You start by peeling the wrapper.
Then you open your mouth REALLY WIDE and bring it closer. Closer!
Then you go for the kill. It starts with one bite, and after that there’s no stopping. There simply isn’t. Pretty soon, it’s *gulp,* utterly devoured.
Nothing quite like a homemade chocolate cupcake on a warm, breezy summer afternoon.
Coram Deo!
Easter this year was colorful, bright, and spicy. Yep, spicy. As in the food that we ate was quite savory and flavorful — Shredded lamb with garlic, rosemary, and tzatziki sauce, deviled eggs, steamed asparagus with lemon and butter, homemade pita bread, lentil salad, hummus, dill cheese, and crackers. Oh, and I almost forgot the strawberry shortcakes with vanilla ice cream. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of that bountiful spread because I was so hungry and ready to eat it. Forgive me. 
Good thing our feast days only occur every few months.
Except, today happens to be another feast day. It’s my Dad’s birthday and naturally we are going to eat well on this day — Though, considering that there are about 10 birthdays we celebrate in our family every year, and counting in all the other “feast days” which we take advantage of to eat well, I’m not sure how healthy this is for our waistlines overall! 
Grilled steaks, salad, smashed potatoes, and for dessert, a homemade maple cheesecake are on the menu for today… I promise I’ll get pictures.
Coram Deo!
A few random facts:
I don’t like spiders falling on me from above. This is the stuff nightmares are made of. But it was for real. The spider did not live long to terrorize any more girls.
Making bread is exceedingly relaxing… especially the type of rustic breads that require long minutes of kneading. The results are heavenly:
I’m going to make the starter for a ciabatta loaf next. Soft, chewy, slightly tangy… oh, I can feel the tension just melting away thinking about it.
It’s blissful watching my favorite rite of spring occur right now: the new leaves coming out on the oak trees. Standing on the top of the hill, watching the vast, shifting shadows of the clouds move over the ridges, I can almost imagine being in wild, wild Scotland. The frigid sunshine, sudden snowstorms, and biting wind always add a nice, realistic element, too.
You see this cute, helpless, wild little creature? Someone found it a few days ago while working on our property and brought it to us to nurture. Or take care of in whatever way we thought best.
Well, I fed it to the cat outside. Yes, I’m heartless. But, we live in the country.
However… don’t hesitate to call us up and offer us your tired, your poor, your huddled chickens yearning to breathe free. We’ll take ‘em off your hands and shelter the poor little dears… you won’t find a better chicken haven for miles around. And if you happen to miss your chickens, you can visit them on weekends, and spend a few minutes with them alone, too.
Coram Deo!
So, I’m sitting here getting fatter by the minute. Yep, just packing on the pounds — if you can get fat reading and drooling over food recipes, that is. The Pioneer Woman has an entire section of her website devoted to her down-home cooking. This woman should be locked up in jail for the pure corruptness of it. Causing people to stumble by posting such heinously delicious looking recipes. To think… they might actually cook some of these recipes that call for inordinate amounts of butter, eggs, cheese, white flour, and milk… oh wait, we have cooked some of her recipes before, and they are just as delectable tasting as they look. And incredibly easy.
I’m contemplating the thought of Biscuits and Gravy; I never gave them much thought before. But now I find myself wondering, after reading her recipe, just how hard it would be to whip together an imitation of biscuits and gravy. Do we have canned biscuits on hand? Nope. Pork sausage? Nope. But we can do without… I have a few ideas as to what to substitute.
And Ribeye Steak with Blue Onion Cheese Sauce sounds like it’s to die for. I think that we may have some ribeye steak lost deep in the recesses of the freezer, and blue cheese, too. Problem is, if my thinking is correct, we only have a total of two ribeye steaks. Sorry kids.
Dinner tonight was delicious… Thai Curry Chicken with Green Beans and Sweet Potatoes. What a mouthful. Though, after I finished cooking (and eating) it, I was contemplating what I could tweak in the recipe to get it just right. More curry, less sweet potatoes, less brown sugar, more salt, and a little bit of lime. After that tweaking it should be perfected!
Goodness, I’m a little obsessed with food lately. I guess this is what happens when you’re stuck in the house for an entire week with stir-crazy kids. We really don’t eat all that much. Just enough to keep us alive; that’s the purpose of food isn’t it? Nothing more, nothing less. Don’t you be thinking about that creamy, buttery taste of homemade gravy on top of tender biscuits with crispy pork sausage on the side now, you hear?
This particular set of storms has descended on our area like an alien invasion. In times like these I learn what I’m really grateful for… mostly things I take for granted, like our generator that keeps our utilities going, even when all our neighbors have lost their power. A huge library whose rows and rows of books have provided a sizable amount of entertainment for us over the past couple of days. A well-stocked kitchen and pantry that allows me to cook creative and delicious cuisine. Oops, I’m talking about food again. The woodstove that has had a continuous fire burning in it all week long — only privileged people get to sit in the chairs right in front of it. And board games like Risk that teach children how to master the important skill of world domination. Yes, a highly important skill to possess… if you plan to get far in politics, you must make sure to have a grounded education in the rules of Risk. Cheating included.
I think tonight, as the storm howls overhead, and banshees knock on the front door, I’ll just settle cozily in with a blanket, and get back to my reading. Highly important reading, I assure you.
I’m afraid that even though I’m feeding the children well, I’m not necessarily feeding them meals that are healthy for them. Well, it may be healthy for their little bodies to eat things like homemade quiche. Individual chicken pot pies. Homemade linguine with a bolognese sauce. Whole-wheat cranberry orange walnut muffins. And hot chocolate with homemade whipped topping — As far as that goes, they’re eating well, but the standard I’m setting for them to expect from the food they eat may not be healthy for them in the long run. Because they eat like kings. Yes, like little kings.
Cranberry Orange Walnut Muffins made with half whole-wheat.
Hot Chocolate with homemade whipped topping to warm young bellies on a stormy, cold day in winter.
One of the little kings. Spoiled I tell you. Absolutely spoiled. I had better just stop cooking right now.
Coram Deo~
Yesterday, Sarah and I attended our annual autumn tea at our good friend’s house where we had a relaxing, therapeutic afternoon conversing with old friends, and feasting on exceptionally delicious food, which was prepared by my friends who are enthusiastic, gourmet cooks.
We were wined and dined on a menu of:
Butternut Squash Soup
Apple/Pear Brie Puff Pastry Bites
Pita Bread Chicken Salad Sandwiches
Gorgonzola Mandarin Orange Salad
Pumpkin Creme Brulee
Pecan Tart
and Pistachio Dark ChocolateTruffles
After polishing off such an astounding amount of delicious food, we agreed upon the need for a walk. I had the pleasure this past May of photographing my first wedding at our friend’s property. They graciously opened their home and park-like property to a couple who needed a location for their wedding.
We poked fun at and examined our friend’s fairy ring that pops up every fall on their lawn, growing bigger year by year.
So ended our annual autumn tea… It was so pleasurable and soothing, I think I should suggest doing a tea for every season.
Coram Deo!
Thick, chewy, soft, and floury; homemade tortillas are worth the time it takes to roll them out, and are surprisingly easy to make. They take ingredients that even the most basic cook has in their kitchen: flour, baking powder, salt, and water.
The following recipe is my favorite tried and true from the Sunset Mexican Cookbook
(more…)
I’ve been keeping busy with:
Whatever is foreseen in joy
Must be lived out from day to day.
Vision held open in the dark
By our ten thousand days of work.
Harvest will fill the barn; for that
The hand must ache, the face must sweat.And yet no leaf or grain is filled
By work of ours; the field is tilled
And left to grace. That we may reap,
Great work is done while we’re asleep.When we work well, a Sabbath mood
Rests on our day, and finds it good.
Coram Deo!
Pear Crisp from Cook’s Illustrated magazine;
Makes 6 servings. My rating: 5 stars
Pear Crisp
3/4 cup coarsely chopped nuts (unsalted almonds or pecans)
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons juice from 1 lemon
3 pounds ripe but firm Bartlett pears, 6-7 medium (not too ripe or the crisp will be watery)1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Process nuts, flour, brown sugar, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in food processor until nuts are finely chopped. Drizzle butter over flour mixture and pulse until mixture resembles crumble wet sand, pausing halfway through to scrape down sides and bottom of workbowl. Set aside while preparing fruit.
2. Whisk remaining 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and pinch of salt together in a large bowl. Peel pears, then half and core each one. Cut each half into 4 wedges and then cut each in half crosswise. Gently toss pears with sugar mixture and transfer to 8-inch square baking dish.
3. Sprinkle topping evenly over fruit, breaking up any large chunks. Bake until fruit is bubbling around edges and topping is deep golden brown, 27-32 minutes. Cool on wire rack until warm, at least 15 minutes, and serve.
Anna
Account of my life at the moment:
Dancing and singing to I Need a Hero; I need a hero, hum hum, I’m holding out for a hero til the end of the night…
Giggling myself to sleep at 11 p.m. then waking up at the ludicrous hour of 5 am. Life is hard, but it gets better when you have a cinnamon roll for breakfast.
Agonizing over clothing choices at Nordstroms… er, did I really want that one, maybe I would have been happier with that one!
Being the referee for the little boys during their clamorous, brawling arguements and lego wars.
Cleaning of dish after dish that keep on appearing in the sink. I feel I’m trying to do one of Hercule’s tasks.
Nursing whacked fingers and hurt feelings.
Closing all the windows around the house several hours after the air conditioner has already been running.
Alternating between reading Persuasion and watching the movie.
Puzzling out how to multiply a three digit number by another three digit number with one little boy, then figuring out how to do fraction problems with another.
There are many more little things to list. If I had my camera I would post pictures, since a picture is worth a thousand words, but somebody took it with them on a trip without any regard as to how that would affect me, so, here I am writing up a photoless post.
Anna