Goin' Adventin'

Okay, so I am a little tardy with this idea...

Had a little trouble executing the project with little people around... 

The first opportunity to put it all together was yesterday
when my wonderful in-laws spirited the kids away to go bowling... 

Thank goodness for them....

My in-laws, I mean.... 

Anyway, I read about this fun Advent calendar project
in the December Martha Stewart Living Magazine. 
Instead of presenting the advent calendar board with the chocolates hidden
behind the cardboard doors,
they suggest taking a different approach... 

The one I liked was filling little paper bags with treats,
stringing them, clothesline style,
and affixing them with clothespins... 

And you know, it was rather fun and easy... 

My first concern was cost: 
twenty five treats times two kids = fifty items to obtain... 

Even at a buck a treat, that is not a cheap project.. 

One of the first ways around this was Party City...

You know the aisle for kid parties that has the bins full of junk
kids love to play with...

And at a quarter or fifty cents a pop...

A good deal...

Little candy treats found here and there at the dollar store, for instance,
make nice goodies for the bags...

Anyway, I had a good time seeking out trinkets... 

The beautiful striped paper bags can be purchased here
and they are mighty inexpensive... 

The stickers to close up the bags are from Target,
twine and clothespins from Home Depot... 

So, with just bags, twine, scissors, a pen and some little treats,
you have almost a month full of anticipation and joy for the pipsqueaks in your life... 

Not having much room in our house, I rigged up the bags on our front window... 

And the fun will begin December 1rst! 

For those of you who might want to try this, but are cursing me for my late post....

How about doing the Twelve Days of Christmas instead? 

That gives you about two weeks to pull it all together... 

When the kids returned from bowling last night they jumped up and down with excitement...

Tom spied Kate eyeing the striped treats,
trying to figure out what lay within... 

It will either be tons of fun or it will bomb like the Hindenberg... 

I'm going to go for the glass half full idea....

List 2011

Thanksgiving is in a few days and my mind is swirling with recipes,
grocery lists, housecleaning lists, seating arrangements,
you name it... 

But behind the temporary chaos of the impending Turkey Day
is the background murmur
that the big one is coming...

You know...

Christmas... 

I thought by this time Operation Deprivation would have ceased in our house... 

Nope, not so much...

Still broke.... 

So, I will be conjuring up ideas for homemade gifts shortly ( I hope!) 
Sometimes it's good to peruse gift lists offered by every magazine,
major website, TV show, etc., just to come up with some more ideas...

Most of the choice "It" items are out of my reach,
but now and then a few cool gadgets catch my eye as a cool gift...

Here are some things I think are neat
and most likely beyond my budget. 
But hey, a girl can look, right?

For the Guys:  

 Sonos 5 All in One Music Player:  Tom would love to have this...better sell more cars!
 

Muji Ice Ball Maker.  If you have a mixologist in your ranks, this trendy ball of ice will be the cat's meow.

Ultimat Vodka  Pretty bottle, and I'll bet a pretty darn good Cape Cod...

Long Johns  For those cold Chicago days.  Heck, Tom wears his from October to May...

Five Very Good Reasons to Punch a Dolphin in the Mouth  This author makes Tom laugh so hard he sobs...

North Shore Gin  Made near Chicago and each holiday they sell a special bottled concoction...

For the Kids:

Nanoblocks  are these super tiny Lego-like blocks.  Lots of nifty kits, tiny enough to embed themselves into your instep like a splinter.  The kids love 'em...

Perplexus Epic  is a crazy marble run contained in a sphere.  Jack would play with this for hours...

Bedol Water Powered Clock.  A fun way to teach alternative energy...

Lite Brite:  Who doesn't love this classic toy? 

Uncle Milton Ant Farm Revolution  Not a fan of the six (or 8) legged creatures,
but this little commune lights up and looks pretty fun! 

Barbie I Can be an Architect Doll  Go Barbie! 
She can bring home the bacon, draw an elevation of her kitchen
and then fry it up in a pan! 

FyrFlyz Blue Angel  Light up the night sky with this handheld toy...

Dusty Pink Dress  So dreamy for Christmas....

For the Ladies: 

Martha's Entertaining, A Year of Celebrations:  Okay, maybe not everyone will want this, but I do!

Be Optimistic tags:  Really, this can be given to anyone,
sewn in the neck of a new jacket,
inside a lovely handbag or to the end of a child's scarf. 
It just picks you up!  
 

Leather Bracelets  You have to discover Etsy.com; The coolness is endless!  

Keep Calm Earrings  For that Tacky Christmas Sweater theme party....

Julius Meinl Coffee  A decadent hostess gift...

Green Crystal Earrings  Love these.....

Green Fringed Scarf  Screams luxurious warmth....

Hot Mama Holiday Dress  This jersey number would look great on most body types....

Bird Pillow  Perfect for Kate's room...

Custom Portraits by Superstudio    This artist is so good!  I can't talk about it, but he made something COOL for me....

 Cameo Cookies   Too pretty to eat....

Cardamom Spice Body Lotion  Smells so good you might want to lick it off....oooh...did I just say that?

Kahlua Peppermint Mocha    Hint, hint, Santa.... :)

Happy Shopping!

Invisibility Cloak....

Have you read all of the Harry Potter books?

I haven't.....

Meant to, but since Jack was born, reading a whole book
or speaking an entire sentence with another grown up are things of the past....

Maybe soon I will be able to enjoy books again....

Of course that will be when the kids will have nothing to do with me
and I'll have piles of time to read....

or weep...

Back to Harry...

Of the books I did read, I loved his invisibility cape...

He would toss it over himself and slink down Diagon Alley
or creep through the damp corridors of Hogwarts...

Oh how I wish I had one!

Not necessarily for detective or intelligence gathering missions...

I'd like one so I could just disappear for a little while....

A stealthy time-out, if you will...

I took a couple of good old fashioned time-outs today, anyway...

You see, even though Santa's spy elves are monitoring my children's movements,
the kids don't seem to care...

Today was yet another no school day, the third of six days off in November...

I am quickly tiring of my indentured status as Julie McCoy...

Throw even thirty minutes of down time on these critters
and they are at each other's throats faster than you can say
"idle hands are the devil's playthings"....

On today's agenda: paint it yourself pottery...

What a great way to entertain crafty fingers
all the while creating handmade Christmas gifts for lucky family members...

Amazing how quiet little people get when they are choosing colors,
preparing a design and executing their ideas....

Pure poetry in motion...
until one finishes before the other and the first one then wants to paint more objects...

$$$$$$$...

It was good while it lasted...

As they alternately  rough housed, bickered and tickled each other on the way home,
I was planning my escape...

Little did I know it would take the form of an app....no, not nap...

It was this pet shop game Kate plays on my phone...

I am in no way interested, much less skilled at electronic games,
but dad gum if this one was fun!

After I informed the kids that I needed to take a little rest,
I holed up on my bed and played the pet shop game for a good fifteen minutes....

Refreshed, I reappeared and resumed cooking, dishes, laundry as usual...

And then I received reprieve #2....

A full twenty minutes in Whole Foods, ALONE! 

Tom came home from work
and all he saw was the blur of my jacket
as I dashed out the back to pick up a few things for dinner...

I felt like the cat who escaped out the dog door...

What a lovely twenty minutes it was, too, perusing the bright, happy gourmet aisles,
sampling Irish cheddar, noting the sale on king crab
and selecting fresh veggies for our dinner salad.....

What a treat to amble through the store without  a kick, whine, tattle
or mere mention for the 100th time that this exact spot near the exotic soaps
where Kate barfed last year while we were shopping for lice medication...

Ahhh... the peace and serenity of solo shopping....

Besides escaping my children for a few moments,
the real purpose of the trip was for ingredients for this rock star cake I am making
for a dinner party we are attending tomorrow night...

Col, Rosie...hope you aren't reading this or the surprise will be revealed...  

But this cake will be sooo good.  I have now made the layers and the caramel...

Tomorrow is icing and assembly....

Check out this recipe from the cool new cookbook, "Baked, New Frontiers in Baking"...

Sweet & Salty Cake...

Courtesy of Baked bakery in New York City

• Yield Makes one 8-inch 3-layer cake

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 2 2/3 cups cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pans
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla
• 1/2 cup Caramel with Salt
• Whipped Caramel Ganache Icing
• Fleur de sel, for garnish 
•  
• Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter three 8-by-2-inch round cake pans. Line each pan with a parchment paper round, butter parchment paper and flour; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together cocoa, 1 1/4 cups hot water, and sour cream; set aside to cool, about 10 minutes.
3. In another large bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and shortening together until smooth and it appears to create strings inside the bowl, about 7 minutes. Add both sugars and continue beating until light and fluffy, about 7 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until well incorporated. Add vanilla, scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula, and mix again for 30 seconds. Add flour mixture alternating with cocoa mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
5. Divide batter evenly among the three prepared pans. Bake until cake is just firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 18 to 24 minutes. Let cool completely.
6. Using a serrated knife, trim tops of cakes to make level. Place four strips of parchment paper around perimeter of a serving plate or lazy Susan. Place the first layer on the cake plate. Using about 1/4 cup of the caramel, spread a thin layer on the cake, allowing some of the caramel to soak into the cake. Follow the caramel layer with a layer of about 1 cup of the ganache icing. Place the second layer on top and repeat process with another layer of caramel followed by a layer of ganache icing. Place the remaining layer on top of the second layer bottom side up. Spread entire cake with remaining ganache icing. Sprinkle with fleur de sel.

4th Grade Essay...

If I Were in Charge of the World by Jack Herlihy...

If I were in charge of the world I would cancle school, 

war,

books, 

 bedtimes, 

polution, 

groundings

and ISats.  

If I were in charge of the world there'd be 

no TV limits 

or writing, 

sharks, 

califlower and money. 

If I were in charge of the world you wouldn't have sisters.... 

You wouldn't have class....  

You wouldn't have librarys or fried carots.  

You wouldn't even have time outs.  

If I were in charge of the world, a football team would have 100 players.  

A cake would be a vegetable, 

And a person who sometimes forgets to read 

and sometimes forgets to write...

would STILL be in charge of the world...

***********************************************************************

And now.....

Let's have pie!

Courtesy of Family Circle Magazine...

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

Makes: 10  servings

Prep:   20 mins  Bake:   40 mins  375°F  Chill:  2 hrs 

---

• 1 refrigerated rolled piecrust (from 15-ounce package)
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/3 cup chunky peanut butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, plus additional for garnish (optional)
• Frozen whipped topping (such as Cool Whip), thawed (optional)
• Chopped peanuts (optional)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Fit piecrust into a 9-inch pie plate. Flute if desired. Refrigerate while preparing filling.
2. In a small bowl, lightly beat eggs with a fork. Stir in corn syrup, sugar, peanut butter and vanilla extract; mix until completely blended.
3. Remove piecrust from refrigerator and sprinkle with chocolate chips then pour peanut butter mixture over top. Cover edges of pie with aluminum foil.
4. Bake pie at 375 degrees F for 20 minutes; remove foil. Bake an additional 15 to 20 minutes more or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cover and chill for 2 hours. Garnish with whipped topping, remaining chocolate chips and chopped peanuts, if desired.

Noodles

 

Life moves too fast.... 

Can you even believe it's November 6th already?  

As a child, 48 days until Christmas seemed like an eternity... 

As adults we are panicking...  

So much to do, plan, buy, cook between now and then... 

The lists keep building in my brain...  

Order Christmas cards... 

Comparison shop for a turkey... 

Rake the yard...  

Reserve Santa Speaking online...  

Decide how to decorate the Thanksgiving table...  

Plan employee Christmas party...  

yadda yadda yadda...  

Through the eyes of a little one, the season is magical...

It's our challenge to keep the magic alive in our eyes, too... 

When I was small, I remember a particular November day...  

There was a chill in the air...

in fact there were constant flurries swirling about 

as I watched my mother make pie dough from scratch... 

Back then, there wasn't ready-made pie dough....  

She would let me help her roll the dough

and then her expert hands would deftly lift it over 

and into the glass pie dish...  

She would slice off the scraps 

and pinch the decorative border around the pie crust...  

I was in charge of rolling out the scraps of crust 

into a small circle....  

I smeared soft butter all over the crust, 

sprinkled sugar and cinnamon over it

and rolled the whole thing up like a burrito... 

Mom then cut inch wide slices and baked them for me... 

With a full glass of cold milk, it was heaven...  

That same day, she made her grandmother's fresh noodles.  

They were meant to thicken chicken soup...

As she cut the noodle dough into long, thin strips, 

I would sneak a few... 

They were doughy and a little tasteless, 

but their freshness was addicting...  

I took for granted how special it was that my mom 

cooked such wondrous things for us...  

But I do remember the joy of being at her side, 

getting some extra attention 

as she cooked and baked...  

So, this weekend, I tried to slow down, 

enjoy this short time while the kids are still young...  

Jack had a sleepover at a friend's house on Friday, 

so Kate and I had a "spa night" together...

First we watched "The Santa Clause 2" on Netflix, 

popcorn and all... 

 Next she had a bath 

and I made her a luxurious pumpkin mask for her face...  

That lasted about five minutes when she called from the tub, 

"Mom, this mask is starting to bug me..."  

Next was a mani pedi from me

before an extra book at bedtime... 

She fell asleep with a smile...  

Saturday, we drove to the 'burbs to visit my parents 

and my brother, who was in town with his family...  

We don't get to see them very often

and the cousins were eager to see each other....

They ran and played in the cool fall air 

until long after dark...  

As the kids were cremating their marshmallows in the bonfire, 

I felt the joy of the moment...  

Happy kids, enjoying each other... 

So today, in anticipation of having friends 

and their kids join us for dinner, 

I decided to bake my fave Tuscan bread

and make chicken noodle soup from scratch...  

Click here for the broth recipe...  

My great-grandmother was an excellent cook...  

She even had her own restaurant for a while...  

She lived with my grandparents and mother when Mom was little, 

and I know she spent many hours teaching my mom to cook...  

Kate helped me with the noodles today...  

Hopefully she and Jack will pick up some cooking skills...

If not, I hope they will remember the warm moments in the kitchen...

Mamaw's Noodles

Note: I cut the strips, flat, with a pizza cutter.  The method on the card works well, too.
Use LOTS of flour so the noodle don't stick.
Do not handle the dough too much or it will be tough and rubbery.
This recipe makes a lot of noodles.  Freeze half of them in a  resealable bag for a quick go to with chicken soup or beef stew...