Delish

15 Bean Soup with Bacon

2011-10-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

Lately we have been trying to eat more beans as main dishes (they're supposed to be so good for you and your heart and all that) and I have to admit I have been having a hard time finding good main dish recipes. Beans (in America, anyway) are usually served as a side dish, and more often than not are slathered in barbecue sauce and brown sugar. I don't think there's anything wrong with that, but it's not exactly main course fare! If we're eating beans for dinner, I want the recipe to be hearty and satisfying, not sugary. Thankfully, this recipe is both hearty and satisfying, and it has become one of our family favorites. And of course as an added perk, beans are incredibly inexpensive - You can feed an army for less than $1 a person, as the saying goes!

It may seem like this recipe takes FOREVER to make (soaking the beans overnight, boiling the beans, simmering the soup), but it actually requires very little actual working time - I would say maybe 15 minutes total, just to saute the bacon and the onions.

Ingredients
1 lb bag 15 bean stew bean mix
1/2 lb sliced bacon
1 quart stock (I use beef, but chicken is great too)
1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced or passed through a garlic press
1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
kosher salt
cracked black pepper
optional: cayenne pepper to taste, white or brown rice for serving over

1. Remove the beans from the packaging, and place in a large pot. Discard that little packet of MSG (it's bad for you!) Fill the pot with cold water, covering the beans by at least 2 inches (I didn't do this last time, and my exposed beans sprouted. Lesson learned!). Let sit at least 6 hours or overnight (you can do this in the morning or the night before. More soaking doesn't hurt!). Rinse the beans in cold water, until the water runs clear. Cover with cold water, and bring to a boil. Boil beans for about 2 hours, skimming off an scum from the surface of the water. When beans are tender and soft when pierced with a fork, they are done. Remove from heat, and pour off any excess water ( I never seem to have any - mine often turns to soup all on it's own when the small beans disintegrate. If this is the case, just reduce the amount of stock you use to 2 cups).

2. Dice bacon strips into a small dice. In a large, heavy bottomed sauce pan, saute bacon over medium heat until very crisp and golden, about 15 minutes (if it's soft at all, it get's mushy and chewy in the soup), being careful not to burn it. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon, and place diced onion and garlic in the left-over bacon grease. Saute until softened and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add stock, diced tomatoes, beans, bacon, parsley, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper. Bring to a boil, and simmer 60 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add cayenne pepper to taste, and correct seasonings if it needs more salt or pepper. Serve on it's own, or with a little dollop of sour cream. Also great over rice!

Gluten Free Pumpkin Roulade Cake with Cream Cheese Vanilla Bean Filling

2011-10-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

Well, it seems my little 2 week vacation from blogging turned into a ::ahem:: a 6 week one. To be fair, I went back to school this semester for the first time in 6 years, and oh my gosh people, did you know that have to do homework when you are are in school? I seem to have forgotten this, and how much time it takes up. Especially when you have a 2 year old interrupting you every 30 seconds (not exaggerating) because he wants you to play choo-choos with him. I've found myself snapping "go play!" at him more than once, and it's definitely been an adjustment, figuring out how to balance getting my stuff done and being a ~~good~~ attentive mom.

And lest you think I am poring over the books (I mean I do, sometimes), I'm going back to school to pursue costume design, which means I have to sew all the time. Doing this with James around is a real challenge. Either he's yanking the fabric out of the machine with his sticky little hands that have been God knows where (Chocolate on silk! Nooooo!!), or worse, he's trying to help! A couple of months ago when he was trying to help, he was sitting next to me watching the machine when suddenly, he reached out mid-stitch and tried to grab the moving needle! I think you know what happened next. Yes, I stitched through his finger. I stitched him TO the fabric I was sewing. The needle went all the way through the finger and back out again, leaving threads running through his flesh. There was a moment while we both just sat there in shock, his finger caught in the machine, before we both started screaming. Yikes! I quickly cut the threads to get him out of the machine, and luckily, the needle puncture was a very clean wound and it didn't hit the bone (I'm thankful we avoided another ER visit). Still! Now I pretty much only sew during naps or after he's gone to bed for the night. This is, of course, when I used to blog (it's hard to use a computer when James is up - he's always pushing it out of my lap and trying to play with it), so you see my conflict. My blogging time is now sewing time.

I'm finally sort of getting the hang of it though, and I'm back with a bang! This recipe is hands down my absolute favorite autumnal recipe, and it's so, so good. It was a huge favorite at parties last year, and I must have made it 8 times. In fact, the only reason I didn't post it then was that I was never able to get a picture of it before someone or other had gobbled it up! My sister (who is also gluten-free) also made this cake over and over again, to rave reviews. And though this cake is quite impressive and looks difficult to make, it's actually very easy! Just follow the step by step guide, and you'll have your own pretty pumpkin roulade in no time!

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Roulade Sponge Cake with Cream Cheese Vanilla Bean Filling
adapted from Ina Garten

I tried using Ina Garten's mascarpone filling over and over again, and ever single time it was curdled, runny, and disappointing. So I started substituting this filling, and boy was it ever popular! My filling is practically foolproof and everyone loves it, so I'll never go back. Ina calls for chopped crystallized ginger in her filling, and I would say it's optional. Some people love it, but when I'm making it for a crowd I leave it out so the cake suits everyone's taste.

For the Cake:
3/4 cup gluten free flour (I like to use 1/4 cup gluten-free oat flour [such as the certified GF oat flour from Bob's Red Mill], 1/4 cup sweet rice flour, and 1/4 cup superfine white rice flour, but any all-purpose mix will work great!)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup powdered sugar

For the filling:
8oz cream cheese
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar

OPTIONAL:
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1/2 cup crystalized ginger, finely chopped
1/4 cup pumpkin butter

1. Prep: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a jelly roll pan (a large baking sheet with sides that go up about 3/4 of an inch) with parchment. Lay out a large dish towel or tea towel on a flat surface, and sift the 1/4 cup of powdered sugar over it (this keeps the cake from sticking to the towel).

2. Sift together the gluten free flour(s), baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. In a stand mixer, beat the 3 eggs on medium-high speed with 1 cup granulated sugar until thick and pale, about 5 minutes (set a timer!). Add pumpkin, and mix until fully incorporated. With mixer on low, add flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Pour batter into prepared jelly roll pan and spread evenly (I like to give the pan a tap or two to really even it out). Bake 15 to 20 minutes, until cake is golden, and spring back to the touch.

3. Remove cake from oven, and flip face down onto the prepared tea towel. I know this move is scary - you can do it! Yes, do this when the cake is hot. We have to roll it up before it cools, so that it doesn't crack or break.

Peel the parchment off the back of the cake. Look how not-perfect my cake is - and it still turned out lovely! Yours will too :)

Fold one end of the tea towel over the cake, then roll it up. Let cool completely - if it's still warm at all, it will melt the filling and you will have a mess on your hands!

For the filling: While cake it cooling, beat the cream cheese in a stand mixer until smooth and fluffy, about 5 full minutes (you can bring your cream cheese to room temperature first, but if you often forget like me, just beat it a little longer and it will warm up in the bowl!). Mix mixer on low, add in heavy cream, and mix until incorporated. Once the cream is incorporated, increase speed to medium high, and beat until light and fluffy. Add in optional flavorings - 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or chopped ginger.

To assemble: Unroll fully cooled cake. If you are using (I love the additional pumpkim kick!) smooth on 1/4 cup pumpkin butter. Evenly spread cream cheese filling over cake, and roll cake up (but without the towel this time!) Place on a serving dish with the seam side down. Refrigerate to retain shape and for easy slicing. Just before serving, sift a little powdered sugar over the top. Tada!

Tuscan Lemon Chicken with Garlic Rosemary Sauce • Grilled Chicken at its Best!

2011-09-06T22:49:00.000-07:00

Hi Readers. I'm sorry I just basically disappeared for two weeks, but you know, it was August. And August is hot. And when it's hot, I lay on the couch and eat popsicles all day, and then after that I go somewhere air-conditioned like the mall, because it's so hot. I do not sit around in my hot hot house and blog for you, because I am selfish like that. Sorry.

But now it's September! The month of pumpkin spice lattes, crisp autumn leaves, snuggly sweaters and scarves, and fresh notebooks full of crisp white paper ready for a school years worth of notes. I love September. (And true to form, we had a chilly overcast marine layer all summer and them today was THE hottest day of the entire year. Thanks California! Love how you never go with the seasons like everywhere else does.) And with September comes more recipes. That's right - I'm blogging even though it's the hottest day of the year. That's how committed I am to September people!

And here is a recipe for you. This recipe is seriously the best grilled chicken I have ever had. Pardon me if I tread on your toes, but generally I really don't like grilled chicken. It's just always so dry and so bland, and the only thing that gives it any interest at all is barbecue sauce, and that generally only makes it edible - hardly delicious. And yet for whatever reason, this recipe is so moist and tender, and busting with flavor. It's so delicious! And the lemon garlic sauce is seriously to die for. We served this with roasted potatoes and grilled veggies and it was an absolutely delicious meal.

Tuscan Lemon Chicken with Garlic Rosemary Sauce
adapted from Ina Garten

Ok, don't freak out because this recipe calls for a whole stick of butter. When you divide that up amongst all the people eating (not to mention that part that is most regrettably left in the pan) it really comes out to very little. and it's SO delicious. And honestly, in the grand scheme of things? A little butter in not so bad. It much, much less bad than a fast food hamburger, or a candy bar, or a soda, and I bet you have that every now and then, don't you?

Ingredients
1 3.5ish pound chicken (fyi, I am sure you could make this with any other cut of chicken from the grocer - I just happen to love that it works with whole chicken so well, because it's the cheapest by far! I also love to save the bones from whole chickens for stock!)

1/3 cup good olive oil
zest of two lemons
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3-4 large cloves fresh garlic, minced or passed through a garlic press
2 tbs finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 stick unsalted butter
freshly ground pepper
kosher salt
1 lemon, halved

1. (This is the grossest step, fyi, but it really makes it easy to grill!) Rinse chicken and pat dry. With a pair of cooking shears (or a VERY clean pair of scissors - wash them with dish-soap or run them through the dishwasher - Or of all else fails, a large cooking knife), cut out the backbone of the chicken (I always throw it in a ziplock bag in the freezer for stock). I just cut right up each side of the chicken. Trim any large chucks of excess fat. Spread the chicken open, cavity side down, and press down firmly with the hell of your palm, until the chicken is flat. Sprinkle both sides generously with salt and pepper

2. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, rosemary, and 1 tsp pepper. Place chicken in a large 1 gallon ziplock bag, and pour marinade over chicken. Seal bag, removing as much air as possible, and turn to coat. Refridgerate chicken a minimum of 4 hours, but up to overnight, turning once or twice.

3. When ready to grill, heat grill to medium high. Remove chicken from bag, saving whatever juices are left over in the bag, and place chicken on the grill skin side up. Cook 15 - 25 minutes, until golden brown (adjust heat if necessary if chicken browns too quickly or begins to burn. Grills can be so different from one another!). Turn the chicken skin side down, and cook for another 15 - 20 minutes, until skin is brown and crisp, and meat is cooked through. Grill the lemon halves, cut side down, for the last 10 minutes of cooking.

4. Remove chicken from heat, and let rest on a cutting board (tented with foil or something like that, so it doesn't get cold) 5 minutes. Remember that left over marinade? I hope you saved it! In a small saucepan, combine leftover marinade, butter, and any juices from chicken resting place. Heat, and bring to a boil, whisking to combine. Chop the chicken into 4 pieces, and top with garlic rosemary sauce. Enjoy!

The OC County Fair!

2011-08-18T13:13:00.000-07:00

When talking about outings with 2 year olds, it's hard to walk the line between "it was so fun!" and "two year olds are insane and we'll never take them anywhere ever again!" There's a fun/not fun paradigm to taking them places, and it's hard to communicate that very accurately; one tends to come off as either WAY too upbeat about it (everything! is! perfect! all! the! time!) or too downbeat about it (my children are unbelievable terrors, what was I ever thinking?). To be honest, I struggle to write about the things I do with James sometimes, because of this fun/not fun paradigm. I feel like people on the outside are not going to get it: we really DO have a lot of fun, until we are having NOT FUN, and then we have to go home. And that's life! With a two year old, that is. While the NOT FUN part is exasperating (ah, to carry a crying, screaming two-year-old through a crowd, followed by disapproving stares!), once you regain your sense of humor, it's pretty amusing. And it makes me love him that much more.

James' favorite part of the fair was definitely the bus ride. He freaked out that he got to ride on a bus, and he couldn't wait to go home and so we could ride the bus again. We seriously kept him going for an extra hour while we were "looking for the bus." Gee, that bus, where is it? Maybe it's down here?? (is that mean? It feels mean to say it out loud, but it worked!) He also really like the food, and what 2 year old wouldn't? Everything is deep fried and dipped in chocolate! We had a churro (good), barbecue (good), and chocolate covered bacon (James LOVED it, but not good). Mmm, we also had deep fried, breaded Australian potatoes slathered in ranch (Sooo good, but so, so bad).

The best part of the fair (for James, and for us because he wasn't running around like a crazy person OR crying OR needing to be carried by Nate because he was SO tired) was definitely the petting zoo. We've been reading lots of books lately that feature farm animals, so it was an OUT OF THIS WORLD experience for him to see them in real life, and to get to touch them. He just wanted to sit and sit with the cows. How can you not love a little guy like that?

Ina Garten's Mustard Roasted Potatoes

2011-08-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

If you can believe it, I have had this recipe on my list of things to cook for almost three years, and I only just now got around to trying it. This is so sad, because these potatoes are UH-MAY-ZING. I have cooked many a so-so dish over the past three years, and I really wish I had made these instead, because they are hands down some of the delicious, flavorful potatoes I have ever had. I want to run away with them and get married and live happily ever after, I love them so. Is that enthusiastic enough of an endorsement? Are you convinced? Maybe you need a man to tell you what's what. If that's the case, here's Nate's opinion:

"The mustard seeds lent an lighter yet deeper flavor. It made them different than just...mustard, but, much more interesting. They needed to be cooked longer. They were good. I don't know. Do you want your wine? What, are my comments not enough? It's what I got right now. Oh, wait, you should tell them those spots on the potatoes are mustard seeds. I saw them and I was like, what the heck is this on my potatoes? You should definitely tell them that."

There you go. Lighter yet deeper flavor people. And also, they were good. He's a real Don Draper, that one, am I right?? ;)

We thought these were spectacular with steak, and I think it helps to use a really high quality mustard. Definitely making again!

------------------------------------------
Congratulations to the winners of last week's pops giveaways, chosen via Random.org! Please send me an e-mail (becks.delicious.house@gmail.com) with your name/address so I can send/deliver your goodies!

- Ice Pop Mold From Progressive International, #10: The Ipps
- Ice Pop Joy, #1: Sarah A
- Paletas #44: Amanda F

Ina Garten's Mustard Roasted Potatoes
adapted from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

Nate's "they needed to be cooked longer" comment was due to the fact that I pulled the potatoes out early so he could eat them WITH HIS STEAK before he left for his book club. His life is so hard, isn't it?

Ingredients
2.5 lbs small flavorful potatoes, such as red or Yukon Gold
1 onion (white or yellow)
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
kosher salt
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Scrub and dry potatoes, slice into wedges, and place on a rimmed baking sheet or in a baking dish.

2. In a small bowl, stir together olive oil, whole grain mustard, salt, pepper, and parsley. Pour over potatoes, and toss to coat. Bake in preheated oven 30 - 40 minutes, until potatoes are soft when pierced with a fork, and are crisp around the edges. Remove from oven, let cool slightly, and enjoy!

{Pretty, Funny, Happy, Real} * August 11

2011-08-11T14:01:00.000-07:00

{pretty}

This is a lovely little photoshoot I did for baby Ellie a couple of weeks ago. Isn't she the prettiest newborn? This was at about 8 days, but next time I think we need to shoot for earlier - she was already going through a growth spurt and wanted to nurse the whole time! (like 40 minutes of of every hour for 4 hours solid! Go Ellie grow!)

{funny}

Two year olds. (!!!) He also did this to my Bible, the toilet, and all of his puzzles. And now the markers have been taken away FOREVER. He can have them back when he graduates college.

{happy}

Our most recent beach day. It was a good one! Perfect weather, nice beach. I love that Mother's beach has a beach AND a playground and trees. It's such a nice place to take kids!

{real}

I've been up to my elbows in popsicles ALL WEEK! I've got a ton of recipes up, and we are also doing a giveaway! Check it out over here to win some awesome popsicle recipe books, or a popsicle recipe!

Pomalicious Pomegranate Raspberry Popsicle ~ Ice Pop Joy!

2011-08-11T13:12:00.000-07:00

This pop is definitely a grown-up favorite (I don't think kids always appreciate the delicious complexity of pomegranate), but when a batch of these pops, they were practically inhaled at my Bible study group. Of all the flavors I had floating around in my fridge, this is the one everyone wanted. I had to beat the crowd off with a stick to have a single one left for pictures, and as you can see, it's cracked! This pop is definitely bursting with juicy flavor, and is a big favorite at our house. Just make sure you aren't wearing white when you eat it - this pop is a powerhouse of anti-oxidants, flavanoids, and vitamin C, which means it has a lot of color! One melty drop on a hot summer day, and whatever you're wearing is colored forever. In fact, do yourself a favor and eat this one in your bathing suit!

And don't forget, it's not too late to enter over at this post for a copy of Ice Pop Joy, and the Progressive International popsicle mold!

Pomalicious Pomegranite Raspberry Popsicle
adapted from Ice Pop Joy! by Anni Daulter

the original recipe also called for 1/2 a cup of cherry tomatoes, but I just wasn't into that. If that sounds like something you would like, by all means include them!

I thought these pops were a bit tart, so I added about 2 tablespoons on honey to sweeten them up. You can sweeten them to whatever tastes right to you!

1 cup pomegranate juice
1/2 cup fresh or frozen raspberries
(optional: 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes)
honey to taste

1. Puree all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Add honey to taste if too tart for your liking.

2. Pour into popsicle molds, and freeze 5+ hours until solid. Enjoy!

Melon Madness Honeydew Popsicle ~ Ice Pop Joy

2011-08-11T12:37:00.000-07:00

This popsicle is way more delicious than I thought I was going to be - I looked at the ingredient list (melon, mint, agave, lime. . . cilantro? Hm.) and I had my doubts, but the finished product totally put them to rest. This pop is totally refreshing, unexpected, and delicious! It is SO good on a hot summer's day, barely register's as a blip on the calorie meter, and is loaded with vitamin C. It's definitely one of James' favorite pops, and I know we will be making this one for a long time.

If you haven't entered yet, make sure to stop by this post, and register to win a copy of Ice Pop Joy or the Progressive International popsicle mold!

Melon Madness Honeydew Popsicle
from Ice Pop Joy, by Anni Daulter

1/2 honeydew melon, scooped from shell and cut into chunks
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons raw agave nectar
juice of 1 fresh lime (2 tablespoons)
juice of 1/2 a lemon (1.5 - 2 tablespoons)
1 cup ice

1. Put the melon, mint, and cilantro in a blender and puree until smooth. Add the agave, lime juice, lemon juice, water, and ice, and blend all the ingredients until smooth.

2. Pour into molds, and freeze until solid, 5+ hours. Enjoy!

Pure Sunshine Strawberry Mint Pops ~ from Ice Pop Joy!

2011-08-09T23:27:00.000-07:00

These pops are incredibly refreshing, bursting with fresh strawberry flavor! They are such perfect pops for summer - strawberries are so juicy and flavorful in the summer, and kids love them! As some of you may know, my 2 year old son James pretty much only eats white food (and chocolate. But that's another story). We've been working on eating colors, but the only red food I've gotten him to eat so far is watermelon... and these pops!

Getting kids to eat fresh (or raw) fruits and veggies is not always easy. Heck, getting adults to eat fresh fruits and veggies is not always easy. But somehow, if it's pureed into a pop, it somehow seems so much more delicious. I doubt I will be getting James to try strawberries any time soon, but he will totally eat them in this pop! And to be honest, I will too! I love these - they are the perfect non-guilty afternoon treat.

And if you haven't entered already, you can enter to win a copy of Ice Pop Joy or this awesome popsicle mold by leaving a comment here! Contest is open all week!

Pure Sunshine Strawberry Mint Pops
from Ice Pop Joy, by Anni Daulter

1 cup hulled and chopped strawberries
juice of 1.5 meyer lemons (regular lemons will do, but you may need to increase the sweetener)
1/2 a tablespoon chopped fresh mint
4 tablespoons honey (or more to taste)
1/2 cup purified water
1 cup ice

1. Puree the strawberries, lemon juice, mint, honey, purified water, and ice in a blender until smooth.

2. Pour into mold, and freeze until solid, 5+ hours. Enjoy!

Toasted Coconut Popsicles ~ A Mexican Paleta by La Newyorkina

2011-08-09T07:51:00.000-07:00

I'm posting this popsicle recipe first by request, because, as my friend Kathy puts it, "this popsicle is changing my life." It's that delicious! In fact, it's one of the most popular pops flavors at La Newyorkina, and I can see why: it's decadently rich and creamy, but the toasted coconut brings it to a whole new level with it's nutty crunch. It's the perfect icy summer treat! If you like coconut, you will love this.

And don't forget! You can win the popsicle mold or a copy of Paletas book all this week! Visit this post and leave comment to enter!

Toasted Coconut Popsicles ~ A Mexican Paleta by La Newyorkina
from Paletas by Fany Gerson

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 can (140z) coconut milk
3/4 cup half & half
1 can (13.5oz) sweetened condensed milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spread shredded coconut in a thin layer on a rimmed cookie sheet. Toast 10-15 minutes, stirring often to ensure even browning and no burning. Remove from oven, and let cool to room temperature.

2. In a blender, combine coconut milk, half & half, sweetened condensed milk, salt, and vanilla extract. Blend until smooth, then stir in the toasted coconut by hand. Pour into molds, and freeze 5+ hours until firm. I store mine wrapped in an airtight container in the freezer, wrapping each pop in a piece of parchment paper to keep them from sticking together.

Popsicles Week and a Giveaway!

2011-08-08T15:25:00.000-07:00

If there's one thing I have fallen in love with this summer, it's homemade popsicles! I don't know what your summers are like, but here in the desert that is Southern California, it's hot. HOT HOT HOT. And while it may be gloomy and gray in June, it's always hot in August and September (and sometimes October, November, and December. The weather is wacky and backwards here). All that is to say, we are heading into the hottest part of the year here, the time of year when some icy refreshing pops are in order!

Now if you are like me, you probably are excited about the idea of making popsicles, but don't really know where to start. And if you are like me, you have probably looked at grocery store pops and thought "really? corn syrup and food coloring?? It doesn't get better than that?" Or, you get the "healthy" pops made from all fruit, but they cost like $4 a popsicle! Well, I'm happy to say that making pops at home is a breeze, you can make them however healthy (or decadent!) you like, and I'm here to help get you started! So, drum-roll please.....

This week on Delish is pops week! All week I will be featuring great popsicle recipes and giving away some great popsicle swag to help you get started! Ready to get started? I'm ready! Lets go!

You can make popsicles in just about anything - cups, glasses, ice cube trays, etc., and there are lots of popsicle molds out there as well. But if you want a really awesome popsicle mold, you can't go wrong with this freezer pop mold from Progressive International, an awesome kitchenware company located in Washington. I've used a lot of molds, but this really is the best mold I have ever used, and I can't recommend it highly enough. It's sturdy, well made, easy to use, and I LOVE that it uses wooden popsicle sticks, meaning you can make an unlimited amount of pops! As soon as one batch is frozen, you pop them out of the mold and make another. No waiting till you eat the old ones, no fuss. This is the mold I use, and I like it so much I want to give one to you! So our friends over at Progressive International have agreed to give away one popsicle mold as well as two packs of popsicle sticks to one lucky reader!

If you just can't wait to win it, you can pick one up at their website, or on Amazon.com!

The next thing you need to get started are some great recipes. I'm not going to lie: sometimes, I just pour juice into the mold and call it a day. And those pops are great! (In particular, we love popsicles made of the Strawberry Lemonade at Trader Joe's) But you can do so much more, which is why I am pleased to feature recipes from two of my most favorite popsicle recipes books all week long! The first book is called Ice Pop Joy, by Anni Daulter. I cannot even tell you how much I love this book! Anyone who has kids (or is a kid at heart) knows how hard it can be get them to eat healthy. (James? He only eats white food. It kills me. He will eat these pops though!)

Ice Pop Joy is full of incredible, all natural recipes using whole foods and natural sweeteners like honey and agave nectar, and these recipes are so good. All the recipes are so fresh and pure, but with sophisticated blends of flavor I never would have thought of. They leave you feeling like you just ate something really good, that was somehow, miraculously, good for you! They're great for kids, but they are also great, no-guilt treats for grown-ups too! The book is beautifully photographed, and every recipe is a winner. I am so delighted to tell you that the author has agreed to give away a copy of her book to one lucky reader!

I will be featuring recipes from the book all week, but if you want to buy it now, you can find it on Amazon, and you can also check out Anni's e-magazine Bamboo: Conscious Family Living.

The second cookbook we will be featuring this week is Paletas, by Fany Gerson. Paletas are Mexican popsicles, and Fany Gerson is the owner of the acclaimed La Newyorkina, a Mexican frozen treats and sweets business in New York. If Ice Pop Joy is refreshing and pure, Paletas is sultry and decadent, featuring classic Mexican flavors: spicy pineapple, Mexican hot chocolate, carmel, avocado, and so on. The toasted coconut pop seriously blew our minds it was SO good! We will be featuring her recipes all week, and Fany has generously agreed to give away a copy of her book to share with you!

Can't wait? But her recipe book on Amazon!

Giveaway details!

To enter, leave a comment telling us your name and your favorite summer dessert! For a second entry, like us on facebook, and come back and leave a second comment! (two entries maximum per person).

Giveaway open until 5pm pacific time, Monday August 15th, when comments will be closed. Winners will be announced Tuesday, August 16th.

{Pretty, Funny, Happy, Real} * August 4

2011-08-03T22:39:00.000-07:00

{pretty}

Beach day! Sorry if this is phoning it in, but man, it has been SO DARN HOT. Do I have the energy to get creative with the shots? Absolutely not! Did I have some beach day pics ready to go? Yes indeed! August is the hottest month (unless September is hot, in which case its the HOTTEST month), and its just too hot to do anything other than lay around sweating bullets and eating popsicles. We actually went to Ikea yesterday just to enjoy the AC - we left $60 lighter, but two shelves and a nightlight heavier. Rather costly for two hours of A/C, come to think of it.

{funny}

When Nate saw this picture, he thought James was smiling. I think that's more a look of terror! Is that mean? Should I have rushed in to save him instead of chuckling that a wave got him? He was ok! really!

{happy}

But look what a big boy he is! He went right back in. We have been doing beach day for months now, and this is the first time he has actually gone into the water! I knew it would happen one of these days, and am happy to say, he loves it :)

{real}

This was the day of the seashore critters. We found a sea slug washed onto the beach, and the kids carried it around like a treasure. They were gathered around the bucket in a little knot, discussing their find for a good hour or so. When it was finally time to take it back, an obliging dad swam it out past the surf and put it at the bottom. As you can see, the kids also dug up some monster sand crabs, there were (of course) lots of sea gulls, and I couldn't catch a picture of it, but we even saw a sea lion only about 15 feet from the shore!

This post of part of {pretty, funny, happy, real} over at Like Mother, Like Daughter. You can check out more here!

How Does Your Garden Grow? * July

2011-08-01T13:37:00.000-07:00

Guess what? My garden is producing food! That we can eat! Last year, I grew a lot of stuff... but it was such a lousy year, and I didn't exactly know what I was doing, so my grand total was thus: a handful of tomatoes, one zucchini, corn that I forgot to pick in time so got starchy... and decorative pumpkins. Not a lot of eating there. But that was last year. Forget last year!

This year, as you can see, is going great. Here are my totals so far (and the tomatoes and zucchini are just getting started!)

Cherry Tomatoes: 2.24 lbs
Regular Tomatoes: 7.8 lbs
Baby Dutch Potatoes: 7.1 lbs
Pickling Cucumbers: 13.75 lbs
Fancy Zucchini: l.5 lbs

As you can see, what was nothing back in May has grown to monstrous proportions. The pumpkin patch, in particular, is taking over.

{Pretty, Funny, Happy, Real} * July 28

2011-07-28T09:48:00.000-07:00

{pretty}

I seem to be having a little love affair with the critters in my backyard, because I freak out every time I find one. When we first move into our current home, the backyard was a wreck. For all intents and purposes the lawn was dead, and the only living thing in it was a sad little lemon tree at the bottom of the yard. Nate and I dug up one of the planters, and the soil was so barren there weren't even any worms in it. Fast foreward two years, and now the yard is thriving. The lawn in green, the ground is full of the fattest, happiest worms, and we get all kinds of visitors - wasps, butterflies, honey bees, hummingbirds, and yes, even bumble bees!

{funny}

crazy hair day at VBS! I went as Heidi, as you can see, and James is sporting a Mohawk.

{happy}

I am pleased to introduce Rebecca Hatcher Family Photography! This is a photoshoot I did for a local family last week down at the Wedge in Newport Beach. So if you are local to the Orange County area and you are looking for an affordable family photographer, I'm your girl! And isn't this a beautiful family?

{real}

Sometimes I wonder what goes through a 2 year old's mind. Something like, "hmm, these fridge magnets would look so much better in the dryer. Yes! Let's put them there!"

This post is part of {pretty, happy, funny, real} roundup over at Like Mother Like Daughter. Click on the link below to see more!

Summer Vegetable Stirfry with Garlic Chicken and Quinoa

2011-07-27T02:00:00.000-07:00

Summer vegetables are here! You know when summer's bounty has arrived because you go from having no tomatoes, corn, or zucchini at all, to having it coming out your ears! It's like a tidal wave of produce washing over your kitchen and coating every counter and open surface with vegetables that have to be eaten RIGHT NOW. As we speak, I have two gigantic baskets of cucumbers waiting to be scrubbed and pickled (and more on the bush!), and a Trader Joe's bag full of tomatoes. What to do? What to do?? Get cooking, that's what!

I have a confession to make: I find quinoa (say it KEEN-wah) to be intimidating and scary. I have had a box of it sitting in a dark corner of my pantry for over a year, and never once have I thought to myself "yum, just what I'm wanting for dinner." It's scary! And I probably never would have done anything with it at all if I hadn't had a quinoa/blackbean/corn salad at a recent potluck. It was good! A little bit like brown rice, actually, but softer and with a more hearty, nutty flavor.

So make it I did, and we were all big fans of this recipe. I mean, even JAMES loved it, and he's the pickiest eater ever. And it has zucchini in it, which Nate claims to hate, and he loved it to. So, ready to be brave? Try it! You'll like it!

Summer Vegetable Stirfry with Garlic Chicken and Quinoa
Serves 4

Feel free to play with the vegetable combinations - I used cherry tomatoes and zucchini because that's what I had to use up, but I think it would have tasted great with corn, diced baked squash, sauteed spinach, or whatever is in season near you. This was also great with a little drizzle of salad dressing on tip!

Ingredients
1 cup dried quinoa
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2-3 garlic cloves, mined or put through a garlic press
1 chicken breast, or 3 chicken tenders, diced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
1 medium zucchini, diced
1/2 cup basil leaves, thinly sliced
3-4 tbs olive oil
salt, pepper
optional: ranch or Caesar salad dressing, grated Parmesan cheese

1. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 cup quinoa to boil with 2 cups of water. Reduce heat to low, and cover, cooking until water is absorbed, and quinoa is soft.

2. Meanwhile, in a heavy bottomed skillet, heat about 3 tbs olive oil over high heat. Sautee diced onions in the oil until softened and translucent. Add chicken and garlic, salting and peppering generously. Don't stir the chicken too much - you want it to brown. When chicken in cooked through (5-7 minutes), add zucchini and cook until softened and beginning to brown. Add cooked quinoa to skillet, and turn off the heat. Stir in cherry tomatoes and basil. Adjust salt and pepper if necessary, and drizzle a little salad dressing over the top, or sprinkles with Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Vacation Bible School

2011-07-26T07:05:00.000-07:00

You may have noted that last week posting was, er, non-existent. That was entirely due to the fact that I was doing Vacation Bible School all week, and OH MY GOSH, doing VBS with pre-schoolers is exhausting! It seemed like James was having a melt-down or a temper-tantrum about every 15 minutes, so between that, taking pictures, and leading crafts, I was pretty much spent by the time we got home. As was James - he went down for naps with no complaints!

As fun as VBS was, I am not sure how much James actually absorbed. It was all geared towards pre-schoolers, but I don't think James sat down and listened to the stories even once. While all the other kids were sitting on the blanket listening, James was literally running laps around the entire group. He did like the crafts quite a bit though, and I had to tear the paintbrushes or the markers out of his hands whenever it was time to move on to the next thing. (temper tantrum time. Again.)

And just because I can, here is an awesome video my church put together recapping VBS week! James isn't in it, but some of the kids from my site were!

VBS 2011: The Big God Story from ROCKHARBOR on Vimeo.

Best EVER Gluten Free Soft Iced Sugar Cookies!

2011-07-24T21:42:00.000-07:00

You know those super soft, frosted sugar cookies with festive sprinkles that they sell in the plastic boxes at every grocery store in the world? Yes, you know what cookies I am talking about: always decorated with colors and sprinkles to go with whatever holiday is coming up next?

I miss those cookies.

I don't usually use other blogger's posts as launching points for my recipes (that's really phoning it in, in my opinion), but this sugar cookie recipe really is just something else. I needs to be shared. It's the best sugar cookie recipe I have ever tried (gluten free or not, and that's saying something), and it's so good, it will make you cry. I mean it. It's just like the original grocery store sugar cookie, but better. (and to be fair to myself, I did adapt this recipe to be gluten-free myself, so I sort of made it up, I guess!)

It's hard to be gluten-free all the time, and to say to yourself, "I will never eat this or that ever again" (Au revoir croissants, puff pastry, sourdough bread! Perhaps we shall meet again on the other side!). It's ever harder to say to your children, "you will never even know what that tastes like." (Alas, goldfish crackers and icecream cones!) It sucks. And while I know that in the grand scheme of things this "hardship" is really nothing, try explaining that to a 2 year old when everyone else is eating birthday cake at a party or Cheerio's for snack, and he doesn't get anything at all! It's an unjust world.

My little helper assisting with dough quality assurance

The kids at VBS loved the cookies too!

But back to the cookies. Children love sugar cookies, and yes, the child in each of us probably gets a little pang of sadness every time we go to the grocery store and pass the boxes of brightly decorated cookies we can't ever taste again. The thing is, those grocery store cookies didn't actually taste all that great. Super soft, a little bland, very sugary, but always with that unmistakable tang of cheap, artificial ingredients. I was at the store a day or two ago, and I picked up a box of these cookies to read the label: the ingredients list was as long as my arm and full of unpronounceable words. It was like a laundry list of food you shouldn't put in your body: refined white flour, high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated vegetable oil, preservatives. Mmm, exactly what I want to feed my children! Not that I could feed it to my children because of the gluten, but you get the point.

Are you ready to have your world rocked? You can make those sugar cookies at home. You can make them with whole, wholesome ingredients. You can make them taste better than the store bought variety. And you can make them gluten free. My inner child is doing a little dance right now! And as a mom, I love that I can make these quintessential childhood treats for my own children, and that I can give them something better than what they are missing out on.

The best part? I swear on Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, if you didn't know these were gluten-free, you could never tell. I brought them to vacation Bible school last week, and not only could no-one tell they were gluten-free, but kids and adults loved them! Even the people who don't usually like sugar cookies said they liked these cookies. Now if that isn't a compliment, I don't know what is.

Best EVER Gluten Free Soft Iced Sugar Cookies
adapted from Hostess with the Mostess and Annie's Eats

The original recipe calls for rolling the dough into balls and flattening it a little onto the cookie sheet. This really didn't work with the gluten-free recipe at all, so I suggest doing the traditional rolling pin and cookie cutter thing (besides, kids love that). I rolled mine a little thick (a little less than half an inch) so the cookies would be plump, and wouldn't break during frosting (since they are so, SO soft).

Using the correct flours is really important here, if you want to get that perfect, perfect taste and consistency. Usually I say to substitute in an all purpose mix if you don't have the flours called for, but in this case this combination really is perfect. My first batch used an all purpose mix, and it was a bust. Learn from my mistakes!

for the cookies:
1.5 cups white rice flour
1.5 cups sweet rice flour (mochi)
1.5 cups oat flour
5 teaspoons baking powder
pinch salt
3 sticks butter (1.5 cups), room temperature
1.5 cups white sugar
3 large eggs
1 tbs vanilla extract (or almond)

for the frosting:
5 cups confectioners sugar
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 tbs vanilla extract
7-8 tbs milk, depending on consistency desired
food coloring/sprinkles

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1.5 cups white rice flour, 1.5 cups sweet rice flour (mochi), 1.5 cups oat flour, 5 teaspoons baking powder, and a pinch salt.

2. In a stand mixer, beat 3 sticks butter with 1.5 cups sugar on high, until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, waiting for each egg to be fully incorporated before adding in the next. Beat an extra minute or two after last egg, and add vanilla.

3. With the mixer on low, fold in flour mixture, and mix until fully incorporated (with gluten-free baking you don't really have to worry about over mixing). Remove from mixing bowl, and form into a large disc. Wrap with plastic wrap, and refridgerate until firm, about 2 hours (dough can be frozen or stored in this state).

4. When you ready to make the cookies, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat baking mat. Roll out the dough onto a floured surface (I use sweet rice flour, since it's the finest) to a little less than 1/2 inch thickness. Using cookie cutters, cut to desired shapes, and place in cookie sheet. Cookies will spread very little, so they can be close - about 1" apart.

5. Bake cookies until just puffed and set, but before they have begun to brown around the edges. This will ensure a soft, soft cookie! Let cool, then transfer to a wire cooling rack. Cool completely before icing.

6. To make the frosting: Place confectioners sugar in a medium bowl. Add melted butter, vanilla, and milk, and whisk until smooth, adding more milk to achieve desired consistency. Tint with food coloring, frost cookies, and adorn with sprinkles. Enjoy!

Beach Day: Corona Del Mar

2011-07-14T23:26:00.000-07:00

This really had to be one of the best beach days ever, and just what a beach day should be: perfect sunny weather, beautiful beach, lazy morning playing in the sand. Our last beach day was fun, but it was a little crazy; it was the week leading up to the 4th of July weekend, and I didn't think about all the vacationers who would be on the beaches in Newport. The stretch of beach next to the pier was already feeling crowded at 10am, and by the time we left it was getting hard to keep track of the kids.

But Corona Del Mar was perfect. When we showed up at 10, we were practically the first people on the beach, and it never got crowded. We were at a little known secret beach called "Little Corona," which has some great tidepools capping the beach ends. This particular day there was a fabulous "tide pools ranger" (LOVE IT!) who had set up an educational booth and was teaching the kids about marine wildlife. That day she had found a swirly black shark's egg washed up in the kelp, a treasure touched by many little hands.

The waves that day were incredible. They had the yellow flags with black spots out, which I am pretty sure means something like certain death should you decide to go swimming or surfing (yeah, I don't know what it really means. Sorry internet). Every couple of minutes a really huge set would roll in and create these fantastic explosions of water against the rocks. It was amazing! My friend Carly's kids were initially bummed they couldn't go swimming, but when we explained this was a beach for playing at, not swimming at, they perked up and had a good time poking around the tidepools and dragging kelp up the beach.

Sometimes the beauty of where I live really takes my breath away. When you live in an eternally sun-drenched (and often smoggy) concrete jungle like Orange County or Los Angeles, it's easy to think there isn't anything other than city. It's easy to forget how much stunning beauty is just moments away, where the houses end and the sea begins. I'm glad that I can bring my kids here. I am glad that I can give them this gift - these lazy glorious mornings, and the endless, fathomless beautiful sea.

{Pretty, Funny, Happy, Real} * July 14

2011-07-14T09:02:00.000-07:00

{pretty}

This was seriously the prettiest beach day ever. Corona Del Mar is a really wealthy suburb here in the OC, and they have the best beaches. This one was so pretty, and when we got there we were the first people there!

{funny}

Men will be boys, that's for sure. Nate (and James, I might add) think is hilarious to pull the wagon around the yard like its at a monster struck rally. Nate's friend Tim decided to join James in the wagon, and Nate pulled so hard James went flying face first into Tim. Did he cry? Oh no - he cried "Ma Ma MA!" (more, more, MORE!)

{happy}

A rare photo of James smiling - these are treasures! :) Normally I can't even get him to look at the camera, much less smile.

{real}

When we go to the book store, the main attraction is (obviously!) the escalator! I thought it was cool that for the first time, James sat down and looked through a book of his own will (and he enjoyed it! It was goodnight moon and he just learned to say moon. Every single page has a moon on it, so as he paged through he kept crying out "it's a MOO!" So darn cute.)

Check out more "pretty, funny, happy, real" over at Like Mother Like Daughter!

Practically Perfect Classic Buttercream Frosting ~ a la Rose Levy Beranbaum

2011-07-13T05:00:00.000-07:00

If you're looking for a buttercream recipe that is practically perfect in every way, this is it! You really can't go wrong with Rose's recipe. I mean, she did write the cake Bible, after all. No, literally. Her cookbook is called "The Cake Bible," and it really deserves that title. It's exhaustive, it's exact, and every single recipe has been tested and perfected to the nth degree. It's my go-to guide for frostings, fillings, and yes, even cake (though I adapt the recipes to be gluten free, with varying levels of success!)

This is the frosting I used for James' first and second birthday cakes, and I also used it on the 4th of July to frost some chocolate cupcakes (which explains the festive sprinkles! Also, the terrible icing jobs. I am no professional cake decorator. Sorry internet. I can't be good at everything.) It's a great base recipe for lots of other flavors and colors, and it holds up very well to mix-ins and flavorings. For James' last birthday we did it in lemon, but you can also mix just about any jam, liquor, chocolate, extract, or candy into, and it will work beautifully.

This recipe is technically what Rose calls "neoclassic" butter cream. She call it this because to her, "classic" buttercream involves a candy thermometer and the softball stage of candymaking, and that gets complicated and is prone to disaster. Her "neoclassic" buttercream side steps this terrifying procedure by the addition of corn syrup. Now before you snatch your petticoats up in horror over the addition of corn syrup, hear me out: Frosting is not health food people. It really has no place in a sensible nutritious diet. And is shouldn't, because that's not the point of frosting. The point of frosting is to be sinfully delicious and have no nutritional value whatsoever. So what if it has a little corn syrup in it? It frosting! It's not supposed to be good for you. So please, have a cupcake. With some frosting! It's your birthday ;)

Rose Levy Beranbaum's Neoclassic Buttercream
adapted from The Cake Bible
Makes 4 cups

The reason this is Rose' favorite buttercream recipe (and mine too!) is that the corn syrup acts as a stabilizer to the sugar, and when the sugar and corn syrup come to a boil, it is exactly the right temperature, no thermometer needed. Further, the corn syrup prevents crystallization, so your frosting says practically perfect in every way.

INGREDIENTS
6 large egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup liquid corn syrup
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
vanilla or other flavoring

Have a large greased glass measure near the stove. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks until they are pale in color and thick, 3-5 minutes.

Heat the sugar and corn syrup in a medium saucepan...

...stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a rolling boil.

immediately transfer to the greased glass measure to stop the cooking.

Pour a small amount of the syrup over the eggs in the mixer, and beat until incorporated. Continue until all the syrup is used up, and the mixture is pale and sticky, like liquid taffy. Continue beating until the mixture is completely cool (or you will melt the butter and ruin the frosting).

Got your butter? Awesome! Beat it in, one stick at a time, waiting until each is incorporated before adding in the next.

When it looks like this, you are done! At this point, you may also add in any flavoring.

Transfer to a storage container, or frost your cupcakes! Enjoy!

Firstfruits

2011-07-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

We got home from our weekend at Lake Arrowhead to find the tomatoes had finally started to ripen, and my cherry tomato bush was covered with shiny red fruit. Bliss! Today, I went out and picked the first fruits of the season, and oh! They are the best. Sweet as candy, and rich as butter. And as I carried a little bowl into the house, I thought about how long I waited for this day: How the 2009 and 2010 tomato crops were both epic failures, producing little to no fruit at all. How each year I patiently planted, watered, nurtured and waited as each plant grew from a tiny speck of seed into a dainty baby life. How I placed each seedling in the garden, watered, weeded, staked, caged, pruned, and pinched off premature flowers as I encouraged it to grow. I hoped. I loved.

It takes so much faith to plant a seed and hope for fruit. You have to believe that this dry little speck somehow holds life in it, and that if watered and nurtured it will grow into something mighty and beautiful. It takes faith, and hope, that the sun will shine and the rain will fall, and the work you do will we rewarded with fruit and flowers.

Today, as I carried my little bowl of first fruits into the house, I suddenly and inexplicably started to cry. This is my third summer as a gardener, but today is my first day as a harvester. And I finally understood what it meant to give your first fruit, your very best, as an offering to God. This bowl of tomatoes is such a small token of thanks, and yet it represents so much of me. It represents three summers of labor, of love, of care and attention, and even of frustration and failure. These fruits are my very first fruit, and they are the best. Giving your first fruits means so much more than the obligatory 10% tithe. What you are saying, in effect, is "here God. Here is the thing I have been wanting and working toward for so long. I have been waiting so long to enjoy this thing, and I want to give it to you instead of keeping it for me. I want to honor you first, and give you my best, before I take any for myself at all."

And I cried. I can't even explain very well why I cried. I think it's because it's the first time I have ever wanted to give an offering to God. It's the first time I have felt like I was giving an offering because I wanted to honor him, and thank him, for the harvest. To acknowledge the blessing of sun and water, and that the success or failure of my tomato crop is in his hand. It's the first time that giving wasn't something to do out of obligation, or duty, or guilt. And it feels so silly that this little bowl of tomatoes means so much, because it one respect, they are hardly worth much money. Even for being sun-ripened, organic tomatoes hand grown by an OC houswife, I doubt they are worth more than $5. And yet, they are so very, very valuable to me, being the reward for all my labor, and the best I have to give.

All I can say it thankyou. Thankyou, thankyou Lord, for your abounding mercies. Thankyou for the sun, and the rain, and good sweet earth to plant these little seeds in. Thankyou for the miracle that is life. Thankyou for tomatoes.

PS - I also picked these cucumbers today! Mm, I can already smell the pickles.

Fresh Berry Tartlets with Creamy Vanilla Bean Filling - gluten free! (Or not)

2011-07-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

You know how sometimes you land upon a recipe that just has some sort of magic combination of ingredients, and it turns into a family favorite that you make over and over again? This is that recipe. I have made this tart every summer since I discovered it, and I've been tinkering with the recipe until I got it just the way I like it. It's probably the most requested recipe I have, so its about time it went up on the 'ol blog, wouldn't you say?

BTW, I generally adapt recipes from other sources, but this crust recipe is all me! The original called for a graham cracker crust, and when I first started making this gluten-free graham crackers were not available (they are now). That's ok though, because I like this crust way better than a the graham cracker crust, and so does everyone else! There just something special about the nutty almond flour (and this crust) that really brings this dessert up to a whole new level.

And of course, you must make the filling. It is not optional. Do not use something else. This filling is THE BEST THING EVER. It makes pastry cream feel like an ugly stepsister crying in the corner. It's like, as good as cheesecake, but with none of the work. I promise, if you make this, you will never want to use pastry cream again (ok, ok, you might use it again, but you will like this better).

Fresh Berry Tartlets with Creamy Vanilla Bean Filling
makes 1 large tart, or 4-5 individual tartlets

I topped these with raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries because that's what was in season, and it looked cute for our 4th of July barbecue, but you can really make these any time of year and use whatever fruit or combination of fruits are fresh and in season. I have made it with peaches and raspberries, cherries, apricots, blackberries, and I bet it would taste great with poached pears, quince, or other fall fruits.

I used to make this as one large tart, but that was always a struggle for me, because as pretty as it looks when you are done making it, it turns into a real mess when you try to cut it up. One I did it as individual tartlets, I was sold: They are just so cute, and they don't fall apart when you slice them into individual portions.

For the Crust
3/4 cup almond flour
1 cup flour (you can use regular flour if gluten is not an issue, or an all purpose gluten-free mix, or yout favorite combination of gluten free flours. For this recipe I use 1/2 a cup sweet rice flour, and 1/2 a cup oat flour)
1 tbs xanthum gum
1/2 a cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar

For the cream cheese vanilla bean filling
8 oz (one stick) cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup heavy cream, room temperature
1 vanilla bean, halved and scraped, or 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
1/4 cup white sugar

For the topping
2 cups fresh fruit
optional: warmed jam for especially sour fruits, brushed over the top

1. Make the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together almond flour and other flour(s), xanthum gum, and sugars. Pour melted butter into flour, and mix with a wooden spoon until evenly distributed through the flour. Press into tart shell, and bake 15 - 20 minutes, until golden. Remove from the oven, and cool completely.

2. Make the filling: In a stand mixer, beat cream cheese until soft, 2-3 minutes. Add in vanilla, sugar, and cream. Mix on low until incorporated, then beat on high until cream is light and fluffy. Scrape into cooled tart shell, and top with fruit. If the fruit you have chosen is especially sour, feel free to brush some warmed jam over it. Enjoy!

Fourth of July at Lake Arrowhead

2011-07-07T05:00:00.000-07:00

So. We spent the weekend in a totally fabulous 2 million dollar lake house right on the water (does my mom have cool friends or what?), with a boat, and you think we would have had the best time ever (and it looks like we did, from the pictures, doesn't it?), but it was hot. And the air conditioner was broken. And we all seemed to come down with altitude sickness. And we had a hell of a time parking the boat. And all together, we were all rather grumpy and irritable and out of sorts.

But other than that, we had a great time. Really!

James loved the boat. He kept saying "it's a BO!" over and over again. He was such a little sailor! No fear at all, crazy good sea legs, running up and down the thing like it was he was born doing it. I love that my kid is fearless. I mean, sometimes he freaks me out with his acrobatics, but on the whole I like that he is so brave and bold. But I also like it when he runs to me for hugs or to be carried, because he still is a very little boy, after all.

There was one funny moment when James snuck up behind my uncle Greg, who was piloting the boat, and grabbed the throttle. We had been slowly mozying along around the shoreline, going maybe 3 miles per hour, when suddenly the boat shot forward, throwing some of us to the ground and heading straight for a dock! James had grabbed the throttle and sent it to full speed. Yep. That's my boy.

Ug. The water-skiing. It was dramatic. The first day we tried to ski, the water was super choppy, so even though Nate almost got up once or twice, he immediately wiped out. We tried again the next day when the water was smoother, but no-one could get up. After we figured out that we were using the wrong rope, tied to the wrong place, and that we were using the wrong skis and wrong board, we headed back in. I did not attend round 3, seeing as I was feeling hot and grumpy and in need of a popsicle at that point. However, apparently Nate got up, but as we have no photographic evidence to support his claims, we are just going to have to trust him. I do have photographic evidence of the wipe-outs though, and the poor man came home with a bruise the size of burger bun on his thigh. True story!

The best part of the weekend, of course, was the fabulous fireworks show. We ate dinner quickly, and then we all piled into the boat and motored out to the middle of the lake. There were a thousand little boats out there, and it was a beautiful soft and clear night. The fireworks were set off from a barge in the center of the lake: It was breathtaking the way the colors danced on the water, reflecting the colored lights like a mirror. We were so close to the fireworks that we could see pieces of ash splashing into the water. It was amazing!

Lake Arrowhead

2011-07-06T02:15:00.001-07:00

Just got home from a 4 day weekend to lake arrowhead. More pictures and stories to come soon!

Apricot Vanilla Bean Jam ~ Mes Confitures

2011-07-05T05:00:00.000-07:00

You asked for it, so here it is! This is my favorite jam. A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to find organic apricots for only 50 cents a pound, so what to do? Buy 10 lbs and make apricot vanilla bean jam, of course!

The inspiration for this jam comes from Christine Ferber's jam making Bible, Mes Confitures. This book is incredible. It has so many amazing jam recipes - black cherry with Pinot noir, raspberry with white peach, apple with caramel. Is your mouth watering yet? She's called the fairy godmother of jams and jellies, and she deserves it.

Alright, recipe time!

Apricot Vanilla Bean Jam
adapted from Christine Ferber's Mes Confitures

2 + 1/2 lbs ripe apricots
3 + 3/4 cups granulated sugar
7 oz water (a little less than a cup)
juice of one small lemon
2 vanilla beans, or 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

1. Rinse and pit the apricots. Place the apricots, the sugar, water, lemon juice, and vanilla bean split lengthwise (or vanilla bean paste) in a large heavy bottomed pot, and mash with a potato masher. (Ferber has you do some macerating and over night stuff, and then you peel off the skins, but that is way too fussy for me!)

2. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cook on high heat, until the jam reaches 221 degrees. Or be lazy like me and forget the thermometer - boil until the jam sets (you can check the sit by dripping some onto a cold plate. It it sets instead of runs, it's done!)

3. Put the jam immediately into canning jars and seal.

Beach Day: Newport Beach

2011-07-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

a few of James' little friends

June in Southern California is gray, misty affair. In fact, it could be said that California's weather never does what you wish it would: it's blazing hot in December, and overcast and cold in June. Just when you want to pull out the flip flops and the sunscreen, the sun disappears behind a marine layer and doesn't come out for a month.

We went to the beach anyway.

And it was a lovely day: Soft and pastel, but lovely all the same, and not even that cold, in the end. James had a great time running up and down the beach, chasing beach balls and makings sand castles. And the friends! It was so great to have so many friends there with us! Speaking of...

Internet, you have to meet James' little friend Amara. What a girl! Seriously - you look away for a millisecond, and she was gone, rushing toward the water. She had been heading back up the beach with a grownup, and I was standing down by the water talking to a friend, when suddenly I looked over, and she was waist high in the water with a wave rushing towards her. I ran in after her, slinging my camera over my back and praying it didn't get wet. (Notice how my first instinct was to pray for the camera and not the child. Hmmm. Priorities people.) Did she come up smiling? Oh yes, she did.

See her mom's expression? She's saying, "what am I going to do with this kid??" They were at the beach for like... an hour? After that, her mom was like, "we need to go home now. I am pregnant and I am done."

She's a fire cracker, that one.

My mom came and did a bit of painting while we were there. I love the relationship that James has with his grandma (all of his grandparents actually!). He calls her Kimmy, and he adores her. Whenever we pull up to my parents house, he has a sharp intake of breath, and then he yell "yaay!" I think that's pretty cool, because neither Nate nor I ever really had relationships with any of our grandparents, and it's so wonderful and unanticipated that my kid has such great relationships with his.

All in all, I'd say it was an excellent day. And more to come!

{Pretty, Funny, Happy, Real} * June 30

2011-06-30T07:32:00.000-07:00

{pretty}

This is my friend Sheri with her new(ish!) baby Rowan. Do I have baby fever now? OH YES, I DO. Need. Cuddly. Baby. Now. Too bad it takes sooooo loooong to actually make and bake one, because I am ready to have a new baby like, yesterday.

{funny}

Do you remember just how awesome it was to play in boxes as a kid? We lived near a furniture store, and my mom and dad used to bring home these giant refrigerator boxes that we turned into all sorts of things: houses, mazes, Alice's wonderland - it was amazing! I just got a new vacuum off Amazon, and Nate made James this little house. He LOVES it!

{happy}

I'm loving the fact that James is finally into books. They say you should read to your child every day, but that's hard to do if your boy won't sit still and he doesn't like books. And he has so many books. I have been buying them here and there from the thrift store and the library books sale for almost 3 years, and he now has a full book case of kids books. But would he read them? no. I was starting to fret and wonder if this was my child at all. But as children often do, he came around, and now he loves flipping through his books.

{real}

How is it that on a parched and blazing hot day, my toddler manages to find the only wet and muddy spot in the whole park to stick his foot in?

Beach Day!

2011-06-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

Last summer we went to the beach a total of TWO times. TWO! I live in Huntington Beach and we only went to the beach twice.

That is so sad.

Did you know that the naughtiness of my two year old is almost directly proportionate to how much exercise you give him? If we go swimming or to the park, he's all sweetness and sunshine. No screaming, no yelling, no hitting or biting. But if he's cooped up in the house all day, look out: he's a fire-breathing, cup smashing, mischief making hurricane. True story!

So beach days are pretty important for us. We need them for exercise, and gosh, we need to take advantage of the fact that we live so close to the beach. It's silly not to, isn't it? Can't wait to do it again next week! (and if you live around here, you should totally join us. The more the merrier, I say!)

Martha Stewart's Cinnamon Spiced Mexican Horchata

2011-06-24T05:00:00.001-07:00

I have been going back and forth about whether I should post this recipe or not, because as good as it is (and it's really good), and as lovely as the pictures are (don't you like them?), this is not very authentic horchata. I say that because it has cow's milk in it, and traditionally, Mexican horchata is made of rice milk. And traditionally, you must wake up at the crack of dawn, soak the rice all day, and then grind it to a paste (by hand!) in your molcajete (what's that sound I hear? Ah, yes, cue the tiny violin).

Alternatively, you buy a little plastic baggie of powdered mix from the Mexican section of the grocery store, and you mix it with water. Which, by the way, I am pretty sure is what most Mexican people around here actually do when they want to drink horchata. Who has time to grind rice in a molcajete all day long?

So this drink, while delicious, is sort of Martha's irreverent devil-may-care-what-the-real-thing-is interpretation of horchata, and I have to say, it's good! It's creamy and delicious and the milk pairs well with Mexican food, which can be spicy! I imagine you could probably even just use unsweetened rice milk from the grocery store if you want to make it more authentic, or if you happen to be allergic to cow's milk, or you are vegan or WHATEVER. You don't have to make any explanations to me! I love you just the way you are, non-milk drinking friend.

If you want to make this a more grown-up drink, you can add in a little dark rum. It's quite tasty!

Martha Stewart's Cinnamon Spiced Mexican Horchata
adapted from Martha Stewart Living 2011
Serves 4

Ingredients
4 cups milk (use whatever fat content you like best)
1 cinnamon stick
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup rice flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
optional: 1/2 cup dark rum

1. bring milk and cinnamon stick to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat, and transfer to a pitcher or bowl. Mix in sweetened condensed milk, flour, vanilla, and cinnamon. Chill until cold (a good 2 hours should do it).

2. strain mixture with a sieve, and add in rum (if using). Pour over ice, and garnish with a cinnamon stick, or a little sprinkle or cinnamon. Enjoy!

{Pretty, Funny, Happy, Real} * June 23

2011-06-22T23:49:00.001-07:00

{pretty}

These are the dahlias growing in my front yard - I haven't ever grown dahlias before, and I LOVE them! They are so easy, and they seem to love the weather here. I am definitely planting more next year.

Do you want to hear a sad, sad story? I just found out, I am allergic to my wedding rings. Lest you think I am making some sort of clever allusion to the state of my marriage, I am literally allergic to them: they give me a rash. I've always sort of known that I am allergic to nickel, but I did not realize that white gold is white because it's alloyed with nickel.

Doh.

Being the world class genius that I am, my engagement ring, my wedding band, my Torrey ring (an honors program I was in at Biola), and a ring Nate gave me for our 2nd anniversary are all made out of white gold. I suppose this explain why I haven't worn any of them in years. That, and the 20lbs I have gained since having James. But mostly the nickel. Right? RIGHT?

{funny}

Have I mentioned lately how much this little boy love hats? He's got to have about 12 of them. Cowboy hats, firemen hats, beanies, baseball caps, etc. etc. On this particular day, he insisted on taking a walk with his cowboy hat on. It makes me smile when I think about it :)

{happy}

Babies on shoulders! It makes me happy :)

{real}

What do to when the local store has organic apricots for 50 cents a pound?? Buy 10 lbs and make apricot-vanilla-bean jam of course! This is my favorite kind of Jam. I make it every year!

Check out more over at Like Mother, Like Daughter:

How Does Your Garden Grow? * June

2011-06-22T23:13:00.000-07:00

Time for the ol' check in at the garden department!

It always amazes me how much living things grow in so little time. When we were in Idyllwild this weekend, we came home and I swear my son had grown and changed in just those 36 hours. He was already a bigger boy. And my garden! It was bigger too. Life does that. Living things do that. They change, in the blink of an eye, they change are become something new.

Isn't it amazing what 6 weeks in the garden can do? Then it was bare ground, seeds, and seedlings. Now it's thriving with life, bursting out of the ground and reaching for the sky. That's life. Fighting wildly out of the ground and reaching for the sky. Isn't it beautiful?

Idyllwild + 5 Years!

2011-06-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

Nate and I do this terribly corny thing (which we LOVE. Because we are THAT kind of people), where we use the traditional wedding anniversary themes for gifts and festivities. In case you have no idea what I am talking about, there is a theme (such as wood, paper, pearl, silver, etc.) for each year, and you use it as a guide in purchasing gifts for your spouse.

First anniversary ~ Paper: I bought Nate a journal, and Nate bought me an oragami kit.
Second anniversary ~ Cotton: We bought new clothes for vacation, except Nate used his clothes money to buy me a ring.
Third Anniversary ~ Leather: Nate bought me a new purse, and I bought him a new wallet.
Fourth Anniversary ~ Fruits and Flowers: I got a Meyer lemon tree, and Nate got a Crepe Myrtle tree.

As you can see, this is nice because you don't end up getting chocolates or cufflinks every year (who really needs a lot of those?)

June 17th was our 5th anniversary, and as the 5th anniversary theme is wood, we went to the woods! We spent a weekend in Idyllwild, which is a little mountain town about 100 miles outside of Orange County. It was our first time away alone together without the baby, which was a little bittersweet. It was so nice to have so much time to ourselves, but we also missed him a lot.

Nate was, of course, smitten. Nate LOVES camping, LOVES cabins, LOVES rustic, LOVES the scent of pine trees and wood smoke, so he was in heaven. When we walked into our hotel room, he just about died when he saw the wood paneling and the flannel sheets. Died! That man loves the woods. And the hot buttered scones delivered to our front door every morning sealed the deal. Best. Anniversary. EVER!

It didn't help that there were real estate listings all over the place with (what seemed to us, give SoCal prices) dirt cheap cabins and cottages. Nate definitely came home with cabin fever, a malady that has made the fortune of many an Idyllwild real estate agent.

Here's to another 5 years (and beyond!) with the love of my life :) (and OMG, how am I old enough to have been married 5 years already?? And have a 2 year old??)

Authentic Homemade Fire Roasted Mexican Salsa!

2011-06-13T05:00:00.000-07:00

This salsa makes me angry. It makes me angry because I have been paying $4 for little jars of salsa for year and years, and now I find out that making your own big jar of salsa is not only delicious and easy, but it's also dirt cheap! Do you have access to some tomatoes, garlic, onions, and jalapeno peppers? Then you have the making of some great salsa on your hands.

This being me, I am also excited to have more control over the ingredients, and I can keep out nasty villains like corn syrup, excessive sodium, and preservatives, and risky chemicals like BPA or whatever else they use to line cans and jar lids. But that's just me and my ever lasting quest to get more healthy food into my family!

I have only made this one way, but I like to think that this is a good base recipe for making different flavors of sauce. Here are some suggestions for flavors:

Three Pepper: Add 3 cored bell peppers to roasting pan, in red, orange, and yellow
Garlic Chipotle: Replace jalapeno with 1 - 2 canned Chipotle peppers (depending on how spicy you want it) and 1 tsp adobo sauce. Increase garlic to 5-6 cloves
Pineapple: Add 2 thick slices cored fresh pineapple, or 1/2 a cup drained canned pineapple
Spicy Smoky Peach: Add 1 fresh peach, slices in half and pit removed, and replace jalapeno with 1/2 a chipotle pepper + adobo (or more if you like it hot!)
Double Chipotle: Add 1 - 2 canned chipotle peppers + adobo sauce, and 1 teaspoon smoke chipotle chili powder

Authentic Homemade Fire Roasted Mexican Salsa Recipe
adapted from Everyday Food, June 2011

Ingredients
4-5 ripe tomatoes, sliced in half, and seeds removed
2-4 jalapeno peppers, tops cut off, and seeds removed (use your discretion here - if you like your salsa mild, use one pepper with the seeds removed. It you like it really spicy, do 4 peppers with the seeds still in, since that's the spiciest part.
2 cloves garlic, skin on
1 large white onion, peeled and cut in half
1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped (about 1 cup loosely packed)
lime juice
sea salt
cracked black pepper
additional pepper if desired, such as cayenne or chipotle

1. Turn on oven broiler. A gas stove is best, since you will get that awesome flame kissed flavor, but an electric stove will work too. Place tomatoes and onion cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet, along with garlic and jalapenos. broil 5-10 minutes, until tomatoes and onions are softened and charred (if garlic begins to burn, remove it early). Remove from boiler, and let cool to handle.

2. Roughly chop tomatoes, onion, and jalapenos, and peel garlic. Place in a food processor. Pulse until smooth. Add chopped cilantro, the juice of 1 lime (about 1.5 tablespoons), sea salt, pepper, and chili (if using), and pulse until incorporated. Taste, and correct seasoning. Serve immediately, or transfer to a container, and refridgerate up to 4 days (or, you could can it and stock your pantry!) enjoy!

Dreamy Creamy Coconut Cream Bars

2011-06-08T05:00:00.000-07:00

I know this doesn't seem like this has anything to do with coconut cream bars (which are just as creamy and dreamy as they look!), but I have had allergies on the brain lately. Apparently, I am allergic to everything. Cats, dogs, mold, dust, hay, grass, and a host of other things yet unknown. Which is why I have 40 little stickers stuck to my back that are itching like crazy. But it will be good to finally know what it is that I am allergic to to, after not knowing for all this time.

Which has got me to thinking about allergies, because lots of people have them, and not just to dogs and cats and dust and pollen, but to foods as well. Before I knew about my gluten issues, I used to roll my eyes at people with special diets. Like, how pretentious can you get? I can't eat this, I can't eat that, treat me special. Back when I taught, I had a few students who were on gluten-free diets, and they were invariably the most difficult ones. I'm ashamed to say that on more than one occasion, I thought to myself "oh, of course you would be the one on the "gluten-free diet" you annoying kid." Ah, youth. It makes idiots of us all.

Because it was one of those students who actually turned me on to the fact that I had a gluten-problem myself. She brought cupcakes to class one day, and her mom chimed in, "and they're gluten free!" Inwardly I rolled my eyes, but after I ate one I thought "Woah. I don't feel sick after eating that cupcake. I always feel sick after eating a cupcake. What is this "gluten" stuff anyway?" And that was the end of that. Within 2 months, I had gone gluten-free for life. I had become the person I mocked. Haha! Life has a way turning things around on you like that.

All that is to say, you never know: it could happen to you. And if it does happen to you, you can take solace in the fact that allergies and intolerances don't mean the end to all good things. If you can't eat gluten (or whatever you happen to be allergic to... Unless you are allergic to coconut!), you can still eat these bars! (If you can eat gluten, you can eat them too, if you can get your hands on them!). I promise, one day you will never miss the gluten at all. I don't!

And what's to miss, when you can have these dreamy creamy coconut cream bars? It sucks to be allergic to stuff. I suppose I will just have to eat another coconut bar to console myself. Poor, poor me. I feel soooo sorry for myself.

Dreamy Creamy Coconut Bars
adapted from Martha Stewart magazine, May 2004

Ingredients
2.5 cups sweetened dried coconut flakes
-----------------------------
1.5 cups white rice flour (or all purpose flour if gluten is not an issue)
1/2 cup white sugar
1 stick butter, melted
(if you want, you can just use pulsed up sugar cookies instead of the flour and sugar).
----------------------------
1 cup white sugar
6 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 can coconut milk
2 cups whole milk
5 eggs yolk
1 stick butter, cut into small pieces
-----------------------------
1.5 cups heavy cream
3 tablespoons confectioners sugar

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread coconut on a rimmed baking sheet, and bake 10-15 minutes (stirring occasionally if needed), until coconut is golden around the edges. Remove and let cool.

2. In a food processor, pulse together 1 cup of the toasted coconut, 1.5 cups rice flour, 1/2 a cup white sugar, and the melted butter. Pulse together 1-2 minutes until mixture is crumbly. Press into a 9x13 glass baking dish, and bake 10 minutes, or until golden. Remove, and let cool.

3. In a large non-reactive sauce pan, whisk together 1 cup sugar, 6 tablespoons cornstarch, and 1/2 a teaspoon salt. Mix in 1 can coconut milk, 2 cups whole milk, and 5 egg yolks. Whisk over high heat, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens. Remove from heat, and whisk in pieces of butter and 1 cup of the toasted coconut.

4. Scrape coconut cream into crust, and smooth with a spatula. Press saran wrap to the surface of the coconut cream, so that no skin forms on the custard. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, until cream is completely cooled.

5. In a stand mixer (or by hand if you are buff), beat 1.5 cups heavy whipping cream with 3 tablespoons confectioners sugar, until stiff. Spoon into a pastry bag fitted with a star tip.

6. Cut cream and crust into bars. Pipe a zig zag of whipped cream onto each bar (so it looks pretty!) and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup coconut. Enjoy!

The Troublesome Twos

2011-06-07T05:00:00.000-07:00

Two year olds are are so awesome. Also, they are so awful. Awesome! Awful! All in one cute little package. This morning we went to the grocery store to buy a package of pectin for some jam I am making later this weekend. It happened to be the fancy expensive grocery store, the one with the Starbucks inside, and most importantly, the one with the carts that have a little car on the front. A little car with a TV inside.

Can you guess just how much James loves this grocery store? This cart?

So much.

And yet today, I took him to his favorite grocery store, and instead of being delighted, he threw the biggest temper-tantrum of all time because I made him stay IN the car cart instead of letting him hop in and out over and over and over again. Right in the middle of the grocery store, even though he was riding in the awesome cart, even though he also had chocolate milk. I was beyond frustrated. It was so bad, and he was crying so hard, another little boy came up and gave him a toy. And then he was so worn out afterwards, he fell asleep on the way home.

Two year olds.

So awesome.

Speaking of awesome, I have a little gymnast on my hands, I think. This child is so physically strong. His pedi commented that he has a rather high BMI, but it's all muscle. He can pull himself out of the pool, or onto the dining room table, and he loves jumping, flipping, climbing. He did the following accidentally, and then did it over and over again on purpose!

How can you not love that smile?

Edamame Avocado Dip with Spicy Wasabe

2011-06-06T05:00:00.000-07:00

Wow. All I can say is wow. It isn't very often that you stumble across a recipe that shifts your paradigms, but folks, this is it. It's like guacamole on steroids, and the craziest thing is that this stuff is good for you. No really! It is!

If you read my blog at all, you know that I am always trying to sneak healthy stuff into my family. The number one problem is that when you think "healthy" you probably also think "doesn't taste good."

That is so sad.

Healthy food, food that nourishes your body, should taste great. Maybe not like lots of bad fat, sugar, or salt, but it should taste good. And this does. This tastes so, so good. Creamy cool, with the dry heat of wasabe, ginger, and garlic, and a punch of protein from the edamame. It's so good that I want to eat it by the spoonful, and I have to keep reminding myself not to feel guilty if I do, because this really is good for me too!

Edamame Avocado Dip with Spicy Wasabe
adapted from The Cancer Fighting Kitchen by Rebecca Katz

This is my new favorite cookbook, and before I freak you out, no, no-one at my house has cancer. But people who do have cancer need to eat really healthy food, and it has to taste really good because treatment has a way of killing the appetite. This cookbook does just this: really healthy food that tastes really amazing. Exactly what I need for my picky family!

Ingredients
1 cup fresh or frozen shelled edamame beans
2 avocados, peeled and pitted
1 teaspoon wasabe
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 clove minced fresh garlic
1/4 cup water
juice of 2 fresh limes (about 3 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint

1. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Do a seasoning check, and add more salt, pepper, lime juice, or wasabe as needed (I like to kick it up to a tablespoon to really bring on the heat).

Thrift Store Find of the Week! {Paisley Pillow}

2011-06-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

This is a little sneaky, but I really like buying stuff at the thrift store to use for other stuff. What I mean by that is sometimes I find clothes that I wouldn't necessarily want to wear, but would be great for something else. Like a pillow!

This pillow was actually made out of a silk skirt. I thought maybe the fabric was from Liberty of London, though I couldn't be sure because it didn't have a tag! Liberty's fabrics are SO incredibly expensive - $40 a yard! This silk skirt was only $2.50, and it matched the other pillows in my living room exactly. So I cut it up, added a little piping I had in my stash, and viola! New summer pillow cover. Yay!

{Pretty, Funny, Happy, Real} * June 2

2011-06-02T05:00:00.000-07:00

It's the little things that make life grand, isn't it? Here is a little bit of my life, in snap shots. When I am not cooking, cleaning, or doing any other of the hundred domestic tasks that currently fill my days, I'm chasing this little boy around. I wish I always had the joy and the wonder that he has.

{Pretty}

I wish I always noticed the flowers the way he does.

{Funny}

Come'on now, we all know pugs are funny ;-p

{Happy}

When was the last time you felt this happy about anything? About a day at the park? I want to be able to enjoy the little things this much.

{Real}

Ah, my nemesis, cheeto hands. We meet again.

This post of part of the {Pretty Funny Happy Real} roundup over at Like Mother, Like Daughter, one of my favorite blogs!

Spring Green Tuna Casserole ~ A Gluten Free Tuna Casserole From Scratch!

2011-06-01T05:00:00.000-07:00

This is definitely not your mothers tuna casserole. Correct me if I'm wrong, but whenever someone talks about "tuna casserole," the kind mom used to make, they are referring to that weird mid-century concoction consisting of a can of tuna, mixed with a can of mushroom soup, mixed with a bag of egg noodles, topped with crushed potato chips and baked until certain to cause heart failure.

Ug.

Does that even sound good to anyone? Other than maybe the nostalgia factor, because mom made it?

Now. That being said, OH MY GOSH CASSEROLES ARE SO CONVENIENT. Now I get why moms make them! You can make it a day ahead, it requires limited labor, it can feed an army, you can freeze half of it for dinner another day, it still tastes good as leftovers, and it keeps forever!

Obviously, casseroles and I are like, BFF's forever!

However.

The thing about casseroles is that they can be... how shall we say... a little plain? They could use a little dressing up. They're like the Jane Eyre of food: plain, earnest, hardworking and virtuous, but rather lacking in the glamor department.

The nice thing is, you can dress them up is just about anything! This particular version is uses a lot of spring green vegetables (and tuna), but you can dress is up in whatever is seasonal is available to you. The meat, the cheese, and the vegetables are all interchangeable. It a blank palate for you to color with whatever sounds fresh and delicious to you.

Spring Green Tuna Casserole ~ A Gluten Free Casserole From Scratch

I also use a chedder/gruyere cheese blend I found at Trader Joe's, but any flavorful cheese would be great!

Basic Casserole Ingredients
1 lb brown rice pasta, cooked to al dente and drained
2 medium onions, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, minced or crushed
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
2 cups milk
2 tablespoons sweet rice flour (or regular flour, if gluten is not an issue)
salt and pepper

Additional Ingredients
1.5 cups broccoli florets
1 cup peas
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and peeled if very thick
1 lemon, juice and zest
1/2 cup mascarpone or sour cream
1 packed cup baby spinach
1 fennel bulb, cored and chopped
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 jar marinated artichoke hearts
2 cans albacore tuna in oil
1 lb chedder cheese, grated

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a heavy bottomed pan or dutch oven, heat 2 tbs butter. Fry onions garlic, and fennel over medium heat, until softened and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add the rest of the butter, and increase heat to high. When butter is hot, mix in sweet rice flour, and whisk to combine with butter. Add milk 1 cup at a time, whisking vigorously with each addition. Bring to a boil. If sauce is too thick add more milk, and if it's too thin, more flour. It should have the consistency of a sauce - not too watery or too thick. Whisk in 1/2 the grated cheese, until cheese is melted and becomes part of the sauce.

2. Mix in whatever vegetables you would like, in this case broccoli, peas, baby spinach, parsley. simmer about 5 minutes, until vegetables are bright green and softened.

3. Mix in tuna, artichoke hearts, lemon juice and zest, mascarpone, and cooked noodles. Place in casserole pan, and top with the other half of the grated cheese. Bake in oven until cheese is melted and casserole is bubbly, about 20 minutes. Enjoy!

The BEST Banana Bread Ever! Martha Stewart's Banana Bread, gluten free! (or not!)

2011-05-31T05:00:00.000-07:00

This banana bread is so spectacularly delicious that I have made it some 20 times, and this is the first time I have ever been able to get a picture of it! It really is that good. I made these the other night for a Bible study, and the reaction from everyone was the same: "Wow, this is SO good."

I know it sounds like I am tooting my own horn here a bit, but I'm not: I'm not great, but the recipe sure is! I think the secret is that your cream the butter and sugar together a bit like a cake, and the addition of sour cream makes it extra moist and tender. You can also dress it up with chopped walnuts or chocolate, even though it's really great just as it is!

Martha's Best Ever Banana Bread, Gluten Free! (Or Not!)
adapted from Martha Stewart
Makes 1 loaf, or about 16 cupcakes

The original recipe is not gluten-free, but I have used all kinds of gluten-free flour combinations with great success. You can use an all purpose mix, or you can you my favorite for this recipe: equal parts sweet rice flour, white rice flour, and oat flour.

Ingredients
1 stick (1/2 a cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1.5 cups gluten free all purpose flour (or 1/2 cup sweet rice flour, 1/2 cup white rice flour, 1/2 cup oat flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup sour cream (or yogurt, if you want to lighten it up)
2 large mashed bananas, really ripe and spotted

Optional:
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup chopped chocolate

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a stand mixer, combine butter, white sugar, and brown sugar, and beat on high until butter is pale and fluffy, about 5 full minutes.

2. In a separate bowl, combine flour(s), salt, and baking soda. Whisk to combine.

3. Add in eggs to mixer, one at a time, beating until each egg is fully incorporated. Add vanilla. Blend in mashed bananas and sour cream, followed by the flour mixture. Mix on low until fully incorporated.

4. Pour into a loaf pan, or into lined muffin tin. Bake 20 - 30 minutes (20 for muffins, 30 for loaf pan), edges begin to pull away from the pan, and tester in the center comes out clean. Let cool (if you can!) and enjoy!

Thrift Store Find of the Week! {Vintage Hungarian Embroidery}

2011-05-27T05:00:00.000-07:00

This is one of those rare treasures that shows up once in a blue moon, and if you're lucky, you recognize it for what it is and snatch it up before anyone else does. I saw this, and at first, I didn't even think it was real: but on closer inspection, I realized that this runner was made of real (and very fine) linen, and that all of the embroidery and lace was sewn by hand. I didn't understand what the words meant, or even what language they were in, but it just seemed so beautiful, I really wanted to buy it.

Unfortunately, it didn't have a price tag. My local Salvation Army has a policy that they don't sell anything that doesn't have a tag. This is to discourage people from removing the tags from expensive items, hoping to get them for cheaper. Lucky for me, the girl at the counter was nice and let me buy it anyway, and she gave it to me (!!) for only $2!

Once I got home, I did some internet searching, and learned that "Szent Jozsef" is Hungarian for St. Joseph, and that Hungary is famous for it's folk art embroidery, so this piece is very likely from there. That's as far as I got though. I wish I knew more.

Best Ever Turkey Burger with Spicy Chipotle Mayo

2011-05-25T13:48:00.000-07:00

Gentle reader,

(can I call you that? Are we good enough friends that I can call you that? Because I really want to. Pretty please?)

I have a terrible confession to make. I have been sitting on a big stack of my most favorite recipes, and most of them are not on this blog. I KNOW, RIGHT?? What kind of food blogger doesn't post their best material? Lame ones, that's who. (Bad, bad blogger. Minus one gold star for me).

In my defense, I really, really care about these recipes, because I LOVE them. I want you to love them as much as I do. So if I feel like it's not perfect (and is it ever perfect? like, ever?), I don't want to post it. If the pictures are mediocre, I won't post it. If it didn't come out exactly right this time, NO POST. Are you sensing a theme here?

It's just that I love these recipes so much, and I want you to love them too. I want to make you fall in love with chipotle turkey burgers, black bean chili, and pumpkin roulade cake the way my family has. I want you to be able to make them for your family and friends over and over again. I want them to be your favorite family recipes too.

However.

That's not really going to happen if I never post the recipes, is it? So here you go: This is my family's favorite turkey burger recipe! It's not perfect. The pictures could be better. There could be a lot more of them. I could have written a better and more convincing arguments for just how good it is. But honestly? I'd rather just get it out there, imperfections and all.

So this is for you, gentle reader. I hope you try it, and I hope you like it as much as we do.

Best Ever Turkey Burger with Spicy Chipotle Mayo
adapted from Martha Stewart Living 2009
serves 4

If you are going to make this recipe, you have to make it with the mayo at least once. Even if you don't really like mayo, please try it! It really takes what is a good burger to a whole new level. You can find chipotle chilis in the hispanic section if your grocery store, or at ethnic or specialty markets.

Ingredients
1.5 lbs ground turkey
1 small red onion, minced
1/4 cup minced cilantro
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
kosher salt
black pepper
----------------------------
8 thin slices Swiss cheese
4 sesame seed buns
4 lettuce leaves
8 slices bacon
4 dill pickles slices
---------------------------
1/2 cup good quality mayo, like hellman's or best (NOT miracle whip)
1/4 cup sour cream
1 canned chipotle chili
1 teaspoon adobo sauce

1. In a medium bowl, mix together ground turkey, minced onion, minced cilantro, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper, and shape into 4 patties. Grill over medium heat until cooked through, or bake in the oven 15 - 20 minutes until cooked through. Add slices of Swiss cheese at the end of the cooking time, and let melt over the burgers (YUM).

2. Meanwhile, puree mayo, sour cream, chipotle chili and adobo sauce until smooth. If you like, you can adjust how much chili to put in based on your tastes, but I think this amount is just right.

3. Toast buns. Build your burger: I recommend trying it with all the ingredients before you mess with it - all the flavors really do work together beautifully. Spread mayo on one of the buns. Layer together lettuce, patty, dill pickles, and bacon. Enjoy!

Thrift Store Find of the Week! {French Canning Jars)

2011-05-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

I love French canning jars. I love them! I decided I wanted to switch from plastic to glass when James was a baby. It seems like every day I read a new study showing that plastics contain chemicals that may be harmful to children. My thought is, why risk it? Lets just use things we know are safe, and won't leach chemicals into the food we give our kids.

I use these jars for everything, from dry storage items like flours and grain, to leftovers and condiment containers. The thing is they are super expensive. If you want to own 30 - 40 of them like I do, it really adds up.

Unless, of course, you buy them at the thrift store, which I often do. I bought all of these for a cool $8.70, which is less than even one of them would have cost new. I pick up one of two of these a month, and I have slowly been replacing all of my storage containers with them.

I like this one the best of all.

{Pretty, Funny, Happy, Real} * May 2011

2011-05-20T14:42:00.000-07:00

A little late, but butter than never :)

{pretty}

Somehow, it seems I am good at gardening. (I think the secret to being a good gardener is planing a lot of stuff and remembering to water it every day. That's it!) These are some of the flowers growing in my front yard. I LOVE them. Don't you?

{happy}

I love this little boy :) I love the silly things he gets himself into. Speaking of...

{funny}

This makes my day!

{real}

This is my sister in law-s wedding gown! Well, this is the pattern for her dress. Sometimes in the dress-making process, you don't get to see this part. This is the third fitting of the pattern, the last one before I cut into the real material (eek!!)

{Pretty, Funny, Happy, Real} May 2011

2011-05-12T05:00:00.000-07:00

{pretty}

Nothing says spring to me like a flat of summer flowers ready to go into the garden. Aren't they lovely?

{funny}

Loading the cargo on the cranberry train is very serious business.

{Happy}

This is the first planter I dug up when I was 8 months pregnant with James. It has only taken two years to getting around to finishing it! It makes really, really happy to have this done. Really!

{Real}

These are our gardening boots. I wear mine for gardening. James wears his for everything. He would sleep in them if we let him. I love that they are dirty and used.

Ina Garten's Sour Cream Coffee Cake

2011-05-11T12:49:00.000-07:00

Lately I've got it into my head that coffee cake would be the perfect way to start a Sunday morning. Coffee cake, fresh pot of coffee, crossword puzzle. Husband and baby sleeping in, quiet house.

Perfect.

Well, that's the way it goes in my head, anyway. In reality, mornings can be a bit more of a madhouse, people running around half-dressed, scrambling to find socks and keys in the morning shuffle out the door.

::sigh:: One can always hope, I suppose. And just because things can be crazy around here doesn't mean that the coffee cake, the fresh pot of coffee, and the crossword are out: they just have to be enjoyed with a master level of zen. And I'm getting pretty good at that.

Watch me go!

Ina Garten's Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Once again, Ina comes through with a winner! I think this coffee cake is incredibly moist and delicious, and it works really well gluten-free. I always use a 1:1:1 of sweet rice flour, oat flour, and All purpose gluten-free flour, but I bet there are a lot of great all-purpose mixes out there that would taste grand if you just use them cup for cup.

Ingredients: Cake
12 tablespoons (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1.5 cups white sugar
3 jumbo eggs
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
1.25 cups sour cream
2.5 cups gluten free flour (a light, cake type blend is best)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
pinch kosher salt

Ingredients: Streusal
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup all purpose gluten free flour (or any bland white flour)
1.5 teaspoons cinnamon
pinch kosher salt
3 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3/4 cup chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, etc.)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, 5+ complete minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating until the first is entirely incorporated before putting in the second. Add in vanilla and sour cream, mixing until just incorporated.

2. In a separate bowl, whisk together gluten-free flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add flour mixture to batter 1/3 at a time, with mixer on low, mixing until flour is just incorporated. You can finish up with a spatula to be extra careful.

3. Streusal: In a separate bowl, combine brown sugar, gluten free flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter. Pinch butter into dry ingredients until large crumbs form. Mix in chopped nuts, if using.

4. Layer batter and streusal in pan, layering 1/2 the batter and 1/2 the streusal, followed by the second 1/2 of batter and streusal. Bake in preheated oven for 40-50 minutes, until tester inserted in the center of the cake come out clean. Let cool, and enjoy!

Thrift Store Find of the Week! {The Black Stallion}

2011-05-08T12:56:00.000-07:00

When I was a girl, I read voraciously. I remember how I would "go to bed" at 9, and then hide under my bed covers with a flashlight and read for hours and hours, past midnight at the least, until my eyes were too heavy to look at the page and I drifted off to sleep. (As anyone who loves to read knows, night-time, after everyone else has gone to sleep, is the best time to read. No-one will bother you or tell you to do the dishes then!) I read every single book we owned over and over and over again. I loved books! And I still do.

One gift that I really want to give James is a good collection of books to read from. Even though my mom took my sister and I to the library every single week, and even though we could check out up to 75 books between the 3 of us, I still ran out of reading material on a regular basis, and had to forage through my parents bookshelves for something, anything, to read. Even though my parents own a lot of books, none of them were quite the sort of books that 10 -12 year olds should (or would want to) be reading, so I often went "hungry," in that respect. I hope that James learn to love reading as much as I did, and do, and I hope that we have enough great books around that he will never have to "go hungry," for reading material like I sometimes did.

With that in mind, I have been buying up great kids books whenever I see them at the thrift store or the library book sale. I've been buying a few every week for the past 2 years, and I now have well over 500! My goal is to have complete collections of all the kids classics, and slowly but surely, we're getting there.

And by the way, books are so expensive, aren't they? Maybe not when you are only buying 1 or 2, but you can get quite a lot more books for your dollar when you are paying 25 - 50 cents per book (the standard thrift store and library price), as opposed to $7 - $15.

Spicy Tangy Old Fashioned Southern Deviled Eggs

2011-05-07T21:50:00.000-07:00

If you want a really good deviled egg, you have to go to a real enthusiast for a recipe. Lucky for us, I happen to know such an enthusiast, or at least, I own her cookbook. It takes a real enthusiast to write a 464 page cookbook devoted entirely to eggs. I mean, can you imagine the research phase of the project? So many eggs. So many.

Lucky for us, she stuck with it, earned herself a James Beard award, and gave us a veritable Bible of winning egg recipes. And if you happen to have some extra Easter eggs to use up, or you're going to a summer barbecue, or you are just craving some really excellent old fashioned deviled eggs, you've come to the right place. This one's a winner!

Spicy Tangy Old Fashioned Southern Deviled Eggs
adapted from The Good Egg by Marie Simmons

Ingredients
4 large eggs, hard boiled and cooled
2.5 tablespoons good quality mayo
1.5 teaspoons Dijon mustard
hot sauce, such as Tobasco (I used Sriracha HOT Chili Sauce)
sea salt or kosher salt
freshly cracked black pepper
paprika for seasoning

Halve the eggs, and carefully remove the yolks to a separate bowl.

Mash the egg yolks with a fork until they are crumbly (Marie says to pass them through a fine mesh sieve, but I mash them with a fork. This is because she is a perfectionist and I am lazy. It's up to you how you want to do it, but I think we both know you want to be lazy with me. Think of the dishes. Convinced?)

Add 2.5 tablespoons mayonnaise, 1.5 teaspoons Dijon mustard, and hot sauce to taste. I used about 1/2 a teaspoon of Sriracha, but it really just depends on what hot sauce you use and how spicy you like it (be advised, if you like it REALLY spicy you may want to use less mayo, otherwise your filling will get a little runny. I learned this lesson on the first batch when it took about a tablespoon of Tabasco to get it spicy enough for me!)

Mix until smooth, and salt and pepper to taste.

Carefully spoon or pipe with a bag and pastry tip into the halved whites. Sprinkle with paprika and enjoy!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

2011-05-06T13:40:00.000-07:00

One of the most delightful things about a garden is the anticipation it provides. ~W.E. Johns, The Passing Show

When we moved into our current home, one of the things I was most excited about was the yard. After 8 years of shuffling around between dorm rooms, student housing, microscopic apartments, and a brief stint in a suburban mega-mansion, it was such a relief to move into our very own house. I love this house. It is so absolutely right for our family. It is the right size, the place, the right price. It's a cute little cottage, built in 1955, with lots of built-ins and vintage details. I love it! But what I love the best is the yard.

When we first moved in, the yard was a mess. Untended and unloved for years, everything was either dead or covered with weeds. A sad little lemon tree sat and the end of yard, mostly dead. The first time we started digging up the yard, I was so discouraged; I didn't see any worms in the soil, if that's any indication of how neglected and unhappy the ground was.

And then, of course, we had a baby and he was rather high maintenance, so there wasn't nearly as much fixing it up as I would have liked. But the potential was always there, and finally, after three years, we're finally making progress. Finally! I feel like I have been waiting for this garden for years.

There isn't much growing right now, other than the lawn and the trees. I let it lie fallow over the winter, but won't you anticipate what's coming with me?

The garden box after the winter, with the winter's batch of compost.

The garden box with a few new bags of organic gardening soil.

Strung with bakers twine and ready to be planted.

Tomatoes and potatoes in the ground.

This is the side if our house - it was a MESS in January! I spent most of January and February making that little planter and laying the paving stones. I also organized all of the stuff back there and made a seed starting table.

This is our side yard. We just moved that tree there (it's Nate's anniversary tree), and I dug up the lawn to make those planters. A few days ago I planted sun flowers, watermelon, sugar pumpkins, and sweet peas. It's been like, 3 days? GROW ALREADY, PLANTS.

I am not the most patient gardener ever.

{Pretty, Funny, Happy, Real}

2011-04-28T21:37:00.000-07:00

I recently shocked a group of friends when I told them I watch upwards of 5 hours of TV a day. I KNOW, that's a lot. But the thing is, I don't actually watch that much TV - I just have it on while I do other things: the really, really boring, mind numbing things I do every day, like folding the laundry mountain, or trying to stem back the tide of toys surging out of James' room, or picking mashed grains of rice out of the carpet before they set in there forever. EVERY DAY I DO THESE THINGS PEOPLE. It is so dull.

And for company, I have a naughty two-year-old who is always getting into trouble, and who recently decided he's not going to call me "mama" anymore - instead he's going to scream like a banshee at the top of his lungs whenever he wants me. (I don't even know what to do about this. I feel like I say "NO SCREAMING" in my stern voice all day every day, and nothing works! Nothing!)

All that is to say, watching TV keeps me company while I do the lonely drudgery portion of my job as a stay at home mom. And I really don't mean that in a sad pathetic way, because I really do love my kid and my home, but it would be silly to pretend that the SAHM life doesn't have an aspect of hard labor and isolation to it.

Which is why I love this gem of a post so much. Can I share a little bit? Because it's so good:

This idea is for you, tired lady, who wonders some days about the joy or pleasure in the actual daily round of life... In the back of your mind there's that fear that if you ever give into, say, getting good at cleaning toilets on a schedule, why, there would be no turning back. You would probably find yourself muttering "Garn!" and start peddling old bones and rags. You'd have to toothlessly sip gin out of a small, dirty flask. Your children would pity you and your husband would run away with a svelte blonde whose degree in art history was actually paid for in full. Darn those college loans, anyway.

Ah, yes.

Someone understands.

And I am hopping on the {Pretty, Funny, Happy, Real} bandwagon, a little spot to highlight, in pictures, the real moments that might get lost on the shuffle of it all. Because it is a good life, and it's nice to be able to share little snapshots of it with you.

{pretty}

we are going to have SO MANY blackberries this year, and I am so psyched! Planting a blackberry bush really requires a lot of patience - the canes have to be 2 years old to bear fruit, so although I planted two bushes last spring, I won't see my first harvest until this summer. Right now they are both covered with blossoms. I can't wait :)

{funny}

I know it seems a little bit cruel to post a picture of your child crying under "funny,' but bear with me for a second: James is a child with apparently no natural fear. He is completely unafraid of things he really should be afraid of, like moving vehicles, rabid dogs, strangers, climbing in the oven, razors, hot irons, poisonous substances etc. However, he is totally terrified of the ocean - wouldn't even let it touch his toes! So I had to put this in, because I spend ALL DAY just trying to keep him from finding novel new ways to endanger his own life, and then we take him to play in the water, which he loves, and he turns into a basket case. Go figure.

{happy}

Sometimes the toy box is better than the toys!

{real}

This is the kind of thing I deal with on a daily basis. Thankfully, I was able to save the toaster, if not the tool.

You can check out more of this week's {phfr} posts here!

Eggs, Eggs, Eggs!

2011-04-24T14:56:00.000-07:00

Even though this isn't James' first Easter (it's actually his third!), it's definitely the first one where he had any idea that something special was going on.

I had this idea that I was going to make these really awesome artistic Easter eggs with James, taking a nod from Martha Stewart's playbook, but all James wanted to do was dunk the eggs in the dye as quickly as possible. So after getting really frustrated with him for "messing up" my eggs, I had to take a step back and check myself. This should be fun! So what if the eggs don't turn out perfectly? After that, we had had a much better time, and the eggs turned out beautiful anyway :)

Today, James had his first egg hunt. We may have overdone it just a teensy bit - I hardly think 18 hardboiled eggs and 12 candy filled ones were going to fit in his little basket. He really had a good time though!

Lastly, I just wanted to share this picture from my church's Easter Service. I volunteer at my church and do some leadership in the arts ministry, and this year we had this absolutely fantastic, exuberant performance at the Easter service, which involved (I am totally not kidding!) a paint fight! It was totally stunning, and I am so grateful that I got to play my little part in making it happen.

UPDATE: Here is a whole album of pictures!
http://www.facebook.com/#!/media/set/fbx/?set=a.10150160268856598.317278.548901597

I also helped make these banners :)

Thrift Store Find of the Week! {switchplate}

2011-04-21T13:49:00.000-07:00

So this hardly compares to a find like last week's Le Creuset, but sometimes it's not about finding deal on expensive things; sometimes, it's about finding something quirky and one of a kind.

I found this quirky old switchplate for 40 cents, and thought it would look great by my front door after a little fixing up. I like to keep a can of white spray enamel around for little projects like this.

Why yes, I am using one of James's scribbles as a drop cloth. (what? Come-on, he makes like 100 a day - I have to use all that paper up somehow!)

Before and After: The finished project.

Birthday Partay!

2011-04-16T13:41:00.000-07:00

For James' birthday, we returned to the Irvine Park Railroad for a party! Since James is SO into trains, and the most well known preschool train figure is (of course) Thomas the Tank Engine, I decided to use that as inspiration. I didn't want to actually use anything branded though - I sort of hate branded party gear - so I just used the blues and reds for everything. And it came out pretty cute, I think! And of course, James had the BEST time. All his friends and family, cake, presents and a train ride! Yet another BEST DAY EVER.

Grandma and Grandpa F (my parents) brought along an enormous wooden train set for the kids to play with. If you are wondering where I got my deal-shopping from, it's from them. I think they picked this train set up at a garage sale!

Nate and the guys practiced the manly art of grilling. And of course, there was cake. True to form, James was more interested in burning his fingers than in blowing out the candles or eating the cake.

And then, of course, we rode the train! James' jaw dropped the first time he saw the train coming around the bend (second picture). And of course, he was so excited he started shaking. His grandpa said that when he read about James shaking the first time, he didn't know if I was telling the truth! It's interesting that James doesn't really get loud or energetic when he's excited - he actually gets very, very quiet. I think he has a rather serious personality for such a little guy.

It was super awesome to have so many friends and family members with us to celebrate James' birthday!

Favors!

And our little family. Happy Birthday baby!

Haircut WIN!

2011-04-12T21:00:00.000-07:00

As you may know, I am not so good with the cutting of the hair. In fact, every home hair cut I have done on James or Nate has been an epic fail. EPIC FAIL. In fact, I happen to have dug up this photo of Nate and I in England, where I messed up his hair so bad, we had to shave his head. I never realized what a bowling ball of a head that man has. He's lucky I married him anyway, that one.

True story.

I keep trying though, hoping that one of these days I do something right. So far, this hasn't worked out. Nate won't let me touch his head, and every time I have tried to cut James' hair it has been followed up with a swift trip to the hair dresser.

But!

Not this time!

Oh yes.

My son has a a mohawk.

I took the clippers to James' head, and it actually wasn't a total disaster! In fact, IMHO, it's actually kind of awesome. I sort of love it.

He figured out how to use the the sprayer on the hose today, and was SO proud of himself. Isn't he a great little helper?

Thrift Store Find of the Week!

2011-04-12T15:50:00.001-07:00

If you know me, or you read my blog enough, you know that I am a dedicated thrift store shopper. It has seriously ruined me for shopping at regular retail prices. Ruined! Because if you go to the thrift store often enough, you learn that you can find just about anything at the thrift store for a teeny, tiny fraction of the retail price, and who would pay $75 for a pair of jeans when you can get the same exact pair at the thrift store for $5? Not me, that's for sure.

You are probably thinking, "But Becks. I am committed to my brands. I must have my brands. I can't live without XYZ, etc etc. ad infinitum." And I get that. I've got some brands I love too. I'm not advocating buying junky stuff just because it's cheap: they have your brands at the thrift store! And maybe some brands you were too timid to buy and never would have discovered otherwise!

Case in point: Last summer, I needed some new shorts, so I went out and bought 3 new pairs for $20 each from Old Navy, which never fit right and were destroyed after one season. They were crappy, poorly made shorts. So this year, I knew I was going to need more new shorts, so kept an eye out and flipped through the shorts section every time I went to the thrift store. I now have 2 pairs of J. Crew shorts ($100 value), 3 pairs of Anne Taylor LOFT shorts ($120 value), 1 pair of Halogen shorts ($60 value), 1 pair of DKNY shorts ($60 value), and 2 pairs of Gap Jeans shorts ($80 value). Each pair cost a maximum of $5, and I usually buy thing when they are on sale (every weekend there is a 50% off sale). So this summer, I will have $420 worth of well-made, brand name shorts, which only cost me maximally about $45. That less than the 3 pairs of Old Navy shorts I bought last summer, AND I even found my favorite brand (J. Crew!).

Now apply that to denim jeans, boy's clothing, sweaters, jackets, dishes, purses, etc. I see crazy amounts of brand name and designer stuff on sale every week. Some weeks are better than others. Some weeks you walk out of there thinking everything in the whole store was crap, but sometimes you fine treasure. Sometimes you find things so fabulous, or you find so many great things, that you walk out of there just knowing that God was smiling on you that day.

So. That was a long rambling way of getting to the point (I ramble. I really do.), which is to introduce a new column, which is the Thrift Store Find of the Week! Once a week, I am going to post whatever is the most fabulous thing I found for my family that week. And this week, I found treasure. Oh, I did.

I found THIS:

And can you believe it only cost me $14.50?? This darling 5.5 quart French Oven is in perfect condition, and retails for $245 on the Williams and Sonoma Website (they claim they are having a sale, and this regularly retails for $330). These resell on Ebay for about $125. And I bought mine for $14.50! Nor is this the first Le Creuset Item I have purchased: I purchased the 5 quart braiser in blue for $10 last year (also $340, $255 on sale).

I'm not talking about this to be boastful (though I am kind of fabulous, aren't I?), but because I want to encourage you, and share with you, just how awesome thrifting can be if you work at it. We have chosen to be a one income family. Nate works, I stay home with the kids. I don't earn the money, but I sure do work hard to ensure that the money that has been earned is used frugally and well. Thrift store shopping is just one of the ways I do that.

Fingers Crossed...

2011-04-10T19:05:00.000-07:00

Hey, remember the Great Kitchen Redecoration Project (GKRP) of 2011? Uh, yes. It may have stalled out just a little bit. I did get about half-way through before we were hit with the YEAR OF DISASTERS. Ok, not everything was a disaster, but quite a lot of things taking up our time and money. One thing after another people! I am starting to wonder of I am ever going to have another $20 to finish painting the kitchen. Really! Let me expound:

December: Our house floods!

January: In a fir of optimism, I start GKRM 2011

February: Nate needs new tires! The Washer breaks! The dryer breaks!

March: The oven breaks! My car breaks! Brother in law's wedding!

April: James' birthday party! We owe money for taxes!

Sometimes it feels like I will never have the time or money to finish the project. Here's hoping April (er...May?) is a little smoother.

Choo Choo, James is TWO!

2011-04-05T07:44:00.000-07:00

Can you believe this child is TWO already?? But oh, he's two. He is so very, very two. He's getting into every, making mischief all day long, destroying things, throwing temper tantrums, developing consuming passions: he is so very, very two, and oh! How we love him. We'd eat him up, we love him so! I love two year old James so much, I wish I could bottle it up and keep him forever.

Here is your snapshot of James at two: James inaugurated the age of two by visiting the ER (and not for the first. Remember that paint eating incident last year?). Last week, James pulled the iron down off the ironing board, giving himself a second degree burn on his foot and burning a hole in the carpet. I know, I was bad and I left the iron on while I wasn't using it and it's all my fault. BAD MOM AWARD. That being said, boy, he's a trooper. When it first happened I was working in the garden, and he ran out to me crying. I couldn't find anything wrong with him (it hadn't blistered up yet and he's sort of a pink boy), and he stopped crying after some hugs, so I figured he had just bumped his head or something. When I came back in the house, I discovered the iron burning a hole in the carpet. Thinking myself lucky that at least he hadn't burned himself, I put him down for his nap (still no crying), went to a baby shower, and when I came home I finally spotted the open wound on his foot. A little panic, an attempt at first aid, and then (it being Saturday night) a 3 hour excursion to the ER. Still no crying. This child is tough.

Speaking of tough, a week before the incident with the iron, I sewed over James' finger with my sewing machine! I haven't done much sewing while he is awake - he's always grabbing the fabric and getting sticky handprints on silk, so it's really a useless endeavor to get anything done while he's up. However, I had a project I really wanted to get done, and I thought I would give it a try. After all, he's two now - what's the worst that could happen? (HA HA). James is fascinated by the sewing machine, so as I was working on this project James sat and watched, engrossed. Suddenly, he reaches out to grab the needle mid-stitch, and the needle plunges through his finger and back out again, essentially sewing him into the machine and onto the piece of fabric I was working on. We both pause for a moment, shocked by what just happened, and then James lets out a blood-curdling scream. I fumble for the scissors, snip him out of the machine, yank the threads out of his finger, and administer first aid. Thank goodness, the needle missed the nail and the bone, and left a clean puncture would. Thankfully, we didn't have to go to the ER for that one!

Other than getting into trouble (breaking glasses, destroying phones, the usual), James has developed an intense love of trains. Oh, he loves trains. It started when my mom bought him a Lincoln Log set that happened to come with a train and track. It was like, the best thing James had ever seen in his whole life. Unfortunately, he lacked the coordination to actually connect the tracks together or balance the train on the tracks, meaning he would bring me the train pieces, sobbing, about 20 times a day. In fact, I stated calling that stupid thing the Train of Doom because every time James played with it, things ended with tears, a temper tantrum, and time-out in the crib.

Sigh.

I even went so far as to hide the train deep in the toybox, and he still found it and brought it out every single day. Thankfully, grandma and grandpa came to the rescue with a Thomas the Train set, which is much easier for little toddler hands to put together and play with (the train rests in the tracks, and doesn't balance on the tracks. The cars connect with magnets and not with hooks. It makes a world of difference when you are two!). So now we have a permanent toy train fixture on our coffee table. But I'm not complaining; he can play with that train for hours. Hours! Heaven.

The words are slowly starting to come, a new one now every couple of days. Still no sentences, but James now can say (and I'm spelling these exactly as he says them)

hiyee,
buyee buyee (and with a wave!)
uh-oh!
mama,
da-eee (daddy)
go, go, go!
yeah
oh YES
eee (eat)
ma! (more)
do do do (done)
MY! (mine, and always YELLED)
no
bye bike (cars, trains, busses, trucks)

We can't really figure out how you got to "Bye Bike" for any type of car, train, or truck, but it is your favorite word. Every time you see a car, or a fire truck, or a bus, or a train (which is approximately every minute of the day) you point and shout "bye bike!" My best guess is that whenever someone leaves (say, in a car) we say "bye bye," which James took to mean the car, not the leaving. Where the "k" sound came from beats me though.

James' birthday was on a Monday this year, so it was a low-key kind of day. Grandma picked us up in the morning, and we met Aunt Jayme and Baby T at the Irvine Park Railroad.

James has never actually seen a real train, up close and in real life, so we knew this was going to be a treat for him. Boy Howdy! He was so excited that he was shaking. He was literally trembling from head to toe. After the train ride, the conductor let James touch the engine, ring the bell, and sit on the conductor's seat! James hasn't really been able to grasp that it's his birthday, but he did know that this was like, the best day ever!

Of course, he did not want to leave. It's hard to be two.

No worries though - we're going back next week for his birthday party!

Sunday Brag Day

2011-03-27T18:42:00.000-07:00

How bout them biscuits?

I had this revelation like... oh, I'm not going to lie: this afternoon while I walking through the parking lot of CVS. I haven't been blogging much because blogging isn't really cool the way it used to be, like in, say, 2007. This was confirmed last night when I was watching The Office, and Ryan said, "oh, no-one's blogging anymore. We'll text it." (Or something like that. I paraphrase because I am too lazy to re-watch the entire episode, and also, not that geeky). And there you are. Blogging is in decline. If it's made it to The Office, it must be true.

But this afternoon, a very ordinary sort of afternoon, I realized I just don't care. I don't care of blogging is geeky. I like to blog, and I'm going to do it anyway, geeky be damned. And so, I bring you this post.

Guys.

Have I ever told you what a kick-ass mega deal shopper I am? No really - I'm kind of fabulous. Oh, am I bragging? Well, good thing this is a brag post then (catch that? bragging in a... bragging post. I'm brilliant.)

Today I got allthis stuff for only $3 out of pocket (and also, shaving cream, not pictured.) Shall I break it down for you?

Snickers Easter Minis: $4.49
M&M Easter Peanut Butter Eggs: $3.99
12 Plastic Easter Eggs: $2.00
3 Russell Stover Chocolate Eggs: $3
Physicians Formula Mineral Glow Pearls: $13.99
Skinitmate Flirty Mango Shave Gel: $3.49

Total Value: $30.96

So how the heck did I do all of this?

Transaction #1: Physicians Formula Mineral Glow Pearls: $13.99, -$4 coupon = $9.99
-$7 ECB
Total Out of Pocket: $2.99

Transaction #2: Snickers and M&M's 2/$5 -$1 coupon, Skintimate shave gel -$.55 coupon = $7.
Used $7 ECB. Received $2.50 ECB
Total: $0

Transaction #3: Russell Stover Eggs, 3/$1.50, Easter eggs $1 = $2.50
Used $2.50 ECB
Total: $0

Amount Saved: 96%

I know. I'm good!

Also, I got these super cute baskets at Salvation Army for 80 cents each, except they were having a 50% off sale, so I snagged the two of them for 40 cents each. I think they are going to make good Easter baskets, don't you?

As for the second part of this brag post, I give you my son. Isn't he turning into the cutest little boy? And did you know that tomorrow (the 28th) is his BIRTHDAY?? Lately James has been really into wearing accessories. If he had it his way, he would walk around naked except for his boots (or mine), mittens, and hat.

helping in the garden

enjoying the rain

ready for shenanigans

but always, always my baby boy

Autumn Spiced French Toast Recipe with Maple Butter Glaze • Gluten free, or not!

2011-01-23T10:47:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago our church did a Christmas pageant, in which French toast featured a prominent roll. One of the characters just went on and on and on about how much she loved French toast on Christmas morning, and although I haven't eaten French toast in years, suddenly I found myself with an irresistible craving for it. I think I haven't liked French toast in the past because it tends to be soggy and bland. This recipe is anything but! The spices really kick the flavor up a notch, and the milk to eggs ratio us just right, leaving these light and fluffy. And when you top it all with the maple butter glaze? Heavenly. A warm, melt in your mouth breakfast, perfect for a chilly autumn or winter morning.

Autumn Spice French Toast with Maple Butter Glaze
serves 2-3 (makes 4-6 slices)
double the recipe to feed more

this recipe is simple to make gluten-free - just substitute in gluten free bread. My new favorite is Udi's gluten-free white sandwich bread, but use whatever you like best.

ingredients
2 large eggs
1/3 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
4-6 pieces day old bread (you don't want it too moist, or the toast will get soggy in the middle), gluten-free or not
vegetable oil for frying
1/4 cup butter (4 tablespoons, or 1/2 a stick)
1/4 cup grade A maple syrup

1. In a medium sized bowl, combine 2 eggs, 1/3 cup milk, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/2 teaspoon allspice, and 1/2 teaspoon ginger. Whisk to combine.

2. On medium heat, heat enough vegetable oil to coat the bottom of a nonstick pan. Dip a slice of bread into batter, coating each side, and fry in heated pan, 2-3 minutes on each side, until toast spring back when lightly touched in the center. Set aside and repeat.

3. For Maple Butter Glaze: Heat 1/4 cup butter (4 tablespoons or 1/2 stick) and 1/4 cup grade A maple syrup in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, then remove from heat, and let cool. Pour into a serving vessel, or directly over toast. Enjoy!

Babycakes NYC Bakery in Downtown Los Angeles

2011-01-17T13:22:00.000-08:00

I don't think I can even express just how much I am SO EXCITED about this bakery! Everyone seems to be talking about Babycakes Bakery in New York City, of course, and I had even flipped through the cookbook when it showed up at my local library. For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, Babycakes is a (mostly) gluten-free, vegan bakery that uses agave sweeteners and other all-natural, organic ingredients. Seeing as I am not going to going to New Your City anytime soon, I was thrilled when I heard they were opening a branch in Los Angeles, and even more thrilled when I realized it was right next door to Cole's Pacific Electric Buffet (which is where we planned to have lunch last Saturday).

You are probably wondering if gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, soy-free, sugar-free, all natural, organic, vegan treats are any good at all. I counter your skepticism with this luscious chocolate cupcake, which was absolutely delicious, and I won't even mention the cookie sandwiches, the doughnuts, the frosting.

This bakery is absolute proof that it can be done, and not only that, done well. And should you need more proof, I give you the king of picky eaters. How's that cupcake James?

I think he likes it.

Staycation #1: Downtown Los Angeles' Broadway Theater District Walking Tour with the Los Angeles Conservancy

2011-01-16T11:13:00.000-08:00

A couple of months ago, I picked up a book from the library about the "staycation," essentially a vacation you take in your own neighborhood, while staying in your own home (think about how nice your home is for a minute. Now think about how much per night you would pay for hotel suite with similar amenities. It's a great bargain, isn't it?). It's a fun little gem of a book, and though I have lived in Southern California all my life, there are loads of things I have never seen or done, right in my own backyard! So why not? We are always sitting around the house on Saturdays wishing we had something fun to do, but unable to think of anything. Usually, we end up sitting around in our pajamas till noon, watching cartoons with James.

So I bought a California guide book, wrote out all the fun things to do in LA, Orange County, and San Diego onto little slips of paper, and drew one out of a hat. Then we rounded up some friends and did it! Prognosis: I can't believe we waited so long to do this, it was so fun! Definitely going to do it again, and looking forward to exploring all the other sights to see in my own metropolitan neighborhood.

Our first draw out of the hat was a walking tour of the Los Angeles Broadway Theater District, hosted by the Los Angeles Conservancy. The tour was an exploration of the 12 opulent movie palaces built between 1910 and 1931, when Broadway was the epicenter of city and packed with elegant department stores and cinema theaters. (For tickets and reservations, go here.)

time hasn't always been kind to downtown LA's movie palaces, a prime example being one of the oldest, the Cameo. The lobby of the theater had been converted into retail shops. We walked through an electronics store blasting the Black Eyed Peas' "Dirty Bit" to the curtained back door, and into the theater.

The theater itself had been converted into a warehouse, and was packed with boxes of radios and cellphones. Outside, the crumbling original facade of the theater could still be seen behind the retail marquee. Nextdoor, the original Pantages theater, also in disrepair.

This theater had been converted into a Spanish language church. The interior of these movie palaces were absolutely stunning. Vaulted, elaborate ceilings, opulent chandeliers, intricate carving, murals, velvets, panels and screens, all of these theater were built to emulate the palaces and castles of Europe. Unfortunately, most were too dark to photograph.

The Tower Theater lost the top part of it's tower in an earthquake, and is awaiting restoration (and someone with a fat checkbook to fund it).

Of course not everything has been given over to neglect: the art deco Eastern Building has recently undergone renovation and is (in my humble opinion) the most beautiful building in LA.

The Orpheum has also recently been renovated and restored to it's former glory.

The Los Angeles theater was similarly stunning.

Many of the old department store buildings have been renovated and turned into lofts and condos. They too have stunning exteriors.

Post-tour lunch and libations at Cole's Pacific Electric Buffet.

And some post-tour shopping. There were a LOT of bridal and quinceanera gown shops.

Not to mention quite a few "family pants" stores. Angelinos are serious about their family pants.

And would it be LA without a dog in a Coach purse? Absolutely not!

All in all, a good day.

Kitchen Redecoration Project 2011

2011-01-15T00:52:00.000-08:00

So I live in this super cute little midcentury house (which we rent from our next door neighbors), and as much as I loooooove my house, it is definitely in need of some redecoration and modern updates. It has a lot of fun little old-fashioned features like built in book cases, a laundry sink, and double hung windows, but it also has some not so fun features, like oooooh so delicate plaster and lathe walls, aged and stained bathtubs, rotting grout, and 50 odd years of horrible decorating decisions. I remember our first night in our new home: After moving boxes and furniture across town all day (and by the way, I was 6 months pregnant), we finally collapsed into bed, and as we were laying there, exhausted, we both sort of cocked our heads to one side and said, did you notice that the bedroom door is orange? Not until now, but now that I see it, IT IS LITERALLY PEELING MY EYEBALLS WITH IT'S UGLINESS.

But you know, I was waaaay pregnant, and had a house to unpack and a baby to prepare for (a baby which came 6 weeks earlier than expected so I wasn't ready anyway), and then a severely fussy baby who WOULD NOT SLEEP for 6 months, and all that is to say, I didn't get around to fixing much of the horrible decorating for a year. (Though to be fair, I called my landlord the day after we moved in and said I was probably going to die if they didn't paint the bedroom door IMMEDIATELY, and they very graciously conceded to my pregnant ravings and got it painted that week. So at least we didn't have to live with the horrid orange door of aesthetic despair. but I digress.)

I don't know what it is about January, but it reeeeaaaallllllyyy makes me feel like redecorating something. I don't know if it's the freshness of the new year or the weirdly cheerful weather, but I just get the itch to make my space more beautiful, and, well, it just sort of happens. Like, uh, I am pretty sure it says in our lease agreement that we are not allowed to paint the house, but it just sort of happened! One day I just bought a can of paint, you know, just to have, and then somehow that paint got itself on a wall, and once it's on the wall you can't go back, you have to finish the wall, and if you do one wall you might as well paint ALL of them, and anyways, everything looks SO MUCH BETTER, how can that be wrong? Right?

Which is exactly what happened with my kitchen. See, my kitchen had this absolutely hideous brown wallpaper, wall paper exactly the color dirty, and no matter how much I cleaned that stupid kitchen it always seemed dirty, because hello? Dirty colored wallpaper! (What genius decided to design wallpaper that color? Probably the cousin of the one who put it up in my kitchen, I guess). I have spent 2 years despairing over my dark, cramped, dirty looking kitchen, and about once a week (usually around Thursday) I completely give up and let it all go to hell. Then around Monday, I rally and try to make it better, and then the cycle repeats itself. One day, about 2 weeks ago, I noticed a little corner of the wallpaper seemed loose, like it was coming up a little bit, so I kind of picked at it, a little bit, and next thing you know, BAM! Whole sheet's off the wall. And once you get one sheet off, you can't go back. You can't tape it back together and stick it to the wall. You just have to keep going. So Nate walked in and he was like, I guess we are redecorating the kitchen then? And I was like, yep, guess so.

And there you are.

SO.

I am only going to tease you with the BEFORE pictures right now, because I am still working on things, and I want to finish before I post the glorious AFTER pictures. As you can see, I took these pictures as an afterthought, after I had already stripped most of the wallpaper. Just think on this; the walls look approximately 10,000 times better without the wallpaper, so you can only imagine just how not-lovely things were before this. I wish the pictures were a little bit better, but I was really struggling to get everything in with my 50mm lens - I will probably need to borrow a point and shoot for the after shots.

Shall we?

The far end of the Kitchen. Note the brown wallpaper above the spice rack, as well as the forest green tile used here and on all the counters.

the other side if the kitchen, with my washer and dryer, oven, and laundry shelf. The wallpaper has already been stripped from this half of the kitchen, and as you can see, the cabinets and are interesting shade of "definitely not-white."

The other end of this counter, more green tile and my appliances area. There are usually two knife bars mounted on this wall as well (what? I have a lot of knives).

Detail of the spice rack area. Obviously, not enough room to contain it all.

Over the kitchen sink + ugly light fixture. More brown wallpaper (I did make these curtains last year, which are a big improvement over the beigey brown ones there before, which also matched the wallpaper).

A bit more of the fridge and counter.

So there you go! I am planning on painting the cupboards before I put of the after pics, so it may be another week or two, but I will be putting up a few sneak peeks in the meantime!

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies

2011-01-13T09:10:00.000-08:00

Boy howdy, are these cookies delicious! I had all these grand plans for making Christmas cookies this year, and believe me, my plans were grand. I was going to make no less than 12 different types of cookies, and share them with all my family, friends and neighbors, and be know as the most awesome home baker in all the land.

HA HA HA.

I did end up making about 5 batches of cookies all told, but you know... stuff happens. And I didn't even especially like most of the cookies I tried... except this one! This cookie recipe is so different and unexpected. I love the cinnamon and chile with the chocolate, which makes for a delicate chocolate cookie that is spiced but not spicy. It has a really unique flavor profile, and is definitely something different. If you like Mexican food at all, you will love this cookie!

Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies
adapted from Martha Stewart's Holiday Cookies

Like a snickerdoodle cookie, this cookie is made with cream of tartar and rolled in a cinnamon sugar mixture, but ground chile gives it a "smoky, earthy" flavor. You can find ground chile (such as arbol, ancho or chipotle) in the spices section of your grocery store, or you can substitute cayenne pepper if ground chile simply cannot be found (but you will lose some of the smokiness).

I am also giving the gluten-free version of this recipe that I have adapted, but you can always make it with all-purpose flour like the original Martha Stewart recipe. Simply substitute all purpose flour cup for cup with the gluten-free flours mentioned below.

A note about gluten-free flours: After trying and testing virtually every gluten-free flour and combination of flours out there, this is it. Oat + sweet rice flour is the absolute perfect combination of flours for cookies, and nothing can match it for natural taste and texture. This is how a cookie is supposed to taste, and you would never even know it's "gluten-free:" it's that good! So don't mess with something that ain't broken, I say. Use these flours!

Ingredients
1 cup oat flour
1 cup sweet rice flour
1/4 cup UNLEAVENED all-purpose gluten-free flour, such as Bob's red mill (some come with baking soda already in the flour, and this will mess things up!)
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1.5 cups white sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon chile

For sugar and spice powder
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground chile

1. preheat oven to 400 degrees, with racks in the upper and lower thirds (or be lazy with me, and put one rack right in the middle. I'm too busy to be bothered with the turning and rotating of baking sheets during baking. Sorry Martha!)

2. Whisk together 1 cup oat flour, 1 cup sweet rice flour, 1/4 cup all purpose gluten-free flour, 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 teaspoons cream of tartar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon chile powder. Set aside.

3. In a stand mixer, combine 1 cup (2 sticks) room temperature butter with 1.5 cups white sugar for a full 5 minutes, until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Reduce speed to low, and add flour mixture. Beat until just combined.

4. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon chile. Roll 1 heaping tablespoon of dough into a ball and role in the sugar-spice mixture. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet, and bake until cookies are set in the center and beginning to crack, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Enjoy!

Midwinter Tomato

2011-01-10T22:34:00.000-08:00

Today I finally took it upon myself to clear the tomato plants out of the garden bed. Have I mentioned what an abysmal disappointment my tomato crop was this year? I planted no less than 21 tomato plants, nearly my whole garden box, with the expectation that there would be bushels and bushels of tomatoes to enjoy all summer and fall. I planned to can and sundry all summer long. And what did I get instead? Only the coldest, wettest summer anyone could ever remember, and my tomato garden hardly produced. I got maybe 20 tomatoes all told.

Angry with my garden for disappointing me and turning out such a lousy crop, I neglected it. I have hardly touched it since August, and it has gone quite wild in the meantime. So today I went at it with a machete (er.. kitchen knife), and imagine my surprise when I found these lovelies buried in the foliage, bringing my crop up to 22. I am sensing some fried green tomatoes in the very near future.

PS: Also found this purple carrot.

Grand Canyon 2010

2010-12-14T11:40:00.001-08:00

Howdy Y'all!

In addition to all of these fabulous pictures, I seem to have also picked up an accent on my Southwestern road trip.

The fam and I just got back from a week long road trip to Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, and Pheonix, Arizona. We had SUCH a great time, and I really have to recommend visiting the Grand Canyon during winter. No crowds, no lines, spectacular visibility, and bargain prices! What's not to love?

The Venetian Hotel, Las Vegas

Hoover Dam

The Grand Canyon

if you would like to look at the whole collection, you can check them out on my flickr account here.

Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies with Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting

2010-09-25T13:20:00.000-07:00

Apparently, the difference between a good cookie and an AMAZING cookie is cream cheese frosting.

Want to know something interesting, Internet? When I first started to suspect I had celiac disease, I was without health insurance, and thus without access to the expensive tests used to clinically diagnose the disease (blood tests, endoscopies, and genetic tests). So after talking it over with my doctor, we decided that the best thing for me to do would be to start a gluten free diet, and see what happened. So I did. And it was like a miracle. It was like all the health issues that had been plaguing me for years were magically lifted. My chronic GI problems were cured, my chronic pain and fatigue dissipated, My insomnia disappeared, my canker sores and tooth decay ceased, and of course, after a few months I got pregnant! After only a few weeks on the gluten free diet, I was supposed to do a gluten "challenge" and eat something with gluten to see if it had any effect on me. I ate a biscuit, and I almost immediately boated up, flushed, and felt the familiar GI pain, fatigue, and inflammation. It was the last gluten I ever ate. My doctor and I agreed that I most probably had celiac disease, and that I should stay on the diet until I once again had health insurance, and we could run all those expensive tests.

That day is today. A few weeks ago, I met with a gastroenterologist (say that 10 times fast), who also agreed that I most likely have celiac disease. However, because I have been on the gluten-free diet for so long (three years folks!) he warned me that it will most likely be very difficult to get a clinical diagnosis. By this time, my guts have probably healed, leaving little evidence of the disease behind. Two weeks ago, we did an endoscopy, and I learned that I do indeed have very healthy looking intestines. Yay? Am I happy that my guts are so good looking these days, or am I sad that getting a diagnosis is going to be so hard? Since my guts looked so good, I figured I would probably be getting some negative biopsy results back, and I wasn't sure where to go from there. Imagine my surprise when, by some strange twist of fate, my biopsies from that procedure were lost. The doctor was very embarrassed to inform me of the fact, said nothing like that had ever happened at that hospital before, and that he was very sorry, and would not charge my insurance for the procedure. Would I mind doing the procedure again?

Gobsmacked, I was talking to a friend of mine, a nurse, who said I was actually pretty lucky that the biopsies were lost: my insurance is less likely to approve any subsequent biopsies with a negative one on my record, making it that much harder to get a positive diagnosis. So, to increase my chances of getting a positive diagnosis this time around, I am doing what is called a "gluten challenge." Essentially, I am going to eat a TON of gluten for the next 30 days before my next biopsy. My hope is that it will cause enough damage to my upper GI tract to get a positive diagnosis. And if it doesn't? Well, at least I gave it my best shot. 30 days is really the minimum for a gluten-challenge, with some recommendations going from 3 months to 5 years! I am just not willing to go that long (it's HARD y'all), but 30 days I can do.

And honestly? I am having one hell of a last hurrah! First I had a crunch roll at my local sushi restaurant, liberally dunked in soy sauce. Then I had a chocolate doughnut. And then I ordered some Papa John's pizza. Since then I have been gobbling down every gluteny things i haven't been able to make for the last three years: cheese danishes! apple strudel! naan bread! Israeli couscous! Whole wheat sourdough sandwiches! Soba noodles! On doctor's orders, I have been STUFFING myself with gluten. I would love to say it feels good, or that everything tastes as good as I remembered or imagined, but honestly? It doesn't. None of this stuff is as good as I remembered (or maybe, as good as I had built it up to be in my rose colored memory). And NONE of it is worth the side effects: the bloating, the fatique, the GI pain, the inflammation, etc. etc. (ok, well, maybe the doughnuts) I am only on day 3, and I feel SO sick.

A unexpected and rather happy consequence of this challenge is that it has put to bed the nagging worry in the back if my mind that gluten-free food (especially baked goods) can never taste as good as gluteny food. I have always worried just a little bit that gluten-free cookies and cakes only taste good to me and my gluten-deprived tastebuds, and that other people are only being nice when they say my stuff tastes good. Since I can't compare, I can only take their word for it. I am happy to say, after eating quite a lot of longed-for and forbidden treats over the last few days, that gluten-free stuff can taste just as good, if not better than, gluten-based baked goods. If anything, wheat is actually quite bland tasting, and has much less flavor than gluten-free flours and flour mixes (which may be why some people recoil from gluten-free treats: it's not that it's bad, but it's different than what they have come to expect).

So when I say that this is an extraordinary cookie, I say that with no reservations or apologies. This in not just a good "gluten-free" cookie: It's a damn good cookie, gluten-free or not!

Oatmeal Sandwich Cookies with Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese
Adapted from Everyday Food, September 2010

You can totally swap in the gluten-free flours for all purpose wheat flour, as that is what is in the original recipe, so I am sure it works. I love using oat flour - it has a familiar taste that everyone recognizes, and in this recipe it works really well with the rolled oats and the vanilla bean speckles.

1/2 cup oat flour
1/2 cup white rice flour
1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill all purpose flour
2 tablespoons corn starch
pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon molasses
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1.5 cups rolled oats (not quick cooking)
1/2 cup golden raisons

8oz cream cheese
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
6 tablespoons powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with oven racks in the upper and lower thirds. In a large bowl, whisk together flours, corn starch, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon.

2. In an electric mixer, beat butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until fluffy and pale, 5 minutes. Add in vanilla, molasses, and eggs, mixing until just combined. Slowly add flour mixture, and mix until just combined. With a rubber spatula, fold in oats and raisins.

3. Drop dough in 1 LARGE tablespoonfool mounds on two baking sheets. Bake until cookies are just set at the edges, and slightly soft in the middle, about 11 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through. Let cookies cool on sheets, then transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

4. In mixer bowl, beat cream cheese, vanilla bean paste, and powdered sugar until light. spread filling on flat side of cookie, then sandwich with second cookie. Repeat. Enjoy!

Season Newsletter: Summer 2010

2010-08-22T11:57:00.000-07:00

Dear James,

today you are 17 months old, almost old enough for me to stop counting your age in months, and start counting your ages in years and halves. At least once a day I look at you and I can't believe that you are a boy. Not a baby, but a little boy, and I am shocked at how quickly you grew out of my arms and into a pair of walking shoes, shoes which run away from me and towards little boy adventures. Once again (I say this every month!) you are SO big! And once again, I can't believe how much you have grown in so short a space of time.

This summer has been awesome, but it has also been very hard for you. For most of your little life, your daddy has been around all day long to take care of you. For the first couple of months he worked from home, and for the last couple of months he was on unemployment and going back to school. But in June, suddenly everything changed! For no discernible reason whatsoever, daddy started disappearing every single day, all day long. It was very confusing. Where did he go? Why did he leave you? Would he ever come back again?

Lets talk about your temperament for a minute here, since you are now all grown up and 17 months old. You are such a mix of characteristics, and yes, you are just as "challenging" and spirited a child as you have ever been. One new thing I have learned about you this summer is that you are a very approachable little guy. You welcome new experiences, places, and people with wide open arms. New places? Lets explore! New toys? YAY! Traffic? Fascinating! I had to buy you a harness buddy to keep you from lunging into the street to play with the cars. Yes, I'M THAT MOM. You know, the one with a toddler ON A LEASH. I will never forget the day we took the bus to the beach with some friends, and you were so desperate to get out into the traffic on Beach Boulevard that you were straining with all your might towards the road, crawling on your hands and knees, shrieking with rage that I should dare to hold you back from certain death. So yeah. Thanks James. I always wanted to be that mom.

And strangers! You love them! You have made best friends with every checker and bagger at every grocery store we go to. Seriously, they all know you by name, and ask about you if I don't bring you with me. I used to be able to slip in and out of stores anonymously, but not anymore! The ladies who work at the thrift store lavish so much attention on you that it starts to get irritating: Spending an extra hour at every store so you can visit with your friends can be a little tiring. I just want to get my shopping done, you know? Not play James' personal social director on the Lido deck. But what can I do? You are everyone's best friend!

And yet, for all of your openness to new experiences and new people, you are so not adaptable to changes in your routine or the major structure of your life. Case in point: daddy's sudden and inexplicable disappearances during the day. You see, daddy got a new job — a great job — but a job in an office that he has to go to every day. This change was so very, very hard for you to understand and cope with. Only now, three months out, have you really started to fully adjust. Only now have you stopped dissolving into hysterics every morning when he leaves the house, and only now do you trust that daddy will come home again after this thing called "work."

Other than your (very strong!) dislike of change (and totally understandable attachment to your daddy), you are such a delightful and happy little kid. You spend a lot of time exploring and playing, and you seem to be pretty pleased with yourself whenever you perform some sort of accomplishment. Lately you have been really into stacking things. You like to stack jam and salad dressing jars when I clean the fridge, and one morning I found my camera (lens down) on the coffee table, topped with a cocktail glass, topped with a full bottle of hydrogen peroxide. Yikes! Thankfully, nothing broken. Blocks are therefore most definitely your favorite toy this summer, and whenever you make an especially tall tower you throw your arms wide open, look over at your dad and I, and say "YAAAAAAAAY!!" and then we both say "YAY!" right back, and it makes you so happy you beam. How can I not totally adore you when you do things that are so cute?

That happiness tends to characterize your personality: you are generally SO HAPPY, unless, of course, you are SO SAD or SO MAD. That's the thing about you: you are always either SO THIS or SO THAT, because you are just a HIGH INTENSITY kind of child. You play hard, you run hard, you sleep hard, you laugh hard, you cry hard. Currently, all of this INTENSITY has been getting the best of you, because very often it gets channeled into temper tantrums. You have been a little behind the curve on language development - you really only seem to use 5 words or so - and whenever you can't communicate what you want, you get intensely frustrated and start screaming at the top of your lungs and trembling with fury. This happens approximately 25 times a day, and really wears mommy out. By 6pm, you are cranky and tired, ready for the holy trio of dinner bath and bedtime, and generally are jumping on the couch babbling "da da da da da da da!" at the top of your lungs as you wait for daddy to arrive home at the appointed time. I am SO TIRED of the temper tantrums by this point, and I just don't want to ruffle your feathers and bring on another one. (looking back at that sentence about how I get SO TIRED, I start to think that maybe, just maybe, you get a little of that intensity... from me). I have finally learned that the best thing to do with you at this point in the day is just to turn on an episode of Veggie Tales and let you watch TV until daddy gets home.

Yes, that's right: In addition to being the mother with a toddler on a leash and the mother with the screaming toddler in the grocery store, I have also turned out to be the mother who lets her baby watch TV every day. I used to have a very superior attitude whenever I saw THAT MOM in the grocery store, dragging around her leashed and wailing toddler, and I used to think to myself "when I am a mom, my kids will NEVER behave like that!" I also thought I would never let my children watch TV, and, well, here I am. All I can really say is now that I am THAT MOM, I will never cast a critical eye on any mother ever again. EVER! In the cosmic karma state of the universe, it almost certainly means that you will become THAT PERSON the minute you are in the same situation.

So what else is new with you this summer? You LOVE to swim! We started swimmy lessons in June, and at first you were so afraid of the water (a giant cold bathtub! The horror!). You clung to my arm and trembled for the entire 20 minutes of aquatic torture. But you eventually warmed up to swimming, and now you love it. You love running into the waves at the beach, you love toppling in and out of your baby pool, you love the bath, you love the hose, you love the sprinklers, you love showers! There isn't a form of water you don't love, and we have had some great beach days this summer.

If there is one thing I could say to you right now, if there was one thing I want you to know, it's how much I love you. You are so little, and there is so much that you don't understand. You don't understand where your daddy goes every day, you don't understand how to communicate your desires, you don't understand why we makes rules and why you must follow them. This summer has been a bit of a struggle for you, as you try to make sense of your little world, but everything we do is because we love you so very, very much. Even when you don't understand everything in your life, I hope that you always understand that you are my baby James, and I love you.

love, Mama.

Baby James' Favorite Chocolate Pancakes (And Mine Too!)

2010-08-17T21:22:00.000-07:00

Now that he is all grown up and one years old, Baby James has decided that he no longer needs to eat any kind of food other than white food: cheerios, turkey, string cheese, french fries, noodles, doughnuts, and of course, milk. That's it! Notice anything missing from that list? Anything like, I don't know, fruits or vegetables?

I'm not even going to go into all the things I've done to try and get James to try a bite of juicy peach or a nibble of mango. From the way that kid turns his head away and squinches his mouth and eyes shut, you'd think I was asking him to eat dirt! Which, by the way, he will eat. Yes, that's right: He will eat dirt, but he won't eat a bite of peach.

So I've had to resort to being tricky. There is one non-white edible substance James will deign to eat (other than dirt, which does not count), and that is chocolate. James LOVES chocolate. He's wild about it, and whenever he suspects we have some he will wave his fat little hand for it and cry like there is no tomorrow. So when I found this recipe, it seemed perfect: What better place to hide a few blueberries and some spinach than in a chocolate pancake?

I know what you are thinking: Blueberries and SPINACH in a pancake? Yuck! And that's exactly what I thought too. The first time I made this recipe, I was just hoping they were not too horrible to eat, mainly so I could get some fruits and vegetables into my child. I never expected them to be so absolutely delicious, and I certainly never expected to like them so much I wanted to eat them all myself! And the spinach? It's pureed so fine, you can't even taste that it's there. Really, I promise. What you can taste is how incredibly soft and moist these pancakes are. There's no need to slather them with gobs of butter and syrup, because these pancakes are tender and soft all by themselves. I like to roll them up with some fruit inside, but baby James likes them just the way they are.

This is just photographic proof that my child has at some point eaten something containing spinach and blueberries. Note the cheerios on the tray and the football hold he has on the bottle of milk.

Baby James' Favorite Chocolate Pancakes
adapted from The Sneaky Chef" by Missy Chase Lapine

I was so impressed with this recipe I went out and bought Lapine's book. These pancakes have all kinds of nutritious goodies in them: whole grains, milk, eggs, and antioxidant rich chocolate, spinach, and blueberries. A lot of times recipes call for applesauce to be swapped in for the fat or oil in a recipe, and the spinach/blueberry puree has the same effect: The fat or oil can be reduced because the spinach and blueberries puree bring so much moisture to the cakes. And it tastes maaaeervelous, of course.

Although if you slather these with nutella and powdered sugar, that might negate some of the health benefit, just a little bit. But today is my birthday, so I think I am allowed to have as much nutella on my pancakes as I like!

Ingredients
1 cup pancake mix (I am very pleased with Pamela's gluten free pancake and baking mix, but use whatever healthy mix you like best, gluten-free or not)
1 cup milk (rice milk, soy milk, or almond all make good alternatives)
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 cup spinach, packed
1/4 cup blueberries
1 large or jumbo egg
1-2 tablespoons healthy fat, such as coconut oil (you can also use butter or vegetable oil, but these are not as good for you)

In the bowl of a food processor, combine 1/4 cup blueberries...

...and 1/4 cup spinach (packed).

Puree until very smooth. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup pancake mix...

...2 tablespoons cocoa powder...

...1 jumbo egg...

...1 cup milk...

...and the blueberry spinach puree.

Whisk batter until smooth.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Using a 1/3 cup measuring cup, pour batter into heated pan.

Heat one one side until little bubbles begin for form on the surface of the pancake.

flip over. Cook on second side until pancake springs back lightly at the touch. Remove from heat. If desired, keep in a warmed over (200 degrees) until the rest of the pancakes are done cooking.

Repeat.

Top with berries, powdered sugar, nutella, nuts, whiipped cream, whatever. Enjoy!

Heirloom Tomatoes with Creamy Gorgonzola Dressing

2010-08-10T21:53:00.000-07:00

Look! More tomatoes I did NOT grow in my garden! Yes, friends, I am still feeling cranky that I have 21 tomato plants taking up real estate in the backyard, and it's August and still not a single tomato harvested, forcing me to purchase tomatoes from the store. CURSES. Although today one tomato started to blush a little yellow. Could this be the beginning of the bushels or tomatoes I had hoped for?? My heart is going pitter pat even at the thought.

On the bright side of things, look what a fabulous tomato salad you can make, even if you have to buy your tomatoes from the grocery store! And OH MY GOD. I totally wasn't even intending to blog this, it being the first time I had made the dressing and I didn't even bother to take pictures as I made it, but honestly people, THIS SALAD BLEW MY MIND. The tomatoes and the dressing and the seasonings all blend together into a perfect harmony of contrasts and compliments and I just about passed out after the first bite I was so overwhelmed with the tangy creamy sweet sour goodness. This tomato salad was so good that it was equal to, if not better than, the salad that allegedly cured my infertility nearly two years ago this month.

Please, I beg you, even if you don't like tomatoes, please try this. It just might be the best salad in the whole wide world.

Heirloom Tomatoes with Creamy Gorgonzola Dressing
adapted from the recipe by Ina Garten

The best place to find heirloom tomatoes is probably your local farmer's market, but I bought these at Trader Joe's and I thought they were delicious. Whatever you do, just make sure that the tomatoes you choose are fully ripe when you eat them; if they are white or mealy in the center, they are not worth eating.

Ingredients
3 pounds heirloom tomatoes, mixed colors and sizes
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 pound Gorgonzola cheese, divided in half
1 cup good mayonnaise
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

slice and core tomatoes, cutting the large ones into thick slices, and halving cherry tomatoes. Arrange on platter, and sprinkle liberally with salt, pepper, and parsley.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine half the Gorgonzola, 1 cup mayonnaise, 1/2 cup cream, and 2 tablespoons vinegar, as well as 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Process until combined, but still chunky.

Drizzle the dressing over the tomatoes. Crumble the rest of the blue cheese, and serve at room temperature. Enjoy!

Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes

2010-08-09T13:57:00.000-07:00

See these tomatoes? These are tomatoes I did NOT grow in my garden. Even though I have 21 tomato plants growing in my back yard, I haven't harvested a single tomato all summer. NOT ONE. This has officially been the coldest, grayest, most gloomy summer ever, and I have hardly a thing ripe in my garden, other than pickles, even though it's nearly mid-August.

If you happen to hail from somewhere other than the promise land, then you may not know that in Southern California, and particularly in the beach cities, we usually experience what we call "June Gloom" during the first few weeks of the summer. It's overcast and cool, and on particularly heavy days in can even sprinkle a little bit of rain. It usually clears up by July 4th and everyone spends the rest of the summer lying around scantily clad and eating gelato, riding beach cruisers, and getting enviably tan. This summer, we have all been bundling up in parkas and wondering if the sun will ever shine again.

So I didn't grow these tomatoes. The weather? She is not so cooperative this summer. I am only a tiny little bit cranky about this.

I don't know about you, but I have of sort of devotion to fire roasted diced tomatoes. I love them with the burning love of a thousand suns. Whenever a recipe calls for canned tomatoes, my heart leaps just a little bit because I am just so! in! Love! with that smokey, caramelized yumminess. Lately, though, we have been forgoing many recipes calling for canned anything, because a new study has shown that bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical in the plastics used to line the interior of food cans, leaches into food. BPA is an estrogen mimicker and an endocrine disruptor, and can be especially harmful for babies and young children. It is associated with cancers, early puberty, low sperm count, infertility, heart disease, obesity, and developmental problems such as ADD. It has been banned from baby and toddler bottles in 5 states, and legislation for a similar ban is working its way through California's political machine even as I type this. If you or your children consume canned and packed foods on a regular basis, you are likely exposing yourself and your children to BPA, and in amounts that are high enough to affect your family's health. Scary, right?

Canned food? We don't really eat it anymore. And yes, I could buy the fancy organic canned tomatoes in the enamel lined can from the health store, and I do buy then when I need some canned tomatoes in a pinch. But the health food store is on the other side of town, and making the extra trip can be a bit of a hassle, and OMG it almost gives me a heart attack to pay $5 for a can of tomatoes. Plus, how cool is it to make your own?? Super cool.

You could can these the traditional way (I give directions below), freeze them, or just make small batches, store them in the fridge, and eat them as a summer treat. They are fantabulous on top of salmon. Whatever you decide to do, there couldn't be a easier, cheaper, or healthier way to make your own fire roasted, diced tomatoes. BPA-free and all :)

Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes

Ingredients
tomatoes
lemon juice (optional)

Preheat grill or broiler. Halve tomatoes or slice into thick wedges. Scrape seeds out with a spoon or the tip of your finger (I forgot to do this for this batch, so there are lots of seeds in the photos).

Grill or broil tomatoes, until they are softened and slightly charred. Remove from heat, and let cool. Remove skins - they should just peel right off, easy.

Pack into sterilized canning jar, and add 1 TBS of lemon juice for every cup of tomatoes (this is to make sure the ph level of the jars is correct, given the offchance there are some botulism spores in your jars. If you are freezing your tomatoes or planning on consuming them right away, you can skip this step).

Add a little water so the jars are full up. Screw the lids on the jars, and process in a water bath (boil in a pot with water 1" over the tops of the jars) for 40 minutes. Remove jars from water, and let cool. If the jars have sealed properly, the jar lids will dimple down, and they can be stored in your pantry all winter long, up until next summer, when you get to make some more with next tomato crop. Enjoy!

Why Yes, That Is a New Design I'm Wearing

2010-07-28T09:38:00.000-07:00

I gave in a redesigned the blog using blogger's new template software, and I have to say, I like! Opinions, anyone else? Do we collectively like, or is this redesign not the bee's knees?

Crisper than a Klausen's! Crisp Refreshing Homemade Fermented Kosher Dill "Half Sour" Pickles

2010-07-19T23:28:00.000-07:00

Last summer I totally fell in love with the idea of making my own pickles. Full of optimism, I bought 5 pounds of the most gorgeous Persian cucumbers, and spent hours slicing cukes, simmering vinegar, perfecting seasonings, canning and processing. And oh my, those pickles were gorgeous: they looked like jewels in their shining glass jars. We waited in anticipation for the jars to cool, the pickles to pickle, the spices to infuse, and when we opened the first jar, pulled out the first emerald spears, we closed our eyes, took a bite and...

mush.

Absolute mush.

So soft and mushy that the pickles disintegrated in their pretty jars until they looked like jars of sad pea green soup. We threw them all away.

It was such a bitter and total epic FAIL, that I couldn't even blog about it. That's how disappointed I was (according to my husband, I do not deal well with disappointment or frustration. Go figure.) In typical fashion, I vowed that one day, I would indeed conquer the pickle, once and for all!

That day is today. It turns out I did a few things wrong last year. First, I used the wrong kind of cucumbers. Slicing cucumbers, the sort of cukes usually found in big chain grocery stores, tend to be soft and watery, perfect for salads and cucumber sandwiches, but far too soft for pickles. Those Persian cucumbers were so soft and bendy I was doomed from the start. What you want are pickling cucumbers, which are crisp enough to stay crunchy for the long haul. Second, the brine/hot pack waterbath process also had me doomed, because the heat that sterilizes the brine also cooks the cucumbers, making them that much softer.

The secret to getting really crisp, really deliciously cool pickles is to skip the "quick-pickle" method and do it the old fashioned way: fermentation. This is the way pickles have traditionally been made throughout history, and they are incredibly delicious. And not only do they taste better than their shelf-stable vinegared cousins, but they are better for you. Fermented pickles are "pickled" by friendly lactic acid bacteria. This fermentation renders foods easier to digest, introduces "good" probiotic bacteria into the gut (much like yogurt or kefir), and lastly, offers an alkaline balance to acidic foods, like meat. Also, they taste better. What's not to love?

"Half Sour" Kosher Dill Pickles
probably the hardest thing about this recipe is finding the right kind of cucumbers to pickle. This summer, I grew my own organic pickling cucumbers in my back yard, but you can also also find pickling cucumbers at farmer's markets and specialty stores. I think you can probably use Persian or kirby cucumbers in this recipe, but I can't guarantee how crisp the results will be.

It is VERY important that the brine is made exactly as the recipe indicates, with the exact same ratio of water to salt. Fermentation pickling works by allowing the lactic bacteria, naturally present on the surface of all vegetables, to flourish and ferment the cucumbers. The salt brine inhibits the growth of other bacteria, so it's important to be at the right strength. Too little salt, and bad bacteria may grow in your pickles. Too much salt, and the pickles are too salty to eat without soaking first.

This recipe is for "half sours," or pickles that are half-fermented and finished off with a splash of vinegar. They take about 2 days to ferment, give or take depending on the weather. You can flavor your pickles with whatever spices and herbs you like, through fresh dill and mustard seeds are traditional and a good place to start. Or you can get creative, adding minced fresh garlic, red pepper flakes, olives, red peppers, etc.

Ingredients
small firm cucumbers, such as pickling, kirby, or persian cucumbers
pure filtered water
kosher salt or sea salt (no iodine)
fresh dill
mustard seeds
optional: red pepper flakes, minced garlic, black pepper, etc.

1. Scrub cucumbers well, and cut of flower end, as it contains enzymes which can soften the cucumber. If desired, slice cucumbers into spears or slices. Rinse any herbs you will be using as well.

2. Pack cucumbers into a large food-grade crock or jar, leaving at least 1" of head space at the top. I have been making mine in large French style mason jars, but you can make them in almost anything. Pack cracks with sprigs of fresh dill and sprinkle with mustard seeds or other spices.

3. Make brine: mix together salt and water, with 1/4 cup salt to every 4 cups water. Mix together thoroughly, until brine is clear. Pour over packed cucumbers.

4. Cover pickles with a lid or cheesecloth, and let ferment. Depending on how warm or cool your home is, this process can take anywhere from 2 - 7 days. When small bubbles begin to form on the surface of the pickles and dill, you pickles are done. You can continue to let them ferment as long as you wish: they will not go bad, they will simply continue to intensify in acidic flavor. When your pickles are at the desired sourness, pour off the 1" of brine head space, and add a splash of vinegar. Store in the fridge, which will slow fermentation. Enjoy!

In Which Current Events Impact My Life In a Tangible Way

2010-07-14T00:01:00.000-07:00

So.

In 2009, as we all know, the economy took a dive, and it took my husband Nate's company right along with it. The company was an innovative internet startup, and when the stock market crashed all the funding dried up. Next thing we knew we had joined the swelling ranks of the California unemployed. It was a weird place to be. We had never, in all our lives, been put into a position where we could not take care of ourselves. We had never been so flat out broke. We had never depended so much on the generosity of others, and the safety nets of this great state. And honestly? Taking advantage of those safety nets was very humbling. I had always thought of my myself as a person who gives to the poor, not a person in need of assistance. I remember the first time I took my WIC coupons to the grocery store for bread, milk, eggs, and baby food. I can still feel my face, hot and red, the embarrassment and mortification rising up in me as the checker struggled with the coupons and the line of irritated customers behind me grew longer and longer.

I sure that if I had more fortitude, I could have probably pulled off some awesome blogging feat of genius by sharing recipes consisting solely of items available with food stamps and WIC coupons, but alas, I am not that inspired. It's not that any of my recipes are especially pricey (you won't find any calling for caviar or bluefin tuna), it's just that cooking, and to a lesser extent blogging, is an expression of joy for me. And while we have certainly been joyful through this whole process, I am not going to lie: I have also been STRESSED OUT. So stressed out, that all I wanted to eat over the past few months was breakfast cereal and ice cream. And ice cream. Oh, and also? MORE ICE CREAM.

After eight months of unemployment, a semester back in college to finish up his degree, the submission of countless resumes and CVs, and an overwhelming amount of grace from God, I am happy to say that Nate (FINALLY!) has a job. And not just a job, a good job. A REALLY good job. A job doing something he loves. A job that is challenging, with room for growth and promotion. A job with a salary sufficient to support our family and finally pay off our student loans. A job with medical, dental, and vision benefits. After four years of marriage and a passel of jobs, all frustrating or wrong in different ways (no health benefits, or 120 hour work weeks, or tedious dead-end work, or too little pay to live on), this is the first time we have ever had that elusive "good job," and we are so overwhelmingly grateful and humbled by the grace that has been shown to us. This is the job we have been hoping for, and praying for, for the past four years.

What is most amazing to me is that in this particular season of our life, when we should have been most desperate and needy, we have not wanted for a thing. Even when we were so broke we didn't even have two pennies to rub together, we have always had food in our fridge, and our rent has been paid. We have been overwhelmingly blessed by God, who has provided for us at every turn.

However, I have just NOT felt like writing, or cooking, or blogging, over the past few months. I have been so busy stretching dollars as far as I can that I just seemed to lose the enthusiasm for anything else. Well, that and ICE CREAM, of course. But now I think I am ready.

Tomorrow, Nate get's his first paycheck.

Tomorrow, I'm back.

A Year In Hair: Baby's First, er.. Third, Haircut. Yeah!

2010-06-01T00:25:00.000-07:00

Around the Delicious House, we are a little fixated on hair. But of course, if you had The Rarest Hair in the World, you might be too, not because being a ginger is anything especially remarkable, but other people tend to bring it up ALL THE TIME. I may have spent the entirety of my youth being accused of having a fiery temperament. Which, by the way, I do NOT ;) Before James was born, we used to joke around about how funny it would be if these two pale, freckled, homebody bookworms ended up with a tan, blond, athletic kid.

So when James was born, we were delighted that he had a head of dark brown hair, just like his dad!

And boy, that dark brown hair got looooooong. While other babies hardly had a wisp of hair on their whole heads, James had more hair than you knew what to do with. So we gave him a fauxhawk.

And yet, all things must come to an end. Eventually, baby James, you started to lose your hair. It was very funny looking. So we cut it off (haircut #1).

You did not approve.

You insisted on wearing hats, ALL the time.

You wouldn't even let us take your picture sometimes. In my opinion, you were way too sensitive about it.

And eventually, your hair grew back. But it was blond! You were as surprised as we were.

You became philosophical about it. I think, therefore... I grow hair? That can't be right. I suppose I will have to grow up and become a tan blond surfer then. C'est la vie, non?

Besides: it eventually became so long and lovely! Girls swooned. You dug it.

Why yes, internet! That is my child running around with screwdrivers and hair in his eyes. Can I get a mother of the year award over here please? So, mommy took it upon herself to trim your hair herself. After all, she did it last time, and it turned out well!

Haircut #2: It did not turn out so well this time.

Haircut #3: A professional fixes mommy's haircut disaster. You are apprehensive, but the hairdresser works some magic and saves the day.

You approve. You also like that you can see. You also like how this haircut makes you look like a big boy. Mommy is sad, not only because your lovely golden locks are gone, but also because this haircut makes you look like a little man. How can my baby be growing up already??

Grow up more slowly, baby James. Stay a baby just a little longer, ok?

love, Mama

To be, or not to be?

2010-05-29T14:13:00.000-07:00

When I started this blog a year and a half ago, all I really wanted to do was chronicle the yummy things made in this delicious house of mine. And the first year, 2009, was a total blast! I had a baby, a crazy, crazy crying baby, and sometimes when the days of soothing, nursing, and diapering started to blur together, blogging was my only "grown-up" outlet in this haze of new mommyhood. I had no idea that anyone would even like to read my blog, much less have any interest in what was going on in our lives! And yet, the response has been overwhelming. To everyone who has e-mail and commented (even if I never e-mailed you back, I'm sorry), thankyou. You have touched my life tremendously.

This year, 2010, has been quite different. For one thing, baby James has been WAY easier to live with, and way more fun. For another, my husband, Nate, was laid off last November. Between our life savings and unemployment, we have been been able to stay afloat, but there is nothing like a tight budget and no employment prospects on the horizon to dampen the creative cooking spirit. So here I am, six months later (and MY GOD, 20 pounds heavier! How did this happen??), and the end is in sight. Over the past six month, Nate when back to school, finished his degree, and did some job training for a new career path. I mostly sat on my couch, chewing my nails, trying not to be crippled by the stress of it all, and, lets be honest here, stuffing my face with gluten-free brownies. Haha, not really! Ok, yeah, kinda.

So here we are: June us upon is, the husband is (finally! FINALLY!) graduated from college, the interviews are stacking up, and I am left asking myself, what's the plan here, Becks? Are you going to do this blogging thing, or what? Because for me, it needs to be a yes or a no. I hate doing the half-hearted "sorta" type business. Yes, or No?

Monthly Newsletter: Month 14

2010-05-15T09:43:00.000-07:00

Dear Baby James,

today, you are 14 months old. This month with you has been SO awesome! I really have to say that hands down, one-years-old is my favorite age so far. A tiny part of me wonders if I feel this way because most of the first 12 months really sucked, and I can't help but feel a twinge of regret that I really didn't 'enjoy' most of your infancy. The only consolation, I suppose, is that I don't think you enjoyed your infancy either, so I was right there with you.

I just had your 1 year checkup with your pediatrician, and here are the results: you have made a full recovery from the GERD, and are now off all reflux meds. You have overcome your milk/soy protein allergy, and your doctor has given us the clear for cow's milk and soy products. You weigh 23.6 pounds, and are 29" long, which means you have gained 17.7 pounds this year, and grown 11.5 inches, more than quadrupling your birth weight. You are the picture of health, and I can't help but feel so relieved, and so proud. I feel like a conqueror, because WE MADE IT!

Now that you are a year old, it seems like something inside of you just clicked into place, and all of a sudden you have become so very, very smart. You spent most of your first year of life eating, sleeping, pooping, and crying, and your major achievements included getting a hand to your mouth, rolling over, sitting up, standing up, and crawling. Not that there is anything wrong with those things, but lets face it: guinea pigs are born with better motor skills than human beings.

But now you are one! And all of a sudden, you have a whole little world of thoughts and opinions going on in your head. You understand quite a lot of what we say now, and you are tremendously interested in communicating your own needs and opinions, the problem being that most of the time we can't figure out what you are so desperately trying to say. And baby, that makes you SOOO frustrated. So we have been teaching you sign language to help you communicate what you want, and kid, you are good at it! Your can sign the words eat, drink, more, all done, pick me up, milk, hi, bye bye, poopy, and no. You also have seven words now: Mama, dada, milk (meh), bye bye (ba), banana (nana), water (wa), and yay (aaaaah!!), and you will do the signs for milk and bye bye when you say the word.

And of course, you are walking! Toddling has given you a whole new sense of freedom, and your little world has suddenly grown much bigger. There are so many things to see, so many curious things to examine. A few of the things that really fascinate you include the hose (where does the water come from?), daddy's calculator (what happens if I push these buttons?), and the kitchen mixer (what IS that thing?). The other day I was breaking a dozen eggs into the mixer for a breakfast casserole, and you were SO interested in what was going on up on the counter. So I pulled up a stool, stood you on it, and let you watch me as I broke the eggs into the mixer. After watching me break two or three eggs, you reached over, grabbed one of the empty shells, and brought it up to the edge of the mixer, tapping it on the edge, just like I was. I don't think words can express just how endeared to you I felt at that moment, or just how my heart melted when you turned your little face up to me for approval.

Another cute thing you have been doing lately is blowing raspberries. Should I happen to be laying on the ground (probably in exhaustion, being nearly dead from chasing you around and dealing with your temper tantrums), you will toddle over, pull up mommy's shirt and blow a raspberry on my tummy. It is SO cute, and no matter how tired and frustrated I am, I can't help but laugh, which makes you laugh too, because you are so pleased with yourself.

But good God child, you can be SUCH a pain sometimes. At this exact moment, you are in the kitchen, eating your dinner, and I am sulking on the couch. We are not talking right now. You have recently graduated from harmless, immobile but screaming baby to happy, curious, and ambulatory "James the Destroyer," and you seem especially bent upon killing every plant I put in the ground. Every single plant, that is, that hasn't already been eaten by the slugs, which I cannot poison, because YOU like to eat dirt, and in all liklihood, you will eat slug poison too. That's right: YOU EAT DIRT. And today? First, you put a paving stone on my lavender plant, breaking the stem clean off and killing it, and then you went around and plucked all the baby basil seedlings I have been nursing along for the past three months. ALL OF THEM! You especially love to pull out the popsicle sticks I have tucked in each pot to indicate which plant is what, and when they were planted, and if you don't try and eat the sticks, you will jam them back into the pot (usually the wrong pot), over and over again, killing any little bit of plant life that might have survived your previous love pats. AAAAHHHH!

Even though you drive me crazy with the destroying of the plants, it's hard to stay mad at you. I know you are not trying to kill mommy's garden; in fact, you are trying your hardest to help. And when I see you trooping around the backyard with a dry hose, pretending to water the plants, or scratching in the corn bed with a spade, trying to dig with mommy, I can't stay mad at you. You are just too cute, and I love you too much.

love you forever,

mama

Gluten Free Chocolate Birthday Cake

2010-04-02T12:18:00.000-07:00

Everybody, and I mean everybody deserves velvety rich, gooey chocolate cake on their birthday. Contrary to popular belief, the hardest part about the gluten-free diet isn't saying goodbye to croissants and soft pillowy French bread. I can live without croissants and good bread. No, what is really truly hard about the gluten free diet is the sense of being left out all the time. Breaking bread together (even the expression contains gluten!) is an important part being in communion with friends and family. When we want to celebrate something, be it as formal and fabulous as a wedding banquet or as humble as a coffee date, eating and drinking together is what we do. And when you can't eat gluten, sometimes you get left out. That's what is really hard about the gluten-free diet.

Which is fine. We get by and try to be graceful about it. But on your OWN birthday, not being able to join in on your own celebration, or eat a slice of your own birthday cake? Now that is just downright unbearable. Which is why the internet needs a really fantastic gluten-free cake recipe. Because there isn't one (I looked!) So here it is! Because on your birthday, you deserve a rich, wonderful cake. Like this one! And you deserve a cake that tastes good enough to serve your friends and family. Like this one. Because everyone should get to celebrate with you and be included on your special day, gluten-free or not.

I made about 5 cakes in the run up to James' birthday, because I wanted to find a gluten-free chocolate cake recipe that I could really love. This one was hands down the winner; it was one of those gluten-free things that people can't believe is gluten-free. Because hello, it tastes so good!

Gluten Free Chocolate Birthday Cake
Adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Chocolate Whiteout Cake recipe in Baking: From my home to yours (it's the one on the cover!)

This is an American style "butter" cake, which means it has a rich, dense crumb. It is very chocolaty, and totally delicious! Unlike a sponge cake or a chiffon cake, it doesn't get its volume from whipped eggs whites, so it's VERY important to follow these few tips:

- There are quite a LOT of gluten-free flours to choose from. This recipe calls for superfine sweet rice flour, and superfine white rice flour. I have found that these flours yield the best results for cake, and also have the most neutral, cake-friendly taste. If you want, you can swap out the white rice flour for quinoa flour or brown rice flour, but the sweet rice flour is essential, because it is so fine, and because it is so starchy and sticky - it will help the cake hold together and keep it from crumbling. Don't use an all purpose mix unless it is very fine, and definitely don't use any mix that contains baking powder, since this can mess up how the cake rises.

- Sift the flour into the measuring cup, and level off with the straight edge of a knife. This will make the flour fluffy and aerated, and will keep the cake from getting too heavy.

- Sometimes I think some directions (particularly ones about temperature) are silly, and I ignore them. Don't do this! If the butter is supposed to be room temperature, make sure it is at room temperature. If the recipe says to let cake cool completely, let it cool completely.

- This cake was fabulous paired with chocolate buttercream frosting, but I think it would also taste great with a cream cheese frosting, or with Dorie greenspan's Marshamallow frosting. But you can do whatever your heart desires!

Ingredients
1 cup SIFTED superfine sweet rice flour
1/2 cup SIFTED superfine white rice flour
1/2 cup SIFTED unsweetened cocoa powder (dutch processed)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon granulated salt
1/4 teaspoon xanthum gum

1 and 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter AT ROOM TEMPERATURE
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup superfine baking sugar
3 large eggs, AT ROOM TEMPERATURE
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled (1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips), melted and cooled
3/4 cup buttermilk AT ROOM TEMPERATURE
3/4 cup boiling water
4 oz semisweet or milk chocolate, finely chopped, or 2/3 cup store bought chocolate chips

Getting Ready:
preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and center a rack. Butter two 8x6 inch round, and sprinkle with flour, Line the bottoms with parchment paper. Get out your butter, eggs, and buttermilk, and let them warm up to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

To Make the Cake:
Sift together the 1 cup sweet rice flour, 1/2 cup white rice flour, 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon granulated salt, and 1/4 teaspoon xanthum gum.

In a stand mixer, using a paddle attachment, beat 1 + 1/4 sticks butter with 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar and 1/2 cup superfine white baking sugar. Beat on medium speed 3-4 minutes, until soft and creamy, and pale in color.

Add in 3 large eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute between eggs. Beat in 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Reduce the mixer speed to low, and beat in 2 oz bittersweet melted chocolate. When it is fully incorporated, add the flour mixture, alternating the addition of the flour with 3/4 cup buttermilk. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed, and only mix until the the ingredients disappear into the batter. At this point, the batter will be very thick, like frosting.

Still working at low speed, add in 3/4 cup boiling water. Scrape down the bowl, and mix in 4 oz chopped chocolate. Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans, and smooth the top with a spatula.

Bake for 25 - 30 minutes, rotating the pans at midpoint for even cooking. It's ok with the cakes crack a little bit during cooking. When fully baked, cakes will be springy to the touch, and a fork inserted into the center will come out clean.

Remove from the oven, and let cool 5 minutes, then run a knife around the edge to loosen cakes, unmold them, and peel off the parchment paper. Invert, and cool to room temperature right side up.

When cakes have cooled to room temperature, wrap in plastic wrap, and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours, or until cakes are firm. Slice each cake horizontally in half, frost, and fill. Enjoy!