Happy 16th Birthday Soph!

I've been meaning to post these forever, but am only now getting around to it.  As if you need to look at food after the past two days...

My favorite dessert in the world, mk's "Cake and Shake."  Three tiny layers (literally, it's about four bites) of moist rich chocolate cake sandwiched between three different types of chocolate frosting.  Served with a mini vanilla malt on the side.

This was called "Banana" and was a delicious bread pudding with homemade ice cream.  Good, but not as good as mine.  :)  
Happy Birthday dearie, hope you had as much fun as I did on our city day!

"Turkehhh"

Not the most appetizing thing to stare at while eating breakfast, but he did ok.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Trying to Cook on Thanksgiving Eve

Why, oh why did Sam decide to drop his morning nap today?  I was attempting to start making this, along with a traditional sour cream cranberry coffee cake that my mom always makes (we cut it in half and share it with a neighbor) and apple sage stuffing.  And the gravy.  And a pecan pie.

My 18 month old sous chef didn't quite understand what his role was supposed to be in the process.  
I am anxiously awaiting Scott's return here within the hour and fully intend on taking a long hot shower during Sam's afternoon nap to recover.  Then I may escape to sit in Starbucks for an hour or two and make Scott vacuum downstairs.  
Hope your Thanksgiving is warm and full of family and good food!  Ours will be!

A Little After-Dinner Dancing...

Just what the doctor ordered during this stressful time.  :)

The Upside Down Apple Cake that No One Got to Eat

Sigh.

Heavy sigh.  There is a story here my friends, a story of the past three weeks or so, but I am too tired to tell it.  Suffice to say it involved the stomach flu for all three of us, the computer crashing...$170 later, then being in the shop for five days, job issues and stress for Scott and continued uncertainty.  One thing I know though, besides the fact that God is good, is that this cake blew my mind.  

I pulled it out of the oven, along with homemade parmesan rosemary crackers, just an hour and a half before four of our friends were supposed to come out from the city for a cozy Saturday night dinner that I'd spent two days making.  At 4:15 pm I threw up, 12 hours after Sam had the flu.  We called off the dinner and most of it went into the freezer in the garage.  So sad.

This cake was too yummy not to share.

Rebekah's Glorious Upside Down Apple Cake

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. kosher salt

2 eggs

1 & 1/2 cups sugar

1 tsp. good vanilla extract

1 cup heavy cream

4 TB. salted butter, melted

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup brown sugar

juice of one lemon

Beat the eggs with the 1 1/2 cups sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes or so.  Stir together the flour, salt and baking powder in a small bowl.  Add it carefully to the egg mixture, then add the heavy cream and mix just until it comes together.

In a separate small bowl, melt 4 TB. butter, 1 tsp. cinnamon and 1 cup brown sugar together. Divide the mixture into the bottom of two well greased 8 inch round pans.  Peel and slice about 4 cups of apples (I used Empire), squeeze the lemon juice over them and mix with your hands.  Lay the apples down on top of the brown sugar in a circle pattern.  Pour batter over top of apples.

Bake 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  Turn oven temperature down to 325 and bake another 15-20 minutes or until cake is done.  Cool cake for 5 minutes in the pan, then gently turn out.

Red Cup! Red Cup!!

Yea!   No winter drinks yet though.  It does feel a little wrong to be carrying that cup around in 73 degree weather today.  I managed though.

Our Favorite Winter Fruit

I will be forever indebted to my friend in California, Amy, who first introduced me to this wonderful winter fruit.  Pomegranates are now in season and they are our family's favorite winter fruit by a long shot.  Scott will eat a bowl of these like cereal, with a spoon.  I enjoy them by the handful, sprinkled over salads and cereal.  Sam just likes them.  Any way, how, or where.

They are a bit time consuming to open and peel, Pom's website has a great diagram.  I think it is well worth the time spent, especially when you consider how great they are for you.  If you chew up the seed, it's high in fiber too!
Springbrook Market is selling them for .89 cents a piece, the best deal in town.  Otherwise, you'll pay around $3 for one at Jewel or Dominicks.  Happy peeling!

Classic

I promise you, we didn't even set him up.  I turned around and there he was, snuggling up to the fire hydrant like it was his new best friend.

Halloween 2008

Sam decided to be a Dalmatian this year, because he likes dogs and because his Aunt Lesley offered his mom a free costume.  Here he is with his two buddies from Storytime, looking slightly startled. 

And with the rest of the cousins, we're just missing Batman off to the left.

Pensive and flirtatious.

Sorry for the absence...

I've been a little tied up.

Especially this afternoon, when Sam decided to reorganize all my books in the attic.  And then make a phone call.  No idea who he wanted to talk to.

The latter part of October flew by, as our computer crashed for a few days, Scott resigned at the bank, we hosted two small parties and rehearsals have started in earnest for two Christmas concerts.

I'm off to dust off the books and get them back on the shelves.  Sam is talking now, so I'm assuming he understood me as I lectured him about the integrity of books and how these are not HIS to play with.  We'll see.