Patchwork Bulletin Board

I am really enjoying using bulletin boards. I love being able to have a place to keep little things that I want to look at without getting my desks or counters all cluttered. I used the little cheap cork squares that you can buy at Michaels and attached some extra fabric that I had left over from other projects with a staple gun. Then we glued it to a solid back and screwed it into the wall.

PS S and I came up with and completed this project before I saw this version at Pottery Barn. Do you think they sent a scout to my house to copy my design ideas?:)

Pizza Toasts

 When I asked S to make dinner for the boys on Sunday night this is what I came into the kitchen to find. The rocket and blackbird jet were for O of course and the elephant was W's . He loves elephants and it is one of his few words. I was lucky enough to eat the race car and S had the shark. YUM! Also, it turns out there is a very specific process for toasting the bread, before applying the toppings and then broiling them so as not to let the bread get soggy. S had it down to a science.

Lunch Ideas

I always have a hard time thinking of anything besides pb&j and turkey melts to feed O and W for lunch. Mare has created a huge list of great lunch ideas on her food & fun blog. Check it out.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

I thought it would be fun to have a "Favorite Things" category - a way to share some of our sweet and special things, whatever they may be. I fell in love with this precious vintage board by Marta Peters when I saw it in a little antique shop window. She started a company called Moonlight & Roses and creates pieces from her vast collection of antique cards and memorabilia. The dainty fairy and flowers have the most beautiful sparkles on them. This print hangs in my E's nursery.

Desert Dew

No ice storms here, but we did have a "nippy" morning the other day, and I snapped this picture of some desert dew. I thought it was a nice juxtaposition - Audrey's frozen bush, Jana's dewy bush.

Sick Days

I’m still alive! You wouldn’t know it by my (lack of) recent contributions to this blog. “Sick Days” is the most fitting title I could come up with for the past 14 days at our house. T went down with influenza nearly two weeks ago, and his bed was his constant companion for five days. His illness was followed by four others - an earache for P, a severe cold for J & E, and only one day (luckily) of T’s yuck for me. What to do when everyone is feeling terrible and trapped inside? Cook!

I tried out quite a few recipes over the past several days, including many that Audrey has posted on the blog. We made Audrey’s Yellow Cake, Black Bean Soup (T loved this, Aud) and Play Clay (we made blue :) ), our friend Amy’s Peasant Bread, and our friend Megan’s Whole Wheat Bread. They were all very yummy (except for the Play Clay, of course, which we did not eat). I have to say that I was most excited about the wheat bread because, to date (I'll be married 9 years in April), I have never made a loaf of wheat bread. Can you believe it?! Oh, I've made loads of homemade rolls, sweet breads, bread sticks, cornbread, and all sorts of other bread, but this was a turning point for a girl who used to be afraid of yeast! We slathered warm butter and honey on our hot bread, and it was the perfect comfort food.

Try this super easy and delicious recipe:

French Peasant Bread
1 package dry yeast
2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
4 cups flour
oil
corn meal
melted butter

Place yeast, water, sugar and salt in warm bowl and stir until dissolved. Add flour and stir until blended. Do not knead. Cover and let rise one hour or until doubled in size. Flour hands, remove dough from the bowl and place in 2 rounds on an oiled cookie sheet sprinkled with corn meal. Let rise an addition hour. Brush the top with melted butter and bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees and cook an additional 15 minutes. Remove from oven and brush again with butter. Serve warm.

Mardi Gras

I was just reflecting on how much I love February. This month features my birthday, Valentines Day and how can I forget... Mardi Gras! S and I spent a fabulous weekend in New Orleans with our dear friends in 2004. We went to all the family friendly sites and collected boatloads of beads. After the photo above, I almost strangled myself trying to get them all off. We still have a huge duffel bag full of beads, so if you ever need any just let me know!

12 Socks of Valentine's Day

The socks featured are two of the 12 that delighted me in secret hiding places on Valentine's Day. While changing W's diaper I found a sock on top of his wipes with lip gloss inside. While putting a plate in the microwave, I found a sock with a box of chocolates stuffed deep down. Best of all, while doing laundry (which I don't like to do) I found a sock with lotion inside! My sweet Valentine left little surprises all over the house for me to find as I went about my daily tasks. What a sweetheart! 

Valentine's Dinner

I am making pan seared tilapia tonight for our Valentine Dinner. This recipe is so light and delicious! I wanted to pass it along for a great staple for cooking with any light, mild fish. I think I will add some capers this time too.  Mary Ann originally tipped me off to this recipe and as usual, her recipes are a hit. 

As a side note, this recipe is really easy to play around with. If you don't have white wine, you can add chicken broth and if you don't have sherry vinegar just use another vinegar. Likewise with the shallots. I love shallots, but if you don't have any on hand you could just add a little garlic and minced onion.

A Present!!

I found this beautiful box on my car with a great birthday present inside! (Thanks Vanessa and Chelsea!) I was so excited to find little ramekin dishes inside! Also in the box was a recipe for the most delicious little molten chocolate cakes with mint fudge sauce. These would make a most delectable Valentine's Treat don't you think? Enjoy!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Don't feel bad if you don't get one in the mail. They are from another year!

Ice Storm

This morning we awoke to some beautiful ice sculptures outside our front door. I took this one without even leaving the front porch.

Perfect Play Clay

This is not the most beautiful picture in the world, but it is the best play clay I have ever played with. O & W both play for it completely content for over an hour. That is saying a lot for a 3  year old and 16 month old! It stays soft for months and is so much fun to shape and mold. O on this day was making the sun out of this big orange blob. We also had planets surrounding it out of many other colors. I am posting the recipe below. One word of caution: Follow the recipe precisely. I tried to improvise a little once and got a sticky, gooey mess! It calls for a lot of salt and cream of tartar too, so you might want to check your stock before you get started to make sure that you have enough!

Combine in saucepan:

5 cups water

2 1/2 cups salt

3 Tablespoons Cream of Tartar

and food coloring (1 tsp for pastel color and 3 Tablespoons for vivid color)

Warm over low heat and stir with a wooden spoon. As the mixture heats up, stir in: 

10 Tablespoons oil and then

5 cups flour slowly

Keep stirring until the mixture starts to look dry and pulls away from the sides of the pan.

Remove the pan from the heat at this point. Pinch a piece between two fingers, If it is not sticky, it is done. Otherwise, continue stirring over heat.

Place the dough on the counter and knead until smooth. Store in a plastic bag and enjoy!

Happy Hearts

I made this happy little felt wreath when J. was tiny. I pull it out every February because it makes me smile. Did I mention that I love Valentine's Day?

Will You Be My Valentine?

I had so much fun making this Valentine tree. I hope to add to it all the adorable creations made by the sweet hands of my kindergartener and preschooler. I just love it when their holiday crafts come through the door. Perhaps I'll get a sweet nothing from my Valentine, as well. Happy Valentine's Day!

Current Obsession

I can't stop racing to the computer to get the latest poll or news article regarding the elections. Real Clear Politics is a great site that has a daily compilation of the polls and has great articles representing all sides of the political spectrum. 

Baby Shoes

I have a friend who gets one of these little Aaron Basha charms every time she has a baby! I tried to talk JS into the idea but fell far short. He has been very sweet though and given me thoughtful and beautiful (although much more reasonably priced) presents after the birth of our children. (Pictured below is my 'medal of honor' necklace that JS gave me after natural childbirth with W.)

German Chocolate Inside Out Cake

I made this delicious cake to celebrate all of the January Birthdays with some good friends. I love German Chocolate Cake and this is my favorite version so far, but I wasn't crazy about the chocolate glaze. I would use a ganache to top the cake off with instead. 

Yellow Cake

I didn't have time to go to the store for a box of yellow cake and chocolate frosting as JS requested. I called Mare and she of course had the perfect recipe on hand. It looked just like a store bought cake when finished. JS was almost tricked, but in the end he figured me out! There probably weren't enough preservatives or high fructose corn syrup in my version! I loved the cake and it reminded me of a cake that my grandmother made. My grandmother's cake was always served in a bowl with milk on top. I poured milk on top of my cake and it was delicious! No wonder I love moist cake. I grew up eating it soaked in milk!

YELLOW BIRTHDAY CAKE

3/4 cup butter, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs, separated

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour pan ( or use one of those baking sprays that has flour in it)

2.  Cream butter for 1-2 minutes; add the sugar and cream for another 2 minutes. Add the egg yolks and beat for another minute or until mixture appears light and fluffy.  Beat in vanilla extract

3.  In a separate bowl mix flour, baking powder, baking soda  and salt.  Add a third of the flour mixture to butter-sugar mixturea nd mix well.  Then mixing,(but not overbeating) affter each addition, add half the buttermilk, followed by another third of flour, remaining buttermilk, and finally the last of the flour.

4. Beat the egg whites until stiff.  Gently fold into batter with a rubber spatula.  Pour into prepared pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean.

 

2- 8 or 9 inch pans   45 minutes

13 by 9 by 2 inch     45 minutes

24 cupcake tins       20 minutes

 

 

Buttercream Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

3 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 to 4 T milk

* To make chocolate buttercream frosting replace 1 cup of powdered sugar with 1 cup of cocoa.

 

With an electric mixer, beat butter, sugar, and vanilla at low speed.  Add milk bit by bit until mixture reaches a spreadable consistency. 

6 Years Later...

It's incredible to me how time can pass so quickly. How is it possible that my firstborn is now 6 years old? He wanted burritos for dinner, so we made Debbie's Green Chili-Chicken Casserole. It was super yummy. We spent dinner telling J. all about the day he was born. Such happy memories. (PS How do I get vertical pictures to post correctly? :)