Milestone

Robyn's the big
2 yr. old

She received the perfect travel blanket (aka the woobie) for her birthday this year. Which could not have come at a better time since lately she's been very adamant about taking her blanket everywhere! It was my first time working with blanket binding. I gave myself a pat on the back for being successful! Those satin-edged blankets are the only thing she'll go for.

We had a small celebration with family! Where we ate Robyn's favorite finger foods and enjoyed perfectly pink cupcakes! Another first was me making my own frosting to frost those cupcakes. They turned out rather yummy!

Happy Birthday Robyn. It's such a wonderful adventure to have you in our lives!

Milk Toast

This dish has apparently been a favorite for Jaren (thanks to his wonderful mother) forever. When the boys needed an alternative to cereal, he taught them how to make:

Milk Toast:
2 slices of bread, toasted & buttered
1/2 c. warmed milk (heated in microwave for 1 min.)
2 tsp. sugar
cinnamon

Tear the toast into bite size pieces into a cereal bowl. Pour milk over the toast. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.
The boys believe it's the greatest dish ever! Aidan now makes it all by himself in the mornings. While I can make it to Hunter's satisfaction I can't say that I've actually tried it yet. So, despite the rave reviews from my boys, I have yet to taste it. Someday...maybe.

Whatever makes my boys happy! Thanks Grandma Fort for the wonderful idea!

No one can eat just one

Someone asked me the other day what sewing projects I've been up to. I have to confess--nothing much. I did make a rag quilt for a friend and I don't think hemming Jaren's pants count as a project. That's about the extent of my sewing so far this year.

Instead, I've been in the kitchen....Cooking. Cleaning. Cooking. Cleaning. Repeat.

A goal of mine this year was to become a better cook and try LOTS of things that I've never done before. Course, it helps that my new cookie jar and cake dome (both birthday gifts) can't stand being empty! As a result I've really spent lots of time in the kitchen cooking/baking who knows what! Here we are almost two months later and it's been a fun adventure! No failures yet!

Here's what led me to this week's adventure: for some weird reason my boys think the only way to eat a potato is as french fries or mashed. So, I wanted to find new ways to cook potatoes. While I plan to also make potato pancakes, spudnuts and hashbrowns I started out making potato chips! The directions are quite simple:

You start with a potato (or 5).
Slice 'em (you can peel them first)
Soak 'em (for 1 hour...this makes the chip crispier)
Fry 'em (3-4min at 375)

Eat 'em (every boy, including daddy, got them in their lunch today)
I cannot imagine slicing potatoes this thin using anything but an electrical rotary slicer. I've had my KitchenAid attachment for years that slices rather well, but I've never really became friends with it until about a week ago. I've sliced/shredded cheese, zucchini, carrots, cabbage, potatoes, etc. I find myself using it several times a week now. Slicing is quick (and FUN) and not a chore when you have one of these little machines.

I got rave reviews from my family: Wow, these taste just like they came right out of a bag!

Watch out Lay's, here I come!


Now, I need to make some cookies...I noticed the cookie jar is empty.

Now, let's get crackin'

I found my trusty nutcracker!

Honestly, I didn't know I actually owned one. I just found it at the back of my utensil drawer when I was looking for something else! What a way to start my day!

Ah, nuts!

Over the holidays, I realized how much I love to shell nuts. I could sit at my mother's dining table for hours taking that nutcracker to those shelled nuts and eating the treasure inside. It's a bit like eating crab: cracking the shells just right with all the power you have in you...just to get out the little bit of protein left for you to meticulously pull out. News flash--crab is much easier!!

Much of the time my walnuts would be all smashed inside (thanks to my aggressively brilliant nutcracking abilities) and you end up picking out the pieces bit by bit. Or, you crack and smash a walnut only to find that the nut is rotten. Then, all that work only leaves you with a pile of dust. Mmmm.... oh well--you just move on to the next nut. My mother did warn me that some of her nuts were rather old (we won't say how old...don't think she knew). I have yet to master the nutcracking technique so my walnuts come out looking like the ones you see packaged in the store.

Then there's your Brazilian nuts. The nut is so big, the shell is so thin--and they do not want to come apart. You end up "peeling" the shell like it's a boiled egg. After a few attempts, I gave up on those. Not a big fan of them anyway (my dad got all of my Brazilian nuts that I successfully shelled and that wasn't many).

I also learned this holiday season that I really don't like Pecans. I've tried honey toasted pecans, roasted salted pecans, pecan pie --just about every way you could prepare a pecan--even chocolate covered pecans! Doesn't chocolate make anything taste good!? I was hoping that there was some way that I could like this wonderful nut. Nope. I couldn't stand any of it. Knowing this I skipped over the shelled pecans in the bowl for a while. But, I finally cracked one open--rather delicately--and popped it in my mouth. It's settled now. The only way I like pecans is right of the shell...literally.

Peanuts are not even in my pile...they really do belong in the peanut gallery. I don't care for them raw, salted, roasted or fresh out of the shell (but I will eat them with chocolate). When compared with the other nut friends, they are just....BLAH! And frankly, they're too easy to shell. You don't even need a nutcracker to tears those apart. What is up with that??

My favorite nuts to eat and shell are almonds and hazelnuts. While cashews are my all-time favorite nut--you can't get those shelled. It's not your typical nutshell and it's toxic so I guess I can live without getting them in their organic form.

After making all these discoveries I decided to get my own collection of shelled nuts. Unfortunately, the mixes you find in the store are rather sparse and don't include every shelled nut. But, I do have a nice basketful to get me started! Couldn't wait to dig in and get crackin'...
There's just one problem. I don't own a nutcracker.

Nuts!

Foods With Moods

The other day I went out and picked one of my "poor excuse for a pepper" orange peppers. The smallest pepper I've ever seen...

Then, I got to looking at it and I just started to chuckle:
It reminded me of a much-loved book that is read MANY times in our home, even now: How Are You Peeling: Foods with Moods by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers Who wouldn't laugh at these wonderful pictures in this book! If you haven't read this book, check it out!

Made me wonder what MY poor little pepper might be feeling...

Warm, gooey goodness

Our first attempt at making doughnuts...that's what we chose to do for our FHE activity/treat. (Although, it's no fun watching dough rise.)We did learn a few things:
1. Allow your dough plenty of time to rise (otherwise you get somewhat flat doughnuts)
2. Roll your dough out thicker than think--so you get those nice, fluffy doughnuts
3. You don't absolutely NEED a doughnut cutter. We used a souvenir Astros cup for the doughnut and then the top of a salt shaker for the doughnut hole (give us points for being creative)..Our Doughnut Holes tossed in cinnamon sugar (YUM!!)
4. It takes a few doughnuts to figure out how long to let each side fry in the oil. Did we ever get that perfect?!
5. My method of letting the doughnuts cool and drip over my sink is taken from what I remember my mother always doing...except then we rigged up Tinkertoys to hold them (my Tinkertoys are tucked away in the attic--a dowel works well too).
Overall, a complete success! I was amazed at how easy they are to make. Now I want a recipe for Spudnuts!

to 'devolve'

...to devour large quantities of food and cause that which is consumed to dissolve AND evolve entirely. Usually associated with a good meal.

This particular word came from Hunter the other day after he devoured several helpings of an apparently yummy meal. "Mommy I made all my food devolve!" We suspect it's a combination of all the highlighted words above. It's been a favorite word to use ever since!

Don't we love the wonderful words that our children come up with! If only us parents kept a dictionary of all the ones they create!

Speaking of meals, Robyn wasn't too into devolving her meal. Eating was just too much hard work for her:

The FRUIT of our labors

Yep--just ONE perfectly big, ripe strawberry.

We keep losing so many to the outdoor critters. But, I must say that they are producing quite well this year--if only I can get more than one! Eventually I'll get around to constructing some sort of critter-proof fencing...is that even possible?!Robyn sure enjoyed eating that whole strawberry all by herself. Apparently she prefers getting the whole thing all at once rather than me dicing it up for her. Go figure...

Bon Appetit

I've had this china pattern of Noritake Squirewood for some years now. My oldest sister help me get started. However, I only had 2 complete place settings plus two extra dinner plates. It was enough for Jaren and I to use but not enough to actually entertain or to let our children "learn" with them.

For years I've pondered about adding to my china but the cost of even just one plate always kept me dreaming but never purchasing. Some years ago this china pattern became discontinued. It was becoming harder and harder to even find the pieces. Then, I ran across a person on Ebay selling this entire china collection for a steal-of-a-price. I couldn't pass it up...

Now, I have 17 complete settings (though I only have 10 goblets) and since then I've been obsessed with how to properly set the dinnerware out. I even went and bought some cloth napkins to complete the look (more on that story later). Course, we use the wine glass as the water glass (instead of having a separate wine glass) and the teacup for hot chocolate (as Aidan so quickly pointed out). Simply because we don't drink wine, coffee or tea.As far as the flatware is concerned (this is the pattern Oneida Satin Aquarius)...I'm slowly getting more and more pieces. When I can get to an Oneida Outlet store I'd love to get more. Right now, I certainly don't have the flatware to go with all 17 place settings (mmm, going to have to fix that). I'd need more napkins (and goblets) too. I can never have enough!

Now, I just need some people to feed! Any volunteers!?

Course, I'm still trying to figure out how to store all this china...

Out with the old...

Before....(check out this ancient appliance)
Not even sure I could give this away.

After...

We're looking forward to getting to know this new addition to the kitchen. It actually tells me the time and how hot my oven is. Wow--it's got knobs that don't fall off!! And, when you turn these knobs, something actually happens?! Can I finally put away the matches?! Now maybe cooking won't be so darn frustrating for me anymore.

Pink Ladies

There were some perks while living in Washington State. And one of them was definitely the variety of apples one could find at very inexpensive prices. If you know our Hunter you know that he's "the rabbit" of the family. The only fruit or vegetable he won't eat are green beans. In Washington one of his most favorite things to do was to go to the local Yoke's Food Market and be completely mesmerized by the selection of apples. He wanted one taste of every apple available. We did indulge in trying Winter Banana, Cripps Pink, Honeycrisp, Cameo, etc. After careful sampling he decided that his favorite variety of apple was Pink Lady. This became one of his first "nouns" that he learned as a toddler. It wasn't just ANY apple. It was a Pink Lady apple.
Since being down here in Texas the variety of Apples have been limited. We do miss our Washington Apples. Hunter is always asking me when he can have Pink Ladies again. Every time I buy apples he will always ask if I got any. And every time he's saddened when I say no.

But, the other day I started noticing them in stores. I HAD to buy a few just for him. Even if they are a bit more expensive down here. When he discovered that we had Pink Ladies in our fridge...his face lit up and I got the biggest hug ever. That moment was priceless!

See, you just need a few Pink Ladies to brighten your day.

Open Wide!!!

For a while now Robyn's been wanting to eat about every two to three hours. That started to wear on me real fast. So, I gave in and decided to entertain the idea that maybe she's ready to try some cereal.She did a pretty good job. And she seemed to enjoy the new taste! But, after a while, the spoon AND the thumb were fighting for space in the mouth.Starting her on cereal just reminds me of how fast these little babes grow up...

Keep rollin' !

So, I was in the process of making some french bread this morning. Hunter was close by asking me all sorts of questions about the proper way to "knead" and "roll" the dough. I left the kitchen for a moment and came back to see this:I guess being on the counter gave him a MUCH better angle to roll the dough--maybe I should try that approach someday.

He also read the recipe and figured out that the dough needed to be rolled 15 and 12 (15 in. long x 12 in. wide). I don't usually measure it, but Hunter wanted to make sure that my measurements were exact...or else!This should be some awesome french bread!