long story short

ebelskivers and inspiration

 

    

Do you ever make ebelskivers? We don't make them very often, but we always do on Conference Sunday, when we watch this.

The tradition started years ago when we lived in California. Our friends would invite us over and we'd watch Conference and have a huge brunch, featuring Ebelskivers By Matt. We'd wear our pajamas all day and squeeze onto the big couch together. Good times....

If I'd thought about it earlier, I would have taken pictures of the ebelskiver-making process. It's so easy. We usually fill half of them and leave the other half plain (for madsen, mr. bland-foods-only). Today's ebelskivers were filled with Sarabeth's apricot-orange marmalade (sarabeth's kitchen is the restaurant brins and i went to in new york -- you can also get the marmalade at williams sonoma). We like our ebelskivers with melted butter and powdered sugar, but they're also good with jam or good syrup. 

We eat until we're stuffed (it's one of the few times a year my kids get bacon...today there wasn't nearly enough), then we settle in to watch and listen. In California, the kids were little, so we had to provide activities to keep them occupied. But now, they listen...mostly. I like to think that they come away feeling inspired and motivated to do better, be better.

I know I do.

I also like to think that, in California, the tradition continues. That at about the same time I was carefully turning my ebelskivers, Matt was making his, too.

 

pretty pasta

I found this pasta at World Market the other day. Isn't it pretty?

The colors for the stripes come from different vegetables -- spinach, carrots and beets, I think.

I served it a couple of weeks ago with a butternut squash sauce (also from World Market -- I love that place!) and fresh parmesan cheese.

No one seemed as excited about it as I was (come on! it's gooorgeous!) -- except for Brins, who also appreciates "the presentation" of food (and gifts and, well, everything).

The pasta was delicious; the flavors used to color the pasta were not too strong. And the sauce tasted homemade -- which is not easy to find in a jarred sauce. Most importantly, it was super-quick to prepare on a day when my family was starving and I was short on time.

I recommend serving this in white bowls so the colors stand out.

I also recommend ignoring the suspicious, unappreciative looks that come from anyone who "only eats PLAIN pasta".

green juice

Yum. There's no better way to start the day than with a glass of green juice.

I hope you have a juicer. I l.o.v.e. mine. I recently found out that my sister has a juicer. In her cupboard. In the box it came in. I say, dust it off, sister!

We juice just about anything here. We love to mix and match and come up with delicious drinks. Our current favorite recipe:

• apples (Hutton says granny smith are the best, but we use whatever we have)
• kiwis (just throw them in whole)
• a few handfuls of raw spinach
• a wedge of lime (gives it that extra sparkle)

Mmmm. It's so good. My kids love it -- they even ask for it if I forget. I'll admit that Madsen and K say it's not the best thing ever (whatever), but they still drink it every time. It doesn't really replace eating whole fruits and veggies, but if you've got a veggie-hater at your house, it's a good way to get some in.

As an extra bonus, I promise that when you down a glass of freshly-juiced fruits and veggies -- then watch your kids do the same -- you'll feel just a little bit more virtuous and supermom-ish. Now that's what I call a superfood.

tutorial: mini key lime pies

Some of you have asked for a how-to on the little pies I made for Hutton's party. These desserts are so easy -- great for a party. (Sorry -- the photos aren't the greatest).

Here's the recipe (adapted from Bake Space) -

Crust:   

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs

3 Tbsp sugar

1/3 cup butter

Filling:

2 pkg cream cheese, softened to room temperature

2 14-oz cans sweetened condensed milk

3/4 cup fresh or bottled key lime juice

1 tsp grated lime rind

Topping:

1 cup whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 Tbsp powdered sugar

Step 1:

Combine crust ingredients, then press a spoonful into each cup. (Save some to sprinkle on top). I used clear 2-ounce portion cups. Use one of the little cups to press the crust down. Chill for one hour.

Step 2:

Whip cream cheese until fluffy. Add remaining filling ingredients and whip until smooth.

Step 3:

Pour filling into a gallon-size Ziploc bag. Cut one corner off the bag. Squeeze filling onto prepared crusts. Chill thoroughly.

   

Step 4:

Whip cream until soft peaks form. Add vanilla and powdered sugar. Whip until desired consistency -- I like mine relatively thick. Use the same bag technique to top your pies, then sprinkle with reserved crust crumbs.

Serve with teensy little plastic spoons (I found silver ones).

Enjoy!

note: I doubled this recipe and had enough for about 60 mini pies.

green day

I forgot to wear green today -- even though Hutton reminded me. I didn't even color my shoelace green like Mac (who also forgot) did.

I did, however, make green grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. Yum. (They tasted better than they looked. I promise!)

And I didn't get pinched. Lucky me.

Happy St. Patrick's day!

nothing to eat

How is it that my kids can stand in front of the fridge for 5 whole minutes, then declare that there's "nothing to eat"?

Really? Nothing?

That was the verdict. Several times over. Apparently, the trips to Costco and Whole Foods that have become at least a part-time job for me, have been all for naught. Because -- boo-hoo -- we have no food.

It makes me crazy!

Apparently, other mothers -- cool mothers -- have refrigerators filled-to-overflowing with highly-desirable goodness. Like soda. And hot dogs. And even this "new" invention called Cheez Whiz ("cheese" in a can? be still my heart!).

(Hey kids: Just for the record, I don't know any such mothers and firmly believe that you have created this fantasy in your minds. It's fine to dream. I, myself, fantasize of nutritious, delicious meals that cook themselves AND non-picky children that eat them. Like your fridge-fantasy... not gonna happen!)

I should say, that, every once in a while, I bring home chocolate milk. Then, I'm declared "the best" and my fridge has delighted visitors all day long.

I guess I can't really be too hard on them. Nearly every day, I walk into my closet and determine that -- you guessed it -- I've got nothing to wear. (It's true! Nothing!)

I can hear my dad's voice in my head right now, and it's saying, with an exaggerated eyeroll, ... "mimado". (sigh)

sharks!!

There was no kindergarten on Thursday. In Hutton's world, that means it's a perfect day to pull out his favorite book and do another project. This time, he invited his friends to help.

 

I'd had a parent-teacher conference earlier that morning with Hutton's teacher. I was told that:

1. Hutton's reading is really coming along.
2. Hutton is a good student.
3. Hutton is helpful.
4. Hutton is competitive and races his classmates in everything they do -- leading to some less-than-perfect work. (little stinker!)
5. Hutton and his friends are refusing to sing in music, which, apparently has lead to an anti-singing movement among the kindergarteners.

Item number 5 was what most (almost ALL) of the conference time was spent on. Seriously? My kid doesn't sing? He's influencing others not to sing? Okay, I can see that's a problem, I say. I'll have a talk with him, I say.

What I wanted to say: Are you kidding me? He's helpful and smart and kind to others. He's doing great in math, knows his sight words and his numbers and is happy in class. Just a few months ago, he would barely speak outside of our home. Now, he's playing with the other kids and making friends. AND, he has somehow avoided most of the gross kindergarten germs and has been able to actually come to school (most days). And we spent the whole conference focusing on the fact that HE DOESN'T SING??!!!

Now, I'm not the mom whose children can do no wrong. I do realize that my child is not perfect. I did have a chat with him about The Singing Crisis of '09.

But mostly... we made cupcakes. I guess if his outrageous delinquency continues, he'll have something to fall back on.

goulash

When I was a kid, my mom would occasionally leave us in the care of our dad for dinner.  More often than not, he would open the fridge and start taking out whatever random leftovers he could find. He would mix everything in one pan, maybe add some tomatoes and, voila! -- "goulash". It was always a different concoction, same name. Sometimes, he'd try to be fancy and call it "hungarian goulash" (mmm)... but, it was basically refrigerator clean-out. Weird part? We always ate it. And, more often than not, it was pretty tasty. Really, it was!

I hadn't tried the goulash approach with my own finicky spoiled discriminating children. Until now. Inspired by my use-what's-on-hand sister -- and dear old dad, of course -- I surveyed the contents of my fridge and came up with my own version of "goulash".

Polenta on the bottom;

then, juicy chicken breasts (cooked with garlic and olive oil);

next, I sprinkled goat cheese on the chicken...

and topped it all with sauteed fresh tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes and fresh haricots verts (okay, so, green beans... but, if dad can say "hungarian goulash", i can say "haricots verts". fancy).

I poured the delicious juices from the chicken/sauteed vegetables pan over the whole thing.

Looks yummy, right? I was pretty proud of myself as I channeled my dad and sister. But, the real test is always: will they eat it?

The reviews:

• Looks like I'm not eating.
• ooh... disgusting.
• It's actually good! (thanks, walker)
• Delicious!! (and i'm not the only one who said it, thank you very much)
• Could I have some more?
  

Overall, the reviews were good. I only got two turned-up noses. It was a culinary miracle.

So, what's in your fridge? Maybe the makings of your own goulash?

see you later, alligator

Take a look at our latest cupcake creation.

Can you guess what it is?

Yup. It's a scary alligator!

Hutton was so excited to put this guy together for his cousin's birthday -- and I was happy to be his assistant. We had so much fun doing this. I can't wait for the next one... and there will be a next one. Hutton spends hours looking at our favorite cupcake book. I told him to mark the ones he wants to try:

Looks like we're going to be busy. See you later, Alligator.

april fools day

Today I made cupcakes for dinner.

My boys were not excited when they realized that they were turkey meatloaf cupcakes with mashed potato "frosting". (beet juice produces a great hot-pink, by the way). Most of them ate the cupcakes, but declared my joke "Gross. NOT FUNNY!"

They were more excited about the sushi I made (who doesn't love rice crispy treats, fruit leather and licorice?) -- until they realized that I made it for the teenage girls I work with at church.

Speaking of which... I think those girls will be suspicious of me from this day forward.  For tonight's activity we set up haircutting stations and posted this sign:

Then, I announced to the girls that we would be doing a very special service project -- I would be drawing names to select girls to cut off their hair and donate it to Locks of Love. They must have forgotten it was April Fools because their jaws dropped. We pulled out the ruler to show them how much we would be cutting -- 10 inches minimum.

We took the joke pretty far...

... before we yelled "April Fools!"  A couple of girls were REALLY stressed. They were so relieved to find out it was a joke.

Then, we told the girls that our real activity for the evening would be learning a dance for a church video that would be broadcast worldwide. Believe it or not, they bought our story and were actually willing -- kind of excited even -- to learn the dance. Until our fearless dance expert, Holly proceeded to teach them the craziest, most ridiculous dance. To Irish music.

April Fools, girls!! Classic. 

We ended the evening o' fun by telling the girls that we'd brought handmade sushi. Some girls were excited -- mmm! i love sushi!  -- others complained -- i hate fish!! Then they all rolled their eyes when they saw our "faux sushi".  Hopefully, the sweet treat made up for all the laughs we had at their expense. Somehow, I doubt it.