Chest

Danny, my Big Honey, has taught the children how to play chess. Little Danny follows him around as soon as he comes in the door, asking him if he wants to play chest. It's so cute! DJ even challenges anyone who walks through the door if they want to play, then proceeds to inform them of how easy it was to beat them. I know, this isn't good sportsmanship, but it is so funny! From a 5 year old? He's just like his Dad.

So today, DJ asked Big D to play, and Big D said, "Why don't you play with Mom?" DJ said, "No, way, Dad, she's way too easy to beat."

Sigh.

Fondant fun!

Today I attempted working with fondant. I have never tried this before, and decided to start off with homemade marshmallow fondant. Here is the blob of fondant before cake decorating:

And here is the finished product. It was a lot of fun, sorta like play-doh for grown ups! I did a very simple design for my first project, so I could get a feel for working with it.
This cake is made for Grandpa's 83rd birthday party. Can't wait to dig in!!!

I am having a Squishy Squashy kinda day.

Our CSA has been providing an abundance of summer squash, and my family doesn't love it enough to eat on a regular basis so I have had to get creative so as not to loose all this squash.
I got a food processor on Freecycle a while back (Thank goodness! Can't imagine life without it anymore), so I shredded all the squash I had, and it yielded about 8 -10 c of squash to use in my baking (or other) recipes.

Today, with a little help from The Joy of Cooking as a guide, I made 3 different types of muffins. The first, Spicy Squashy muffins (think carrot cake-ish), Pineapple Coconut Squash muffins, and Gingerbread Squash muffin bites.

Here are the recipes:

Spicy Squashy Muffins

preheat oven to 400 degrees

1 1/2 c white whole wheat flour (used King Arthur Flour)
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1/2 t ginger
1/4 t cloves
1/4 t black pepper
mix all these together, set aside

2 eggs
3/4 c sugar
1 1/2 c firmly packed shredded squash
let sit a few minutes

add to wet ingredients:
2 T milk
1/2 chopped pecans
5 T coconut oil, vegetable oil, or melted butter (I used coconut oil)

Mix wet ingredients into dry till incorporated, scoop into greased muffin tins, about 1/3 c of batter each. Bake for 15-18 minutes, till toothpick comes out clean.


Pineapple Coconut Squash muffins

Preheat oven to 400

1 1/2 c White Whole Wheat flour
2 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 c chopped dried pineapple bits
mix together, set aside

2 eggs
3/4 c brown sugar
1 1/2 c firmly packed shredded squash
5 T coconut oil
1/2 c shredded coconut
mix together

Add dry ingredients to wet, mix to incorporate, spoon into greased muffin tins, bake at 400 for 15-18 minutes. You know the drill.


Gingerbread Squash Muffin Bites
(I made these as bites due to their strong flavor)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1 1/2 c White Whole Wheat flour
1 t baking soda
2 t ginger
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t cloves
1/2 t salt
3 T chopped crystallized ginger
mix together, set aside

2 eggs
2/3 c molasses
1 1/2 c firmly packed shredded squash
1/2 c melted butter
mix together

Add dry to wet, mix thoroughly, using a cookie scoop, scoop into a greased mini muffin tin and bake at 400 for 12 minutes.

***As you can see, all three recipes are variations of the same basic combination. Use your imagination, whip out some different ingredients like carrots, apples, bananas, zucchini, pumpkin, maybe even sweet or regular potatoes, leftover jars of baby food that are still in your pantry, whatever! Try different nuts, spices, dried fruits, oils.

Enjoy!!!!

Who will be the Next Food Network Star???

I loved Sunday night's episode of TNFNS. The challenge of the day for the final contestants was to do a 3 minute cooking demo for a Miami morning program. The challenge was that the kitchen was rigged for disaster, and the contestants had to overcome the sabotage and keep their cool.

I am still working at the soup kitchen on Mondays. Look forward to it every week. Especially when Gus asks me to cook something! Usually I am doing prep work and sometimes serving and other support type jobs.

How does this tie in with TNFNS? Whenever Gus asks me to cook, something is missing or goes wrong. A few months ago, he asked me to make beef stroganoff. Thankfully, it is something I am familiar with so I got to it. Once I got the saucy beef mixture going, the water was boiling and ready for noodles, and lo and behold, the noodles were missing. So, I made it with potatoes. I think I got a little flustered at the absence of noodles and overdid it with tarragon. LOL, I still haven't lived that down!

Last week, Gus made calabasas con carne de puerco (zucchini with pork) - it was delicious, but we when Gus asked me to get the bread out of the freezer, we found none. I thought a handful of tortilla chips would have been good, too, but alas, there were none. I found a stack of frozen corn tortillas that were bound and determined to stay frozen, even after a nice long jaunt in a very hot oven. So I pried each one off the stack and grilled it and they came out fine, albeit a little torn.

Yesterday, I walked in and Gus asked me to make bread pudding - this is something I am pretty good at and love to do. He have me the bread that I needed (cinnamon raisin swirl and croissants) and I got to work - a layer of raisin bread, a layer of torn croissants, then a layer of raisin bread. It was sure pretty! I went to the fridge to get the eggs and found NONE! I asked Gus and he said there was a flat of eggs that someone donated and were there yesterday. Well, it appears that someone decided they needed the eggs more than the soup kitchen did! We were about to wrap it up and stick it into the freezer for when we got more eggs. but I saw a couple half gallons of ice cream hanging out in the freezer. I asked Gus if I could use them, and he said yes. I took 1/2 gallon of Blue Bell homemade vanilla and 1/2 gallon of vanilla bean, melted them together, added some cinnamon and nutmeg and some milk, and poured the whole thing over the bread layers. We stuck it in the oven for close to an hour, then topped with a glaze of powdered sugar, milk, and a dash of cinnamon and vanilla.
We all decided that this will be the new way to make bread pudding! I wish I had my camera handy, but didn't. It was so delicious, creamy and perfectly textured! Can you imagine how pecan pralines and cream would taste with it? Or buttered pecan? YUM-O!!

Determination

Here is a little video of Danny Jr when he began blowing bubbles - he's determined, that's for sure.

Cucumber Salad with Creamy Parlsey Mint Vinegarette

My garden is producing so many cucumbers! We eat them just like that, with a bit of salt and pepper. Today, though, I had 8 in my veggie bowl, and I know that they wouldn't all get eaten just like that, so I came up with a delicious salad using 4 items from my garden! Cukes, red onions, parsley, and mint. I used organic olive oil and red wine vinegar and homemade yogurt from local raw milk. Here is the recipe (please forgive the approximate amounts):

3 cucumbers, sliced

1 very small red onion, or 1/4 regular sized one, sliced thinly

handful parsley, minced

handful mint, minced

1-2 T red wine vinegar

2-3 T olive oil

3 T plain yogurt

1/4-1/2 t garlic powder

salt and pepper to taste

Place cukes and onions in a medium sized bowl. In a small bowl, add minced fresh herbs, salt and pepper, garlic powder, and vinegar. Whisk together till combined, then add olive oil in a thin stream (still whisking) till incorporated. Add yogurt and whisk till all combined, nice and creamy. Pour dressing over cukes and onions, mix well (I used a rubber spatula) and transfer to a serving bowl. Refrigerate till ready to eat. Enjoy!

Blahg

As you may have noticed, there hasn't been much blogging from my neck of the woods lately. Can't explain why, no excuses, I just haven't been doing it. Sorry.

Summer is here, the kids are home from school. We are doing summer stuff, like library visits (Danny Jr got his first ever library card! It was a proud moment in our lives, especially to see how doggone cute and serious he was while signing the application and the card), reading, swimming, visiting friends, and walk/jogging. I decided to start doing the couch to 5K training, and rallied up some friends to join in. Today was the second official Club C2/5K meeting and I got a tummy bug. Blek.

Sophia is in Girl Scout camp - a day camp here in town - M-Th this week. She loves it so much! We used to worry so much about her - she never was confident enough to enjoy social activities, sports, and all things that consisted of being away from home (and Mom). Now, after forcing her (as she LOVES to point out) into soccer and basketball (both of which she DOMINATED in), we can barely keep her from wanting to do everything social. She has certainly blossomed!

Olivia and I stayed up really late Sunday night, just talking about this and that, nothing in particular. It was so nice to talk with no one else around. She is such a great young lady. I am very proud of the person she is becoming - she has a seriously huge heart! And as wacky and wild as she is, she is quite level headed when it comes to issues outside of the home (like school, bullies, children from broken homes, etc.- she *gets* so much).

Danny Jr is starting Kinder in the fall. Wow. Where on Earth has the time gone?????? A chapter in our lives is very quickly coming to and end, and "Book 2" is about to begin. My baby, the last of my three precious ones, is embracing his big-boyness and is so ready to start school. I can't imagine what life will be like when I have to be out there, working and balancing kids, career, and home. Wow. Talk about changes!!!!

I am in the early planning stages of creating a business, one which will be full swing when school starts - not giving any details, but I am certainly asking for prayers and positive thoughts. Just know that you will know what it is when the time comes to reveal it! : ) Till then, thank you!

It was nice catching up, hope all is well with you - I am off to do some home stuff, since I am here and not somewhere else. Peace out, y'all!!!!!