Julian is one

First Day of School 2010

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

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

Happy St. Pats

One Month

Family Photos

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

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

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

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

Happy Thanksgiving!

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

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

Prego prom


Zombie


Mummy


Joker


Bunny rabbit

Creepcakes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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