firstfruits & chocolate.

Er, more like first veggies from our garden... Three Gypsy peppers, and a green pepper! Horray!

Our jack-be-little-pumpkin, cucumber, and butternut squash plants are taking off as well... I can't wait until those puppies start producing.

On another note, how cute are these plates?

Sweet Leez gave these to me for my birthday, and they are perfect to hold an afternoon snack such as this:

Um, yum. Melted dark chocolate drizzled over almonds. Can't get much easier than that... I laid wax paper on a cookie sheet, spread out some almonds, then poured the chocolate over them and put them in the fridge to harden. Then I broke it up into little pieces, brittle-style.  They now reside in the freezer--because I love my chocolate frozen.

Speaking of, it's not too sweet. I used some leftover Ghiradelli chips vs. Nestle chips, which I think might be too sweet for this... Although some peanut butter chips mixed in with the chocolate would probs be pretty good, hmmm... and the almonds are nice and crunchy. Awesome. Next time, I'd like to roast the almonds first. Note to self for a holiday treat/gift idea...

granola parfait.

With all of the sunshiney mornings we've been having lately, I can't help but think of all the lovely fruit that's on its way this summer... and that made me think of yogurt parfaits, which made me think of homemade granola, which I haven't made in for.ev.er.  As soon as I woke up this morning, I knew I had to make this yummy munchy stuff for breakfast.

Super-easy recipe:

HOMEMADE GRANOLA

1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup water
4 t. pure vanilla extract {i actually used almond extract today}
1 t. salt
8 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups chopped walnuts {optional; I opted out of these today}

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Combine brown sugar and water in microwavable bowl, and microwave for 3 minutes. Remove and stir; add vanilla and salt. Add oats and nuts to the mixture, and stir thoroughly, until all oats/nuts are covered. Spread on a cookie sheet and bake 45-60 minutes until golden and crunchy. Let cool before putting in an airtight container.

 

So I made Liv and I yogurt parfaits for breakfast--hers sans granola as the girl only has two teeth--and we "yummed" together and enjoyed the morning.

Livigirl loves fruit now, particularly green grapes. I love watching her light up when you get some of her favorite foods out {yogurt, graham crackers, milk, green beans, string cheese}, maybe because I'm easily exciteable when it comes to favorites too--something R always teases me about. ;) I'm glad she liked the fruit with the yogurt; I promised her we'd make more soon. And as soon as those teeth come in, I'll add some granola.

gingerbread owls & labs

R & I had a little date night on Saturday, and ended up grabbing some Mexican food and wandering into some shops closeby, including Sur La Table.  I don't go to this store very often, but when I do, I've kinda made up my own tradition of leaving with a cookie cutter--they're only a $1 each, and they have soo many different kinds. I love looking through them.

This time I was in for a treat: I found an owl cutter on sale for 50 cents {thank you, Halloween}:

Of course, I don't have a clue how to exactly ice an owl, but it's all good...

I felt so good about the 50 cents deal, that when I saw this one I didn't stop myself from getting it:

 A Dex dog cutter!

And so, baking has begun for the season. I made some pumpkin and fall leaf gingerbread cookies a couple of weeks ago, but those didn't last long {i.e. why no photos!}. :)

In other news, I have a couple of scarves I need to finish ASAP--as in today, hopefully--and get in the mail this week. My neice and her friend are hoping to wear them to go and see this. More soon!

the right bite

R has loved oatmeal raisin cookies for as long as I've known him, and I have yet to bake the perfect version. I just seem to mess it up every single time--they're usually these flat, oily discs of a cookie, and who wants to eat that?

I'm getting closer, however. I finally realized that I overmix the dough with my mixer, and I also don't follow high altitude directions. Mixing with a wooden spoon and adding more flour yielded this tasty batch. {Most of you are probably saying "duh."}

But I'm new to this cooking stuff, so bear with me. I don't know how many batches I've tried, but it's been many, and I'm a little embarrassed I didn't tweak my technique sooner. Maybe I didn't care? "At least I baked SOMEthing," was probably my thought as I bit into poor-excuse-for-a-cookie-that-I'd-eat-but-hubby-wouldn't-touch.

Suddenly I'm home with a baby with time to try new things and a desire to please my husband. It feels good to break my old mold and actually care why I'm not getting the results I'd like with something as simple as a cookie. You bet I care, because I'm mom now! And aren't moms supposed to know these things...? I don't want my baby's friends to come over years from now and refuse a cookie. So baking R's favorite is a great place to start. Yesterday was a great time to bake, too: cloudy, rainy, drizzly, crummy... The kind of day I love because we don't get enough of them here, as my grass can attest!

Anyway, I halved the recipe and increased the flour to 1 cup, and when they were done I brought one up to Raul in the study for approval. He tasted thoughtfully and nodded, which I knew was a good sign; the batch years ago with way too much salt had a much different face to it... :)

Olivia and I also ventured out yesterday to meet a couple of friends for lunch, and Liv sported the flapjack hat I knit last November for the first time:

Isn't that such a Charlie Brown face? She wasn't such a fan, but warmed up to it once nicely bundled in her carrier. Sigh. I so love this girl.

tis the season

baby shower

Leez's sister and I threw Leez a baby shower last weekend... it was so cute and fun. She's expecting a little boy.

Little boy clothes are so cute... (See that plaid orange and blue shirt? We called that his little "man" shirt :)

And of course, there was lots of fun food... Cupcakes, meatballs, fruit, quiche, cheese balls, jelly beans, M&Ms, and Oreo Truffles. (Our theme was "polka dots," hence all the round food!)

I will be making these again undoubtedly. :)

OREO TRUFFLES

1 package oreo cookies

1 8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened

2 boxes Baker's semi-sweet chocolate squares (8 squares each box)

Cookie sheet with wax paper

1. Crush whole package of oreo cookies; place in large bowl.

2. Add package of cream cheese to cookies--mix until mixture is thick and well-blended. Form mixture into 1"-2" balls.

3. Melt 12 squares of chocolate in the microwave 30 seconds at a time, stirring inbetween intervals.

4. Once fully melted, dip oreo balls into chocolate, steading ball on a fork. Let excess chocolate drip before transferring to cookie sheet covered in wax paper.

5. Let cool in refrigerator for at least 2 hours (or overnight) before serving. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge.

Enjoy!

i guess we'll have salad...

So last night, I had no idea what to make for dinner. I usually fall back on pasta dishes (luurve spaghetti), so I did yet again. I made spaghetti with ground beef and spaghetti sauce, with some cilantro added. I also made a salad to go with our sketti with whatever ingredients we had, and it was awesome.

QUICK SALAD

Iceberg lettuce

English cucumber, thinly sliced

Red peppers, diced

Seedless red grapes, halved

A couple spoonfuls of Victoria Cilantro salsa

Enjoy!

second breakfast + The Bag

I went for my first outside run last night, and took Dex dog with me. (He was immensely helpful on the hills. :) We went around the neighborhood--about 2 miles, calculated on Google maps!--and I am feelin' it today. I forgot how difficult running outside is compared to the treadmill.

I woke up starving, so I made some peanut butter toast...I'm also looking forward to having some oatmeal with pepitas (punkin seeds), brown sugar, and cinnamon! I'll eat this around 10 AM or so at work. (Did you know that 1 tsp of cinnamon = the same amount of antioxidants in 1/4 cup of blueberries?) I completely appreciate the concept of 2nd breakfast (thanks, Tolkien)--I don't think I could wait until lunch otherwise!

Here's the latest update on The Bag:

I've sewn the bottom on, and sewed the lining... now I need to figure out how to put it all together. I have a feeling I will be unstitching the lining--boo--but I didn't understand the pattern, and Mom and I kind of thought we could figure it out on our own. We'll see; I'm hoping to work on it tonight.

Happy Friday to you! Be well!

instant oatmeal

For the last month, I've had oatmeal almost every morning...which is somewhat unheard of as I only began liking it last month. It's nothing against oats--I've always liked granola, and oatmeal cookies. It's usually the consistency of oatmeal I can't stand: too goopy. So I began making it as I like it. (I like it very thick, unusually so!)

I started out eating the instant oatmeal packets--the first I tried was something like Date and Walnut, which I barely took one bite of. Meh. Next, I tried cinnamon, which I really liked... But it was so salty! I bought Quaker Oats' Weight Control Cinnamon--which has more fiber, and less salt and sugar--and the taste was better, but not stellar. I ate this for a couple weeks.

Now I'm at the point where I make my own instant oatmeal to take to work with me, and I love it. It's fast, made with 100% oats and natural ingredients, and without any salt. It might even be more cost effective than purchasing pre-made instant... I haven't done the math. :)

Instant Oatmeal

3/4 to 1 cup Quaker Oat 1-Minute oatmeal

1-2 spoonfuls brown sugar

1-2 teaspoons high quality cinnamon

Plastic baggie

Anything else you want to add! Dried cranberries, nuts, spices, etc.

Add oats, brown sugar, and cinnamon in baggie; I like to make enough bags for the week so I can just grab and go in the morning. Pour contents into bowl and add hot water. Stir and enjoy!

Now, if you want some fun, fancy, eye-candy oatmeal recipes, click here.

thanksgiving, and the last of the leaves

"...It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly implore His protection, aid and favors....Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these states to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the Beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere hand humble thanks for His kind protection of the people of this country, and for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us." {1789, George Washington, Thanksgiving Day}

On that note, here is some fabric that looks like it's from 1789--a Thanksgiving toile, if you will. I don't normally go for this style, but I loved the colors and how old-fashioned it looked. It's called "Plymouth," available at JoAnns.

I bought a yard of it, and decided to make it into a table runner. I cut it in half, sewed the short sides together, and then seamed all around, and voila!

I also had fun with some gingerbread dough I made a few weeks ago, using tiny acorn and leaf cookie cutters (although they look huge in the photos). They're only about an inch long.

The pumpkins, however, are about the size of my hand, which is the perfect size for a cookie, really. :) The E is for my mom (Elaine)...we are very grateful to have her with us this year as its been 2 years since her diagnosis. She is an incredible woman, and I'm looking forward to eating lots of good food together tomorrow! :)

Happy Thanksgiving!

a summer breakfast

Something special happens when you sprinkle a little sugar on top of mixed fruit. It's almost as if it can't help gloating.

I have always preferred veggies to fruit {if you can believe it}, but now my tastes are starting to change. My latest favorite food craze is fruit salad, but it has to be berry salad: strawberries and blackberries, in this case, but I also love raspberries and blueberries. Note: Bananas are a favorite in berry salads, too, adding the creamy factor if you lack whipped cream. Yum.

Before too long, the farmer's markets will be in town, and fresh fruits and veggies will abound. I can't wait! {Of course, I've only gone to a couple over the years, but I would love to go to more. Check this out and tell me you agree?} I don't think I understood how lovely food really was until I found Keiko's blog--once you start drooling, you'll see what I mean.

Happy Spring, Happy Summer-to-Come!