Good Living

Christmas Card Pictures That Didn't Make the Cut

2011-12-21T16:40:00.001-06:00

In honor of my howlingly funny friend, Rebekah, who writes an annual "Christmas Card Reject" post each year, I thought I'd share some pictures that were funny and sweet. Sophie Bushong you are a treasure!

This next one is my personal favorite...

Charlotte and I have matching bracelets, along with her two grandmother's

And finally, a picture of The Bribe. I'm lucky we got some shots that didn't have Charlotte drooling blue jellybean all down her face.

Catch Up

2011-12-21T07:00:00.000-06:00

So it's been a while. Sorry about that. I tend to blog in fits and spurts, only writing when it sounds good to me and/or when I've got time to do it.

So it's been five weeks. And what a five weeks it's been! I'll just share some highlights to catch you up alittle in our goings and doings.

For our nine year anniversary, we headed north to Kohler, WI for one night away. And saw this driving home next to us on our way back:

Ahhhh, Wisconsin. And yes, that's a dead doe strapped to a four wheeler driving down Highway 41.

And then, we hosted a small Thanksgiving at our house, here are a few highlights, beginning with my attempts at a pretty table. I am no Martha Stewart and I shall leave it at that.

After lunch, Charlotte Grace II reads on the couch with Charlotte Grace I.

We started that morning out at our local Starbucks, the entire family decked out in Dallas Cowboys attire, much to the amusement of other customers. Also, Sam got a haircut.

And lastly, a big moment in the baby's life. Sandra, one of our favorite baristas, decided Charlotte was old enough to get her own whipped cream cup at our weekly family Friday date.

I'm afraid there's no turning back from here.

The Scariest Santa You've Ever Seen

2011-12-20T15:54:00.000-06:00

In honor of it being four days before Christmas Eve, I thought I'd share with you the funniest Santa I've ever seen. My friend Cris has had him since she was a little girl:

...and then you turn him on, and he begins to hurk and jerk, swaying and swinging his bell wildly and THEN his eyes light up into a piercing, fiery orange...

and then he's not so much funny/ha ha anymore as funny/SCARY.

Happy 9th Anniversary Honey!

2011-11-16T13:21:00.000-06:00

Little did I know the adventure that lay ahead of us. Thank you for your leadership, incredible work ethic, and becoming my partner and best friend nine short years ago.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-12T14:00:00.000-06:00

So I'm only 12 days behind in posting Halloween pictures, not too bad, right? In case you can't tell, Sam was Jake from The Neverland Pirates and Charlotte is a charming bunny who didn't want to wear her paws.

They were both excited beyond measurement as we headed out into the neighborhood with our friends, Batman and Batgirl.

Sam wouldn't wear his eye patch so I attempted to be creative and drew one on instead.

"Say Cheese!!!!"

Neither of them have asked where all their candy went, thankfully. Did anyone watch Jimmy Kimmel's "I told my kids I ate all their candy" on YouTube? I was dying to try that with Sam...but I restrained myself.

A Visit to the Dentist

2011-11-11T09:00:00.000-06:00

Sam had his teeth cleaned for the third time in his young life, an old pro at this point. He just about drove the hygienist batty though, reaching for buttons and pulling on things and causing the water cup to over flow repeatedly.

The best thing that happened there though, was Sam building a massive wall of Jenga blocks that spread across the office.

Thank goodness their staff loves children.

Pebble Beach

2011-10-29T13:10:00.004-05:00

I am reluctant to even talk about this amazing trip, spoiled rotten with the opportunity to go to a place like this and see this part of our country.

But there have been picture requests, so I thought I'd share some of my favorites. Scott and I headed out to Pebble Beach for a few days in the middle of the month, with a ministry called Equip. Scott played golf and I enjoyed lots and lots of time by. my. self. Which was heavenly.

There were many opportunities for the two of us to connect though, we had a memorable dinner at The Inn at Spanish Bay our first night and spent the afternoons tooling around the Peninsula exploring the coastline and taking pictures.

We built our own tower on the actual "Pebble Beach"

Standing on the 18th green of the historic course, breathtaking!

My eyes just ate up the sights and sounds of the coastline.

The beach at Carmel, my newest favorite city in the US.

The Lone Cypress on a foggy afternoon

And every night, a bagpiper walks on a stone path, along the golf course at Spanish Bay, playing a selection of hymns and tunes, and then finally stands behind the hotel and plays as the sun sets into the Pacific. You can order a glass of wine and sit beside a firepit to enjoy the experience. I cried, it was so beautiful.

Pumpkin Bars

2011-10-28T13:10:00.000-05:00

Well Halloween is almost upon us and my world is surrounded by all things pumpkin. Literally. Scott counted 68 gourd-related items strewn haphazardly about the house.

Anyways, I was looking for something pumpkin-y to make for Bible Study this past Thursday and decided to try a new recipe, (to me at least) it's been around and comes from the highest possible source: Mary Gieser. I added a bit of sugar to the frosting and increased the cream cheese, but aside from that, it's all Mary.

Three really nice things about this recipe: it makes a ton, filling a half sheet/jelly roll pan; it uses an entire can of pumpkin; and third, you can make it the day ahead of time with no discernible difference, perfect for a Halloween party. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Bars
4 eggs
1 & 2/3's cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
1 (15 oz) can of plain pumpkin
2 cups flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt

Preheat the oven 350 degrees. Spray a metal half sheet pan (or jelly roll pan) with Pam. In a mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, oil, sugar and pumpkin until it's well mixed. In a separate small bowl, combine the dry ingredients and then add them to the wet. Mix thoroughly. Spread the batter evenly into the pan. Bake for 25-30 min, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool the bars completely.

As the bars bake, make the Frosting:
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups powdered sugar

In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter with a hand mixer until smooth. Slowly add in the remaining ingredients and beat until fluffy. Use it to frost the bars when they're cool.

These are delicious, delicate with a strong flavor of pumpkin. Closer to a cake then a cookie, but you can still pick it up with your hand. Try them!

My Latest Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookie

2011-10-04T13:22:00.001-05:00

So I'll admit it, I am not a monogamous chocolate chip cookie baker. I bounce around from recipe to recipe, trying different ingredients and techniques in search of the holy grail: the perfect cookie. A cookie that is rounded and moist in the middle, doesn't spread too much while baking, uses really good chocolate and stands up well to travel.

I've settled into a committed relationship with an adaption of Thomas Keller's Chocolate Chip cookie, out of his Ad Hoc cookbook. Chef and Owner of The French Laundry in Napa Valley, Bouchon in New York and Vegas and a few other notable places, this guy obviously knows his stuff.(This being the understatement of the year.) I, however do not have time to chop up a 55% chocolate bar and a 70-72% chocolate bar, SIFT THE CRUMBS out to keep the cookie looking "clean", and other such nonsense. So here is my version. I hope you enjoy.

2 & 1/3 cups flour, plus 1 TB.
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 lb. unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. good vanilla

6 oz. semi sweet Ghiradeli chocolate chips

6 oz. 60% chocolate Ghiradeli chocolate chips (to taste, sometimes I add more, eyeball it)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine the first three dry ingredients in a small bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle beat the butter on medium spead until smooth but not creamed. Add the sugars and mix, don't beat too much air into it. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the egss, one at a time, beating until mixed. Add the vanilla. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low until combined. Add the chocolate chips.

Using a small ice cream scoop (2 TB size) scoop balls of dough onto a wax paper covered rimmed baking sheet. Fill the sheet with balls and then stick it in the freezer until they are frozen fairly solid. Dump them all in a zip lock bag to store in the freezer, or bake them from frozen form on parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for five minutes, one sheet at a time, then rotate the cookie sheet and bake another 4 & 1/2 or 5 minutes.

A Very Serious Ring Bearer

2011-09-29T09:40:00.003-05:00

Next Saturday Sam will be the ring bearer in our cousin Ally's wedding, the one where she's marrying our other cousin (third one from the other side), Ben. We take our official wedding roles very seriously around here.

Sam is very excited and proud of his new "man" clothes. I however, am overwhelmed with all the new components to worry about: man socks, man shoes, a mini-man belt, a dress shirt, tie, vest, jacket, and then, of course, the most important piece of the equation:

This bag of carefully chosen jelly beans that will be waiting for him at the end of the aisle, dangled by his beloved aunt "Gecka" in the pew, where he will sit and eat them quietly for the duration of the ceremony. If all goes according to plan. Is that ok with you, Jess? I forgot to ask. Ha ha.

"How slow do I need to walk, Mom?" "How far do we need to walk to the wedding?" "Can I throw the pillow?" These are a few of the questions being asked currently.

We will keep you updated as to how it goes. Stand by.

Early Christmas Card

2011-09-14T09:00:00.006-05:00

Just kidding. TOTALLY kidding.

In August, I co-hosted a bridal shower for a my sweet cousin Ally who is marrying a third cousin of mine (no relation to each other, I swear!) this October. Sam gets to be the ringbearer. He has a tiny suit and purple tie. More on that to come I'm sure.

It was a magical day, my mom and dad hosted it at their house and the yard was like something out of a magazine. Ally glowed the entire time, and her future mother-in-law, Anita, took most of these pictures. She is an amazing artist, I wish I could BE her sometimes. Check out some of her pictures on her blog.

Also for fun, can you tell which pictures Anita took and which are mine? I'll give you a clue: it ain't hard.

And just for fun, here's the menu:

-Austin's pulled pork on hawaiian rolls, coleslaw and pickles on the side

-Golden Corn Summer Salad

-Aunt Cindy's Broccili Salad with Ramen Noodles

-Ina Garten's guac, chips and homemade salsa

-Teeny tiny pecan pies, black bottom cheesecake cupcakes,

raspberry shortbread cookies and mini Baked brownies

And So It Begins

2011-09-13T15:48:00.000-05:00

Or began, I should say. I meant to post this back on September 8th.

Sam had his first ever soccer game earlier this month. The first of what feels like 10,000 that potentially lie in front of us. It was pure comedy gold, screaming and cheering and crying because the other team was SO pitifully bad that Skip (Scott's twin brother, the head coach) finally took three of his own players out and left only his son Spencer (above) on the field to face six players of the opposing team.

Spencer still scored.

It was 27 to 0. The coaches decided to get on the field and help the blue team's cause. It involved: holding onto the back of the yellow team's jerseys to keep them from the ball, kicking the ball to the blue team, Scott carries a poor sweet crying girl in his arms, running with her down the field, dribbling to the goal, stopping the ball, sets her down behind it and watches proudly as she timidly tapped it into our goal. A girl from the opposing team, mind you.

Every parent on the sidelines broke out into a massive roar of support for her. She tearfully ran to her mom with her arms in the air, "I did it Mommy!" I may have cried a little.

What I learned: preschool soccer is awesome; that Sam hates it when I yell for him or any other player; that he doesn't stop beaming while he's on the field; and finally, that my husband looks really really hot in his soccer shoes, Mr. Assistant Coach himself.

Charlotte's first attempt at applying "make up"

2011-09-05T21:21:00.000-05:00

Luckily they were the washable kind. I think the blue and green marker on her chin really brings out her eyes, don't you?

Golden Corn Salad with Fresh Basil

2011-08-31T15:58:00.000-05:00

This is one of those recipes that symbolizes this particular summer to me. I had it first at a graduation party in June, then stole the recipe from Kathy who got it from Karla and made it many times myself the remainder of the summer. Here goes:

For the salad:
8 oz. small yellow potatoes or small red potatoes
3 cups fresh corn kernels (about 4 ears)
2 cups assorted tear drop cherry tomatoes, halved
1 & 1/2 cups chopped red pepper
6 cups arugula (or mixed spring lettuce, I like the latter better I think)
1/2 cup torn fresh basil leaves (the more the better)
2 oz. goat/blue/feta cheese

For the dressing:
1/4 cup minced shallots
3 TB. white balsamic vinegar (I used an awesome cranberry pear white balsamic from this great store in our town, The Bleu Olive)
1 TB. dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3 TB. extra virgin olive oil

Place potatoes in a small saucepan, cover with water. Bring to a boil, cook 11 minutes or until tender. Drain and chill. Cut potatoes in half lengthwise. Combine potatoes, corn, tomatoes and bell pepper in a large bowl.

Combine shallots and the next 4 ingredients in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Slowly pour oil into shallot mixture, stirring constantly. Drizzle over corn mixture, toss well. Add lettuce, toss. Sprinkle with basil, top evenly with cheese.

Shots from the Pool

2011-08-28T17:47:00.004-05:00

Summer is almost over. And what a summer it was. Sam starts preschool on the 7th, so we still have a few days to enjoy picnics in the park and doing basically whatever we want each day. Most of this summer was spent at the pool, Sam learned to swim and to dive (kind of, see below) and Charlotte showed off six different bathing suits, most of which were inherited. We knew the lifeguards by name and had our favorite lunches that I packed each day. Lord knows I'll probably never have a tan like this one again.

"Do I look a little hippy in the pink one, Mom?" "No? Great."

This little blue ring MADE OUR SUMMER pretty much. Sam wore an identical one until the beginning of June this year, Little Swimmers makes it and you can buy it online at Target. Charlotte got the hang of it at 15 months and it sure buys you some peace of mind as you frantically try to keep a toddler and preschooler within your sight at the pool. Good news is that you can slowly deflate it too, so they work harder to keep themselves afloat as they get older. Don't tell Charlotte that though.

"Look Mom! I dived! My belly hurts."

Marigolds

2011-08-24T16:19:00.000-05:00

I have been severely absent these past few months, haven't I? Busy at the pool, running after the 18 month old who thinks she can swim and trying to keep the four year old from hoarding all the dive rings. In between all that, I was able to get away by myself, for the first time in almost four years. More on that later, but these pictures make me feel happy, so I thought I'd share them first. Marigolds, growing at the base of the coastal mountains near San Luis Obispo, CA.

And, the colors make me think of FALL, which is only days away in my book. No worries, my pumpkins are already out.

My First Experience with 911

2011-07-13T17:04:00.001-05:00

We awoke abruptly this morning to an ominous, alien-spaceship-sounding, deep HUM. And the power in our house surged and flickered.

Thinking immediately of the large tree limb that had landed on the live power lines right in front of our house in the wake of Monday's damaging storm, Scott raced to the window in Sam's bedroom above the porch to see what happened.

He was greeted by 5 and 6 foot red flames, coursing up from the spot where a now downed live wire danced madly, eight feet from our rotting wood porch.

I cannot describe to you the adrenaline rush created in me at the sound of my husband's voice yelling "Fire! Fire! Get Charlotte!" at 7 am in the morning. It's not a wave I'd like to ride again.

I bolted out of bed, raced into the baby's room, yanked her bleary-eyed from her crib, grabbed the phone and dialed 911 for the first time in my life.

It rings forever, ringing and ringing. Scott is still running around the house, Sam in his arms, yelling "Fire!" over and over again. I think he was trying to alert our neighbors? A nice lady answers and I garble into the receiver, "There's a downed wire in front of our house! Fire! Big flames! Scary!" and helpful information of that nature, as I pound down the stairs.

She asks something repeatedly, and I can't quite hear her over the sound of Scott still yelling "FIRE!" I think she asks, "MA'AM, is your HOUSE ON FIRE."

All I can say is "I don't know! I just hear my husband screaming 'fire'!" And at this point I'm down the stairs, Charlotte in my arms, out the side door, attempting to peek around the front of our house to see if the flames have actually touched it yet.

Aaaand the flames are just about out. Maybe 6 inches off the ground at this point. I come out of my adrenaline stupor enough to answer the woman, "No. The house is not on fire."

In a few minutes, police men surround us, fire engines on either side of the block. I am still in my jammies, hadn't even gone to the bathroom, fully bed-headed and complete with stinky morning breath, holding Charlotte in her mint green sleep sack.

The neighbors peer at us from their front porch. And from across the street. I guess Scott successfully alerted them.

The police tape off our house. The whole block. The firemen stare at it for a while. And then leave. Nothing they can do unless our actual house is ON FIRE.

And the wires sizzle. And we wait for Com Ed. And wait. We've been waiting since Monday morning, really, when the branch initially landed on the wires. And the black scorched patch of ash grows. And grows.

Still waiting at 5:04 pm. Not sure if we should be staying here or go. The woman at ComEd said we should stay and "monitor the situation." Hmm.

Poor Sam is traumatized for life by all this. His eyes were the size of saucers and he keeps asking me if the wires will "throw fire again." We both are looking out the windows every 10 minutes, wondering if "the fire is back."

I hope not, Sam. I sure hope not.

The Second Annual Father-Son Campout

2011-07-07T08:00:00.003-05:00

Over the 4th of July weekend, Scott decided to run a repeat of his "summer" camp out in our backyard with Sam, this time during the actual summertime vs. October.

Friday night ended up with a low of a steamy 82 degrees. Both were still excited though, and made a lovely roaring fire. It also seemed to help keep away the skunks and our resident coyote.

Sam eyes the new "jumbo" sized marshmallows. They are truly the size of an apple. Tough to even get in your mouth. We managed.

It was 10:15 pm when they finally turned in, after a late night showing of the Disney movie, Tangled. Sam fell asleep around midnight, Scott said, and was up at 5:15 am that morning with the birds.

I, am happy to tell you, slept blissfully through the night this year, after a large glass of sangria on the couch and some late night TV. Win-win for everyone.

Dirt

2011-07-06T16:21:00.001-05:00

Charlotte Grace wanted to share with you what she's into these days...

Dirt facials.

Dining on dirt.

Finger painting with dirt on our (inherited) white couches.

She highly recommends all of it.

P.S. Does anyone want the palm tree?

Fresh Corn Salad with Lime and Nectarines

2011-07-01T08:00:00.002-05:00

This was one of those recipes that I attempted to throw together based on the memory of a salad I had long ago, at a party catered by A Movable Feast in Geneva. It was fresh corn, diced cantaloupe (in theirs), basil I think and lots of fresh lime juice. The combination of flavors at the height of summer was over the top with deliciousness.

Our salad last night easily rivaled it, enough so that I wanted to share. You can add or subtract ingredients based on what you have on hand and what is ripe. Here's what we used:

-4 ears of sweet corn, cooked but still crunchy, cut off the cob

-2 ripe nectarines, chopped small (I also had a ripe apricot that I threw in there, yum)

-1 red bell pepper, chopped small

-about 8 basil leaves, chiffonaded, more or less to taste

-salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

-the juice of one lime, or two if you want a stronger flavor, taste it before adding more

-a handful of feta cheese, to taste

-you could also add a splash of fruity olive oil, although I did not

This would be the perfect dish to bring to a 4th of July barbecue, just about everything can be bought at Saturday's farmer's market, and it'll stand at room temperature really well. Hope you enjoy!

A Ridiculously Amazing Weekend

2011-06-30T13:32:00.001-05:00

I am hesitant to even talk about the pure bliss that we were able to experience last weekend, mostly for free, due to the generosity of one of the vendors Scott uses for his work. They put us (and 250 of their other favorite independent financial advisors) up at the Peninsula Hotel for two nights.

This was the same firm that I had worked for, years ago, as an inside wholesaler. I was so young and obnoxious, full of blond, bubble-headed giddiness, that it made me slightly reticent to show my face as Scott's "guest." Thankfully, everyone I ran into was nothing but gracious, and that made me realize how awesome those early years out of school really were, for many reasons.

The pool area on the 20th floor is one of the best spots in the city to nap, read a magazine, zone out, whatever. Incredible views!

Friday morning Scott had meetings from 8:00am-2:15pm, so after joining him just for kicks for the first hour, I took the opportunity to spend time with a friend I don't see enough of, starting with a great breakfast at Pierrot Gourmet in the bottom of the hotel. Besides the unparalleled lattes, it is a wonderful spot to pretend that you are in Paris, lolling the day away on their sidewalk cafe, chic black sunglasses come in handy. I didn't have any, so they didn't let us sit outside.

Just kidding. It's also a good stop for a bowl of homemade soup and good bread in the winter, really warm and cozy. The almond croissant I tried left much to be desired, so I'd save your food calories for something else. Or walk to Fox and Obel and get one of theirs instead.

One of the highlights of our time there was Scott's midday text to me, "I am eating lunch 8 feet from Tom Hanks. Come to the lobby."

He took this grainy picture with his phone, under the guise of checking email, and caught poor Mr. Hanks eating something that looks delicious. Steven Spielberg was sitting next to him, curly grey hair, wire rim glasses and a fedora on his head. We thought they were in town to do publicity for the Larry Crowne release that weekend.

But perhaps my favorite moment of the weekend was walking to a spur of the moment dinner at Frontera Grill, just me and my best friend, a gorgeous night downtown in my favorite city.

Thanks for letting me be your "guest," honey.

Best. Prank. Ever.

2011-06-07T14:04:00.001-05:00

I am laughing and there are tears all over my face. Can't stop laughing.

"It's not coming!!!" The poor kid.

Enjoy your day.

Life Right Now

2011-06-03T15:00:00.006-05:00

Filmed back in early May, here's a picture of what happens at our house after dinner--we are cleaning up the dishes and the kids are playing and roaming. Especially amusing is the look of fear/terror in Charlotte's eyes as Sam hugs her around the neck...around the 50 second mark. She is a resilient child.

"Chhheeeesse!"

Summertime

2011-06-02T15:10:00.000-05:00

Well, praise the Lord, summertime has finally hit the Chicago area. And with it, the pace of life I adore. The pools officially opened last Saturday, and we have gone three times already. Walks after dinner to the ice cream shop=once. Playing outside in the backyard with sand/hose/water toys=23 times. Sand in the dryer=5 times. Cozy thunderstorms=3. Broken hose=one. Broken hose sprayer=two. Going potty in the yard ("Can I go 'in emergency' Mom??")=nine times. He has a special corner way in the back, by the fence. Just like a dog.

Charlotte and the red swing are BFF's. She will sit in it for an hour, and Sam will push her for me while I read a book on the back deck, lemonade in hand. Just kidding.

This position is known in our family as "the shield." She sucks on her first two fingers and "shields" it or "guards" with her arm. Hilarious. It's like she doesn't want anyone to see.

Love from Big Brother. And a nice push. Thanks Buddy.

Spiderman. We've moved our undying love from Superman already.

And the sandbox. I have a love/hate relationship with it.

So does Charlotte.

"Wait, what did he just put down my back?!"

"Mmmm, that looks yummy."

Busy, fun days ahead. I have a hard time taking pictures, it is impossible at the pool unless there are two other adults with me. :) Thanks to Sophie for taking these while babysitting one day!

Three Little Fishies

2011-05-17T12:00:00.000-05:00

In case you have no plans for this evening, and actually wanted to sit through a 3 year old Pre School End-of-Year concert, join us to see Sam recite ditties like this:

It's just a taste, you know you want more.

My Favorite Things from Trader Joe's

2011-05-15T09:00:00.002-05:00

I had posted this back in August of 2007 and it is the second highest hit on my blog. Second only to my often Googled, mostly disappointing "Day in the Life of a Bond Trader" account from long ago.

Time to throw it out there again, some things have disappeared so I removed them, and added a bunch of new stuff.

I'll also preface this by saying this is NOT an exhaustive list. Feel free to add your own comments and tell me what you have found to be delicious from this wonderful grocery store. I'm always happy when it's a Trader Joe's week and I get to go buy food, treats and wine from this wonderful place.

From the Frozen Section

Pasta Arrabiata: penne pasta with a delicious tomato, basil and garlic sauce. Very good surprisingly, a little bit of a kick to it.

Gnocchi with Gorgonzola Cream Sauce: easy, tasty, elegant.

Chicken Fajitas: Pretty darn good for frozen fajitas, Scott couldn't tell the difference.

Multi grain or Blueberry Waffles: like Eggos only healthier, yummier and way cheaper.

French Toast: probably our household's favorite breakfast item. 6 to a box, you heat them in the toaster and they taste like homemade. Multi grain bread and low fat grams make it a nice choice nutritionally, and an easy baby food for little ones still getting their teeth. Charlotte will pound this.

Trader Joe's Ice Cream: My absolute favorite ice cream. I believe they are still having Double Rainbow from San Francisco produce it. Better then Hagaan Daz, I think, and cheaper at $3.69 a quart. Chocolate and vanilla are our house favorites, and the new addition of chocolate caramel in the pint size...

Mini Beef Tacos: over by the appetizers, they are so yummy. I serve them with lettuce, cheese, sour cream and pineapple salsa for dipping. Five of them makes a meal. The chicken are good as well, not quite as tasty though.

Southwest Chicken Quesadillas: my lunch item of choice after the kids go down for naps. The chicken can be a little squishy, I end up picking it out and devoring the rest of it. REALLY good, a little spicy.

Ice Cream Bon Bons: The cookie/cake layer is utter decadence and the dark chocolate drizzled over top is of great quality. The chocolate ice cream ones are my favorite, and are not even that bad for you at 4 grams of fat per bon bon. And no, I don't just sit around all day eating bon bons. I just like to say it: bon bon. Bon bon bon bon.

Mini Pizza Frommaggios: four to a package, nice little snacks that are very saucy and not TOO bad for you.

Haricot Verts: These are the skinny, french version of green beans. In the middle of winter when fresh green beans are looking suspect, a package of these tastes mighty good: steamed for just a few minutes, drizzled in butter, sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Already Cooked, Salted Edamame: look for the yellow bag with blue in the label, there's a red one that it isn't cooked yet. Throw some in a bowl with water, microwave for 1 minute, and you have an easy healthy protein. Sam eats them by the bowlful.

Key Lime Cheesecake: SO good. Tastes almost homemade, great lime flavor, and a good company dessert if you don't feel like baking.

Asparagus Risotto: Great to have on hand for an easy meal that you want ready in 3 seconds. My babysitters love this stuff, Scott will eat the entire bag. The mushroom risotto is also good, but we prefer this one.

Macaroni and Cheese: the best I've ever had, competes even with a restaurant. Four different (real!) cheeses, the only unfortunate thing is that one tray is two servings. Wish I'd realized that after eating an entire one my first time.

Pie Crust/Puff Pastry: both are excellent, and use real butter. I cannot tell the difference between Dufour's and Trader Joe's puff pastry. Except one costs $13 for two sheets and the other is $4.99

Mini croissants/chocolate croissants: Oh happy day when these hit the shelves for the first time! Keep the mini croissants on hand for an easy impressive lunch, add a good chicken salad and some sparkling lemonade and your friends will never know what hit them. Made by the same San Francisco pastry chef as the ones in the Williams-Sonoma catalogue. You will not believe how much money you save by buying them here. Enough for an outfit at Old Navy.

Tempura Chicken: on par with P.F. Chang's honey crispy chicken. A favorite meal in our house, can be served with rice, or on top of an oriental salad with cashews. Don't look at the serving size on the bag, it'll depress you. Just enjoy it, once in a while.

Marinated Mahi Mahi fillets: they marinate themselves in lime, garlic and red pepper flakes as they defrost in your fridge, really good grilled or sauteed in a hot fry pan.

Tator Tots: I have issues with these. That is all I will say about that.

In the Pantry Section
Pineapple Salsa: If I had to pick ONE thing to take with me from T.J.'s, it would be this. Sweet, not really that spicy. Excellent with El Milagro chips as an easy appetizer or very good to use as a marinade for chicken breasts. Marinate breasts in a ziplock bag with a jar of this overnight, then bake or grill and top with provolone or swiss cheese. I have literally four jars of it at the moment. The red and verde salsa's are also really good.

Corn and Chili Tomato-less Salsa: a nice kick without being too spicy, great addition to simple cheese quesadillas or tacos.

General Tsao's Sauce: a sweet steak sauce that you want to drink with a straw. Delicious over a rib eye steak that they were sampling one day.

Almond Dark Chocolate Lace Cookies: Pretty self explanatory.

Lemonade and Iced Tea Drink: Over in the juice section, it's basically a pre-mixed Arnold Palmer.

Dixie Peach Juice: Awesome on its own over ice, or mix it with seltzer or ginger ale for an easy, non-alcoholic aperitif. Or with champagne for a bellini!

Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper Chips: So good. Spicy and savory and addictive. Ditto for the Hawaiian BBQ ones.

Pizza Sauce: My favorite store-bought sauce. Great to have on hand to dip deep dish crusts in, Lean Pockets, or bread sticks.

Honey Sesame Cashews: Mmmmm.

Pecan Pralines and Caramelized Nut Trio: People, I am not doing you any favors by recommending these two items. They are my Achilles heel. I am staring at the boxes right now, trying not to tear into them. The nut trio is the perfect blend of salty-sweet, using almonds, cashews and walnuts.

Dark Chocolate Covered Pistachio Nuts: These went awfully fast when I brought them to a picnic downtown Chicago. There's a thin toffee layer between the chocolate and the nut.

Valrhona Chocolate Bars: my favorite chocolate bar for baking. 3.5 ounces, $1 less here then elsewhere.

Organic Lollipops: my "emergency" treat in the diaper bag. The pink ones taste exactly like watermelon jolly ranchers, only made with real fruit juice and no artificial colors, yada yada yada. You can score yourself a free one by telling the cashier where "the purple monkey" is. They hide him in a different spot every day. Great attention grabbing task for a squirrely toddler!

Organic Chicken Broth: awesome as a base for soups, or, even better, a base for your own homemade stock! I'll use four of these and three quarts of water when I make stock.

Creamy Corn and Roasted Pepper Soup: I keep one of these in the pantry for an easy dinner. I'll throw in half a jar of the pineapple salsa, a couple handfuls of frozen corn and top it with crunched up tortilla chips, bread baguette on the side. Dinner is served.

Organic Joe's O's Pasta: Basically spaghetti o's, only organic and made with sea salt and actual cheddar cheese. Another good baby/kid food.

Daelmans Delicious Caramel Bites: basically a mini stoop waffle, and they are made in Holland so they are legit. Truly, truly delicious, usually located above the ice cream.

Villa Italia Blood Orange Soda: this elegant glass bottle is a great addition to a baby meal, or company coming over dinner. Not too sweet, super yummy, made in Italy.

Organic Ketchup: sweet, tangy, no high fructose corn syrup, awesome with the tator tots. Yes, I do have a tot problem.

In the Refrigerated Section
Matt's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies: Expensive at $3.99 for a dozen cookies in dough form, but unbelievably good. You take them home and keep them refrigerated or frozen and then just bake them when you're ready for them. I always have this in the freezer for a quick company dessert with vanilla ice cream. Underbake them though, I think 11 minutes is perfect.

Trader Joe's Yogurt: Pretty darn good, very close to the Stoneyfield Farm brand in taste and texture and much cheaper. The chocolate underground flavor is my favorite.

Trader Joe's Yogurt Sticks: For sure made by Stoneyfield Farm, exactly the same ones you spend $4+ at Whole Foods. Only these are $2.69. We freeze them and eat them like popsicles.

Trader Joe's Orange Juice: I can't tell the difference between this and Tropicana, except for the $2 price difference.

Bagged Pizza Dough: Over by the refrigerated pre-made pizzas, this dough is fantastic. A little sticky to work with, but indistinguishable from homemade dough, in my opinion. Favorite toppings: mozzarella, Trader Joe's pizza sauce and basil; olive oil, red onion, pears, and feta; mozzarella, sauce and pineapple. The garlic and herb dough is also tasty.

Pear Champagne Vinaigrette Salad dressing: One of our favorite store-bought dressings. Great with romaine, pears (obviously), blue cheese, red onion, and dried cherries.

Bruschetta: Another thing on my "must have" list for entertaining. Be careful not to grab the fresh salsa when in search of the bruschetta, they look very similar. One of my favorite ways to serve this is to make a bruschetta station: homemade Parmesan garlic toasts, a dish of the bruschetta, a pile of basil leaves and a pile of shaved or grated Parmesan. That way, the bread doesn't get soggy from sitting under the tomatoes and everyone can make their own.

McAdam's Cheddar Cheese: A wonderfully cheap and smooth white cheddar.

White Stilton with apricots: sweet, can be served with crackers as an easy dessert.

Bagged green beans or haricot verts: so good, easy because you can microwave them in the bag, and already trimmed!

In the Wine Section
Bear's Lair Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot: All of these are easy to drink with a nice finish, $5 and delicious. The Chardonnay is great with crackers and the McAdam's Cheddar.

Laurent Reverdy Sancerre: I hadn't explored Sancerre's very much before trying this wine. People, this is a GREAT white wine. Nice with seafood, not sweet but really drinkable and complex all at the same time. Try a bottle, I bet you won't regret it.

Honey Moon Viognier: Smooth, on the sweeter side, good really cold. Gulpable. Not sure that's a good thing.

Dr. Beckermann's Auslese: In a blue bottle, this sweet Riesling is another refreshing summer wine, $5 for a bottle.

And that folks, is my current list. What did I miss? I'd love to hear what your favorite things are, we are always looking for quick and easy weeknight meals at our house!

Sam Turns 4

2011-05-14T20:47:00.002-05:00

Thinking of my little guy right now, asleep in his cozy bed, exhausted from a long day of cartoon watching/hot donut eating/French Market wandering/Lucky Strikes bowling/Yorktown train riding/Treehouse playing/Chipotle eating/and Magna Tile building.

It was pretty much the perfect day, top presents included a new plastic baseball bat and ball, a cheap gumball machine and a $6 Toy Story 3 wallet that he can keep his money in. Please tell me it will always stay this simple.

He is obsessed with gum right now, a newly acquired treat. I figured his very own pack of gum would be the best thing I could add to his birthday breakfast tray. I was right.

Sleep well my oldest child. And may you always carry with you your four year old zest for life, your enthusiasm for all things involving balls (sports balls, ahem), and your snappy sense of fashion. I had no idea how much my life would change for the better the day you arrived, four years ago.

Pictures in the Park

2011-05-13T14:22:00.000-05:00

I've been sitting on these for almost a month and had forgotten about them. The kids and I headed to Adam's Park one morning in order to try and recreate Sam's picture amongst the crocus's from three years ago.

Here's what I ended up with:

Easter Pics

2011-05-13T07:00:00.000-05:00

Well, it only took me three weeks to get these up. Taking any pictures of us as a family was an absolute first this year, usually we are out the door at the crack of dawn to get to Moody. This year was different.

Slower, quieter. Scott skated through in cloud of fluffy pain meds. I enjoyed dressing the kids up despite having nowhere to go but to see family at both grandparent's houses, eating copious amounts of carb based foods.

This was the first time Charlotte has worn a dress in five months. The way I figure, it just trips her up when she crawls, so why bother? It rode up her hips the entire day anyways.

The only decent one of the two of them. Out of 47. That bow has seen better days.

And the only halfway decent one of Dad and kids. Scott is giggling quietly to himself at the absurdity of it all. And whimpering as Sam leans back on his newly surgery-ed hand.

All in all, it was a great day. We watched church online from the comfort of our computer room, in our jammies, lattes in hand. No rushing or stress. No hassle trying to find parking Downtown. It was sad to miss out on the fellowship and the amazing worship, but I enjoyed the calmness of it all. Our time with both sides of the family was precious, LOVED seeing Sam and Charlotte with all their cousins' on Scott's side. The annual egg hunt is hysterical. 15 kids, 10 eggs each, that's a lot of eggs.

Charlotte had Puffs in hers, I think she was a little disillusioned.

Anyways, I hope your May is off to a good start, err, halfway over!

Strawberry Muffins

2011-04-29T15:36:00.000-05:00

Organic Strawberries for $1.99, today only at the Wheaton Whole Foods! And they are gorgeous, so sweet!

Time to make these muffins again...

Succulent Strawberry Muffins

1/4 lb. softened unsalted butter

1 & 1/2 cups sugar, divided

2 eggs

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt, scant

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 tsp. good vanilla

18-20 medium to large strawberries, hulled and chopped

Cream butter and 1 & 1/4 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla. Blend well but do not overbeat. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Add alternately with cream to butter, starting and ending with flour mixture. Fold in strawberries.

Fill 16 large muffin tins with papers. Fill them almost full with batter, then sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup sugar over top. Bake in 375 degree oven for 25-30 min, or until lightly browned and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on rack.

Should I be concerned?

2011-04-29T11:15:00.000-05:00

Sam's current favorite toy is his piggy bank. I can hear him now, the "plink, plink, plink" as he counts his quarters and dimes, dropping them back in one by one. Over and over again.

I think we could have another Ebeneezer Scrooge.

Independence

2011-04-25T07:32:00.001-05:00

We've entered a new stage. Charlotte has decided she is now old enough to feed herself with a spoon.

The results pained me deeply, as I struggle with a type A personality who likes to keep my environment clean and tidy at all times.

You can imagine what a trial I am to my children.

But it was time. She has been showing signs of wanting more independence lately, and we needed to give it to her.

I'd say she was pretty proud of herself, wouldn't you?

Great Aunt Florence's Easter Orange Roll

2011-04-23T16:57:00.001-05:00

Happy Almost Easter everyone! Eating these orange rolls warm out of the oven on Easter morning has been a tradition in my family for as long as I can remember.

Basically it takes the idea of monkey bread and replaces brown sugar and cinnamon with white sugar and orange peel. I use this homemade dough recipe for the bread, but you could easily just use a package of Rhodes unbaked dinner rolls. My dough can be completely formed and finished the day before, you can wait 24 hours before you finally bake it, a nice plus for a busy morning.

4 & 1/2 cups flour (you may need closer to 5 cups)
4 tsp. active yeast
1/3 cup sugar
1 & 1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup milk, warmed to about 125 degrees F
6 TB. butter, room temp
3 large eggs, room temp
Pam for greasing the bundt pan

1 cup white sugar, in a small bowl
1 stick butter, melted, in another small bowl
the zest from a large orange

In a heavy duty mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine 2 cups flour, the yeast, the 1/3 cup sugar and salt. Add the hot milk and beat on medium speed for 1 minute. Add the butter, eggs, and 1/4 cup of the flour; beat for 1 minute. Switch to a dough hook. Beat in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough pulls away from the bowl's sides. Knead on low speed until soft, smooth, and springy, about 5 minutes.

Scrap the dough away from the sides of the mixing bowl, cover with a dish towel and allow to rise at room temp until doubled in bulk, 1-2 hours.

Melt the butter in the bowl. Add the orange zest to the sugar and mix well, until thoroughly combined and the sugar smells deliciously orange-y. Spray a bundt pan well with Pam or grease well with butter.

Tear off walnut sized pieces of dough, roll it into a ball and roll it quickly through the butter, then the orange sugar. Layer the round pieces evenly throughout the pan until you run out of dough. Cover really well with plastic wrap and allow it to finish rising in the fridge, up to 24 hours. Or, if you want it the same day, let it finish rising at room temp for another hour or two, until doubled yet again in size.

Pull it out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before baking and allow the dough to come to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for about 25-30 min. Keep a close eye on it and cover with tin foil if it browns too fast.

Loosen the rolls from the mold when done and flip gently onto a plate, rounded side up. Serve with butter or the good old Betty Crocker orange frosting. (1 & 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 3 TB. softened butter, 2 TB. fresh orange juice, 1 TB. orange zest, a splash of vanilla and a pinch of salt-- cream together until smooth)

Amy from our Bible Study gives them two thumbs up!

Good Friday Indeed

2011-04-22T20:39:00.001-05:00

It has been quite the week.

It began with an unexpected tooth pulling for Scott and a couple stitches in his mouth on Monday. It continued with him being fouled at his men's soccer game on Tuesday, falling hard and bracing himself with his thumb and hand.

It broke, in three spots. He had surgery this morning and is upstairs at this moment, valiantly attempting to avoid throwing up his copious amounts of pain meds as his hand swells to three times its size.

On a minor note, Wednesday, Charlotte decided to pick up a case of double pink eye, and Thursday I hosted Bible Study here at the house. Our leader Cris, had the amazing idea of attempting to recreate the last Thursday night of Jesus's life for the group.

We tried to pull together a rough tray of some of the food they were eating...

We read passages from John's gospel, about what happened around the table as they talked and then how Jesus washed their feet, as the ultimate example of humble, loving service.

The Lord knew I needed that reminder heading into this experience with Scott. I've been doing a Lent reading for the past 40 days from the Bible App on my phone. It was no mistake that Philippians 2:5-11 popped up four days in a row. It took only the FOUR full days for me to realize God was trying to tell me something:

"You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When He appeared in human form, He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross..."

And today, Good Friday, my slow brain finally realized that THIS was what I was supposed to be doing this weekend, taking care of my best friend, my partner, my husband. Not running around to all the fun events we had planned tomorrow and Sunday, not playing piano in the services, not spending time cooking food. This was my opportunity to show love to him by humbly attempting to do what Jesus did as an example to me.

Moody Church's Good Friday service is going on as I type this, a beautiful time of solemn remembrance on so many levels. I wish you a meaningful Easter weekend, that in the midst of the egg hunts and the brunches and the chocolate bunnies, that we feel the awe, the remorse, the JOY on Sunday and the anticipation of what lies ahead of us!

The Chicago French Market!

2011-04-01T10:04:00.001-05:00

So I was crazy enough yesterday to pack the kids into two separate strollers, transfer all their kid-crap into a backpack that felt like it weighed 40 lbs, (why is their stuff so heavy?! I swear, the diaper bag weighs more then Charlotte and I don't know why) and jump on the 9:54 am train to Chicago in search of the supposedly fantastic indoor french market.

Thank goodness for Grandma. My mom had the foresight to pull a brand-spanking-new Superman Comic book out of her purse for Sam to read five times in a row (out loud) on the train in. He was enthralled.

Charlotte charmed everyone around us with continual "Hi's!" that sounded like a tiny kitten mewing over and over again. She loved sitting like a big girl in the seat next to me, spilling crumbs from some contraband cheese-it's all over the chair, anything to keep her happy.

We pulled into Ogilvie train station and walked immediately down the steps that are out by the train tracks. The Chicago French Market entrance is right off that main lobby there, along with the welcome addition of a great Lavazza coffee cafe.

There are about 30 vendors, each and every one legitimate in what they do. An awesome artisanal cheese maker, several bakeries and patisseries, four large local produce stands with great looking fruits and veggies, a fishmonger with the biggest shrimp I'd ever seen, octopus and smelt, and best of all, the smell of freshly cut Belgian "chips" being fried to order.

They had something like 15 different dipping sauces for the fries. Awesome.

Highlights included the fantastic sandwich made by Fumare Meats (their hot daily special, something like turkey, pastrami, provolone, dijon mustard and mayo on a challah bun, grilled until oozing and amazing); the eclair from Delightful Pastries; the rainbow of French macarons at Vanille Patisserie; the peanut butter chocolate chip bar, filled with raspberry jam; the croissants, also at Vanille; and the fries.

All in all, it was perfect. We arrived at about 11am, and had time to wander through the nearly empty market and buy our lunch before the noon crowd rolled in. Suddenly there were lines everywhere, people waiting for sandwiches and pasta/crepes/japanese noodles/juice made to order, with no tables or places to sit to be found. I was glad that they were doing well, and SO jealous that this market didn't exist when we lived directly across the street on Canal, years ago.

My advice to you? Go! And as soon as possible. Look for the free 30 minute parking on Canal Street, or take the train into Ogilvie. Get there well before noon. Keep your three year olds locked in their strollers, inhibiting the grabbing of pastries and knocking down of flower displays. Definitely wait the four minutes for a "grande" order of Belgian fries. Look for Fumare Meats and buy the hot sandwich of the day. Before you leave, order a caramel latte from Lavazza coffee to enjoy on the train ride home.

And, finally, DON'T, under ANY circumstances, forget to grab your precious bag full of french macarons and a peanut butter raspberry jam chocolate chip bar and chocolate croissants and leftover sandwich, leaving it under your seat on the train.

The engine pulled away and I stared after it dejectedly, as my three year old cried and wanted to know where his "me-coons" were.

I hope somebody at least got to enjoy them.

I Believe I Can Fly

2011-03-21T14:12:00.001-05:00

So Sam has discovered Superman. It happened in Florida, when I came across these jammies at Target. Lucky for him, I'd forgotten to pack any summer jammies. I spied the cape and thought he'd enjoy it.

Little did I know how these jammies would change his life. All of our lives, really.

It was love at first sight.

The boy didn't even know what the "S" stood for, but yet his eyes gleamed with an unearthly glow. He immediately wanted to know who Superman was, what his powers were, and if this cape would, in fact, allow him to fly.

I'll let you see for yourself...

"Whatcha doing?"

"I twying to FWWYYY!"

The rest of the trip, we searched You Tube for clips from the original movie, music from John William's amazing theme song, and racked our brains to remember the plot for the hilariously cheesy Superman II movie.

He's obsessed. And I love it. I love how committed he is to becoming Superman, so much so that he wipes out after jumping up high to fly.

There is little left in my adult life that I still feel this way about, but I think the ability is still there. Hopefully enough of a seed so that I can join him in that magical place, Pretend. To be whoever we want to be, to fight evil with our special powers, to play.

And when Charlotte is older, she can come too. Maybe she can be She-Ra.

Hmmmm.

2011-03-21T10:45:00.000-05:00

I posted this little gem of a picture already on Facebook, but it so well classifies how I feel about all this rebranding that I needed to show it here as well. Sam and I enjoyed a little coffee date down in Naples one morning, it also happened to be the day of Starbucks big 40th anniversary roll out.

My kid learned to read his letters off their logo. I think he could pick out the word "coffee" from just about anywhere. Oh well.

I guess Charlotte developed a taste for caramel macchaiatos' down in Florida as well. She kept reaching for my cup so finally I gave the remnants to her once, curious to see what she'd do.

She sucked it down, licking feverishly after the stray drops. What have I done?

Charlotte turns one!

2011-03-15T08:00:00.006-05:00

So, shame on me for just now getting around to this, but our sweet baby had a birthday. Way back on February 19th. I was feeling overwhelmed from two trips we had scheduled, sandwiched around the big day, so we just did a small dinner on the actual day.

After much angst, I decided to attempt Smitten Kitchen's Famous Monkey banana cake. It came out fairly well, and thankfully tasted better then it looked. I'd highly recommend the recipe.

Also on the menu, Ina Garten's Chicken Stew with biscuits, Nordstrom's pear salad with champagne vinaigrette, homeade lemonade and Ina's Mocha Chocolate Chip Cookie icebox cake. Because one cake wasn't enough.

The birthday girl got her own little monkey cake, she beamed while we all sang and clapped.

I wasn't anticipating her reaction. Sam wouldn't even touch HIS first cake, and had a look of intense disgust on his face in every photo. Charlotte, on the other hand, is a true woman and wouldn't stop eating after the first taste of chocolate frosting. I didn't even get a chance to put a bib on her.

"I'm sorry, did you say that I had something on my face?"

The cupcake is gone. She inhaled it. Annihilated it. That's my girl.

This first year has been such a delight. Happy hearted, a frequent giggler and completely enamoured with her big brother, Charlotte was a welcome addition to our little family, one year ago. We love you sweetheart!

Vacation

2011-03-14T13:45:00.000-05:00

So we are just getting back into town from an embarrassingly long and sweetly wonderful two weeks in Florida. We drove down, 20 hours straight, there and back, and stayed with my grandparents in their three bedroom condo, located in Naples.

Living together for 14 days, watching my children interact with their great grandparents on such an intimate, constant level, was precious. I honestly miss the daily contact, knowing they will be waiting for us, sitting on the couches reading their newspapers, when we get in from the day. Charlotte would kick her legs excitedly when we neared the front door, anticipating the smiles and hugs. Upon coming home to an unusually empty condo one afternoon, Sam looked around and disappointedly said, "Where are all my friends?"

I took close to 300 pictures, attempting to capture these memories on film, in hopes that my children will remember too. Pictures and videos to come.

In the meantime, it is good to be home. My own bed felt great, I slept like a dead person when we finally collapsed at 2 am after driving for 20 hours, early Sunday morning. And the birds are back. And the chives are starting to come in. And Sam and I found evidence of the first crocus's peeking their green buds through the cold soil on our walk this morning, looking around excitedly for signs of spring. It was 32 degrees and we both needed gloves, but She's coming.

And here, Sam enjoys a brisk first round of the season.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

2011-01-28T15:35:00.002-06:00

So we've been fighting off colds and sinus infections for the past month or so, really since Christmas now that I think about it. No wonder I haven't posted. I broke down and made this for a friend who was also sick, and left some for our own family. It is a GREAT recipe, based off my brother in law's, Matt. This is not the quick and easy one, it's a soup that's purely a bowl full of simple love. Everything is from scratch, and using homemade stock really raises it to something special.

If you are thinking ahead, throw together a loaf of Jim Lahey's 18 hour No Knead Bread to serve alongside. It's the easiest bread I've ever made, and the best.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

4 quarts of warmed chicken stock (homemade is best, I used 2 quarts Whole Foods 365 organic broth, 2 quarts of my own homemade because that was all I had)
8 stalks celery, diced (a note about the chopping, you want everything small enough to fit nicely on a spoon, a large dice is about right)
8 carrots, sliced small or diced
1 large onion, small diced
1 TB olive oil
meat from a roasted chicken, or roast four, bone in, skin on, breasts yourself in olive oil, salt and pepper
noodles (recipe following)
1 tsp. dried thyme, or 1 TB. fresh thyme leaves
1 dried bay leaf
At least 2 tsp. kosher salt, and 2 tsp. freshly ground pepper. More, to your taste, at the end
1 & 1/4 cup whole milk (or whatever you have)
3 TB corn starch
the juice from half a lemon, or more, see what you think at the end
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

Warm the stock. Cut all your veggies. Prep the chicken meat. Make the noodles. Then, saute the onions in olive oil until translucent, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the carrots and celery, saute for about 5 minutes. Add in the warmed stock, salt and pepper, bay leaf and dried thyme (don't add the fresh thyme until the end, if you're using that instead). Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to a simmer. Simmer for 15 minutes, until carrots are crisp-tender. Meanwhile, mix the cornstarch with 1/4 cup of the milk in a separate small bowl. Add that to the soup when the carrots etc. are finished, followed by the remaining 1 cup of milk. Raise heat to medium and bring soup to a boil, add the noodles and cook them for about five minutes. Add the chicken pieces, lemon juice, and minced parsley (and the fresh thyme, if you used it). Taste for salt and add more, it will probably need it. Keep adding salt until all the flavors come into focus, you should taste the veggies and a little lemon.

Homemade Egg Noodles
2 large eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 tsp. table salt
2 cups flour

In a kitchen aid mixer (or by hand, but it'll be a PAIN) beat the eggs. Slowly add cream and salt. Add the flour in about 1/2 cup at a time, mixing on low until it is completely incorporated. Divide the dough into two balls. Roll each ball out on a floured surface until it is very thin. Slice the dough into tiny strips with a pizza cutter, no longer then 1 inch, as narrow as you can make it. Keep in mind you want the noodles to sit on a spoon, they will get really fat as they cook.

Sprinkle the noodles on a piece of wax paper and let them dry for about 30 minutes. I make the noodles before I start the soup, after prepping the veggies and meat. That way it all comes together pretty quickly once you actually start cooking.

Update

2011-01-27T15:10:00.001-06:00

So it's been a while. I think it took me two full weeks to recover from Christmas, 14 days until I could lift my head and take a deep breath. Shameful, really, but that's how it was. Here are some bullet points on happenings around our house in the last month, in the style of my friend Rebekah, whose blog you should really be reading if you need a good belly laugh.

Charlotte learns to crawl like a big girl, her bottom wiggling high in the air as she trucks from room, to room, to room. She learns how to remove the rubber corner guard on the fireplace and carries it around in her mouth like a dog.
Sam goes five consecutive nights without a pull up, in big boy pants. We celebrate with Cocoa Krispies for breakfast. The next night he wets through: 1) his jammies 2) the sheets 3) the duvet 4) the down comforter.
I do laundry. Lots of laundry.
Charlotte says her first word: "Hhhhhottttt" I think she has a thing for the fireplace. She will whisper it quietly to herself, by herself, in the crib. It is hilarious. "Daaa deeeee" soon follows. I try not to be brokenhearted.
Sam gets a cold. Sam gets an ear infection. Sam hates Augmentin and throws it up twice, one time all over his sister in the bath tub. Scott gets a sinus infection. Scott takes Augmentin but does not throw it up. The boys are now fine.
10 days later Charlotte gets a cold. Charlotte is on her way to getting an ear infection currently.
I make chicken noodle soup from scratch in an attempt to fight off the colds (recipe coming soon, it's a good one from my brother in law)
Anna and I go to Vie for the first time. I have one of the pinnacle dining experiences of my life. More on that later too.
Heavy things are shared by friends this month, things that make my heart ache and cause me to question God and His goodness. Things that make me wrestle and argue with Him and sad. But there was a moment, a Wednesday night at rehearsal two weeks ago, where He gave me something. It felt like His hand was on my shoulder, speaking directly into my heart through the words of the song the choir was singing. They sang it through for 35 minutes straight, it only took 32 minutes to sink in that this was a message for me: "Rejoice in the Lord always, rejoice! I will say it again, rejoice. I will say it again, rejoice." Over and over and over again. I cried in the car on the way home, the words lovingly hammered into my heart and mind. It came down to, what do I believe? Do I choose to believe God is good? Even though the circumstances cause me to question and worry and be sad? I do. I do choose to believe He is good. But I am still sad with these friends, January seems to be the month for it.
February is just four days away though.

Classic 2010

2010-12-31T09:22:00.001-06:00

This little benign video pretty much summerizes the past year for me. Enjoying the sweet babyness of Charlotte, her smiles and coo's and sunny personality, and just trying to keep up with Sam as he gets more active and into things. Happy New Year!

And Yet

2010-12-23T21:28:00.003-06:00

I have been berating myself the past few days.

For dropping the ball on some things, mainly gift related.
For putting too much on my plate.
Foregoing parenting for baking/shopping/errands/wrapping/cleaning/making lists of what to bring/etc.
For allowing myself to succumb to the stress I'm feeling, reacting with crabbiness and a lack of patience, especially to Sam.
Resenting Scott at times, because it doesn't seem fair that he just gets to "show up" to the holidays. (And yet knowing he works hard all day, and that I don't want or expect him to take on buying and wrapping gifts for everyone.) I'm irrational about it.
Not enjoying enough moments in the last month with my children, day to day. I lost track today of how many times Sam asked me today to, "come play with me, Mom." I told him I would, "in a second, Buddy. I have to finish making the potatoes for tomorrow." And then, "after I clean up." And then I forgot.

And yet, and yet there have been great moments since the beginning of the month too. A thoughtful Vesper's service at Moody on the 19th, focusing on our unfAithfulness towards God, our intense need for Him, our rejection of Him. And yet, He came.

Moments spent in the city, eating yummy food, watching my children's faces light up, creating new memories and traditions all our own.

A two hour conversation by the fire one afternoon with Rebekah recently, in town for a few days. A precious time that kickstarted my journey back towards a more grounded Christmas.

Anticipating the time spent with family tomorrow and Saturday, family that we don't get to see nearly often enough. Pouring into those relationships and friendships and hoping it will be enough to tide us over until the next time.

Lighting the advent wreath at home each night at dinner, hearing Sam explain in his piping voice, with a little lisp, what each candle is for.

I need accountability. Next fall, I am going to try and write out what our true priorities are from November-December, so they don't get buried in the onslaught of my thoughtlessly added "responsibilities" and urgency to have things just like they always were. Things change. Children come. People change. Needs change. None of this is even ABOUT what we eat (it kills something inside me to admit that), what we give each other, how we decorate or how clean our house is.

Instead,
God becoming man,
Infinity bound,
Humbling Himself,
for me.

I read something this week that stopped me in my tracks, it took me off the hamster wheel and forced me to take a deep breath and examine myself. An email from a woman who recently lost her husband, now a single mother to two small boys, as she processed her upcoming first Christmas alone, without him.

"I hope in this season Christ is wooing you. That you hear a soft, calming voice amidst the chaos. That you are able to breathe in the life He offers, and let all of the other stuff fade into the background of the beautiful lights. That you can believe God's plan is good....To me, that makes all the other stuff tolerable. It allows me to truly have joy this Christmas, and to still feel the wonder of a child."

Kicking off Christmas-Our First Family Vacation

2010-12-23T20:56:00.001-06:00

Last weekend the four of us spent the night at the fabulous Trump Hotel downtown Chicago. A few months ago I was filled with the desire to carve out a little time for our immediate family to be alone, just us, and see alittle of the city at the same time. The internet was helpful in finding a dirt cheap rate on one night, and we figured out ahead of time where we wanted to park, and eat (always of utmost importance to me).

Timing things around the kid's naps was tricky, but the memories and time away were so worth the effort it took to pack and get there. We left our house in the late morning and stopped first at the Macy's (it physically hurts me to say the store's name, I am still bitter about the Marshall Field's sell out) on State to shop for an ornament to help represent 2010. No luck, even after scouring seven floors. We did get to visit the three story Christmas tree in the Walnut Room, where I reminisced about eating pancakes with my cousins year after year until we got too old to want to crawl out of bed at 5 am to be the first ones in line for breakfast on a cold Saturday morning.

Next was lunch at Rick Bayless's Frontera Fresco, also on the Seventh Floor of Macy's. We got there right before the lunch rush, and only had to wait in line 10 minutes. You pay at the cash register and stand there with your tray, watching the line cooks prepare your food. The prices are unbeatable, $7 for two pulled pork tacos with pickled onion, fresh house made cheese and avocado, $4 for chips and fresh guac, a whole line of freshly squeezed sparkling juices (raspberry prickly pear, mango lime) and a mind boggling $3.50 for a VAT sized bowl of tortilla soup, $2 extra for chicken in it. My favorite thing however was the corn and chevre tamale. So so good. I think all four of us ate to the gut-busting level for $32. Not bad for Frontera Grill food.

After lunch it was nearing Charlotte's naptime, so we drove a few blocks north and checked into our hotel room. I was stunned to see the size of our room, truly one of the biggest I've ever seen in the city. It even had it's own kitchenette, complete with silverware, cups, fridge and dishwasher. Over the top.

We called down to request a pack and play, and within 5 minutes there was a knock on the door. The guy brought up a beautiful wooden crib, filled with a mini terry cloth bathrobe, mini slippers, rubber ducks and bath toys, baby toiletries AND a diaper genie. Seriously. This hotel is so kid friendly, I'd almost leave my children there.

Charlotte fed and rolled around in her crib for an hour while I played in the gorgeous bathroom. Scott took Sam down to the 14th floor to explore the pool and the $15,000 Kohler Shower in the lockeroom. Not even kidding, it had somewhere around 10 spigots, changing colored lights and music. It kept Sam busy for 45 minutes, chasing balls around in there and playing with the bath products. They came upstairs and he fell sound asleep for an hour.

Dinner was next. Call us crazy, but we brought the kids to Ovengrinder's, notorious for no reservations, multiple hour waits, zero room for strollers and cash only. But the food!! The food! We went early, around 4:45, and had no wait. Scott found street parking, Charlotte's car seat propped up in the booth and Sam was happy to cozy up next to me in the corner, playing with my phone. He ate the black olives off the salad, that was it. Charlotte ate everything. I think she liked it, judging by her smile, don't you think?

After dinner, originally we were going to walk over to Zoo Lights at Lincoln Park Zoo. However, the 10 degree temps and tired kids led us to decide otherwise. We drove by it, sighed at how cool it looked and pulled up in front of Fox and Obel where I ran in to buy cookies, chocolate Oberweis milk bottles and gummy bears for our movie. Santa had delivered a wrapped copy of Toy Story 3 to our hotel room for Sam, it was all he wanted to do/see after he opened it. "Sam, do you want to go swimming?" "No, can I watch Toy Story 3?" "Sam, let's go to the zoo and see the animals!" "Can we go back to our sleepover room and watch Toy Story 3?" Remind me next time to not let him open something until right before he can enjoy it. Stupid.

We got back to the hotel around 6:30 pm, ready to get cozy, and found these trays of hand crafted treats for the kids. Are you kidding me? Is that Sam's name scripted in chocolate?? Who are these people? It was the cutest thing ever, I think I took more pictures of these bedtime treats then I did of our family. So impressive and fun.

Tub time next, and after putting Charlotte down in her crib, where she peered at us through the slats for 90 minutes, we all cuddled up into one of the queen sized, incredibly cozy, covered-in-inches-of-down beds, surrounded ourselves with gummy's and cookies, and watched the movie. Looking around at my little family, at Sam's rosy hot cheeks and the look of utter contentment on Scott's face, I felt happier then I think I've ever felt, aside from my wedding day and the births of our two children. Such joy, to have it be just us, something we've never experienced before. Lights out at 9:15pm and all's well.

Until 1:15 am when I awoke with a start and couldn't for the life of me fall back asleep. Why is that? Is it because you're in an unfamiliar place? My children were sound asleep, the bed was comfy, I had no good reason. Oh well, I laid there until 6 am when I couldn't take it anymore and whispered to Scott that it was my turn to enjoy the $15,000 Kohler Shower.

60 minutes of pure joy, I think that was the most pampered I've ever felt in my life. Aloe face mask on in the steam room? Check. Wash it off in the shower? Check. Hang out in the sauna? Check. Lovely exfoliating body scrub in the shower? Check. Little wooden bowl of extravagant body butter to smear on last? Check. And it was all "free!" Well, included in the cost of the room at least. People, you need to go to this hotel, Orbitz, Priceline, however you do it, GO THERE.

Kids were up when I got back so we dressed and headed out to breakfast at our favorite spot again, Fox and Obel. We always make a point to stroll by their famous meat section, one of the few places in town that the retail person can buy prime, dry aged beef. The butcher had a sense of humor today, someone took the time to sculpt a pig's head out of their house made sausage. Ha. ha. French toast, caramel lattes, double baked almond croissants and whoops, my pants suddenly felt tight and it was only 8:45 a.m.

Sam and I headed out into the cold, quiet city that Saturday morning, looking for something to do while Charlotte took her morning nap in the room, Scott reading the Wall Street Journal beside her. Not much is open before 9 am in the Loop on a Saturday. Borders was open though, and after a six block freezing walk where my 36 lb. toddler made me carry him most of the way (helping to burn off a croissant, hopefully), we holed up on the 2nd floor in the Children's section, reading books, playing with toys, and chasing each other through the empty store.

We waved at the Channel 7 News anchormen and women on the way back, one of the cameramen turned around and pointed to the ground where Sam had lost his mitten. Maybe that's why my poor kid was so cold. Oh well, he survived.

We packed it up, said goodbye to all the doormen who called to us by name and begged Sam for high fives, chose an ugly, bright green glass ornament with Donald Trump's name all over it to remember the trip by and headed home.

I told Charlotte not to get used to the high life, but she didn't listen to me.

Tea Party

2010-12-06T09:37:00.001-06:00

Another 5:45 am wake up call a few weeks ago.

"Mom, I made you a tea party!"

I groggily head up to our third floor playroom and come across this spread.

"Sit down Mom, have some tea!"

Yawn. I rub my eyes. "What kind should I have, Buddy?"

"Chocolate Mawrshmallow."

Chocolate marshmallow it is, Sam.

What can I say, he's a renaissance man.
Someday he'll be the complete package for a lucky lady.

First Snow Day

2010-12-05T19:00:00.000-06:00

We got our first official snowfall of the winter on Saturday, gorgeous fluffy white flakes that covered the trees and yard, much to our delight.

Sam could hardly get through his breakfast before wanting to don all the gear and roll in the snow like a puppy. Charlotte, unfortunately, had to observe from the inside while I made carmelized nuts, rosemary parmesan crackers and salty sweet brownies for a great party that evening.

The peach fuzz of her hair was cracking me up, just floating there in the shadows.

"Hellllooo? Helllooo? Anyone remember me?"

"Rats. Now what do I do?"

Today at Breakfast

2010-12-05T09:34:00.000-06:00

Sam: "I think I have a baby in my tummy." He then proceeds to lift his shirt, peering down at his belly.
Me: "I don't think so buddy."
Sam: "Can boys have babies?"
Me: "Nope, only girls have babies."

Semi long pause. The sound of pancakes being chewed.

Sam: "I want twenty-FIVE babies!"
Me: "Wait, you want to be a BROTHER to twenty-five babies or a DADDY to twenty-five babies?"
Sam: "Da big brodder."
Me: "Gee buddy, I don't know if we have room for twenty-five babies; where would they all sleep?"

Pause.

Sam: "Well in da crib!"
Me: "Aw honey, we can't fit twenty five babies in Charlotte's crib!"

Another pause.

Sam: "We can stack them!"

Thanks Sophie!

2010-11-06T14:23:00.000-05:00

My friend Sophie took some great pictures of our family last month, here are a few of my favorites:

New Favorite Discoveries

2010-11-03T08:00:00.001-05:00

...this year. The following items have brought my family and I (as well as a few friends) much joy. I thought I'd make a list to share with some others. Credit goes to Alison Chino for the FANTASTIC recommendation of item #1.

1. Slugs and Bugs Lullabies CD
Don't question this, just buy it if you have children under the age of 12 in your home. I cannot think of another music CD where I both laughed out loud, spitting my coffee all over the car, (Tractor, Tractor; Beans) and cried with a lump in my throat (Hey Beautiful Girl) from the same record. Alison says it's her favorite baby gift. Be forewarned, it is now mine as well.
They're coming out with a Christmas CD this year too...

2. Smitten Kitchen's Apple and Cheddar scones
Need I say more? Made them on Monday, froze them shaped, in dough form, then baked them right before Bible Study on Thursday morning. Awesome. Absolutely awesome. I did not eat three.

3. And another food item of Smitten Kitchen's, her Sour Cream Cheddar Biscuits and the Beef Chili that went with them. I diced the carrots small, how she recommends, and added ketchup to taste. Added about a 1/4 cup of sugar to the biscuits, because we like things sweet in our house.

4. Stacey Kent's music.
Got her name from our fabulous friend Anthony, who is in tune with so much more pop culture and great music then I am. She is my favorite artist discovery of this year, and we've bought three albums. Listen to Ice Hotel on her Breakfast Tram one, it reminds me of a lighter, more cool and lyrical-french, Diana Krall. If you like the sound and feel of Diana Krall, you will love Stacey Kent.

5. Bearpaw Boots for kids.
Thanks to my friend Katie P, I bought these boots for Sam this year and spent about half as much as what Ugg boots would have cost us. They have a nice rugged sole, great for traipsing over ice and through Chicago snow, and are made of sheepskin, just like Uggs.

6. Intelligentsia's Black Cat Espresso Coffee Beans
Have I written about these coffee beans before? I feel like I have. They are a local Chicago roaster, and Rick Bayless uses these beans for making the espresso in his restaurants, Frontera and XOCO. I love them as well, and it has been a saving grace on many a morning here, when getting in the car and driving to Starbucks (and shelling out $3.78 for a latte) is not an option. I buy them at Whole Foods.

7. "Baked" Cookbook
This fabulous little bakery in Brooklyn came out with their first cookbook in 2008 and just released their second one this year, which is on my Christmas list. (Ahem, Scott.) I've noticed that this cookbook is the first one I've reached for this year when needing to make a dessert or breakfast goody. Items that I could not live without, having now tasted them: the Baked Brownie, their chocolate chip cookie, Sweet and Salty Cake, and the Sour Cream Coffee Cake with chocolate cinnamon swirl. Amazon sells it for $19.77 right now.

8. Lastly, (completely unrelated to music, food or clothing) How GREAT Clean Baby Peach-Fuzz Smells in the Sunshine.

A Video from Halloween

2010-11-02T19:00:00.002-05:00

For the five of you who might care, here's a video from the kiddos on the Friday before Halloween. It involves words like "poop," "cow pies," and "moo." And rolling babies.

I'm sorry for the bumpy camera work and the annoying voice over. Hope it's worth it.

The Farmer in the Dell and his Cow

2010-11-02T13:40:00.001-05:00

Here are our family's obligatory Halloween photos. Sam was an "O'ganic day-wry farmer" and Charlotte was his cow. And no, they did not have any choice in the matter. Sam wanted to be Spiderman when he heard that there were four other spidermen in his preschool class, but I had his entire costume around our house and found Charlotte's at Costco for $13. So they paid homage to agriculture this year.

I'm especially proud of the homemade decals taped to Charlotte's belly and Sam's hat.

Sam, I promise, you can be whatever you want (within reason) next year. Thank you for indulging me.

8 months

2010-10-26T14:10:00.000-05:00

Our little Charlotte is 8 months old. I finally had time to get some pictures of her Sunday afternoon, by myself on our bed. Thankfully she has the sparkling blue eyes of her father, and her great-grandfather's endless eyelashes. Oh how I wonder who she will be someday.

For now, I am content with my joyful, giggly, squirmy baby who just finally popped her two bottom teeth and learned to clap this week.

The Boys Go "Camping"

2010-10-25T21:09:00.001-05:00

So all summer Scott has been wanting to "sleep in the backyard" with Sam. It finally happened last Friday night, when the temperature dropped to a low of 39 degrees that night.

The evening commenced with a trip to Walgreens for s'mores ingredients. All of this was conceived and executed by Scott, by the way. The boys made a fire and roasted marshmallows. Sam decided he just wanted to leave his on his stick, unroasted, and just look at it. Not sure where he gets that. After much dancing around the fire, stick in hand, Sam asked to go inside and watch a movie. Not much to do in the backyard after it gets dark, evidently. So, sandwiched between us, he happily watched the 92nd showing of The Incredibles.

And then, after a cozy bath, be-jammied and wool-socked, Sam and Scott headed out into the night. The tent we received as a wedding gift almost 8 years ago finally had its virgin voyage. And much to both our surprise, our son slept the best he has in months, OUTSIDE in near freezing weather. He didn't move until 6:45 am, and popped up, happy as a clam.

I guess that's the key, keep the house at 45 degrees at night and he'll begin to sleep past 5 am.

I, on the other hand, woke every hour that night, looked at the clock, wondered if they were cold and would come in any minute.

And Charlotte slept like a baby. Wait a second, she is a baby.

Taking a Sick Day

2010-10-14T09:26:00.001-05:00

Sam woke up at 2:30 am this morning, projectile vomiting all over his bed and pillows. Scott took the first shift of changing and rinsing and soaking and wiping down.

I took the next three. And so on. Evidently the stomach flu is making its way around our community and it was our turn to take it for a spin. To put a kicker in it all, our gas line has been turned off since yesterday so there's no hot water for laundry or showers and the temperature in the house is edging down towards 65 degrees. Nicor picked a wonderful week to dig a massive hole in our front yard to replace some pipes.

Will this bug plow through the entire family? Oh I am feverishly hoping not, selfishly I have a wedding to play for on Saturday, and a church service to do on Sunday. A big red bucket next to the piano bench will look a little out of place.

It's so hard to think rationally in the middle of the night, isn't it? I can't even think of what to do first--clean him up? Find clean sheets? Skip the sheets and get towels? How do you get throw up out of a down comforter? You just feel so bad for the Little Buddy, he hasn't been sick in ages and has no idea what is happening to him.

And then after emailing my Bible Study group (we were supposed to meet here this morning over granola bars and tarte tatin), I got so many messages back filled with empathy and encouragement and wonderful perspective that it made me feel "full" for the day. A phone conversation with my mom, who offered to go to the store. Another one with my sister-in-law, who shared some practical empathetic wisdom. It made me feel like I can do this, despite my greasy hair and the piles of stinking laundry stacking up, that we are loved and are not alone. One other friend shared that her personal view of her own hard sick days was that it was God's way of divinely appointing her a "home day." A day for me too, to physically minister to my children in a very tangible, very real way.

To me, this is the meaning of community, of being in a small group that supports and loves and serves, no matter what.

It's a Pumpkin Head

2010-10-08T07:30:00.001-05:00

We had a cold family outing last Sunday at Medinah's Fall Fest. The kids did pretty well, considering the high for the day was a chilly 47 degrees and the sun was well on it's way down by the time we got there. The reptile man made a showing, and there was a hayride and pumpkin patch that we somehow missed in the craziness. Oh well, something for next year.

Typical Family Photo session: one child looking at the other child squirming and screaming and trying to run away.

Charlotte's first experience with face painting.

The Hay Pit!

The look on Sam's face here is completely hereditary, I'm afraid I make the same face as I dive facefirst into a plate of my favorite dessert.

Apple Bread

2010-10-07T14:40:00.000-05:00

I've had two requests for this recipe this week, and only felt like typing it up once, so I'll post it here. This apple bread is DELICIOUS, and freezes really well. I made a loaf the morning of our bible study and froze the second one... defrosted it, then reheated it the oven at 350 degrees until warmed through, no one knew the difference at our small group the following Tuesday.

Apple Bread
4 cups apples, peeled, cored and chopped into large chunks, about 1/2 inch-1 inch sized
4 large eggs, beaten
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups white sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. table salt
2 tsp. good cinnamon
3 cups all purpose flour

For the topping:
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup white sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, cool but not hard

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray two 9 inch loaf pans with Pam. In your mixing bowl, beat the 4 eggs until fluffy. Add the oil, vanilla and sugar, beat until combined. In a smaller bowl combine the dry ingredients: flour, soda, salt and cinnamon, set aside. Peel and chop all the apples. Then, add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture, mixing on low just until combined. Fold in the apples by hand to keep the chunks intact. Divide the mixture evenly into two pans.

To prepare the topping, combine all the ingredients in one bowl (to save on dishes, just use the same one that the dry ingredients were in), squeezing the butter through the flour etc. until it is combined, using your clean fingers (fastest) or a fork (neatest :). Sprinkle the topping over the batter evenly in both pans.

Bake for about 1 hour on the center rack, rotating once. Bread should feel fairly firm when touched in the middle. Let cool and then remove from the pans. It is easiest to slice when cool, but so hard to wait...

Chewing on This Today

2010-10-02T10:58:00.001-05:00

I came across this little poem by Thomas Browne and just loved it--

"If thou could'st empty all thyself of self,
Like to a shell dishabited,
Then might He find thee on the ocean shelf,
And say, 'This is not dead,'
And fill thee with Himself instead.

But thou art all replete with very thou
And hast such shrewd activity,
That when He comes He says, 'This is enow
Unto itself--'twere better let it be,
It is so small and full, there is no room for Me.'"

I'm not sure what it was about this poem that stopped me in my tracks today, maybe the idea of not leaving any room for God in the midst of the busyness and trappings of my life.

It was an early start to the day, Mr. Sam decided to wake up at 4:20 am and never fell back asleep. To borrow a term from my dear friend Rebekah, "Mommy Monster" raises her ugly head and growls at anyone and everyone at that hour. I hate starting off that way, crabby and mean, and it felt good to stop and mull this over.

To push away the self, to leave room to be filled with the gifts God has promised us:
Peace.
Joy.
Contentment.

That is what I need to be working toward, leaving room for Him to sweep through, to come and fill up all my holes and cracks, giving me joy for the day.

FINALLY! A Market of Our Own!

2010-10-01T10:32:00.001-05:00

Oh the irony.

The French company Bensidoun has FINALLY opened up a year long, indoor french market, open Monday-Saturday, located right under the tracks of the Metra lines coming into the city.

The market is literally right across the street from our old condo in the city. I am so bitter. And cannot wait to check it out the next time I get a day downtown.

If anyone gets there first, let me know if it's as great as it looks on the website?
http://www.frenchmarketchicago.com/about/

Buttermilk Pancakes

2010-09-29T16:09:00.001-05:00

So almost every Wednesday night I end up making our family buttermilk pancakes for dinner. We are in luck that every family member loves them, and Scott has no problems with "brinner," or "breakfast-for-dinner."

The absolute BEST recipe I've ever come across is Martha Stewart's classic buttermilk pancakes. I've upped the sugar a tad, so they taste really good just on their own. We change it up by adding dried cherries and granola (thanks Grace and Mrs. DG!), frozen blueberries, or Sam's favorite and constant request, Ghiradelli chocolate chips. If he's really really lucky he'll receive a squirt of whipped cream on top too. Nice dinner, huh. Not a lot of protein, but it tastes so good, so comforting and predictable on a busy Wednesday night when I'm out the door for rehearsal every week at 6:30 pm.

If you've never tried making pancakes from scratch, try it at least once. I think you'll be converted, the real buttermilk makes a massive difference. It is also worth noting that seeking out the Farmer's Creamery brand of buttermilk is also worth the minor extra expense. Whole Foods carries it.

Buttermilk Pancakes

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. table salt
1/4 cup white sugar
4 TB. butter, melt and cooled slightly
2 eggs
3 cups real buttermilk (Farmer's Creamery is a great one to try)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the 3 cups buttermilk, melted butter and eggs. Whisk together JUST until barely mixed, a lumpy batter helps keep the pancakes light and fluffy.

Preheat your oven to 170 degrees. Place an ovenproof plate on the top shelf.

Heat a non stick pan or griddle over medium heat. Melt another tsp. of butter over the griddle and wipe the extra off with a paper towel. When the griddle is hot but not smoking, scoop batter out with a 1/3 measuring cup, it keeps them a manageable size for flipping. Cook on the first side until the pancake is covered in bubbles and browned nicely. Flip. Put the pancakes in the oven to keep them warm until ready to serve.

The leftovers can be cooled to room temperature and then frozen. They reheat great in the oven or microwave for breakfast later in the week.

What to do, what to do

2010-09-28T19:02:00.001-05:00

So I spent two days making the beef and barley soup from Rick Tramonto's new cookbook, Steak with Friends. And it is life changingly good. But little did I know who would end up being it's biggest fan....Charlotte the seven month old.

Shocking, horrifying, but I am at my wits' end. The child refuses to eat baby food. She wants what WE are eating and fusses and strains and pulls for what is on my plate and in my bowl.

So tonight she ate almost 6 ounces of short ribs and carrots and barley.

And she won't stop burping the smell of veal stock in my face.

Oh child, what will we do with you?

blessed

2010-09-21T20:07:00.001-05:00

Today I turned 33 years old. As old as Jesus was when He died, I like to say. Funny heh heh, kind of.

Didn't have much in the way of expectations for this birthday, I must say. The older you get, the less of a big deal they are, don't you think?

But THIS year.

BUT this year, I feel unbelievably, unexpectedly loved.

I won't go into a ton of details, but there are moments that stand out in my mind, frozen like treasured paintings:

a 6 am double hug from my husband and warm sleepy three year old, piping "happy birthday" slightly off key, carrying in a little tray with candles and a toasted bagel;
the phone ringing at 7 am, my mother on the other end telling me I was worth every one of the THIRTY SIX HOURS of labor she went through, to no avail when they gave her a C-section;
two phone conversations with friends who are far away, bringing back memories of birthdays we've spent together in years past;
the surprise delivery of the Most. Thoughtful. Generous. Basketful of Love I could have ever comprehended;
treats and cards in the mail;
a home delivered lunch from Honey with a precious friend who spoon-fed Charlotte her cereal so I could eat my cupcake in peace, and the list goes on.

These years are so fleeting, the ones where my babies are young and we sit on a blanket in the grass of our backyard, waiting for Scott to come home from work, passing time pretending we're on a raft in the ocean, or playing "fetch" with one of Sam's 10,000 balls.

There are moments that are hard, like today when Sam stood by my head at 4:50 am, sniffing and telling me he has "poops in my pants." The thought "Oh why couldn't I please sleep in just this one day?" crosses my mind fleetingly, and then I'm up and out of bed with him, and the baby is fussing wanting to be fed and it all feels so tiring.

But then. Scott delivers with a Starbucks family date on a work day, and all this happens, and I feel so loved it's indescribable.

Thank you to all of you who reached out to me today, you've created a pool of refreshment and joy and utter contentment in my heart that will last many, many, many 4:50 am mornings to come.

Thank you for being a blessing to me.

Sour Cream Cinnamon Coffeecake and Vanilla Chai Lattes last Thursday (oh, and Jesus too)

2010-09-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

Don't you wish you were in our Women's Bible Study? It truly is a unique group of women, all from different backgrounds and interests. Over the past four years each of the eleven have become a dear and integral part of the group, I cannot imagine doing life without them.

Here's a treat I made last week that seemed to go over well. Also known as "Grandpa's Favorite," which is saying something because let me tell you, Grandma is quite the baker.

Sour Cream Cinnamon Coffeecake

1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp. baking soda

2 sticks cool (not too hard) butter
2 cups flour
1 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp. table salt

1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 cup golden raisins
(And yes, you read that right. No eggs!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8x8 square pan. Combine the sour cream and baking soda in a small bowl, set aside. Combine flour, sugar, salt and butter in your mixing bowl, give it a few turns with the mixer until it resembles the beginnings of a pie crust, nice and crumbly. Reserve half the flour mixture for the crumble topping. Add the spices and sour cream mix into the mixing bowl. Combine well, stir in raisins. Place in prepared pan, sprinkle the reserved crumble topping evenly over coffeecake. Bake 30-40 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

As an added touch, which I only just now realized I completely forgot, you can drizzle an easy frosting over it while it's still warm. (About 1 cup powdered sugar and a few TB. milk mixed evenly together.) It was still great without it.

Vanilla Chai Lattes for 4 people

2 & 1/4 cups TAZO chai tea concentrate (they use it at Starbucks, you can get three boxes for $7 at Costco)
2 cups your favorite milk, I used skim, 2% would be better
2 TB. Monin Vanilla Syrup (can be found at specialty food shops, like Fox and Obel and Amazon)

Heat chai tea mix, milk and syrup together in a sauce pan or microwave in a pyrex bowl. If you have a steamer, steam cups of the chai to order for your lucky friends, and top the foam with a light spray of good cinnamon.

Gale Gand's Chocoblock Chocolate Cake with Warm Macademia Nut Caramel

2010-09-13T08:00:00.002-05:00

Yup, you read that right. In fact, take a second and re-read the title of this heartdroppingly FABULOUS dessert. Are you salivating yet? Now go buy yourself some topshelf cocoa powder and make this cake for your loved ones! If you want to see a better picture of it, cut into cute little rounds, check out the cover of her cook book, Just A Bite.

So nine years ago, on a momentous and gorgeous evening in July downtown Chicago, Scott joined me for a work dinner at the unbelievable restaurant, Tru, where Gale was/is the pastry chef and partner. It was our first "date," of sorts, and we both had nervous tingles and sparks that were difficult to suppress in front of my two male clients that sat with us. I can remember not wanting the evening to end, and we headed out into the night together after a mindblowing meal, not to return home until close to 4 in the morning. As Nate, one of Scott's four roommates and a close friend said, "I don't know what exactly is going on here, but I highly condone it."

Six months later we were engaged. Eight years later we have two kids and I am still obessessed with Gale Gand. She is my favorite pastry chef, and after meeting her twice at two cooking classes, I can attest that she is a lovely person as well.

Here to date, is my favorite recipe, the only change being a few grinds of sea salt into the caramel sauce.

For the Cake:
3 cups sugar
2 & 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 & 1/8 cups cocoa powder, preferably Dutch (Valhrona is pretty much the best, Penzey's is great too)
2 & 1/4 tsp. baking powder
2 & 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 & 1/2 tsp. table salt
3 large eggs
1 & 1/2 cups milk (I used 2%)
3/4 cup vegetable oil (I used canola)
1 TB. pure vanilla extract (Niesen-Massey is awesome, you can buy a massive bottle of it for cheap here.)
1 & 1/2 cups very hot water

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a half sheet pan (also called a jelly roll pan) and line the bottom with parchement or wax paper.

In your mixing bowl, add together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Blend briefly.

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Add them to the dry ingredients and mix at low speed for about 5 minutes. GRADUALLY trickle the hot water in, mixing at low speed, just until combined. The batter will be very thin.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, (a few crumbs are fine) and the center feels firm to the touch, 25-35 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan, then chill it, covered, until you are ready to cut it. I made this a day (or even two!) before I cut and used it. Totally fine. Great make-ahead dessert.

For the Caramel:
1 & 1/4 cups sugar
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/8 tsp. sea salt
1/2 cup (or a bit more) salted macadamia nuts, roasted in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes, then roughly chopped
1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut, toasted in the same manner as the nuts

Pour the sugar into the center of a deep saucepan. Carefully pour 1/3 cup water around the edges of the pan, trying not to splash any sugar on the wells. Don't stir it, just make a cross twice with your index finger to wet the sugar evenly. Over high heat, bring sugar and water to a full boil and cook without stirring, swirling the pan occasionally, until mixture is medium caramel in color, about 5-10 minutes. Don't walk away, this happens very quickly and I've burned the sugar too dark of brown more then once. Take it off the heat as soon it starts to turn a rich gold and smells toasted.

Next use a wooden spoon to slowly and carefully stir in the cream, the mixture will bubble and may splatter so head's up! Stir in the nuts and coconut and set aside until cool. This sauce can also be refrigerated, covered, until ready to use. Reheat over low heat until softened, or in a microwave.

When you are ready to serve, cut rounds (or squares if you don't care about being fancy and don't want waste) of the chilled cake with a 2 inch biscuit cutter. Place one or two cakes on a plate and drizzle liberally with caramel sauce. It's up to you if you want to sandwich some Haagen Daz vanilla ice cream in there too.

This one cake fed many people, beginning with a dinner at our house with a dear high school friend. Next it fed 11 women who came over for drinks to kick off our Bible Study one cozy Tuesday night. Then, frozen after I cut it and defrosted, six adults consumed it at a lakehouse in Indiana. Finally, the previously frozen leftovers were served to my inlaws and Scott for dessert last Sunday. Heralded by rave reviews at every serving, this is a very durable, delicious cake.

I don't kid around about my desserts. Make this now. Keep it in your arsenal folks.

Love and great respect back to Gale, thanks for writing in my cookbook five years ago. :)

Go Cowboys!

2010-09-12T19:28:00.002-05:00

Ok. I admit it. I'm a poser. Growing up in Chicago, I was barely even a Bears fan. Let's be honest: the last Bears game I remember actually watching was the 1985 Super Bowl as a sub-ten year old, excited because my dad was into it.

Well, fate had me marry a faithful Cowboys fan, Scott grew up in Dallas and he and his entire family are all dedicated Cowboy zealots.

Up until this year I've held off joining in wholeheartedly. It felt fake, like I was late to the party and didn't really bring a gift with me.

But last year I received my very own Tony Romo jersey, and wore it 8 months pregnant, stretched tightly over Charlotte-en-womb. My resistance has finally been worn down and I told Scott that, as a birthday present (along with the obnoxiously awesome 3'x5' house flag) that I'd really make an effort to get into the games with him this year. My only concern was that it wouldn't be real, that people would know I was a big faker.

He had an answer for that, boy did he. All I have to do is memorize the starting line up. And know who all the players are and what they do.

Yes, we have had quizzes. Multiple-a-week quizzes.

Not sure how I'm doing so far, all I can remember are Marion Barber, Miles Austin, Tony Romo and some guy with a name like Tinekwa or something like that. Shoot. It's Tashard, not Tinekwa. Tashard Choice.

Good thing it's the season opener tonight, I've got time.

Gibson's at Oakbrook

2010-09-10T08:00:00.001-05:00

If you are looking to celebrate something or need a spot to meet friends for a great meal and drinks, check out the new Gibson's Steakhouse that opened a few months ago very near to The Oakbrook Mall.

It's literally next to the McDonald's, off Spring Road, adjacent to the mall. There's an amazing one story stone waterfall on the patio that covers the sound of passing cars and blocks the view of the road. Three sets of cozy couches surround modern glass fireplaces as you walk up to the patio, perfect for hanging with friends over pomegrante martinis and a plate of $12 beef filet "sliders" on buttered brioche rolls, accompanied by salty, thin french fries.

I won't lie, most of the menu ain't cheap, but there's a hefty selection (far heftier then the Chicago location) of entrees that include sides and are priced under $20.

We went to celebrate Scott's 35th birthday and our awesome waiter trotted out this massive piece of carrot cake, on the house. That alone was worth the trip, and ended up feeding 9 people later that night.

"Home, Home on the Range"

2010-09-09T07:57:00.000-05:00

I don't why this moment struck me as funny, but it did.

Yesterday morning Sam had been blatantly disobedient about a minor thing, so I placed him in a time out at the top of the stairs.

His beloved harmonica was within reach, I guess, because the next thing I heard were the strains of labored harmonica music wafting down the stairs after me.

All he needed to complete the picture of a small town incarcerated fellow was a tin can, something nice to clank against the bars, playing his harmonica to pass the long hours.

First Day of Preschool

2010-09-08T09:16:00.003-05:00

Well, it's arrived. I'm sure you've read many facebook updates about parents sending their kids off to school for the first time this year. It was Sam's turn yesterday, much to both our consternation.

It went ok. Our preschool has the parents stay with them for an hour the first day. I felt like he would have been just fine if we hadn't been there. Oh well, Thursday will be the true test, I am hopeful that it will go better, as he packed his own snack and is very excited to eat it.

He was also excited about his new backpack, and could barely stand still to take a picture.

Should I be worried about his response yesterday? When asked how he thought school was, Sam answered, "Preposttterrrouss."

I think he actually said "preposterous." Uh, the vocab in those Berenstein Bears books may be a little heavy.

Quick Recommendations

2010-09-01T10:18:00.002-05:00

Scott is off this week and we are having a stay-cation here at the house. It was great in theory, until Charlotte came down with a nasty virus two weeks ago and started spiking 103-104 degree fevers last weekend. The massive rash hit Monday and now we are finally moving out of it. Poor thing has been a beast, I don't know where my sweet little girl went. Hidden somewhere I suppose, under mountains of running snot, itchy rashes and a fever.

Anyways, Scott has Sam for the morning and I'm puttering around the house. There is a small back log of items to share, a few recipes and pictures, but I don't have the energy right now. Instead, I thought I throw out some books I've read this year thus far that have stayed with me.

1) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

If you haven't heard of or read this yet, go get it. I won't do it justice by attempting to summerize, and do yourself a favor, DON'T go look it up in Wikipedia before reading it and skim through the entire plot. Doh. Set during World War 2 in Nazi, Germany, about the life of an incredible 13 year old girl. I am still processing what I've read and will pick it up again soon to read a second time. Finished the last 75 pages while getting my hair highlighted and wept quietly to myself under a head full of tin foil. My hairdresser friend thinks I'm nuts, but he loves a good book too so I'm hoping he understood. Epic.

2) Sister of My Heart by Chitra Banerjee Divakabuni

Just finished this yesterday and wish I had the other novels by this author in our house. It's about two women raised in the same home in India. Great plot, it'd make a good movie, and the relationships between the women are so well written.

3) The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton

A slow starter, but gripping. The mystery of a young woman's past unravels through her own story and that of her grandmother, set in both Cornwall, England and Australia.

4) The documentary Food, Inc.

Grace and I watched this together over take out Indian food when Charlotte and I headed up to Ann Arbor for the weekend to visit Charlotte's penpal and bestie, 6 month old Alice. I'm so glad I watched it. I regret that I watched it. Watch it for yourself and you'll understand what I mean. I love the feeling of being more educated about where my food comes from, and am more convicted about putting my dollars towards local farmers and organic eggs and meats.

The Afternoon Nap

2010-08-19T14:57:00.002-05:00

It wasn't until this week that I fully appreciated what a gift the afternoon nap is to parents. Because this week I lost it. Lost a daily two hours of quiet time to do whatever I felt like: read a book, make a nice lunch, clean up around the house, start on dinner, work in the yard, waste time on the computer, take a nap...

And now? Now I am hearing the sounds of Sam throwing books in his room, loud thumps as he jumps from God knows where onto the floor. We are attempting Quiet Time In Our Room from 1-3pm. Aggressive, I know, but he was taking two hour naps and I may as well shoot for the moon.

I'm stuck here, because the baby sleeps from 1:30-4:30pm right now and will not make it until bedtime if I wake her earlier. So I need to get creative with things to do with Sam around the house. Any ideas? He's a great little sous chef, so maybe we'll be cooking for together more.

In the meantime, I need a jolt of sugary caffeine and an attitude check. I need to remember that in two short years he will be in school and I will be missing his smiling face, his eagerly helpful hands, his sturdy warm arms wrapping around my neck, and his wiggly body running and thudding and jumping around the house. These years when my children are home with me will be gone, never to return. So.

So, I need to remember that as I yawn and look at the clock and think how many hours until Scott gets home...

How do single mothers do it?

Yoga

2010-08-18T15:39:00.000-05:00

What's the name of this position, do you suppose? Oh to be six month old again and limber.

Balloons and Ice Cream

2010-08-17T15:31:00.002-05:00

We took an emergency family outing to Oberweis last week, we all needed ice cream and STAT. It's been an extremely hot and humid August and I am well overdue for my annual "I'M READY FOR FALL" rant...brace yourselves, it's coming.

Charlotte encountered her first balloon at the ice cream store and loved it. Sam enjoyed his very first ice cream cone. Believe it or not, the poor three year old has only eaten ice cream out of a dish with a spoon because his parents were too afraid the ice cream would end up on the sidewalk if he held a cone. We were wrong. It's all over his face instead.

In other news, it's looking like Sam is dropping his afternoon nap. Sigh. It's been a good run, I suppose it's time to introduce "Quiet Time in Our Room." We tell him he can wake up "when there's a 3 on the clock."

He pops out of his room today at 1:03 pm. "There's a 3, Mom!"

"No Sam, the FIRST number has to be a 3."

1:23 pm.

His blonde head sticks out the door. "There's a 3, Mom!"

And so on.

Preschool on Tuesday/Thursday mornings starts in three short weeks, I guess he's ready.

M&M Cookies

2010-08-17T15:18:00.005-05:00

It's 95 degrees out and the mosquitoes attack at first sight of human flesh. There's no going outside this morning, now what shall we do during Charlotte's morning nap?

I know! Let's make M&M cookies and bring them to Daddy's office. It was perfect, Sam laboriously put 200 M&M's into a batch of sugar cookies, only consuming 15 along the way. It was a great way to spend the morning.

M&M Cookies
3 & 1/2 cups flour
1 TB. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. table salt
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
2 large eggs
1 TB. light corn syrup
2 1/2 tsp. vanilla

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda, and salt. In a mixing bowl, cream the softened butter. Add in sugar, eggs, corn syrup and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients until well blended. Chill one hour. (We only chilled ours 30 min, and you can see how much they spread. I imagine they'd stay more compact if the dough was truly chilled.)

Preheat oven 375. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper. Roll dough into balls about the size of a large walnut. Press flat lightly and push in as many M&M's as possible, the more the better. We used the dark chocolate ones and they were scrumptious. I'd do only six cookies per sheet, bake one sheet at a time on the top rack and rotate it once during baking. These took about 8-10 min or so.

The In-Law's-are-Coming Cake

2010-08-10T15:53:00.006-05:00

What do you do when you spontaneously invite your beloved in-law's over for an impromptu supper, realizing all you have in the house are chili and cornbread muffins and your mom-in-law's birthday is days away?

You make this cake. Well, first you put on this soundtrack while you bake, because you'll feel very, how-you-say, french while you throw this fabulous and simple cake together with ingredients you probably have on hand. And pour yourself a glass of wine. Wine helps too.

Simple Vanilla Bean Cake with Brown Butter Glaze
1 & 1/2 cups cake flour
1 & 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. table salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. vanilla bean paste (ok, maybe you don't have this in your pantry, but you SHOULD. Williams Sonoma has it.)
1/2 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray an 8 inch cake pan with Pam. Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl. Beat the butter and sugar together in a mixer until creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla and vanilla bean paste. Gently add in about a third of the dry ingredients, then half the milk, repeat, ending with the dry ingredients. Mix only just until combined, if you over beat it'll be a heavy, tough cake. Bake about 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Invert onto a plate and cool slightly.

Brown Butter Glaze
1/4 cup butter
1 & 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1/3 tsp. salt, more to taste
2 TBs. whole milk
the juice from half a lemon

Whisk together all the ingredients except the butter in a small bowl. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Watching closely, increase heat until butter is bubbling and suddenly turns brown, it happens quickly so don't take your eyes off it. Lift pan off the heat, swirl the butter until the brown is even, and pour melted butter evenly into the other ingredients. Whisk until smooth and pour over warm cake.

Many thanks to my lovely Aunt Cindy for passing this recipe on, I increased the salt and lemon juice to my own taste and added the vanilla bean paste. it's a favorite of hers and she's never led me astray.

Food, Glorious food!

2010-08-03T09:12:00.004-05:00

After three weeks of reaching for food off my plate and fork, Charlotte had her first taste of rice cereal last night. Personally I believe she was massively disappointed, it was a complete letdown. It's almost like her face says, "This? This is what you all spend so much time eating and making?!?" It's like it was all a big trick.

I'm posting "Take 2" because Scott filmed Take 1 and felt the need to add a pretty hilarious commentary that I don't think he'd appreciate being made public. "You go girl! Get on that!" and the like. That and he kept me in the frame.

A Big Hot Mess

2010-07-31T15:55:00.002-05:00

"Do you wanna make a CAVE, Ma?" The dreaded words pass Sam's lips four times at least each day. Actually he pronounces cave more like, "CAID," it's cute. Cute but so annoying to my obsessively anal, neat-loving personality.

This new stage has lasted approximately two months. At any point on any day Sam may decide to take all the cushions, pillows and blankets off our sectional couch, just for the heck of it. If he's lucky, either his father or I will prop up cushions and create a roof for him with a blanket. I never know when I'll come across an attempted "caid" in my bedroom, six king-sized pillows strewn everywhere in mounds.

It is such a challenge for me to allow him to do this freely. Why is that? Why do I feel the need to keep the house organized and put away at all times? It must be incredibly stifling for him, he loves to have all his toys out, where he can see them and go from one to another. I realize that developmentally this is important for him, and someday for Charlotte too, but every time I hear him ask for a cave my innards quiver and shake.

Maybe I should go see somebody about this little problem of mine. Any suggestions?

10 Things I'm Grateful For

2010-07-28T15:31:00.005-05:00

This list does not include anything meaningful, like God's grace or Scott's love for me. Duh. Just the shallow stuff, in no particular order.

1. A summer haircut that I do not have to wash or blow dry. Can't remember the last time I used one.
2. My Jura Capresso coffee maker named Brigetta (thanks to Cheryl for the name), and not having to leave the house to enjoy a caramel latte in the morning
3. Sanuks for summer shoes
4. Arnold Palmers by the pool
5. Two kids who enjoy sleeping through the night (thank you God!!)
6. Top Chef and No Reservations with new episodes on through the summer
7. Costco's Premium Margarita mix, $10 for a big bottle to share with friends as you grill out
8. Tomatoes in my backyard, slowly ripening
9. Horizon's Organic Yogurt Sticks, frozen, perfect for packing in a lunch for the pool
10. OPI's Tasmanian Devil Nail Polish
10b. The smell and sight of the orange freesia flowers in our bathroom...thank you to Scott who is leaving on a four day golf trip this weekend. :)

Summer Pictures

2010-07-27T09:30:00.001-05:00

Here are some catch up pictures of the summer...the pool, Charlotte's bonnets, Sam and Scott in WI with a cousin...

Some Sam Stories

2010-07-27T09:17:00.002-05:00

I completely fell off the face of the earth, didn't I? We headed out of town for a few days with Scott's family and now are catching our breath back at home after crazy flooding in our town. Thankfully no water in our basement, but our poor friends across the street...

Anyways. While on vacation, we were driving in our car and Scott was telling me about a couple who own a lakehouse and have a long list of rules posted throughout the house for guests that may stay over. He was going through a couple of the rules in a deprecating tone when Sam's little voice pipes from the back seat,
"Buaw buaw buaw, that ree-dee-quee-us!" ("Blah, blah blah, that's ridiculous!" for those who don't understand him.)

Guess we should be careful what we say, you never know who is listening.

And then again today, we're in the kitchen making our "coffees" together when he decides we need more sugar. Sam runs to the pantry, throws open the door and spys his little baking outfit-a little apron, mitts, and hat. He says, "Oh! I need to wear my stuff!" and puts it on. Sam then turns to me, points up to my apron and says, "You want yours Mom? You want to put on your breastplate?" (I think that one came from the Bible story about David and Goliath, there's a picture in there of little David in King Saul's armour.)

Hope you are staying cool today, we'll be hitting the pool for the majority of the week.

Strawberry Cherries

2010-07-07T10:28:00.000-05:00

Has anyone else ever heard of these before? The organic southern Illinois farmers were selling these at the market on Saturday and they are fabulous! Bright red as the tart cherries from Michigan, but sweet and tangy inside like Rainers. If you spot them, buy a couple pints...I wish I'd bought more then one.

Sam and his phone

2010-07-06T10:25:00.000-05:00

Overheard in our car two days ago...

Sam is playing with his toy cell phone as we're driving somewhere. He hits one of the preprogrammed buttons and a little boy's voice pipes out,
"Wanna go out and play?"

Sam says to it, "No."

He hits another button and a fake mommy voice oozes, "I love you so much!"

Sam mumbles under his breath, "No you DON'T."

Happy 4th of July!

2010-07-05T09:46:00.004-05:00

We celebrated by heading out to our town's parade and sat by Great Grandma and Grandpa, much to everyone's delight. Sam was crabby until they started throwing candy, and when asked at the beginning during the fire engines passage (sirens wailing) if he was having fun, "No, I not."

Charlotte enjoyed trying out her first pair of big girl shoes, shiny red leather ones, my thanks to the Bushong family for completing her festive outfit. :)

After a lovely housewide nap, we made a massive dinner just for the four of us: grilled wild salmon with a spicy rub, bbq ribs, fresh corn and basil salad, white nectarines and blueberries, roasted fingerling potatoes and black and white cookies for dessert. No fireworks, just watched Twilight on the couch with Scott and went to bed by 10:30 pm.

It was lovely. Hope your holiday was as well.

Tomato and Mozzarella Tart

2010-07-02T07:00:00.003-05:00

It's been a relatively busy cooking week around here, with a family reunion last weekend, a big dinner we brought up to Palatine for family and lots of great summer produce just begging to be used. Here is an excellent use of summer's tomatoes. I made it as an appetizer for the reunion we went to and had three people ask for the recipe. (Again, sorry for the lack of photos, I was too concerned with just trying to get it DONE in time to leave for Libertyville. It turned out great, good enough for me to want to recommend...)

Tomato and Mozzarella Tart

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (Use Dufour's from Whole Foods, or Trader Joe's brand when they have it...unfortunately usually in the winter time)
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
5-6 medium tomatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 TB. extra virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
2 whole, fresh basil leaves
2 TB. fresh basil, minced

Whisk the olive oil, garlic and two whole basil leaves together, crush the leaves well. Let sit.

Adjust oven rack to lower position and preheat to 425 degrees. Lay defrosted puff pastry sheet on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush with beaten egg.

Fold the edges over to form a 1/2 inch, low, rimmed crust all along the sides, keeping edges flush and square. Sprinkle the parmesan on the bottom of the crust. (You could also brush the crust with homemade pesto sauce instead, I think that would taste even better, frankly.) Poke the dough all over with a fork, and bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Cool.

Meanwhile, spread sliced tomatoes on a few layers of paper towels. Sprinkle the salt over top and let their liquid drain out for 30 minutes while you prepare the tart.

Sprinkle mozzarella evenly over the baked crust bottom. Press extra liquid out of the tomatoes and shingle them in layers over the mozzarella. Drizzle the olive oil mix over top of the tomatoes. Bake until the shell is deep golden, 10-15 minutes.

Cool for 5 minutes, then sprinkle with the freshly minced basil. Slice into small pieces. It's delicious served warm or room temperature, perfect for parties.

I doubled this the first time I made it, since we were going to a family reunion. It worked great, especially considering there are two sheets of puff pastry in the package.

Worst Day Ever

2010-07-01T07:00:00.001-05:00

To quote the words of the soaking-wet woman standing next to me in the airless alcove outside Park Grill in Millennium Park, Chicago, "Worst day ever."

Well maybe not quite, but close.

Last Wednesday Scott and I made the unfortunate decision to brave the sketchy-looking weather and head into Chicago for a picnic supper and free concert (Pink Martini) outside in the gorgeous Millennium Park. I packed everything we could possibly need for the afternoon and evening: Sam's swimsuit for splashing in the fountain, a big fluffy towel, a chair and blankets for the grass, two bags of food and yummy drinks, a massive golf umbrella in case it rained, (HA! IN CASE it rained! HA!), extra clothes, and gear for the baby.

Needless to say, the double Bob would be loaded down, with barely room to spare for the kids.

Back home, I checked radar at 3pm that afternoon, the steamy 90 degree forecast predicted rain at 6pm, and then at 9pm, but no big deal. We decided to go for it.

What followed should have absolutely nominated us for the Worst Parents of the Year award.

Driving in wasn't too bad, it took us the usual 45 minutes or so. After buying a lovely supper at one of my favorite spots, Fox and Obel, we headed south for the park. I made the extremely fortunate plea that we go ahead and pay for parking nearby, rather then circling the Loop and having to walk for blocks and blocks. We unload the kids, the food, the blankets, the chair and round the corner to the fountains where it began to spit big, fat, juicy raindrops on our heads.

The sky was grey, but at this point it didn't look too ominous. We changed Sam into his swimsuit so he could splash around with the other kids and I left Scott there with a towel and the golf umbrella, taking the baby in the stroller to find some cover from the rain.

I walked around in the drizzle, eyeing the heavy trees off to the side, and thought to myself, "Hmm, I probably better find a building or something to tuck under, just in case it gets worse."

A few yards ahead I spotted the small overhang for the entrance to Park Grill, a nice restaurant tucked underneath Millennium Park. Connected to it was an un-air conditioned tiny alcove where people could wait for the restaurant, the to-go cafe, or go down some stairs to yet another subterranean parking lot.

Suddenly it thundered. LOUD. I got a text from Scott asking me if I was ok, and texted him back that it was time to get Sam out of the water and under cover. Lightening. More lightening. Louder thunder. The rain turned from a steady flow to a downpour, soaking the half of the stroller that wasn't covered by the overhang. I took the baby out of the stroller and held her close, watching people flee in from the rain and join me.

Scott came sauntering up, towel slung over his shoulders, umbrella covering him. Sam is dancing and jumping and leaping along behind him, not scared in the least by the loud sounds of thunder crashing overhead. We, along with the 30 some people that are also watching from the windows of the alcove, laugh and chuckle at how well dressed he is for the occasion. His joy is near contagious, until the rain somehow manages to pour down even HARDER, and three particularly loud cracks of lightening and thunder send all four of us into the airless, hot, crowded alcove.

Scott is holding a wiggly Sam, trying to contain him in the small space. The baby is fussy, of course, poor thing, and our stuff outside is getting drenched. We look at each other and Scott decides to see if we can get to our car from the door off the back of the alcove. He disappears, taking Sam with him.

Not two minutes after he leaves, all hell breaks loose. Literally. The sky turns green. The wind tries to blow over the massive tent outside. Trees are bent sideways. Tornado sirens. Huge lightening and crazy thunder. Emergency personnel come to the door, "Everyone remain calm. We need to get you underground immediately."

People are running in from the streets, tourists off the double decker buses covered in big plastic bag ponchos, party attendees from a private event in that tent across the sidewalk, panic in their eyes and stricken on their faces.

And I wait in the corner, holding the baby, trying to figure out what to do. Scott and a no-longer-smiling Sam return, fighting the flow of people-traffic hurrying down the cement staircase to the parking garage below.

"We can't get to our car from here, but let's load the kids in the stroller and walk them down the steps. Can't use the elevator in case the power goes out."

Um, ok. Because that makes sense. Because our stroller and the precious bread from Fox and Obel matters. But neither of us was thinking rationally at this point. You are just panicked and horrified at yourself for even being in the situation.

So we brave the wind and wheel the stroller into the alcove, strap the kids in and get ready to lift it when suddenly, the sirens stop. Two minutes pass, people start to come up again from underground, security personnel escort party goers back to the tent. It's still raining, still lightening and thundering, but evidently the dire threat has passed.

We look at each other again, trying to figure out what to do. Scott thinks we should run for it, try to make it to our car where I can feed the baby, we all can dry off and then head home as soon as we are able. I am dubious but unsure of what the right course of action is. The baby is miserable, crying, and Sam is getting cold. I hand him a hunk of soggy baguette and he begs for the oatmeal raisin walnut cookie instead.

"Ok, let's do it," I say.

As we wheel the cumbersome stroller out the door, I hear an older woman mutter under her breath to her companion, "I wouldn't take MY children out into that for anything." I cannot even describe the shame and utter fear that swept over me in that moment. But we soldiered on.

Pulling the flaps down over the kids as low as they'll go, Scott attempted to keep the umbrella over them as we ran. I'm sprinting, trying to decide where the safest path lies as almost constant thunder and lightening play overhead. Do we weave our way through the line of metal sculptures? Hmm, no. Do we run by the block-long pool of water sandwiched by two towers? Hmm, no again. What are we doing?! The rain is like a waterfall, difficult to see in, drenching and heavy.

And then. AND THEN, just as we decide to run out to the street and race along Michigan to our parking lot entrance, the tornado sirens go off again.

If I had felt fear before, THIS was something else. They were unbelievably loud, echoing off the sky scrapers around us. I glanced around in a panic, we are the only people in sight. EVERYONE else is under shelter. "WHAT. ARE. WE. DOING?!?!?!?!?!!?" I scream at Scott in a mindless panic. We're about halfway to our car lot, do we turn around or keep going?

"You can do it, come on honey!" Scott shouts at me, and we sprint and sprint, running as fast as we can. I am regretting all the gear that I packed earlier in the day, to say the least. Breathless, I am regretting many things at this point.

We at last pull up to yet another alcove and there are 30 more people standing there watching us wheel our stroller in through the doorway. With trepidation I raise Sam's stroller covering, his feet are sitting in a deep pool of water. He beams out at us, causing a ripple of laughter to flow over the watching crowd. I raise the flap on my FOUR MONTH OLD BABY. Her face is a different story and will haunt me for a long time to come. Praise God she will have no memory of this, except for this blog post which I may end up deleting out of shame. Poor sweet thing.

We make our way down to the car, take a deep breath and regroup. I feed the baby. We change Sam into dry clothes. We eat some of our picnic. Or Scott and Sam eat, I can't swallow past the massive lump of guilt sitting in my throat. We decide it's ok to head home.

And then we sit. In traffic. For two and a half hours. Because we deserve it for being Worst Parents of the Year.

It was a horrible experience, but we learned from it. I can honestly say that was the first time I'd checked the weather and had the outcome be worse then what was predicted.

We were going on past experience. But I won't run that chance again with babies on my watch, that's for sure.

Tunnel of Fudge chocolate cake

2010-06-30T15:02:00.005-05:00

I made this cake yesterday for some family and thought it turned out great, despite the fact that I mostly baked the tunnel right out of it...I was nervous about under-doing it. Shouldn't have been, I'd eat this thing raw. Ohhhh delicious, especially with the cream cheese glaze on top. Ignore the sad attempt at a picture, I was running out of time.

Tunnel of Fudge Chocolate Cake
1/2 cup boiling water
2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, broken in a few pieces (I like Valhrona)

2 cups flour
2 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup good quality cocoa powder, dutch processed
1 tsp. table salt

2 & 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened (Just call me Ina)
1 cup white sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 TB. good vanilla
5 large eggs, room temp

1 recipe cream cheese glaze

Adjust oven rack to lower middle position. Preheat to 350 degrees. Spray a 12 cup bundt can well with Pam.

Whisk the boiling water and chocolate together in a small bowl until melted and smooth. Let cool slightly.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, powdered sugar, cocoa and salt together.

In a mixer, beat on medium the butter, white and brown sugars and vanilla until light and fluffy, about 3-6 min. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until combined, about 1 minute. Beat in the chocolate mixture until combined, about 30 seconds. Reduce speed to low and add the flour mixture. Beat slowly JUST until incorporated.

Scrape batter into prepared bundt pan and smooth the top. Give it a tap on the counter to settle it. Bake cake until edges pull away from the sides of the pan and the top feels springy. (That never happened in my case.) Check it at 40 min, may take 45 minutes. Don't try to use a toothpick, if you are doing it right, the center will still be wet, just like an underdone cake.

Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes, then flip it over. Cool it completely before adding a glaze.

Cream Cheese Glaze
1 & 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 TB. cream cheese, softened
3 TB. milk
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/8 tsp. table salt

Combine ingredients together in a small bowl, beat until smooth. Drizzle it over the cooled cake. Let it set for 25 minutes before serving.

I'm sure this cake will keep really well, you could easily make it a day or two in advance and refrigerate.
Recipe based off of Cook's Illustrated

Small Daily Happenings

2010-06-28T16:15:00.003-05:00

Things we've enjoyed this summer thus far:

1) Hanging out by the downtown fountain, throwing in pennies, dipping our heads in on a hot day and picking morning glory flowers and handing them out to people.

2) The French Market every Saturday!

3) Sam being obessesed with "driving da car." Scott lets him sit in his driver's seat and push all the buttons. We've inadvertantly honked the horn at ungodly hours of the morning...so sorry dear neighbors!

Tiger Lilies

2010-06-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

The lilies along the (death-trap) west side of our house are blooming! All this rain has the garden completely taking off, many perennials are taller then I am!

Makin' Lemonade

2010-06-23T13:38:00.003-05:00

It's been edging 90 degrees with sopping wet humidity and rain this whole week. Today started off with a thunderstorm, rain scheduled all day long.

What to do, what to do all day inside with my infant and three year old...we decided to strap Charlotte in the Baby Bijorn, grab our umbrellas and go find puddles.

It was a lovely 45 minutes and it'd been way too long since the last time I had jumped in some muddy water myself.

Oh. MY. lord.

2010-06-22T16:10:00.003-05:00

WHAT IS that?!?!?!?!

I just came in from getting the mail on our front porch (BAREFOOT) and narrowly missed stepping on this, this, rhino of a bug. Anyone know what he is? What shall I do with him? Flip him over with a stick and let him continue on his merry way? Squish him? Ohh, I don't think I can handle the crunch he'd make.

Can someone come over and take care of it for me? Anyone? Anyone?

Scott has something to look forward to now when he gets home from his golf outing today. Heh.

Chubby Baby at the Pool

2010-06-20T14:18:00.005-05:00

Please ignore my Bert-like (from Bert and Ernie) voice, when will I learn to say less on videos? I certainly don't want to hear myself and I imagine no one else does either. :)

Side note, the last week has been a tough one, Charlotte decided she no longer preferred to take a bottle, leading us to a hellish battle every time we tried to give her one. I am reluctant to just go cold turkey with it, since I don't have a deadline of going back to work...it's just for my own sanity and the knowledge that Scott and I can get away if we need to at some point in the next 8 months. Here's hoping she gets over it at some point. If she doesn't, as one wise friend pointed out, "You'll blink your eyes and she'll be one." We'll cope.

Scott did tell her after a rough 45 minutes on Saturday that we were drawing up the adoption papers. Charlotte dear, don't believe him.

Come on Over...

2010-06-17T14:45:00.002-05:00

The black raspberries are ripening!
Just for good measure, we've got some Kafir Limes and Meier Lemons too, after three years of coaxing the trees through hard Illinois winters they are producing!

Now if I can only keep Sam from picking everything before it's ripe.

Abandon is...

2010-06-15T14:45:00.002-05:00

...a fearless three year old and a big boy diving board.

I love his pointed toes and the expression on the lifeguard's face. We had an awesome, if cloudy and sporadically rainy, Sunday afternoon combined birthday party with all Sam's cousin's at Medinah.

Some Reason's Not to Take a Nap

2010-06-15T14:36:00.003-05:00

"I not seeeeepy."
"I need a drink of water."
"It NOT time to take a nap."
"See Mom, it not dark out yet!"

And my personal favorite,
"But I have a bad dream coming up!"

Great Sermon

2010-06-15T14:25:00.002-05:00

If you have time and a cold Frappichino from your fridge to sip on, listen to this sermon from our church this past Sunday. We had a guest speaker who was great, awesome message about what True Christianity is about.
http://www.lightsource.com/ministry/running-to-win/

Training of the Potty

2010-06-10T14:13:00.005-05:00

Well, it's been a week.

Seven days ago we began potty training with Sam. It has been a long, house-bound, interesting week. I've only been "peeped" on once. Only had to wash out poopy underwear twice. That's still two times too many. The kid is a champ, he totally loves going on the big potty now, and will chase me down, asking if he can go, in order to earn yet another jelly belly. We have consumed countless number of candies, I hate to see what the dentist will say when he goes later this year. One thing at a time though.

Seems like he's got it (knock on wood), much to my relief. I jumped the gun (just alittle, ha) with trying earlier. Sam still wears a diaper at night and during naps, but for the most part we now have only one child in diapers. What will I do with all that extra money each month? Started by buying myself Ad Hoc at Home and reading 60 pages of it during naptime.

Happy Potty Training to me. I deserve it.

A Sam-ism for today

2010-06-08T16:16:00.003-05:00

Just heard in our kitchen:

"Sam, come here, let me wipe your face, sweetie." After he pounded down a chocolate yogurt and had it all around his mouth.

He runs in the opposite direction, launches himself onto our couch and proceeds to rub his face into the cushions.

"Sam, get your bum over here RIGHT NOW." (Spoken in a firm, slightly raised tone.) "One....Two............three."

And he's there, standing in front of me by three. I wipe his upturned face and he says, "You really good at your numbers Mom!"

First Annual Pool Trip!

2010-06-06T15:18:00.002-05:00

We hit the pool at Medinah, Memorial Day Sunday, after a loooonnnngggggg winter of Sam asking, "'Member the pool? 'Member da diving board?" And sure enough, with no hesitation he marched his newly-turned-three legs up to the big diving board, crawled right up there, and jumped right in. Over and over and over again. We couldn't get him away! Finally Scott had to move to the side and that little guy did it all by himself, straight down into the water.

Charlotte was a champ. By 5:30 pm the sun had moved low enough where she could enjoy the warm water with the rest of us. She LOVED it. Not quite sure what she thinks of a bathing suit though. I think she wants more ruffles. Thank you Mary for the adorable swim suit! She would have stayed in the water with me for hours.

A lovely evening and a great way to use our post nap time. Looking forward to many more days like this, Lord willing.

A Lovely Weekend

2010-06-06T15:08:00.000-05:00

Grace just left, having driven down from Ann Arbor Friday night. I feel like it wasn't nearly a long enough visit, but we both have responsibilities at home and cannot pretend we are still the girls who run to catch trains in Geneva, Switzerland, sit in coffee shops journaling about our angst, and eat ice cream three times a day with no thought to our 22 year old hips.

She is a dear friend and it was so much fun to drive into the city on a torrentially raining Saturday morning to enjoy breakfast at our favorite spot, Fox and Obel. That's the breakfast burrito with potatoes, a double baked almond croissant and a caramel latte, in case you wondered. It was luxerious to just SIT. Finish our sentences. Eat a meal uninterrupted and savor the taste of the food. Wander the store aimlessly. Laugh at how ditzy I've become, feeling like the baby is somehow taking all my brain cells. Shop on Michigan Ave. Lust over the iPad at the Apple Store. Suck down a papaya lime juice from Rick Bayless's XoCo. And...much to Sam's jealous amazement, make friends with the giant, Lego Woody at the Lego Store on Michigan. His little heart is breaking, believing that Woody is cheating on Bo Peep with Grace.

Just kidding. Thanks for coming Grace, someday we will be able to go farther, for longer. I'll take what I can get for now.

Tap House Grill in Glen Ellyn

2010-06-06T14:54:00.003-05:00

Scott and I recently discovered this awesome little gem and have been four times in the last two months. I figured it was time to write about it. It is our favorite spot for a quiet date night together, and the menu is chock full delicious, well made, bar food.
Each month they run a drink, appetizer and meal special for an ungodly cheap price. The Berry Cosmo was last month's drink and it was delicious.

Don't be scared off as you enter in off Main Street, the first room is a dark bar with high tops. Check in with the hostess at the back of that area and keep walking back...further back...to the large, warmly lit room with booths. If you are really in the know, you'll as for a table out on the patio, under the massive flowering tree with twinkly lights in it. Can't beat the atmosphere on a warm summer's night.

Items that we've loved off their menu: Meatball panini
Mini bbq pork sliders
Mini kobe beef burger sliders
THE PORK NACHOS. Oh. My. Goodness.
Tater tots, tater tots, tater tots! Don't bother with the fries, they're pretty pedestrian
The warm chocolate cake is to die for, surprisingly.
The apple flatbread
And the carrot cake. You won't want to share any of that frosting but you should

Next on my list to try: the Homemade Kit Kat (homemade chocolate mousse layered with peanut butter wafer cookies)
The Adobo Chicken wrap with TOTS

Have a I sold you? Go enjoy a date with your someone for about $35- two meals and two drinks. Save room for dessert and ask early about the Kit Kat, they sell out quickly.

Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes

2010-06-01T15:37:00.007-05:00

Ok, so folks. I have made this recipe twice in the past week and can't get enough of it. Costco sells 16 oz. of super jumbo lump crab meat for $13.99 a can. Seriously! And it feeds four to five adults, or even more! I made 8 huge crabcakes out of this recipe and gave two to each person, it was a ton of food. Based off of Ina Garten's recipe, I doubled the meat, and tweaked it in a few other spots. It is a commitment to make, the dicing takes a good 20 min, but you can make the entire dish ahead of time, cool them to room temp, freeze them in a ziplock bag, and then reheat in a 350 degree oven when you are ready! Again, seriously! So stinking good.

Jumbo Lump Crabcakes
2 TB. olive oil
1 & 1/2 cups small diced celery
2 shallots, diced small
1/2 cup small diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup small diced yellow bell pepper (or orange, whatever)
1/4 tsp. Tabasco sauce
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning
1 tsp. kosher salt
3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 lb. lump crabmeat, rinsed, drained, and gently picked through to remove any shells
1/2 cup plain dry bread crumbs (Trader Joe's recently started carrying these, they're great)
1/4 cup minced fresh flat leaf parsley
1/2 cup good mayo (I like the new organic one at Trader Joe's)
The zest and juice from one lime
2 tsp. Dijon mustard
3 eggs

For Frying: 4 TB. butter
1/4 cup olive oil

Heat a large skillet (great time to use your cast iron pan), and place 2 TB. of olive oil, the shallots, celery, bell peppers, tabasco, Worcestershire, Old Bay, salt and pepper in it. Cook over medium low heat until vegetables are soft, about 15 min. Cool to room temperature. In a large bowl, mix mayo, bread crumbs, mustard, lime juice and zest, parsley and eggs together. Gently fold in the crabmeat. Add the cooked vegetables and mix gently. Chill bowl in the fridge for about 30 min.

Wipe down your skillet with a paper towel and melt 4 TB. butter with 1/4 cup olive oil. With your hands, shape crab mixture into about 1/3-1/2 cup patties and ease gently into the hot butter and oil. Cook them over medium low heat, keeping a close eye on how dark they are getting. I find it easiest to use two spatulas, to help press and keep them in their shapes and to lift them out. Cook for about 6-8 min, until browned. Drain on paper towels, keep them warm in a 250 degree oven and serve hot. OR, cool to room temp, stick in a ziplock bag and freeze until you want them. When you're ready, place on a jelly roll pan and heat until warmed through in a 350 degree oven.

Makes 8-10 large crab cakes

Mustard Lime Cream Sauce
1/2 cup sour cream
1/3 cup good mayo
2 tsp. dijon mustard
1 TB. champagne vinegar
the zest and juice of one lime
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper

So much of this sauce is to taste, I made it up after Anna mentioned one they made at Moveable Feast. I started with 1/4 tsp. salt and kept adding a little more until it started to taste right. Same thing with the vinegar, mustard and lime juice. Good luck. It's worth the hassle, so yummy.

Playing Around

2010-06-01T15:32:00.003-05:00

So I finally bit the bullet. Broke down last week and bought an SLR, Nikon 3000. It's taken me practically all of the holiday weekend to read the manuel through and then figure out how to use some of the settings. Charlotte was very patient on Saturday, to a point. Looking forward to playing around some more...