Every month, when we write the newsletter, I think about what the theme should be. I try to come up with recipes and articles that stick to the theme. I guess that’s why I love holidays. Holidays are basically themes of their own, which makes holiday parties and holiday decorating just fun in my opinion. If you throw a holiday party, you can set the table and choose the menu in the theme of the holiday and even dress for the occasion — costumes at Halloween, ugly sweaters for Christmas, something lacy for Valentine’s Day. The theme of this newsletter is birthday parties. My mom was born on June 23, 1936, and she loved a good birthday celebration, especially presents and chocolate cake. For my adult life, my mom would come over on her birthday. The weather always seemed to be nice, and all the flowers were in full bloom. We would make her favorite grilled teriyaki chicken shish kebobs and, of course, chocolate cake. She would see the wrapped presents and want to open them right away like a big kid. After dinner, she would eat two pieces of cake and get a stomachache that she said was worth it.
When the kids were little, I spent weeks preparing for their birthday parties, with particular attention to the theme of the party. The theme depended on what they were most interested in at the time. Some years, when particularly inspired by the theme, I would stay up late into the night making decorations and homemade invitations. When Aaron was 2, he loved helium balloons. We invited friends and family over for a birthday party. I rented a helium tank, and while he was napping before the party, we filled up dozens of balloons with helium. I couldn’t wait to see his reaction. It was not what I expected. He came downstairs, still sleepy from his nap. He burst into tears, crying, “no like it balloon” over and over. We had to hide all the balloons away in the den. Most years, however, the theme parties were a great success. There was a “hippie” party where the kids dressed up ’70s style and we made tie-dye T-shirts, a tennis party, a Barbie party with pony rides, and a gymnastics party. The snacks and treat bags for every party were loyal to the theme. One of my favorite parties was for Hannah’s 10th birthday. Hannah was born on March 8, International Women’s’ Day. We invited her friends to the Richland Academy of the Arts and asked them to dress as their favorite
Tie-dye party
“International Woman.” An instructor from the academy taught a class with several international dances, including a Hawaiian hula dance and a Spanish flamenco. We served snacks with an international flare like pot stickers, pizza, and tacos. As a litigator, it is important to have a theme at trial. When we are preparing a case for litigation, our entire team sits down roundtable style to brainstorm the essential issues of the case. What is the case really about? What rules were broken that caused injury to our client? What was taken away from our client as a result? Coming up with the theme of the trial gives us an edge with the jury, and it prevents the defense from distracting the jury with irrelevant facts. I knew all of that party planning would serve a higher purpose someday!
–Hillary
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Development Methods
INSPIRATION CORNER
ODE TO REMI
ROBIN BARRETT
Robin Barrett recently retired after teaching primarily first-grade children in the Lexington school district. Robin has all the qualities of a great educator — she is patient, kind, creative, and compassionate. For 37 years, Robin gave so many kids in our community a wonderful start to grade school. Under her guidance, the students learned to be inquisitive, curious, and confident in their abilities. We were lucky to have her as the first-grade teacher for two of our kids — Aaron and Rachel. Hillary loved to volunteer in then-Miss Bacquet’s classroom, helping the kids with reading and especially with the holiday parties. An avid reader herself, Robin encouraged the children in her classroom to love books. Robin has many favorite quotes, but a poem by Jane Baskill best sums up the residents of Room 1 at Central Elementary: Open a book And you will find People and places of every kind; Open a book And you can be Anything that you want to be; Open a book And you can share Wondrous worlds you find in there; Open a book
Up for adoption, we heard from a friend, A 1-year-old doodle, as was the trend.
Already trained, the article read, Has all his shots and comes with a bed.
So we trekked up to get you, your things they did pack, Vowed they would miss you, “just don’t bring him back.”
A surprise for Sophie, she was lonely you see, She needed a friend, Sophie didn’t agree.
And I will too You read to me And I’ll read to you.
Your name had been Ryan, we thought it strange, Remi more refined, so we made the change.
At first it was bedlam, your training was weak, Every minute, you were taking a leak.
Sophie the alpha, you followed her lead, “Let’s sneak out, make mischief,” she’d plant the seed.
We aren’t sure why, stairs you would not take, A refuge for Sophie when she needed a break.
A terrible swimmer, you’d bark from the shore, One day you jumped in, with fear no more.
You were always happy, n’er a foul mood, Loved a little salmon grease, over your food.
Rambunctious and silly, you brought us much joy, We’re sure gonna miss you, our sweet Remi boy!
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Easy Chocolate Birthday Cake
This recipe is adapted from a recipe in a 1992 edition of Bon Appetit magazine. Since then, Hillary has made it countless times for birthdays, Mother’s Day, and any other excuse to eat chocolate cake! Super easy and doesn’t require a mixer.
INGREDIENTS
Cake • 1 1/4 cups sugar • 1 cup buttermilk • 2/3 cup vegetable oil • 2 eggs • 1 teaspoon vanilla • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder • 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda Simple Syrup (optional, but makes a nice moist cake) • 1/2 cup granulated sugar • 1 cup water
Frosting • 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature • 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped • 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-processed) • 4 teaspoons vanilla • 4 cups powdered sugar • 2/3 cup (about) sour cream
Grammy’s Favorite Teriyaki Grilled Chicken Kebobs
INGREDIENTS • 1/4 cup canola or other vegetable oil • 1/3 cup honey • 1/3 cup soy sauce • 2 cloves garlic, chopped • 6 chicken breast filets, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 sweet bell peppers (red, yellow, orange), cut into 1-inch pieces • 1 red or yellow onion, cut into 1-inch sections • 1 lemon, cut into wedges
PREPARATION
For cake: 1. Preheat oven to 350 F. 2. Grease and flour two 8-inch- diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch sides. 3. Whisk first 5 ingredients in large bowl to blend. 4. Sift in flour, cocoa, and baking soda. 5. Stir to combine. 6. Divide batter between prepared pans. 7. Bake just until toothpick inserted
For Frosting: 1. Melt unsalted butter and chocolate in small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth. 2. Transfer to a large bowl. Let cool about 30 minutes. 3. Whisk in cocoa powder and vanilla. 4. Whisk in 2 cups sugar and 1/3 cup sour cream. 5. Whisk in remaining 2 cups sugar. 6. Gradually whisk in enough of remaining sour cream to form spreadable frosting. Assemble: 1. Place one cake top-side down on plate. Brush bottom with simple syrup. Spread generously with frosting. 2. Top with second cake layer top-side down. Brush with simple syrup. Spread top and sides of cake with remaining frosting. 3. There will be extra frosting for decorating, if desired. 4. (Can be prepared up to 8 hours
DIRECTIONS
1. Combine oil, honey, soy sauce, and garlic in plastic bag. 2. Add chicken, vegetables, and lemon wedges and marinate for 2–24 hours. 3. Skewer the chicken and vegetables on metal or wood skewers (wood skewers must be soaked in water at least 30 minutes). 4. Grill over medium heat, turning, until the chicken is cooked (160-165 F internal temperature).
into center comes out clean, about 22–24 minutes. Do not overbake!
8. Cool in pans on racks for 10 minutes. 9. Turn cakes out onto racks and cool completely. 10. (Can be prepared one day
ahead. Wrap cakes separately in plastic wrap and store at room temperature.)
For simple syrup 1. Boil, stirring until sugar dissolves. Let cool to room temperature.
ahead. Cover with cake dome and let stand at room temperature.)
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2404 Park Ave. W., Mansfield, Ohio 44906 419-LAW-2020 BeSmartLegal.com
INSIDE THIS EDITION
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In Keeping with the Theme
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Inspiration Corner — Robin Barrett Ode to Remi
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Easy Chocolate Birthday Cake Grammy’s Favorite Teriyaki Grilled Chicken Kebobs
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A Few Party Game Ideas for Your Next Celebration!
A FEW PARTY GAME IDEAS For Your Next Celebration!
Whatever the theme of your next party might be, one of the best ways to accentuate that theme is to have some fun party games on the docket that everyone can enjoy! For these games, you won’t need a whole lot of supplies besides maybe some household items and a goofy state of mind (that last one is particularly important!). So, pick a game from this list that fits with the theme of your party or use it as inspiration to find or create your own set of games! Sticker Stalker How sneaky can you be? All you’ll need for this game are some stickers and some
from a different song using a word or phrase from the first team’s lyrics. For every song line that a team successfully connects, they get a point, and whoever has the most points wins! To make it easier to think of songs quickly, organize theme categories! The Family Game Have everyone think of a famous person (maybe in keeping with the party’s theme), and write their name on a piece of paper. Put all the pieces of paper in a bowl and shuffle them. Read them aloud twice so that everyone knows the celeb names in play. Then, each player takes
serious stealth. The goal is to stick stickers on other people at the party without them noticing. Whoever uses up all their stickers first wins! You can even make your stickers match the theme of the party! Sing Song Ping Pong If you’ve seen “Pitch Perfect,” you know how to play this game. One team will start by singing one line, and the other will have to sing a line
turns guessing which player is which celebrity. If you guess someone correctly, they become a part of your “family.” If you guess the identity of someone with a large family, you get to merge their entire family with yours, and once you have everyone in your family, you win! Whatever your next celebration might be, we hope these game ideas help you, your family, and friends have a blast and laugh together all day long!
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