Halloween 2008

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

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

Pensive and flirtatious.

Sorry for the absence...

I've been a little tied up.

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

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

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

A Momentous Occasion: The Barbershop with Great Grandpa

Today Sam went for his first "Man" cut at Sheridan's Barbershop, after our weekly family date at Starbucks this morning.  We've been waving and walking by these barbers since Sam was born, seeing as they're located right beside the local Starbucks.  

Great Grandpa also needed a haircut, so we decided to have a four generation span in the two chairs.  Unfortunately my dad missed out, needing to be at work in the city.

Sam helps Barber Mark with the brush, maintaining a mouthful of fruit snacks all the while.

Immediately after the flash went off in this picture, Sam burst into a glorious smile.  Thanks a lot Buddy.
How blessed and happy we are to have our precious family so close by for memories like these!  A perfect Friday morning.

Happy Fall from Sonny Acres!

Our family had a fun outing last weekend amongst the pumpkins, ponies, chickens, and caramel apples at Sonny Acres Farm.  It was a sweltering day though, much to my disgust.  You can almost make out the beads of sweat on Sam's glistening forehead.

Worth-the-Hassle, Wow-Your-Friends, German Chocolate Cake

This, my friends, is a serious cake for people who are serious about their desserts.   Fortunately enough, it is not seriously hard to make, just requiring one extra step beyond a normal scratch cake.  I and my entire family can vouch that it is worth your time.

Mindblowingly Good German Chocolate Cake (From Kathleen King's must-have cookbook, Tate's Bake Shop) yields either two 10 inch layers or three 9 inch layers

4 oz. Baker's German Sweet Chocolate

1/2 cup canned cream of coconut (Coco Lopez is the brand)

2 cups flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup salted butter, softened to room temp

1 1/4 cups sugar

4 large eggs, separated

2 tsp. good vanilla extract

1 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour three 9 inch rounds or two 10 inch rounds.  Microwave chopped chocolate and cream of coconut until melted and smooth, about a minute or two.  Stir well to combine.  Set aside to cool.

Mix together flour, salt and baking soda in a small bowl, set aside.

In a mixer, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl often.  Beat in the vanilla.  Stir in melted chocolate mixture and mix until combined.

Add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk to the chocolate mixture, ending with the dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites to a soft peak.  Do this right before you are ready to use them.  Fold 1/4 of the egg whites into the cake mixture.  Fold in the remaining egg whites.

Divide the batter among the prepared pans.  Bake for 25 minutes, or until the edges start to pull away from the sides and the center feels springy to the touch.

Cool for 10 minutes in the pan and turn it out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.  Spread the frosting evenly between layers, the sides do not get iced.

German Chocolate Cake Frosting 

1 cup butter

2 cups evaporated milk (About a can and a half)

6 large egg yolks, lightly beaten

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

2 cups shredded sweetened coconut

1 cup pecans (I buy the salted and toasted ones from Trader Joe's)

In a small saucepan stir together the butter, milk, egg yolks and sugar.  Cook the ingredients over low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens and is golden brown, about 15 minutes.  Add vanilla.  Remove from heat.  Cool it completely.  Taste for salt and add a bit if you need to.

Stir in pecans and coconut.

If you make this icing in advance, store it in a plastic container with a lid and bring it to room temp before icing the cake.

Sam wins friends, influences people with new helmet

"Hey guys, what's up?  Do you like my cool hat?"

"Wait, what do you mean 'it's not a hat'?"
"So you're saying I don't look cool?"

Awwwww man.

Squirrel Deterrent for your Pumpkins

Are you being driven NUTS (no joke intended) by little furry friends who are nibbling away at your hard won gourds and pumpkins?  Then listen up my friend, for I have an answer for you.

Spray Lacquer.  Yep.  That's it.  I buy my pumpkins, wash them off well, dry them in the sun and then spray them from top to bottom with Liquid/Spray Shellac or Laquer from your local hardware store.

I'm not sure why, but it seems to work like a charm.  Last year I'd get the odd bite here or there, but for the most part squirrels seemed to detest the taste of it.

If, however, you're trying to salvage indian corn outside, you're on your own.  There's no hope for the likes of you.

Chicken Stock Overload

I don't really know how or why this happened, but somehow I ended up with EIGHT quarts of homemade chicken stock in my deep freeze out in the garage.  I can feel a serious bout of soups coming on: white chicken chili, butternut squash apple, beef chili....

My Chicken Stock (a compilation of several recipes, based off Ina Garten's)

3 carcasses of roasting chickens, and any other chicken parts you want to throw in (breasts on the bone, necks, whatever.  You can freeze the chicken carcasses after you've eaten the meat, then just defrost them all when you're ready to make the stock.)

2 large onions, unpeeled and quartered

1 leek, top and bottom trimmed, cut in half and washed out well, quartered

4 stalks celery with leaves, cut into thirds

6 carrots, washed, unpeeled, cut in half

20 sprigs of fresh parsley

1 TB. whole black peppercorns

15 sprigs fresh thyme

1 head of garlic, unpeeled and cut in 1/2 crosswise

1 TB. kosher salt

3 quarts of your favorite store-bought chicken stock (I like Trader Joe's)

4 quarts of water

Place the chickens, onions, leeks, celery, carrots, parsley, garlic and salt into a 16 to 20 quart stockpot.  Place the peppercorns and thyme sprigs into a tea ball or cheesecloth pouch and add to the pot.  (It keeps the peppercorns from floating at the top and thereby getting skimmed off.)  Add the 3 quarts of chicken stock to the pot, then the water...enough water that it covers the ingredients, could be a little more or less then 4 quarts.  Bring to a boil, once boiling, turn heat down to a simmer.  Skim off the gray foam that comes to the top in the first 30 minutes, the more you skim the junk off, the clearer your stock will be at the end.  Simmer uncovered for 4 hours.

Strain the entire contents of the pot through a colander and discard the solids.  Chill the stock overnight.  The next day, remove the surface fat.  Use within a day or two, or pack into containers or ziplock bags and freeze for up to 3 months.  

Magic

I just discovered that popcorn works magic.  

Sam is finally at the age where he can eat it without choking himself.  I popped one of the 100 calorie bags and stuck it all in a ziplock bag to bring with to Costco.

60 glorious minutes later...Sam was sitting happily in the cart, reaching into the bag, eating his popcorn kernel by kernel while I strolled the isles, lazily shopping through the clothes and even getting a head start on Christmas shopping.

Thank you dear Jesus for popcorn.

Anyone need a knife block?

Random, I know, but I just bought a bigger one that finally fits all my knives.  If anyone has a good home for an 8 slot beechwood knife block, let me know.

A First Taste of Spaghetti

I think he liked it.  :)

Awww, come ON!

You might tell me I'm out of my mind, but I got immediately crabby when I pulled up the weather for this week and saw that it's supposed to be in the 80's until Friday.  

GEEZ. 

Even Google has gone Fall on me today, why can't I be wearing jeans and enjoying my down comforter??  

Sam attempts to dribble

I love his throaty, wild chuckle as he tries to bounce the ball.  What fun these sweet days are!

The Arboretum

Thought this moth was strikingly pretty when we were enjoying a gorgeous day at the Arboretum with our cousins.  That's all.

A Delicious Taste of Paris at the French Market

I bit into a pain au chocolat at the French Market on Saturday and was completely transported back to the streets of Paris.  This croissant was The. Same.  Just as good as anything we'd ever had in France, and loads better then any others here in the States.  Flakey, buttery layers that dissolve on your tongue and a fascinating chocolate "goo" in the inside that you just can't get enough of.
Ironically enough, it's one of the cheaper treats at the market, made by french nuns (not even kidding) at a bakery out of Elmhurst, I believe.  Only $2.35 for this baby.  Stop by their booth in the southern row of the French Market some Saturday morning and treat yourself to a taste of heaven.  

Happy Fall, from our house

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am in full FALL mode here.  We've had multiple evenings in the 40's now and you know what that means....fires in the fireplace!

Yeah, you know you wish you were here, cuddled up on the couch with a glass of red wine in your hand.

What would you do with 150 individually wrapped Snickerdoodles?

My little friend Eva is running for 8th grade class president.  Sam and I thought we'd aid her efforts with a blatantly devious plan to bribe the junior highers with food.  We'll know later today if it worked.  

Snickerdoodles (adapted from Gale Gand's recipe)

For the topping: 3 TB sugar & 1/2 tsp. cinnamon or your own cinnamon sugar, to taste

3 1/2 cups flour

1 TB. baking powder

2 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup unsalted butter, softened

2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

1 TB. light corn syrup

2 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

To make cookie dough, stir together the dry ingredients.  In a mixing bowl with the paddle attachment, cream the butter.  Add the sugar and continue to mix, adding the eggs one at a time and blending well.  Add corn syrup and vanilla.  Gently mix in the dry ingredients and mix until well blended.  Chill the dough for 1 hour.  

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Roll balls of dough into the size of a walnut and then roll them in cinnamon sugar a few times until well coated.  Place on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper and bake for 8-9 minutes, rotating tray halfway through baking.  

You can also form the balls, roll them in cinnamon sugar and place on a rimmed baking sheet and freeze until hard.  Then place all the balls in a ziplock bag and keep in the freezer, baking them normally, just out of the freezer as you need them.

CSA #7

This week we got the best tomato I've ever eaten (on a whole wheat toasted bagel, smeared with organic cream cheese, kosher salt and pepper), asian pears, peppers, an acorn squash, kohlrabi, greens and more kale.  Oh, and a garlic too.

Thankful

I am so thankful today.  Thankful that everyone is safe, except for the poor man who decided that life wasn't worth living anymore.

Thankful for golf, that kept Scott out of the office yesterday when a gunman disarmed a cop, ran into Wheaton Bank and took all 12 of the employees and a few customers in the lobby hostage.  From 1:30 pm until about 4:45 pm the whole city held its breath, waiting and watching to see what he would do.  Swat teams from the FBI and the County, strange looking green tanks and helicopters descended around the building.  All trains were shut down coming to and from Wheaton.

Thankful for Ruth Carlson, another senior commercial lender in the bank with Scott, who courageously and fearlessly talked the gunman into letting people go one by one, until he was left with just two, my cousin Christian and another woman named Kim.

Thankful for the incredible chain of prayer that started almost immediately...we and our family were receiving calls, emails and facebook messages from people all over the globe saying that they were praying right then.  

Thankful that everyone got out safe and unharmed, and that no one had to witness that final shot.

Thankful that day is over.  

Please pray for the family of Mr. Long, he had two little children (4 and 2) and a wife who are left to pick up the pieces.  And for the employees who lived through this ordeal and have to go back to work on Tuesday.

Yes, that is Scott up there in this photo from today's Chicago Tribune, and my cousin Christian is hugging Ruth, after finally making it out of there.

Ahem.

Confession time.  

It's a rainy day out here, gray skies and a high of 64 degrees.  Good thing I pulled out all our fall decorations back on August 21st, so I was READY.

But I'm standing on a slippery slope here.  After getting home from Bible Study today I put Nat King Cole on our iPod and let it pick out songs from everything he's done.  The first five ones were from his Christmas Song album.  

And I?  I did not turn it off.  In fact I can still hear it from here, "silent night, holy night..."

How can something so wrong feel so right?  

Don't tell anyone but I may even make a fire tonight for when Scott comes home.

Sweet and Sour Tempura Chicken

Ok folks, just got up from a super easy, SUPER delicious dinner tonight and I had to tell someone.  

Trader Joe's makes Tempura Chicken with a pineapple sweet and sour sauce in their frozen section.  For $6.99 (the bag easily fed two of us) it was BETTER then the PF Chang's we had last night.  Insanely good.  Crispy, flavorful, chicken breast that baked up on a cookie sheet, and then the sauce was finger-lickin' good.  

I paired it with Trader Joe's Asian Salad mix (mandarin oranges, wontons, spring greens and almonds) and it was divine.  You could just as easily toss the chicken with pineapple chunks and bell peppers and serve it atop some jasmine rice.

Had to share the love.  This may be my new favorite meal.  Scott also asked that it be added to the rotation.

A Future Interior Designer?

So the other day, I pulled out all our fall decorations during Sam's morning nap.  His eyes were like saucers when he woke up and saw all the various pumpkins, gourds, leaves and candles strewn about the house.  I knew we'd run into issues the first time he wanted to play with them, of course, so I was ready to calmly explain that these were not toys and that he needed to be gentle with them.

For about the next half hour Sam would pick up a pumpkin, bring it over to me in the kitchen, and show it to me, like, "Look what I found!!"  I told him to go put it back, and that it wasn't a toy.  

It wasn't until later when I saw how he'd neatly arranged them.  It cracked me up for some reason.  

Our Own Little Garden of Eden

He'll kill me for this when he's older.  In our defense, we were treating a massive case of diaper rash.

A Transitionary Soup

So our evenings this past week have been cool, like 53 degree cool.  I am loving it, needless to say, and am entirely on board with fall being around the corner.  This month's Everyday Food featured a bunch of broccoli recipes, one of which was this Broccoli Corn Chowder Soup.  After doubling the veggies and adding some grated sharp white cheddar cheese, it was delicious.  Comes together in just one pot, and only takes about 25 minutes to prepare and cook. 

Broccoli Chowder with Corn and Potatoes (adapted from Everyday Food Sept '08)

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 cup flour

2 (14.5 oz) cans chicken broth (or one quart of homemade chicken stock, it's the best)

3 white potatoes, or Yukon Golds, washed well and diced

2 heads of broccoli, cut into bite-sized florets, stalks peeled and thinly sliced

10 oz. frozen corn (the frozen corn from Costco is awesome, only $5 for a massive bag)

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

2 cups whole milk

1-2 cups grated sharp white cheddar

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

In a large pot, cook onion in a few TB. olive oil until it begins to soften, about 6-8 minutes.  Add garlic, cook one more minute being careful not to burn it.  Add flour, stirring constantly, cook for about 30 seconds.  Add broth and potato, bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer and cook until potato is tender, about 10 minutes.  Add broccoli, corn, thyme, and milk; cook until broccoli is crisp-tender, 8-10 minutes.  Add cheese and salt and pepper to taste.

CSA #6

This week the haul was a little light, supposedly due to the cooler weather we've been having.  Tomatoes, purple beans, squash, cucumbers, one head of garlic, kale, cabbage and tiny tiny potatoes.

An Ode to Summer Fruit

Sour Cherries at the French Market...

Breathtakingly delicious strawberries from a small farm down in Murphysboro, IL.  I've never tasted better.

Looking at these pictures just makes me happy.  Thought I'd share the joy.

A Dream Night in the City

So how lucky were WE back in June when my husband's boss and friend asked us to join he and his wife for pizza, fireworks and a ride down the Chicago River on a private yacht back in June.  I can't believe it's taken me this long to write about it, because it ended up being one of the highlights of our summer.

It was the perfect night: cool and crisp, not a cloud in the sky.  I don't even think we hit traffic driving downtown, magical from the start.

It was a really fun group, three couples in all, dressed warmly in fleeces against the breeze from the lake.  This boat even came with it's own friendly captain, Dan.
For me, the ultimate highlight of the evening was when one of my husband's customers asked, "What's for dessert?"  None of us had thought to bring anything, but LUCKILY we just HAPPENED to be a few blocks from the most fabulous place in town for brownies, tarts, cookies, cakes and more...Fox and Obel.
I offered (of COURSE) to hop out (well, scramble up a wooden wall, totally undignified-like, was more like it...good thing I wore jeans) while they docked the boat illegally at Dick's Last Resort and waited for me to come back with a variety of desserts.  Scott's cash was burning a hole in my pocket and I literally had an adrenaline rush going as I surveyed the plethora of treats sitting in front of me at that amazing grocery store.  
We cruised up and down the river, gazing at the beautifully lit buildings.  I felt like a rock star, perched on the bow of the boat, watching the city slowly float by.

We ended the evening out on the lake, anchored for a perfect view of the skyline and then the fireworks that are shot off at Navy Pier every Wednesday and Saturday nights in the summertime.  

What a night.

Sweet, sweet days

The weather has been so unbelievably gorgeous these past couple days, it's hard to stay inside and think of amusing blog entries.  

We've spent our days wandering the town, eating picnic breakfasts by the fountain, going to the pool for the last week of the year, entertaining one of Sam's "girlfriends" for a playdate here at the house, and finally cooking yummy dinners again after our bout with the stomach flu.  

I'm sure I'll be inspired once again in September, when it's finally legal to be publicly obsessed with gourds and pumpkins, but for now I'm going to go read in the warm sunshine.

Facebook

Ok.  I held out for a LONG time.  But two days ago I finally caved due to enormous peer pressure and created a profile.  Scott thinks I am obsessed and wants to put limits on my computer time.  I told him no, that it's only in the beginning while I try and load photos and make friends...sigh.

I feel very very old.  Trying to upload photos, look at peoples profiles and IM a buddy in high school all at the same time while understanding something like DWRHTGTTA.  (Do we really have to go through this again?) made me feel each and every of my 30 years.  Yikes, I've got some catching up to do.

Fall?

Sam and I were out for our morning walk around town today when my ears perked up.  

There was that sound, the sound I long for during the dog days of August: the wind blowing crunchy fallen leaves across the street.  We even saw a tree yesterday that started turning colors.  And the breeze even smelled different today, call me crazy.  I know my friend Anna will groan, but we can't wait.  Down comforters on the bed with the windows cracked, butternut squash risotto, and cozy evenings listening to Nat King Cole while reading by the fire...here I come!  I don't dare admit to you that yes, I did pull out all the gourds and fall decorations yesterday.  Just don't tell anyone.  Even earlier then last year.

Little Buddy and I had a Chai Latte at Starbucks in anticipatory celebration.  

The "Sick Pukes"

So our household is dealing with, what my friend Amy calls "the sick pukes."  Applicable name, but doesn't quite fully describe the utter agony of what Scott and I are going through.  Good news, I dropped those last five pounds of baby weight.

Bad news, I'll gain it all back tomorrow or when I start eating again.  I can only hope that Sam doesn't pick it up, poor guy.

Blueberry Nectarine Cobbler

It is high season for juicy nectarines, peaches and berries, what better way to put them to use then in a warm cobbler, fresh out of the oven with Hagaan Daz vanilla ice cream on top?  Not many, in my opinion.

Blueberry Nectarine Cobbler

8 large, ripe nectarines, peeled and sliced

2 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup cinnamon sugar

2 TB. water

1/4 tsp. almond extract, optional

1 cup flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

6 TB. unsalted butter, cold

Arrange nectarine slices in the bottom of a 9X13 glass pan.  Top with blueberries.  Pour cinnamon sugar, water and almond extract over top, mix well with clean hands.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar and salt.  Cut in cold butter with pastry blender until well blended.  Sprinkle evenly over fruit.  Bake in preheated 350 oven for about 50 minutes.  Serve warm or room temperature with vanilla ice cream.

May substitute peaches, raspberries or even pears in the fall.  Serves 8 to 10 people.

All dressed up for church

These two totally matched today, I think Sam planned out his outfit with that in mind.  Too cute.

Happy Birthday honey!  I hope you loved your little surprises and your yummy dinner at Morton's.  We love you so much.

Ducks

"I wonder what those are?"  "How do they float?"  "How would they taste if I put one in my mouth?"  "Does my outfit match my shoes?"  "Can I take my sandal off and chew on it?"  

"Where's it going?"  "What's that smell?"  "Wait, did you say, me?" 
I just couldn't resist putting some of his thoughts out there for the world to see.  One lovely day at the Children's Zoo.

Minocqua 2008

I never really got around to writing much or taking many pictures of this year's family vacation. Suffice it to say, there were no bat sightings or naked brothers (and their children) running down to the lake.  Ahem.  There were, however, daily outings to the local coffee shop for hot, freshly baked muffins as big as Sam's head.  And lots of time playing with seven cousins (under the age of six) until collapsing into our pack and play in the closet each night, far past normal bedtime.

And chocolate frozen custard.
And Sam's first attempt at playing baseball.  He missed, but had a grand time trying.

CSA Box #5, I forgot to document #4...

I am sure you all were devastated.

This week we have two tomatoes, red and white radishes, cabbage, a huge head of garlic, six ears of candy-sweet corn, fingerling potatoes, a zucchini and two yellow squash.  The corn is already gone and the potatoes days are numbered.

I can smell the zucchini bread baking from here.

Soccer Stud

I just couldn't resist his single mindedness dribbling around and around and around the room, for 10 minutes straight. 

At least I know he's easily entertained.  

Pesto Pizza on the Grill

One of our favorite meals this summer has been pizza on the grill.  I make a triple batch of pizza dough at once, bake off the oval shaped crusts for 6 minutes in a very hot 450 degree oven (on a jelly roll pan well covered with corn meal), cut them in half and freeze the crusts in zip lock bags.  

From there, they can go straight onto the grill.  Grill one side for 4 minutes, turn over and cover with your favorite toppings (in this case, homemade pesto, provolone, tomatoes, sea salt and fresh pepper) and finish grilling until cheese is melted and crust is crispy.

Other topping ideas that require no cooking, only assembly:

1) Trader Joe's Pizza Sauce

    Mozzarella

    Frozen pineapple from Trader Joe's

    Boar's Head Tavern Ham

2) T. J.'s Pizza Sauce

     Mozzarella

     Fresh tomatoes

     Fresh basil

3) Pizza Sauce

     Mozzarella

     Boar's Head Pepperoni

4) Brush crust with olive oil or garlic olive oil

     Figs, pears, boursin or goat cheese

     Sliced red onion

2-A-Day

I really wish Starbucks would quit with this whole "Come back after 2 pm today and get any grande iced drink for $2!" campaign.  

I feel like a smoker..."Yeeah, I'm up to 2-a-day these days and really need to quit."  

Not, to say, that I am actually buying two drinks a day.  Just thinking about it.

Yikes!

Weeding around the hydrangeas today was a dangerous affair...gorgeous, isn't it?

The Ball Bin

If you look carefully, you'll notice we're keeping more then just balls in there.