Ariel & Erin Keon

By Published On: May 22, 2013

At the Keon house in Bruce, the typical response to, “Hey, Mom, how do you…?” is “Go look it up!” according to Ariel and Erin, daughters of Scott and Vonda. Vonda always read the “old Firefox books” (about plain living) and just wanted to pass along the old-timey way to her girls. She wanted them to be self-sufficient, so she taught them how to cook and sew.

When Vonda was sick with cancer, the girls began cooking at ages 10 and 8, so they basically grew up cooking. “Mom would tell us what to do,” they said. She home-schooled the girls, and some others, too, for a period of time. They learned how to plan a meal, budget for it, go get groceries and cook it. Sometimes they even did things like learning to cook tamales from scratch, which took all day.  They always have a big garden, so the girls have been exposed to that also.

From the garden, Erin’s favorites are watermelon and lettuce, and Ariel’s is watermelon, but she says she’s never met a fruit she didn’t like. Ariel has been in Orlando, Fl. doing an internship at Disneyworld. This semester sister Erin has also gotten one and joined her as two of the 7,500 interns working there. Ariel says the oranges are perfect in Florida and the watermelon is delicious. She really enjoys a monthly fresh farmers’ market that is near the Disney property.

Ariel created her own version of butterfinger cake and says it was a long process to get the taste she wanted. “I suggest small pieces of the cake. It is VERY sweet.”
She asked her aunt Lisa Norwood how to make her sweet potato casserole when she wanted to include the recipe in a cookbook students did at The W. “It is my absolute favorite to eat at Thanksgiving and Christmas.”

The inside out caramel apples are a “Vonda creation” according to Erin, that she taught her to make. “Use plenty of caramel!” said Erin. Ariel likes and makes spaghetti with a sun-dried tomato?Alfredo sauce with sauteed zucchini and yellow squash, mixed with cheese and baked. “It is wonderful!” Ariel and Erin both eat generally healthy, saying their mother has always cooked healthy, and they both like chicken and fish. Also, Vonda has been classes for making homemade pasta and showing the girls how to do that.
Erin recently made Ariel a Mickey Mouse head birthday cake.

The cake was tie-dyed inside and the outside was a homemade fondant using marshmallows, Crisco and powdered sugar. She said it tasted good and was pretty easy to make. During a semester of a culinary class at The W, she was really able to enjoy the presentation of food. Her favorite thing they made was an Apple Cranberry Pie with basket weave crust. Ariel has been enjoying helping a friend experiment with making cupcakes for her wedding, who does not want the traditional wedding cake. French vanilla or strawberry have been narrowed down as the bride’s favorites. In talking about desserts, they admitted, “If a cake doesn’t come out, they we will usually make a trifle out of it!”

Inside Out Caramel Apple Slices
(Erin Keon)
Start by cutting a green apple in half. Scoop out the core and fill with melted caramel. Then stick it in the fridge so the caramel solidifies. Cut and serve.

Butterfinger Cake Sugar Coma
(Ariel Keon)
One box Devil’s Food cake mix
One small can sweetened condensed milk
One Butterfinger bar, crushed
Chocolate and caramel syrup
One tub of Cool Whip
Bake Devil’s Food cake as directed on box. Upon removal from oven, poke the cake all over with a fork and pour the sweetened condensed milk over the warm cake. Allow the cake to soak up the milk, then lightly drizzle the caramel and chocolate syrup over the cake. Let cool completely.
Spread Cool Whip over the cake (as icing) and lightly drizzle with caramel and chocolate syrup. Sprinkle the crushed Butterfinger bar over the top of the finished cake.

Drunken Pasta Primavera
(Vonda Keon)
Chopped veggies: 1/2 sweet yellow onion, 1/3 red sweet pepper, 1/3 orange pepper, 1/3 yellow sweet pepper, 1 chopped carrot, 2 ribs chopped celery. Saute in skillet of hot olive oil, plus two pats of butter, on medium heat with small amount of sea salt sprinkled on the veggies to bring out the sugar in them.
Saute until onions are translucent. Then add 1/2 cup chopped broccoli or chopped asparagus, along with 1/2 cup of pistachios. Add 1 cup drained Roma tomatoes at this point and a healthy teaspoon of basil, thyme, smidge of sage and rosemary herbs, and two cups of vegetable broth. Let simmer while pasta is cooking.
Here comes the drunken part:?Add 8 oz. of red wine to the pasta water while brought to a boil. Add pasta. (I like to use the ‘nests.’ It is a good serving size.)?The pasta will absorb the flavor of the wine and will also turn a nice purple color.
“Have no fear for you non-drinkers, the alcohol cooks away.” Drain the pasta after it has cooked to about one minute beyond al dente time (it’s on the package.) Add pasta to primavera sauce, along with shredded parmesan and asagio cheese.
“Serve on warm plate please, and add a nice hot roll or some crusty bread, a glass of wine, and you have Drunken Pasta Primavera.”

Aunt Lisa’s Sweet Potato Casserole
(Ariel Keon)
1 1/2 cups cooked sweet potatoes, mashed
1 stick margarine
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sugar
1 cup coconut, shredded
1/2 cup self-rising flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 stick margarine, melted
1 cup nuts, chopped
2 Tbsp. water
Mix mashed sweet potatoes, margarine, eggs, milk, vanilla, sugar, and coconut together. Pour into a 2 1/2 quart casserole. Mix flour, sugar, melted margarine, nuts and water together. Sprinkle on top of sweet potato mixture. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes. Serves 12-15.

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