Friday, December 18, 2009

Why men never get what they want for Christmas.

These are realistic examples of the online chats that Colin and I have had regarding Christmas presents.

Colin: What do you want for Christmas?
Erin: Oh, I'm glad you asked. I made a list of links to the items I want. I gave you lots of options so that I can still be surprised. :)

-Rasp grater
-Frosting spreader
-Amazing necklace
-Another great necklace
-This dvd set
-Or this dvd
-Medium cookie scoop
Etc., etc., etc.

Erin: What do you want?
Colin: Oh! I want a (fill in the name of some obscure piece of computer hardware that costs $500).
Erin: Uhhh... Anything else???
Colin: Nothing that I can think of. Well, maybe you could just get me a gift certificate to newegg.com.
*crickets heard chirping*
Erin: And this is all you can think of? Nothing more personal?
Colin: Nope. But I'll like anything you get me.
Erin: Well I guess I'll have to come up with something on my own.

The result:


Wednesday, October 28, 2009

White Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake

The Kitchen Sage offers his advice

Yesterday I got a call from our Life Group leader asking if I could bring the dessert for the week. I had been signed up to bring it the week before but we were all sick with colds so I was unable to bring the pumpkin cheesecake that I was planning to make. I was super excited to try this recipe and although I had never done a cheesecake quite like this one, it turned out really well.

My only issue was the water bath that I had to do in order to cook it properly. I didn't wrap my spring-form well enough I guess, and the water got into the crust a bit. I took to the internet and found some advice for soaked crusts and all was well after I let it cool on a wire rack for a while and let the crust air out.

But, being me, I couldn't leave well enough alone and I got a brilliant idea. I was going to do chocolate feathering on top! Why oh WHY did I think that this was a good idea? Let's first say, that this would have been a great idea if I had done it when the cheesecake was still a bit warm. I tried to do it when the cake was cold and it looks like my Ben was responsible for the cake decor, not his grown-up mommy. So, lesson learned. Never try to do chocolate feathering on a cold cake. At least it will taste good. Next time, I'll listen to the Kitchen Sage.

Here is the recipe and some embarrassing pictures:

White Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ingredients:

1-1/4 cups cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs (Oreos)
2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1-1/4 cups vanilla or white chips, melted and cooled
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/4 teaspoon each ground ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg
White chocolate curls, optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325°
Press cookie crumbs onto the bottom of a greased 9-in. springform pan; set aside. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in melted chips. In a small bowl, combine pumpkin and spices; gently fold into cream cheese mixture. Pour into prepared pan. Place on a double thickness of heavy-duty foil (about 16 in. square). Securely wrap foil around pan. Place in a large baking pan; add 1 in. of hot water to larger pan. Bake at 325° for 60-65 minutes or until center is just set. Remove springform pan from water bath. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight. Garnish with white chocolate curls if desired. Refrigerate leftovers.

Yield: 10-12 servings.

Before

After. What have I done?!

Thursday, October 08, 2009

Cranberry Bog Bars


Last night was my night to bring a dessert to our Life group. I was really excited to have an actual reason to bake something yet I had a serious problem finding the motivation to do the baking project that I had originally planned. We had all been sick for over a week and even though I felt pretty good, I spent yesterday doing very little. Unless you count watching Mulan with Ben as a productive activity.

Anyway, by the time that I was ready to bake, I didn't have the time to do anything epic so I settled for these "Cranberry Bog Bars." This Taste Of Home fall cookbook is proving to be extremely useful! They were so easy to make and they had such an obscene amount of butter in them that they couldn't not be good. I didn't have pecans on hand (let's face it, I never have them around. They set my teeth on edge.) so I subbed them with raw almonds which toasted up really nicely during baking. I am going to have to make these again. Also, they are egg-free.


Ingredients:

1-1/4 cups butter, softened, divided
1-1/2 cups packed brown sugar, divided
3-1/2 cups old-fashioned oats, divided
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 can (14 ounces) whole-berry cranberry sauce
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

Directions:

In a large bowl, cream 1 cup butter and 1 cup brown sugar until light and fluffy. Combine 2-1/2 cups oats and flour. Gradually add to creamed mixture until crumbly. Press into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Spread with cranberry sauce.
In a microwave-safe bowl, melt remaining butter; stir in the pecans and remaining brown sugar and oats. Sprinkle over cranberry sauce. Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack. Cut into bars.

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

Starbucks Gingerbread Recipe!


Today I got the inspiration to find a good gingerbread loaf recipe. Then, I thought to myself "Hey! I wonder if anyone has come up with a recipe for Starbucks' Gingerbread loaf." Well with the help of Google, I quickly found a recipe and to my surprise and extreme delight, it is egg-free! Waa Hoo! It turned out very well and it tasted so yummy.


Starbucks Gingerbread Loaf:

BATTER
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
2 1/4 teaspoons ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon orange extract, optional
1 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon baking soda

FROSTING
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon orange extract
2 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 inch square pan.

In a medium bowl, mix together flour, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and salt.
Then set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Stir in orange extract.

Mix baking soda into applesauce and stir into creamed butter mixture.
Add flour mixture. Mix until smooth.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 40 to 50 minutes or until a
toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.

FROSTING:
Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in vanilla and orange extract. Slowly beat in confectioner’s sugar.

Once the cake has cooled, evenly spread the frosting on top. Decorate with chopped candied orange peel .

Saturday, October 03, 2009

The tale of the epic zucchini and the consequent baking splendor.

Holy Toledo! That's a big zucchini!

I was given a ginormous zucchini by mom. The thing was like a cave-man club. Colin and I actually joked around with it quite a bit and I was almost serious when I told him that I would hit an intruder with it if the opportunity presented itself. Apparently someone at my mom's church had an over-abundance of zucchini in their garden and decided to share their bounty with the church.

Anyhow, the thing was really big and when I cut it open, the seeds were the size of pumpkin seeds. I scraped out the pithy center with a spoon and then grated it. I ended up with 4 1/2 cups of grated zucchini. Hmmm, what does one do with 4 1/2 cups of grated squash? Bake! And then bake some more. So I made a batch of zucchini chocolate chip bread and did five mini loaves instead of two big ones and then froze them immediately after cooling.

That didn't use up all of the squash so I also made a batch of 24 zucchini cheese rolls. I kept a dozen out and froze the other half. Colin ate one fresh out of the oven and proclaimed "Now I know why I married you. Other than the fact that I love you. You bake really yummy things!" The amazing thing is, I still have a cup of grated zucchini left in the fridge begging to be used. I got my recipes form the Taste Of Home fall cookbook that is currently on newsstands.

Zucchini Chip Loaves

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
3 eggs
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup canola oil
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup raisins, optional

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine the first seven ingredients. In a small bowl, beat the eggs, zucchini, oil and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips and raisins if desired.
Pour into two greased 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pans. Bake at 325° for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks. Yield: 2 loaves (12 slices each).

Modification for chocolatization:
My Mother-In-Law did a batch of this as well but she changed it up a bit and made it into "Chocolate Chocolate Chip Zucchini Loaves." She added 1/2 cup cocoa powder and cut the cinnamon to 1 tsp and cut all of the raisins and allspice out. Apparently it turned out very well. It's more chocolate, how could it not?

Zucchini Dinner Rolls

Ingredients:

1 cup grated peeled zucchini
1 teaspoon salt, divided
3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1 package (1/4 ounce) quick-rise yeast
1 cup grated cheddar cheese, divided
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup warm water (120° to 130°)
1/4 cup butter, softened

Directions:

Place zucchini in a small bowl; sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Let stand for 5 minutes; drain.

Meanwhile, in another bowl, combine 3 cups flour, yeast, 1/2 cup cheese, sugar and remaining salt. Add zucchini; toss to combine. Combine water and butter; add to dry ingredients. Add remaining flour to form a soft dough.
Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Divide dough in half; shape each portion into 12 balls. Place in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Repeat. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pan to a wire rack. Yield: 2 dozen.

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Snufflebug

New word courtesy of Ben.

Snufflebug \SNUH-ful-buhg\, noun,verb: To Steal covers from another person with whom you are sharing a blanket with. A person who steals the covers. Use: He tried to snufflebug the blanket but his efforts were in vain.
Snufflebugging The act of stealing a blanket with one swift jerk of movement.
Use: Please stop snufflebugging the covers, I'm getting cold!

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Do you fancy a cup of tea and a buscuit?



Inspired by a friend Amy's post on Facebook of an old Real Simple recipe, I took to the kitchen and baked a delicious pan of Lemon-Chamomile Shortbread. Yum! I'm enjoying a piece of it right now with a cup of tea and I am feeling very happy and very British.

Lemon-Chamomile Shortbread


Yield: 16 cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
Grated zest from 1 lemon
1 teaspoon loose chamomile tea
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
Raw sugar crystals (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch round cake pan.

2. Combine the butter, sugar and salt. beat with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy. Blend in the lemon zest, loose tea and flour until smooth. Press into pan. (In order to make it fancy I made fork indentations along the rim and sprinkled it with raw sugar crystals)

3. Bake 30 minutes or just until the shortbread begins to turn golden.

4. Cool completely on a wire rack. Cut into 16 wedges.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Midnight Colinization #4

Midnight Colinization #4: "It was Mom. They were just goofin' around with Mom."

Note: This was said with a bit of a chuckle. Practical joke maybe?

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Apple Blueberry Crisp

Apple Blueberry Crisp



When I put my apple blueberry crisp in the oven, I was scared. I didn't use a recipe and I was beginning to doubt my cooking skills. Also, this was my first time using agave nectar in the place of sugar. In the end, it turned out pretty well!

Anyway, with a few tweaks, this could be fantastic. Don't get me wrong, it's tasty, but the fruit was a bit tart and I probably could have used another 1/4 cup of agave in the topping. If you make this with regular brown sugar I would say to use a full cup and to cut the flour to 1/2 cup.

Here is an approximate estimate of what went into the crisp:

Filling:
3 Fuji apples sliced thinly
1 1/2 cups of blueberries
3 Tbsp of corn starch
2 Tbsp of lemon juice

Topping:
1 cup of oats
3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup of blue agave nectar (no, it's not actually blue)
1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter
1 tsp of cinnamon
1/2 tsp of nutmeg
1 tsp of vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put apples and blueberries into a large baking dish.(I used a round 9" wide 4" deep ceramic crock.) Toss the fruit with the lemon juice and then sprinkle on the corn starch and toss.

In a medium bowl, mix all topping ingredients. Butter should be cold and it should be cut into very small chunks with a pastry blender of knife. Because of the liquid from the agave, this will be like a dense, sticky dough. Use your fingers to drop small amounts of the dough on the fruit until the top is evenly covered in the topping. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Note: Because this was a bit doughy, I pulled it out after 20 min and broke up the topping with a fork and put it back in and it turned out great.




I just couldn't keep myself from posting this one. The steam was so pretty.

Monday, September 21, 2009

Nighttime prayers

Ben's prayer tonight: "Thank you Jesus for muffins and for Honey Smacks with soy milk."

Midnight Colinization

I've never shared with anyone other than Colin, the crazy things that he says to me at night. You see, Colin talks in his sleep. Being Colin, he can't do it like a normal person and talk about food or something. No, he spits out the most random phrases imaginable and I've recently started writing them down. With Colin's permission, I will now be documenting his sleep talking on my blog. It will be called "Midnight Colinization."

You see, at night I always read. I usually read too long because I'm kind of a book nut. Anyway, while I read, Colin is off in dreamland. A couple of times a week he will say something hilarious, ridiculous, and totally random. It usually begins like this: Colin starts making a gulping, clicking sound with his throat and then he begins to thrash around a little. He usually turns to me and starts mumbling incoherently. I say "What did you say Colin?" He repeats himself two or three times until he is speaking more clearly and then, I have my pearl of wisdom. He promptly turns over and begins the snore-fest.

So, without further ado, I will publish the first three Midnight Colinizations.

Midnight Colinization #1:
"Erin, you'd look funny coming out of the wall, mounted like a deer."

Midnight Colinization #2:
"I think it's best if he didn't hug his hogs!"

Midnight Colinization #3:
"That's some pretty fabulous foam inside the shampoo."

Note: I don't edit the grammar in these quotes and I SWEAR that I did not make this stuff up!

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Gemma goes to Costco

Today in Costco, Gemma made a very loud squeal in the book section. It turned a head or two. To the untrained ear it would have sounded like she was quickly screaming "EeeeeeeOhhhhhh." To the trained parental ears of Colin and myself, it was easily understood as Gemma saying "Peeeetotes!" Which again, to the untrained ear would sound like "whattheheckdidshejustsay?" But to the trained parental ears it was easily deciphered as Gemma screaming the word "PRINCESS!"

Yes, Gemma saw a boxed set of Disney Princess books. This is what caused The Great Costco shriek of 2009. So, being the good parents (i.e. softies) that we are, we picked up the $6 set of boks and handed them to our little lass. Of course she began chanting "peetote" followed by "fankies"(thank you) and a kiss for Daddy. Let me point out that she is only 21 months old, yet she is already able to bend us to her will and melt our hearts. Well played Gemma. Gemma-1 Parents-0





Saturday, September 19, 2009

Every creature was stirring. Even the Mouse.

The kids were very noisy tonight after we put them to bed. This is what I overheard.

Ben speaking to his Yucky Blanket: "...and I'll have a hat for you and gloves to keep your hands warm. But that's just pretend that you're real, Yucky Blanket. I love you Yucky Blanket. (high pitched voice)I love you too Ben."

Gemma speaking to baby doll- "Heeeeeey Lola, heeeey Lola, hey! Lola! etc,."

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Carrot-Pumpkin Muffins.



I baked again today. It was really fun to bake in the morning and have a snack to bring to a playdate. I always bring something "Gemma safe" so today I made Carrot-Pumpkin muffins. Of course, they were eggless and they turned out really well. I have been struggling to bake perfect muffins that had no egg and I think that I finally succeeded! Yee Haw! I found a recipe on a vegan blog for carrot muffins and I messed with it quite a bit adding pumpkin and cutting the amount of sweeteners. My recipe is below.

Also, I should say, I had one of these cut in half with cream cheese and it was heavenly. These could very easily be turned into cupcakes with the addition of cream cheese frosting. Yummy.


Eggless Carrot-Pumpkin Muffins

Dry ingredients:
1 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp salt

Wet ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup vanilla yogurt
(I use the O Organics brand because it has the best vanilla flavor)
1/3 cup of unsweetened pumpkin puree
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup of warm water and 1 Tbsp of flax meal mixed together and set aside to congeal in a small dish (this makes the exact consistency of egg and serves as a binder in the muffins)
1/3 cup soy milk (or regular cows milk, we just use soy)
Give or take a bit on the soy milk, I just added it at the end until it was a nice batter consistency

1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots (2 big ones or three regular sized)
1/4 cup raisins
Sugar in the raw for the tops

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line muffin tuns with papers.

Sift or stir dry ingredients together in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl mix together wet ingredients except for the soy milk, carrots, and raisins. Combine wet and dry ingredients in the large bowl and stir until just mixed (it's important not to over stir) Then add the carrots and raisins. Add the soy milk to get it to the right consistency. It should be a thick batter, not too runny, but also not like a dough.

Fill muffin tins 3/4 full, sprinkle tops with raw sugar crystals, and bake for 15-20 minutes.

This recipe made 24 mini muffins (15 mins to bake) and six regular sized muffins (20 mins to bake.) Cool on a wire rack. Also, do not try to take them out of their wrappers until they are completely cool or they will stick to the muffin liners. Enjoy!

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Autumn: The Happy Season

Eggless Chocolate chip cookies


Fall is in the air. I can feel it. Today, the sun is shining and the horizon is a crisp, bright blue. There is a definite bite of cold in the air and my cheeks look a shade rosier every time I go outside. Although it isn't technically Autumn until September 21st, I'm just going to pretend that it's already here. I can't get enough of this time of year. September is usually when I finally come out of my lazy-days-of-summer heat coma. I re-connect with my inner housewife and thus begin a new season of baking, sewing, knitting, and curling up on the couch with a blanket and reading. (okay, so I read all year-round. Whatever.)Life outside of the home slows down but indoors, I feel like I'm just waking up.

To celebrate the changing season, I baked cookies today. I have wanted to make some eggless chocolate chip cookies for a long time. I found a good base recipe and tweaked it. It make a pretty good cookie. I also experimented and added oatmeal to half of the dough and baked them in a mini-muffin tin instead of a cookie sheet and I actually liked them more than the basic cookies.

It was very fun to be able to allow Gemma to eat cookies and not be worried about them making her sick. They were the first home-made chocolate chip cookies that she has ever eaten. It was pretty special. I took some pictures and have put up the recipe as well.

First bite, not so sure about this "warm cookie" business.

Hey! That's good!

Seasoned cookie connoisseur trying out the new recipe

It passed inspection.


INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2/3 cup margarine or butter
1/3 cup shortening
1/2 cup vanilla nonfat yogurt
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.

2. In a medium bowl, cream together the brown sugar, white sugar, margarine and shortening until light and fluffy. Stir in yogurt and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until incorporated, then mix in chocolate chips.

3. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.

4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges begin to brown. Cool for a minute on the cookie sheets before removing to wire racks to cool completely.

To make oatmeal chocolate chip cookie bites:
Add 1 cup of rolled quick-oats with dry ingredients. Spoon dough into greased mini-muffin tin and bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees on top rack.

Oatmeal chocolate chip cookie bites

Wednesday, September 02, 2009

Camping in Montana (and the King's living room)





The upwards view from our campsite. It was even more incredible at night. I've never seen so many stars...



On August 21st-24th we went camping in Montana at Lake Alva with our friends The Andersons, The Kings, and Mr.Syris Trahan. We had a grand old time sitting by the fire and sharing stupid/embarrassing stories (I think that Jon King took the cake with his "poop can" story. Honestly) singing, and playing guitar. We also spent a good amount of time eating, and eating some more, and then eating s'mores. We played at the lake and let the kids get as dirty as possible. Gemma had a great time sucking on rocks and Ben spent a large amount of sitting on a box next to a cooler, holding the handle of the cooler and pretending like he was riding an "ice ta-box." (I'm pretty sure he was trying to say ice toboggan)

After two very chilly nights we all decided that we had spent enough time being at-one with nature so we packed up our camp and headed to The King's house in Missoula. We ate delicious pizza and played a super fun card game called "Bang." Ruth King (who made the most amazing marshmallows) made some to-die-for cinnamon rolls for breakfast. She even made a tiny batch for Gemma without eggs. I was so touched that she considered Gemma's allergy. Anyhow, we had loads of fun and hope to go camping again next summer.

The few things that I would change would be:

The amount of nasty aggressive bee type-things attacking our food and us. Colin got a sting and so did little Naomi King. That was not okay.

Also, the toilets were REALLY NOT OKAY. I've never been in a toilet that smelled so pungent. Try to imagine this: A cheap knock-off perfume factory explodes and takes with it the neighboring sewage treatment plant, causing the two overpowering, acrid aromas to mingle and swirl about in the same airspace. That is precisely what these wretched pit toilets smelled like. I almost added some puke smell to them. I didn't. But seriously, it was so strong that I held my breath in them. Yet, despite my best efforts, after I had run 10 yards from the defiled area, I would breathe out only to find that my nasal passages had trapped "the reek" and I was forced to inhale the offending fumes. *shudder*

Okay, enough about the toilets-of-wretch... Here are some pictures!

Our epic tent "The Cave of Wonders". Yes, that's a hinged door.

















































































The picture that will make Gemma cringe in 10 years

I'm not really sure what else to say about this picture, but that Gemma will most likely dislike this picture in ten years. I personally, think that it captures the spirit of The Moot quite well and I will relish showing it to her future husband. :)

Sporty Shorts


Ben has decided to wear sports themed underwear today in lieu of pants. He is calling them his "sporty shorts." The fancy underwear are nicely complimented by a cowboy themed tee-shirt and green froggy rubber boots. Should I be worried?

Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Ranch Dressing

I just went out back and cut a ton of fresh chives. They made my hands smell, but I don't mind it right now at least. Anyway, in order to use my bounty I whipped up some scrum-didily-umptious ranch dressing. Here's the recipe:

1 cup of non-fat plain yougurt
1/8 cup of mayonnaise
1/8 cup finely chopped chives
2 cloves of fresh garlic, pressed
1 teaspoon of dill
1 Tablespoon of dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon of onion powder (NOT onion salt)
1 teaspoon of Kosher salt

Put all ingredients into a mini food processor and give it a few pulses (until it turns a lovely light-green hue) and then store in a jar or airtight container.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Why Naps For Mommy Are a Bad Idea

Today has been pretty interesting. I'm not going to say bad because despite all that has transpired today, I'm still pretty bubbly. The day started with Ben bouncing in to our room at 5:45 am to inform us (cheerfully, mind you) that his mouth hurt. Upon hearing this revelation I realized that crap, my throat hurts. Ahhhhh, I see now. After my revelation Colin croaked out, "I feel sick, my throat hurts." Seeing as how Gemma has been sick for a day already, I now understand that every one of the Smiths has a cold at the same time.

When Gemma's nap-time came, I was exhausted. I almost fell asleep reading "Frog and Toad" to Ben so I decided to rest while Gemma was napping. I closed my door and had Ben come into my room and play with some books and toys. He was a bit feisty in the beginning, slamming the closet door repeatedly, but eventually he quieted down and I tripped off to dreamland.

When I woke up 45 minutes later, I had a little surprise waiting for me. I had (un-opened) tampons on my head "making Mommy pretty." Ben found my bag of feminine items and he had collected them in an empty laundry basket. He was pushing them out of the side of basket torpedo-style and saying that he was "Shooting sticks. For my work." I'm sorry Ben, but what job is this exactly? I fail to see how that is legitimate work. That was not the end of the madness. The floor had sanitary napkins adhered to it and I was told by Ben that, again, "I'm doing my work, I put windows all over the floor."

This is what I get for taking a nap. I knew I should have ignored all of those unwanted bits of advice to "sleep when your baby sleeps."

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Ass-tronomy lesson

I've always stayed away from potty humor. I honestly do not think that it's funny. The males in our house are usually very polite and never make rude jokes (out-loud at least). Until today. I have been teaching Ben the order of the planets. He's very interested in all things astronomical and has decided that he will "be an astronaut and go on missions" someday. Anyhow, he was doing such a good job learning. I was having him recite the planets for Colin and it took a turn for the worse around the seventh planet. Here's how it went down:

Me: "Ben, tell Daddy the order of the planets."
Ben: "Mercury, Venus, Erf (Earth), Mars..."
Me: "What's the big one Ben?"
Ben: "Oh! Jupiter. Ummm..."
Me: "The one with rings."
Ben: "Saturn!"
Me: "What's next?"
Ben: Stares blankly
Me: "Urrrr...."
Colin: "Your Butt!"
Ben: "He he, your butt!!! Uranus!"
Me: "Good job Colin."

We didn't get to Neptune.

Ben ate dinner in an unusually good mood because of his new joke, occasionally yelling "your butt!" It was soooo classy. I couldn't be more proud. The worst part was, I found myself hiding snickers from Ben. I never laugh at this kind of thing but this time, I just couldn't help myself.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Gemma's special words

Here are a few silly and cute things that Gemma says:

Gummy- Monkey
Mommy
Daddy
Bee- Ben
Dapee- Diaper
Booby- Poopy
Wubby- Water
Cuppy- Cup
EAT!
Dees! Dees!- Cheeks! Cheeks! (said while pinching my cheeks)
Uppy- Up
Dow- Down
Bookie- Book
Buckie- Binkie
Walkie- Walk
Caw- Chalk
Weeeee!- Slide or swing
Ba, Ba- Splash, splash
Beh Bee- Baby
Tseees- Cheese

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Egg-free recipes

As some of you know, our dear girl is allergic to eggs. It has been interesting trying to feed her and we've pretty much banned foods with eggs in them around the house. My biggest challenge has been baking without the leavening properties of egg. I thought I would post some recipes on my blog so that I can use them and also, in case you ever want to bake for us, you can have some safe recipes. :)



Eggless Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour ( I’ve been trying to use more whole wheat flour so I use 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1 cup regular)
1 cup sugar, plus 2 tsp. more
4 tsp. baking powder
1 cup milk
3 Tbs. melted butter
1 cup fresh blueberries
Raw sugar crystals for the top

Heat oven to 350. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Combine flour, sugar and baking powder in a medium-size bowl. Stir in milk by hand and melted butter. Fold in blueberries. Fill each cup 2/3 full. Sprinkle tops of muffins with raw sugar. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.


Carrot Cake Loaf

Ingredients
9 large carrots, shredded
2 cups flour
2 cups of sugar
1/2 cup raisins; chopped (either golden or dark raisins)
2 large bananas; mashed
1 cup apple sauce
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Optional: 1 cup of chopped walnuts

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease and flour two loaf pans OR line the pans with "release" aluminum foil
Mix all ingredients thoroughly until well combined.
Bake about 1 hour or until top browns.
If you want to glaze your loaves, just mix 2 cups of powdered sugar with 1-2 TB of milk or cream.
You can make a thinner glaze by adding more liquid.
Pour this over the cooled loaves and spread evenly.

Friday, January 09, 2009

Anatomy 101

How often do we take for granted our vocabularies and the knowledge that we have. Sure, we know our body parts, their names and functions but we had to learn that all and someone taught us. I decided to teach Ben a more in-depth understanding of his body. Gemma is currently learning to touch her eye when we say "eye" and so on. It's very cute because whenever we say (in that border-line pratronizingly sweet voice) "Where's Gemmma's nose?" She presses her little snoot as flat as it can get and then starts making a whistley sniff sound while crinkling her eyes up and shreiking with delight. She's a doll.

Anyway, Ben's understanding of his bady is a bit more advanced than Gemma's condsiring the fact that he's has had two extra years to learn about the human body. I have been quizzing him about the lesser-know body parts. How many people know where their philtrum is? Well, Ben knows. He can now identify his philtrum, septum, nostrils, palate, gums, taste buds, temple, eye lids, jaw, scalp, throat, ear lobes, thumb, pinkie fingers, index fingers, knuckles, ball of foot, arch and heel. He has also learned the five senses and the parts that give us the ability to hear, see, smell, taste, and touch. Let me remind you that he's not even three yet. I know I'm bragging. I'm honestly, just really impressed with my little genius.