27 April 2009

treebones

overheadyurtsmall.jpg


in my mind, i'm on vacation here today. sans kids, please. (btw, no kids under 6 are allowed at the resort. not that i blame them. it's just that the one under 6 is the only one that's invited on my vacay today.) but seriously, how cool is a yurt? especially one in big sur that overlooks the ocean?
 

24 April 2009

room to grow


in a day and age where there is so much to protect our kids from, i thought this was a great read. although fostering independence in our kids is the hardest thing, sometimes its the best thing. 

it's not easy being green


my favorite moment of irony this week? the 50,000 paper crafts that came home for earth day. so for every tree that was planted in honor of mama earth's big day, about 10 were chopped down to spread the word. 

17 April 2009

beaba babycook


i love my beaba babycook! its a french baby food maker (oo-la-la). i received this as a gift from my spectacular work friends when my baby was born and i have been dying to put it to use. i tried it last week now that the baby is ready for solids. so fast, so easy, so convenient. i did a batch of sweet potatoes in 15 minutes, i'm not exaggerating. you just chop up the fruit or veggies, add water to the steamer compartment, put the veggies in the steamer basket and turn it on. it will shut off when the water is gone. then you pour off the water and puree the steamed food in that same container. then i put the food in the freezer in an ice cube tray -- the baby eats about two cubes at a time, so i can just pull out what i need. i love that i can make all of his food, i know exactly what's going into it and it literally costs pennies to make a batch. yes, i could do all of this on the stove top and use a blender or food processor, but this is so easy and convenient to have it all in one.  to watch a video of how it works, click here. so if any local friends want to get together to make baby food, let me know. i'm out of control with this thing.

check out more beaba products here. lots of cool european baby goods, including the coolest high chair i've ever seen. that deserves another oo-la-la. 


14 April 2009

cheese and potato soup


i love this recipe. i made it last night with leftover easter ham -- the kids ate it up, it's one of their favorites. here's what i changed: generous with the onions and carrots, omitted the celery (i don't really like celery, so keep it in if you like it), added 2 cloves of garlic, added an extra russet potato. once the potatoes were cooked, i spooned some (about a third) into my magic bullet and pureed it. this made the soup nice and thick, but still chunky. after i puree the potatoes and add the cheese, i usually have to add an additional cup or so of chicken broth, just until it gets to the right consistency. the keeps the soup from getting too "glue-y" - you want the pureed potatoes to make it velvety, not overly dense. then i salted it and added the tobasco -- don't even think of skipping the tobasco. a few drops gives it a nice little edge. you could also try bacon instead of ham, and play around with different types of cheese to change up the flavor a bit. a smoked cheddar or gouda would be delicious, as would a combination of sharp cheddar and parmesan reggiano. next time i want to thinly slice a handful of potato skins and fry them in a little oil to use as a garnish on top -- yum. 

if you're not familiar with epicurious.com, you really should be. i've gotten several recipes that my family loves on this site. i love saving recipes to my "recipe box", and i always read several of the reviews -- there are usually great ideas from fellow home cooks on how to really liven up the recipes. just a tip: stick with recipes that have a 3 1/2 - 4 fork rating. good luck!

ps -- i love and highly recommend these double handled soup bowls. williams-sonoma updated them, so they're larger (17 oz) than the set i have, but still at a great price. sadly, they don't come with the little plate anymore. but they're still oven safe, so i can use them to make these delicious individual chicken pot pies. 
 

03 April 2009

cupcakes and tom foolery


i've been having so much fun with cupcakes this week. for my girl's 6th birthday, i made a swarm of monarch butterflies. they are actually much easier than they look. i melted dark cocoa melting chips and orange melting chips, piped them out onto parchment paper using ziploc bags, swirled them a bit with a bamboo skewer (or toothpick, but i used what i had on hand), then added white non pareils.  the idea comes directly from the cupcake book du jour hello, cupcake by karen tack and alan richardson.  in case you didn't know, you must own this book! the most fun and creative cupcakes i have ever seen. they're fairly simple even though they can be somewhat labor-intensive, but making a few of these fantastic creations are a surefire way to secure rockstar mom status. 
the t.v. dinners are also from the hello, cupcake book. a friend of mine, sarah, owns her own cupcake business and she is a total pro at whipping these out. check out her website here. sarah helped out with our activity at church and showed all the girls how to make these for april fool's day. they were a total hit -- that sarah is one amazing gal, not to mention being way too much fun. 
i'm thinking my next cupcake venture needs to be panda bears... i'll let you know how they turn out.


30 March 2009

cake, part 2


so, the chocolate cake. it was pretty good, if i can toot my own horn. i wanted it to have the flavor of mexican hot chocolate (one of my favorite treats in the world), so i experimented a bit. first i tried melting a couple abuelita tablets to substitute for the cocoa powder and water mixture from the recipe. this was a bust as the chocolate was way too gritty. so instead i stayed true to the recipe and added 2 teaspoons of freshly ground mexican cinnamon. i also boiled a couple cinnamon sticks in the water. you can find mexican cinnamon down the "latin foods" aisle at the grocery store. all of the spices are sold in packets. i don't like to get the cinnamon that's already ground; you get so much more flavor from the sticks. and yes, there is a difference between regular cinnamon sticks and the mexican cinnamon sticks; the mexican cinnamon is softer and little more papery, not to mention the flavor being completely different. i ground the sticks in my magic bullet. can i just tell you that i love that thing? i bought it at costco and it works so well, especially for the price. then i sifted the cinnamon a bit --  you need to do this to pick out the tiny "sticks" (when you do this, you'll see what i mean). 
between the layers of cake, i used marshmallow creme as the filling. still going for that hot chocolate flavor, ya see? it was very yummy, just know that it will run a bit when it is cut, but it won't make the cake soggy. for the frosting, i added about 2 teaspoons (you'll really just have to add to taste) of mexican cinnamon to my chocolate buttercream. i also used mexican vanilla in both the cake and the frosting. so there you go, a mexican hot chocolate cake. seriously delicious. 

and here's the quick chocolate buttercream recipe, in case you need one:
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
6 cups confectioners' sugar
6 T milk (plus more, if needed)
2 t vanilla extract
1/4 t salt
1 cup dark chocolate chips, melted and cooled to room temp

beat together butter, sugar, milk, vanilla and salt with flat paddle attachment*. scrape down sides of the bowl; continue mixing for a couple more minutes. add in chocolate and mix until combined. add more milk if frosting is too dry. 
*i like to use the whisk attachment to make my frosting really light and fluffy, rather than rich and dense. it's personal preference, however. and it depends on the cake. 

23 March 2009

does alcohol really burn off?


i was discussing this question with a friend on saturday. we've both heard conflicting information, so i thought i would research it a bit to find the answer. so, to answer jana's question: 
check out ochef.com
for alcohol substitutions, check here.
this site also has quite a bit of really useful information. i refer to it often. 

whenever you substitute alcohol in a recipe, however, i would be careful. it will absolutely change the flavor of your finished product. so i wouldn't try it out when you're throwing a dinner party or anything. good luck, and happy cooking! 

do you yudu?


step1step2step3
                               beautyshot

have you heard of the yudu? it's the coolest toy ever -- a personal screen printer. apparently you can silk screen (or something like it) onto t-shirts, pillow covers, paper, etc. it looks like way too much fun. i think i could be totally out of control with something like this in my possession (i'm a total freak about my name on stuff, everything i owned would say "m" or "missy" in cool fonts. i think laverne & shirley had a serious impact on my psyche). but i won't have to worry about that for a while, since it's about $300. anyways, check it out. if you're interested, michael's stores across the country are having yudu demonstrations this saturday, march 28, from 1 -3. 

speaking of michael's, if you're not getting the coupons in the mail anymore, you can sign up for email updates here and your 40% coupons will get emailed to you. kinda nice. 

images via www.whatdoyudu.com


20 March 2009

mmm... cake.


i'm baking up a chocolate cake for my friend's birthday. i always love an excuse to bake a cake. i just love the whole process. the preparation, the measuring, the way my house smells, and of course the satisfaction of the finished product. there's nothing like the feeling of looking at a beautiful, frosted, from-scratch cake just waiting to be enjoyed by those you love. i tweaked my favorite recipe a bit -- if it turns out, i'll share my secrets. if not, i'll hang my head in shame... either way, the original recipe is the best chocolate cake i've ever tried. it's moist and rich, just perfect. and it really doesn't need frosting, just a dollop of whipped cream is enough. but you better believe i'm gonna be frosting it today... 'cause birthdays are like that. 

i'll have a cake update on the next post. 

p.s. i have this cake pan, and i seriously get giddy when it releases perfectly. i almost don't want to cut into it. almost. 

picture via williams-sonoma

17 March 2009

the sonic scrubber (i'm not kidding)

SonicScrubber Kitchen Tool
okay, i just went to walmart and saw this down the aisle where the dish soap and sponges are. the sonic scrubber? seriously? where has this thing been all my life? of course i bought one (and the set of 4 attachments) immediately. it's like 10 bucks. and there's already batteries in it. grout, beware. if you go to the website, they have all kinds of other attachments, etc. so check it out, already! now i have to go and attack the corners and crevices in my shower. what fun. 

picture via sonic scrubber

fruit pizza

i finally talked to my long lost friend jeannie today. one of the sweetest, most tender-hearted moms i know. she's holding her applesauce chocolate-chip cookie recipe hostage for my fruit pizza recipe. so per her request, here's my recipe for fruit pizza (yummy, yummy). 

crust: 
1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. sugar
1 egg
1 1/3 c. flour
1 t. cream of tartar
1/2 t. baking soda

cream butter and sugar. mix in egg, then add dry ingredients. press into a greased half sheet pan. bake at 350 for 10 minutes. let cool. 

topping:
8 oz. cream cheese
1/4 c. sugar
2 T pineapple juice

mix together and spread over cooled crust. top with any fruit, but i like to have a variety of colors and place them in rows: blueberries, kiwis, raspberries, strawberries, mandarin oranges, bananas (only if you're eating it quickly or they will get squishy and brown), pineapple, mangoes, etc. 

glaze:
3/4 c. pineapple juice
1 T cornstarch
cook in a small saucepan until clear. drizzle over fruit. chill pizza for at least 3 hours before serving. 

miss you, jeannie! enjoy the fruit pizza -- now hand over that cookie recipe! 

16 March 2009

story time


i'm always excited to find a kids book that's not about star wars or princesses, thus eliminating the nightly fight over what we're going to read. i love these books by nick bruel. bad kitty is great for pre-school aged kids (the text teaches the alphabet in a fun way), and bad kitty gets a bath is fun for older kids as well. my second grader reads it to my kindergartener (you can't buy that kind of endorsement, really). there's also a third book in the series, poor puppy

here are a few other books that we've loved (for preschool age and up), if you're trying to satisfy both boys and girls: 
a bad case of stripes by david shannon (although we love the david books, too!)
llama llama, mad at mama by anna dewdney
mike mulligan and his steam shovel by virginia lee burton
pinkalicious and purplicious by victoria kann and elizabeth kann (boys will pretend they don't like it, but they will laugh) 
pirate mom by deborah underwood, illustrated by stephen gilpin
cloudy with a chance of meatballs by judi barrett, ill. by ron barrett

on the nights that we don't want to read a story, sometimes we will flip through the audubon first field guide to birds (lots of info and colorful photographs) or the fantastic animals of the world book that i received as a baby gift when i had my oldest (thanks, rach!). i know costco always sells books like this, and i even saw a great planet earth book that i know my kids would flip for.  happy reading! 

13 March 2009

painted furniture


so i've been too busy being the mom to blog about being the mom this week. so back in the saddle, right? 
i had a friend stop by this week to check out my furniture. you see, i don't actually believe in buying furniture (well, my bank account is highly opposed to it) so almost everything in my house is hand-me-downs or garage sale/craigslist finds. it bugs my husband to no end ("seriously? more crap in the garage?"), but i can't resist a dresser with good 'bones' and it's gotten to the point that even when i look at new furniture, i think, i'd love it if it was in blue/had different hardware/put wallpaper in the shelves. besides that, older furniture is just heavier and more sturdy. so i now live in the Halfway House for Wayward Furniture.  i recently painted this dresser for my older son's room. i knew i wanted it red, but i felt that bright red would look juvenile and he would outgrow it quickly. so i used a rag dipped in dark brown paint, wiped it on, and then used a wet rag to wipe off the excess until i had just the right finish. now i love it. the brown paint i used is rust-oleum painter's touch in kona brown. i found it at home depot on the same aisle as the spray paint and wood stains. i love that it comes in a tiny 8 oz. size (for about $3!!) because that's all i needed. and it's dark enough to give the red paint that rusted-out look (think mater from cars). 
for my daughter's room, i wanted a bright white look for her hand-me-down furniture, and i needed some way to tie in a mismatched bed. i used an oil-based paint for her stuff -- i think oil based paint is the way to go for white paint because it covers so much better and chips less. but when i use an oil-based paint, i always get a cheap brush that i can throw away when i'm done because i'm too lazy to clean the brush. i used rust-oleum in bright white and i love it. i added matching appliques to all of the furniture to tie it all together and now it looks like a matching set, which is darling in a little girl's room. i found them at home depot down the same aisle as all the molding. 
changing out the hardware is probably the most fun of the furniture re-do process, and i like cool knobs and pulls and my knobs for great selections. my knobs also has the coolest doorknobs ever. the only catch is that most of these places have expensive shipping unless you have an order of $75+, so i would order knobs for all of your projects at once, or go in on it with a friend to get the free shipping ('cause i'm cheap like that). 

06 March 2009

$$$$$ -- or lack thereof


i am on fire about this book!! i read dave ramsey's total money makeover this week, and i can't stop thinking about it. his philosophy is all about attacking all debt (including auto and house!) so that you can be financially secure and start building wealth through saving and investing. seriously, imagine a life with no payments --  yeah, i'm having a hard time imagining that too. it's all about sacrifice and hard work and everything is laid out for you in his plan. my husband and i are reading it together (ok, he bought it, i stole it, and now i'm telling him to hurry up so we can get started). the families that he highlights in the book went from total financial crisis to mortgage-free living in a few years time. sorry i'm sounding like a commercial, but i was really excited about this and had to share. 

if you want to listen to his radio show, click here

toy stroller for sale


i have this darling little girl's pram that is now a casualty of the closet clean-out. my girl has now (sadly) outgrown it, so i'm selling it on craigslist. i thought i would offer it here first. if anyone is interested, i'll take $20 for it (it was originally $79 at pottery barn kids). it's 2 years old, and missing the foam wrapper-thing on the handle, but other than that, it's in great shape. call me if you're interested; if i don't have any takers by  monday, i'm going to list it. thanks!


05 March 2009

kohl's coupon


i have a hard time finding church clothes for my son -- you know, khakis without 45 pockets on them, white shirts, ties (near impossible). gap kids has nice stuff, but sales are hit-and-miss and it's clear across town. i always end up at kohl's buying their chaps brand. the oxford shirts are nice and thick and they actually carry a decent selection of ties (by the belts). when i was checking online the other day to see if boys dress clothes were on sale (they usually are, but i wait for the 40% sale), i noticed that you can get a $5 coupon if you sign up for emails. sign up here if you're interested. it takes a couple days for them to email the coupon, so do it ahead of time. now my son won't be flashing his ankles on sunday (i swear i just bought those pants!)

04 March 2009

family history, i am doing it


when i was in dallas, i scavenged through my mom's old sewing stuff and found some gems. funky old buttons, ric rac from the 70's, and thread on wooden spools. i can't wait to start crafting with some of these -- what do you think of throw pillows covered entirely with mismatched vintage buttons? yeah, me too! my girl has really been having all the fun, though. she loves those wooden spools -- lines them up and plays with them like people. she sifts through the buttons to find treasures. just like i used to with the very same thread and buttons. i loved being sprawled out on the floor in the sewing room while my mom worked -- as i got older, she would let me cut out the patterns and pin it to the fabric. (when i learned not to cut off the little tabs, i was allowed to cut the fabric, too). watching her play, i realize hannah montana isn't really a necessary experience to be a happy little girl. so now that i have my helper, i can't wait to get started.

02 March 2009

teriyaki chicken


art of the slow cooker by andrew schloss -- this is hands-down my favorite slow cooking book i've come across. instead of chicken-and-stovetop meals, there's much more 'uptown' fare (can crock pot food be snooty?). some of the offerings are more involved, but there's also a super simple crock pot applesauce and a ricotta vanilla bread pudding that i need an excuse to try. it also has great reference sections -- and i'm a big believer in understanding the 'why' behind my ingredients so that i can tailor recipes to my family's tastes. this is one of my favorite recipes from the book. enjoy! 

slow -cooked teriyaki chicken
1 T vegetable oil
4 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 8), bone-in 
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T finely grated gingerroot
1/4 cup plus 1 1/2 T water
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sherry or apple juice
1 T rice wine vinegar
2 T dark molasses
3 T honey
2 t cornstarch
1 t dark sesame oil
2 scallions, trimmed and cut into thin slices

heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. brown the chicken thighs in batches on both sides, about 3 minutes per side, then transfer to a 5 - 6 quart slow cooker. 

add the garlic and ginger to the skillet and cook over med-high heat until aromatic, about 30 seconds. add the 1/4 cup of water and scrape up any browned bits stuck to the bottom of the skillet. add the soy sauce, sherry/apple juice, rice wine vinegar, molasses, and honey and stir to blend. pour over the chicken, cover the cooker, and cook on high for 2 -3 hours, until the chicken in cooked through. 

preheat the broiler to high; remove the chicken to a broiler tray and broil for 2 minutes on each side. while the chicken is broiling, pour the liquid from the cooker into a skillet. bring to a boil over med-high heat. dissolve the cornstarch in the 1 1/2 T of water, add to the sauce in the skillet, and stir until the sauce is lightly thickened, about 1 minute. arrange the chicken on a platter and spoon the sauce over top. drizzle with sesame oil, and sprinkle with the scallions. serve with sticky rice. 

**my notes: i used boneless thighs and the chicken was done in 2 hours. i highly suggest using thighs -- the meat was so tender and flavorful, and the fat melts right off. chicken breasts just don't cook as well in a slow cooker (but if you use breasts anyway, cut it into big strips; it should be done in 2 hours). throw in a big handful of matchstick carrots in the slow cooker with the chicken (for the last 30 - 45 minutes -- i like a tiny bit of crunch left). you could also toss in some broccoli for a more well balanced meal. you could try sprinkling with sesame seeds instead of the oil -- that might be nice. the author suggest chili oil if you like it spicy. and i didn't bother with the scallions -- it's really for presentation purposes and my kids would have picked them off anyways. 

btw, this is my dream slow cooker because i can braise on the stove top and then put it right into the cooker (plus tons of other features), but this is the one that i have and i love it. it's actually $39.99 in the store and i got it with a $10 off coupon. a total steal. 

28 February 2009

souvenir


i miss dallas shopping. so much. when i was there last week, i picked up these hot little shoes at urban outfitters for $9.99. no, really. $9.99!! love, love, love digging in the sale section. now i don't have to feel guilty for buying teal suede and silver hotness while my big kids were at home with the husband. 

sugar cookies


love these sugar cookies.  nice and soft, with a good vanilla flavor (i use 2 teaspoons of mexican vanilla instead of 1 1/2). we made some for valentine's day and topped them with buttercream frosting. royal icing is so pretty, but buttercream tastes so much better and if you thin it out just a bit you can have a nice smooth finish. top them with sprinkles or sanding sugar if you're having a hard time smoothing out the frosting, it will hide imperfections. if you're not a big sugar cookie baker, here are a couple of tips: 

 1. roll out your dough between layers of plastic wrap. this prevents having to use extra flour and making your cookies tough. it's also much easier to clean up. 
2. i always bake my cookies (all kinds) on parchment paper. it keeps them from sticking and then you don't have to wash your cookie sheets. parchment paper is one of those kitchen items that not everyone uses, but everyone should. 
3. to get bright, vibrantly colored frosting, always use gel colors. along with great color, they won't thin out the frosting like food coloring drops. you can find these at walmart or michael's down that great baking isle. i bought a box with eight colors and it's all i need. this will cost about $10, so wait for that 40% coupon!
4. while you're down that baking isle, get a small metal spatula for icing your cookies (about $4). don't use a butter knife; you really can't get the same results. 

Buttercream frosting

1 stick butter, softened
1 lb. powdered sugar (3  3/4 cups)
1/4 c. milk (plus more to thin) 
1 t. vanilla

mix together with whisk attachment. add more milk as needed. 
 

13 February 2009

7 years

my mom's wedding rings and perfume. 

valentine's day is always a little bittersweet for me. my mother died 7 years ago today and i still miss her everyday. my mom had been sick for all of my life -- and then some -- but it never really mattered to me. i was thinking of this earlier this week when it had been a rough day around here. i was impatient with my kids and my house was a mess. i was feeling so discouraged and thinking that my poor kids probably wished that they had a more patient mom -- someone more fun, more organized, less likely to yell and more likely to run around and play. then i remembered being 8 years old and making a brownie mix with my mom. she was laying on the couch, covered in blankets and directing me as i stood on a chair in the kitchen. i felt so important. just as i love my mom with all of her frailties, so do my kids love me with mine. and because of that, it makes me want to work to turn those weaknesses into strengths. because that kind of love is worth it. 

11 February 2009

i might have a problem...


i have zero self-control when it comes to buying lip glosses. can you tell? if i ever got mugged, i would probably just hand over my wallet because all the beauty products i'm lugging around are worth more than all my credit cards combined. my current fav? bath & body's liplicious in pineapple juice. shimmery gold and crazy delicious. 

10 February 2009

a nod to nie


love nie's blog. and her silhouettes of her family. i had silhouettes of my kids done at disneyland last year -- but i hated the frame and the cheesy disneyland paper it was done on. so i pulled out my cart of scrappin' crap to do a craftastic remod. i used an oval cutter to trim around the disneyland logo and mounted the silhouettes on bright, textured cardstock. i picked up the frames at the aaron brothers frame sale and viola! new decor for my dining room. i love it. 

also, this project was totally cost effective. i got the frames on sale, and when you add in the cost of a week at disneyland and the hundreds of dollars of under-utilized scrapbook gear, these babies came in at a couple thousand apiece. nice. 

09 February 2009

just like new


we own an obscene number of disney movies. and like all babysitters (did i just say that?), sometimes they take a beating. enter disney's replacement program. if you're dvd's are scratched, just send 'em in with a check for $6.95 per movie, and they'll replace it. click here to get the address. 

p.s. as i type this, my 7 1/2 year old son is wielding a light saber and yelling at the tv, "for narnia! and for aslan!!" 

thank you, disney. thank you.