The Thunder Rolled

New Hampshire usually has fairly benign thunderstorms (in my limited experience).  However in the past few weeks we have had some impressive storms, even by my summer monsoon in Arizona frame of reference.

I was able to explain to Tough Guy and Little Man where lightning and thunder came from.  They were impressed and wanted to know what happens when people get struck by lightning.  Some kids might be terrified after hearing how people get seriously burned when struck by lightning.  Not my boys, they started imagining grizzley scenarios.  "Dad, what would happen if someone got struck by lightning, but just on their nose and ears...?"  I'm so proud.

Sick Day

I woke up this morning with an impressive sinus headache.  Seasons change a little too abruptly, or else with the return to school, my children shared in the new flora and fauna that their friends brought home from their exotic summer vacations.  Either way, I spent the day working from home.

On the plus side, I was able to play with little man in between phone calls and emails, which was really fun.  He organized my office as our 'bad-guy hideout'.  It had such fine accouterments as a full kitchen with forks, knives and pizza, and a cozy bed which we took advantage of for stories and an afternoon nap.

Sweet felt pretty awful today as well, but managed to bake up some delicious bagels which we topped with cream cheese and home made pepper jam.  Very good dinner while we enjoyed 'Nanny McFee' as a family.  Pretty simple, but as far as sick days go, it was one worth remembering.

Think I'll Go To Boston

For Columbus Day we decided to get out of town.  No big plans, only a train ride and lunch in the city. 

We had fun eating at Cheers and riding the subway. 

While we were walking around Faneuil Hall we saw some street performers doing some awesome break-dancing.  Skye and Rafe tried out some of their moves.

We returned to the train station early so we would be sure not to miss the express train back to Fitchburg.

I love my family and am so grateful to be a part of them!  I'm glad they like to go on adventures with me.

Planning and Parenting

Our youngest has a cold... there's a great opening line.  Anyway, so we got up at our usual 4am this morning to deal with mucus and get a milk.  He's been fixated on Curious George and the rest of his ilk, while I've been reading "Boys Should Be Boys" by Dr. Meg Meeker.  The part I read today was all about the powerful relationships between mothers and sons.  Her premise is that since mothers generally see the best in their sons regardless of their actual beauty or lack thereof, they can help the boys believe that they are basically good.  Further, she believes that this belief will help their sons to connect with others in the world around them.  I find the book interesting especially due to the authors viewpoint as a physican, and a female.  She has a very practical thought process and seems to have a good understanding of the physological aspects.  One of mother's roles, according to Dr. Meeker is as the "Dispenser of Grace".  She defines grace as "love that is undeserved".  This type of love is especially powerful for boys during low points in their lives, such as failure, defeat, and degredation.  These experiences can devastate the male phsyche (I'm guessing it isn't much for for the females either...) but when the son feels loved by the mother at these times it teaches him "that goodness in being a man isn't all about his perfomance."  To me that is a powerful message about humankind in general, but especially in my role as a father, husband, and friend I can be aware of others at these "weak points" at hopefully let them know that they can "stand a bit taller" and "trust in himself as a [hu]man". Reference "Boys Should be Boys" by Dr. Meg Meeker

Taking Advice on Brussel Sprouts

I took advice from a man in the grocery store about cooking brussel sprouts. Not one of my top 10 green veggies to eat. He recommended cutting them in half length wise, browning cut side down in butter, then steaming in chicken stock until soft. He swore they were the ulitmate in small leafy greens. I bought 4 to try. Not bad...for a brussel sprout. They were way better than any brussel sprout I had ever eaten (which has been few and very far between). BUT they were still brussel sprouts and will most likely not be cooked again in this kitchen. Needless to say, I didn't save Michael any nor did I expect him to eat any if I had.

If however I were going to do them again...I'd try this recipe for Roasted Brussel Sprouts.

NYC trip

Our trip to NYC two weeks was a quick one. We like to stay in Tarrytown, NY and take the train into the city. So after a quick 3hrs to Tarrytown and a night at the hotel we headed off for a leisurely day in the city. Half of our adventure is just riding the train! We spent most of our time in Central Park walking. Stopping at the playground by the zoo for the boys to run and swing then walking past the boat pond and on to the Guggenhiem. Inspite of all of my architectural visits, I've never actually been to the Guggenheim, let a lone inside, and certainly didn't plan on it with our boys in need of a nap. But it was great to see it up close and personal. Much different scale than I had inticipated, but a classic FLW. And it's a much longer walk than you would think...but we had a great time and couldn't have asked for a nicer day in the city.

Better than ANY Oreo

I was hankerin' for a good cookie. A really good cookie. So I tried these...and will forever more be a devoted fan! Wowee. Vanilla Filled Chocolate Cookies. They are a pretty rich treat so with 2 1/2 dozen be sure to pace yourself with lots of cold milk. A hit with everyone!

The recipe comes from the Martha Stewart Cookie book, page 95. Cream Filled Chocolate Sandwhiches. I think they would be great with a mint flavor filling or even in a bright color for a party. Don't be intimitated by the recipe, they were really easy to pull off. Definately bake them on parchment paper, they'll slide right off and there is no grease or spatula needed. Don't fill them until they are completely cool however, or you will melt the filling and make a huge mess.

1 1/4 c flour

3/4 c cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 c sugar, plus more for flattening cookies

10 tbl unsalted butter, room temp.

1 large egg, room temp.

Vanilla Cream Filling (below)

Heat oven to 375. Sift together flour in a bowl, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg; beat to combine. Mix on low speed and gradually add flour mixture. Beat until well combined.

Using a 1 1/4 inch ice cream scoop (also known as a cookie scoop) drop dough onto parchment lined baking sheets 2 inches apart. Dip bottom of a glass in sugar and press to flatten cookies. Transfer to oven and bake 10-12 minutes. (Cookies will puff up and have a crackle top, but will flatten as they continue to cook and cool.)

(Here the recipe says to put the filling in a pastry bag, I just used a gallon sized ziplock and clipped off a corner.) Fill with 1 tbl of filling and press the flat side of another cookie on top. Filled cookies can be stored at room tempurature for up to 2 days.

Vanilla Cream Filling

1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter at room temp

1/2 c solid shortening

3 1/2 c confectioners sugar

1 tbl vanilla extract

Cream butter and shortening. Add sugar until fluffy, add vanilla and beat to combine. Keep at room temperature until ready to use.

Roasted Infatuation

I Love roasted peppers. They are so easy to make and taste awesome on just about everything. Tonight I roasted 2 red peppers and 1 peblano pepper. We are going to eat them on burgers tonight. Michael had them on a roast beef sandwich on sour dough with blue cheese the other day. Ever roasted your own peppers? The grocery store here charges $3.59 for a teeny jar (about 1 whole red pepper) you can buy a whole pound for $1.49ish. Here is how to do it.

1. Cut pepper in half, and remove seeds and stem
2. Place cut side down on a foil lined baking sheet.
3. Place in a hot broiler oven for 8-10 minutes until black.
4. Remove, cover pan with another layer of foil or towel to let it steam until cool.
5. Remove black blistered skins under running water.
6. Enjoy right away or store in a glass jar with olive oil to cover, lid tightly.

Springing

I have to have a clean studio. So after a weekend of everyone home, dinner guests, sick kids, life I take a leap at my desks (yes I have two of them) I'm not sure how it happens, but my desk is the dropping zone for so many things, so every Monday I begin anew!

My craft desk. See the green toweron the left? Weird lime green wire racks, and a teal silverware picnic thing holds my sissors, tools, and hot gluegun stuff. Plus now my little garbage has a home beneath it all. I also decided to move my lamps around. This is all much better.

My computer desk. Sorry they are dark, I didn't finish this project until dusk...but I bought some cheap organizational items at Savers like the vertical file (2.99), so hopefully I can minimize the pile buildup at the corners of my desktop.

Grahams

We eat A LOT of graham crackers in this house. So when I found a recipe for one I had to try it out. It calls for 1cup whole wheat flour and 1/2cup graham flour, plus 1cup all purpose flour. In another recipe it called for 1 1/2 cups graham flour, rather than mixing it with the whole wheat. They are incredibly delicious, but much more buttery and less sweet than I expected them to be. After making these I've made some modifications which we will do the next time I bake them up. Here are my changes:

1. Chill dough after mixing for 20-30minutes, this will make it easier to roll out.

2. Don't bother trying to roll it out between two sheets of parchment paper, it just stuck to both! Instead, roll out onto one sheet of parchment after you have flattened it out with floured hands and a floured rolling pin.

3. Don't bother pre-cutting the crackers either, the dough puffs in the oven and eliminated the cuts anyway...but do prick with a fork prior to baking.

4. Cut IMMEDIATELY after removing from oven into small rectangles.

Enjoy with cold milk!

Next time I think I might mess with the butter quanity too, they were pretty rich and more like a cookie.

Happy Easter-cake

Happy Easter (late, I know) I made these cute cupcakes for our Easter dinner guests. They turned out much better than expected, despite my gooey frosting...too hot in the kitchen or not enough powdered sugar. The handles are made out of gum paste (my first attempt at the product) and as far as I can tell worked great. It does soften up in the refrigerator though, but the kids ate it just the same.

As for the rest of the meal, we had classic glazed ham, whipped red potatoes, cob salad, and callahah rolls. Lots of my favorite things.

Due to the glory of butter consumption in our house and a break in the weather I piled my boys in the double stroller and trucked it down to our post office and back, 3.8 miles round trip. I also stopped at this store called Cooking Matters in downtown Nashua and bought some really delicious sounding sauce to try out, 'Chipotle Pear Grilling Sauce', I'll let you know the results.

Crab Cake Craving

My husband is a pastry chef. He won't admit it, but he makes AMAZING pastries. Here is his first attempt at croissants. WOW. A whole lot of work and while balancing work, school, and family he managed to create this treats (it took a little over several days with refridgeration and freezing to prolong the yeast magic) but they were spectacular!

We made these WOWIE crab cakes weeks ago, with lump crab meat and roasted red pepper sauce. I could have eaten a hundred of them. I think I will make them again this week.

My husband makes these puffy little poufs called Nun Puffs. We aren't really sure why the name, but they have a similar texture to a pop-over. Wonderful with honey, and must be eaten warm.

We also had a great at-home-dining-out-while-in Valentine's Day, but I'll post our sweet dinner later.

Terrible Blogger

Face it. I am a terrible blogger! But I'm working on integrating it into my schedule. I'm going to shoot for once a month. Currently this seems really ambitious, but I spend plenty of time following and lurking on the blogs of others, so I figure if I cut this time in half, and blog here also I should be in good shape. Also I found this great feature on my phone where I can send pics to my blog...we shall see how this works out.

I have a few people who tease me about not keeping up with my blogging...perhaps if you comment it will encourage me to respond and do so more often.

But incase you need more incentive, I'm going to start offering freebies and give aways occasionally. So COMMENT to enter when they are posted. Thanks for the support in advance. :)

Life Lessons from Recent experiences in cooking

So...I'm one of those philisophical types who tries to see a metaphor in everything. Yesterday for breakfast I made a puffy pancake (Melt 1/3 cup butter in 9x13" glass pan at 400degF. Beat 4 eggs, 1 cup milk, 1 cup flour and 1/4 teaspon salt and pour into 9x13. Bake for ~20 min. Cut and serve hot with powdered suger, maple syrup, lemon curd, or whatever you like). It is one of my favorites to make because it has lots of eggs, and I can't get Shannon to eat eggs any other way. However yesterday they didn't taste right. I finally realized that I had neglected to add the salt, so the flavor was similar to eating a plastic bag (don't ask how I know). The life lesson here is that no matter how much we simplify or no matter how repetitive the task I still must pay attention and focus on the details for things to turn out right. Also, since I left out the salt, it reminds me of that phrase in the Bible that we are the salt of the earth. Salt is an important part of many reciepies because without it the flavors just don't come out right.

Then this morning I made a new recipe called Cinnamon Breakfast Biscuits (Combine 1 3/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup wheat bran [I used wheat flour], 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar, 1 Tablespoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cut in 1/2 cup butter. Stir in 2/3 cup milk and 1/2 cup dried fruit [I used raisins] just until moistened. Kneed dough in the bowl until dough is smooth. Roll out until 1/2" thick and cut with biscuit cutter. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 450 deg F. Remove and cool on wire rack. Drizzle with sugar glaze made from mixing 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 2 teaspoons milk.)Since my sister just got engaged, I was comparing this breakfast to our relationships (watch out this could get pretty cheesy). Anyway, over the 5 years of marriage that I've experienced there have been some lumps (raisins) some happy (sugar) lots of normal (flour) and as we've been put through the fire we grow and eventually we'll experience the kind of love that lasts forever. Congratulations to Jalayne and Luke and wish them all the best as they enter this new phase in their lives!

Mediterrainian Chicken

Mediterrainian Chicken is one of our absolute favorite meals to make for dinner! Puff pastry, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, feta, garlic, and pesto! So amazingly delish. However it is a little tricky to judge when it is done cooking. This night I happened to have used chicken that wasn't entirely done defrosting...so it was a little pink in the center when I cut into it. The pastry was done, but not the chicken. So thank heaven for microwaves! I just popped it in the microwave for another minute or so and it was done. This recipe easily serves 4, so we make it for 2 and eat it two nights in a row. The second night however, we had the missionaries show up...so it quickly became a meal for 4 when I cooked up some pasta and sauce as a side dish. Whew!

Double Apple Coffee Cake

This tasty cake has applesauce as well as apples in it. I used Macintosh apples because they get pretty soft when you bake them. The recipe called for Granny Smith apples, but these often stay too crunchy for my tastes. It also called for walnuts...gross. My husband and I both agree that nuts shouldn't really be baked into much of anything. However we do like almonds, so I tried those...still gross...I should have just stuck to the apples solo. We still managed to eat the whole cake none the less.

I had made a few cakes to keep in the freezer. This one used up the leftover frosting from the skateboard cake...which explains the strange use of colors! I've been trying to practice my roses and still working on it, it totally depends on the consistancy, and in my case the temperature of my kitchen. Needless to say, thank goodness my family loves frosting! It gives me a great excuse to make little cakes like this 6" round. Each time I bake, fill, and frost a cake I am learning a lot. I've also started watching many a youtube video tutorial...seriously helpful information out there, all for FREE!

Roasted Red Pepper and Chicken Orzo

Tonight was a "What do I have in the fridge??" night. I had 2 red pepper on the 'must eat today' list, an onion, 1/2 box of orzo pasta. I usually have a jar full of olive oil buried garlic cloves. So I roasted the peppers just to prolong their life and thought I'd use them later this week, but they smelled really good. I found a really simple recipe for a Roasted Red Pepper Sauce, Michael cooked up some chicken, the orzo, and we topped it off with the sauce. Simple, easy, delish. It easily fed 2, with some left over...all for under $5.

Rafe had a strawberry (beet) banana milkshake and is getting in the groove of smiling on cue! Skye had milk. Again.

Falafel

We have discovered a new food in the past few months. Suprisingly one that Rafe will eat on occassion, falafel. I think it is the ball shape that gets him. This one we made on the fly with a matzo falfel mix (not particularly one of our favorites, but it was in the cupboard.) I used ranch and tahini with some cumin and other seasonings to make the sauce, threw in an avocado, and saute'd up the one and only egg plant from our garden efforts. Also some feta. It was pretty tasty, and a quick meal too.

Sourdough Pancakes

Grandma Wiltbank makes amazing sourdough pancakes with fresh strawberry syrup. We tried to make our own sourdough pancakes using a sour start given to Michael by a fellow 'foodie' co-worker. We found a recipe online that would work with our quanity of start. It was pretty good, but strangely called for olive oil?? Not exactly the same flavor as Grandma W's but it worked for that morning. We made Rafe Mickey Mouse shaped hot cakes, he ate 4!