Today

Today I am...

drinking... too much coffee

sewing... pillows

starting... a sourdough starter

listening... to Rodrigo y Gabriela



making... yogurt (inspired by this post to dust off my yogurt maker)

soaking... beans (for soup and for sprouting)

savoring... Green & Black's Maya Gold

preparing... for a visit from Chris' mother and grandmother

avoiding... cleaning the bathrooms (boys are so messy!)



helping... with a science fair project (a solar powered water heater)

thinking... about taking a class in hydroponic and organic gardening

dreaming... of Spring flowers

planning... a few new skirts

hoping... for a slow weekend

Cookie of the Week

Not exactly what I had planned but good none the less. This week I made Butterscotchies. But... I got distracted and left out a key ingredient - 3 cups of oatmeal! So these cookies are predominately butter and sugar. Like I said, still good, just not what I had planned. (and not the prettiest of cookies)

Butterscotchies

1 1/4 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks butter, softened
3/4 c white sugar
3/4 c packed brown sugar
2 eggs
grated peel of 1 orange
3 c old fashioned oats
2 c butterscotch chips

Preheat oven to 375º

Beat butter, both sugars, eggs and oatmeal and orange rind in a large bowl. Mix together the rest of the ingredients (except for the chips and oatmeal) in a separate bowl. Gradually add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until well mixed. Stir in the butterscotch chips and the oatmeal.

Drop spoonfulls on to a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake 7-8 minutes. They get dark but that's ok.

In Like a Lion...

March is certainly coming in like a lion! This weekend was in the high 70's. Last night we had thunderstorms. The wind was howling and the rain was pounding. Today - snow! Can you believe that?! Snow in Texas. We thought, for sure, we had left that behind.



It started out very light. A little sleet and freezing rain and then a few flakes. Can you see it there? It's hard I know but it's there.



Dinner was abandoned. The boys were too exciting to eat. They just had to stand there and watch it. They tried briefly to catch a flake on their tongues but there just weren't enough falling for that.

Topher caught a few though. See? Snow! Sort of.



But while we were at Cub Scouts this happened.



Then it did this.



And now it looks like this.



I don't imagine that there will be much left tomorrow, though. Once the sun comes out again, I'm sure it will melt and Spring will once again be on the way.

Day 29

Day 28

Day 27

11!

Today Edmund is 11! I can't believe it has been 11 years already. Happy Birthday, Edmund. We love you.

11 Things About Me
by Edmund

1. I play the Alto Saxophone. I started in 4th grade but I got put in the 5th grade band because I was good. Now we are in Texas and I'm still in the band but I have to play the recorder. Everyone does.

2. I want to be an astronomer when I grow up.

3. My favorite football team is the Patriots. I wasn't happy when they lost the Super Bowl. My friends sometimes tease me about liking the Patriots because they all like the Dallas Cowboys.

4. My favorite baseball team is the Yankees. Topher and my Dad like the Yankees, too but my Mom and Chaz like the Red Sox.

5. I have a lot of friends. I miss my friends in Connecticut, though.

6. I like to play outside. I ride my bike and skateboard a lot and I am learning to ride a RipStik. My friend has one that he lets me borrow.

7. I have my own email address. My mom won't let me tell it to people though.

8. My best subject in school is English. My favorite subject is Science. School is boring sometimes, though.

9. I really like Star Wars. I don't have a favorite movie because I like them all but my favorite character is Anakin Skywalker.

10. I like to build with Legos. I have some Star Wars Legos that are just mine and a bunch of regular Legos that I share with my brothers. I thought we had a lot until I went to my friend's house. He has a LOT!

11. I collect baseball cards. I have 3 binders full and a bunch that are in a box. I sort them by team and the teams are sorted by league. Each league has it's own binder. I also have a binder for minor league teams.

Cookie of the Week

It's Edmund's birthday week so he go to pick this week's cookie. There was no question as to what his choice would be - his favorite Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars. Oh so very rich but oh so very very good! Definitely a favorite of ours.

The recipe comes from one of Ina Garten's books (I just love her! I really want to be her friend) but you can find it here. I'm too busy eating to type up the recipe.

Day 25

Day 24

Day 22

Day 21

Cookie of the Week

Another week, another cookie. I have fond memories of some grocery store coconut cookies. Little white rectangles with rows of ridges across the top. I'm not sure when I had them last and I can't even remember what they are called. I haven't been able to stop thinking about them, though.

I found a recipe for Coconut Icebox cookies and it sounded like it might fit the bill. They are not exactly what I was imaging but they are close. Actually they are very good, especially with a cup of tea. (but then again, aren't all cookies great with a cup of tea?)

I had to make a couple of very minor changes to the recipe. The first batch in to the oven where HUGE! So big, in fact, they took almost twice the time to cook. The rest of the cookies were made smaller which I think is better anyway. I also found the dough too soft to slice from the refrigerator but just right out of the freezer. Minor changes.

Coconut Icebox Cookies

3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 c sugar
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1 1/2 c melted shortening
4 c grated coconut
5 1/2 c cake flour, sifted
1 Tbls baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Combine eggs, sugar, melted shortening, and coconut in a large mixing bowl. Mix well. Combine dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients to the egg mixture, combining well.

Press dough in to a 8x8 pan lined with wax paper. Cover and refrigerate overnight (place in the freezer). Turn dough out and slice in to 3 logs (slice these in half again - 1.5ish x 8 inches). Cut in 1/4 inch slices and place on a prepared cookie sheet. Bake 400º for 10 minutes or until lightly browned.

Day 20

Day 19

Day 18

Day 17

(4:30pm - exhausted from a sleep over last night)

Day 16

Bread recipe from SouleMama, adapted to be made by hand.

Day 15

Day 14

Happy Valentine's Day!

Day 13

Cookie of the Week

With it being Valentine's week, I really wanted to use my heart cookie cutters for this week's Cookie of the Week. I had big plans, too. I was dreaming of little heart shaped butter cookies filled with raspberry jam. However, my cookie cutters just weren't the right size for that. I had a really hard time thinking past what I wanted to make to figure out what I was going to make. (this is often a problem for me)

I found a recipe for Old English Crisps - or as I like to call them, Butter and Honey Cookies - and thought I'd give them a try. I like the simplicity of the recipe. There aren't a lot of ingredients. I also like that they are sweetened by honey. I thought this would be something just a little different. The cookies smelled wonderful while baking. You could really smell the honey! They are flaky and tender and they remind me of a good pie crust. (Except with honey!)

The only problem I have with this recipe is that it doesn't make a lot. Most of the time my cookie jar is nearly full. Today it is only about a third of the way filled. We'll have to show a little restraint in our cookie gobbling eating this week, I suppose.



Old English Crisps

3 1/3 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup cold butter (cut up)
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup honey

Sift the flour and salt in to a large bowl. With a pastry blender, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Mix in the cream and honey to form a stiff dough. Divide the dough in half and press each in to a disk. Wrap in parchment paper and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 300º. Roll dough disk out on a floured surface to a thickness of 1/8 inch. Cut with cookie cutters and place on parchment lined baking sheet. Continue until all dough is used. Bake 15-20 minutes until golden.

Day 12

Day 11

Day 10

Day 9

Day 8

Day 7

Day 6

Day 5

Day 4

Cookie of the Week

It's that time again! It's time for another cookie of the week. Last week's cookie was a little late in getting made so the cookie jar is still pretty well stocked. This week we decided to make a pan of brownies instead. I used the Moosewood Fudge Brownie recipe from The New Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen. The brownies are good but they are dense and cake-like instead of fudgy and a little gooey (which is what we were hoping for). Chris says they remind him a little of the cake part of a Devil Dog. They just need a little dollop of whipped cream.

I suppose this is the start of a new project - the quest for the perfect brownie recipe. Yep, because I need to eat a ton of brownies! Maybe the Great Brownie Experiment needs to be a sporadic one. Anyone have a good brownie recipe?

Day 3

Day 2

In a house full of boys, there is always a Nerf Dart stuck on something - or someone!

Day 1

February Photos

I haven't really been feeling that inspired lately to take any pictures. I've really enjoyed looking at other "everyday photos" but my camera still sits unused. I think part of it is that I am just not used to the light we have in this house and I have had a little trouble getting used to it.

I really love going back and looking at these. What better way to get used to my new surroundings than a little photo project! (It should also help to get me out and about a little more, too). So I will be repeating last year's February Photo Project - a photo a day of the everyday during the month of February.

I'm really looking forward to it! (and I'll be reading this birthday gift for a little help.)


Check out these everyday photos:

Mom's World
Six One Way and the corresponding Flickr pool
3191
Simply Breakfast
SouleMama's - 30 Days of Everyday

Cookie of the Week

It's a little late but this week's cookie of the week still got made. This week's cookie was requested by Edmund. He wanted chocolate chip cookies with other flavor chips, too. So it is Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter Chip Cookies. I used my favorite basic cookie recipe - my grandmother's recipe - and added a mixture of peanut butter chips and chocolate chips. You really can't go wrong with that combination!

Last week's cookies were also made and enjoyed but never photographed. We were too busy eating them to stop and take pictures. My parents were here and my Mom suggested my Ginger Cookies. It's been such along time since I've made those, I'd forgotten how good they are! My Mom made them with Edmund while Topher and I were at an appointment. It was so exciting to come home to warm cookies!

Ginger Cookies

3/4 c shortening *
1 c sugar
1 egg
1/4 c molasses
2 c flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbls ground ginger
1 Tbls cinnamon
additional sugar for rolling

Cream shortening. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add egg and molasses. Beat well. Add remaining ingredients and beat well. Shape dough in to 1 inch balls and roll in additional sugar. Place on parchment paper on a cookie sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake at 350º for 8-10 minutes.

* shortening is key in this one. It makes for a nice chewy cookie with a little bit of a crisp edge. Butter will give you a hard crispy cookie - like a Ginger Snap

Rambling Along

January has been a quiet month here. We've just sort of been plodding along. It's been a month of gearing up and getting ready. Getting ready for what? I'm not sure, perhaps just the new year. Maybe we are regrouping. I don't know but it has been a good month.

The boys had a 4 day weekend for MLK day and my parents flew in for the long weekend. It was so nice to have them here. My dad got Chaz to get his room clean and organized - with out a fight! He also helped me organize my pantry. I was stuck and my dad is an organizing mastermind! We had a really nice visit and we were all sad them go.

Chris is in Las Vegas this week for a conference. He'll be home Friday night. I'll admit, we have fun when he's not here but it's always so nice to have him come home, again.

I put my sewing machine away right after Christmas. I felt like a little break. I pulled it out again yesterday to make this top for myself. I used the ever popular Built by Wendy pattern - Simplicity 3835. I made view C with the sleeves from view A. The pattern was so simple and I really love the way the top turned out. I can see myself making quite a few of these. However, I need to make a couple of adjustments. This one is a little too tight across the bust. Too bad, too! I was really looking forward to wearing this.

Well there you have it. A few bits of randomness from the last few weeks.

Scherenschnitte

December was crazy busy with lots of secret crafting (I'll have to share some of that soon) so there hasn't been a whole lot of crafting going on here lately. I just needed a little time out from it all. I didn't put everything away, though. Amidst all the new books there were several on paper cutting or scherenschnitte and a new set of x-acto knives.

These are my first two attempts. My knife skills need a little work but that comes with practice. The black one was cut from origami paper and the other was cut from parchment paper. I think I prefer working with the parchment but I do like the look of the black paper.



I know I should have scanned these but the scanner is not hooked up right now so you'll have to settle for photos. You get the idea though.

Cookie of the Week

This week's cookie of the week is Coconut Crunch Drops. This recipe comes from my Mother-in-Law. Chris says he doesn't remember eating these growing up, though. Too bad! They're so good! Real crispy and buttery and ever so slightly chewing right in the center. It's going to be tough to make these last the week!

Mimi's Crunch Drops

2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups oatmeal
3 1/2 oz coconut

Preheat oven to 375º. Sift flour, baking soda and salt. Beat butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat in the flour until well combined. Stir in oats and coconut until blended to make a stiff dough. Drop by spoonfuls on to a prepared cookie sheet. Bake 10-14 min.

The Cookie Project

I've been thinking about this for quite sometime but never really did anything with it. Which is really very silly since as far as projects go, this one is so simple. I want to do a "Cookie of the Week". See, how simple is that! I'd like to try new to us recipes but I know that there will be a lot of family favorites too. The kids love cookies and I hate buying them. I like making them but I just don't very often. I'm not sure why I don't make them more often but that will change.

This week I made snickerdoodles. This week was an easy one, too. I had frozen cookie dough that I bought from the middle school band's fundraiser so I just needed to place the dough balls on a sheet and bake. Easy peasy!

2008

Last month at book club we discussed words. The impact they have. How they affect us. How they can represent different things to different people. We were asked to go around the room and choose just one word to make our own and explain why. The only time we had to think on it was the amount of time it took to get to get around to us. I was third.

The word I chose was calm. With three boys, our house is anything but calm. I tend to get caught up in the whirlwind and chaos which just leads to stress. I need to create calm. My boys being the boys that they are can sometimes be a challenge. I need to remember to remain calm.

There will be a few changes here at home. There will be small and simple changes but I think the results will be big - and so good for our family. Our first step is that we will not be playing Spring Baseball this year. The Fall season was very intense and eventually overwhelming to us all. The boys started to get a little burnt out and Edmund struggled with school. This Spring, we will be able to focus on being a family and we'll have time to explore our new area. It's a start.

My word for 2008 is calm, what's yours?