Behind me right now lurks a pile of something that could resemble clothes...if not for the mass of wrinkles rendering each item unrecognizable. Time for my ironing board and more stress on my "Repetitive Activity Wrist Injury". I could tell my husband that I cannot iron due to Doctor's orders and I would not be lying...but he is down in sunny Alabama for one more day. So I will ignore the wrinkles and get some Downy Wrinkle release tomorrow! That is a much better idea.
I have been painting like a whirling dervish. My Adult ADD is having a hard time picking a room to paint and I currently have not two but THREE unfinished painting projects right now. Thus the Wrist injury. I woke this morning with a horrible pain in my wrist when I try to rotate it and I actually thought I fractured it in my mad dash to rearrange the WHOLE house before my family descends again. But the good Dr says I will be fine, "Just Don't do anything with it...don't try to push it". Yeah right.
My latest endeavor is the girls room which had JUST been painted a plain white with boring yellow trim that both girls were very unenthusiastic about, but my littlest said one night..."Where my pink wall Mommy?". So out I went into the cold night air to buy the brightest pepto bismol pink possible. I toned it down myself and went to town...it looks good. My husband is horrified however, but I am the girl so I get to choose their paint color with them. Also in the "Works" which means ripped apart, is the little parlor off the girls room which is now my "CRAFT ROOM"!
Pretty exciting stuff I have to say. I picked a dark coral color which my sister advised against and a light beautiful coral for the accent wall. I will be doctoring the dark coral in a few days and trying again, but my wrist has made it all come to a standstill.
My home school attempt has failed miserably and my relieved eldest daughter is now enrolled in the preschool of her dreams with swimming and kids to play with. She is in preschool heaven and now I have nap time back! Perfect crime. I never said I would be good at this SAHM stuff. Next year I am going to be on my own all day with the littlest and I won't lie and say I am looking forward to it. I get bored really easily and it is hard to find ways to entertain her as I am always thinking about the things I have to get done. This weekend with my husband and oldest children away she and I have had some time to ourselves and I did not do dishes for FOUR days so I could play with her. It was wonderful.
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Monday, February 21, 2011
Monday, September 20, 2010
A Fresh Start....Sort Of.
Ahhhhh...the smell of new pencils, notebooks, and sawdust of course! So begins my September. We have started our new school year with a bang and a whine. I have been trying really hard to get organized, get a schedule, get sane. It is kind of working, except for the morning mania...which then results in nothing getting done. Then all my chores are still left and there goes our school for the morning. Also, exercise is now the key to feeling better, at least that is what my doctor said. So I have to squeeze in 1 Hour a day and do housework and teach the kids, and shave my legs. Ok....Now I know this is possible, but I don't seem to do it very well.
Ok, well some things have been done for my school year. We have made the first two color boxes from the Montessori curriculum. Also, the long red rods are done and so are the miniature number rods. Phew. It was many painful minutes of sawing with my miter saw and flying sawdust everywhere. The kids kept rescuing the pieces as they fell off the porch into the mud. They are not painted yet, and so far when not being used for school(which is never) they are used as bludgeoning weapons. Grand.
My little Bell really enjoys her sandpaper letters and cutting and making jewelry with her bead kit I got.
She also likes to sew and do her workbook pages. Little Tiri enjoys bothering her sister, and sometimes eating crayons. She will do some activies like the little number rods. She likes to line them up. Marble transfer is a new favorite, and she has only eaten two marbles so far....
It is great to watch her little brain work and her tiny hands do their important work.She is also a climber so most of my school morning is spent keeping her off the counters and her windowsills. I need to get one of those cat climbers for her so she can climb something she is allowed on. My oldest is doing good in school, with a little trouble here and there. He is testing the waters while dealing with his stuff we just discovered he has going on in his brilliant little brain. That is a post in itself though! So I will try to post more often, in case anyone is interested! =)
Ok, well some things have been done for my school year. We have made the first two color boxes from the Montessori curriculum. Also, the long red rods are done and so are the miniature number rods. Phew. It was many painful minutes of sawing with my miter saw and flying sawdust everywhere. The kids kept rescuing the pieces as they fell off the porch into the mud. They are not painted yet, and so far when not being used for school(which is never) they are used as bludgeoning weapons. Grand.
 |
| Bell helping to make the 2nd Color Box |
She also likes to sew and do her workbook pages. Little Tiri enjoys bothering her sister, and sometimes eating crayons. She will do some activies like the little number rods. She likes to line them up. Marble transfer is a new favorite, and she has only eaten two marbles so far....
It is great to watch her little brain work and her tiny hands do their important work.She is also a climber so most of my school morning is spent keeping her off the counters and her windowsills. I need to get one of those cat climbers for her so she can climb something she is allowed on. My oldest is doing good in school, with a little trouble here and there. He is testing the waters while dealing with his stuff we just discovered he has going on in his brilliant little brain. That is a post in itself though! So I will try to post more often, in case anyone is interested! =)
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Homeade Applesauce From My Overgrown and Wonderful Tree
Ok....I am 6 minutes late this month....I was supposed to get this done by the 14th....But I figure it is the 14th somewhere in the world? No? Ok....Well this month for the Daring Cooks was Food Preservation. I have made jams, applesauce, tomatoes(once) and even apple butter. Since I am familiar with canning, I decided to make applesauce because my family does NOT like apple butter and the last jar I had stayed in the fridge for almost a YEAR. I hate to throw food out....but it had to be done. Anyhoo...We have a McIntosh Tree in our backyard. We used to have two, but we also have a teeny tiny yard and three wild children so one of the trees had to go. Before we cut it down however, it had relations with the other tree and produced a WONDERFUL crop of baby apples. One problem is that these trees were let go and are really tall so one of the only ways to get these beautiful apples is too wait for it to fall and bonk you on the head, spray them with a hose, OR whack them with a broom handle. So...we had to grab the seconds before the critters did. But I still had a bumper crop in our backyard, which I guess was pretty common this year. I kept putting off using them and had two good size batches of apples go bad in the fridge and I have had a colony of fruit flies in my house, which I trapped in my awesome homemade fruit fly trap. But I digress...back to applesauce. Here goes...
The September 2010 Daring Cooks’ challenge was hosted by John of Eat4Fun. John chose to challenge The Daring Cooks to learn about food preservation, mainly in the form of canning and freezing. He challenged everyone to make a recipe and preserve it. John’s source for food preservation information was from The National Center for Home Food Preservation.
My recipe came from http://canning.falbepublishing.com where I saw what looked like a really good recipe and I had used one similar before. The sauce came out great. I just don't know what happened with my canning. My lids have not popped yet and they always have before. I am thinking it was because I used Quart size jars and they could not be submerged in my VERY large pot. Hmmm. Anyway. I am going to risk it. Maybe. We will see. So the recipe is below. I pretty much just cooked the apples with a small amount of water and mashed them with my kids pretend potato masher(it has smaller holes) and then added the cinamon sugar and then cooked it all down some more(my husbands idea) until it was thicker. YUM!~
You can make large batches of applesauce and preserve it by canning it in pint or quart jars that will last for up to a year. Canning applesauce can be done safely in the home with only a simple hot water bath.
Homemade applesauce canning recipe
Yields 5 to 6 pints
Start with approximately 12 pounds of fresh apples free of blemishes and bruises. Minor blemishing can be cut out but always make sure you are using high quality fruit.
Have ready a large water bath canning kettle (readily available at discount stores or hardware stores), pint sized Mason canning jars with brand new lids. You will also want a canning jar lifter and a candy thermometer.
Peel and core the apples. This is admittedly a lot of work and investing in a hand crank apple peeler is recommended. After peeling, slice the apples. Because it will take a while to get all the apples peeled have a large pan with about 1 gallon of water with 3/4 cup lemon juice in it. Put the apple slices in the lemon water as you work to prevent browning of the fruit.
Once all fruit is peeled and sliced drain it from the lemon water and add it to a large stock pot and heat on the stove over medium heat. Cover the stock pot, but check frequently to make sure that the fruit is not scorching on the bottom. Water will soon start cooking out of the fruit and this will protect against scorching after the first few minutes. Keep the pot covered so that the fruit simmers and steams. Check every couple minutes and stir the fruit. Depending on the firmness of the apple variety you selected, the apples should become noticeably softened in about 20 or 30 minutes. Once apples are softened and beginning to break apart when stirred, start mashing them with a potato masher. This speeds the saucing process. You can make the apples as smooth or as chunky as you want. Keep the applesauce cooking after you mash to cook out more liquid. You don't want the applesauce runny. Cook out the water until a thick sauce forms. During this time, you may add sugar and spice if you want.
Add, if desired:
1 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
dash of salt
You can add more sugar if you want it really sweet or not add any sugar. Having this control over the ingredients is one of the nice things about making your own applesauce. You don't have to worry about the high fructose corn syrup that is present in so many commercial varities.
While you are cooking the apples, get the water bath canner and the jars ready. Wash your jars, lids, and bands and fill the canner. Heat the water in the canner to at least 180 degrees F but less than boiling and submerge completely the jars and lids to sterilize. Use the candy thermometer to monitor water temperature. After the jars and lids have been sterilizing for a couple minutes, shut off the heat to the canner and cover it. The water and jars will stay hot while you're finishing the applesauce.
Once the applesauce achieves a thick consistency without any puddles of excess liquid, remove from heat. Take the sterilized jars and lids out of the water and fill with applesauce. Leave 1/2 inch headspace in jars. Carefully clean and wipe dry the rims of the jars and put on the lids. Secure the lids with the jar bands and screw tight with your hand. You don't have to make it really tight. Just screw it on without forcing it.
Bring the water in the canner to a full boil and carefully add the filled jars with the jar lifter. Make sure at least 1 or 2 inches of water are above the tops of the jars. Keeping the water at a boil, process the pints for 15 minutes. (If you used quart jars, process for 20 mintues.) Increase these times by 5 minutes if you are at elevations above 1,000 feet.
When processing time has elapsed, remove jars from water and place on a towel in a draft-free location. Do not disturb the jars for 12 to 24 hours while the seals cool and tighten. You may hear the lids pop down and make a seal within the first few minutes, but do not touch them.
The next day, remove the bands, wipe the jars and lids clean and store in a cool dark place for up to one year.
If you want to do both quart and pint jars at the same time, just use the processing time for the quarts. A little extra processing on the pint jars will not hurt anything.
The September 2010 Daring Cooks’ challenge was hosted by John of Eat4Fun. John chose to challenge The Daring Cooks to learn about food preservation, mainly in the form of canning and freezing. He challenged everyone to make a recipe and preserve it. John’s source for food preservation information was from The National Center for Home Food Preservation.
How to make and can homemade applesauce
Warm homemade applesauce is a comforting delight of the harvest season. Nothing in a jar at the supermarket can compare to freshly stewed and spiced apples. For the ambitious apple lover, a weekend or two of effort with 10 or 20 pounds of apples will prolong the pleasure of homemade applesauce far past autumn.You can make large batches of applesauce and preserve it by canning it in pint or quart jars that will last for up to a year. Canning applesauce can be done safely in the home with only a simple hot water bath.
Homemade applesauce canning recipe
Yields 5 to 6 pints
Start with approximately 12 pounds of fresh apples free of blemishes and bruises. Minor blemishing can be cut out but always make sure you are using high quality fruit.
Have ready a large water bath canning kettle (readily available at discount stores or hardware stores), pint sized Mason canning jars with brand new lids. You will also want a canning jar lifter and a candy thermometer.
Peel and core the apples. This is admittedly a lot of work and investing in a hand crank apple peeler is recommended. After peeling, slice the apples. Because it will take a while to get all the apples peeled have a large pan with about 1 gallon of water with 3/4 cup lemon juice in it. Put the apple slices in the lemon water as you work to prevent browning of the fruit.
Once all fruit is peeled and sliced drain it from the lemon water and add it to a large stock pot and heat on the stove over medium heat. Cover the stock pot, but check frequently to make sure that the fruit is not scorching on the bottom. Water will soon start cooking out of the fruit and this will protect against scorching after the first few minutes. Keep the pot covered so that the fruit simmers and steams. Check every couple minutes and stir the fruit. Depending on the firmness of the apple variety you selected, the apples should become noticeably softened in about 20 or 30 minutes. Once apples are softened and beginning to break apart when stirred, start mashing them with a potato masher. This speeds the saucing process. You can make the apples as smooth or as chunky as you want. Keep the applesauce cooking after you mash to cook out more liquid. You don't want the applesauce runny. Cook out the water until a thick sauce forms. During this time, you may add sugar and spice if you want.
Add, if desired:
1 cup brown sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
dash of salt
You can add more sugar if you want it really sweet or not add any sugar. Having this control over the ingredients is one of the nice things about making your own applesauce. You don't have to worry about the high fructose corn syrup that is present in so many commercial varities.
While you are cooking the apples, get the water bath canner and the jars ready. Wash your jars, lids, and bands and fill the canner. Heat the water in the canner to at least 180 degrees F but less than boiling and submerge completely the jars and lids to sterilize. Use the candy thermometer to monitor water temperature. After the jars and lids have been sterilizing for a couple minutes, shut off the heat to the canner and cover it. The water and jars will stay hot while you're finishing the applesauce.
Once the applesauce achieves a thick consistency without any puddles of excess liquid, remove from heat. Take the sterilized jars and lids out of the water and fill with applesauce. Leave 1/2 inch headspace in jars. Carefully clean and wipe dry the rims of the jars and put on the lids. Secure the lids with the jar bands and screw tight with your hand. You don't have to make it really tight. Just screw it on without forcing it.
Bring the water in the canner to a full boil and carefully add the filled jars with the jar lifter. Make sure at least 1 or 2 inches of water are above the tops of the jars. Keeping the water at a boil, process the pints for 15 minutes. (If you used quart jars, process for 20 mintues.) Increase these times by 5 minutes if you are at elevations above 1,000 feet.
When processing time has elapsed, remove jars from water and place on a towel in a draft-free location. Do not disturb the jars for 12 to 24 hours while the seals cool and tighten. You may hear the lids pop down and make a seal within the first few minutes, but do not touch them.
The next day, remove the bands, wipe the jars and lids clean and store in a cool dark place for up to one year.
If you want to do both quart and pint jars at the same time, just use the processing time for the quarts. A little extra processing on the pint jars will not hurt anything.
Friday, August 27, 2010
I should be making Eggplant Parm right now......
Tonight's dinner was going to be Eggplant Parmesan with fresh baked Italian bread and salad. So far it has ended up not becoming much of anything and I asked my DH to pick up a loaf of bread....not as good as mine, but I was kidnapped voluntarily and went tag saling all afternoon with my naughty but wonderfully supportive friend. So, it will be a time crunch trying to get everything baked in time for dinner...Oh! Wait I am already late! Dinner should be on the table now!!!! Darn you tag sales all over town! I did score some cute curtains for my kitchen and laundry room, and some wonderful plastic plates that my children will STILL break. They are amazingly adept at destruction.
OK....Here is the reason for the post(if you have hung in that long)
I am now part of the DaringKitchen.com. It is a website that consists of many people online all baking the same recipe every month.
The August 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Elissa of 17 and Baking. For the first time, The Daring Bakers partnered with Sugar High Fridays for a co-event and Elissa was the gracious hostess of both. Using the theme of beurre noisette, or browned butter, Elissa chose to challenge Daring Bakers to make a pound cake to be used in either a Baked Alaska or in Ice Cream Petit Fours. The sources for Elissa’s challenge were Gourmet magazine and David Lebovitz’s “The Perfect Scoop”.
I decided to go with the pound cake Petit Fours. I used homemade vanilla with a layer of raspberry jam because I did not have access to my ice-cream maker as I was at the lake and without my supplies. So nothing came out right, but oh well. I have made ice cream perfectly plenty of times before so, no big deal. Loved the Pound cake although I would have preferred it unfrozen. So when I went to glaze the cakes with my White Chocolate Ganache my poor ice-cream just fell apart, even though I froze them overnight. It just was not stable enough....But they tasted good. So Pics and then recipe and Good night! Oh yeah! Eggplant Parmesan was great!
Brown Butter Pound Cake
19 tablespoons (9.5 oz) (275g) unsalted (sweet) butter
2 cups (200g) sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring) (See “Note” section for cake flour substitution)
1 teaspoon (5g) baking powder
1/2 teaspoon (3g) salt
1/2 cup (110g) packed light brown sugar
1/3 (75g) cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1. Preheat the oven to 325°F/160°C and put a rack in the center. Butter and flour a 9”x9” (23cmx23cm) square pan.
2. Place the butter in a 10” (25cm) skillet over medium heat. Brown the butter until the milk solids are a dark chocolate brown and the butter smells nutty. (Don’t take your eyes off the butter in case it burns.) Pour into a shallow bowl and chill in the freezer until just congealed, 15-30 minutes.
3. Whisk together cake flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. Beat the brown butter, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar in an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well, and then the vanilla extract.
5. Stir in the flour mixture at low speed until just combined.
6. Scrape the batter into the greased and floured 9”x9” (23cmx23cm) square pan. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula and rap the pan on the counter. Bake until golden brown on top and when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes.
7. Cool in the pan 10 minutes. Run a knife along the edge and invert right-side-up onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
Directions:
Vanilla Ice Cream
1 cup (250ml) whole milk
A pinch of salt
3/4 cup (165g) sugar
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise OR 2 teaspoons (10ml) pure vanilla extract
2 cups (500ml) heavy (approx 35% butterfat) cream
5 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon (5ml) pure vanilla extract
1. Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a medium saucepan until the liquid steams. Scrape out the seeds of the vanilla bean with a paring knife and add to the milk, along with the bean pod. Cover, remove from heat, and let infuse for an hour. (If you do not have a vanilla bean, simply heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a medium saucepan until the liquid steams, then let cool to room temperature.)
2. Set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart (2 litre) bowl inside a large bowl partially filled with water and ice. Put a strainer on top of the smaller bowl and pour in the cream.
3. In another bowl, lightly beat the egg yolks together. Reheat the milk in the medium saucepan until warmed, and then gradually pour ¼ cup warmed milk into the yolks, constantly whisking to keep the eggs from scrambling. Once the yolks are warmed, scrape the yolk and milk mixture back into the saucepan of warmed milk and cook over low heat. Stir constantly and scrape the bottom with a spatula until the mixture thickens into a custard which thinly coats the back of the spatula.
4. Strain the custard into the heavy cream and stir the mixture until cooled. Add the vanilla extract (1 teaspoon [5ml] if you are using a vanilla bean; 3 teaspoons [15ml] if you are not using a vanilla bean) and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, preferably overnight.
5. Remove the vanilla bean and freeze in an ice cream maker. If you don’t have an ice cream maker, you can make it without a machine. See instructions from David Lebovitz: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2007/07/making_ice_crea_1.html
White Chocolate Ganache
12 Oz Bag of White chocolate Chips
3/4 Cup Heavy Cream
1 Tbl Corn Syrup
In Double Boiler Heat Cream and Corn syrup until simmer
Add in White Chocolate Chips and let them melt
Take Boiler off heat
Allow Ganache to cool and then dip cake in or pour glaze on.
(It Helps if the ganache is Thick but not too thick. Still pourable.
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Still Trying.....
Ok. School starts in one week and still, nothing is planned for my home school adventure except school supplies have been purchased. My friend and I are trying to come up with a little curriculum, but nothing going so far. Every time I try to do anything my littlest gets into some sort of poison or food item and scatters it everywhere or tries to paint her own nails or any other terrible thing that could come to mind. It has probably happened in the past 2 months. I can't even get my bathroom cleaned and the food on the table in any sort of time.
Well, A whole week has gone by since I saved this draft and now we are T minus 3 days until I need some sort of schedule for this house. So far I have a chore system and a reward system. So that helps. IF I can get them to follow it. We were away in New York enjoying the lake we so love and it was peaceful. I tried VERY hard to not think about what was waiting for me at home(trash I forgot to empty, a moldy washer I forgot to leave open, and apparently sewage gasses were running amok in our bathroom while we were gone). Now we are back and I am trying to get some laundry done before the kids wake up in 5 hours! So I better go!
I will be posting food pics and challenge info! Keep watching. You know, if you want!
Well, A whole week has gone by since I saved this draft and now we are T minus 3 days until I need some sort of schedule for this house. So far I have a chore system and a reward system. So that helps. IF I can get them to follow it. We were away in New York enjoying the lake we so love and it was peaceful. I tried VERY hard to not think about what was waiting for me at home(trash I forgot to empty, a moldy washer I forgot to leave open, and apparently sewage gasses were running amok in our bathroom while we were gone). Now we are back and I am trying to get some laundry done before the kids wake up in 5 hours! So I better go!
I will be posting food pics and challenge info! Keep watching. You know, if you want!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
The Countdown Begins
Well, this is officially my first blog post. I hope to not bore you my lone reader. I am getting ready to start my year of rediscovery and homeschooling my two girls. As far as the rediscovery goes, well my sister always says after each baby, I am in a haze for 1 year. This time it has taken 2 years for me to emerge from my baby mania. Mostly due to the fact that this is my last baby and she has taken the house by storm. My days are occupied with following her around with a dust pan and trashcan hoping to minimize the damage. Things are starting to settle down and I am starting to pull out my trusty Montessori Homeschooling materials for her and her sister. Hand washing and clearing are just one of the things that the other kids were well versed in, that she refuses to do. NIP IN BUD!!! I am taking the rest of the summer to prepare for the onslaught of the new school year and get her under control.
Tonight I am making a cake for my friends daughter. It is 11:00 and I am going to start work on it as soon as I am done here. A blue princess castle chocolate cake with Cookies and Cream filling from one of my favorite cake books, the Whimsical Bakehouse. They make beautiful, bright, happy cakes that taste wonderful. Grmmm...Hopefully it will look better than the last one! I will post pics of the finished result, in case anyone is interested!
Tonight I am making a cake for my friends daughter. It is 11:00 and I am going to start work on it as soon as I am done here. A blue princess castle chocolate cake with Cookies and Cream filling from one of my favorite cake books, the Whimsical Bakehouse. They make beautiful, bright, happy cakes that taste wonderful. Grmmm...Hopefully it will look better than the last one! I will post pics of the finished result, in case anyone is interested!
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