Maxwell 53: Escaping the Borg by Marriage. Who'd Have Thought Sarah?

[JermajestyDuggar]

Luckily I grew up with grandparents who had big gardens. And zucchini bread was a regular thing all summer. There were summer foods that were always made due to family gardens. Creamed tomatoes on toast, stuffed peppers, strawberry shortcake, roasted corn, zucchini bread, apple pie, and a few others. 

[petrushka]

28 minutes ago, fundiefan said:

I can't imagine a life where you don't know about zucchini until you're an adult. 

 

Raises hand!! Both my Polish grandmothers had huge gardens but zucchini or any kind of squash never appeared except for the occasional pumpkin.  My Dad disliked vegetables for the most part, but ate corn, potatoes, cabbage and sliced tomatoes. What a shame since we had access to almost everything else from grandma's garden. I had my first taste of zucchini in college.  I grow it every year and make relish, bake zucchini bread, and work it into my lasagna.

[Zee]

Okay all this talk of food, growing up we had a recipe for zucchini bread that was BREAD not cake-y with raisins and cinnamon. Does anyone have a recipe that sounds like that? We can’t find ours and all the ones I find online have eggs which I am allergic to. 

[Aithuia]

1 hour ago, Zee said:

My Irish American or my Swedish family would probably have her grabbing for the smelling salts. Not only are there about as many conversations as there are people, in several languages, and with people taking part in several conversations at the same time. Not everyone is sitting down and we are probably tasting things off each other’s plates. And if you are really lucky there are also some dogs roaming around.   🤣🤣

I have a big Irish American Catholic family and one of the best parts of family gathering meals is switching seats and going in and out of conversations. You start in one seat, and then when someone gets up for seconds or another drink or the bathroom, you take their seat; when they come back, they take yours, and the conversation keeps going. A lot of "Hey, get over here! I haven't talked to you yet. You, get up so ___ can sit over here." (and then more laughing and shuffling) happens too. Or if someone gets up from one of the good chairs, and you got stuck with a rickety folding chair when everyone sat down for dinner. You dive for that chair as soon as its previous occupant leaves the room. 😁

After a few hours of eating too much food and flowing in and out of one giant conversation with everybody or ten smaller ones, all 25-30 of us have musical chairs-ed ourselves around the crowded dining room table and in and out of the kitchen and living room overflow seating, and we're all caught up on everyone else's lives. We would never dream of staying in orderly nuclear family groups like the Maxwells do at their Sunday lunches.

[quiversR4hunting]

2 hours ago, Alisamer said:

Perhaps you might mention to her that St. John's feast day was chosen due to it's proximity to the solstice, and is also celebrated as Midsummer in many areas particularly in the UK, where many pagan-derived celebrations are held all day. And that day is also enjoyed and celebrated by many modern witches and pagans. This video has a lot of info on how the feast day for St. John and the pre-existing pagan traditions have become all tangled up together. It has a British focus. 

This seems fitting (from a social justice catholic no less)

1 hour ago, Alisamer said:

I probably knew about it before adulthood, but zucchini was something we never had growing up. 

My mom did most of the cooking, largely with veggies we'd grown, so I'm guessing she doesn't like zucchini. She doesn't like rice either so we didn't get that very often. Dad would sometimes make some, but mom didn't. 

And mom would get on me for being "picky". Now as adults, I still have the same food preferences, but we're having to cater to HER being "picky" now when we go out somewhere. We finally after lots of convincing got her to eat teriyaki chicken, once in a long while. I tried to convince her sweet & sour chicken from the local Chinese place was just chicken tenders with sweet & sour sauce but she wasn't buying it. 

So you didn't have neighbors drop off zucchini or squash or what not during harvest? We would come home and neighbors (relative when we all lived on hundreds of acre farms) had come by and dropped off fresh veggies. I was an adult before I had sautéed zucchini and squash. I LOVE it that way. We also slice both and put on cookies sheets and bake with spices and parm cheese on top. I do not like baked squash with marshmallows and brown sugar (i am the only in my family that doesn't like baked squash). 

[ClareDeLune]

On 7/10/2022 at 11:24 PM, Bethy said:

In the time since they last checked in, Jesse and Anna could've had a whole kid and we wouldn't even know.

If Jesse and Anna had half a pregnancy I reckon someone on here would find out about it and hunt down FB photos of them picking out maternity clothes and nursery furniture 😂

Edit: I just joined the rank of Doula for Destiny on this very post so I'm begging you to find out that an Anna Jesse baby is on the way 👶

Edited July 13, 2022 by ClareDeLune

[Mela99]

It would be hilarious if she hosted a bunch of Italian Americans.  Everyone is yelling at once, there is nothing but individual conversations, and there would be someone who said "Where the hell are the strawberries?"  

I’m imagining my own Nonna white with horror over the lack of food.

[MamaJunebug]

4 hours ago, Alisamer said:

Perhaps you might mention to her that St. John's feast day was chosen due to it's proximity to the solstice, and is also celebrated as Midsummer in many areas particularly in the UK, where many pagan-derived celebrations are held all day. And that day is also enjoyed and celebrated by many modern witches and pagans. This video has a lot of info on how the feast day for St. John and the pre-existing pagan tradit

By Jove*! Thank you for that! I’ll tuck it away for next year and post it proudly on the appointed day.  You’ve brightened my day, as I’ve been (very mildly) sick and dwelling on the loss [sic] of 2 friends, Mrs. John Roe and another (now very smug) tradCath woman. 
 

*See what I did there? Hee-Hee,

Edited July 13, 2022 by MamaJunebug

[Bethy]

On 7/6/2022 at 11:42 PM, SassyPants said:

Moved out to married in 12 month’s time- That’s a lot of change in 1 year-

But if she'd followed the path that was expected by likely everyone including her, that one year would probably have included a no-touch whirlwind courtship/engagement to a perfect stranger, going from not even holding hands to the marriage bed in a matter of hours, a move to another state and into a house she might never have seen in person, and a baby in nine months (or heartbreak if there WASN'T a baby on the way in that time.)

So yes, a change, but a much more gradual change than if she'd married in her early 20s straight out of her father's house.

[Black Aliss]

7 hours ago, Alisamer said:

I hope Sarah finds a wedding dress that makes her feel beautiful and amazing and doesn't think for one second about what Steve would prefer her to wear. 

I hope it's strapless, or backless. Or both.

[JermajestyDuggar]

I don’t think she will go with strapless or backless. But I could see her wearing something like this. Even though the lace covers her shoulders, it’s a little shear. So it’s still risqué for a Maxwell. But not enough to cause Steve to have a heart attack. 

[ElizaB]

you can have a really gorgeous and modest wedding dress. In fact, I don’t love strapless dresses because any photos taken of their faces often makes the bride look naked. But I hate when a fundi bride takes a non modest dress and tries to add to it to cover themselves. It always ends up looking sloppy. I hope Sarah finds a pretty dress that is exactly what she wants (and not anyone one else). 

[Alisamer]

On 7/13/2022 at 2:01 PM, quiversR4hunting said:

So you didn't have neighbors drop off zucchini or squash or what not during harvest? We would come home and neighbors (relative when we all lived on hundreds of acre farms) had come by and dropped off fresh veggies. I was an adult before I had sautéed zucchini and squash. I LOVE it that way. We also slice both and put on cookies sheets and bake with spices and parm cheese on top. I do not like baked squash with marshmallows and brown sugar (i am the only in my family that doesn't like baked squash). 

No, no zucchini that I can remember! Squash, yes. Here it was yellow squash and tomatoes that everyone gets overrun with. The squash at our house usually got sliced thin, lightly breaded and fried (not my favorite, but I'll eat a few bites). Tomatoes mostly became "mater sandwiches". Layers of tomato slices on bread slathered with Duke's Mayo, topped with salt and a ton of pepper. (I don't like those, either. But my dad loves them.) 

We also grew corn, okra, some grapes and strawberries, and a few other things. And lots and lots and lots of green beans. We canned them and had enough for us and our grandparents for the whole year. We also had lots of blackberries, but we picked those wild.

We didn't have a hugely varied garden, I think largely because we were also running a dairy farm, baling hay, cutting and chopping silage, and all the other growing that goes along with keeping 40 head of milk cows fed. So for our family food garden we grew what grew well that most of us liked, and nothing very finicky. 

We had pretty simple food growing up, I think, and enough variety but not a ton of variety. But I think that was largely due to the fact we had the farm, so even when mom was a "SAHM", she was actually working most of every day, between the house and the farm. Also, when you have cows you tend to eat a lot of beef. If one has to be put down for whatever reason it is not wasted. 

The Maxwells have no such excuse. Literally everyone was at home, working for the family business, and they had a house full of adults for a long time. With the way they scheduled everything and had meetings, they could easily have had an extremely varied diet. They had plenty of time to plan menus and shop for food. And grow their own, if they chose. 

[hoipolloi]

24 minutes ago, Alisamer said:

With the way they scheduled everything and had meetings, they could easily have had an extremely varied diet. They had plenty of time to plan menus and shop for food. And grow their own, if they chose. 

Why, they could even have rotated the Maxwell males -- including Steve-hovah -- into the KP duty roster!

I may be wrong but I don't remember any of the sons let alone Steve doing meal prep & other kitchen work. Just the endless photos of Sarah-Mary-Anna smiling at the counter.

 

[Zee]

2 hours ago, hoipolloi said:

Why, they could even have rotated the Maxwell males -- including Steve-hovah -- into the KP duty roster!

I may be wrong but I don't remember any of the sons let alone Steve doing meal prep & other kitchen work. Just the endless photos of Sarah-Mary-Anna smiling at the counter.

 

Actually that is one place where the Maxwells are a bit more modern. I remember several posts where they guys cooked, usually for holidays. 

[kmachete14]

People always say Catholics had to merge with pagan traditions to assimilate into cultures. While that's definitely true once the established Church started colonizing/murdering indigenous people, and also true that Catholic holidays were planned around Roman holidays, the real fact is that Catholics just did what was normal for the times without an ulterior motive.  Literally even the most conservative, traditional Catholic practices include chanting, blood/body sacrifice, following a season calendar, cleansing the air, referring to spirits (or the spirit, rather), an altar, etc. Those things weren't just invented to blend in with Roman pagans and make them comfortable with Christianity, they were a defacto part of the early Christian church.

[Bethy]

47 minutes ago, Zee said:

Actually that is one place where the Maxwells are a bit more modern. I remember several posts where they guys cooked, usually for holidays. 

Correct. I don't remember it appearing at all equal in terms of the division of kitchen labor, but it was evident that the boys could hold their own in the kitchen even if they only did it on holidays.

[ElizaB]

3 hours ago, Zee said:

Actually that is one place where the Maxwells are a bit more modern. I remember several posts where they guys cooked, usually for holidays. 

The boys also know their way around a ceiling fan duster...

 

[theologygeek]

On 7/13/2022 at 1:45 PM, Zee said:

Okay all this talk of food, growing up we had a recipe for zucchini bread that was BREAD not cake-y with raisins and cinnamon. Does anyone have a recipe that sounds like that? We can’t find ours and all the ones I find online have eggs which I am allergic to. 

I make it by eye.  I can tell you what I put in it.  I do measure the flour.  3 cups.  Then salt, cinnamon (I go heavy on the cinnamon), baking powder, baking soda, vegetable oil (like about a half a cup), grated zucchini, milk (or substitute like soymilk), sugar, 1 egg.  Mix with a spoon.  I never mix breads or muffins with anything but a spoon.  Throw some applesauce in there if you can't have eggs.  I've done it both ways.  It comes just as good.  Greased loaf pan 350 till done.  It's good with chocolate chips too if you have them on hand.  

[Zee]

18 hours ago, ElizaB said:

The boys also know their way around a ceiling fan duster...

 

That they do 🤣

[AmazonGrace]

On 7/13/2022 at 7:17 PM, petrushka said:

Raises hand!! Both my Polish grandmothers had huge gardens but zucchini or any kind of squash never appeared except for the occasional pumpkin.  My Dad disliked vegetables for the most part, but ate corn, potatoes, cabbage and sliced tomatoes. What a shame since we had access to almost everything else from grandma's garden. I had my first taste of zucchini in college.  I grow it every year and make relish, bake zucchini bread, and work it into my lasagna.

Me too... I have no memories of eating zucchini when I was a kid, it wasn't a local staple.   I think it became a thing for me in the late nineties or early 2000s. 

I love grilled zucchini.

[anachronistic]

I’ve gotten a kid who won’t touch a vegetable with a ten foot pole to ear zucchini via this recipe, not exactly healthy but not terrible either especially with whole wheat flour: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/zucchini-brownies-recipe

I also love zucchini pancakes and bread. I try to grate a ton in summer when it’s cheap or free and freeze it for winter baking. Raw zucchini is like wet paper. Yuck.

[Hane]

2 hours ago, anachronistic said:

I try to grate a ton in summer when it’s cheap or free and freeze it for winter baking.

I used to do this with bumper crops of zucchini from my parents’ garden. I made loaves of zucchini bread and wrapped and froze them so my mom could have something to give neighbors who popped by with unexpected holiday gifts.

[Bethy]

On 7/11/2022 at 10:35 AM, kpmom said:

But, the one reason I can think that they might make an announcement is to let their former followers know what's going on.  They had a big MOTH following back in the day and Sarah ran the MOTH board.  Everyone on the board knew her.  Plus, there are people who "know" her through her books.

If they don't at least acknowledge that she has married, they are NOT doing their brand any favors. They don't even have to announce Kory's last name (they don't use the daughter-in-laws' maiden names on the blog bio section, so there's precedent) so Sarah's privacy going forward would be respected, but they could just post a pic of the happy couple at the wedding and say how thankful they are that "God brought that right guy along for Sarah." Because obviously we've beaten the unmarried sister issue to death here as we've been able to see something is wrong for a decade or more, but I feel like even their hardcore fans/followers have watched the sisters' lives unfold and said "Wait, how come they got all five boys married off and NONE of the girls?"

Of course, maybe they don't care about the brand anymore. And maybe it doesn't "count" if the daughter moves out at 40 and finds the guy herself. Just the same I would think they wouldn't want their loyal following thinking that all three daughters were still languishing in their singleness after all these years - especially Sarah.

[Black Aliss]

On 7/13/2022 at 4:56 PM, JermajestyDuggar said:

I don’t think she will go with strapless or backless. But I could see her wearing something like this. Even though the lace covers her shoulders, it’s a little shear. So it’s still risqué for a Maxwell. But not enough to cause Steve to have a heart attack. 

Sarah would look stunning in that dress!

6 hours ago, anachronistic said:

I’ve gotten a kid who won’t touch a vegetable with a ten foot pole to ear zucchini via this recipe, not exactly healthy but not terrible either especially with whole wheat flour: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/zucchini-brownies-recipe

I also love zucchini pancakes and bread. I try to grate a ton in summer when it’s cheap or free and freeze it for winter baking. Raw zucchini is like wet paper. Yuck.

chocolate zucchini cake, FTW! https://cnz.to/recipes/cakes-tarts/chocolate-zucchini-cake-recipe/

This recipe has less sugar than others I've seen on the internet.