A Treasury of Rabbits

I am distracting myself from work today be making Treasury Lists on Etsy.com.  Here is one entitled "Something for Everybunny"

Irish Soda Bread

I finally found a great recipe for Irish Soda Bread, here it is:



4 1/2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
2 1/2 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
3 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1cup raisins (or currants)
1Tablespoon of Caraway seeds if desired
1 cup buttermilk

1.  Mix all of dry ingredients together, including the raisins.

2.  Add the buttermilk and stir to combine. 

3.  Lightly shape dough into a ball and place on greased baking sheet (or on a silpat lined baking sheet)

4.  Cut an X into he top of the dough ball

5.  If desired, brush with milk or a beated egg.

6.  Bake at 375 degrees for 35- 45 minutes

Cake Pops

Cake pops, a la Bakerella, are all the rage... hell, Starbucks even has them now.  So I thought I would try my hand at them for Goodie Day at work this week.  The recipe is simple enough:

1 cake (Made from a box, baked, and cooled)
1 Can frosting
Chocolate or a candy coating like CandiQuick for the outside
Sticks
Decorations like colored sugar, etc.

The steps to assembling the cake balls are pretty easy to.

1.  Crumble up the cooled cake.
2.  Mix in the icing until the cake and icing are the consistence of cookie dough

3.  Make little balls of the cake/icing mix with your hands.  Or, if you are like me, with a cookie scoop.
4.  Chill the balls
5.  Insert the sticks
6.  Coat in Chocolate or the CandiQuick
7.  Decorate

I am going to call this a semi success.  The first mistake I made was making the balls too big.  I used the larger of my two cookie scoops, I should have used the smaller one.  I also went wrong by putting the balls in the refrigerator.  They kept falling off the sticks and falling apart as I was trying to coat them.  Next time I will freeze them.  I didn't buy enough of the coating.  I have never actually used a "candy coating" before. I have always just melted chocolate, but I needed something that would harden pretty fast so I opted for the Vanilla CandiQuick.  I didn't have enough to cover all the balls, only about half.  I had to throw the other half away :(

Yes, I know I could have frozen them for use later, but there is no room in my freezer at the moment.

Here they are waiting to be eaten at work:

 
They were a semi success, because people are actually eating them.  Will I be making them again?  I don't think so.  First of all, they were a lot of work and pretty messy.  Second, I am not that thrilled with how they tasted.  I would have been a lot happier if I had just made a regular cake with icing.

Help Please -- Missing Child -- Sadly this is all too real

I work with Tom.  His 16 year old daughter is missing.  If you are in the Philadelphia Area and you see her, please, please, please call the police.

To my blogger friends, please post this on your blogs and help bring Anna home.  Thanks!

Cannolis

I love cannolis.  Who doesn't actually?  Well I can think of a few people, but that is beside the point.  Most people like cannolis and they are a pretty impressive dessert to put in front of your family and guests.  Mostly because they seem really complicated to make.  But here a secret just between you and me and the Internet... they are really easy to make... if you are willing to cheat a little.

Step 1:  Buy the Cannoli Shells (THIS IS THE CHEATING PART) 

I am sure they are a ton of great recipes of the Web with wonderful step by step instructions on how to make your own cannoli shells... but seriously, why bother when you can buy them in the supermarket ready made.  And they are just as good I swear!

 

Step 2: Assemble the Filling

Traditionally, cannolis are filled with a sweetened ricotta cheese.  To make the tradiational filling you will need:

• 1 12oz container of ricotta cheese (whole milk or part skim is fine)
• 1/2 cup of sifted powered sugar
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract 

Mix all of the above together with a wisk.

Step 3: Pipe the Filling into the Cannoli Shells

If you don't like the traditional filling you can always fill them with what you do like.  You could use whipped cream, ice cream, Cool Whip, the possibilities are endless.

Coming to Fruition

Some of the plans I made for last night actually came to fruition!

I did make a pizza for me with smoked chicken, asparagras, and goat cheese:

And I did make small pizzas for Nate's lunch and freezer:

And I did bake an applesauce cake to take on our play date today.  What I did not do is craft.  Oh well, maybe tonight.

Speaking of My Brilliance...

I was looking for a creative, accessible, and cheap way to organize Nate's art supplies.  My parents got him a table and chairs for Christmas and I wanted something to sit on the table to hold his crayons, markets, stamps, and chalk, so that he could create when ever the mood took hold.

I'm sure there is something I could have purchased, but I happened to have a Longaberger basket divided protector hanging around.  It was sturdy, had little divided sections for all the different art supplies, it was clear, so Nate could see what he had to work with, and it was free.  So I put it to work.  I filled it up with his art supplies and sat it in the middle of his table where it has been performing its duties beautifully ever since.

What I will be Doing After Nate Goes to Sleep

1.  Making Pizza -- smoked chicken, aspagras, amd goat cheese for me.  Regular pizza with hidden veggies for Nate to take for lunch

2. Baking something to take to tomorrow's play date with Miss Sophia and Miss Olivia.

3.  Some sort of crafting.

Of course, this is all contingent on me staying awake.  Last night that did not happen... I actually feel asleep on top of my kindle mid page... kinda sad.

Waterproof Mattress Booster

Sometimes I am absolutely brilliant... most of the time I am not, but sometimes, just sometimes, I come up with the best and cheapest solutions to a vexing problem.

We moved Nate to his big boy bed on Christmas Eve.  It went splendidly, better, actually then I expected it to go which was nice.  I had been picking things up here and there in preparation for the big move.  Sheets here and there, the bed rail, the comforter, pillows, etc.  I  even picked up two mattress pad covers.  Usually I only have one mattress pad cover, but since Nate is still in diapers, and since said diapers leak from time to time, I wanted to make sure I had a spare for when one was in the wash.

I bought the mattress pad covers are Target... they were, I don't know, $15 bucks or something like that.  They look like this: 

 

They feel like they are completely made out of paper... cheap, cheap, cheap (in quality) and they don't really even fit the mattress all that well.  I was not pleased, but didn't have many options.

Then I saw this waterproof overlay in a catalog and thought that might be a viable solution.  Put the cheap mattress pad cover on the mattress and put this on top of the sheets as an extra layer of protection.

But that was another $25 bucks that I didn't really want to spend.  Plus, how soft was it?  How comfortable would it be to sleep on?  Questions I didn't have answers to.

So... [This is where the brilliance comes in] it occurred to me that the waterproof overlay looked an awful lot like a crib mattress pad only without the stretchy sides.  I had two crib mattress pads which were waterproof which I wouldn't need once the crib was out of the house.  So, I look those two mattress pads and cut the stretchy sides off making, <> 2 waterproof overlays for absolutely nothing!!!  

Then I had another stroke of genius and that was to make the bed with the twin size waterproof mattress pad on the bed, then the modified crib mattress pad, and then the sheets.  Two layers of protection for the mattress and nate gets to sleep on comfy sheets. 

An added bonus is that the modified crib mattress pads are easy to take off of the mattress and wash.

Brilliant I tell you... BRILLIANT!

My New Toy

As part of an effort to get more exercise, I bought this small stepper so that I can step while watching TV.  I liked the reviews of this one and the fact that it is low impact and easy on your knees.  I thought if I could do 15 -20 minutes 3 times a week I would be off to a good start.  Apparently, I greatly over estimated my in-shape-ness.  At the moment I can manage about 3 minutes before my thighs are on fire and I am out of breath.  (SO PATHETIC!!!) 

I am going to keep plugging away though and one day I will be up to my 15 minutes... let's see how long that takes shall we?

I Finally Finished Nate's Birth Sampler

It is kinda of crooked... I think I would make a lousy quilter, but I really like how it turned out.  I also kind of like that it doesn't have a purpose.  It isn't a pillow or a bookmark.  it is not intended to be framed or hung, it just is.  I made it to be an heirloom and that is what it is.

All Good Things...

Must come to an end, so they say.  My winter break (an almost 3 week long vacation) has come to an end and I am back at work officially.  UGG!  I did not want to come back, really.  The longer I stay at home the more potential projects I see and the harder it becomes to get back into the routine of work.  But, it does pay the bills, so here I am.

Unlike most years where I post about what I wanted to get accomplished over break and what didn't get done.  This year I had no real plans, other than to get Nate out of a crib and into a bed.  I did get a great deal accomplished though, and got to sped a lot of time with my little guy.

1.  Moved Nate from a crib to a "big boy" bed.  It went so much better than I ever imagined.

2.  Put pieces of felt between my non-stick pans.  Last year my mother-in-law bought me a wonderful set of green non-stick cookware.  I had been storing it with my other pots and pans in a great heap in a low cabinet.  I decided that since I really love this cookware and want it to last as long as humanly possible, I better start treating it nice!  You can buy these things to put between pots and pans so that they don't get scratched, but a piece of felt (which I have plenty of) works great too.

3.  Finished Nate's birth sampler.  Ok, so this is kind of a cheat.  I started this wonderfully complex Noah's Ark sampler before Nate was born.  THat I put aside and found a much smaller and less complex sample that I started and finished in about 3 days.  I don;t even care, he has a sampler and that was the important thing.  Now to get it framed.

4.  Shredded old files.  3 kitchen garbage bags full of old files!

5.  Made LOTS of ice cream with my gelato maker.  3 pounds (of fat on me) worth of ice cream.

6.  Purged the House, cleaned the house, reorganized the house.  Self explanatory and on-going.

7.  Took Jax to get a bath.  This dog is terrified of water and I would much rather pay $30 to the people at Petsmart and let him hate them then try to wash him myself and have him hate me.  It was so worth it too, he is a minky as ever!

8.  Cooked, baked, ran errands, shopped, played LOTS of Trains, shoveled snow, etc, etc, etc.



 

Making Stock

New Years is usually a time for taking stock.... I however, am using it as a time for making stock.  Turkey stock to be specific, smoking turkey stock to be extremely specific.

Nigella Lawson (my kitchen guru) always says, "I may be extravagant but I am never wasteful."  making your own poultry stock is not only healthy and cheap but also the essence of good home economics.

It is also super easy too.  

1.  Put, in a large stock pot,  few carrots, a few ribs of celery, a bay leaf or two, an onion, and a few pepper corns., and some parsley  That is your basic stock seasoning.  Leave out the salt you don't need it, but feel free to add other herbs.

2. Add your carcass.  This is leftover from Thanksgiving.  And it is frozen.

3.  Add water to the stock pan.  Fill it up.  Not so that it is over flowing, but so that it is pretty close to the top.  When I did this my carcass was sticking out the top of the pan.  Not to worry.  As is cooks, it will fall apart and sink.

4.  Put it on the stove, uncovered and boil gently until the water is reduced by half.  This can take 2-3 hours depending on the size of your pot.  Give it a stir every now and then.

5.  Once it has reduced let it cool and little bit and then strain out all of the meat, bones, veg, herbs, etc.  What you will be left with is a bowl of chicken stock.

6.  Put it in the refrigerator (overnight works for me) until it is cool and all the fat has risen to the top.  it will look like this

7.  Take a spoon and skim/scoop off the fat.

8.  Ladle the remaining broth into freezer containers and freeze for later use.



I know it looks chunky.  It is chunky.  I use a lot of skin and bone in my stock and so it has a lot of collagen.  When it is hot it is liquid, but when it is cold it is more like turkey Jello.  Not to fear, it will be fine when thawed and will taste divine!

Happy New Year!

New Year's Resolutions

I make resolutions every year, but like everyone else, I tend to be really gung ho about them (them being diet and exercise) for about a week and then they fall by the wayside.

This year my goals small.  Manageable little tid bits.  Good habits that have slipped way.

1.  Drink more green tea
2.  Drink more water... consistently
3.  Use lotion everyday, everywhere
4.  Stop hoarding the spoons from the staff lounge
5.  Take vitamins... consistently
6.  Stop being so hard on myself

So what are yours?

Happy Yule & A Happy Christmas!

Crafting Supplies... A Wish List

I love crafting... I really do.  I find it increasingly difficult to find the time to craft, but the passion for crafting has not diminished.I read craft blogs and gather ideas with this crazy notion that I will have time to craft one of these days... LOL!


So, here is my drafting wish list of both projects and supplies I would LOVE to have/make:

1.  Roving, roving, and more roving like this multipack from Fancy Tiger

2.  A Futte Futte Felt Ball Shaker to speed along with ball making process

3. Brett's Stocking Pattern from Sheperd's Bush 

4.  Harry's Stocking Pattern from Sheperd's Bush

5.  I would love to make shopping bags from Plastic bags

6.  I would love to try and duplicate this felt peace sign from Garnet Hill 

That should keep my imagination busy for a while.

French Chocolate Bark

White Chocolate Peppermint Bark is a staple of my holiday baking.  I have posted the recipe several times, but here it is again if you want to try it yourself.

Peppermint Bark


1 pound white chocolate (I buy big slabs at Trader Joes)
12 candy canes
1 tsp. peppermint oil (or 1 Tbs. Peppermint extract)

Melt white chocolate. This can be done in the microwave by cooking for 30 seconds, stirring and checking, and cooking for another30 seconds, stirring and checking, etc. until the white chocolate is melted.

Unwrap and bash up the candy canes. I do this either in a zip top bag with a rolling pin or meat mallet or in the food processor.

Mix candy cane pulp and peppermint oil into melted white chocolate.

Spread the mixture onto a parchment lined jelly roll pan and refrigerate until completely set. Break into pieces.

Store in refrigerator.

This year I was thinking that I would take my bark making one step further.  My friend Lisa gave my a huge slab of dark chocolate not too long ago and I was think that I could melt it down make a fruit and nut bark using Ina Garden's French Chocolate Bark as my inspiration.  I happen to have a dearth of almonds, dried apricots, and dried cranberries, all of which would go wonderfully with dark chocolate. 

Have You Seen These?

 

Snickers... with peanut butter... find them.... You will thank me later.

Greening My Lunch with the Wrap-N-Mat

Most of the time, I take my lunch to work.  I have a pretty good routine down and have pretty much "greened" my lunch bag to eliminate most of the one-time-use products.  I have a Sigg water bottle.  I use a fabric lunch bag.  I put most food items in re-usable Tupperware or glass containers.  The one thing that I was having a hard time with "greening" was sandwiches.  I don;t have any Tupperware that is the right size and shape to accommodate a sandwich, so I was wrapping it in aluminum foil.  Of course, I was recycling the foil, but still. 

Then one day I was at the supermarket and I saw these sandwich wraps hanging in the bread isle. 

 

They were called the Wrap-n-Mat and were I was intrigued!  I bought one to try and ended up going back for another one.  That way I can take a sandwich and pack one for Nate as well.  I have found them really easy to use.  As the name implies they are a mat that you wrap around a sandwich and then fasten with Velcro.  All you have to do is wipe the inside clean after each use.

I am sure that there are lots of mamas on Hyena Cart and Etsy that make similar products, in fact I think my mom even bought one at a craft fair, but I couldn't beat the convenience of finding them in the supermarket.       

 

Etsy Treasury Lists

I have had a lot of fun recently making Treasury Lists on Etsy.  For those that don't know, a Treasury List is, essentially, a group of handpicked items.  Sometimes they have a theme, sometimes they are just things that you like.  Other Etsy users can look through your Treasuries and the Etsy staff picks through them to find the products featured on the front page.  I actually had one of my Treasury Lists featured on the front page of Etsy.  It means absolutely nothing, but I thought it was super cool nonetheless.

Here is my most recent Treasury List featuring cool stuff in black and green:

Christmas Tree

Well, things are chugging right along in my house.  My best friend came up for the weeked and I did indeed press her into service to decorate my house (THANKS, ML!) and so it feels much more Christmas-y here now.  She helped me put up the tree but I waited to decorate it until Sunday.  This is usually something I do by myself.  I LOVE decorating the tree.  Unwrapping each ornament with care, hanging it in just the right spot.... it is something I really look forward to.  Well, this year I had a helper.  Nate decided that decorating the tree seemed more fun than whatever he had been doing .  I thought this might not be a good idea, but he carefully unwrapped each ornament and handed it to me to put on the tree.  Sometimes he would save one and put it on himself, carefully selecting the branch on which to hang it.  When we were finished I asked him what he thought of our tree.  He looked at me and said, "It's beautiful mommy!"

[It would have been a complete and total Hallmark moment had he not been sitting in a laundry basket when he said it] 

The result... and I agree with Nate... it is beautiful.

Fun Gelato Accessories...

I will fully admit that every time I get a new kitchen toy I become obsessed with it and all I do is make batch after batch of whatever it is the toy makes.  In this case, my current all consuming obsession is the new gelato maker.

So I was trolling the Internet this morning for cool gelato accessories... how fun are these?

Gelato Cook Books!

 Reuseable Ice Cream Tub for the Freezer

 

Gelato Cups and Spoons

Favorite Christmas Movies

1.  Love Actually
2.  The Muppets Christmas Carole
3.  Emit Otters Jugband Christmas (Oh how I love that little otter!!)
4.  Scrooged

My Top 10 Christmas Songs

Although radio stations around here have been playing Christmas music since before Thanksgiving, I am finally in the mood to hear it.  So here is my Top 10

1.  Last Christmas by Wham
2.  A Christmas to Remember by Kenny (Rogers) and Dolly (Parton)
3.  Hard Candy Christmas by Dolly Parton
4.  All I Want for Christmas by Mariah Cary
5.  Christmas Wrapping by The Waitresses
6.  Christmas in the Caribbean by Jimmy Buffett
7.  Do They Know Its Christmas by Band Aid
8.  Dominic the Christmas Donkey (Becuase Nate LOVES it)
9.  Christmas Don't be Late by Alvin and the Chipmunks (Because Nate LOVES it)
10.  Any version of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

Progress

Ok, I will completely admit that the house is not decorated yet, but as I mentioned in an earlier post, I will be enslaving
making enlisting the help of my best friend with that this weekend.

I am pleased to report that I have taken down and put away all the Channukah decorations.  I have also written/mailed all the holiday cards (complete with photos) and have even made my peppermint bark. 

Tonight's project is to make peanut butter fudge, bake a cake for my holiday lunch at work tomorrow, and ready the gifts for the mailman and the trash men.  The mailman always gets cookies/goodies and the trash men get beer (a 6 pack, unopened, for them to enjoy on off-work hours).  The trick with the beer is getting out to the curb in time without it freezing which usually means running to the curb in my PJs.   

All in all, things are moving right along and with a minimal amount of stress.  It probably also helps that my cold has abated and I actually feel human :)

Today is December 10th...

which means there are 15 days until Christmas.  It also means that I am now officially feeling the holiday pressure.  You know, the pressure to do it all, decorate it all, entertain them all.... in the next 2 weeks.  Team that with, what feels like, the worlds most awful cold, a full time job, and a toddler, and lets just say I am not enthusiastic about anything at the moment.

I was thinking about what is it that I need to do for Christmas... here it is:

1.  Take down Hannukah decorations

2.  Bake cookies for the cookie exchange
3.  Do other holiday baking
4.  Put up tree
5.  Docorate the rest of the house
6.  Christmas cards
7.  Wrap gifts

There is another list that runs concurrent to this one:

1.  Clean
2.  Laundry
3.  Host friends and family at holiday themed events
4.  Return stuff to various stores
5.  Go to the bank
6.  Drop comforter off at laundrymat
7.  Drop off stuff at Goodwill

UGG!  It is all so daunting, especially when my chest hurts from coughing and hacking and all I really want to do it curl up and take a nap.

Will it all get done?  I honestly cant say. 

The cookie exchange cookies will get made tonight.  And I am pretty sure that I will be forcing my best friend (who is visiting on the 18th) to decorate the house with me (sorry ML!).  I suppose I can't, in good conscious, give unwrapped gifts, so I will wrap them as I need them.  Cards?  I am aiming for New Years...

Best Husband Ever!!!

I really do have the best husband ever.  I mentioned lusting after this gelato maker over the summer:

It is the Delonghi GM6000 Gelato Maker with Self-Refrigerating Compressor.  It certainly wans't something I would buy for myself, but the idea of not having to take up freezer space with the barrels from our traditional ice cream maker was heaven.  Plus, we eat a lot of frozen desserts in our house.


Anyway, guess what my wonderful hubby got me for my birthday?  You betcha, the above mentioned gelato maker.  YEAH!!!!  I used it last night for the first time and made a wonderfully creamy dark chocolate ice cream in 25 minutes with no forethought wahtsoever.  It... was... wonderful!!!!


Here is the first batch whiring away on the counter.

Magazine Trees

These are so much fun to make!  Just fold, fold, fold and then you have a tree.  This is oragami that I can handle.


This is the first little tree that I made from a library journal... finally, a good use for "library literature."

I have another one in-progress, which will be larger and more colorful because it is being made out of the Rachael Ray magazine. 

If you want to make you own trees, there is a great tutorial here.

On My Mind Today

The house is decorated for Hanukkah, the pictures to go in the holiday cards are ordered, I am going to the post office today to mail my Europe-bound packages.  So what is on my mind today? 

1.  Magazine Trees!  I think they look fun, and I am always looking for a mindless activity to do while watching TV.  Folding pages seems pretty mindless to me
2.  Shower Curtains!  The contractor is booked for out big bathroom remodle in the spring and I am thinking about accessories... I think this ruffled one from Urban Outfitters is super cute, but I am not really fond of the $68 price tag.
3.  Chai Spiced Cookies!  I have been thinking about these since Steph (Adventures in Babtywearing) mentioned them last year.  Today I found this recipe and the obsession continues...

I forgot to say...

Happy Hannukah!

or as Nate would say "Happy Menorahakah!"

Damn it!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Today, at 11:57 am, I am 34...

To Kill a Mouse

UGG!  We have mice again.

We had them when we first moved into our house and then, we saw less and less of them as we trapped them, sealed up entry ways, properly stored food, etc.  I don't really know what has changed but they are back with a vengeance.  I have trapped and killed three in two days and I am certain that the traps will be full again tonight.

Mice seem to be especially persistent this year; perhaps they know something I don;t know about this coming winter.

Anyway, here is my advice on what to do if you find yourself with furry pantry thieves:

1.  Check the outside and inside of your house for any visible cracks, opening, etc where the mice could be coming in and fill them in: Any place that a utility line enters or exits your house is a good place to start.  Look behind/under your stove, your sink, your air conditioner, vents in a crawl space if you have one.  Fill them in with silicon caulk or steel wool.  Keep in mind that mice can squeeze themselves into REALLY small spaces.

2.  Properly store your food (including pet food):  Sometimes I get lazy about this, but in areas where you see evidence of mice, store food in plastic/metal/glass containers with tight fitting lids.

3.  Clean up mouse droppings/urine properly:  This means with a wet method.  You should really never vacuum up mouse droppings or dried urine, you should always don gloves and maybe even a mask/respirator and use a cleaning solution with ammonia (if you don't mind using that in your house) or white vinegar (my preferred method) and a damp cloth.  You can get seriously sick from mouse poop/pee.  If you live in the Southwest US, the Hanta virus is a very real possibility, so do whatever you can to keep the poop/pee from becoming airborne and breathing it.

4.  Trap, Trap, Trap!:  I am not a fan of mice/rat poison for a number of reasons.  1.  I have dogs, 2.  I have a toddler.  Either one could get at the poison.  Even if I didn't have dogs or a toddler I would steer clear of poison because there is no telling where the mouse will die after eating it.  It isn't instantaneous so they could crawl away and die in a wall or an inaccessible space and then you have rotting mouse carcasses to deal with... not fun.  Not to mention, they could get out of your house and die where another animal could eat them, thus poisoning that animal, again... not good.

I like snap traps.  Not the traditional kind you think of when you think "mouse trap" but the kind that look like a big clothespin.

These for example:

     

Bait the trap with peanut butter, set them, and catch your mice.  These have the advantage of being reusable.  They are easy to empty (with gloves on) and re-bait.  They are quick killing and very effective.

There are new traps on the market that promise you won't have to see the mouse. They look like this:

I haven't had good luck with these traps, they always seem to be broken by the time I get them home from the store, plus, they are one use only which seems wasteful to me.  (For another reason I don't like them, see #5)

I suppose glue traps are another option, but the mouse gets stuck on it and starves to death, slowly, which seems unnecessarily cruel to me.

5.  Leave squeamishness at the door:  You are killing a living thing.  Deal with that.  You are doing it as humanly as possible, take solace in that, but keep in mind that these critters have invaded your house, they spread disease (black death anyone?), and they need to be irradiated.   

And please, do not catch and release... they are mice; there are plenty of them and they will find there way back in.

Thinking about Thanksgiving

This is the first year that I will be cooking Thanksgiving dinner.  Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday, above all others so I am pretty excited about this.  I haven't really thought about the logistics of the dinner yet, but I have thought of the menu.  I really want to keep this meal as "in season" as possible, so no green bean casserole or anything with tomatoes.  I don't know why, but I just want it to be that way... I want it to feel like Thanksgiving, feel like fall.  Anyway, here is my tenative menu:

1 Roasted Turkey
1 Smoked Turkey Breast
Gravy
Jellied Cranberry Sauce
Whole Chunky Cranberry Sauce
Cornbread stuffing with Pecans and Cranberries
Roasted Root Vegetables (Carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, butternut squash)
Some Kind of Green Vegetable (Don't know yet)
Mashed Potatoes
Creamed Pearl Onions (this is almost a family joke, but it doesn't really feel like T-Day without them)
Buttermilk Biscuits & Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls

Dessert (which I am leaving the my mother's capable hands)

Yum... I can almost taste them all... What are you serving this year?






 

The Blackhawks have Landed!!!

I am a librarian at a University with a strong military tradition and a very strong ROTC program.  Once a year the ROTC cadets get to practice with/experience what it is like to be around/in/on a real Blackhawk helicopter.  They fly right over the library and land on the lacrosse field behind the building.  It is an awesome sight to see and I get choked up every stinking time.

Here they are flying over the first time

And here they are returning and landing

Want Free Sewing Patterns?

Then you have to check out this site:

http://www.angelfire.com/planet/mcshelpsite/sewingstuff/freepatterns.html

It is nothing but links to free patterns, PDFs, tutorials, and How To's for hundreds on projects.  Everything from shopping bags, to Halloween costumes.  

Update on Weekend Baking and cooking

I did make the cornmeal cheddar waffles, but I did not use the recipe I linked to.  I decided to take a "semi homemade" approach or as I like to think of it "use what you have on hand" approach.  I used a box of Jiffy Corn Muffin mix and some already shredded cheddar cheese.  There are instructions on the side of the box for how to make waffles from the mix, so I used those directions and then added the cheese.  They were really good!  I highly recommend this.  They come out of the waffle iron soggy, but after sitting for a few minutes they get crisp and they reheat beautifully in the toaster oven.

I did not make the Ethiopian Chicken stew although I am sure that I will in the near future.  I decided to make a vegetable soup with meatballs because, once again, it required things I had on hand.  I have thawed some ground beef and it needed to be cooked and I had a plethora of frozen stock and and half bags of frozen veggies.  I will post the recipe later, when I get home.

The brain cake I put on hold for the moment.  Maybe next week.  I did make a pumpkin Bundt cake for my mom using my pumpkin Bundt cake pan that I found at Goodwill for a steal. 

The Joy of Weekend Cooking & Baking too...

I suddenly have a major bee in my bonnet about cooking/baking this weekend.  I have no idea why exactly (nor do I know why I am using an expression like "bee in my bonnet") but I digress.

I think I will be making these Cheddar Cornmeal Waffles for breakfast tomorrow morning.  Do you put syrup on these?  

I will also be making this Ethiopian Chicken Stew .  Probably without the hard boiled egg as a garnish.

And how could I resist this Bleeding Brain Cake... seriously... how halloweeny can you get?

Wardrobe Refashion

I read Wardrobe Refashion every day but I must admit that many of the projects highlighted, while creative, seem to be a little "happy hands at home" (to quote Michael Kors).  In other words, they look a little too homemade for my tastes... I like to make clothes that look like they were not actually made by me in my family room.  Today I found one of those projects and just had to share... what a terrif idea this is and so easy to execute and execute well... check it out.  Erica took an old pair of jeans and an old necktie and made a super cute pair of capris with contrasting hem and back pocket.  You can see all the details on her blog: http://www.recycled-fashion.com/2010/09/refashioning-neckties.html 

A Quick Stop At Goodwill

Yielded a bag full of goodies. I got...

A new Flyers jersey for Nate -- $2.00

A new Toy Story jump rope for next summers -- $1.00

A new Nerf football for next summer -- $1.00

A Christmas gift -- $3.00 (Sorry the recipient may read my blog)

A Channukah gift -- $.50 (Sorry, the recipient may read my blog)

Best... Cheese... Ever