Well here's some exciting and belated news: my Bloggy Giveaway had winners, y'all! Winners!
You people are WAY too nice, though. Zero pin pricks? Five pin pricks? A mere eight pin pricks? Hah! Let's try no less than 25! And those are just the ones that made me say "ouch!"
There were two prizes to give away but three correct answers. So FrugallM (who used to have a blog but now I can't find it) and Beck of Frog and Toad Are Still Friends are the winners of the aprons, with the bonus prizes going to Beck who correctly guessed that I pinned my left index finger to the fabric (no blood, don't worry) three times.
Out of 100 responses, the odds of three people guessing the correct answer can't be all that great, so I couldn't let the third correct answer go un-prized. Leigh over at My New Thing also has a prize on the way, but since it's supposed to be a surprise for her, I can't tell the rest of you what it is either.
So thanks to everybody that entered. As of yet, I have not won ONE SINGLE giveaway (*pout*) but I DO love to give away prizes so I'm glad I participated. Then again, I may have won several giveaways, but my regular blog email address has been down for almost this entire week and it's driving me CRAZY so there are probably like 10 prizes waiting for me that I can't respond to. Boo! So, if I won your bloggy giveaway, or if you just feel like giving me a prize because you love me, leave me a note in the comments and we'll get in touch!
07 November, 2008
05 November, 2008
Forget the Handbasket...
...this country is going to hell in a lead bucket! Gee whiz, people, seriously? Obama?
Well whatever. It's over. What's done is done. We are in for a very rough four years and last night I asked Mr. J. when we were moving back to Canada because this election will profoundly affect Canada (in ways I think many Canadians just do not understand), but at least we wouldn't be living under a completely socialist regime.
My friend Kurt posted some verses from 1 Samuel on his Facebook page today. I thought I would share them with you because I found them very reassuring and if you have a Bible handy, it's very interesting reading them in the context of the whole chapter. If you don't have a Bible handy, here's a link to the whole chapter.
"The LORD said to Samuel, "Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.... Then you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day." 1 Samuel 8: 7, 18
BUT
"...my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD. Isaiah 55:8
and
"...if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14
"The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it." Psalm 24:1
So with a grateful heart, I will remember that God is sovereign in all things.....
Well whatever. It's over. What's done is done. We are in for a very rough four years and last night I asked Mr. J. when we were moving back to Canada because this election will profoundly affect Canada (in ways I think many Canadians just do not understand), but at least we wouldn't be living under a completely socialist regime.
My friend Kurt posted some verses from 1 Samuel on his Facebook page today. I thought I would share them with you because I found them very reassuring and if you have a Bible handy, it's very interesting reading them in the context of the whole chapter. If you don't have a Bible handy, here's a link to the whole chapter.
"The LORD said to Samuel, "Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.... Then you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day." 1 Samuel 8: 7, 18
BUT
"...my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,"
declares the LORD. Isaiah 55:8
and
"...if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14
"The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it." Psalm 24:1
So with a grateful heart, I will remember that God is sovereign in all things.....
03 November, 2008
In Which I Get Up On My Soapbox and Get a Bit Preachy
Election Day is tomorrow and as most of you are aware, I'm a (LEGAL) "alien" living in a foreign land so I don't get a vote. An opinion? Yes. A vote? No, regardless of how much the outcome affects my life. I haven't posted anything really political yet because I'm not really about alienating anyone that reads this blog, but the time has come.
Abortion has been an issue of great importance for me even before our Little Goat, our little 'cluster of cells', our little baby in my womb, came into this world. Most of you who have done your political research know where the candidates stand on the issue of abortion. Obama's voting record is out there for the world to see. McCain has made it plain where he stands on abortion also.
For my part, I cannot STAND Barack Obama. He's an arrogant, elitist, smarmy jackass who has, unfortunately, wrapped much of America around his little tentacles. I've tried to listen to the guy, but I just cannot get past the fact that the man supports abortion - in all its heinous forms. Honestly, people! Obama says if his daughters make a "mistake" he doesn't want them "punished with a child." Are you kidding me? Any consenting adult with living brain cells knows that babies are conceived via sex. No birthcontrol is 100% infallible (with the exception of abstinence) and if you're not ready for a baby, you're not ready for sex either. Why should a baby, who has no choice in his/her conception, be PUNISHED for the MISTAKE of its parents? What a pile of horse waste!
Anyway, check out the links below because there are a lot of bloggers out there who have already said this better than I ever can.
This post includes a video combining several of Obama's thoughts on abortion, plus a link to a really well-written post detailing one blogger's perspective on the issue.
This post has some great article links, including several about babies that have survived abortion.
This is what actually happens during a partial-birth abortion. If you think it's a bunch of crap, scroll down and read the articles written by doctors that confirm the accuracy of the illustrations.
Edit: One more article from World Magazine about the topic of single-issue voting.
And finally, you think an abortion is just a bunch of cells, hey? Click here to see otherwise.*
If I had a vote, it would be going to John McCain, if for no other reason than that he is pro-life. I have confidence that somebody who respects even the tiniest of human beings will govern in a way that shows respect for all human life. How you treat the least is surely an indication of how you'll treat most. If you vote for Barack Obama tomorrow, fine; but the blood of innocent, helpless children is on YOUR HEAD. Furthermore, if you're a Christian voting for Barack Obama tomorrow, I ask you this: where the hell has your conscience gone?
This baby is Pro-Life.
*Some of these images are extremely graphic and some of you may be offended. Sometimes though, the truth isn't very pretty.
**I should also add that Independent Ralph Nader is decidedly pro-abortion as well. So are a quite a number of 'conservative' candidates in our own county!
Abortion has been an issue of great importance for me even before our Little Goat, our little 'cluster of cells', our little baby in my womb, came into this world. Most of you who have done your political research know where the candidates stand on the issue of abortion. Obama's voting record is out there for the world to see. McCain has made it plain where he stands on abortion also.
For my part, I cannot STAND Barack Obama. He's an arrogant, elitist, smarmy jackass who has, unfortunately, wrapped much of America around his little tentacles. I've tried to listen to the guy, but I just cannot get past the fact that the man supports abortion - in all its heinous forms. Honestly, people! Obama says if his daughters make a "mistake" he doesn't want them "punished with a child." Are you kidding me? Any consenting adult with living brain cells knows that babies are conceived via sex. No birthcontrol is 100% infallible (with the exception of abstinence) and if you're not ready for a baby, you're not ready for sex either. Why should a baby, who has no choice in his/her conception, be PUNISHED for the MISTAKE of its parents? What a pile of horse waste!
Anyway, check out the links below because there are a lot of bloggers out there who have already said this better than I ever can.
This post includes a video combining several of Obama's thoughts on abortion, plus a link to a really well-written post detailing one blogger's perspective on the issue.
This post has some great article links, including several about babies that have survived abortion.
This is what actually happens during a partial-birth abortion. If you think it's a bunch of crap, scroll down and read the articles written by doctors that confirm the accuracy of the illustrations.
Edit: One more article from World Magazine about the topic of single-issue voting.
And finally, you think an abortion is just a bunch of cells, hey? Click here to see otherwise.*
If I had a vote, it would be going to John McCain, if for no other reason than that he is pro-life. I have confidence that somebody who respects even the tiniest of human beings will govern in a way that shows respect for all human life. How you treat the least is surely an indication of how you'll treat most. If you vote for Barack Obama tomorrow, fine; but the blood of innocent, helpless children is on YOUR HEAD. Furthermore, if you're a Christian voting for Barack Obama tomorrow, I ask you this: where the hell has your conscience gone?
This baby is Pro-Life.**I should also add that Independent Ralph Nader is decidedly pro-abortion as well. So are a quite a number of 'conservative' candidates in our own county!
29 October, 2008
You Have Got to Be Kidding Me!
Seriously? A thunderstorm in Northern Maine in October? What the crap? It's just not right!
You know I can't stand thunderstorms. The second I saw that lightning through the blinds, it was like two months of general weatherly complacency vanished.
*GASP*
I pull the blankets up to my ears with just enough air to breathe and stuff my fingers in my ears realizing that a thunderstorm is a bizarre time to discover that maybe I need to clean my ears a little more often.
This is no ordinary 'heavenly' "furniture moving" or "baseball game." This bowling tournament started with a strike (yay, team?).
Everything is still and then the heavens unleash their watery fury and the storm continues with rumbles that sound like a microphone amplifying my stomach rumbles right before Christmas dinner.
My breathing is laboured and panicky. Mr. J. just slumbers on.
The wind is howling and I'm sure the roof is going to start peeling back at any second.
More gasping, more panicking.
Great, just great. I have to go to the bathroom.
I nudge Mr. J. "I have to pee. I'm turning on my lamp."
"mmmmmmmmumble, mumble, mmmmmmm"
I scurry to the bathroom wondering when the Little Goat will wake up or if she has inherited her dad's knack for sleeping through nearly anything.
'Please don't wake up now, please don't wake up now,' I silently plead.
FLASH!
CRASH!
Luckily, I'm already sitting on the toilet.
I race back to the bed, not caring about missing the creaks in the floor, pausing just long enough to sit on the edge of the bed with my ears plugged for another crackle, then jam myself back in my blankety cocoon.
Safety.
Then the wind picks up again and the crashing continues. I am the only one awake....and my mind turns to theological questions: I shouldn't be afraid. I should have confidence and faith that God will keep us safe. But I'm sure many people of faith have been affected by tornadoes and hurricanes and severe weather before. Does that make God less sovereign? No. Does it mean He loves me less? No.
The verse comes to mind: "Cast all your cares on the Lord, because He cares for you." In light of the storm and the frightening wind, those words seems somehow inadequate. I need a voice from the deep like Moses with the burning bush. Or a chorus of angels to my poor scared shepherd.....
Then my thoughts shift to other important questions:
What if the LG wakes up? Am I going to have to go in there and rock her back to sleep during the storm? By myself?
More gasping.
How will I control my fear when our kid(s) are actually old enough to grasp the palpability of it? How will I be strong for them so they won't be afraid?
Jess and Torsten are getting married on Saturday and I think their pictures are outside - what if the weather is stormy?
Then just as suddenly as it started, it stops. The wind, it temporarily dies down...and the baby awakes with a start.
But we are safe.
You know I can't stand thunderstorms. The second I saw that lightning through the blinds, it was like two months of general weatherly complacency vanished.
*GASP*
I pull the blankets up to my ears with just enough air to breathe and stuff my fingers in my ears realizing that a thunderstorm is a bizarre time to discover that maybe I need to clean my ears a little more often.
This is no ordinary 'heavenly' "furniture moving" or "baseball game." This bowling tournament started with a strike (yay, team?).
Everything is still and then the heavens unleash their watery fury and the storm continues with rumbles that sound like a microphone amplifying my stomach rumbles right before Christmas dinner.
My breathing is laboured and panicky. Mr. J. just slumbers on.
The wind is howling and I'm sure the roof is going to start peeling back at any second.
More gasping, more panicking.
Great, just great. I have to go to the bathroom.
I nudge Mr. J. "I have to pee. I'm turning on my lamp."
"mmmmmmmmumble, mumble, mmmmmmm"
I scurry to the bathroom wondering when the Little Goat will wake up or if she has inherited her dad's knack for sleeping through nearly anything.
'Please don't wake up now, please don't wake up now,' I silently plead.
FLASH!
CRASH!
Luckily, I'm already sitting on the toilet.
I race back to the bed, not caring about missing the creaks in the floor, pausing just long enough to sit on the edge of the bed with my ears plugged for another crackle, then jam myself back in my blankety cocoon.
Safety.
Then the wind picks up again and the crashing continues. I am the only one awake....and my mind turns to theological questions: I shouldn't be afraid. I should have confidence and faith that God will keep us safe. But I'm sure many people of faith have been affected by tornadoes and hurricanes and severe weather before. Does that make God less sovereign? No. Does it mean He loves me less? No.
The verse comes to mind: "Cast all your cares on the Lord, because He cares for you." In light of the storm and the frightening wind, those words seems somehow inadequate. I need a voice from the deep like Moses with the burning bush. Or a chorus of angels to my poor scared shepherd.....
Then my thoughts shift to other important questions:
What if the LG wakes up? Am I going to have to go in there and rock her back to sleep during the storm? By myself?
More gasping.
How will I control my fear when our kid(s) are actually old enough to grasp the palpability of it? How will I be strong for them so they won't be afraid?
Jess and Torsten are getting married on Saturday and I think their pictures are outside - what if the weather is stormy?
Then just as suddenly as it started, it stops. The wind, it temporarily dies down...and the baby awakes with a start.
But we are safe.
27 October, 2008
Let the Guessing Begin
The contest is now closed. Thanks for entering!
Here we are again - it's Bloggy Giveaway time!
It seems like everybody around the blogosphere is sick or getting sick these days, or if they're lucky, in recovery from some sort of sickness. That begs the question: why aren't you people making more chicken soup? (Okay, it maybe doesn't exactly beg the question, but maybe at least one of you was wondering.) We love to cook around here. Mr. J. is particularly gifted with savoury dishes and all things sauce-related; I would prefer to bake. Our Little Goat is, as yet, a bit small to actually help us do much, but she's learning to stir like a pro and if any food needed tossing, she'd be our girl! I can hardly wait until she is big enough to help though. I have some good memories of baking with my Mom, and my Grama helped me enter my very first country fair 14 years ago where I won a whopping $18 in premiums, plus coupons, ribbons AND a fridge magnet.
Moving on to the prizes. Let me start by saying I'm no seamstress. I've been known to hem a pair of pants now and again, but not if my Mom is around to do it for me. I had all these plans to sew the Little Goat some very cute dresses when she was littler, but you can guess how well THAT panned out and I'm sure the patterns are too small now anyway, and...I think I gave them to my Mom. Ahem. Anyway, I've been working hard on these prizes for the past week and suffered only minor injuries, which should make you proud.
This contest is open to bloggers and non-bloggers with a mailing address in Canada or the US. There are two prizes to be awarded to two separate winners. Each prize consists of two aprons: one for you and one for your little helper.
To enter the contest:
a) You MUST have an email address where I can reach you. If you have a blog, you're fine as long as your comment links back to it; otherwise, leave an email address in your comment.
b) You MUST answer the following question: How many times did I stab myself with a pin while completing this sewing project? (The two closest guesses win; if there are multiple correct answers, the LG will draw a name.) One of the two winners will receive an extra little something extra (see photo) depending how closely they guess another sewing project question to be determined.
c) Contest closes at noon on Saturday, November 1st. Only one entry per person unless your blog name is over on that list on the side - then make sure you leave two guesses!
If I have no way of contacting you or you don't answer the question, then sorry, but you're automatically disqualified.
Here are pictures of what's up for grabs with thanks to the LG for condescending to model the littlest of the aprons for you.
Leafy aprons 1
Leafy aprons 2
Bonus prizes!
Our LG, modeling a leafy apron and practicing her fake-pouring skills for her guest, Penguin.To enter hundreds more giveaways, check out the Bloggy Giveaways headquarters by clicking here!
24 October, 2008
It's Coming! It's Coming!
Oh boy oh boy oh boy! Next week is the Fall Bloggy Giveaways carnival and I am so excited! The prize-making process has not been without injury so come on back next week and you can read all about it.
In the meantime, I've gotten quite behind on updating the list of blogs I follow, which you can see over there in the sidebar. Here are a few new ones I've added in the past few months. Go take a gander, okay?
ABC - Life at the Beginning of the Alphabet: Abbey, a 29 year-old mom who came back to the US from Italy just a few months ago to have their second baby, a boy! She hasn't posted in a few weeks, but hello! New baby! I'm sure she's been busy.
Definitely RA: RA and her husband JG live in PA with their little Westie, Ted. Recipes, funny stories, and just good writing.
Hibby & Hubby: This one is brand new to me too. Hibby, a gal from MN, transplanted to Los Angeles with her brand new (and Canadian!!) husband. They have a lamp that used to be John MacArthur's office!
Meg Fowler: She's Canadian, living in Vancouver, Queen of Lists, and hilarious. What more do you need to know?
Minnesota Mom: MM lives in MN with her husband and their one-year-old. MM has her own photography business and writes about all kinds of things. Her unabashed posts about politics and faith are usually my favourites. Oh, and our daughters have the same name - how cool is that?
On the Flipside: Started just a few months ago by Kellan over at On the Upside, OtF is a place for women (mostly) to share opinions and ideas on a variety of post topics. Lots of good discussion!
Stuff Growing: E.G. won my very first bloggy giveaway and it's been fun to keep up with her adventures with her husband and her Little Man. EG sometimes posts videos of the LM that our LG loves to watch over and over and.....
The Sky is Only Dark Between the Stars: Okay, what can I say? Jodie and I have bonded. She's a 29 year-old mom of three living in Louisiana. She's Cajun AND hilarious and always thinks the things we cook sound good. Plus, her poor children have never seen real snow, so simply for that reason you should go over there and show her some love.
Two other blogs I read have somewhat recently had name changes: A Ratdog's Ramblings is now Send Your Fire, and The Ones With the Baby is now Life as We Know it.
So you have lots of new reading to do this afternoon. I hope you'll check out these blogs and maybe even like them as much as I do.
In the meantime, I've gotten quite behind on updating the list of blogs I follow, which you can see over there in the sidebar. Here are a few new ones I've added in the past few months. Go take a gander, okay?
ABC - Life at the Beginning of the Alphabet: Abbey, a 29 year-old mom who came back to the US from Italy just a few months ago to have their second baby, a boy! She hasn't posted in a few weeks, but hello! New baby! I'm sure she's been busy.
Definitely RA: RA and her husband JG live in PA with their little Westie, Ted. Recipes, funny stories, and just good writing.
Hibby & Hubby: This one is brand new to me too. Hibby, a gal from MN, transplanted to Los Angeles with her brand new (and Canadian!!) husband. They have a lamp that used to be John MacArthur's office!
Meg Fowler: She's Canadian, living in Vancouver, Queen of Lists, and hilarious. What more do you need to know?
Minnesota Mom: MM lives in MN with her husband and their one-year-old. MM has her own photography business and writes about all kinds of things. Her unabashed posts about politics and faith are usually my favourites. Oh, and our daughters have the same name - how cool is that?
On the Flipside: Started just a few months ago by Kellan over at On the Upside, OtF is a place for women (mostly) to share opinions and ideas on a variety of post topics. Lots of good discussion!
Stuff Growing: E.G. won my very first bloggy giveaway and it's been fun to keep up with her adventures with her husband and her Little Man. EG sometimes posts videos of the LM that our LG loves to watch over and over and.....
The Sky is Only Dark Between the Stars: Okay, what can I say? Jodie and I have bonded. She's a 29 year-old mom of three living in Louisiana. She's Cajun AND hilarious and always thinks the things we cook sound good. Plus, her poor children have never seen real snow, so simply for that reason you should go over there and show her some love.
Two other blogs I read have somewhat recently had name changes: A Ratdog's Ramblings is now Send Your Fire, and The Ones With the Baby is now Life as We Know it.
So you have lots of new reading to do this afternoon. I hope you'll check out these blogs and maybe even like them as much as I do.
22 October, 2008
Feeling Fallish
Well you'll never guess what it just finished doing here? Yup, snowing. Snow. Dastardly snow! Already! I have a serious love-affair going on with Fall and I just can never seem to get enough of it. It's generally nice during the day and cool at night. I don't have to wear shorts (ugh!) but I also don't have to wear a winter jacket (argh!). These past couple of weeks we've had some gorgeous fall weather - brilliant sunny days with nary a cloud anywhere! It's made for some perfect walking weather. Alas, today, with the snow - that put quite a damper on our morning walk; but tomorrow is supposed to be sunny, and in fact, the sun is trying to shine just now too....
The Little Goat is getting a cold. Her nose is running like crazy today and I'm sure I heard her snoring this morning. Today we're trying to learn about blowing our nose, but so far it's not working very well.
It is times like these - in sickness and in cold - that my heart turns ever more to fall foods - all things pumpkin and root vegetable and slathered in sauce (be still, my thighs). Mrs. E., my best friend's mom, is, next to my Grama and my Mom, THE BEST cook I know. This woman is gifted in the kitchen! I HATED cauliflower until I had it in Mrs. E's veggie casserole. Now I live nowhere near her, but I DO have the veggie casserole recipe and you should know that I am about to share it with you and this is a very serious matter. Guard this recipe with your life because it will be the star of many a potluck to come. I promise.
Oh, before I give you the veggie casserole recipe, I'm going to give you a few links to other recipes we've been trying lately. Last Saturday, I modified this recipe for Chai-Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake so that it only used one package of cream cheese and I could make only four servings in four little ramekins (we had company Sunday night). It turned out really well and if you don't have cardamom, don't bother making it because it won't taste at all like Chai. If you're interested in my ever-so-slightly modified recipe, let me know in the comments and maybe I'll post it later or at least email it to you.
We also tried this Easy Pork Curry last week and it was equally fall-ish and super tasty. We'd highly recommend it.
Monday afternoon I made the Watkins featured recipe: Pumpkin Butter Cupcakes, only I just used regular canned pumpkin. They're relatively dense for a cupcake but get this: I was actually OUT of regular white sugar. Mr. J. was shocked! So I had to substitute in some brown sugar, add a little extra flour, oh, and make my own baking powder because I didn't have enough of that either. I used this browned butter (they call it "caramel") icing and it is heavenly. A perfect fall combination.
Finally, we whipped up this Moroccan Braised Chicken on Monday night and aside from the fact that you should double the veggies if you make it, it was excellent. We ate it over couscous as that seems to be our grain of choice these days.
Moving on, here's the Veggie Casserole recipe:
Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
one small onion, finely diced
1/4 flour
S&P to taste
1 1/2 cups milk (we almost always use fat-free or "skim")
1/3 cup shredded cheese (we used 2% sharp cheddar)
4 cups cooked veggies (such as: broccoli, cauliflower, carrots)
3/4 crushed buttery crackers (something like Ritz)
2 1/2 T. butter, melted
Directions:
Cook veggies in a large casserole dish in the microwave, drain off some of the liquid and set aside.
Over medium heat, melt butter, add onions and cook until softened. Stir in flour, then add milk. Stir until thickened, then add s&p and cheese and stir until cheese is melted. Pour cheese sauce over veggies in the casserole and stir until all the veggies are sauced. Mix the melted butter and cracker crumbs together, then spread evenly over the cheesy veg. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until edges are bubbly.
Oh goodness it tastes so good! Make it this week and then come back and thank me, and then I'll pass along your thanks to Mrs. E, okay? O-K!
The Little Goat is getting a cold. Her nose is running like crazy today and I'm sure I heard her snoring this morning. Today we're trying to learn about blowing our nose, but so far it's not working very well.
It is times like these - in sickness and in cold - that my heart turns ever more to fall foods - all things pumpkin and root vegetable and slathered in sauce (be still, my thighs). Mrs. E., my best friend's mom, is, next to my Grama and my Mom, THE BEST cook I know. This woman is gifted in the kitchen! I HATED cauliflower until I had it in Mrs. E's veggie casserole. Now I live nowhere near her, but I DO have the veggie casserole recipe and you should know that I am about to share it with you and this is a very serious matter. Guard this recipe with your life because it will be the star of many a potluck to come. I promise.
Oh, before I give you the veggie casserole recipe, I'm going to give you a few links to other recipes we've been trying lately. Last Saturday, I modified this recipe for Chai-Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake so that it only used one package of cream cheese and I could make only four servings in four little ramekins (we had company Sunday night). It turned out really well and if you don't have cardamom, don't bother making it because it won't taste at all like Chai. If you're interested in my ever-so-slightly modified recipe, let me know in the comments and maybe I'll post it later or at least email it to you.
We also tried this Easy Pork Curry last week and it was equally fall-ish and super tasty. We'd highly recommend it.
Monday afternoon I made the Watkins featured recipe: Pumpkin Butter Cupcakes, only I just used regular canned pumpkin. They're relatively dense for a cupcake but get this: I was actually OUT of regular white sugar. Mr. J. was shocked! So I had to substitute in some brown sugar, add a little extra flour, oh, and make my own baking powder because I didn't have enough of that either. I used this browned butter (they call it "caramel") icing and it is heavenly. A perfect fall combination.
Finally, we whipped up this Moroccan Braised Chicken on Monday night and aside from the fact that you should double the veggies if you make it, it was excellent. We ate it over couscous as that seems to be our grain of choice these days.
Moving on, here's the Veggie Casserole recipe:
Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
one small onion, finely diced
1/4 flour
S&P to taste
1 1/2 cups milk (we almost always use fat-free or "skim")
1/3 cup shredded cheese (we used 2% sharp cheddar)
4 cups cooked veggies (such as: broccoli, cauliflower, carrots)
3/4 crushed buttery crackers (something like Ritz)
2 1/2 T. butter, melted
Directions:
Cook veggies in a large casserole dish in the microwave, drain off some of the liquid and set aside.
Over medium heat, melt butter, add onions and cook until softened. Stir in flour, then add milk. Stir until thickened, then add s&p and cheese and stir until cheese is melted. Pour cheese sauce over veggies in the casserole and stir until all the veggies are sauced. Mix the melted butter and cracker crumbs together, then spread evenly over the cheesy veg. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until edges are bubbly.
Oh goodness it tastes so good! Make it this week and then come back and thank me, and then I'll pass along your thanks to Mrs. E, okay? O-K!
17 October, 2008
15 October, 2008
Our Family, In Pumpkins
Notice 'my' pumpkin is rotting from the top down...I keep hoping that's not some sort of foreshadowing.
13 October, 2008
Smells Like Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends! I hope this finds you well and stuffed full of turkey - or ham....because ham is better than turkey. Any day.
And now I present to you a Thanksgiving Game. From the following three pictures, choose the one that does not belong.
Things I am thankful for:
If you guessed the third picture, you're right! Give yourself 10 points!
Remember when I told you several months ago that we had a family of groundhogs living under our shed? Yeah, well, they moved out and we are entirely less besotted by our new tenants. *sigh*
And now I present to you a Thanksgiving Game. From the following three pictures, choose the one that does not belong.
Things I am thankful for:
If you guessed the third picture, you're right! Give yourself 10 points!Remember when I told you several months ago that we had a family of groundhogs living under our shed? Yeah, well, they moved out and we are entirely less besotted by our new tenants. *sigh*
10 October, 2008
Soup Weather is Upon Us
While my parents were here visiting, we didn't try a lot of new recipes, but we did make a lot of old ones. Mom and I made lots of pies - lemon meringue, rhubarb, pumpkin, and butterscotch meringue. Mom made two batches of butter tarts (PERFECT, MOM, PERFECT!), two batches of cottage cheese perogies and a big ol' batch of cabbage rolls. So one whole batch of perogies and all but three of the cabbage rolls are all in the freezer to be consumed, oh, probably within the next month because we can't stay away from my Mom's cooking for too long.
A week or two before Mom & Dad got here, I set out to make squash soup per Beck's post here. First, I realized that I totally didn't have enough time to use the crock pot so I was just going to make it in a pot on the stove. Then I made an even bigger realization.
This is a butterCUP squash.
This is a butterNUT squash.
Oops. Turns out it's a common mistake. Even when we were searching online to figure out which was which, we found a lot of people making the same mistake. At any rate, we made some soup and I added curry and chili powder and it turned out great and Mr. J. even had seconds (he's so full of self-control - he never has seconds) and remarked how we should make it again soon. So last week we purchased the CORRECT squash and I decided to try again. Since it worked well to make the soup on the stove top the first time and I was a little pressed for time, I decided to wing it again. Therefore, I present to you the following recipe (sans picture, because I just ate the last of the soup that didn't hit the freezer last night), which Mr. J. would have but did not have time to eat seconds of and also commented we should make again because it turned out that good!
Savoury ButterNUT Squash Soup
Ingredients:
1 average-sized butterNUT squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces (this is easier than it sounds)
3 celery stalks, finely diced
1 medium onion, finely diced
4 T. butter, divided
2 chicken-flavoured oxo cubes plus 4 cups water OR 4 cups chicken stock
1/4 t. rosemary
1/4 t. thyme
1/2 t. salt
pepper to taste
1 t. paprika
4 oz. reduced-fat cream cheese (optional)
Directions: Melt 2 T of butter in a soup pot and cook celery and onions until soft. Remove from pot and set aside. Melt the second 2 T of butter and cook (and slightly brown) the squash until its soft. Add the oxo cubes and water (or chicken stock) and spices and let simmer for about 20 minutes on med-low heat (if the soup has cooked down quite a bit, go ahead and add a couple more cups of water - it won't hurt it). If you're using the cream cheese, add it now and stir until it's mostly melted. Then use an immersion blender* and puree until soup is smooth. Serve hot with crackers or biscuits or whatever you like to eat with soup.
*Or use a regular blender and puree in small batches. BE CAREFUL with hot liquids in a blender and make sure your small children aren't standing too close!
A week or two before Mom & Dad got here, I set out to make squash soup per Beck's post here. First, I realized that I totally didn't have enough time to use the crock pot so I was just going to make it in a pot on the stove. Then I made an even bigger realization.
We bought one of these:
This is a butterCUP squash.instead of one of these:
This is a butterNUT squash.Savoury ButterNUT Squash Soup
Ingredients:
1 average-sized butterNUT squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces (this is easier than it sounds)
3 celery stalks, finely diced
1 medium onion, finely diced
4 T. butter, divided
2 chicken-flavoured oxo cubes plus 4 cups water OR 4 cups chicken stock
1/4 t. rosemary
1/4 t. thyme
1/2 t. salt
pepper to taste
1 t. paprika
4 oz. reduced-fat cream cheese (optional)
Directions: Melt 2 T of butter in a soup pot and cook celery and onions until soft. Remove from pot and set aside. Melt the second 2 T of butter and cook (and slightly brown) the squash until its soft. Add the oxo cubes and water (or chicken stock) and spices and let simmer for about 20 minutes on med-low heat (if the soup has cooked down quite a bit, go ahead and add a couple more cups of water - it won't hurt it). If you're using the cream cheese, add it now and stir until it's mostly melted. Then use an immersion blender* and puree until soup is smooth. Serve hot with crackers or biscuits or whatever you like to eat with soup.
*Or use a regular blender and puree in small batches. BE CAREFUL with hot liquids in a blender and make sure your small children aren't standing too close!
08 October, 2008
Wherein I Eat Lobster.
Well since I've posted last, the bushy wall in our backyard has lost almost all of its leaves and I've had far too many of those moments when we drive by now nearly-naked trees, our hearts silently begging them not to give in to the tentacles of frost creeping up their branches during the night.
My parents left at 5:30 yesterday morning and we're very slowly getting back to our regular 'routine' (if you can call it that). I also realized a couple nights ago that I couldn't even remember what my blog looked like and I MISS YOU GUYS! I am so far behind on reading blogs I couldn't even bring myself to peak at my Google Reader list yesterday. But what can I expect? Just because we go on 'hiatus' doesn't mean all of you should too. Or wait. Maybe you should! Yes, that's right, Internets! Bend to my every whim.
Or not.
I have this long list of all the things I want to blog about (Jodie, you'd be proud!), but in the absence of my parents I am now required to provide three times the amount of attention and entertainment necessary to satisfy our Little Goat. Our teething Little Goat, might I add. Yes, Friends, she has cut six (I know! SIX!) teeth in the last week, so in addition to cooking up a storm with my Mom, golfing with Dad, and playing more Skip-Bo and Phase 10 than we have in the last year, sleep has been rather elusive. Last night we had a breakthrough though and she only had one 'false alarm' in the night that I didn't even have to go in her room for. It might've helped that I drank my cup of tea much earlier in the day too.
At any rate, first on my list to tell you about is our trip to Eastport. We had one day between my parents arrival and our departure for The Ocean, so we packed up stuff for the weekend and went through all the bags of goodies my parents brought - mostly Canadian honey and snack food that we can't get here (Oh, Old Dutch, how we've missed you!). Last year when my parents visited, we went down to Bar Harbor for a weekend. It was quite warm and we all ended up with sunburns. This time, however, it was quite a bit colder, though still as beautiful.
We rented a little cabin with a perfect ocean view. We could see Canada across the bay and thanks to the LG, I almost caught a sunrise one morning. The LG slept TERRIBLY the entire weekend but we will chalk that up to the fact that it was so cold in our cabin despite the crazy (fire hazard) gas heater. A couple mornings, we even put the four burners on the stove on just to try to heat up the place.
Eastport itself doesn't have much to offer. We ate out once at a place called The Happy Crab and indeed, our own little crab could hardly stop laughing the entire time we were there. I think most of the patrons were relatively amused. At least she wasn't screaming. How can a laughing baby make people grouchy? The other thing Eastport is famous for is Raye's Mustard which is the only place in America still manufacturing stone-ground mustard. Hard to believe for such a tiny place, but we had a little tour and sampled almost every flavour they make and got lots of little 'made in Maine'-type souvenirs, including some really fabulous goat's milk soap that has eased the LG's skin irritation considerably.
We went down there on a Friday and stopped at this restaurant called Grammy's along the way (they're famous for their portion sizes) where I attempted to conquer the biggest plate of poutine I've ever seen! (I couldn't do it.) On Saturday, we took two cars over to New Brunswick. Mr. J. and I stopped at the Ganong chocolate factory and got some very tasty little fruit chews (yes, FRUIT chews - how very unlike me) and two of the most amazing truffles we've ever tasted. My parents took the LG for the afternoon and Mr. J. and I went for 'high tea' at the Fairmont Algonquin in St. Andrews (by-the-Sea). It was really nice. Not quite as fancy as when we went for tea at the Empress in Victoria, but still nice. It's always weird to us going out places without the LG. We feel a little naked and almost somehow....not as 'special' because we don't have the cutest baby in the room. But it IS a good opportunity to practice our adult-conversation skills. Haha.
The rest of the time, we spent playing games, drinking hot drinks, trying to figure out how to use a really old gas oven, and just relaxing. It was great to be away for the weekend with not much to do. And because I know that pictures are worth a thousand words and you all want to see the weekend in pictures, I won't deprive you. I love you THAT much! *grin*
See you soon!
Almost sunrise outside our little cabin. (And then I went back to bed.)
Lobstering!
The Little Goat and her Grampa.
Beady little eyes.
Urchin!
Some of you may know about my 'Never Eat Crustaceans' Policy, but I broke it because that's what one does when one is paying $50 for high tea (once on each coast; we're done now). Those little sandwiches closest to the front have lobster in them. It was awful. Weird.
St. Andrews by-the-Sea.
Mr. J., me, Grama, Grampa and the LG by-the-Sea.
The LG by-the-Sea.
Mount Katahdin at sunset.
My parents left at 5:30 yesterday morning and we're very slowly getting back to our regular 'routine' (if you can call it that). I also realized a couple nights ago that I couldn't even remember what my blog looked like and I MISS YOU GUYS! I am so far behind on reading blogs I couldn't even bring myself to peak at my Google Reader list yesterday. But what can I expect? Just because we go on 'hiatus' doesn't mean all of you should too. Or wait. Maybe you should! Yes, that's right, Internets! Bend to my every whim.
Or not.
I have this long list of all the things I want to blog about (Jodie, you'd be proud!), but in the absence of my parents I am now required to provide three times the amount of attention and entertainment necessary to satisfy our Little Goat. Our teething Little Goat, might I add. Yes, Friends, she has cut six (I know! SIX!) teeth in the last week, so in addition to cooking up a storm with my Mom, golfing with Dad, and playing more Skip-Bo and Phase 10 than we have in the last year, sleep has been rather elusive. Last night we had a breakthrough though and she only had one 'false alarm' in the night that I didn't even have to go in her room for. It might've helped that I drank my cup of tea much earlier in the day too.
At any rate, first on my list to tell you about is our trip to Eastport. We had one day between my parents arrival and our departure for The Ocean, so we packed up stuff for the weekend and went through all the bags of goodies my parents brought - mostly Canadian honey and snack food that we can't get here (Oh, Old Dutch, how we've missed you!). Last year when my parents visited, we went down to Bar Harbor for a weekend. It was quite warm and we all ended up with sunburns. This time, however, it was quite a bit colder, though still as beautiful.
We rented a little cabin with a perfect ocean view. We could see Canada across the bay and thanks to the LG, I almost caught a sunrise one morning. The LG slept TERRIBLY the entire weekend but we will chalk that up to the fact that it was so cold in our cabin despite the crazy (fire hazard) gas heater. A couple mornings, we even put the four burners on the stove on just to try to heat up the place.
Eastport itself doesn't have much to offer. We ate out once at a place called The Happy Crab and indeed, our own little crab could hardly stop laughing the entire time we were there. I think most of the patrons were relatively amused. At least she wasn't screaming. How can a laughing baby make people grouchy? The other thing Eastport is famous for is Raye's Mustard which is the only place in America still manufacturing stone-ground mustard. Hard to believe for such a tiny place, but we had a little tour and sampled almost every flavour they make and got lots of little 'made in Maine'-type souvenirs, including some really fabulous goat's milk soap that has eased the LG's skin irritation considerably.
We went down there on a Friday and stopped at this restaurant called Grammy's along the way (they're famous for their portion sizes) where I attempted to conquer the biggest plate of poutine I've ever seen! (I couldn't do it.) On Saturday, we took two cars over to New Brunswick. Mr. J. and I stopped at the Ganong chocolate factory and got some very tasty little fruit chews (yes, FRUIT chews - how very unlike me) and two of the most amazing truffles we've ever tasted. My parents took the LG for the afternoon and Mr. J. and I went for 'high tea' at the Fairmont Algonquin in St. Andrews (by-the-Sea). It was really nice. Not quite as fancy as when we went for tea at the Empress in Victoria, but still nice. It's always weird to us going out places without the LG. We feel a little naked and almost somehow....not as 'special' because we don't have the cutest baby in the room. But it IS a good opportunity to practice our adult-conversation skills. Haha.
The rest of the time, we spent playing games, drinking hot drinks, trying to figure out how to use a really old gas oven, and just relaxing. It was great to be away for the weekend with not much to do. And because I know that pictures are worth a thousand words and you all want to see the weekend in pictures, I won't deprive you. I love you THAT much! *grin*
See you soon!
Almost sunrise outside our little cabin. (And then I went back to bed.)
Lobstering!
The Little Goat and her Grampa.
Beady little eyes.
Urchin!
Having tea at the Algonquin.
Some of you may know about my 'Never Eat Crustaceans' Policy, but I broke it because that's what one does when one is paying $50 for high tea (once on each coast; we're done now). Those little sandwiches closest to the front have lobster in them. It was awful. Weird.
St. Andrews by-the-Sea.
Mr. J., me, Grama, Grampa and the LG by-the-Sea.
The LG by-the-Sea.
Mount Katahdin at sunset.18 September, 2008
MIA
Well I was wondering how long it would be until somebody noticed I've been gone and Erin K. actually called me this morning so I figured I should maybe post at least a little something so you all know I'm alive. The truth is, the weather has been iffy these last couple weeks and we've been wanting to spend as much time enjoying it as possible. Also, my parents are coming either later tonight or tomorrow, so we've been busy trying to get things ready and do some tidying, etc.
Beyond that, I really feel at a loss for things to post about. It seems like nothing really exciting it happening around here and I feel like this blog is directionless. I need to fix that. In the meantime, here are a few tidbits of minor interest that aren't important enough to warrant their own post, but I will include here nevertheless.
The Little Goat is still not walking on her own, but can give kisses and high-fives and is waving and dancing like crazy. She also appears to be in the beginning stages of learning to throw tantrums. Speaking of....I'll be back. Okay, well that's over....and now it's several hours later and the LG is napping peacefully and I just talked to my parents and they'll be here in five or so hours. GACK! We weren't sure if they were coming today or tomorrow and I guess now we know which means I have to skeedaddle and keep up the cleaning, which means no itemized list of non-posty post thoughts.
While I was gone, I did think of something I've been meaning to do which is update that little list over there on the side that links to all the great blogs I read (speaking of: slow down, you guys! My Google Reader says 60 and I can't keep up!!). I've got quite a few to add to that list that I KNOW you guys will love.
Thanks for stopping by, I do miss you guys and I miss reading your blogs - maybe while my parents are here I'll have more time to catch up while they babysit! Hmm.... Hope you all have a great weekend!
Beyond that, I really feel at a loss for things to post about. It seems like nothing really exciting it happening around here and I feel like this blog is directionless. I need to fix that. In the meantime, here are a few tidbits of minor interest that aren't important enough to warrant their own post, but I will include here nevertheless.
The Little Goat is still not walking on her own, but can give kisses and high-fives and is waving and dancing like crazy. She also appears to be in the beginning stages of learning to throw tantrums. Speaking of....I'll be back. Okay, well that's over....and now it's several hours later and the LG is napping peacefully and I just talked to my parents and they'll be here in five or so hours. GACK! We weren't sure if they were coming today or tomorrow and I guess now we know which means I have to skeedaddle and keep up the cleaning, which means no itemized list of non-posty post thoughts.
While I was gone, I did think of something I've been meaning to do which is update that little list over there on the side that links to all the great blogs I read (speaking of: slow down, you guys! My Google Reader says 60 and I can't keep up!!). I've got quite a few to add to that list that I KNOW you guys will love.
Thanks for stopping by, I do miss you guys and I miss reading your blogs - maybe while my parents are here I'll have more time to catch up while they babysit! Hmm.... Hope you all have a great weekend!
02 September, 2008
New Wheels
Well we actually had a BUSY weekend for once. *gasp* I know, I know, try to contain your shock!
RubyTwo! And there's no doubt this time - she's RED.
The Little Goat with Dad at the Ocean.
The Ocean, as seen from the Coast of Maine.
The ever-elusive SmokeButt Fish hiding out in a tide pool.
Lunch!
Yes, that is the trail we 'walked' up.
But the view from the top was great!
Taking a break by the lake after our hike.
On Saturday we drove down to this place about four hours from here and bought a car from this old bachelor chap. We bought a Subaru Outback, a '97 so nothing new or anything. It stinks like dog inside so I told Mr. J. I won't drive it or ride in it until we get the upholstery cleaned which is hopefully happening this weekend. So we are a two-car family for the moment. We will sell old RubySu at some point though....because we still have to pay for this crazy pellet stove.
Sunday we went to church and then out for lunch, then to the walmarts for a grocery shopping trip and because we needed to avoid our house until after 2pm because it was being shown. It was also shown on Saturday morning and it is now so 'clean' and 'clutter-free' it's almost annoying but it means I have almost nothing to 'do' to it which I should appreciate. Mostly, the clutter is hidden in places...and then of course, I can't find anything. Sunday evening we went over to H&C's for a little Rock Band which was great. We also found out that while they're in NC on vacation for the next two weeks, C has a job interview which may mean they'll be moving sooner than we'll be and then we'll have no friends here to hang out with. So....we want him to get the job...but maybe he can start it sometime next year.....
On Monday, it being the holiday, we slept late-ish and made Southern Pancakes and eggs for breakfast. The LG LOVES pancakes! Then we got ready and went to the State Park closest to us. I'm kind of annoyed that we never realized what a little gem of a park it is, but it feels like we've never really had time to go anyway. The 'beach' has no sand and walls of black plastic all along it with three entrances; it's to keep the geese off the grass. After our completely HELL-like hike, however, who cares about a funny-looking beach - the water felt SO good on my feet! The hike though? Seriously horrid! It was 3/4 mile up to the South Peak and it was so freaking steep! Steep to the point where we were climbing rocks to get up there. The view was great, mind you, but good grief! I thought I was going to die! Mr. J. was carrying the LG in the carrier and I just had a regular backpack so I don't have half as much to complain about as he does except he hardly complained at all. Anyway, once at the top, Mr. J. didn't want to try going down that trail carrying the LG so we were going to walk between peaks (south and north) and then back down to the parking lot b/c the north peak trail was supposed to be less steep. Hah! The only difference was that it had a FEW less rocks. There was one part where we had to break off the trail and follow these pink tags on the trees because there was a huge ground-hornet nest in the middle of the trail. Anyway, we made it and the views were good and Mr. J. told me he was very proud of me and all that. It was our first 'real' hike in two years (sad, but true) so of course we picked the worst trail possible and whoever made those trails had no concept of making switchbacks so the trail would be easier and less steep. We rewarded ourselves with our foot-dip in the lake and later with ice cream (cause you know we had to replace all those calories we had just burned. ) Har!
So here are some pictures from our trip down to get our 'new' car, RubyTwo, and a couple from our hike. I'll have to add more later when the pics from Mr. J.'s camera get uploaded.
RubyTwo! And there's no doubt this time - she's RED.
The Little Goat with Dad at the Ocean.
The Ocean, as seen from the Coast of Maine.
The ever-elusive SmokeButt Fish hiding out in a tide pool.
Lunch!
Yes, that is the trail we 'walked' up.
But the view from the top was great!
Taking a break by the lake after our hike.29 August, 2008
Whip it Up Challenge: Week 8*
*AKA: The End.
When I was pregnant with the Little Goat, I craved all things Lemon. It really didn't matter what form it took - main ingredient or seasoning - I wanted LEMON! Well the pregnancy is obviously long over but my love for lemons has only increased. Seriously; the only thing better than lemony things (and it's not better by much) is chocolate. So it seemed only natural when I saw this recipe that I NEEDED to eat it. It also seems like a fitting culmination of my participation in the Whip it Up Challenge. So, for my Week 8 (and final) submission, I present Lemon Pudding Souffle.
I felt a little rushed in my preparation of this dessert and had homemade soup and cheesy biscuits on the go for dinner at the same time which meant I was suffering from a severe shortage of counter space. We have limited counter space in our kitchen to begin with and usually, when I'm trying a new recipe (or really, cooking anything) I like to start in a clean kitchen. (Mr. J.'s Mom can attest to my compulsive dish-washing while cake & filling-making at their house a couple weeks ago.)
I also felt a little like Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina and the look of fear on her face when she was preparing her souffle in culinary school, but it turns out I had nothing to fear. The recipe was relatively easy although probably because I felt rushed I also felt it was a little picky. I could just as easily make a lemon pudding cake I suppose, but I've made those before so this was something new.
Here's the Q&A:
Was the recipe easy to follow? Relatively. I'm glad I read it through a couple times before I started, but I still goofed it up. I used four egg whites instead of the three the recipe said to use but in the end I don't think it really made a difference.
...Did it taste good? It was surprisingly good. I used all the rind from both lemons (1/4 cup of lemon juice is roughly two good-sized lemons, just in case you need to know). I was hoping to further enhance the lemon flavour and I think it was a success.
Would we make it again? Mr. J. said he'd eat it again and I think I could be convinced to make it again if we had more time. We ate it warm although it says you can serve it chilled. We don't own a 'proper' souffle dish so we just used a regular baking dish and we think it turned out fine. It didn't fall nearly as much as we thought it would either and the texture of the 'cake' was quite light. We only had two complaints. The first being that the sauce didn't really thicken up as much as we would've liked and the second being that I wish the sauce wasn't so.....creamy. Back in Canada (and I'm sure you could find it in America if you looked hard enough) we have this lemon pudding/pie filling mix called Shirriff, which now goes under the name Dr. Oetker.** It's amazing and non-dairy. It looks more clear and is just really zingy. It seems to me that milk sort of mellows the lemon taste a bit. So, if we did make it again, maybe we'd try it with water or half water/half milk and see what happens. Definitely an elegant-looking dessert for a dinner party if you're so inclined. It would look really nice in individual souffle dishes with icing sugar sprinkled on top. Mmmmm.... Oh yes, here's the picture of the souffle straight out of the oven. Please pardon the poor lighting.
**Woot! Woot! I just checked and the Dr. Oetker website says it's "now available in the USA!" I should add that this is the ONLY filling I EVER use for making lemon meringue pie and I've had several people tell me it's the best lemon pie they've ever had (hah! Little do they know it's a MIX!). So if you can find it, try it! Okay? Okay!
When I was pregnant with the Little Goat, I craved all things Lemon. It really didn't matter what form it took - main ingredient or seasoning - I wanted LEMON! Well the pregnancy is obviously long over but my love for lemons has only increased. Seriously; the only thing better than lemony things (and it's not better by much) is chocolate. So it seemed only natural when I saw this recipe that I NEEDED to eat it. It also seems like a fitting culmination of my participation in the Whip it Up Challenge. So, for my Week 8 (and final) submission, I present Lemon Pudding Souffle.
I felt a little rushed in my preparation of this dessert and had homemade soup and cheesy biscuits on the go for dinner at the same time which meant I was suffering from a severe shortage of counter space. We have limited counter space in our kitchen to begin with and usually, when I'm trying a new recipe (or really, cooking anything) I like to start in a clean kitchen. (Mr. J.'s Mom can attest to my compulsive dish-washing while cake & filling-making at their house a couple weeks ago.)
I also felt a little like Audrey Hepburn in Sabrina and the look of fear on her face when she was preparing her souffle in culinary school, but it turns out I had nothing to fear. The recipe was relatively easy although probably because I felt rushed I also felt it was a little picky. I could just as easily make a lemon pudding cake I suppose, but I've made those before so this was something new.
Here's the Q&A:
Was the recipe easy to follow? Relatively. I'm glad I read it through a couple times before I started, but I still goofed it up. I used four egg whites instead of the three the recipe said to use but in the end I don't think it really made a difference.
...Did it taste good? It was surprisingly good. I used all the rind from both lemons (1/4 cup of lemon juice is roughly two good-sized lemons, just in case you need to know). I was hoping to further enhance the lemon flavour and I think it was a success.
Would we make it again? Mr. J. said he'd eat it again and I think I could be convinced to make it again if we had more time. We ate it warm although it says you can serve it chilled. We don't own a 'proper' souffle dish so we just used a regular baking dish and we think it turned out fine. It didn't fall nearly as much as we thought it would either and the texture of the 'cake' was quite light. We only had two complaints. The first being that the sauce didn't really thicken up as much as we would've liked and the second being that I wish the sauce wasn't so.....creamy. Back in Canada (and I'm sure you could find it in America if you looked hard enough) we have this lemon pudding/pie filling mix called Shirriff, which now goes under the name Dr. Oetker.** It's amazing and non-dairy. It looks more clear and is just really zingy. It seems to me that milk sort of mellows the lemon taste a bit. So, if we did make it again, maybe we'd try it with water or half water/half milk and see what happens. Definitely an elegant-looking dessert for a dinner party if you're so inclined. It would look really nice in individual souffle dishes with icing sugar sprinkled on top. Mmmmm.... Oh yes, here's the picture of the souffle straight out of the oven. Please pardon the poor lighting.
**Woot! Woot! I just checked and the Dr. Oetker website says it's "now available in the USA!" I should add that this is the ONLY filling I EVER use for making lemon meringue pie and I've had several people tell me it's the best lemon pie they've ever had (hah! Little do they know it's a MIX!). So if you can find it, try it! Okay? Okay!
26 August, 2008
The Trip Pics
For a limited time only:
See cake pictures here.
See fancy pictures here.
See regular trip pictures here.
And then forget all the names you just read, okay? Thanks. :)
See cake pictures here.
See fancy pictures here.
See regular trip pictures here.
And then forget all the names you just read, okay? Thanks. :)
The End of Summer
It's only the 26th of August, but we decided last night that it's official: Summer. Is. Over. Our major summer excursion now being past, we wait with bated breath for a lawn strewn with crispy leaves and a golden harvest moon. We did however, thoroughly enjoy our vacation, spending a lot (but never quite enough, it seems) time with old friends and family we hadn't seen in almost two years.
The trip out to Washington started far too slowly. We drove down to Airport City the night before our flight left which proved to be a stroke of genius because it left us lots of time to do a little shopping, pick up a few things I still needed for cake decorating, and plenty of time in the morning to get to the airport. Except when we got to the airport, early of course like good little passengers, we realized we hadn't though about lunch and then had to spend money on airport food to tide us over until we boarded. Then we boarded and were just settled in our seats when the pilot came over the intercom to tell us that there was bad weather and too many planes in the air over Newark (NJ) so our departure time was being pushed back. After all was said and done, it ended up being pushed back by FOUR hours AND we had to spend money on airport food a second time (although it was tasty, but still!). If that doesn't make for a flight full of cranky passengers, I don't know what does. A lot of people missed (some by just minutes) connecting flights, including us. When we got off the plane, we talked to the first ticketing agent we saw who got us stand-by boarding passes for the next flight to Seattle, stand-by bp's for a flight early the next morning and guaranteed tickets for the same flight the next night. I don't know how many of you have been to the airport in Newark but we arrived in one terminal and had to take a bus over to another terminal for our departure and I always hate that sort of setup because when minutes count, waiting for a bus is a little nerve-wracking. We finally got to the other terminal and they were just calling for stand-by passengers. We got in line and the cranky lady took our passes and focused intently on her computer screen before handing us back a bunch of papers. We weren't sure what was going on until she basically yelled at us and wanted to know why we were still standing there. We were confused but figured out we had gotten on the flight. Joy ensued until we realized that for a six-hour flight with a one-year-old, they had seated us half a plane apart. Ack! Thankfully, the other guy at the counter took pity on us and rearranged things. A flight attendant further rearranged things so we ended up with a row of seats to ourselves. That was awesome because the Little Goat ended up sleeping on the seat between us for most of the ride; she did great! It probably helped that it was already nighttime and her regular bedtime anyway.
Our flight back was not quite as peachy because we didn't have that extra seat and the LG was rather cranky. Then we boarded our connecting flight in NJ and the pilot told us we were 25th in line for take-off so we ended up taking off an hour late. If the flight had been on-time, the LG probably would've been fine. As it was, she was NOT happy and wailed for a good part of the hour and ten minutes. We did learn something with all this flying though: next time, we will either book a day of travel with multiple flights or take a longer flight but book the LG her own seat. I know it costs more, but it just made the trip so much more bearable to have that extra seat.
Anyway, the Saturday morning after we got there, my cousin Tryva and another cousin M came down to Seattle and we met at the Market for lunch. We went to my favourite little place at the market, "Peroshky, Peroshky" and I had a very tasty mushroom-onion peroshky and Mr. J. and I shared a rhubarb peroshky too. Oh......YUM! We had a very short but very fun visit and discovered a coffee shop we hadn't been too before (that was NOT Starbucks - hooray!) where the perfect latte includes latte art in a to-go cup. That is dedication, people. The rest of Saturday was a quick trip to see Mr. J.'s Nana and then back over to the East Side.
Thankfully, the weather on Sunday for our first day back in B, was completely tolerable and not nearly as hot as we were expecting (don't worry, that all changed very quickly). Church on Sunday was good and it was so great to see everybody again. Plus it just so happened that our friend Forrest cut the sermon a little short so people would have a chance to visit with us.
The rest of that week primarily involved doing all things wedding and cake-related, but squeezing in as many visits as possible. Monday, Michelle helped me make all the fillings and icing for her cake. Monday evening was her bridal shower which turned out quite nicely, I think. Tuesday I went over to my very dear friend Christine's first thing. We had lunch and talked and watched our kids and it was just like old times. That night, the couple we were staying with (Forrest & Carole who are like parents to me) hosted a dessert night for all our church friends. We didn't get to visit with everybody nearly long enough, but it was relaxing and fun and just.....good.
Wednesday was cake-baking day. It took all of the morning and most of the afternoon, but I only had one flop and we had a proper cake-tasting with lunch.
The Groom finally arrived on Thursday so we took a trip up to the wedding site so Jim could see where he was going to get married in two days. M&J picked out a spot for the ceremony, Mr. J. and I scoped out locations for pictures, the Mother-of-the-Bride talked details with the site owners, and the LG was hot because yes, by that time, it was hot. Almost 100F hot.
Friday was cake decorating day and let me just say: it took about as long as I thought it would but I forgot how stinking boring it gets after a while. I just wanted it to be over! Thankfully, Grandma Carole watched the LG the whole time so I had minimal interruptions. Hooray! We also had the 'rehearsal' dinner on Friday night although there really was no rehearsal, just dinner. The big deal at dinner was GIGANTIC crab legs that Mark, the Best Man had arranged and that I think had just flown in from Alaska the night before (and the word on the street is that Mark has totally met Sig from Deadliest Catch! So cool!). I hate crustaceans so the legs stayed far away from me, but I hear it was fabulous. It was a fun dinner but down to business! When we left the Bride & Groom were still working on vows. Yikes!
Saturday was FREAKING HOT. It was at least 104F according to an average of several temperatures. Pictures started a little late so we had to finish the family group photos after the ceremony, but the ceremony started exactly on time (at least according to my watch which is the only time-piece I have control over that is NOT fast). The ceremony was super short but it was so hot I don't think anybody minded. Family pictures were okay except the sun was really in the wrong spot so a lot of people are squinting, but at least the pictures got taken. After the pictures were done, I took the LG back into town to stay with some friends for the evening. She was so miserable from the heat and having missed her afternoon nap, but as soon as we got in the car to go to Dean & Kristi's, she perked right up and was happy and jabbering most of the way there. (Thanks again for babysitting, you guys! It was so nice to not have to worry a bit about her during the reception.)
The reception was relaxed and it seemed like everybody had a good time and the food was great. The cake stayed in the air conditioned house on-site until about five minutes before the cake-cutting so my worry about the icing melting off and the flowers wilting was completely assuaged. The cake cutting was a funny affair and I heard lots of good comments about the cake (how it looked AND how it tasted). Grandma declared it was the best wedding cake she'd ever had.
The four days after the wedding were crammed full of visiting with more people, trying to go to the beach (it was actually too cold to swim - boo!), going to the drive-in in Chelan, home of THE BEST hot fudge milkshake you will ever consume in your lifetime, lunch with Grandma and Grandpa J (I ate green beans!), a trip to E-Z's for the second best milkshake you'll ever consume, a trip to the petting farm that turned out to be closed but we fed a goat anyway, and a highlight for me - going out for coffee one evening with Christine with NO CHILDREN! *gasp* Christine's baby shower was on Wednesday, sadly sans bebe since that baby has evidently inherited his/her mother's stubbornness and refuses to come out! Sheesh!
We drove back over to Seattle on Thursday night and stayed at Jim & Michelle's (they were on their honeymoon in Kauai). We got to play Wii and I beat Mr. J. at baseball, of all things. Friday we boarded our flight and were on our way back here.
Two weeks was too short for that trip, but at least they were a full two weeks and even though we were all sick the first week, we managed to cope fairly well with the time difference and see almost everybody we wanted to with a few exceptions. Next time though. Oh, oh - and we even got a slight suntan! Will wonders ever cease? I kept attributing my tiredness and illness to the fact that our bodies were absorbing more Vitamin D in a week than they have for the last two years.
Now we are back here (not "Home," just "here") and as I mentioned, it's cold. It's only about 67F here today and the guy on the radio just told me to break out my long johns because it's supposed to get down to 40F tonight (32F is freezing, my Canadian friends so that should give you some idea....). *sigh* 40F.
I have lots of pictures to post, but I'll get to that later. I am so ridiculously far behind in blog reading. At last check, there were over 100 unreads on my Google Reader list - slow down, people! Please!
The trip out to Washington started far too slowly. We drove down to Airport City the night before our flight left which proved to be a stroke of genius because it left us lots of time to do a little shopping, pick up a few things I still needed for cake decorating, and plenty of time in the morning to get to the airport. Except when we got to the airport, early of course like good little passengers, we realized we hadn't though about lunch and then had to spend money on airport food to tide us over until we boarded. Then we boarded and were just settled in our seats when the pilot came over the intercom to tell us that there was bad weather and too many planes in the air over Newark (NJ) so our departure time was being pushed back. After all was said and done, it ended up being pushed back by FOUR hours AND we had to spend money on airport food a second time (although it was tasty, but still!). If that doesn't make for a flight full of cranky passengers, I don't know what does. A lot of people missed (some by just minutes) connecting flights, including us. When we got off the plane, we talked to the first ticketing agent we saw who got us stand-by boarding passes for the next flight to Seattle, stand-by bp's for a flight early the next morning and guaranteed tickets for the same flight the next night. I don't know how many of you have been to the airport in Newark but we arrived in one terminal and had to take a bus over to another terminal for our departure and I always hate that sort of setup because when minutes count, waiting for a bus is a little nerve-wracking. We finally got to the other terminal and they were just calling for stand-by passengers. We got in line and the cranky lady took our passes and focused intently on her computer screen before handing us back a bunch of papers. We weren't sure what was going on until she basically yelled at us and wanted to know why we were still standing there. We were confused but figured out we had gotten on the flight. Joy ensued until we realized that for a six-hour flight with a one-year-old, they had seated us half a plane apart. Ack! Thankfully, the other guy at the counter took pity on us and rearranged things. A flight attendant further rearranged things so we ended up with a row of seats to ourselves. That was awesome because the Little Goat ended up sleeping on the seat between us for most of the ride; she did great! It probably helped that it was already nighttime and her regular bedtime anyway.
Our flight back was not quite as peachy because we didn't have that extra seat and the LG was rather cranky. Then we boarded our connecting flight in NJ and the pilot told us we were 25th in line for take-off so we ended up taking off an hour late. If the flight had been on-time, the LG probably would've been fine. As it was, she was NOT happy and wailed for a good part of the hour and ten minutes. We did learn something with all this flying though: next time, we will either book a day of travel with multiple flights or take a longer flight but book the LG her own seat. I know it costs more, but it just made the trip so much more bearable to have that extra seat.
Anyway, the Saturday morning after we got there, my cousin Tryva and another cousin M came down to Seattle and we met at the Market for lunch. We went to my favourite little place at the market, "Peroshky, Peroshky" and I had a very tasty mushroom-onion peroshky and Mr. J. and I shared a rhubarb peroshky too. Oh......YUM! We had a very short but very fun visit and discovered a coffee shop we hadn't been too before (that was NOT Starbucks - hooray!) where the perfect latte includes latte art in a to-go cup. That is dedication, people. The rest of Saturday was a quick trip to see Mr. J.'s Nana and then back over to the East Side.
Thankfully, the weather on Sunday for our first day back in B, was completely tolerable and not nearly as hot as we were expecting (don't worry, that all changed very quickly). Church on Sunday was good and it was so great to see everybody again. Plus it just so happened that our friend Forrest cut the sermon a little short so people would have a chance to visit with us.
The rest of that week primarily involved doing all things wedding and cake-related, but squeezing in as many visits as possible. Monday, Michelle helped me make all the fillings and icing for her cake. Monday evening was her bridal shower which turned out quite nicely, I think. Tuesday I went over to my very dear friend Christine's first thing. We had lunch and talked and watched our kids and it was just like old times. That night, the couple we were staying with (Forrest & Carole who are like parents to me) hosted a dessert night for all our church friends. We didn't get to visit with everybody nearly long enough, but it was relaxing and fun and just.....good.
Wednesday was cake-baking day. It took all of the morning and most of the afternoon, but I only had one flop and we had a proper cake-tasting with lunch.
The Groom finally arrived on Thursday so we took a trip up to the wedding site so Jim could see where he was going to get married in two days. M&J picked out a spot for the ceremony, Mr. J. and I scoped out locations for pictures, the Mother-of-the-Bride talked details with the site owners, and the LG was hot because yes, by that time, it was hot. Almost 100F hot.
Friday was cake decorating day and let me just say: it took about as long as I thought it would but I forgot how stinking boring it gets after a while. I just wanted it to be over! Thankfully, Grandma Carole watched the LG the whole time so I had minimal interruptions. Hooray! We also had the 'rehearsal' dinner on Friday night although there really was no rehearsal, just dinner. The big deal at dinner was GIGANTIC crab legs that Mark, the Best Man had arranged and that I think had just flown in from Alaska the night before (and the word on the street is that Mark has totally met Sig from Deadliest Catch! So cool!). I hate crustaceans so the legs stayed far away from me, but I hear it was fabulous. It was a fun dinner but down to business! When we left the Bride & Groom were still working on vows. Yikes!
Saturday was FREAKING HOT. It was at least 104F according to an average of several temperatures. Pictures started a little late so we had to finish the family group photos after the ceremony, but the ceremony started exactly on time (at least according to my watch which is the only time-piece I have control over that is NOT fast). The ceremony was super short but it was so hot I don't think anybody minded. Family pictures were okay except the sun was really in the wrong spot so a lot of people are squinting, but at least the pictures got taken. After the pictures were done, I took the LG back into town to stay with some friends for the evening. She was so miserable from the heat and having missed her afternoon nap, but as soon as we got in the car to go to Dean & Kristi's, she perked right up and was happy and jabbering most of the way there. (Thanks again for babysitting, you guys! It was so nice to not have to worry a bit about her during the reception.)
The reception was relaxed and it seemed like everybody had a good time and the food was great. The cake stayed in the air conditioned house on-site until about five minutes before the cake-cutting so my worry about the icing melting off and the flowers wilting was completely assuaged. The cake cutting was a funny affair and I heard lots of good comments about the cake (how it looked AND how it tasted). Grandma declared it was the best wedding cake she'd ever had.
The four days after the wedding were crammed full of visiting with more people, trying to go to the beach (it was actually too cold to swim - boo!), going to the drive-in in Chelan, home of THE BEST hot fudge milkshake you will ever consume in your lifetime, lunch with Grandma and Grandpa J (I ate green beans!), a trip to E-Z's for the second best milkshake you'll ever consume, a trip to the petting farm that turned out to be closed but we fed a goat anyway, and a highlight for me - going out for coffee one evening with Christine with NO CHILDREN! *gasp* Christine's baby shower was on Wednesday, sadly sans bebe since that baby has evidently inherited his/her mother's stubbornness and refuses to come out! Sheesh!
We drove back over to Seattle on Thursday night and stayed at Jim & Michelle's (they were on their honeymoon in Kauai). We got to play Wii and I beat Mr. J. at baseball, of all things. Friday we boarded our flight and were on our way back here.
Two weeks was too short for that trip, but at least they were a full two weeks and even though we were all sick the first week, we managed to cope fairly well with the time difference and see almost everybody we wanted to with a few exceptions. Next time though. Oh, oh - and we even got a slight suntan! Will wonders ever cease? I kept attributing my tiredness and illness to the fact that our bodies were absorbing more Vitamin D in a week than they have for the last two years.
Now we are back here (not "Home," just "here") and as I mentioned, it's cold. It's only about 67F here today and the guy on the radio just told me to break out my long johns because it's supposed to get down to 40F tonight (32F is freezing, my Canadian friends so that should give you some idea....). *sigh* 40F.
I have lots of pictures to post, but I'll get to that later. I am so ridiculously far behind in blog reading. At last check, there were over 100 unreads on my Google Reader list - slow down, people! Please!
23 August, 2008
Whip it Up Challenge: Week 7*
*Also known as: Barely Getting in Under the Wire
We only got back to the hotel after midnight last night and tried to get up at 8:30 which since we are now adjusted to Pacific Standard Time, is (way too freaking early) 5:30am. Ugh. So I'm sitting here this morning barely awake, the Little Goat is crawling over one of the beds eating (dumping) cheerios and making a rather crumbly mess with a piece of bread, but at least I can sit here and type in peace and down my Special K with milk (*shudder*) without any little hands searching for a taste test.
I actually did two new recipes last week and I'm using one of them for this week per my understanding of the rules which allow me one sort of freebie. Who has had time to cook this week? We've been so busy hopping from one spot to another, meals have been all over the place. It will actually feel nice to get back into some routine this next week.
Anyway, you'll recall that last week I was madly working on a wedding cake for Mr. J.'s sister, Michelle and her new husband Jiminy (okay, Jim, but Jiminy is more fun to say) and I shared a link to a recipe for pastry cream which turned out quite tasty indeed. That was the filling I used in the extra top tier of the cake I made for them to freeze for their first anniversary. The real cake had lime curd as filling in the top two tiers and black raspberry jam in the bottom and my submission for the Whip it Up Challenge, Week Six slathered all over the outside of the cake. Here's the link for an amazingly tasty butter cream icing (or "frosting" if you happen to be American).
The Q & A:
Was the recipe easy to follow? For sure. If you ever try to make it and you're wondering where to get clear vanilla, check at any store that carries Wilton products - the walmarts or a craft store-type place. You don't have to use clear vanilla, but it will make the icing an even more off-white colour if you use regular.*
...Did it taste good? It really was good, better than I expected in fact and the Bride wanted to eat it by the spoonful.
Would we make it again? Heaven forbid I ever make another wedding cake. I just get too bored and it's just too time-consuming, particularly when we're on vacation and visits and coffee runs with old friends beckon. IF (and I really do mean IF) I ever make another wedding cake, or just a fancy cake for that matter, this will be my go-to recipe for icing. It can't get any easier to make or eat or decorate with and here's the picture.
I have other pictures that show more of the cake in progress, but it's still early and we have 20 minutes to vacate the room. See ya!
*Just in case you're wondering: I could have made a pure-white icing, but that would mean using only vegetable shortening and no butter. Using real butter gives it a proper butter taste; butter flavouring just doesn't have the same subtlety as real butter. Generally, I think making this icing in winter would produce a lighter colour as butter is usually less 'yellow' during the months when dairy cows are eating less fresh grass. Did you know that? There you go. Some companies even add small amounts of food colouring to butter to make it a more 'buttery' colour. Mr. J.'s Dad remembers margarine coming with a little capsule of colouring to stir into the tub to make the margarine 'look' right.
We only got back to the hotel after midnight last night and tried to get up at 8:30 which since we are now adjusted to Pacific Standard Time, is (way too freaking early) 5:30am. Ugh. So I'm sitting here this morning barely awake, the Little Goat is crawling over one of the beds eating (dumping) cheerios and making a rather crumbly mess with a piece of bread, but at least I can sit here and type in peace and down my Special K with milk (*shudder*) without any little hands searching for a taste test.
I actually did two new recipes last week and I'm using one of them for this week per my understanding of the rules which allow me one sort of freebie. Who has had time to cook this week? We've been so busy hopping from one spot to another, meals have been all over the place. It will actually feel nice to get back into some routine this next week.
Anyway, you'll recall that last week I was madly working on a wedding cake for Mr. J.'s sister, Michelle and her new husband Jiminy (okay, Jim, but Jiminy is more fun to say) and I shared a link to a recipe for pastry cream which turned out quite tasty indeed. That was the filling I used in the extra top tier of the cake I made for them to freeze for their first anniversary. The real cake had lime curd as filling in the top two tiers and black raspberry jam in the bottom and my submission for the Whip it Up Challenge, Week Six slathered all over the outside of the cake. Here's the link for an amazingly tasty butter cream icing (or "frosting" if you happen to be American).
The Q & A:
Was the recipe easy to follow? For sure. If you ever try to make it and you're wondering where to get clear vanilla, check at any store that carries Wilton products - the walmarts or a craft store-type place. You don't have to use clear vanilla, but it will make the icing an even more off-white colour if you use regular.*
...Did it taste good? It really was good, better than I expected in fact and the Bride wanted to eat it by the spoonful.
Would we make it again? Heaven forbid I ever make another wedding cake. I just get too bored and it's just too time-consuming, particularly when we're on vacation and visits and coffee runs with old friends beckon. IF (and I really do mean IF) I ever make another wedding cake, or just a fancy cake for that matter, this will be my go-to recipe for icing. It can't get any easier to make or eat or decorate with and here's the picture.
I have other pictures that show more of the cake in progress, but it's still early and we have 20 minutes to vacate the room. See ya!
*Just in case you're wondering: I could have made a pure-white icing, but that would mean using only vegetable shortening and no butter. Using real butter gives it a proper butter taste; butter flavouring just doesn't have the same subtlety as real butter. Generally, I think making this icing in winter would produce a lighter colour as butter is usually less 'yellow' during the months when dairy cows are eating less fresh grass. Did you know that? There you go. Some companies even add small amounts of food colouring to butter to make it a more 'buttery' colour. Mr. J.'s Dad remembers margarine coming with a little capsule of colouring to stir into the tub to make the margarine 'look' right.
15 August, 2008
Weddings
So yes, we're super busy and also super-sick but not too busy for an important post.
Tomorrow is a big day for my cousin Marley and also Mr. J.'s sister, Michelle.
So congratulations to Marley & Jared and congratulations to Jim & Michelle - may you both enjoy your day and make lots of happy memories!
Tomorrow is a big day for my cousin Marley and also Mr. J.'s sister, Michelle.
So congratulations to Marley & Jared and congratulations to Jim & Michelle - may you both enjoy your day and make lots of happy memories!
Whip it Up Challenge: Week 6
Well here we are in the raging inferno that is Washington State. Presently, it's 100+ degrees (F) and certainly not ideal for icing a wedding cake. Granted the bigger concern is keeping it from melting tomorrow evening before it even gets cut.
So today I finished icing all three cake layers and stacking them. All that's left tomorrow is adding the ribbon and the orchids on top. I'll try to post pictures next week though I may have to wait until we get home since the computer doesn't seem to want to read the card at the moment.
Moving along, my recipe for the Whip it Up Challenge, Week 6 is this pastry cream. I mixed it up on Monday along with the lime curd filling. Instead of just vanilla, I added in some almond flavouring and it turned out really well.
The Q & A:
Was the recipe easy to follow? Relatively. For a bit there, I wasn't sure it was going to thicken up, but it's just the right consistency and tastes great. Also, it's not nearly as white as the picture shows.
...Did it taste good? Oh yes! Super-rich and just right for cake filling.
Would we make it again? Well I won't be making any wedding cake in the near future (IF EVER AGAIN) so I wouldn't make it again for that, but it would sure taste good squished inside a chocolate cupcake (or vanilla or cherry or pumpkin) or snuggled up next to some dark chocolate in a lovely piece of puff pastry. That said, Erin K., if we get home for Christmas this year, we're going to bake! Something involving pastry and chocolate and cream....Mmmmmm.
Sorry I don't have a picture to post today. I did take one but my head is pounding and by the way, we're all sick, so you'll just have to wait. Thanks for checking out the recipe.
So today I finished icing all three cake layers and stacking them. All that's left tomorrow is adding the ribbon and the orchids on top. I'll try to post pictures next week though I may have to wait until we get home since the computer doesn't seem to want to read the card at the moment.
Moving along, my recipe for the Whip it Up Challenge, Week 6 is this pastry cream. I mixed it up on Monday along with the lime curd filling. Instead of just vanilla, I added in some almond flavouring and it turned out really well.
The Q & A:
Was the recipe easy to follow? Relatively. For a bit there, I wasn't sure it was going to thicken up, but it's just the right consistency and tastes great. Also, it's not nearly as white as the picture shows.
...Did it taste good? Oh yes! Super-rich and just right for cake filling.
Would we make it again? Well I won't be making any wedding cake in the near future (IF EVER AGAIN) so I wouldn't make it again for that, but it would sure taste good squished inside a chocolate cupcake (or vanilla or cherry or pumpkin) or snuggled up next to some dark chocolate in a lovely piece of puff pastry. That said, Erin K., if we get home for Christmas this year, we're going to bake! Something involving pastry and chocolate and cream....Mmmmmm.
Sorry I don't have a picture to post today. I did take one but my head is pounding and by the way, we're all sick, so you'll just have to wait. Thanks for checking out the recipe.
07 August, 2008
Thursday
So we're in the throes of packing and almost being packed and not quite yet fully packed. The Little Goat is being relatively pleasant this morning which is good because we're holding off on her nap until we get in the car to leave in about an hour.
We're heading back to Washington for Mr. J.'s sister's wedding as some of you may recall from an earlier post and we're heading down to Airport City tonight. We fly out just after noon tomorrow and we get in to Seattle just after 9 PST.
We're bringing our computer - because you know that I and this computer are attached by a semi-permanent USB cable - so I will hopefully get a chance to post a couple times while we're away. I probably won't be visiting blogs as much though so I'm sorry in advance. I'll try to catch up when we get home.
In the meantime, go over and visit Erin at Whitekirk and read about our failed Olympic dream.
(Oh, and please ignore that high school photo. *shudder* We look like we're 12!)
We're heading back to Washington for Mr. J.'s sister's wedding as some of you may recall from an earlier post and we're heading down to Airport City tonight. We fly out just after noon tomorrow and we get in to Seattle just after 9 PST.
We're bringing our computer - because you know that I and this computer are attached by a semi-permanent USB cable - so I will hopefully get a chance to post a couple times while we're away. I probably won't be visiting blogs as much though so I'm sorry in advance. I'll try to catch up when we get home.
In the meantime, go over and visit Erin at Whitekirk and read about our failed Olympic dream.
(Oh, and please ignore that high school photo. *shudder* We look like we're 12!)
04 August, 2008
Whip it Up Challenge: Week 5
This week is a busy one for us. Mr. J. was on call all weekend and was gone for three hours in the middle of last night; he's working a double tomorrow. Wednesday night we'll be furiously packing only to give up, play Zuma (this is your fair warning: it's addictive!) for an hour, go to bed late, and resume frantically packing on Thursday morning. Thursday we're driving down to Airport City to catch our flight to Seattle via Newark. In retrospect, we should've booked a series of shorter flights instead of one two-hour and one six-hour flight but there's nothing to be done about it now. When we booked the flights, back in...March, I think, we weren't thinking about a squirming crawler/almost-walker who doesn't like to sit still for too long anymore. We were still gazing warmly at our not-yet-crawling Little Goat, playing quietly (for the most part) in one spot (for the most part) on the floor. Hm.
So given all this busyness, I decided to make some sort of desserty type thing we could take on our trip with us. Portable Airport/Airplane 'Supplements'. The recipe is a combination of a kind of blondie recipe topped with copious amounts of Reese's products. A few things about the Reese's: We bought this GIGANTIC bag of Reese's treats for Halloween oh, TWO years ago. We ended up not giving out candy in 2006 because we weren't in our own place yet. Then in 2007 we had all of - wait for it - FIVE (or maybe 6, tops) trick-or-treaters. Tres disappointing. In order to prevent our gourging ourselves on Reece's peanut butter cups, I forced Mr. J. to store them in a grocery bag in the back of his car. That's where they road around for more than a year. We finally brought them inside a few weeks ago and jammed them in the fridge because it was getting too hot to shuttle them around in ol' RubySu (not that we thought of that LAST summer or anything). We decided it was time, we had to use them up. So let me tell you something about two-year old Reece's PB cups - they're lower in fat! It's true!* All the greasy shortening seems to have leaked out and soaked into that piece of cardboard inside the package. Hah!
Therefore, today, I present to you, for the Whip it Up Challenge, Week 5:
Not Really But Sort-of Lower-Fat PB Cup Blondie-ish Squares**
(Sorry, but Blogger isn't letting me upload the picture at the moment.)
Cream together:
1/2 cup butter
scant 1/2 cup sugar
scant 1 cup brown sugar
Add:
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
Mix in:
1 3/4 cups white flour
1/2 cup wheat flour (or just use white)
1 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
8 Reese's PB Cups (or however many you have leftover from Halloween 2006)
Spread batter in a 9x13 pan and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes (or until almost done); top with chopped up Reese's PB Cups and bake for 5-7 minutes longer.
The Q & A:
Was the recipe easy to follow? Yeah, it was. I substituted 1/2 cup of the flours with oatmeal and we added the two leftover snack-packs of Reece's Pieces.
...Did it taste good? Not bad. I think the recipe could be improved by a) not baking it quite as long as I did (I adjusted the time in the recipe above) and b) not messing with the flours and adding oatmeal.
Would we make it again? Maybe, maybe not. I love blondies and the PB cups rocked, but I really need to find a better blondie recipe (I'm open to suggestions here, people. Lest I disappoint you too with this rather dud-ish recipe, read on!
This past weekend I tried another new recipe, though not specifically for the Challenge because I already posted about our fabulous pork last week. I tried Yogurt-Marmalade Cake: To DIE For as posted by Pioneer Woman. I don't know that I would go quite so far as to die for it, but it IS like lemony heaven in my mouth and if you don't make it soon, well, then, shame on you for depriving your tastebuds of such excellent lemony goodness!
Make sure to stop by next week because it'll be an extra-special WIU Challenge week for me. Mr. J.'s sister is getting married on the 16th and I'm in charge of the wedding cake. I've made a wedding cake only once before (see here) so that's not the new recipe. The new recipe will be the pastry cream that's going in the top layer of the cake. If it turns out well, it'll be perfect for adding to all kinds of things....like, um, PASTRY. See you then!
* Okay, not really at all, but a girl can dream, right? RIGHT?!
** Yes, that's right, I called them "squares" and you can be darn thankful I didn't go all out and call them "dainties" because I sure could've. Dangit, I'm Canadian and I don't know a single Canadian who actually calls them "bars." "Bars" are where you go to drink or what you're always supposed to set so high, or things you pass to become a filthy-rich lawyer. "Squares," among other things, are sweet little squares of sugary delectability. So there!
So given all this busyness, I decided to make some sort of desserty type thing we could take on our trip with us. Portable Airport/Airplane 'Supplements'. The recipe is a combination of a kind of blondie recipe topped with copious amounts of Reese's products. A few things about the Reese's: We bought this GIGANTIC bag of Reese's treats for Halloween oh, TWO years ago. We ended up not giving out candy in 2006 because we weren't in our own place yet. Then in 2007 we had all of - wait for it - FIVE (or maybe 6, tops) trick-or-treaters. Tres disappointing. In order to prevent our gourging ourselves on Reece's peanut butter cups, I forced Mr. J. to store them in a grocery bag in the back of his car. That's where they road around for more than a year. We finally brought them inside a few weeks ago and jammed them in the fridge because it was getting too hot to shuttle them around in ol' RubySu (not that we thought of that LAST summer or anything). We decided it was time, we had to use them up. So let me tell you something about two-year old Reece's PB cups - they're lower in fat! It's true!* All the greasy shortening seems to have leaked out and soaked into that piece of cardboard inside the package. Hah!
Therefore, today, I present to you, for the Whip it Up Challenge, Week 5:
Not Really But Sort-of Lower-Fat PB Cup Blondie-ish Squares**
(Sorry, but Blogger isn't letting me upload the picture at the moment.)
Cream together:
1/2 cup butter
scant 1/2 cup sugar
scant 1 cup brown sugar
Add:
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
Mix in:
1 3/4 cups white flour
1/2 cup wheat flour (or just use white)
1 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
8 Reese's PB Cups (or however many you have leftover from Halloween 2006)
Spread batter in a 9x13 pan and bake at 350 for about 15 minutes (or until almost done); top with chopped up Reese's PB Cups and bake for 5-7 minutes longer.
The Q & A:
Was the recipe easy to follow? Yeah, it was. I substituted 1/2 cup of the flours with oatmeal and we added the two leftover snack-packs of Reece's Pieces.
...Did it taste good? Not bad. I think the recipe could be improved by a) not baking it quite as long as I did (I adjusted the time in the recipe above) and b) not messing with the flours and adding oatmeal.
Would we make it again? Maybe, maybe not. I love blondies and the PB cups rocked, but I really need to find a better blondie recipe (I'm open to suggestions here, people. Lest I disappoint you too with this rather dud-ish recipe, read on!
This past weekend I tried another new recipe, though not specifically for the Challenge because I already posted about our fabulous pork last week. I tried Yogurt-Marmalade Cake: To DIE For as posted by Pioneer Woman. I don't know that I would go quite so far as to die for it, but it IS like lemony heaven in my mouth and if you don't make it soon, well, then, shame on you for depriving your tastebuds of such excellent lemony goodness!
Make sure to stop by next week because it'll be an extra-special WIU Challenge week for me. Mr. J.'s sister is getting married on the 16th and I'm in charge of the wedding cake. I've made a wedding cake only once before (see here) so that's not the new recipe. The new recipe will be the pastry cream that's going in the top layer of the cake. If it turns out well, it'll be perfect for adding to all kinds of things....like, um, PASTRY. See you then!
* Okay, not really at all, but a girl can dream, right? RIGHT?!
** Yes, that's right, I called them "squares" and you can be darn thankful I didn't go all out and call them "dainties" because I sure could've. Dangit, I'm Canadian and I don't know a single Canadian who actually calls them "bars." "Bars" are where you go to drink or what you're always supposed to set so high, or things you pass to become a filthy-rich lawyer. "Squares," among other things, are sweet little squares of sugary delectability. So there!
02 August, 2008
We Have a Winner!
Congratulations to Maureen (of no fixed bloggy address), the proud (at least I hope so) new owner of her very own snowcone machine!
It was a hard battle folks. I had to disqualify several entries because either a) the entrant didn't answer the question or b) the entrant left no way for me to contact them.
Thanks to everybody that entered. I wish I could afford enough snowcone makers for all of you...but, alas, and *sigh*..... What I really wish I could afford is to send you all to the chiropractor because gee whiz! You guys have messed up joints! Out of joint fingers, toes, elbows, knees, and other bizarre bendy abilities ten times weirder than my own.
Hope you all can find a way to continue to keep cool this summer.
Have a great weekend!
It was a hard battle folks. I had to disqualify several entries because either a) the entrant didn't answer the question or b) the entrant left no way for me to contact them.
Thanks to everybody that entered. I wish I could afford enough snowcone makers for all of you...but, alas, and *sigh*..... What I really wish I could afford is to send you all to the chiropractor because gee whiz! You guys have messed up joints! Out of joint fingers, toes, elbows, knees, and other bizarre bendy abilities ten times weirder than my own.
Hope you all can find a way to continue to keep cool this summer.
Have a great weekend!
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