Going Bonanas

pretending it's spring

2011-03-26T20:27:00.001-04:00

Despite what our pretty, floral wall calendar tells us, we are still looking at a sea of white in our yard. All that snow is still lingering and today, while sunny, was a whopping 27 degrees accompanied by 20 mph winds. We are all a bit stir crazy and wishing spring would actually show its face around these parts.

In a bid to lift our spirits, tonight we had a quintessential upstate/western NY spring-summer BBQ. We grilled chicken leg quarters using the perennial favorite Cornell Chicken recipe and boiled us up some Syracuse salt potatoes that we dipped in a melted butter/parsley mixture. (Recipes for both the chicken and potatoes can be found here.) If you have yet to try these regional New York State favorites, you are truly missing out. Around here, this is your standard church or fire department barbecue fundraiser and a long time staple at the State Fair. Alongside we had watermelon wedges (way out of season courtesy of Costa Rica and our local grocery store) and a simple arugula salad dressed with lemon juice and olive oil. To drink, of course it was lemonade. To finish it all off, it had to be strawberry shortcake.

The girls are so desperate for spring, they were outside burying fallen branches in the ground in the hopes that they will suddenly sprout blossoms or leaves.

dutch baby

2011-03-19T11:21:00.000-04:00

We ate a Dutch Baby for breakfast. It was delicious! And no, this isn't some kind of cannabalistic ritual. A Dutch Baby is an egg-based oven pancake that you top with powdered sugar and a good squirt of fresh lemon juice.

I used this recipe from the folks over at Cooks Country. The basic concept is you mix together eggs, milk, and flour. Pour this very loose batter into a pre-heated skilled (I used my cast iron skillet) and bake. While baking, it puffs up and starts to climb out of the pan, which makes it kind on fun to watch.

After you take it out, and begin its sugar and lemon juice treatment, the baby shrinks a bit. The texture and taste is somewhat like a thick crepe. We ate ours with fresh sliced strawberries!

In related news, we are cooking up another kind of baby here, too. Not a Dutch baby, but an American baby with a pinch of Irish, Welch, English and a sprinkle of Italian and French. And no, we won't eat this baby. He or she is expected to arrive in mid September. The girls are hoping for a little brother (and so is Tim, secretly, though he claims he has no preference). Me, I'm partial to girls.

snOMG!

2011-02-01T17:25:00.000-05:00

Another snowstorm is coming for us tomorrow. The weatherpeople are calling for 12-18 inches more. We already have plenty, thank you. The girls are outside now enjoying the 3 feet of white stuff in our front yard while Daddy snowblows (yes, we got about 4 inches today). Mira wanted me to come to her ice museum, but I had to take a raincheck since I was in my slippers.

In other news, Abby turned four last week!

On her birthday on Thursday, we had a little ice cream cake as a warm up for the bigger extended family birthday party on Saturday.

The birthday cake this year was what is known as the Elvis Cake around the internet. Banana cake layers spread with chocolate ganache and filled and iced with fluffy peanut butter frosting. The flavor combination was really different in a good way. The peanut butter frosting was a standout. (You can make it by creaming together 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup cream cheese, 1 cup peanut butter and about 3 cups powdered sugar. Then you beat in about 1/4 cup of heavy cream and whip until you get a fluffy spreadable consistency.) It would be really good on a chocolate cake.

i believe you have my stapler

2011-01-20T17:05:00.001-05:00

Mira put this sign on my office door a few weeks ago. In case you can't read 1st grade English, it says, "Do not come in. I am frustrated. But you can talk to me." She put it there when she retreated to my office for some alone time after something upset her.

I've decided to leave it up because the message pretty much applies to me on a regular basis while I'm working: I'm frustrated, but you can still talk to me. In fact, I'm sure you can relate to this message too and you should probably post a similar sign on your office door to serve as fair warning to unwitting coworkers. I like the way the note conveys one's current state of mind in a straightforward way, but also says "I'm dealing with it. I'll take your calls anyway and we'll have a civil discourse." I like it a lot.

apples, pumpkins, costumes

2010-11-01T22:43:00.002-04:00

I've got a lot of ground to cover to make up for my blog-slacking, so here is a photo-narrative of the last several weeks' activity.

We went to Hick's Orchard in Granville, NY for some apples, cider, and of course the donuts. Did I mention the donuts??! This is really the main reason why we make the 45 minute trek and they are so phenomenal - totally worth the drive. We can take or leave the apples, but we cannot leave without a few dozen of these bad boys:

As you can see, the girls really enjoyed them.

Mira thought a good chomp into an apple could get that loose tooth to come out. But it hung on for a few more days.

(I was playing around with some photo effects using Picnik. Fun stuff, you should check it out.)

We had to do the tractor ride through the orchard. It's mandatory.

A few weeks later we went to pick out our Halloween pumpkins.

They always have plenty of wooden backdrops to stick your faces in.

Tim and Abby drank too much cider and had to use the facilities while we were there.

Then we went home and carved the pumpkins.

And this shady group of hooligans went out terrorizing our neighborhood in search of candy.

raspberries gone wild

2010-09-20T19:30:00.000-04:00

The raspberries we planted a few years ago are out of control and have no boundaries. They've spread around the back of the garage, harassing the hostas that live there and threatening to take up residence in the strawberry bed. But the upshot to letting them do their thang is now we've got a boat load of raspberries. We picked over six pounds the other day in about 15 minutes. I froze three quarts for later and produced a raspberry & honeycrisp apple pie that was really tasty.

Speaking of harvests... Today I plucked the giant tomato in the picture off my "Mortgage Lifter" plant. Weighing in at 1 lb, 10.5 oz it is the largest tomato I've ever grown. While not a spectacular year for my tomatoes-- largely due to the early-season tomato snatcher (who stole and ate half of every tomato as soon as it started to ripen)-- we did not have the late blight this year so I have gotten a few good fruits.

Side note: Physical evidence observed at the crime scene (teeth marks) gave me reason to believe the early-season tomato snatchers to be a band of rodents, probably squirrels or chipmunks. Even though I assigned the dog to guard the tomatoes, sprayed the fruits with Tabasco, and a put a "Repels-All" barrier around the garden composed of granulated wolf urine/garlic/putrefied eggs, the snatching continued. Subsequently, I dispatched my trusty feline to address the issue as part of her weight loss regimen. In spite of her morbidly obese status, she did manage to infiltrate the gang and brought me its leader, a chipmunk with crazy eyes who now sleeps with the fishes. I think the gang got the message because the tomato snatching ceased.

rediffricated

2010-09-06T20:34:00.001-04:00

Rediffricated. Pronounced ree-dif-ri-kay-ted. This is Abby's own word meaning "not to Abby's liking". She applies the term liberally, sometimes to a too-flowery shirt of which she's not a fan: "This shirt is rediffricated. I want to wear the other one." Other times the word refers to another's (mostly Mira's) behavior: "Mira! You are being rediffricated!" It's fair to say that after a long day last week, Abby would have found this situation to be rediffricated as well:

Abby's long day was spent fishing and swimming and canoeing and roasting marshmallows. It was enough to wipe a girl out -- so much so that she fell asleep in the midst of her late-night snack (strawberry mini wheats).

We spent a few days relaxing on Lake Chautauqua with my family and rocked some canoes, kayaks, power boats, and s'mores.

The girls were enthralled with fishing from the dock. Well, except the time Abby fell backwards off the end and into the drink. But we fished her out soon enough and she got right back up on the horse, as they say.

The fish were usually biting and they pulled in plenty of perch and sunfish. Mira even managed to hook a bass, but unfortunately my camera wasn't nearby for that photo op.

The lucky ladies also had Daddy and Uncle D there to take care of the rediffricated aspects of fishing, like putting worms on hooks and releasing each catch (eew!).

ta ta for now, cape cod

2010-07-19T22:00:00.001-04:00

Well we're back at the grindstone after a very refreshing week of vacation. But I have a feeling we'll take another drive out to the Cape before summer is over.

Here are a few pictures of the girls at the Cape Cod National Seashore (Nauset Beach, specifically). We didn't spend much time on the ocean side of the Cape because of the heavy surf and frigid water, but it was fun to watch the waves and walk along the vast beach. But just sticking a toe in that water is enough to send a perfectly healthy person into cardiac arrest. It's THAT chilly. We prefer the balmy bath-like temps on the bay for swimming (or toe dipping, for that matter).

Aww, isn't that cute? A rare moment of sisterly affection.

The Cape Cod National Seashore is quite breathtaking, but my photos don't do it justice. Here's one of Marconi Beach (another one of our favorite spots) that I borrowed from somewhere in cyberspace.

And just for kicks, let's take a short stroll back in time to 2005 (our inaugural Cape trip). Look how young we all are! Abby wasn't even a flicker in our naive little heads yet.

low tide

2010-07-12T22:08:00.001-04:00

The best part about being on Cape Cod are the tides. The beach is always changing along the bay and the tides seem to drive our schedule. At low tide, we'll walk out for what seems like miles.

There are all sorts of wildlife to be found when the tide is out. Today the kids managed to catch a few little crabs.

The sun was setting which made for some really great lighting for pictures, too.

the sidewinder blast

2010-06-30T13:50:00.000-04:00

We got a new toy last weekend. It's a giant inflatable water slide called "The Sidewinder Blast". We saw it in our weekly Aldi flyer and knew we had to have it. It was one of those Aldi "special buys" where they get random items for a good price but have a limited number available for sale. Tim made me drive to our trusty neighborhood Aldi store a good 20 minutes before they opened so that I could beat out the throngs of shoppers waiting to spend a few hundred bucks on a giant water toy. Needless to say, there was no wrangling necessary at Aldi for this thing. My competition was more interested in the 99 cent Pringles and 29 cent per pound bananas than a 75+ pound box filled with a ginormous inflatable water slide.

So of course right after I returned home with the booty, we had to play with our new toy. We invited the cousins over and spent a good four hours testing out this beastly addition to our backyard. Good times were had by all. Here's the highlight reel.

goodbye cosmo

2010-06-18T11:03:00.000-04:00

Today we had to say goodbye to Cosmo. He has been a good friend and companion for almost 14 years. We will miss him.

balsamic strawberry-rhubarb jam

2010-06-15T16:06:00.001-04:00

After our trip to the strawberry patch, we were left with way more berries than we could eat. On top of that, my rhubarb started to get out of control again. Solution to both problems? Strawberry-rhubarb jam with a splash of balsamic vinegar.

In case you would also like to whip up a batch, here's how: Since I don't like huge pices (small ones are ok) of fruit in my jam, I started by running the strawberries through my food processor to coarsely chop them. I then combined the strawberries with sugar (based on the ratios given on the Sure Jell box) and left them to do their thing for a while (about 5 hours). I did the same for the roughly chopped rhubarb and gave 'em a stir every hour or so.

Now it's time to cook: After their sugar soak, I strained out the fruit and put the resulting juices into a large pot and brought it to a boil. After about 5 minutes of boiling the juice to concentrate the flavors a bit, I added the rhubarb and cooked for 4-5 minutes (I wanted the rhubarb to almost completely break down). After the rhubarb reached my desired consistency, I stirred in the chopped strawberries, 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, and the pectin and boiled for 1 more minute before pouring the concoction into the jars. The color is a rich wine red and they look amazing. And the leftover jam that I managed to scrape from the pot was very tasty.

the magic forest

2010-06-14T10:04:00.000-04:00

Last week Abby and I joined Mira's school class on their end-of-year field trip to the Magic Forest. It was a cute little amusement park perfectly suited for their age group. All the rides were vintage, but really well maintained. The only low points were when I had to ride the Tilt-a-Whirl and the Scrambler with the gang due to Abby being too small to ride without an adult. For me, spinning rides are not so good.

Mira's friend Sarah was also with us and her dad (a professional photographer) took a few really great shots that he shared. Here they are:

happy birthday mira

2010-06-01T09:50:00.000-04:00

Mira turned six last week. We had a party with family on her birthday and a luau themed party with kids on Saturday. Here are a few pictures from our action-packed week.

In making Mira's birthday cake for the family party, I've discovered the best-ever yellow cake recipe. The method is so easy and foolproof and the result is just the perfect texture- fluffy yet substantial. You can find the recipe here. The frosting is a light chocolate buttercream.

For the luau party, I made yellow cupcakes and frosted them with a vanilla-almond-coconut buttercream. They were so very tasty.

Here is the birthday girl and two of her friends hula dancing for the camera.

And here are Mira and Abby resting under a palm tree after the party.

mira's life story

2010-05-18T16:35:00.001-04:00

Mira came home from school today with a booklet in which she wrote the story of her life. At first I thought it was cute and funny, then it made me a little sad. I think we need to spice things up a bit around here!

In case you can't read Kindergarten, let me translate:

First I get breakfast. Then I go to school. I learn and I come home. Same as the next day. The End.

She also brought home this paper today:

She has some serious practicing to do before she can produce a bubble of that size.

kindergarten concert

2010-05-15T10:20:00.003-04:00

Mira's school put on a Kindergarten concert last week. You can see her above in the front row looking all proud after the last number. We took a couple videos too!

Opening:

Grand Ol' Flag:

Then when we came home Abby put on her own performance inspired by one of her favorite songs. Enjoy!

rain drops

2010-05-14T09:55:00.000-04:00

We had rain showers all night long and my flowers were covered in a shimmery blanket of droplets this morning. I pulled out my new camera and tried to capture a few shots.

rhubarb-strawberry custard pie

2010-05-04T20:55:00.001-04:00

The rhubarb I planted last year has survived the winter. I harvested my first batch of stalks the other day and turned them into a retro-style rhubarb-strawberry custard pie. I've been having slices for breakfast the last couple days. This is my favorite way to make a rhubarb pie because the creamy custard base rounds out the tartness from the rhubarb really well. Here's the recipe if you want to give it a whirl:

4 cups rhubarb, chopped in 1 inch pieces
1 1/2 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/4 C flour
1 tsp lemon zest
pinch of salt
3 Tbsp cream
2 eggs
2 egg yolks

Put a foil lined cookie sheet on the lower middle oven rack and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Make your favorite pie crust recipe and line a 9 inch pie dish.

Whisk together the sugar, flour, pinch of salt, and lemon zest in a large bowl. Add the cream, eggs, and egg yolks and whisk until smooth and combined. Add the prepared rhubarb and strawberries to egg/sugar mixture and stir. Pour the fruit/custard mixture into the dough-lined pie dish. Put the top on the pie (you can do a lattice top like me or just cut some vents and do a standard top crust). Brush the top crust with cream and sprinkle liberally with sugar (raw or demerara sugar works best if you have it).

Bake for 50-60 minutes until filling is bubbly (be prepared for a little spillage... thus the reason for the foil-lined baking sheet). Let cool for several hours before eating.

the mophead

2010-05-03T10:58:00.000-04:00

Unlike Mira's ruby red locks, which are always fastidiously combed, Abby's hair is never neat. She always looks like she just got out of bed with the signature rat's nest in back and a few long strands hanging down into her eyes. I literally have to put her in a headlock to comb out the snarls and then any ponytails or clips attempting to keep hair out of her eyes are pulled out within 10 minutes. Whenever we're out I'm sure people wonder about our child with the unruly hair. I have to say, the hairstyle does suit her personality well. :)

warmth

2010-04-30T14:03:00.001-04:00

Every once in a while I have a moment that, in spite of the infinite production of dirty laundry, reminds me there's upside to having children. One such moment happened the other day after Mira came back inside from checking out the hail (hail!?) that fell briefly. Here is what she said,

"Wow, it's cold out there but it's so warm in here. Mommy, you're the one who makes it so warm in here. You are like the sun and I am like the earth. I get my warmth from you."

Then she gave me a big hug and that's when my heart melted just a little bit.

nap time

2010-04-17T12:06:00.000-04:00

Tim will undoubtedly be less than pleased about this post, but it's just too funny. He has a habit of falling asleep everywhere, especially while reading books to the kids. This is what I found 45 minutes after he didn't come back downstairs after putting Abby down for her nap:

Looks like a comfy place to snooze, right? I'm sure his neck thanked him for it later.

Oh, and I whipped up a killer coconut cake for Easter. The recipe was from Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc at Home cookbook and involved reducing some coconut milk for additition to the cake batter. It was delicious, moist and just the right texture. We covered it in a fluffy white marshmallow frosting sprinkled with flaked coconut that we dyed in various pastel colors to give it some Easter flair. I'm going to have to make this one again soon.

ultimate steakburgers

2010-03-26T15:47:00.002-04:00

Spring has been teasing us for a few weeks now and caused me to have major cravings for some burgers hot off the grill. Last summer I discovered the secret to the most delicious cheeseburgers, packed full of beefy, juicy goodness.

The recipe, published by Cooks Illustrated, (here is a free link to the recipe as long as you register with America's Test Kitchen) calls for grinding your own meat consisting of a mixture of boneless beef short ribs and sirloin tips. If you don't have a meat grinder, you can use a food processor by cutting the meat into 1 inch chunks and freezing until just firm around the edges. The meat is processed until finely ground, but still loose. You don't want to overprocess and end up with a pureed glob of meat. Then you loosely form the patties, handling them as little as possible, and season generously with salt and pepper just before grilling. I served mine as directed in the recipe with thinly sliced onions, "special sauce", and melted american cheese. Wow. It was awesome and just what I was craving. Here's a photo from Cooks Illustrated but mine looked just as good!

Oh- and don't forget to check out the photos I uploaded from our vacation to Walt Disney World (click the photo below to view the album).

Walt Disney World 2010

little leprechauns

2010-03-17T16:48:00.000-04:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day from our little leprechauns. The two wee people are happy because they are about to nosh on these chocolate mint cupcakes.

Erin go bragh!

stuffy noses

2010-03-06T11:22:00.001-05:00

Abby has had a stuffy nose for a few days. Apparently to her this stuffy nose is not your run-of-the-mill cold, but something else entirely. This is the conversation we had yesterday:

Abby: Mommy, there are little green guys in my nose.
Me: Huh??
Abby: Yes, little green guys. They are in my nose.
Me: Ok...?
Abby: The green guys are having a dance party. Can you tell them to get out of my nose?
Me: Green guys, get out of Abby's nose.
Abby: No!! They can't hear you! You need to yell it up my nose.
Me (bending down and with my face right up to hers): Green guys, get out of Abby's nose!
Abby: Thanks Mom.

hung out to dry

2010-02-08T17:14:00.002-05:00

Kindergarten produces massive amounts of paper. Mira comes home with a new stack every day. We get to see the letter sounds and sight words of the day, a drawing or two, some cutting and pasting, and don't forget the coloring pages. I do my best to read through all of them each day, but I must admit experiencing Kindergarten paper overload from time to time, which causes me to skim through the pages or worse, add them to the ginormous stack of papers in my office waiting to be read. Today as I was cleaning out my office I made my way through the massive pile of Kindergarten papers. After the ladybug cutting and pasting project and beneath the "pan, fan, bat, hat" page on words with short a vowel sounds I found this:

If you can believe it, this little gem almost slipped by my fastidious review process. I've often wondered what Mira thinks of her little sister and this paper provides a glimpse. In case you can't read it, the directions state, "Draw something silly Mrs. McNosh might find at your house to hang up with the wash." Mrs. McNosh must be a character in a story that Mira's class read. For some reason, Mira decided that her little sister, Abby, should be out on the clothesline with the laundry. As you can see from the illustration, Abby is pretty distressed about being hung out to dry. Can you blame her?