Lee Lou Ann

Music Lessons

2011-05-14T18:43:00.001-07:00

We've slowly been adding to our office/band room; piano, drum set, guitar, amp, microphone, speaker. Roxcy and her friends have formed a band called 5x Unique. They are playing a Taylor Swift song in the school talent show this week. Roxcy is loving her guitar and piano lessons so we decided to sign her up for voice lessons as well. She just wrote a song that is so sweet and cute and 12, all about beautiful sun filled days and making the most of today. She's also started playing hymns.

Jonah is plugging away at piano, he doesn't love it yet, but he will. He's zipping through his books. He recently started drums. Rhythm comes very naturally for him. (Famous Juddy of Erik the Red is both Roxcy's guitar teacher and Jonah's drum teacher. EtR just released their first CD, you can hear it on their website: eriktheredmusic.com)

Colin had been asking to take piano for several months but I didn't take him seriously. I guess because Jonah didn't start until he was 9, it didn't occur to me that Colin might be different. We started lessons together a few months ago and he's already finished his first set of books. He's doing really well and I love the one-on-one time I get with him.

Petrea and Julian have been particpating in a co-op kind of music class that I organized. They loved it, but it got to be a bit much so we stopped doing it a few months ago. We try to do songs and games a few times a week. Julian especially loves to dance, whenever he hears music coming from the office he runs in and starts dancing or trying to play with the musician.

I love to see my kids taking pleasure in music and being able to make music independently.

Colin

2011-02-14T20:01:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, while playing basketball in the street, Colin fell.

A trip to instacare fixed him all up good. He was the best patient.

This morning he assembled valentines for his classmates. Red for the boys, pink for the girls.

Kids in box, kids in train

2011-02-12T19:34:00.001-08:00

Julian is one

2011-01-18T13:48:00.001-08:00

First Day of School 2010

2010-08-11T21:16:00.000-07:00

Roxcy was nervous about her first day in intermediate school but she came home so happy and excited about all her classes.

Jonah was cool about the day, he's a old pro. He liked being with his friends.

Colin won't start kindergarten until next week.

Lemon curd and phyllo tartlets

2010-05-17T09:48:00.001-07:00

I love baking with lemons in the spring. This year my friend (and professional pastry chef) Sara taught me how to make phyllo cups. She put shrimp salad in some and lemon curd topped with meringue and torched golden brown in others. Both were really yummy. I couldn't wait to try it with my kids. They loved helping me with this project. The little ones like painting melted butter on each layer, the big kids were challenged by cutting the phyllo into even squares and putting them in the muffin tins. I love Ina Garten's recipe for lemon curd. We topped ours with whipped cream.

Phyllo Cups
Unwrap phyllo dough, spread one sheet on counter (keep the rest covered in a slightly damp towel). Brush with melted butter, top with another sheet of phyllo. Repeat until you have four layers of phyllo. Cut into 12 squares with pizza cutter (3 by 4). Push into mini muffin tins. Bake 10 minutes at 350, until golden. Remove from oven, let cool and fill.

Zion, bangs and smiles

2010-03-29T14:04:00.001-07:00

Happy St. Pats

2010-03-17T14:45:00.001-07:00

One Month

2010-02-18T16:53:00.000-08:00

Family Photos

2010-02-08T13:47:00.000-08:00

While in San Francisco over Thanksgiving, the very sweet and very talented Aubrey took some family pictures of us. We were kind of difficult, we wanted family pictures, but didn't want to pose. Aubrey did a great job of directing us to not look posed and capturing exactly what we wanted. We loved how the group shots turned out:

Perfection

2010-01-27T13:27:00.001-08:00

This is Julian. Julian Kelly. We've gotten compliments as well as awkward hmmm's about his name. The five year old said, "I don't like that name because I can't tell if you're talking about a boy or girl." He's mostly called baby lucky around here. He is soft and smells good and makes funny noises. He's had a hard week adjusting to this world, learning how to eat, sleep and poop, but is quickly getting the hang of it. He has hair, but not like his brothers, like his sisters. He is adored by everyone.

Sibling Gifts

2010-01-20T04:13:00.001-08:00

Although I tried to scale down and simplify this Christmas, one time consuming tradition I made time for was helping my kids make gifts for each other. Not only is it a great way for them to understand giving and thinking about others but it gives me a chance to spend one-on-one time with each of my kids during a busy time. It really was a highlight of our Christmas morning to open these sweet gifts.

Roxcy made a pokemon shirt for Jonah, a blue tutu for Petrea and wrote and illustrated a story for Colin (starring Colin).

Colin made chocolate chip cookies, rolled them into balls and froze them for Jonah. He decoupaged a pencil cup for Roxcy. We ran out of time so he gave an Elmo book to Petrea.

Jonah really wanted to get everyone baseball themed gifts, so instead of crafting we took a trip to target together. He picked out mitts for Roxcy and his dad and a fat bat and balls for Colin. He's loved having more people to play baseball with. He and Roxcy have been playing lots of catch together. He picked out a puzzle for Petrea.

Nativity

2009-12-24T18:47:00.001-08:00

Angel, wise man, Shepherd, Mary, (toddler) baby Jesus, Joseph, sheep

Happy Thanksgiving!

2009-11-26T19:52:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and this one was just perfect. We've had an amazing time in San Francisco this week. Aunt Robin cooked the yummiest meal.

Appetizers:
Warm olives, hummas and pita
Pastry wrapped Brie with maple syrup and candied pecans
Stanley vegetable dip and veggies

Soup:
Butternut squash soup with apples and sage

Main:
Mashed potatoes
Turkey
Cranberry relish with pears and apples
Cranberry horseradish
Sweet potatoes with marshmallows
Spinach leek gratin
Sauteed green beans
Apple sausage dressing
Mema's rolls

Dessert:
Cherry pie
Chocolate pecan pie
Pumpkin pie
Carrot cake

Pumpkin gnocchi

2009-11-16T21:33:00.001-08:00

The weather is crisp, the leaves have turned and I'm craving earthy fall flavors like squash and mushrooms and nutmeg and pumpkin. A recipe for sweet potato gnocchi from the latest Sunset magazine caught my eye, but I wondered what would happen if I used pumpkin instead. It turned out amazing. The texture was perfect, just like little pillows (isn't that what gnocchi means?), and the flavor was complex enough that a simple brown butter and sage sauce (with a few pine nuts thrown in) was all it needed. Here is the recipe with my changes:

Pumpkin Gnocchi
Serves 12

1 c. ricotta cheese (drained)
2 lbs. potatoes, boiled until tender, peeled and pureeed
1 c. canned pumpkin
3 tbsp. brown sugar
1 c. freshly grated parmesan cheese
2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
About 3 cups flour

In a large bowl combine 2 cups of potato purée, pumpkin, ricotta, sugar, cheese, salt and nutmeg. Stir in flour 1/2 c. at a time until soft dough forms. Once dough comes together knead on a floured surface. Depending on how wet your pumpkin and ricotta was, you may need more than 3 cups of flour. Dough should be soft and slighty sticky.

Divide into 8 portions. Roll each portion into 15 inch rope, then cut into 1 inch pieces. Sprinkle dough with flour if it gets too sticky. Transfer to a rimmed baking tray dusted with flour. (At this point gnocchi may be frozen.)

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Working in batches of 15-20,drop gnocchi into water and cook until firm and float to the top about 5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon. Toss with sage brown butter and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Sage brown butter and pine nuts
Place 1 c. butter and 4 fresh sage leaves in small saucepan. Cook until it foams and smells nutty. Add 4 T. pine nuts. Toss with gnocchi and sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly grated parmesan.

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T12:35:00.001-07:00

Prego prom

Zombie

Mummy

Joker

Bunny rabbit

Creepcakes

2009-10-22T10:51:00.001-07:00

We had a good time eating white bean chicken chili and decorating creepy cupcakes with some friends. It's fun to see the creativity (or lack of, you know who you are) with which people attack a blank cupcake. See a link for creepcakes on the right sidebar of my blog.

My Week in Meals 9-22-09

2009-09-22T17:14:00.000-07:00

Monday - Baked Halibut with Orzo, Spinach and Cherry Tomatoes
(Couldn't find good halibut, so substituted Orange Roughy)

Tuesday - Panang Curry (simmer sauce) with Chicken, Carrots and Corn. Brown Rice, Edamame

Wednesday - Teriyaki Tofu and Peanut Noodles

Thursday - Minestrone Salad, Homemade Bread

Friday - Pizza

Saturday - kids: Mac n' Cheese; adults: see Erik the Red in concert at Haven

Sunday - Drooling Gnocchi, Salad

Two new favorites

2009-09-22T16:42:00.000-07:00

photo credit

I have to report on two fabulous desserts we had this week.

Buttermilk Panna Cotta
We had panna cotta on our fabulous Mexico trip and ever since, I've been a bit obsessed; something about the subtlety of flavor, the creaminess of the texture, the lightness of the whole experience. This is my first attempt to make it at home. After looking at Lindsey's recipe, instructions and gorgeous pictures, (seriously click over just to look at the pictures) I knew it was time to give it a whirl. It did not disappoint. The tangy flavor and creaminess reminded me of plain frozen yogurt. It's a easy and fabulous recipe.

Berry Camping Cake
On our camping trip this weekend, I tried out this recipe from Sunset magazine. You know those dutch oven cobblers that involve cake mix and some kind of soda and taste good only because you are far away from civilization but wouldn't hold up under any normal taste standards? I did not want to make one of those. For this cake you mix together dry ingredients, cut in butter (easily done in a food processor) and then pack the mix in a freezer bag to take camping. The assembly is easy peasy: pour frozen strawberries in the bottom of the dutch oven, top with half the dry mix, cook for 20 min., top with the other half, cook 20 minutes more. I was skeptical that it would cook up ok without any liquid added, but the whole thing turned out beautifully. If you like to dutch oven, you've got to try it.

Lunch

2009-09-16T15:54:00.000-07:00

This has been my go-to lunch lately. It feels healthy (or more healthy than eating my kid's pb&j crusts), light and grown-up. It's also quick. I'm talking about Ramen Noodles. I know they get a bum rap, and I'm not to fond of the high level of sodium, but I am fascinated by the whole umami thing and ramen really encapsulates that.

First chop whatever veggies you have on hand. I like mine julienne. I used celery, carrots and pepper. I also love scallions, bok choy, string beans, broccoli. You can use just about anything.

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Put noodles, spice packet, all your vegetables and one raw egg (trust me) into the water. Cover and simmer (lower the heat) for exactly 3 minutes.

Transfer to bowl. Mix in something to make it a little spicy. I like to use red curry paste from Thai Kitchen. I use just a tiny bit (1/2 t.). The vegetables will be cooked but still al dente and the egg softly poached. Makes 1 1/2 serving.

My Week in Meals 9-15-09

2009-09-15T16:05:00.000-07:00

Monday - Quesadillas, black bean salad (corn, tomatoes, peppers)

Tuesday - Spaghetti and red hot tomato sauce, salad

Wednesday - Asian grilled salmon, sauteed corn, snap peas. Buttermilk panna cotta.

Thursday - Hawaiian Haystacks (something quick so we can get to the Dixie Round-up!)

Friday - after school cookies: rocky road garganchewas

Camping at Kolob Reservoir

Saturday - pizza

Sunday - Vegetarian lasagna, salad, fogasa bread

Look who's two

2009-09-14T18:22:00.001-07:00

Two year old birthdays are the best. Petrea was absolutely delighted with every detail. The bright banner (courtesy of pretty little things), the bouquet of helium balloons, the cake, singing happy birthday (a million bazillion times). I tried Smitten Kitchen's best birthday cake. The cake was delish but the frosting tasted too much like sour cream. Both the kids and adults found it off putting.

P loves pushing her new doll stroller and Elmo doll around. Little strollers are so great for two year olds.

My Week in Meals 9-9-09

2009-09-09T10:03:00.000-07:00

Tuesday - BLTs and creamed green beans (Jonah actually declared this the best meal he's ever eaten)

Wednesday - Mediterranean chicken, rice pilaf, salad with feta

Thursday - summer corn chowder, homemade bread

Friday - (celebrate P's birthday) pizza, best birthday cake

Saturday - chilaquiles casserole (with tomatillos), fresh salsa & chips

Sunday - shishkabobs, couscous, watermelon, apricot tart

Chocolate Covered Raspberries

2009-09-08T09:16:00.001-07:00

Labor Day weekend involved, among other things, picking a zillion blackberries and raspberries at my parents' house. Amber told me about chocolate covered raspberries and I couldn't wait to try them. Dare I say, I think they are better than c.c. strawberries.

1 1/2 c. Semi-sweet chocolate
chips
1 T. vegetable shortening
approx. 1 pint raspberries

Pick over raspberries and place the best ones on a cookie tray lined with waxed paper. Make sure they aren't touching. Freeze until hard (30 min. in a deep freezer). Meanwhile melt chocolate and shortening in the top of a double broiler set over a pan of simmering water. Using a small spoon, place a few berries in the chocolate, roll around and spoon back onto the tray. When all the berries are coated put back in freezer for just a few minutes to let them firm up. Don't freeze too long, it will make the berries to hard and when they defrost they'll be mushy. You want the chocolate solid and the berries cold.

Best eaten right away.

Mango Salsa

2009-09-02T12:07:00.001-07:00

We were so lucky that the Dowdles included us in their trip plans. We had so much fun visiting and the kids loved playing together.

While they were here we ate grilled chciken with mango salsa. This salsa is the perfect summer food. You can make it anytime and then keep it inthe fridge to dress up almost anything. It's yummy with shrimp and chicken. I used it the next day as a condiment in a chicken wrap. And I'm thinking it would really be delish with crackers and brie.

Here's the recipe (from Ina Garten's Parties)

Mango Salsa
Makes 2 cups

2 T. good olive oil
1 1/2 C. diced yellow onion
2 t. peeled, minced fresh ginger
1 1/2 t. minced garlic
2 ripe mangos, peeled, seeded, and small diced
1/3 C. orange juice (freshly squeezed if you have it)
2 t. brown sugar
1 t. kosher salt
1/2 t. freshly ground pepper
1 to 2 t. minced fresh jalapeño pepper
2 t. minced fresh mint leaves

Sauté the olive oil, onions, and ginger in a large sauté pan over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Add garlic cook 1 min. more. Add mangos; reduce heat and cook 10 min. more. Add o.j., brown sugar, salt, pepper, and jalapenos. Cook 10 more minutes or until orange juice is reduced, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat, serve room temp. or cold.

2009-08-02T17:24:00.001-07:00

-- Post From My iPhone

Cousins

2009-07-13T12:29:00.001-07:00

It's cousins week, which means that Sara is hosting 9 cousins ages 7-15 for 4 days at her house. The Blairs drove from Denver arriving yesterday evening. There was screaming and jumping for 10 minutes. They have an incredible week planned and meanwhile we get to hang out with Oscar, Betty, Gabby and Ben.

-- Post From My iPhone

Grand Canyon

2009-05-28T15:41:00.000-07:00

We live 2.5 hours or less from 3 national parks. When we moved to St. George, we traded in our annual membership to the Natural History Museum for a year membership to Zion National Park. We love taking a day, or half a day to drive up, do some hiking and drive home. On Tuesday we met the Urquharts for some hiking and swimming in the river. There is a section of the river that flows over a smooth long rock that slopes down like a slide. Even though we didn't have swimsuits and the river was COLD, the kids jumped right in to slide.

We were feeling a little bad for ourselves that we didn't have anywhere fun to go over Memorial Day weekend, so at the last minute we decided to drive to the Grand Canyon (North Rim). We stayed at a "rustic" cabin:
This picture kind of says it all about Colin lately. He's obsessed with Batman (loves playing Lego Batman), wears a cape 24/7 (yes, even to bed) and has started carrying this orange bat everywhere with him (his "batwing"). He also gives the peace sign whenever he poses for pictures.

While there, the kids got their Junior Ranger badges. This involved attending a program (we chose one about geology) and filling out some pages in the junior ranger handbook. We went on a hike and observed the layers, the older kids wrote haikus about the Grand Canyon and they used their senses and described what they were experiencing. They were questioned about the whole experience and then sworn in (seriously) by a real park ranger. They pledged to protect the Grand Canyon and learn all they could about it.

Here are a few pictures from Bright Angel lookout.

may days

2009-05-04T21:45:00.000-07:00

We walked the kids to school a few mornings ago. I love, love, love living 2 blocks from the school. In the morning, if we are outside we can hear the bell ring and the morning announcements. Included in the morning announcements? a daily joke. From our house, the voice on the loudspeaker sounds like Charlie Brown's teacher, but we ask Roxcy and Jonah when they come home to tell us the joke. During the day we can hear voices of the kids at recess; talking, screaming, laughing, playing.

Don't you just love those shoulders?

Colin still wants to wear his jacket every time we go outside. If I tell him it's really warm (85 degrees!), then he's even more sure he needs his jacket. I know I should just trust that he knows when he is hot or cold, but it drove me crazy, so I hid his jacket.

Lemon Blueberry Tart

2009-04-21T11:54:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago Liz and Henry came to visit. The weather was very spring; warm and sunny and a little windy. Things were starting to bloom and so of course we thought about lemons. I searched for the perfect lemon tart. There are so many variations! Most begin with a lemon curd or custard, but some you bake and some you don't bake and some you bake just a little. Some recipes use the whole lemon, peel and all, ground up and some use just lemon juice and some use a combination of juice and zest. And some you top with sugar and carmelize it or you top it with meringue or with fruit. My muse, (is this a strictly feminine word? what's the word for a boy muse?) Josh described the perfect lemon tart which led me to this recipe from Martha Stewart: Lemon Blueberry Tart. It starts with pate sucree (and since you only use half of it, you can put the other half in the freezer for another tart, another time), topped with lemon curd (with both juice and zest), and then topped with blueberries and whipped cream (which we used in place of the creme fraiche). It really was perfect; tart and creamy and sweet and rich and very lemony. Liz went home and made one with raspberries for Jared, look how gorgeous it is:

I can't wait to make it again.

White Loaves

2009-03-17T09:52:00.000-07:00

I've made lots of bread in my lifetime and found that different recipes are good for different reasons; some stale slowly and slice well for sandwiches, some are rich like rolls, some are eggy and great for bread pudding, BUT this recipe is just all around the best. The texture is light but substantial, the taste is full and the crust is crunchy and slightly crisp. The ingredients are simple: flour, sugar, salt, yeast, but there is a secret. After kneading the dough in the mixer you add 1/2 cube of soft butter. That's it. I promise you'll love this bread.

White Loaves (adapted from Baking with Julia)

Pour 1/2 c. warm water (like 100 degrees, think really hot bath water. It's hard to get it to hot if you are getting it out of the tap.) into mixer. Add 1 T. active dry yeast and 1 T. sugar. Let sit until creamy, about 5 minutes. Add additional 2 c. warm water.

Add 6 c. white flour and 1 T. salt. Mix with dough hook, slowly at first and then on a medium speed once flour is incorporated. If the dough does not come together, add more flour, 1 T. at a time. (I usually end up using 6 1/2-7 c. of flour total). Mix for 10 minutes. Add 4 T. butter, a tablespoon at a time. The dough will come apart as you add the butter, but keep beating, it will come back together. When butter is fully incorporated, remove bowl from mixer, cover with a towel and let rest for 1 hour.

Punch down dough, divide into two pieces. On counter roll into a rectangle about 9x12, roll up and place, seam side down into bread pan. Place in cold oven and let rise 1 hour.

Turn oven on to 375. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until browned and the loaves sound hollow when tapped. Remove from oven and immediately remove from pans. Let them cool on wire racks so crust crisps on all sides (if you set it on the counter it will sweat and the bottom will turn soggy).

Once completely cool, keep bread in brown paper bag or wrap airtight and freeze.

Snikerdoodles

2009-03-12T12:57:00.000-07:00

I think I make these once a week. They are a favorite with everyone, especially Josh. It's not just the kind of cookie, it is this particular recipe. It's really, really tasty. I like to cook mine just until the middle looks dry (before they even start to brown) so they are soft and chewy. Josh likes his light brown around the edges so they are crispy. The recipe calls for refrigerating the dough for an hour. They really are better if you can spare the time. We can never wait so I always cook one sheet right after making the dough and then put the rest of the dough in the fridge. We cook a sheet at a time whenever we're in the mood, but the dough doesn't last more than a day or two. Also, the recipe calls for butter and shortening, which I usually don't cook with. I've tried using all butter but really like the result I get with the half butter, half shortening combo. If you decide to use all butter your cookies will be crisper but will still have great flavor.

Snickerdoodles (from Great Cookies by Carol Walter)

In mixer, with paddle attachment beat:
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. shortening

Meanwhile, in another bowl whisk together:
2 1/2 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
2 t. cream of tartar
1/2 t. salt

Once butter and shortening are mixed and fluffy, slowly add:
1 1/2 c. sugar

Mix until fluffy. Add:
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla extract

With mixer on low, slowly add dry ingredients. Mix just until combined. Refrigerate dough at least 1 hour. Roll into small balls, coat in cinnamon sugar and place on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.

Cloud Puffs

2009-03-10T13:26:00.000-07:00

Think tiny cream puffs (subtly flavored with hints of orange and lemon) deep fried, rolled in granulated sugar and dusted with powdered sugar. Need I say more?

You can use your favorite cream puff recipe, or this one:

Cloud Puffs (from Dessert Circus at Home by Jacques Torres)

1/2 c. water
pinch of salt
pinch of granulated sugar
grated zest of 1/2 an orange
grated zest of 1/2 a lemon
3 1/2 T. butter, cubed
1/2 flour
2-3 large eggs

granulated sugar and powdered sugar

Heat frying oil (vegetable or canola) to 330 degrees in heavy bottomed 4 qt. saucepan. Meanwhile:

Place water, salt, sugar, zests and butter in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in flour all at once and incorporate thoroughly with a wooden spoon.

Return saucepan to heat and cook for about 3 min. to dry out the paste. As it cooks, push paste from side to side with wooden spoon. It is dry when it begins to leave a thin film on the bottom of the saucepan.

Transfer contents to a large mixing bowl. Mix with an electric mixer on low for 2 min. to release some steam. Continue to mix and add eggs one at a time, incorporating well after each addition. After adding two eggs, check consistency. It should be pale yellow, smooth, moist, slightly elastic and sticky. If it's to dry add another egg.

Place batter into a pastry bag with no tip, or a large freezer bag (snip off the tip to make a 1/2" opening). Pipe small amounts of batter (about the size of a dime) into hot oil. Use a chopstick or skewer (dipped in oil) to detach dough from tip of bag. You can also use a spoon to scoop small amounts of dough into oil. Turn them as they cook to ensure even frying. Fry until they are golden brown, 3-5 minutes. Remove from oil onto paper towel. Roll in granulated sugar. Just before serving dust with powdered sugar.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Shortbread Wedges

2009-03-09T15:34:00.000-07:00

It's nothing new, but I've discovered that the best way to deal with stressful, uncertain and trying times is to consume large quantities of baked goods. And actually it's been good for my figure too, I'm developing a very nice Beyonce booty. Unfortunately I haven't found anywhere in town that makes a decent baked good, so I'm left to cook my own. Some are so good I just have to share.

I've been thinking about this dessert from the Jan 09 issue of Bon Appetit for three months (apparently peanut butter is the latest dessert craze). It is amazing. Really, really good. Peanut buttery and jelly-y and buttery and sweet. I'm drooling. It would be fun for so many occasions, there is something sophisticated and childlike about it all at the same time. The recipe employs a unique technique: freezing part of the shortbread until firm and then grating it on top of the jelly. It worked beautifully, but next time I think I'll try just crumbling it by hand on top (then I won't have to wait for it to freeze!)

Peanut Butter and Jelly Shortbread Wedges

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup creamy (smooth) natural peanut butter (made with only peanuts and salt)
1/2 cup sugar
Large pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup blackberry jam

Spray bottom of 9-inch-diameter springform pan with nonstick spray. Beat butter and peanut butter in large bowl until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add sugar and salt and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in vanilla. Add flour; beat on low speed just until blended.

Transfer 1/3 cup dough to work surface. Shape into 1/2-inch-thick disk, place on plate, and freeze until hard, about 1 hour. Press remaining dough evenly over bottom of prepared pan. Spread jam over dough in pan, leaving 1/3-inch plain border. Refrigerate while dough disk freezes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Using large holes of box grater, grate frozen dough evenly over jam. Bake shortbread until dough edge is deep golden and grated dough on top looks dry and baked through, about 50 minutes. Cool shortbread completely in pan.

Release pan sides. Cut shortbread into wedges. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

My Week in Meals 2-23-09

2009-02-23T14:32:00.000-08:00

Like many people, conserving is on my mind and I think about it as I make my weekly meal plan. My family has something against leftovers. Even Colin told me (in a very snotty tone) the other day when I tried to serve him leftovers for lunch, "Mom, I don't eat leftovers." So I try and save things before they become leftovers. For example my meatballs recipe makes twice as much as we can eat, but I do a full batch and then, just after frying them, before they go in the oven, I place half of them in a 8x8 pan, cover tightly and place in the freezer. Next time we want meatballs, I'll just pull them out and bake them. Same thing with the White Bean Chicken Chili and Taco meat. We eat a little and the rest go in freezer bags and then into the freezer. By the time we eat them again my kids have forgotten that they are technically "leftovers." This week, after eating our fill of roast chicken, I shredded the rest of the meat and used it in the White Bean Chicken Chili. And I bought one bag of spinach to use three different ways: 2 salads and sauteed in garlic and olive oil with salt, pepper and a little lemon juice at the end. And we really miss New York pizza. Two Fat Guys across town has pretty good NY style pizza, but closer to home we loove Little Caesars. We eat it a lot.

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snack
Monday	Cereal	PB&J Chips Celery	Pasta & Meatballs Garlic Bread	Grapes
Tuesday	Eggs & Toast	Ham sandwich Carrots Chips	Roast Chicken Mashed Potatoes & Gravy Spinach, Apple, Bacon Salad	Bananas
Wednesday	Cereal	PB&J Granola bar Celery	Soft Tacos	Fruit leather
Thursday	Yogurt, Toast, Grapefruit	Turkey sandwich Apple Celery w/ pb	White Bean Chicken Chili Homemade Bread Spinach and Orange Salad	Cheese & crackers
Friday	Pancakes	Turkey sandwich Chips Raisins	Little Caesars Pizza Crazy Bread with Sauce	Snicker-doodles
Saturday	Cereal	Mac n’ cheese	Salmon on the Grill Sauteed Spinach Potato Gallete

Hot Chocolate

2009-02-17T12:08:00.000-08:00

(image)

Some of you may think I've abandoned my blog because I am so
busy/lazy/uncreative, etc . . . but really I am just trying to weed out the riff-raff. If you are reading this, congratulations, you are not riff-raff.

This winter we've loved drinking hot cocoa made from homemade mix. It's way better than swiss miss or stephens and I like having mix around because then my kids can do it themselves. I would love to package it up paired with homemade marshmallows or biscotti and give as gifts. Maybe next Christmas.

Hot Cocoa Mix (adapted from Tyler Florence)

Mix together:
3/4 c. powdered milk
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 c. cocoa powder
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped (optional, add it if you like rich, chocolaty hot cocoa)

Store in airtight container.

The recipe suggests using 1/2 c. mix to 1 c. water, but we found this way to rich. We use 2-3 T. mix per mug of hot milk. We also found that if you add the powder to the milk before microwaving it, it usually runs over.

Mexico

2009-02-14T18:21:00.000-08:00

I'm so glad Gabby chronicled our trip so I don't have to. She chose just the right pictures to accompany just the right amount of detail. It's a lovely post and makes me want to go back to Mexico. Read about it here at the Cookie blog.

Braised Short Ribs

2008-11-14T08:08:00.000-08:00

photo: epicurious.com

This crock-pot recipe for Braised Short Ribs from Bon Appetit is really, really good. A perfect fall meal. We ate it on Sunday with mashed potatoes and chocolate pound cake (also from the magazine, but not as impressive) for dessert. In the magazine they recommend mixing the leftover shredded meat with a jar of spaghetti sauce and serving it over parpadelle later in the week. We did and it was also very yummy and easy. This is definetely one we'll be making again.

Roxcy's 10!

2008-11-08T08:20:00.000-08:00

We had a week of celebrations that included lots of friends, cake and presents.

Roxcy is just all around amazing. This year has been great for her. She's doing really well in school, loves singing in the school choir (and even gets herself up and out the door at 7:45 on rehearsal days), excels at the Excel Learning Program she's a part of, loves the modern dance class she's taking. She's becoming more and more responsible and helps me so much, especially Petrea. She really is the second mom. Petrea wants mom first, then Roxcy, then dad. She's been reading a ton; keeping up with school books and reading for the Beehive Book Award. I know she misses her friends in New York, but she has a lot of different friends here. She loves planning (a surprise party for her teacher is underway) and crafting and drawing. Being 10 means she's graduated to the next activity days group. When she grows up she wants to be a New York Times bestselling author or a famous actress. Happy Birthday Roxcy!

election night

2008-11-04T08:47:00.000-08:00

1980. Josh Stanley and family move to St. George. He's in second grade. His flag football coach arrives at practice to find the entire team beating up Josh because he said he wanted Jimmy Carter to win the election.

Fast forward a few decades, Jonah (2nd grade) wears an Obama pin to school. His report:

"I didn't get beat up, but some kid pushed me down."
Me: "Was it because of your pin?"
"I don't know, he said he likes McCain, but we are friends so it's ok."

"Some kid told me Obama hates religion. Another kid said McCain thinks more like us."

"Somebody said, 'Obama wants to take money from the rich and give to the poor.' and I said, 'Like Robin Hood?"

We had a mock election around the dinner table. Final count: Obama 3, Nader 1, Undecided 1. We all voted for Steve Urquhart.

We also ate U.S.Senate Bean Soup (recipe from Joy of Cooking).
This soup has been on the U.S. Senate restaurant menu since 1901.
makes about 6 cups
Pick over, rinse and soak (bring beans and water to a boil, turn off heat and let sit for 1 hour OR put beans and water in a pot and let sit overnight.)
1 1/4 cups small dried white beans

Drain and place in a soup pot along with:
7 cups cold water
1 small ham hock

Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the beans are tender, about 1 1/4 hours. Remove the ham hock. Discard the bone, skin, and fat; dice the meat. Return it to the pot along with:
1 large onion, diced
3 medium celery stalks with leaves, chopped
1 large potato, peeled and finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground pepper

Simmer until the potatoes are quite soft, 20-30 minutes. Remove from the heat and mash with a potato masher until the soup is a bit creamy. Stir in:
2 T. chopped fresh parsley
Ladle into warm bowls. (Even better the second day.)

Halloween 08

2008-10-31T07:38:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely day that involved a parade and songs at preschool, a parade at the elementary school, cul-de-sac party with soup and snacks, trick-or-treating until we were totally exhausted. It's easy to go to a lot of houses in our neighborhood. We loved the doughnuts and hot chocolate at the Anderson's, the scarecrows that came to life at the Empey's , the spooky blow up house we had to walk through at the Hill's and the glow sticks at the Ritchie's (brilliant!) We missed the really scary, fully decked out New England houses in Heather's neighborhood. The weather was perfect, not cold, not hot. We went around the block together, then Josh took Petrea home and handed out candy while we kept going. Roxcy went with some friends to the heights, later Jonah and Josh went to the "big" houses because it was rumored they were giving out full size candy bars. They were. Jonah came home with 7 big candy bars. The streets were full of kids and parents and lots of people were sitting outside their houses waiting for trick or-treaters.

Jonah as the joker:

Roxcy as a witch:

I attemped a Sarah Palin get-up. Josh had on an Obama button and got asked several times if that was his costume.

Colin as ??? He changed his mind everyday. We thought we had decided on a pirate, but then wouldn't wear the costume. After seeing Willy dressed as a robot at preschool he really wanted to be a robot. He finally agreed to the vampire thing, but insisted on green hair and carried his teeth in his pocket.

Our little black kitty. Since Roxcy was a witch, she wanted Petrea to be her black cat. She wasn't exactly cooperative, but we did get some great post-halloween pictures.

Halloween Decor

2008-10-30T08:06:00.000-07:00

We copied designmom exactly. We had so much fun painting plates together and loved the outcome.

Halloween jokes

2008-10-25T13:38:00.000-07:00

My kids were delighted with the homemade oreo's Daisy brought over, doubly so because of the classic Halloween jokes. Questions and punchlines were separated so the kids had to match them up.

Who won the skeleton beauty contest? No body.
What kinds of mistakes do spooks make? Boo-boos.

Find a ton of elementary appropriate Halloween themed jokes here.

TGIF

2008-10-24T11:39:00.000-07:00

I'm delighted to be spotlighted on Cafe Johnsonia, one of my very favorite food blogs. In fact I'm in the process of making Lindsey's fabulous Butternut Squash Soup with Apples and Fresh Sage right now!

And be sure to check out this little video Josh made. It's really great.

And I get to go see the AF marching band perform tonight. Laugh all you want, but every time I see them, it brings me to tears.

My Week in Meals - 10/20/08

2008-10-20T14:05:00.000-07:00

After a few weeks off, due to an appendicitis, I'm back at it. I even got up this morning and fixed my kids breakfast. They were happy. More good things:

1. Pomegranates are in season in St. George. They are everywhere, falling into ditches and parking lots, in neighbor's yards. I've been collecting lots of recipes and ideas, but I haven't been able to try any yet because we just crack em' open and eat em' like candy.

2. My parents made an emergency visit to help me with my emergency appendix and brought with them loads of good stuff, all from their garden; tomatoes, zucchini, tomatillos, potatoes, japanese eggplant, peppers, carrots, apples, pears, onions, beets, cabbage, butternut squash. It's nearly all gone but I'm excited to use the rest of it for:

3. Fall cooking! Now that we are down to the cool low 80s outside, I'm ready to do some "fall" cooking; butternut squash, apples, homemade bread, pasta with sausage, yum, yum.

4. I met Andrea. She has 18 chickens in her backyard. I get two dozen eggs from her once a week for $2.00. They are excellent eggs.

	breakfast	lunch	dinner	snack
mon	apple-cinnamon oatmeal	cheese wheat crackers pears	black bean tostadas	snickerdoodles
tues	scrambled eggs toast	pb&j apple	smoked pork sandwiches with bbq sauce and cabbage slaw	yogurt
wed	frozen pancakes	chips, salsa, black beans (leftovers)	baked rigatoni salad	popcorn and apples
thurs	german pancakes	pb&j carrots celery	tin-foil dinners	cinnamon chips with pomegranate salsa
fri	cereal	pasta (leftover) pear	butternut squash soup fresh bread
sat	waffles bacon	kraft mac n' cheese	dinner out

Trout Grenobloise and White Beans with Spinach

2008-10-20T10:14:00.000-07:00

One thing I love about being back in the west is that trout is easy to find. This is one of my favorite ways to eat trout. It's simple and flavorful and the beans and spinach are really tasty. They are flavored with onions and vinegar and there is something I really love about the combo. The most difficult part is removing the sections from the lemons. Basically you peel a lemon with a paring knife (taking off all the peel and the white pith), then slice each lemon wedge away from the clear membranes. It's ok if it comes out in pieces or not very pretty, you saute the lemons with capers and butter and parsley and then pour it over the fish. This recipe comes from Martha Stewart April 2000.

Trout Grenobloise
serves 4

2 T. butter
2 slices very thin white bread, crusts removed, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
2 lemons
1 T. olive oil
2 whole trout (about 1 lb. each), filleted, pinbones removed
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 T. capers
2 T. freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. Melt 1 T. butter in a medium saute pan; add bread cubes. Cook over mediumh heat until golden, stirring frequently, about 2 minutes. Drain in a paper-towel-lined bowl; set aside.
2. Cut ends off lemons, and remove peel, pith, and outer membranes, following the curve of the fruit with a paring knife. Lift sections away from membranes, and reserve. Squeeze juice from membranes over sections before discarding.
3. Melt remaining T butter and olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Season trout fillets with salt and pepper and place in pan. Saute until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove from heat; transfer fillets from pan, and keep on a warm plate. Add lemon sections and juice, capers and parsley to warm pan, and toss to combine. Serve fish topped with sauce and reserved croutons.

Sauteed Spinach and White Beans
serves 4
2 T. olive oil
1 small yellow onion
1 T. minced garlic
2 fifteen-and-a-half ounce cans white beans, drained and rinsed
6 cups spinach (about 8 oz.), stems trimmed
4 t. white-wine vinegar
2 t. fresh thyme leaves, plus sprigs for garnish
1 t. salt
1/4 t. freshly ground pepper

1. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat, and add olive oil. Add diced onion, and cook until translucent, about 2 minutes.
2. Add garlic, and cook 1 minute. Add beans, and cook until hot and slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add the psinach and vinegar, stirring frequently until spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes. Add the thyme, and season with the salt and pepper. Serve.

Happy Birthday Sara!

2008-09-30T07:33:00.000-07:00

Tres Leche Cake

Almond Pear Flan

Zion National Park

2008-09-25T09:30:00.000-07:00

We've been waiting for it to cool down a bit before we ventured to Zion. Last Saturday it was a cool 95, perfect! We haven't been in years; it is still the most incredible, breathtaking place. It was still pretty crowded, but that was ok; lots of Europeans because of the weak dollar. It was fun to hear so many different languages. The kids were amazing hiking over 2.5 miles to the Upper Pools. We can't wait to go back and do some more exploring.

Dixie Roundup

2008-09-25T09:24:00.000-07:00

My Week in Meals 9/22/08

2008-09-25T09:14:00.000-07:00

Chosen by everyone. Watch for recipes of the salsa, trout and tostados.

Fajitas w/ grilled salsa

Potato Soup and Biscuits

Calzones

Pokemon Mac n' Cheese

Tostados

Chicken Pot Pie

Trout Genoblaise w/ spinach and white beans

My Week in Meals 9/15/08

2008-09-25T09:03:00.000-07:00

We tried a new approach last week. I was frustrated that most of what I was making was getting eaten (except by me), and my kids were frustrated that they were hungry at bedtime. This week everyone in the family choose one meal they'd like to see. I've resisted this approach before because I was sure we'd end up eating hot dogs and pizza every night, but my kids surprised me. We are eating a lot of family favorites which gets a little boring for me, but are also easy to shop for and cook because I've made them so many times. I get one night to do something a little different and I'm finding other ways to express my culinary creativity, like making a really great fresh salsa to go with the fajitas or trying a new dessert. The kids are excited when it's "their" night and they do eat a lot better.

Dinners this week:
Tacos

Salmon packets

Crab legs and artichokes

Dumplings

Pizza

Red Hot Tomato Sauce Spaghetti and salad

Hiking Pine Valley

2008-09-17T09:17:00.000-07:00

Josh and I ditched the kids on Friday and hiked Pine Valley mountain. We hiked a few hours on Friday, then camped for the night.

The next day we hiked some more, to the end of Brown's Trail and part of Summit. It was a pretty brutal trail, basically uphill for four miles:

It was hard work, it took us 9 hours to hike 11 miles, but such a blast. There's nothing better than being alone on a mountain with Josh.

Petrea's First Birthday

2008-09-17T08:37:00.000-07:00

Petrea at 1.

17.5 lbs.

Sleeping through the night. (finally!)

Signing milk, bye, more, water, cheese, eat.

Working on a few words: ball, bye, mom.

Crawling hands and knees, walking along furniture.

We celebrated Petrea's first birthday last weekend. I made individual mac n' cheese. The kids made a big sign and little party hats.

And for cake, we each got a tiny, two-layer chocolate cake.

The kids came up with some personal gifts on their own. Roxcy gave her a doll that she loved as a girl.

Jonah took her for a ride around the cul-de-sac in the wagon.

Fresh Tomato Sauce

2008-09-08T12:50:00.000-07:00

Don't you love the abundance of fresh tomatoes around? We have not grown a single thing but we've still managed to procure bags of fresh picked garden tomatoes. Wonderful. But then you have to figure out how to use all those tomatoes, I mean, you can only eat so many BLTs. This marinara with fresh tomatoes tastes like summer. It's fairly quick and a great way to feast on all that garden tomato goodness.

Marinara Sauce
(from Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen)

1/4 C. extra-virgin olive oil
8 cloves garlic, peeled
3 lbs. ripe plum tomatoes, seeded and lightly crushed, with their liquid (you can also use one 35-oz. can Italian plum tomatoes)
salt
Crushed hot red pepper
10 fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces

Heat the oil in a 2-3 qt. saucepan over medium heat. Whack the garlic with the flat side of a knife, add it to the oil, and cook until ightly browned, about 2 minutes.

Carefully slide the tomatoes and their liquid into the oil. Bring to a boil and season lightly with salt and crushed red pepper. Lower the heat so the sauce is at a lively simmer and cook, breaking up the tomatoes with a whisk or spoon, until the sauce is chunky and thick, about 20 minutes. Stir int he basil about 5 minutes before the sauce is finished. Taste the sauce and season with salt and red pepper if necessary.

the PERFECT hamburger

2008-08-29T09:41:00.000-07:00

From How to Grill by Steven Raichlen

Make herb butter:
mix 1 stick of butter until soft (in mixer or by hand with wooden spoon)
Add and mix until combined:
3 T. finely chopped fresh herbs (parsley, chives, basil, oregano, thyme, tarragon)
OR 1 T. dried herbs
1 clove garlic, minced

Form into a log and wrap in plastic wrap. Place in refrigerator until you are ready to use it.
(Can do this way in advance.)

Take your ground chuck or round (use ground beef with 15-20% fat content for the best burger) and form a portion into a ball. Make a depression in the center and place a slice of herb butter.

Mold the beef around the butter and flatten slightly. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook on the grill about 5-7 minutes per side. I like to grill my buns too.

Top with whatever you like: cheese, pancetta, lettuce, tomato, pickle, grilled pineapple, etc . . .

I love this herb butter. Try:
1. sauteing slices of zuchinni and squash in it
2. Grill a piece of fish or chicken, make a few slices in the top and then places slices of herb butter on top. The butter will melt and create a beautiful kind of sauce.
3. Spread on slices of bread and broil for a quick garlic bread.

Colin's Birthday

2008-08-27T14:29:00.000-07:00

Four year old birthdays are the greatest. Colin was completely delighted with every part of his birthday: the cupcakes, the candles, the singing, the presents. We have a tradition of decorating the birthday child's room after they are asleep so they wake up to streamers and balloons. Colin loved it. He told Jonah, "Santa was here last night!" He loved the chunky Star
Wars figures I had picked up at Disneyland. Tania made him a super Colin cape that is the coolest thing ever. It has a big yellow lightening bolt and a big red C on the back. We missed celebrating with Ralph and Olive, but got to have the Urquharts over. I don't what we'd do without cousins!

Lately you can't hold Petrea and food at the same time without her lunging for it. She got a little 1st birthday practice with Josh's cupcake.

Gazpacho

2008-08-27T14:17:00.001-07:00

Nothing tastes more like summer than a bowl of gazpacho; tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, red onion. The flavors blend perfectly, but are still distinctive. It's so easy, just food process each vegetable to the desired consistency. I like it smooth with little pieces, but you can also do it chunky. Make it in the morning then put it in the refrigerator to give the flavors time to meld. Top with a little feta cheese and pair with a great bread (a store bought baguette or a homemade potato).

Picking Grapes

2008-08-26T19:44:00.001-07:00

The other day we snuck in the yard of an empty house to pick grapes. There were loads, just ripe for the pickin'. They are sweet and yummy and I can't believe we picked them! The only homegrown grapes I've seen have thick tart skins and are used for juicing and jellies. These were fantastic eating grapes. I'm considering making the Grape Pie featured in this month's Bon Appetit with them.

Can you tell how excited I am? Really excited.

For Dad

2008-08-26T19:32:00.000-07:00

making bread:

Mom's Whole-Wheat Bread

3 1/2 c. plus 2 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/3 c. gluten flour (vital wheat gluten)
1 1/4 T. yeast
2 1/2 c. hot water (110 degrees)
1/3 c. honey or 1/2 c. sugar
1/3 c. oil or melted butter
1 1/4 T. bottled lemon juice
1 T. salt

Put water in mixing bowl, add yeast and let stand until creamy. Add 3 1/2 c. flour, gluten flour, honey or sugar, oil/butter, lemon juice and mix with dough hook until incorporated. Add salt and remaining 2 1/2 c. flour and beat for 10 minutes. Divide dough in half, shape into loaves. Let rise for 1 hour. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

A few notes:
The vital wheat gluten really does good things to an all whole wheat bread. You can usually find it at any grocery store, although in New York I had to go to Whole Foods.

The lemon juice helps to soften the texture. I tried fresh lemon juice once and didn't have as good of results as with the bottled.

Danika taught me this trick: An all whole wheat dough should be pretty sticky, you get a lighter texture. Just oil a cookie sheet and your hands, roll each half into a rectangle and the roll up and place in pan.

First Day of School

2008-08-12T14:07:00.000-07:00

Wow, only mid-August and the kids are going back to school. Actually it feels like it's time. It's too hot to be outside, might as well be in school. The kids were so excited. They both got great teachers, they already have friends, they get 3(!) recesses a day. We all love that school is a 3 minute walk away and doesn't start until 9 am. Having to wake a sleeping baby (or mommy!) to pick up the kids or meet the bus just became a non-issue.

We love school!

For the first day treat we're having soft pretzels with cinnamon sugar. And extra bonus, we get to hang out with Danika and her kids who are in town for a few days. It's a good, good day.

My Week in Meals - 8/4/08

2008-08-05T11:28:00.000-07:00

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
Mon	Cereal Strawberries	quesadillas	Tomatillo salsa marinated grilled chicken Homemade tortilla chips Black refried beans	nectarines
Tues	German pancakes w/ bananas	blt	Squash frittata	popcorn
Wed	Egg-in-a-hole	Mac n’ cheese	Sausage and white bean cassolet	Veggies & dip
Thurs	Breakfast burritos	PB&J Or tuna	grilled asian flank steak with sweet slaw	goldfish
Fri	pancakes	nachos	Dumplings Rice Stir-fry	Toast & jam
Sat	Waffles	leftovers	Grilled rib-eyes Panzanella Zucchini cakes	pretzels

Chard

2008-08-02T14:39:00.001-07:00

I got so many goodies from my parent's garden, one of which was chard. I've never used chard before; I thought it was a tough, strong-flavored green, but this was tender and mild. I think we picked it while it was fairly young. My mom told me to use it like I would spinach.

I sauteed it in olive oil just until it was dark green and wilted, then squirted a little lemon juice on it and seasoned with salt and pepper. I served it alongside grilled steak. It was so yummy and the perfect accompaniment to a steak.

Apricot Jam

2008-07-31T20:32:00.000-07:00

Sara brought me some fresh-picked apricots and I couldn't wait to make freezer jam.

I like to use the Sure Jell for less or no sugar recipes. It has about half the amount of sugar and, I think, a better fruit flavor. Detailed instructions come inside the box.

First, get those jars ready. You can also use plastic containers. I put my jars and lids in hot water for a few minutes and then set them on a towel to dry.

Halve and pit the apricots. Aren't they beautiful?

You can puree them in a blender or food processor or just mash them, depending on the texture you like. I found that I got just the right texture (a little chunky) with my blender.

Add fresh lemon juice.

Stir, then let it sit.

Whisk sugar and pectin together in a saucepan. If I don't whisk thoroughly, I always end up with pectin chunks. I hate that. Add the water and start stirring.

Keep stirring until boiling. Boil 1 minute, then add it to the fruit.

Stir it all together.

Pour into jars. Leave a little room at the top. Leave on counter for 24 hours then freeze.

Family & Friends

2008-07-29T11:59:00.000-07:00

The best part of our vacation to northern Utah was reconnecting with family and friends.

Sister Megan and two of her kids, Laughlin and Janessa came out for a few days. I was super glad to get my McQuivey fix. We're going to miss living 3 hours from them. And it's always interesting to talk to sis-in-law Emma and April couldn't be cuter.

Here's my baby sister Liz. Isn't she cute? Good luck on the bar this week!

Colin took this picture of Uncle BJ. He really loved hanging out with his uncles and grandpas. I asked Colin if he liked seeing his Grandparents and he said, "I like the boy ones."

Matt and Danika just finished building their house. As in, really building it, themselves. They are always up to something cool. I love how they think about life and make decisions. I want to be as good as they are someday.

I loved visiting with Tanya and Marino and their 3 great kids. I haven't seen them in 3+ years. They've been through a rough year, they are wonderful and interesting and fun.

I was excited to visit with Carrie and her kids. They always have interesting projects going, their house is great. Our kids line up pretty great and they had fun playing together. Ava and Petrea couldn't be a more beautiful pair.

Got to meet sweet baby nephew Sean. Here he is with his Daddy, Bronson. Cherie is a supermom, taking it all in stride.

Here's my nephew Connor. He is a super balloonist. I laughed when I saw him on the field at 6:00am outfitted in his ballooning attire (including gloves and hat) and a diet Coke in hand.

Also got to meet my twin nieces, Violet and Grace. Laura and Dylan are darling parents. We loved hearing Ella sing.

I think Ella and Jonah look so much alike. I kept trying to get them to pose for a picture, Jonah was not happy about it.

I was happy to visit my Grandma Kelly, introduce her to baby Petrea and see how well she is doing. She was happy and fun to talk to.

We got to go to the famous water park we keep hearing about from Liz, Raging Waters. It totally lived up to our expectations. We all loved it and are really wishing we had a water park closer to us. Afterwards we got take-out at a great Lebanese place, Mazza. It was my first Lebanese food and really good. Liz and Jared's house is super cool and beautiful and it was fun to hang with them.

And of course Grandma and Grandpa Mac, Grandma and Grandpa Kelly! And I have to publicly apologize to Mandy for not seeing her (why did you have to go river rafting?), I was bummed about that, but had fun visiting with her parents!

My Week in Meals - 7/29/08

2008-07-29T11:52:00.000-07:00

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
Mon	Cereal Blueberries	PB&J carrots	pizza	cherries
Tues	German pancakes w/ bananas	Grilled cheese cucumbers	Hot dogs watermelon	Cookies plums
Wed	Egg-in-a-hole	Pork n’ beans quesadillas	Shredded pork tacos Tomatillo salsa Black beans	Cheese& crackers
Thurs	Breakfast burritos	PB&J carrots	Farfalle with zuchini	nectarines
Fri	pancakes	Mac n’ cheese celery	Lettuce wraps rice	Toast & jam
Sat	Cereal strawberries	leftovers	Grilled chicken Rice zuchini	String cheese fruit

Grandma and Grandpa Kelly's

2008-07-13T10:35:00.000-07:00

We spent the rest of the week hanging out at my parents, enjoying simple pleasures like:

playing in the irrigation water:

canoing:

fishing with Grandpa Kelly:

shooting guns:

climbing on the rocks and playing in the waterfall:

hiking in American Fork Canyon:

This is the Place

2008-07-10T10:13:00.000-07:00

On our way from Logan to Highland we stopped in Salt Lake at This is the Place Monument and Heritage Park. They've really improved the place since I visited many years ago. There are a lot more buildings and "pioneers." We got there just 1 hour before they closed, so we raced around to see as much as we could. I loved that the kids could experience a piece of their heritage. They loved the old ZCMI where we bought candy, learning some of the Deseret Alphabet at school, seeing pioneer versions of familiar things: barber shop, hospital, houses. They all keep asking when we can go back.

Riding ponies:

The kids ancestor, John Pack's home:

One of Brigham Young's homes. This is the actual home, moved from the valley.

View of the valley from the "train." They have a miniature train that circles this pond, it is big enough that kids can ride on it, but we didn't have time for it this visit.

Colin studying his map on the train.

At the monument.

John Pack is the one on the end:

Grandma and Grandpa Mac's

2008-07-08T09:40:00.000-07:00

After spending the weekend in Provo, we sent Josh back to St. George and we headed up to Logan to see Donna and Roger one last time before they ship off to Russia. I love Cache Valley in the summer, it's not to hot and breathtakingly beautiful (view from the kitchen window).

We loved hiking:

Doing art projects with inkodye:

Ice Cream Sodas at the Bluebird.

Seeing Matt & Danika Gunn and their new house.

Picking up cookies at Pepperidge Farm factory store.

Visiting Crumb Brothers bakery (wow! I'm still thinking about the fresh mozarella, basil, tomato and artichoke sandwich & the cinnamon pull-aparts):

4th of July

2008-07-06T09:11:00.000-07:00

We loved being in Provo for the 4th of July this year. My kids were champs to get up at 5:30am to go ballooning, especially after partying all night with Miley Cyrus:

The Blue Man group was the highlight of the night and the fireworks are seriously so cool.

Next morning, Josh and Roxcy even got a ride in the piggy bank:

While the rest of us hung out on the field and Jonah slept:

TILASG - Root Beer

2008-07-02T12:28:00.000-07:00

The soda culture here is crazy. At restaurants, soda comes in large portions with frequent refills. Every gas station has a soda fountain (in New York I didn't see even one). As a mom, I don't love that soda is the drink at every function. But, there are some good things about this too. I love that you can get root beer at every restaurant. AND, you can stop by ANY grocery store in the area and pick up root beer extract and a little dry-ice to brew your own at home. You can find the recipe here. Here's niece Sara basking in the root beer fog:

Speaking of root beer, a few weeks ago we helped our neighbor Juddy bottle root beer in his garage. He used a recipe that contained herbs like anise and vanilla to get a root beer result. Next, he mixed it in a large container then used a small hose to put it into used, sterilized Coke bottles.

Last, we used a bottle capper to cap the bottles.

There is yeast in the recipe to give it fizz, you have to let it sit for a few days to develop. The result? It was different . . . interesting. The yeast was a bit strong, next time we'll try Champagne yeast for a more subtle result.

The Giant Pool of Money

2008-07-01T09:22:00.001-07:00

This is a brilliant piece from This American Life about the whole housing crisis.

GIANT ice cream sundae

2008-06-30T09:36:00.000-07:00

Last week we had nearly all the Stanleys in St. George:

One evening Donna and Roger put together this little beauty:

Actually it took some planning and preparation on their part. First, pick up an empty carpet tube from a carpet store. Second, saw it in half lengthwise with a hand or skill saw. Third, line it with tin foil (and Roger made supports so it wouldn't roll, but you could just use a few rocks to steady it.)

Fourth, fill it with ice cream, caramel and chocolate sauce, strawberries, bananas and whipped cream (it helps to have many scoopers. You can also pre-scoop ice cream to a tray and put it in the freezer until you are ready to use it).

Fifth, yell "ready, set, go" and eat as fast as you can.
When you are tired of eating you can throw ice cream at your family members.

It was so much fun and yummy. Perfect family reunion activity.

TILASG - Twin Pops

2008-06-26T13:50:00.000-07:00

Right now we are living on Meadow Gold Twin Pops. They remind me of childhood. You can get the banana, cherry, rootbeer bag or the grape, blue, orange bag. They really are the perfect popsicle. Not too strong, just flavorful enough. I love that you can split them in half and share and I love that they are 4 bags for $5.00.

TILASG - The Red Hill

2008-06-25T09:37:00.000-07:00

St. George is bordered by the "red hill" on the north. There are lots of traditions associated with this hill: high schoolers re-painting the "DIXIE" (is it for homecoming?), making out, etc, etc . . . But we love it because of all the red rocks there are to climb, run and jump on. We've been to playgrounds in CO that tried to mimic this kind of thing with big red rocks strategically placed. This is all natural (and organic). Colin especially loved it and keeps asking when we can go back.

TILASG - Cherries

2008-06-19T07:41:00.000-07:00

Lucky us, the week we got to town cherries were on. We drove out to Leeds to pick some Lambert cherries. They are so fun and easy to pick, in 30 minutes we walked away with 34 lbs. Whoa. Didn't mean to pick that many!

I was excited to make pies and jam and freeze some. Sara and Zella were not excited about pitting 34 lbs. of cherries.

We used my mom's paper clip trick (bend a paper clip open, stick one of the U's into the cherry and pop out the seed) which helped, but we soon realized that no matter what you do, pitting cherries is a laborious process.

We made two kinds of pies. The one on the left is from Joy of Cooking (find the recipe at Cafe Johnsonia), the one on the right is a recipe my mom gave me. (I left it at Sara's house, I'll post it when I get it). Both were really good. For the lattice top pie I used tapioca and it thickened up much more than the the one with cornstarch in it.

My favorite way to eat fresh cherries is to put them in the freezer for a few hours. They're sweet and cold and firm. I could eat a whole bowl this way. We also made 3 batches of jam. I think cherry jam is my favorite. I like making the low sugar freezer jam. Sara showed me how to do a cooked jam that is so easy. The recipe is in the MCP box, but basically you heat the lids, then screw them onto the full jars, turn them over and they seal. No need to cook the jars of jam to seal them.

Cherry jam is really yummy in cookies too:

Poppy Seed Thumbprints (from Great Cookies by Carole Walter)
makes about 40 1 3/4 inch cookies

2 c. flour
1/4 t. salt
1/4 c. poppy seeds
1 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 t. vanilla
cherry, apricot or raspberry preserves

Heat oven to 350.

Strain together the flour and salt in a large bowl. Whisk in the poppy seeds and set aside.

Beat butter in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment just until smooth. Pour in the sugar and mix just until incorporated. Add the egg yolks and vanilla, mixing only until blended. Using a wooden spoon, stir in the dry ingredients in two additions, mixing just to combine after each addition. Don't overmix or dough will become oily.

Roll the dough into balls about the size of a large walnut and place 2 inches apart on the cookie sheets. Using a wooden spoon with a rounded handle no wider than 1/2 inch, make a deep indentation with the tip of the handle in the center of each cookie. If the dough sticks, dip the tip in flour before pressing.

Place the cookies in the oven. After 10 min., remove the cookies from the oven and re-press each indentation. Then fill the centers with preserves. To do this neatly, point the tip of the spoon down into the indentation and slide the preserves off with your fingertip. Do not overfill these or the preserves will run over.

Return cookies to the oven, rotating the pans top to bottom and front to back. Bake for 4-5 minutes longer or until the cookies are golden brown around the edges. Using a thin metal spatula, loosen the cookies from the pans as soon as they are cool enough to handle. Cool on wire racks.

Store in an airtight container, layered between strips of wax paper, for up to 2 weeks. These cookies may be frozen.

TILASG - Block Parties

2008-06-18T12:11:00.000-07:00

The other night our little cul-de-sac had a block party to welcome the two new families. Super casual, everyone brought meat to grill and something to share. The kids had water fights and played on the blow-up slide and went for rides in this:

Things I Like About St. George - The Splash Park

2008-06-17T13:48:00.000-07:00

They recently renovated a "downtown" section of St. George and added this splash park. It's right next to the new library. It's really well done and the perfect place to be on a hot day.

lookee here. A row of nice new bathrooms, just in case you are playing and someone has to "go." Crazy.

You don't even have to bring towels. It's so hot that you can just lay on the sidewalk and you're dry in a jiffy.

After you are done splashing you can walk across the street to Judd's. Jonah thinks this is the best place on earth. They have ice cream, icees and sodas, but my kids love the huge selection of candy which includes lots of old-fashioned things you don't see anymore. I'm impressed with the wide variety of candy cigarettes they carry. I'm trying to figure out how I can buy some without my kids noticing. I might have to smoke them in the bathroom so no one gets suspicious.

Two Recipes

2008-05-05T18:38:00.001-07:00

photo: Tom Schierlitz from Bon Appetit

Haven't been cooking much lately. I'm in some serious need of inspiration. But, I do have to share two great recipes I discovered this month:

Asian Noodle Salad
Click over to pioneerwomancooks.com to see her gorgeous pictures. This is totally a chick salad, lots of veggies and bright colors and noodles and ginger/soy sauce/garlic flavors. Perfect for a warm weather bbq, baby shower or any girly gathering.

Dulce de Leche and Chocolate Chunk Bread Pudding
We lurv dulce de leche at our house and this is a perfect use of it. I've tried it twice, once with store bought dulce de leche and once with homemade. Both were equally good. This is a dessert that delivers big results for very little effort. We were all surprised at how yummy it was. We served ours with whipped cream. It's good, good.

Making Baby Food

2008-04-23T05:55:00.001-07:00

I love making baby food because it gives me total control over taste (not to mention quality and source), texture and price. It's really sooo easy. Not until Petrea was 7 months old did she start liking food. Nearly one month later she's ready for more thick and chunky varieties. In the beginning she ate quite liquidy (like cream) fruit and vegetable purees. This is what I first fed her:
avocado (fresh, mashed and mixed with water)
banana
apple
sweet potato
parsnip
yellow squash
pears
rice cereal

This is how I did it:
wash and peel (I left the peel on the yellow squash.)

cut and put in saucepan

add water (this amount varies depending on how much you are doing, but I generally put 1/2 inch in or so the water covers about 1/4 of the fruit/veggie.)

cover and cook at a simmer until soft (the apples took about 10 minutes. don't worry about overcooking, just don't let it boil dry, add a little more water if this happens.)

add veggies/fruit and water to blender or food processor and blend until smooth. you might want to add a little more water if mixture is too chunky. for bigger babies you might want a thicker puree. So, remove veggies/fruits from water and blend, adding cooking water as needed.

Pour into ice cube trays.

Cover with plastic wrap. Be sure that the wrap is touching the surface of the cubes. (If you don't do this you might get crusty tops.)

When completely frozen, pop cubes into freezer bags and label.

You can store baby food for 1 month-6 weeks in a fridge freezer and for 4 months+ in a deep freeze.

To feed: just take out 1 cube, (now that she's nearly 8 months she'll eat two at a feeding) microwave and add water if necessary. This doll size glass that came with a tea set of Roxcy's has been the perfect size to teach her to drink out of a cup.

Keep in mind that you can take any extra veggies you ate for dinner and puree them right up. I have done this with extra potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans, asparagus. I don't worry if they have salt, oil and spices on them. In fact, have you heard about this line of baby foods? Dr. Susanna's World Baby Foods. They have flavors like ginger, edamame, brown basmati rice, apple (that's all in one jar) and cumin, coriander, brown rice, lentils, carrot, apple. They've inspired me to start mixing herbs with my veggie purees.

Next up for Petrea:
cottage cheese
tofu
egg yolk
asparagus
carrots
peas
plums
melons
kiwi

It's Official

2008-04-22T10:24:00.001-07:00

Josh just accepted a position at Dixie College. Come June we'll be moving to St. George, Utah.

this one's for the grandmas

2008-04-09T03:51:00.000-07:00

Stir

2008-03-28T07:25:00.000-07:00

The kids had a bunch of days off, so we headed up to Boston to visit with the cousins (or so they thought). The real reason? To attend a cooking demonstration at Stir with Megan. I could gush for hours about this place, it was incredible. This is it: You walk into a tiny space dominated by a huge island. 3 sides are for sitting (seating 10), 1 side has burners and cutting surfaces. Then. Two amazing chefs cook you a five course meal and as they cook they talk about techniques and recipes. (Each person was given a recipe booklet that included the evening's recipes and space to take notes.) And we got to talk to them. About anything. Some topics that came up:
"What got you into food?"
"What do you think about molecular gastronomy?"
"Where do you buy duck fat?"
"What's the difference between Australian lamb and Colorado lamb?"
The conversation was so esoteric, I loved it. The most incredible part was these two super talented amazing chefs. Stir was started by Barbara Lynch, who owns 5 restaurants/markets in the Boston area. Joining her was her executive chef, Colin Lynch (no relation). They both seemed to have impeccable taste and style. Every bite of the food was amazing. The topic of our class was "Beyond Corned Beef and Cabbage: The Cuisine of Ireland." This is what we ate (I don't have the exact menu in front of me so I'm paraphrasing):

Oysters on the half shell with migonette and cocktail sauce

Irish Soda Bread with homemade butter, sea salt and Vermont honey

Olive oil poached salmon, fingerling potato salad

Warm napa cabbage salad with caraway and bacon

Rack of lamb, braised kale, champ

Caramelized pears on custard soaked brioche

A few pictures from the camera phone. They don't really convey the awesomeness, but you get an idea:

The view from my seat. You can see the hand of the chef on the right. This was taken after dinner so the food has been taken away. Dang! why didn't I take pictures of the food? Oh yeah, because the 9 other people I was eating with would think I'm cuckoo.

The white board on the upper right had the menu written on it. This was a menu just for that night. The wall on the left was floor to ceiling cookbooks and books about food. Behind me was the door to the street. Cozy. 300 sq. feet of cozy. But it was enough. I hope I get to go back someday. If you are ever in the Boston area, go, go, go.

Top o' the Mornin'

2008-03-17T07:19:00.001-07:00

Here's our St. Patrick's Day report. We had a fun celebration Sunday night with family and friends. You can find all the recipes here.

Our Irish heritage on my side. The kids got a quarter if they could memorize it.

Last week the kids went on a "green" hunt: they found green things all over the house and we put them in vases.

The food. Oh my. It was good.

Fresh limes sans sprite.

Josh smoked the corned beef this year. Best year ever.

Potatoes

Roasted Vegetables

Cashel Palace Brown Bread

I sauteed the cabbage in butter this year: Melt 1/2 cube of butter in frying pan, add about 1 T. water and 1/2 head of green cabbage, cut up. Cover and cook until tender. Add salt. It was so good that some people even had seconds! Crazy.

Dessert. We used this opportunity to celebrate Ben Blair's birthday. This Mile High Chocolate Cake was very good, but the frosting was CRAZY good. We also had lemon cake and Laura brought green filled OREOs, yum. (I want that recipe, Laura!)

The kids put on a play about a tricky leprechaun and Roxcy organized a game of find the shamrocks and pots of gold. It was a perfect evening.

Food Blog Search

2008-03-13T08:25:00.001-07:00

this is such a great idea. i'll definetely search here when looking for a recipe.

Restaurant Week

2008-03-11T05:56:00.000-07:00

It's Hudson Valley Restaurant Week. Through the 21st, you can get a three-course prix fixe lunch ($16.09) or dinner ($27.06) at over 81 restaurants in the Hudson Valley. It's a great opportunity to try some fancy-schmancy restaurants in the area. I wish I could go everyday this week! I want to eat at Equus or X20 Xavier's on the Hudson or Harvest on the Hudson or Mohonk Mountain House or The Thayer Hotel at West Point, how do I decide? Find the list of restaurants here, on many of their individual sites you can see the menu they've developed for the occasion. Make reservations and be aware that this deal is not available on Saturdays.

My Week in Meals - 3/10/08

2008-03-11T05:48:00.000-07:00

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
Mon	Eggs & bacon	Ham sand Pickles cucumbers	Dinner out: fast food	pears
Tues	Bagels w/ cream cheese	Pb&j Apple Pirate’s booty	Pizza	Veggies & dip
Wed	Cereal	Ham Crackers cheese	Sea bass w/ roasted beets . . . Couscous	yogurt
Thurs	Scrambled egg burrito	Pb&j	White bean chicken chili	Apples & popcorn
Fri	oatmeal	Ham	Spaghetti Fogasa Salad	cookies
Sat	waffles	quesadillas	(frozen)dumplings Rice edamame	Cinnamon rolls
Sun	cereal	Mac n’ cheese	St. Patrick’s day dinner

marjorie morningstar

2008-03-10T07:21:00.000-07:00

I'm leading the book club discussion tomorrow evening. I would love suggestions of points to discuss. Anyone have ideas?

Eyes

2008-03-10T05:29:00.001-07:00

Petrea is 6 months old today! Yeah! A major milestone. Coming up: crawling, sitting, eating table food, teeth!

Last week I got pulled over for making an illegal left turn. The officer saw Petrea in the back seat and commented. He asked how old she was and complimented her blue eyes. He took my information and returned to his car. When he returned I was surprised that he didn't hand me a ticket. "Because your daughter has such big, beautiful eyes, I'm not going to give you a ticket."

goodreads

2008-03-07T08:26:00.000-08:00

I love this site. Friends have been telling me how awesome facebook is, but I don't really get it. This I get. Like facebook, you have friends, you can leave messages for each other, but it all revolves around books. You can organize books into different categories, rate and review them. And you can see your "friends" books and reviews. Most of my brothers and sisters and some of my nieces and nephews are on. Since 75% of the conversation in my family is about what we are reading (the other 25% of conversation is spent gossiping about the other siblings), it's so fun to connect, see reviews and comment. When you sign up be sure to add me as a friend and you'll be able to see what I'm reading.

Yo Gabba Gabba

2008-03-06T06:20:00.000-08:00

This is Colin's favorite show of late. It is so weird but we all love it. Musically, I think it's the best kids show I've ever seen. Beware, you'll be singing "there's a party in my tummy, so yummy, so yummy" all day.

My Week in Meals -3/3/08

2008-03-04T07:42:00.000-08:00

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snacks
Mon	Waffles	Ham sand Pickles watermelon	Rigatoni alfredo peas	Pears
Tues	Yogurt & grapefruit	Pb&j Apple	w.w. pizza salad	Veggies & dip
Wed	Oatmeal	Ham Chips Clementine	Teriyaki salmon Rice Snap peas	yogurt
Thurs	Eggs & bacon	Pb&j	Beef Bok Choy w/ noodles	White choc chip craisin cookies
Fri	German pancakes	Ham Cheese	Chicken Fajitas Guac & salsa	Celery & pb
Sat	Cereal	quesadillas	Potato Soup Biscuits	bananas
Sun	pancakes	Mac n’ cheese	Pork burritos	grape tomatoes

New Favorite Blog

2008-02-27T09:03:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how funny this is - garfield minus garfield.

My Week in Meals - 2/25/08

2008-02-25T05:09:00.000-08:00

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snack
Monday	Waffles	PB&J clementine Celery	pizza	fruit
Tuesday	Grapefruit Scrambled eggs	Turkey sand. Carrots Chips	Tacos with lettuce & tomatoes, olives, cheese, sour cream & salsa	Cucumbers & cream cheese on toast
Wednesday	cereal	PB&J crackers Celery	Beef & barley stew bread	Carrots & hummus
Thursday	Dipping eggs Toast	Turkey sandwich Apple crackers	Dumplings Rice Cauliflower	Cheese & crackers
Friday	Cereal	Turkey sandwich string cheese clementines	Missionaries to dinner: Green salad Pork loin (brined) Baby potatoes Apple/cherry chutney Dulce de leche & chocolate chunk bread pudding	Granola & yogurt
Sunday	pancakes	quesadillas	Pasta with cabbage Garlic bread Carmelized sweet potatoes

Cherry Pie

2008-02-18T08:34:00.000-08:00

There could be no better way to celebrate Presidents' Day than with a cherry pie. This is for all of you that hate cherry pie. It's nothing like the artificially bright red cherries bound together in a gloopy mess that you find in most cherry pies. This one is a simple fruit pie, much like an apple or peach pie.

The "secret" ingredient. Sour cherries packed in water or light syrup. You do not find these with the pie fillings, but with the canned fruit. (Sn'S does not carry these, but A&P does.)

Drain fruit, mix in a bowl with sugar, cornstarch, almond extract and lemon juice.

I love weaving a lattice top on a cherry pie, but you can also do a closed top. Be sure to dot with butter before putting the top on.

Trim and crimp edges.

Serve with ice cream.

Cherry Pie (from Joy of Cooking)

Pour into a sieve set over a bowl:
3 lbs. bottled or canned cherries
Shake the cherries lightly to drain. Measure 4 cups of fruit and 1/2 c. juice (too watery for me, I just use 1/4 c. juice) and combine with:
3/4 c. sugar for sour cherries in light syrup or 1 1/4 c. sugar for sour cherries packed in water
3 T. cornstarch
1 T. lemon juice
1/4 t. almond extract
Let stand for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425.

Prepare pie crust. (I like pate brisee from MS.) Roll out half the dough and place into a 9" pie pan. (Don't stretch to fit, this is what causes shrinkage.)

Pour cherries into the bottom crust and dot with:
2-3 T. butter cut into small pieces

Roll the remaining dough, cut into strips and weave in a lattice pattern. (You can find more detailed instructions here.) OR roll out top crust, place over fruit and trim overhang. Seal the edges by crimping with a fork. If using a closed top crust, cut steam vents. Bake the pie for 30 min. Slip a baking sheet beneath it, reduce the oven temp to 350 and bake until thick juices bubble through the vents, 25-35 minutes more. Let cool completely on a rack before serving. Store at room temp. for up to 1 day.

Petrea and her boyfriends

2008-02-15T06:49:00.000-08:00

Petrea has six boy cousins born in 2007. She's only met two of them so far. Here she is with John and Lachlin.

I'm stealing this from Laura who posted this cute picture of my girl and her boy who are exactly one week apart.

the PERFECT valentine cookie

2008-02-08T08:55:00.000-08:00

Cut thick.

Bake just until cooked. As soon as tops set up (don't look wet in the middle) take them out. Because I rolled these so thick, they took about 8 minutes.

Frost thickly with buttercream.

Thanks to Rebecca R. for the recipe!

Sugar Cookies
cream:
1 c. butter
2 c. sugar
add:
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla
alternate:
1 c. milk
with:
1 t. salt
2 t. soda
4 t. baking powder
7 c. flour

Bake 375 for 5-6 minutes, or just until cooked. Cool, frost.

Buttercream Frosting
1 c. butter
1 t. vanilla
3 1/2 c. powdered sugar

Using whisk attachment, beat for 10 minutes. Add food coloring.

My Week in Meals - 2/7/08

2008-02-07T06:02:00.000-08:00

Just this week, I feel like life is settling down and becoming more organized. Since Petrea was born, the kids have been fixing their own breakfast and eating school lunch. This week I've been able to help them pack their own lunches. They have to bring a snack everyday as well. It's sometimes a challenge to think of something to send with them. Most days they still fix their own breakfast (not such a bad thing), but occasionally I'll cook them an egg or crepes (or as Colin calls them "germs").

In honor of Chinese New Year we had dumplings on Monday and I discovered a new way to cook rice. Cooking rice is a problem for me, it never comes out just perfect. It's either too watery or too clumpy or too overdone or too underdone. We don't eat enough rice for me to justify a rice cooker (and we definetely don't need another appliance). I learned this trick from The Splendid Table: cook rice like pasta. Bring large pot of water to boil. Add rice, stir. Cook for about 5-8 minutes, drain while still al dente. The rice doesn't come out like sticky rice, but separate grains, but since I almost always cook jasmine rice, I prefer that.

	Breakfast	Lunch (for school kids)	Dinner	Snack
Monday	Cereal	Pb&j orange Snack: Trail mix (almonds, pine nuts, m&ms, milk duds)	Dumplings Rice Stir fry (cabbage, carrots & onions)	Grapes yogurt
Tuesday	Frozen Waffles	Pb&j Sliced mangoes ABC cookies Snack: carrots	Smoked pork sandwiches with cabbage slaw (leftovers)	Whole wheat choc. chip cookies (substitute half the white flour for ww)
Wednesday	Cereal	School lunch Snack: oranges	Mac N’ Cheese (from a box)	Peanut butter crackers
Thursday	Dipping eggs Toast	Turkey sand. String cheese Snack: applesauce	Thai Chicken-Coconut Soup	Filled crescent rolls
Friday	Frozen Waffles grapefruit	Rice cakes with cream cheese and fresh blueberries Peanut butter crackers Snack: pears	Baked Potato Bar (broccoli, sour cream, cheese, baked beans, scallions)	Celery & cucumbers
Saturday	Matt's Crepes with lemon and sugar	Nachos w/ refried beans, cheese, sour cream and avocado	Spaghetti Fogasa Salad with olives, carrots, scallions, red peppers

Hooray for Super Tuesday!

2008-02-05T18:24:00.001-08:00

Have you seen this?

2008-02-02T07:24:00.000-08:00

Quiet Kids

2008-01-31T06:31:00.000-08:00

A few nights ago I was feeding Petrea and putting her to bed while the other kids were putting on their pajamas. Suddenly it was very quiet, too quiet, DEADLY quiet. I found them all snuggled in Roxcy's bed, watching Pee Wee's Playhouse on her ipod. She had the volume turned up all the way and was holding the earphones so they could all hear.