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November 18, 2008

Well, what do you know?

Interestingly enough, Brian has been jabbering about how we need to teach the preschooler chess.  He  has declared Memory and Candy Land beneath her.

I begin to cast judgement on him, reminding him that she LIKES to wear her shoes on the wrong feet, and then I remember that my Dad handed me the autobiography of Lee Iacococca in the first grade .  . .

Hmm. What was that about marrying your father?

You Are Chess
You are brilliant and shrewd. You can often predict what people will do in the future.
You thrive in complex situations. You deal with contradictions well.
You can have many streams of thought going on at your mind at once. You keep track of things well.
You are very patient. You have lots of endurance, even when your energy dwindles

What Board Game Are You?

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November 08, 2008

Just when I thought I had knitting all figured out

100_2011 
Apparently  "yo" (yarn over) is not a step to be ignored when making a hat for a four year old.  

On the plus side, Baby Lisa got a new hat.
100_2013  

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November 07, 2008

15 Days of Fall :: Early morning tea parties

100_2018

Two weekends ago, the temperature took a distinct dip and we found ourselves in the thick of fall.  Blustery winds swept crispy leaves across the deck, and pine needles stormed the ground.  


Somehow, the girls found this inviting and suggested an early morning tea party.  Covering their pajamas with coats and their toes with slippers and rain boots, we tromped onto the deck and enjoyed our tea. 

It wasn't too long before they wandered back inside; the perfect time to provide them with their very first mugs of hot cocoa with 'baby' marshmellows.
100_2016 100_2021

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November 03, 2008

A princess and an Ariel fairy. No skunks.

Thankfully, I have finally replaced the missing contraption which allowed me to download pictures from my camera to the computer.  You really start to realize how important a picture is to a blog entry, when your snapshots are trapped inside your Kodak.  You also realize how many everyday joys are quickly forgotten, when you aren't capturing it your blog.  :)


So onto the capturing portion on this entry.

Halloween went well.  Like last year, Sticky-Butt was battling a splashy cough and waved off the trick or treating rather early in the evening.  Sizzles, however, hit her stride.  The full realization of the potential gluttony finally dawned on her, energizing her enough to ring door bells all night.  

The only hiccup in the evening occurred when Sticky-Butt declared her interest in being a princess, despite her sister's idea that she go as a skunk.  To which Sticky Butt said, "No sissy!  I no skunk!  I princess!"

Amen.

100_2028

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Recipe of the Week

Archives of Recipe of the Week

  • Cranberry Pumpkin Energy Bites
    * 11.5 oz box Nature's Path Organic Pumpkin Flax Plus Granola * 1 cup of dried craisins * 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon * 1 cup Lundberg Farms Brown Rice syrup * 1/2 cup creamy soynut butter Spray a 11x7 inch pan with nonstick spray. Stir together granola, cranberries and spices into the bowl; set aside. Bring brown rice syrup to a boil over medium high heat in a small saucepan. When bubbles start moving from the outside of the pan to the center, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat and quickly stir in soynut butter. Immediately pour over granola mixture and stir well. Press into prepared pan and let cool completely before cutting in squares. Store in airtight container.
  • Watermelon Pie-sicles
    Take a large watermelon and cut it in half. Then cut each half into two pieces.
  • Take one of the smaller pieces and remove the melon from the rind.
  • You can either cut the melon into smaller chunks or simply proceed to the next step using the huge hunk of melon.
  • Place the melon in a fine strainer and place the strainer over a large bowl.
  • Using a potato masher, smoosh the melon until there is only pulp and seeds left in the strainer. The juice will drip into the large bowl under the strainer.
  • Using the back of a wooden spoon, push the remaining pulp against the bottom of the strainer to get the last bits of juice out of the watermelon.
  • Pour the juice in a store-bought popsicle contraption or a do-it-yourself popsicle contraption.
  • This should make about 4-6 small popsicles, depending on the size of your container.
  • Freeze for at least 5 hours, preferably overnight
  • Remove from the container. If the popsicles won't come out, place the holder in a bowl of warm water and try again. 6/10/08 12:58 PM
  • Beach Pasta - Pasta with Tomatoes, Basil and Brie
    From the cookbook, "Seaside: Pastels & Pickets"
  • 4 large tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 pound Brie, rind removed, torn into bite size pieces
  • 1 cup firmly packed basil leaves, cut into strips
    • 3 cloves of garlic, finely minced
  • 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/4 cup white wine
  • 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
    • 2 zucchini, sliced, broiled
  • 1 eggplant, cut into bite-sized pieces, broiled
  • 6 quarts water
  • 1.5 pounds linguine
  • 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • Combine tomatoes, Brie, basil, garlic, 1/2 cup olive oil, chicken broth, white wine, 1/2 tsp salt, pepper, zucchini and eggplant in large bowl; mix well. Let stand, covered, at room temperature for 2 hours. Prepare the pasta as directed. Toss linguine with sauce in bowl. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese
  • Serves 6.
  • Popeye Pasta
    1 pound of bow-tie pasta
  • 3-4 tablespoons of unsalted butter
  • 1 bunch of asparagus chopped into small pieces
  • 1 small bunch of lacinato kale leaves chopped rather small
  • 1 small or medium vidalia onion
  • 8 oz. of whole milk ricotta
  • 1/2 cup of grated parmesan
  • 2/3 cup of toasted pine nuts
  • big pinch of coarse salt
  • lots of fresh ground pepper
  • tiny pinch of thyme

    • Place a little olive oil in a large pan. Once the oil is warm, add chopped onion. Cook for about 4 minutes and then add asparagus. Cook for about 2 minutes and then add salt, pepper, and thyme. Continue saute on medium low heat until your pasta is done, making sure not to burn the vegetables. In the meantime, bring a large pot to a rolling boil. Once the water is boiling add 4 large pinches of salt, then add the pasta. Boil the pasta for 10 minutes or according to the package instructions: After 8 minutes of boiling the pasta, throw in the chopped kale. When the pasta is done, drain the whole pot (pasta and kale) in the strainer.

    Toss the pasta into the large pan with the asparagus and onion.

    Add ricotta, parmesan and pine nuts. Toss and serve with more parmesan cheese.

  • Patty-Cake Lemon Bars
    For the crust
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1.5 sticks of unsalted butter, frozen, plus more for the dish
  • 3/4 cup of confectioners' sugar
  • 3/4 teaspoons coarse salt
  • For the filling:
  • 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 1/3 cups of sugar
  • 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 tsp coarse salt
  • 3/4 cups fresh lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup whole milk

    • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 by 13 inch glass baking dish, and line with waxed paper.

    Make crust: Grate butter on a cheese grater with large holes: set aside. Whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add butter; stir with a wooden spoon until combined and mixture looks crumbly.

    Transfer mixture to prepared dish: press evenly onto bottom with your hands. Freeze crust for 15 minutes. Bake until golden, 16-18 minutes.

    Meanwhile make filling. Whisk together eggs, sugar, flour, and salt in a medium bowl until smooth. Stir in lemon juice and milk. Pour over hot crust.

    Bake at 325 degrees until filling is set and edges are slightly golden brown, about 18 minutes. Let cool slightly on a wire rack. Lift out; let cool completely then cut. Dust with confectioner's sugar.

  • Cast-Iron Cookies
    Cast Iron Cookie Adapted from the blog My Messy Thrilling Life

    • 2 cups of flour
    • 1 tsp. baking soda
    • 1/2 tsp. salt
    • 3/4 cup butter softened
    • 1/2 cup sugar
    • 1 tablespoon vanilla
    • 3/4 cup brown sugarr
    • 1 egg
    • 1 tbsp. whole milk
    • Lots of chocolate chips

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
    Bake for 35 minutes. p>

  • Cowgirl Cookies
    2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 2 sticks unsalted butter
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 2 cups of fresh granola (fruit and nut; Bare Naked or Great Harvest fruit version are good substitutes)
  • 1 cup raisins OR dried cherries
  • 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

    • Whisk together flour, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl.

    Beat on medium-high speed the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla.

    Reduce to low and add flour.

    Stir in oats, granola, dried fruit and chocolate.

    Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes. 4/27/08 6:44 PM

  • Strawberry Bread
    Strawberry Bread

    Adapted from allrecipes.com (Ellen Rainey)

    • 3 cups of fresh strawberries, smashed
    • 3 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
    • 1/8 cup wheat flour
    • 2 cups white sugar
    • 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
    • 1 tablespoon vanilla
    • 1tsp salt
    • 1tsp baking soda
    • 1 1/4 cup vegetable oil
    • 4 eggs, beaten

    Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 9x5 inch loaf pans
    Sprinkle smashed berries with some of the sugar.
    Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt and baking soda in large bowl and mix.
    Blend oil and eggs into strawberries.
    Add strawberry mixture to flour mixture, until just moistened.
    Divide batter in half into pans.
    Bake 45 to 50 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes on wire rack. Turn loaves out and cool completely.

  • Rainbow Rice
    Open a ziploc bag. Place several drops of food coloring inside the bag. Add one tablespoon of white vinegar to the bag. Place two cups of rice into the bag. Seal the bag and squish the rice around the bag until all the grains are colored. Pour the rice on a cookie sheetl, spreading it out into a single layer of grains. Bake on 200 degrees for 30 minutes.