... for the Birthday month.
I've still got a couple weeks before the 26th and the official start, but it's coming FAST.
Avery will be 10.
Then Papa's birthday four days later.
Ansel will be 1.
Then five days later Miles will be 4.
And eleven days later is my birthday, though who is kidding who here? By then we're all sick of birthday cake....
Speaking of birthday cake- everyone wants carrot cake, but that won't do- it's just too much of a good thing. But everyone deserves to have their choice of cake on their birthday, at least, right? And so I start my subtle campaign to convince the members of the house to change their tastes and minds. Oooh! Look at this picture of a cake! Doesn't THAT look good?! Wow! I'd LOVE to try that kind of cake....
So far... only Ansel has caved. He was chewing on a picture of a banana. Which clearly means he desires banana cake with chocolate frosting for his birthday, don't you think?
And then the parties... Avery always had these big, well organized and attended parties, with hand sewn party hats and homemade pinatas. He's chosen simpler things the last couple of years- a special dinner, a trip to OMSI in Portland. I have no idea what he wants this year, but hopefully it will be in that vein.
Miles has never had a real kid party, and this won't be the year it happens for him. I'm thinking a joint Ansel-Miles birthday party. Abraham Lincoln's birthday is the 12th of February, a Friday, right in the middle between Ansel and Miles. A good day for a party. And Mary Todd Lincoln was well known for making a special sweetheart's cake for old Abe, so that's a logical tie-in.
The problem with combined parties, of course, is that you're really just adding in another cake, since everyone needs a little celebration on their real birthday too.
And so... we're still at four carrot cakes in four weeks, plus a banana cake and a butter cake.
I guess we're all getting elastic pants for our birthdays, there's just no way around it.
Showing posts with label parties. Show all posts
Showing posts with label parties. Show all posts
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Sneak Peek
Yep. Ansel is going to be a gnome for Halloween. Ridiculous! You just have to wait for the rest of the pictures, though- and not just because I'm madly working at them while trying to pack for an out of state birthday party quick trip and clean the house for out trick-or-treating party scheduled to commence right bout the time we get home....And it's been raining and the drier is still broken, and we haven't carved our pumpkins yet....
But, oh! my house is full of cute little gnomes, so I'm as happy as can be!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
The Fifth of July
The day after is starting out quietly. Homemade granola, fresh picked raspberries. The Sunday paper. First load of cherries out of the dehydrator and the second load in. Wimbledon and skittles with Papa. Later the Farmer's Market, grocery shopping, setting grains to soak for bread tomorrow. Making cherry jam. The 80 pounds of pesticide-free Johnson's Orchards Bings and Rainiers we picked Friday sure went fast! Laundry. Yogurt making. Yard mowing and weeding.
Attack!
Finished!
Can I use my hands now?
The Day: The Fourth of July was sparkly, hot, silly, fun! A perfect birthday!
Cherry Festival at the Fruit Place: pit spitting contest (45 ft!), cherry pie eating, cherry tasting, hay ride, tractor sitting (why oh why is sitting on a tractor so amusing for little boys?)
Attack!
Finished!
Can I use my hands now?Going to the reservation to buy firecrackers: a big pack of sparklers and a few Roman Candles to save for some wintry, snowy, safer night (Why oh why do boys love fire and explosions so? And why oh why do grown men revert to absolute boy-hood around the Fourth, so that Moms have to turn nervous and shrill and ruin all the fun? Why?)
Supper with friends: So relaxing and nice. Amazing to watch all the kids, usually asleep by 8 (or earlier) stay up, and up, and up! Barbecue beef, delicious German potato salad, coleslaw, corn on the cob (Miles ate three!). Moms talked and took care of babies, Dads and older kids watched and sang along with the Schoolhouse Rock songs about America. Miles woke up this morning singing the Preamble to the Constitution. Papa might have gotten a little misty singing along to "The Great American Melting Pot". It's possible. Three year olds running in and out, up and down, riding trikes and spring horses, eating watermelon and cherries. Thrilling, scary, exciting, beautiful sparklers. So, so good. Happy Independence Day!
Fireworks: Much debate, a final decision. With lots of bug spray, plates of raspberry shortbread bars, we'll brave the mosquitoes, the crowds, the late hour, and make our way to the Arboretum to watch the fireworks. It was great! The little ones who'd never seen fireworks were entranced, heartbroken when it was over. Baby Ansel, dressed head to toe and covered in a wrap on my chest was unmolested by mosquitoes (though I was prepared to retreat to the car if necessary). The rest of us were under attack (though Papa and the boys not so much as me, luckily). It really is unheard of in this area- it's awful. And yet, no one wanted to leave. The excitement of fireworks was worth it, and the pure joy of watching little faces so entranced, so amazed, was pretty great. Even if my arms, shoulders, back, legs, feet are swollen and itchy and hurting today. It was a great day, yesterday, the Fourth of July!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Turkish Dinner Party
We had some wonderful friends over for supper and had a great time. Originally it was to be a casual picnic in the park, but I kept thinking I wanted to do Turkish food, particularly this soup that Papa really loves, so we moved plans to our house. Then I kept adding things that I wanted to make, or try. In the end it was kind of a feast, really fun and colorful, with grownups sitting around the table, eating and talking, while children ran and played, ate, fussed, talked, chased each other all around.
It was such a lovely evening and I had so much fun planning and cooking that when everyone left and I looked at the kitchen full of dirty dishes and actually smiled at the piles- cleaning up after just reminds me of how nicely everything turned out, and how much fun we had with our friends, how nice our town is, how cozy our house and delicious our life. Ah!
Here's our menu. The only thing I would do differently is adding in another vegetable- sauteed spinach or carrots or something.
Karkade turns out the way of making hibiscus punch that I thought I invented is pretty close to the Middle Eastern version, called karkade. Easy enough.
Elma Cayi (Apple Mint Iced Tea) I couldn't tell from looking around online if this is even really an authentic Turkish drink or not, but I made up a version and it was yummy, light and refreshing. If this first day of summer had been hot and, well, summery, it would have really hit the spot. Over a grated apple, 4 tea bags and 4 stalks of mint pour 8c. boiling water, let steep several minutes, then strain, pressing on the apple and mint to press out the last drops of water. Stir in 1c. honey, and pour into a large pitcher with 4c. ice. Stir to melt, pour over ice to drink.
Hummus our friends brought this, and it was delicious, but here's my recipe: 2c. of garbanzo beans, 1/2c. tahini, 1/4c. lemon juice, 1/4c. extra virgin olive oil, 1t. salt, 1 garlic clove, 1t. cumin in the bowl of a food processor and process til smooth. Add bean liquor or water as needed. sprinkle with paprika.
Pita Bread mix 1/2c. warm water, 1T. yeast, 1T. sugar in a small bowl and let sit til foamy, then mix in 2c. water and 4T. olive oil. Mix 2c. whole wheat flour, 4c. all purpose flour, 1T. salt in a large bowl, then add the water mixture and knead til smooth and elastic, yet still quite soft. Cover, in an oiled bowl, til double, knead lightly and divide into 16 balls, cover and let rise. Preheat oven to 500 degrees, with a pizza stone if you have one, and roll the dough balls out to 1/4" thick, bake on the stone for 3-5 minutes, til puffy and lightly browned.
I've never made pitas that consistently "pocket", which never much bothered me, but the boys suddenly love pocket bread, so I guess I'll be trying to figure that out. I hear The Frugal Gourmet's recipe is fool-proof, which is about how I need all my basic recipes. Hopefully the library has his cookbooks.
Ezo Gelen Corbasi (Red Lentil Soup) In a big pot heat 2T olive oil, 2T. paprika, 2T. mint til bubbly and fragrant, then add 1 1/2c. red lentils, 1/4c. rice, 1/4c. bulgur, and stir to coat. Cook 1 minute, then add 1 minced onion, 3 minced carrots, 1 chopped tomato, 2T. tomato paste, salt and pepper to taste, and 6c. stock (beef or chicken or veggie, or even water is fine). Bring to a simmer and cook til rice is soft and lentils are mushy, about 45 minutes. When ready to serve heat 4T. butter, 1t. paprika, 1t. dried mint in a small saucepan til melted and fragrant, remove from heat, add 2T. lemon juice, and drizzle over the top of the soup, either in a tureen or individual bowls.
Tossed Green Salad our friends brought this, too. It was yummy and nice to have some fresh, local, crisp and tasty veggies.
Lamb and Vegetable Kabob but we grilled them. Yum.
Yogurt Mint Sauce 2c. yogurt, greek style is best but plain is fine, 2T. dried mint. That's it. With the leftovers you can make that Turkish Yogurt drink by blending the minty yogurt with water and a dash of salt, and serving over ice. Or dip veggies and pita in it, either way, it's good.
Filo Sesame Cigars this was simple- just sheets of filo dough with butter brushed on, sprinkled with sugar, cinnamon, and sesame seeds. I would make them again, since they're so easy, but I think honey and crushed pistachios would be good, or cardamom like Andy suggested. And I would just do one sheet of filo per roll, instead of two, so they'd be thinner (more cigarette than cigar).
Pistachio Gelato Inspired by Saveur magazine, here. In a food processor finely grind 2c.pistachios, then process in 1c. sugar and 2c.cream. Try not to eat this mixture all with a spoon standing in front of the food processor. In a large pot heat 4c. milk to just below a simmer. Whisk together 2c. milk, 1c. sugar, and 6T. cornstarch, then whisk into the heated milk, add the pistachio cream, and continually whisk over med heat til thickened and cornstarch taste has gone. Pour into a bowl and cover, pressing plastic wrap directly onto surface. Chill. Freeze according to directions of your ice cream freezer.
Really Rich Chocolate Gelato This is directly from Saveur magazine, right here. I doubled it and added cream, but it was the same otherwise. 4c.milk, 2c. cream, 11/2c. sugar, 11/2c. cocoa powder, 4T. cornstarch.
Egg based ice cream have always been my favorite, but these two cornstarch recipes knocked my socks off. I'm going to experiment a lot more this summer, I think. The cornstarch makes a nice thick, smooth base that freezes up quickly and nicely, and ice cream that is smooth and thick without the trouble of making an egg-custard.
It was such a lovely evening and I had so much fun planning and cooking that when everyone left and I looked at the kitchen full of dirty dishes and actually smiled at the piles- cleaning up after just reminds me of how nicely everything turned out, and how much fun we had with our friends, how nice our town is, how cozy our house and delicious our life. Ah!
Here's our menu. The only thing I would do differently is adding in another vegetable- sauteed spinach or carrots or something.
Karkade turns out the way of making hibiscus punch that I thought I invented is pretty close to the Middle Eastern version, called karkade. Easy enough.
Elma Cayi (Apple Mint Iced Tea) I couldn't tell from looking around online if this is even really an authentic Turkish drink or not, but I made up a version and it was yummy, light and refreshing. If this first day of summer had been hot and, well, summery, it would have really hit the spot. Over a grated apple, 4 tea bags and 4 stalks of mint pour 8c. boiling water, let steep several minutes, then strain, pressing on the apple and mint to press out the last drops of water. Stir in 1c. honey, and pour into a large pitcher with 4c. ice. Stir to melt, pour over ice to drink.
Hummus our friends brought this, and it was delicious, but here's my recipe: 2c. of garbanzo beans, 1/2c. tahini, 1/4c. lemon juice, 1/4c. extra virgin olive oil, 1t. salt, 1 garlic clove, 1t. cumin in the bowl of a food processor and process til smooth. Add bean liquor or water as needed. sprinkle with paprika.
Pita Bread mix 1/2c. warm water, 1T. yeast, 1T. sugar in a small bowl and let sit til foamy, then mix in 2c. water and 4T. olive oil. Mix 2c. whole wheat flour, 4c. all purpose flour, 1T. salt in a large bowl, then add the water mixture and knead til smooth and elastic, yet still quite soft. Cover, in an oiled bowl, til double, knead lightly and divide into 16 balls, cover and let rise. Preheat oven to 500 degrees, with a pizza stone if you have one, and roll the dough balls out to 1/4" thick, bake on the stone for 3-5 minutes, til puffy and lightly browned.
I've never made pitas that consistently "pocket", which never much bothered me, but the boys suddenly love pocket bread, so I guess I'll be trying to figure that out. I hear The Frugal Gourmet's recipe is fool-proof, which is about how I need all my basic recipes. Hopefully the library has his cookbooks.
Ezo Gelen Corbasi (Red Lentil Soup) In a big pot heat 2T olive oil, 2T. paprika, 2T. mint til bubbly and fragrant, then add 1 1/2c. red lentils, 1/4c. rice, 1/4c. bulgur, and stir to coat. Cook 1 minute, then add 1 minced onion, 3 minced carrots, 1 chopped tomato, 2T. tomato paste, salt and pepper to taste, and 6c. stock (beef or chicken or veggie, or even water is fine). Bring to a simmer and cook til rice is soft and lentils are mushy, about 45 minutes. When ready to serve heat 4T. butter, 1t. paprika, 1t. dried mint in a small saucepan til melted and fragrant, remove from heat, add 2T. lemon juice, and drizzle over the top of the soup, either in a tureen or individual bowls.
Tossed Green Salad our friends brought this, too. It was yummy and nice to have some fresh, local, crisp and tasty veggies.
Lamb and Vegetable Kabob but we grilled them. Yum.
Yogurt Mint Sauce 2c. yogurt, greek style is best but plain is fine, 2T. dried mint. That's it. With the leftovers you can make that Turkish Yogurt drink by blending the minty yogurt with water and a dash of salt, and serving over ice. Or dip veggies and pita in it, either way, it's good.
Filo Sesame Cigars this was simple- just sheets of filo dough with butter brushed on, sprinkled with sugar, cinnamon, and sesame seeds. I would make them again, since they're so easy, but I think honey and crushed pistachios would be good, or cardamom like Andy suggested. And I would just do one sheet of filo per roll, instead of two, so they'd be thinner (more cigarette than cigar).
Pistachio Gelato Inspired by Saveur magazine, here. In a food processor finely grind 2c.pistachios, then process in 1c. sugar and 2c.cream. Try not to eat this mixture all with a spoon standing in front of the food processor. In a large pot heat 4c. milk to just below a simmer. Whisk together 2c. milk, 1c. sugar, and 6T. cornstarch, then whisk into the heated milk, add the pistachio cream, and continually whisk over med heat til thickened and cornstarch taste has gone. Pour into a bowl and cover, pressing plastic wrap directly onto surface. Chill. Freeze according to directions of your ice cream freezer.
Really Rich Chocolate Gelato This is directly from Saveur magazine, right here. I doubled it and added cream, but it was the same otherwise. 4c.milk, 2c. cream, 11/2c. sugar, 11/2c. cocoa powder, 4T. cornstarch.
Egg based ice cream have always been my favorite, but these two cornstarch recipes knocked my socks off. I'm going to experiment a lot more this summer, I think. The cornstarch makes a nice thick, smooth base that freezes up quickly and nicely, and ice cream that is smooth and thick without the trouble of making an egg-custard.
Friday, November 14, 2008
What's Going On?
Ha, ha! We're busy. As usual.
The Rising Star has been busy getting ready for trial, writing briefs, signing people up to bring food for the church auction/supper tomorrow. I hate falling asleep before he gets home, but sometimes there's just no help for it. If I'm pregnant and responsible for two kids already all day long I just can't stay up til 2 or 3. Of course, he thinks it is ridiculous of me to even WANT to stay up, but I can't help it. Like somehow if I stand vigil he'll get home safely. What the heck am I going to do with myself when my boys are old enough to be out at night by themselves? Valium, maybe. I can't think what else would work....
I spent most of the last week freaking out about the baby- I started having contractions last Friday at this homeschool Moms group I went to, all through the night and the next day, plus throwing up and feeling awful. On Saturday night the baby dropped low, and I really had a hard time keeping it together until Wednesday when I had an appointment with my OB. She did her usual Osteopathic Maniplulative Treatments on me, which work like magic to calm everything down, get my pelvic floor in alignment and stop contractions. Then she did an ultrasound and we could see the baby's head right there, down low, but not causing any problems. So yay! She's happy, I'm happy, just trying to enjoy this pregnancy and not worry so much about all the things that could go wrong. The truth is, this time, everything is under control.
Now I have a ton of food to cook for the church auction supper. Here's the menu:
Tiny Toasts with
Hummus, Roasted Tomato Bruschetta, Olive Tapenade
Saffron Basmati Rice
Marinated Lamb and Vegetable Kebobs with Yogurt Sauce
Spanikopita
other people are bringing veggie trays, pasta salad, a couple of other appetizers
Tiny pumpkin pies
Tiny pecan pies
French Apple Cake
Brownies
Mini Cream puffs
other people are bringing cheesecakes and some other desserts.
Hot Apple Cider
someone else is in charge of wine.
Also I've been working on plans to convert the office-hall downstairs (which ends in the laundry/bathroom) into a family dressing room, with a whole wall of shelves and bins, a garment rack, tie rack, shoe racks, everything clothes-wise all in one place. I'm excited, and trying to get the Rising Star to see that $500 investment would mean a huge change for the better as far as the tidiness of our house. Clothes wouldn't even make it upstairs unless they were being worn! All the shoes downstairs instead of spilling across the living room floor. This has led me to rework, mentally, all of the rooms of the house, which is, admittedly, a little more than $500 worth of changes....
ABCD started a new block on housing through history, and is enjoying that. He also started guitar lessons a couple of weeks ago, and he likes that a lot. His teacher asked him to write down some of the music he likes, and his list included the Talking Heads, They Might Be Giants, and the Gypsy Kings. I'm glad he's still young enough to think his parents' music is cool! Uh- because it is. If only I could get him to love Lyle Lovett....
Mymy is full of energy and really delighting in pestering his brother and getting big reactions. Not so nice. 2 1/2 so much wants to be a big boy, but really, really isn't. Much to his frustration.
And mine. When is that kid going to WANT to go potty in the toilet? I'm really not excited about two bottoms to diaper all day long.
The Rising Star has been busy getting ready for trial, writing briefs, signing people up to bring food for the church auction/supper tomorrow. I hate falling asleep before he gets home, but sometimes there's just no help for it. If I'm pregnant and responsible for two kids already all day long I just can't stay up til 2 or 3. Of course, he thinks it is ridiculous of me to even WANT to stay up, but I can't help it. Like somehow if I stand vigil he'll get home safely. What the heck am I going to do with myself when my boys are old enough to be out at night by themselves? Valium, maybe. I can't think what else would work....
I spent most of the last week freaking out about the baby- I started having contractions last Friday at this homeschool Moms group I went to, all through the night and the next day, plus throwing up and feeling awful. On Saturday night the baby dropped low, and I really had a hard time keeping it together until Wednesday when I had an appointment with my OB. She did her usual Osteopathic Maniplulative Treatments on me, which work like magic to calm everything down, get my pelvic floor in alignment and stop contractions. Then she did an ultrasound and we could see the baby's head right there, down low, but not causing any problems. So yay! She's happy, I'm happy, just trying to enjoy this pregnancy and not worry so much about all the things that could go wrong. The truth is, this time, everything is under control.
Now I have a ton of food to cook for the church auction supper. Here's the menu:
Tiny Toasts with
Hummus, Roasted Tomato Bruschetta, Olive Tapenade
Saffron Basmati Rice
Marinated Lamb and Vegetable Kebobs with Yogurt Sauce
Spanikopita
other people are bringing veggie trays, pasta salad, a couple of other appetizers
Tiny pumpkin pies
Tiny pecan pies
French Apple Cake
Brownies
Mini Cream puffs
other people are bringing cheesecakes and some other desserts.
Hot Apple Cider
someone else is in charge of wine.
Also I've been working on plans to convert the office-hall downstairs (which ends in the laundry/bathroom) into a family dressing room, with a whole wall of shelves and bins, a garment rack, tie rack, shoe racks, everything clothes-wise all in one place. I'm excited, and trying to get the Rising Star to see that $500 investment would mean a huge change for the better as far as the tidiness of our house. Clothes wouldn't even make it upstairs unless they were being worn! All the shoes downstairs instead of spilling across the living room floor. This has led me to rework, mentally, all of the rooms of the house, which is, admittedly, a little more than $500 worth of changes....
ABCD started a new block on housing through history, and is enjoying that. He also started guitar lessons a couple of weeks ago, and he likes that a lot. His teacher asked him to write down some of the music he likes, and his list included the Talking Heads, They Might Be Giants, and the Gypsy Kings. I'm glad he's still young enough to think his parents' music is cool! Uh- because it is. If only I could get him to love Lyle Lovett....
Mymy is full of energy and really delighting in pestering his brother and getting big reactions. Not so nice. 2 1/2 so much wants to be a big boy, but really, really isn't. Much to his frustration.
And mine. When is that kid going to WANT to go potty in the toilet? I'm really not excited about two bottoms to diaper all day long.
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