Walkin' Man

These shoes may be the world's best idea...or the worst.  The pros: that I can hear him anywhere in the house.  (Or mall or park or wherever.)  The cons: the high pitched squeaking.

Random Money Saving Cooking Tip

If you are tempted to make this pie, as I am, did you know that you can use the straw from a sippy cup as a cherry pitter?  It works handily, just turn the cherry upside-down and push the pit out through the stem end.

Good to know, when you have a child that pounds down cherries as quickly as mine does.  Thus far, I've been biting them in half, one at a time, and peeling the pit out with my teeth.  Then I hand Sam the remaining fruit.  Gross.  I know.  But what's a mom to do?

A Day in the Life of Some Strawberries

Thank you Anna, for sharing the bounty of your handpicked strawberries.  Here is the story of what happened to them.

I decided these little fellas were screaming to be made into strawberry muffins, and this gem of a simple recipe needs more publicity.  It is just too good for me to hog.  Now normally folks, I am not into eating raw muffin batter.  Do yourself a favor and don't even taste this one...you won't be able to stop taking little swipes from the spatula.

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.

Like Father, Like Son

Family inside joke.  Don't worry, the can was empty.

Vanilla Marshmallows

In the interest of promoting summertime s'mores... head to your nearest Trader Joe's to load up on THESE.  They were better then homemade, great right out of the package.  Heaven, when combined with their cinnamon homemade graham crackers and a bar of 56% Valrhona chocolate.

CSA Box #1

Hip hip hooray!  CSA has started!

 For those of you not familiar with this wonderful concept, CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture.  You can buy a "share" of a farm's produce for a period of time, getting organic, local produce delivered right to your town.  My friend Anna the head baker and I are splitting one of Erehwon Farm's (located in Elburn, IL) boxes that are delivered every other week.

Yesterday was the first day we picked it up, just a few blocks from where our houses are.  We both squealed with delight when we saw the strawberries, tiny and bright red down at the bottom.  This week's haul included:

spicy mixed greens mix, swiss chard and spinach, sweet sugar snap peas, romaine lettuce, radishes, komatsuna and garlic scraps.

Anna made an amazing salad for dinner with chopped turkey, mixed greens and lettuce, ripe tomatoes, feta cheese and a balsamic vinaigrette.  We both ate our strawberries in secret, furtively unwilling to share with the rest of our families.  I will say that Scott didn't deserve any, after declaring to me he couldn't taste a difference between these and the store bought ones.

Sophie, if you read this today, you'll get an awesome salad for dinner tonight when you babysit, made from this produce and some caramelized pecans, Boar's Head turkey and whatever else sounds good.  

Check out the farm's website to see if it's something you'd be interested in.  The list of all the wonderful fruits and vegetables you get is there, along with directions to the farm if you want to buy local eggs, poultry, meat, grain, flowers and other plants.  I love the idea of knowing where my food comes from.  Plus, every third Saturday they have a party on the farm where you can visit, listen to a band play and pick strawberries/garlic/potatoes, play with Bucky the Farm Dog or lay in their hammock.

Time to go make some breakfast for me and Sam, too bad I ate all the strawberries last night. They would have been great on some french toast.

Sam goes to Kid Snips

I took a lot of crap from Scott for paying $22 for a haircut for an 11 month old, but these pictures were worth it.  I edited out a blue trickle of saliva trailing down his face from the package of fruit snacks he devoured in like 2 seconds.  

Welcome to suburbia

Sam wanted to visit the ponies again, we'd heard that one of the draft horses had her baby.  So glad we did!  It was fun to see such a new colt prancing around following his mother and rolling in the grass.  His name is Ike.

I love where we live.

The only salad recipe you'll need for this summer

Unless, of course, like my husband, you hate tomatoes.  (?!)
Search no further.  My Aunt Cindy's Tuscan Bread Salad is all you need to survive this summer.

We had it up at the lakehouse this weekend and I am trying to figure out how soon I can make it again.  So good, perfect summer flavors that shine with the tomato and basil, and the pizza crust that catches the dressing, sopping up all it's goodness.

Aunt Cindy's Tuscan Bread Salad

1  14-16 oz. Boboli pizza crust

1 to 1  1/4 cups water

4 TB. red wine vinegar, divided

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

anchovy paste, to taste

1/2 tsp. salt

2 ribs celery, diced

1 pint grape tomatoes, cut in half

1 small red onion, diced

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Broil the Boboli crust in the oven until brown on both sides.  Watch carefully so it doesn't burn.  When cool, cut into 1 inch squares and place in a large bowl.  Pour the water and 1 TB. of the vinegar over the bread, toss and let stand for 15 min.  Whisk together the remaining 3 TB. vinegar, salt and anchovy paste.  Add olive oil in a steady stream, whisk constantly.  Add celery, tomatoes and basil to the bread, toss well.  Add dressing over everything, toss again and serve.  

Lemon Cheesecake Tarts

So I made these little lemon cheesecake tarts for my cousin's bridal shower...they turned out pretty well judging by the amount of recipe requests thus far.  I thought I'd save myself some typing and just share it here.  This recipe originated over at Cooking Light, but I adjusted it.

Lemon Cream Cheese Cookie Cups            Yields 2 dozen approximately

Dough

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

1 tsp. vanilla

1 large egg

1 1/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

cooking spray

Filling

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. grated lemon rind

1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 large egg

8 oz. block of softened cream cheese

Topping

Homemade lemon curd (I used Ina Garten's from the Food Network's recipe.  Piece of cake)

 or store bought if you don't have time

Tiny mint leaves for garnish

To prepare dough, beat 1/2 cup sugar and butter at medium speed until light and fluffy.  Add vanilla and egg, beat well.  Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl and add to sugar/butter mixture.  Beat at low speed until well blended.  Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour, or freeze for 15 min.  Gently press dough into mini muffin tins coated with cooking spray.  Go as light as you can on the dough, it will puff up and swell as it cooks.  You want just enough dough to cover the muffin cup lightly.

Preheat oven to 350.  To prepare filling, beat 1/2 cup sugar and the next four ingredients in a mixer until smooth.  Spoon 1 TB. of filling into each prepared muffin cup.  Bake at 350 degrees for 23 minutes or until edges are brown and filling is set.  Remove cups from pans immediately, cool on a wire rack.  

At this point, the cookies will store well in the fridge for a couple days.  When you are ready to serve them, top with lemon curd and a mint leaf.

I know it looks complicated.  Believe me, it's worth the hassle.

Random Fact for the Day

Guess what color your child's poop will be the next day if you feed him two packages of blue fruit snacks.

In my defense, 1) they were made with all fruit juice and 2) it was the only thing that kept him still while he had SIX vials of blood drawn for allergy testing.  Poor little guy.

Happy Birthday Sam!

Oh how life has changed from one year ago.  Little did I know how much my heart itself would grow to contain the love I feel for you.  Thank you for adding immeasurable joy to our lives.  

I also forgive you for spreading your birthday banana bread all over yourself, your high chair and the floor.

Mother's Day

It was a mixed bag.  

Scott had told me late Saturday night that he hadn't gotten around to buying his cards yet, not to even speak of a gift, and needless to say, I'd been hoping for a little more on my first mother's day.  However, he really came through when it came down to letting me do what I wanted yesterday, starting out with a heart healthy breakfast at Starbucks as we made our way down to Moody Church in the pouring rain.  A warm apple fritter, a steaming caramel macchiato, AND a glazed donut made their way into our stomachs as Sam looked on with jealous eyes, slowly eating his banana.  I finally broke down and gave him a taste of fritter.  There was no going back to the banana after that.

Our church service was fantastic, I was moved to tears numerous times as we heard about a ministry in India that saves children out of prostitution rings and then the Children's Choir got up and sang as pictures of these beautiful tiny girls with hope shining in their eyes flashed across the screen.  The Moody Children sang this:

"My life flows on, in endless song, above earth's lamentation.

I hear the real (though far-off) hymn that hails a new creation.

Through all the tumult and the strife I hear the music ringing,

It sounds an echo in my soul - How can I keep from singing?

What if my joys and comforts die; I know that truth is living.

What, though darkness 'round me close?  Still truth - its light is giving.

No storm can shake my inmost calm while to that Rock I'm clinging.

Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing?

I lift my eyes, the cloud grows thin, I see the blue above it;

And, day by day this pathway smooths since first I learned to love it.

The peace from Christ makes fresh my heart, a song of hope is springing;

All things are mine since truth I've found, How can I keep from singing?"

Text by Robert Lowry, Traditional Quaker Tune

The words of this song resonated in my own heart, I felt hope too, and joy.

In case you were wondering, Scott redeemed himself by the end of the day, treating us to a huge brunch at Fox and Obel, helping out around the house without being asked or complaining and finally at 9:30 pm with two gorgeous cards that made me cry.  And a original poem that rhymed, from Sam.  

"Mommy,

Daddy says your day was yesterday and that it was his mistake! (evidently I wasn't supposed to find this card until today)

I promise it wasn't my fault, I think you're great.

The way you play with me and feed me bananas and pears--

and I love how you let me go up and down the stairs.

Anyways, Happy Mother's Day and having no card was Daddy's call--

I will make it up to you, you can play with my ball!

Sam"

I love my men.

What?

HOW is it May 12th?  So sorry that I've been non-existent these past weeks, but somehow I don't really think the internet missed me.  

We have been super busy with things that would bore you, but mostly preparations for Sam's two first birthday parties.  That and his FOUR molars that are driving us both crazy.  Poor guy.

Anywhoo, I've got some fun pictures to share when I get them uploaded finally.  Good to be back.

On that note

Another mouth related story.

We were up early this morning, little Buddy started making noise at 6:30 am.  The sun was out and the air was warm so we spent some time in the newly acquired baby swing and then headed to the mexican market for some produce (The best place around for veggies and fruit, the shelves are emptied every night and new stuff was being put out this morning.  Fennel, all kinds of beautiful baby greens, red peppers for .99 cents a lb...)

Upon getting home I put up the baby gate in the kitchen and started to unpack things into our pantry: potatoes, garlic, bananas, strawberries, etc.  Due to the consumption of a vente carmel macchiato, the call of nature hit.  I was around the corner but within hearing distance of Sam.

"Scratch scratch scratch."

"Crunch."

"Crunch crunch, scrittch"

"Sam..."

"Whatcha doing Sam?..."

"Crunch."

"Come here honey, what are you eating?"

In thirty seconds, my son had pulled four heads of garlic off the second shelf of the pantry and was single-handedly devouring one, like an apple.  The whole thing was soaked with saliva and there were tiny sets of baby teeth marks all over it.

You would not believe what his breath smells like, the poor guy burped his way up the stairs before going down for his morning nap.

This kid has the taste buds of a 40 year old gourmand. 

Yuck

I just found the remnants of one of these in Sam's mouth.

Oh Lord, a harbinger of much to come I'm sure.

It least there's one less ladybug out there.

Oh What a Day!

Sam and I headed out for our morning walk today, I could almost write a children's book on how perfect it was.  Not a cloud in the sky, the song of robins in our ears, and the smell of these cillas that hit us both like a wave of delicious sweetness after a desolate winter.

We saw some friends over at the Alumni office of the College, walked to one of my favorite stores, J. B. Winterberry and bought a new candle to make the house smell like spring, (Nouvelle's Tuscan Currant, and you get a free box of vintage large matches for the next five days!), picked up supper at the Meat Market (london broil on the grill with mashed potatoes and a mixed greens mandarin orange salad), and finally ended up at the park where Sam laughed his head off on the swings.  It's been a wonderful day.

I am, however, now procrastinating because the Forestry Division of the City just dumped an entire truckload of free wood-chips into the driveway.  Someone needs to move it into the backyard so we can get our cars into the garage.  12 cubic feet.  It looks like a lot more then that...higher then my head.  

Oh well, I didn't work out today.

We've Graduated...

...to crawling on all fours.  He really gets around now, what do you think Great-Grandma?

:)  Come home soon, we miss you.

A Perfect Night at the Symphony

Even though it was a disastrous night outside, what with the wind blowing freezing rain into our faces as we fought our way downtown, it was incredibly cozy sitting by a roaring fire surrounded by four friends up on the 9th floor of Orchestra Hall in the Private Dining Room.

 

The champagne flowed, conversation sparkled and the scallops were succulent in their parmesan parsley crust, sitting in a puddle of sweet orange sauce.

We felt lucky to be there, our friend had connections to some of the best seats in the house, a private box on the second level, 20 feet from the stage where the CSO played Stravinsky's Firebird and the violin soloist played with such poignancy it brought tears to my eyes.

Thank you John and Stacy, for a night we'll remember for years!

Sam learns how to dance...

...unfortunately he does it just like his mother.