hopeful

We take St. Patrick's Day pretty seriously around here. In the old days, that meant a lot of loud Irish punk and some serious pub carousing. Now we settle for excessive amounts of green clothing, nothing but traditional Irish music on the iPod, and cold beverages in a can poured perfectly into pint glasses (see here) enjoyed from the comfort of our own couch. For the last few years, we've attended our church's St. Patrick's Day program, and this year we somehow landed ourselves on the planning committee. It was a blast - Irish stepdancing, snake hunts, cake walks, an appearance by St. Patrick. With all that on the agenda, we managed to talk my parents into coming down for the day...and they brought along my aunt, my eleven-year-old niece, and my eight-year-old nephew. My boys were completely surprised, and the day was subsequently even more fun than anticipated. There is nothing quite as exciting as a group of surprise visitors at the door, especially when the group includes cousins.

We started the day with St. Patrick's Day brunch. This recipe was soooo yummy, and really easy to throw together. I made the biscuits the night before so all I had to do when everyone arrived was warm the biscuits, fry up some eggs, and stack it all together. Yum. As written, the recipe makes 8 to 10 biscuits, but because you only use half a biscuit for each serving, you end up with a lot of extra biscuits. If you are serving a bigger crowd, just make more eggs. The ham is totally optional; use it if you like it, skip it if you don't. I opted to double the recipe and freeze lots of leftover biscuits; we had them for dinner tonight with baked potato soup and enjoyed them all over again.

In addition to tasting good, the biscuits are really pretty to look at. I did not manage to take a decent picture, but the one on the Betty Crocker website gives you a good idea.

It wouldn't be a holiday without a little custom applique...

Happy March!

St. Patrick's Day Biscuits
Adapted from Betty Crocker

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Makes 8-10 biscuits / 8 servings + leftover biscuits

1 package frozen creamed spinach, thawed
2 3/4 cups Bisquick mix
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. ground mustard
2 Tbsp. butter
8 eggs
2 Tbsp. butter, softened
1/4 lb. sliced deli ham (optional)

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees.

2. In medium bowl, mix spinach, Bisquick, cheese, and ground mustard just until dry ingredients are moistened. It seems like you need to add liquid, but you really don't - there is enough in the spinach.

3. On a lightly floured work surface, knead dough eight to ten times. Pat to 3/4 inch thickness; cut with 3 inch round cutter. You should get 8-10 biscuits.

4. Place rounds one inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 13 to 16 minutes or until golden brown (can be done in advance).

5. In a nonstick skillet, fry eggs to desired consistency in butter. Season with salt and pepper.

6. Split 4 biscuits and spread cut sides with softened butter. Reserve extra biscuits for a later use.

7. Top each biscuit half with a slice of ham and one fried egg.

December was an abundantly full month for our family. Here are a few favorite pics from the holiday season. I am, as always, "hopeful" that I can find a way to write more often in the months to come; in the meantime, I hope 2013 is off to a wonderful start for everyone!

Brother love at the Christmas tree farm.

Always focused...

...and far more interested in THIS stuff than in finding a tree.

Under the tree in red pajamas.

Bookmark presents for teachers: art by the boys, scanned, printed on cardstock, laminated, and ribboned.

A perfect pre-Christmas snow.

"Make Santa beards in the tub" - an advent calendar activity.

Best effort at a Christmas Eve family photo; Sean and I can't stop laughing because Finn won't stop dancing...

Christmas morning quiet...and our BIG ol' tree...

Cowboy boots and Star Wars books. Nuff said.

My new 50mm fixed lens!

Playing a polka...

...and eating smores.

New Years Eve ready.

Be still this librarian mama's heart -- my boys dressed as Thing 1 and Thing 2 for Halloween. Do you remember Thing 1 and Thing 2? They are friends of the Cat in the Hat and make a late entrance in the book to wreak further havoc on the home. They are spirited and silly and they like to pretend they are completely innocent even as they are tearing up the joint...in short, the costumes were perfect for my pair.

We bought red union suits off of Amazon. They were $16 a piece and because I did not permanently attach the logos (see below), the boys can wear them through the winter. And yes, they do have a drop in the back. They are ridiculously adorable and I'm sure they'll show up in a holiday photo shoot or two.

I found the template for the logos on this blog. While my boys don't look nearly as sassy as these sisters, the templates were exactly what I needed. I printed them on fabric paper that you can run through an inkjet printer then cut them to size and whip-stitched them onto the front of the union suits. This made it a bit tricky squeezing the boys into the suits without being able to unbutton them all the way, but we figured it out. After Halloween, I pulled out the stitching, and the suits are as good as new.

The thing I am most proud of are the wigs:


Instead of purchasing blue wigs from the party store (which ran about $20 a piece), I wrapped blue feather boas (which I purchased from Jo-Anns) around old stocking caps and attached them with a hot glue gun. I particularly love how much height the wigs have with this process; Emmett in particular looks like a toddler version of Marge Simpson. As a bonus, the boys had warm hats for trick-or-treating. We'll be living with remnants of blue fuzz for the next few months, but that's okay.

And so, I leave you with memorable words of Theodore Seuss Geisel, who wrote:

t-shirt applique directions here

In lieu of a birthday party, Finn chose a family getaway for his fifth birthday celebration. We decided on Indianapolis and made plans to hit the Indianapolis Children's Museum and Caribbean Cove Water Park, with the added bonus of an amazing parent-selected dinner at Trader's Point Creamery...more on that later.

But what to do about a cake? I couldn't very well not make my kid a birthday cake, but without a party in the works, it kind of fell to the wayside. Throw in the timing (we left for Indy early on Saturday, which was his actual birthday) and it didn't really make sense to knock myself out. The solution? Cupcakes for breakfast.

To be perfectly honest, it was actually a muffin recipe. But once you add cream cheese frosting to a dense, sweet muffin, there isn't really that much of a difference.These were sooooo good, and super easy; we'll definitely be making them again this fall.

Happy birthday, Finn. You truly light up my life.


Pumpkin "Cupcakes" with Cream Cheese Frosting
Adapted from here and here

Makes 12

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1 1/2 cups white flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
6 Tbsp. butter, melted
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
1 large egg
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a muffin tin with cupcake wrappers or grease the cups.
2. Place the first six ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. Stir until just combined. 
5. Pour into prepared muffin tin, 3/4 full.
6. Bake for 20 minutes.
7. Cool, frost and serve!

Frosting
1 8 oz package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Combine all ingredients and beat until fluffy, 1-2 minutes.

As some of you may remember, my niece Iona lived with us for four months last fall and attended middle school here in Champaign. Just before Christmas we tearfully sent her home to France and started counting the days until summer when we would see her again. Shortly after that, my sister (her mother) let us know that for the first time ever, they wouldn't be coming in the summer - seems those crazy gas prices impact air travel as well. We never did tell the boys about the change in plans - Emmett wouldn't quite get it, but Finn would have been devastated.


Then something amazing happened. Lufthansa posted tickets from Frankfurt to Chicago for ridiculously cheap that just happened to fall over their spring break. Plans quickly fell into place for a short spring visit. Once again, we decided not to tell the boys - but for a good reason this time!

And so, after lunch yesterday, I told Finn and Emmett to put on their shoes. It was the first time we referenced the surprise at all. We planned on meeting Iona, her brother Edgar, her sister Didi, my sister, and my parents at a restaurant halfway between Chicago and Champaign. As we pulled in, we told Finn that we were going to get a bite to eat before the surprise...still no clue. And then...

(with advance apologies for the terrible quality - we're going Handycam to Webcam here...my computer doesn't want to talk to my videocamera today)




Best.surprise.ever.

Today happens to be my birthday. I can't imagine a better way to spend it than with this crew!


We've got one more surprise in store. This evening, Iona will be surprising the fourteen girls that she attended school with last semester. That's fourteen fourteen-year-old girls about to be surprised by the return of their friend. Expect shrieking. Lots and lots of shrieking.

Happy weekend, all!

Forget orchids for this mama - for my Easter treat, Sean volunteered to cook the entire dinner and in fact explicitly forbid me from the kitchen the entire day. Throughout the afternoon he photographed his handiwork, claiming inspiration from none other than this blog. I love this man.


And so, a moment to remember his divine work:

Deviled Eggs with Bacon, Scallions and Cherry Tomatoes

Roasted Chicken and Sauteed Swiss Chard with Onions and Bacon

Roasted Beets, Carrots, and Potatoes

The Cheese Course, courtesy of Prairie Fruits Farm

Strawberry Custard Pie

The roasted chicken was the gift that kept on giving; a few days after Easter, I made a ridiculously easy and delicious chicken and dumplings recipe that I found here. And I got fourteen cups of homemade chicken stock by simmering what was left after that.

As thoughts turn to spring and summer, I'm finding myself feeling somewhat uninspired...time to get my hands on a new project or a new cookbook...or perhaps to start planning the vegetable garden. I'll keep you posted.

I'm not sure when my mother started making this bread on Easter, nor do I know where she came across the recipe. I only know that when I think of Easter morning, it evokes the wonderful taste combination of hard boiled eggs and big, thick slabs of this fantastic, subtly sweet bread with lots and lots of butter. This is actually a variation of Christopsomo, which is a bread traditionally served on Christmas in the Greek Orthodox tradition, but I'm sharing it here with you today in case you are looking for a little something to go with your Easter eggs this weekend.

The bread is made with just a touch of anise. I'll say up front that I do not particularly like the taste of anise (and I absolutely despise the taste of licorice), but it adds a complexity to this dense loaf that works so perfectly.


 Enjoy!

Greek Easter Bread

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2 packages yeast, active dry
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1/2 cup milk, scalded and cooled
1 cup butter, melted and cooled to lukewarm
4 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. crushed anise seed
1 tsp. salt
7 cups all purpose flour
1 egg white, slightly beaten

1. Blend yeast with warm water and let stand until softened, about 5 minutes.  In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture, milk, butter, eggs, sugar, anise, and salt.  Blend thoroughly.  Gradually beat in the flour.


2. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes or until dough is smooth and elastic. Place in a large greased bowl, turning so surface is coated. Cover and let rise in a warm place about 2 hours or until almost doubled in size.


3. Punch dough down and knead on an unfloured surface. Divide into two balls and knead until smooth. Place on a greased baking sheet and flatten to form two discs.  Cover and set in a warm place for about 1 hour or until almost doubled in size.


4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush both loaves with beaten egg white. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool on wire rack.


5. To reheat, wrap bread in foil and place in 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes.

I love planning my kids' birthday parties, in large part because I love anything with a theme. For Finn's 1st birthday, we had a baseball theme. We requested that all guests wear their favorite sports apparel and I made a carrot cake rendition of U.S. Cellular Field (complete with pinwheel scoreboard) that was frosted with Alton Brown's avocado frosting (don't knock it 'til you try it!):


Over the next few birthdays, we had dogs...



...and silly monsters


...and pirates.



Emmett is my March baby, and for his first birthday we went with a St. Patrick's Day theme:


Which brings us to this year - Emmett's second birthday. Emmett, like pretty much any two-year-old I know, loves balloons. We often joke we should get rid of all the toys and just buy a helium tank and a sack of balloons. He loves to dance with them and chase them and bat them around and look at us through them. So, for his birthday, we went with a balloon theme.



We held his birthday party at my parent's house, and my mom went to town putting balloons all over the house:



For the first time, I did not make the birthday cake. This broke my heart a little bit, but because we were traveling the day of the party, it made more sense to order from the bakery near my parent's house. It was delicious - chocolate cake filled with bananas and covered in white whipped cream. I asked them not to decorate it at all (they thought I was nuts) and instead filled the top with balloons - I used water balloons (filled with air, not water) tied to kebab sticks broken to different lengths.  Thanks, Pinterest, for the simple, fun idea. Emmett loved it.



You know what else two-year-olds love? Bubbles. Finn remembered this, I guess, because weeks ago he asked me if he could get Emmett a bubble machine for his birthday. We had it up in Galena and the boys had a blast dancing in the bubbles. It has since become a regular feature in our yard - anyone have a good recipe for homemade bubble solution?


 Balloons and bubbles. It's fun to be 2.

In my last post, I shared a little bit about how my family celebrates Mongolian New Year, or Tsagaan Sar. I didn't include too much information about the food, or the fact that my amazing husband pinched over fifty meat dumplings (buuz) in the days leading up to the event, or the fact that my kids devoured the dumplings like they were Mongolian children. I also didn't include this slow cooker rice pudding recipe.

Disclaimer: Rice pudding is not typically served at Tsagaan Sar. There is, however, a kind of rice porridge (called "sootei bodah," or "rice with milk") that is sometimes served. I first incorporated this kicked-up recipe into our Tsagaan Sar festivities last year, and I vow to never again celebrate the holiday without it...it is that crazy good. So rich, so creamy, so easy...and so worth sharing with all of you.

This is a great recipe for a dinner party, because you can make it in advance, dish it into the serving bowls, then chill it and have it ready to go at dessert time. It's also absolutely delicious warm out of the slow cooker, which is similarly easy for last minute serving. Although it is a slow cooker recipe, it's actually quite fast, with about three hours total cooking time.

Sadly, I failed to take a photo of the pudding before we ate every last drop. Instead I'll share this pretty shot of our Tsagaan Sar table.


Vanilla Rice Pudding

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2/3 cup Arborio rice (the kind you use for risotto), rinsed and drained
1 13 oz. can evaporated milk
6 cups whole milk
1 1/4 cups sugar
Pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 tsp cinnamon
whipped cream or fresh fruit (optional), for serving

1 - Coat the slow cooker insert with cooking spray. Combine the rice and evaporated milk in the cooker.

2 - In a large heavy saucepan over medium high heat, combine the whole milk, sugar, salt, and vanilla. Heat until bubbles appear around the edges to dissolve the sugar.

3 - Pour the hot milk into the cooker and stir with a whisk. Cover and cook on low until the milk is absorbed and the custard is set, about 2 1/2 hours.While cooking, the milk will be gently bubbling.

4 - In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, and cinnamon. Add about 1/4 cup of the hot pudding to the egg mixture and beat well to prevent curdling. Slowly pour the mixture into the pudding in the cooker, stirring constantly until well combined. Cover and cook on low for 30 minutes more.

5 - Serve warm or spoon into small dishes, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate to eat cold. Top with whipped cream and fresh fruit, as desired.

As I've previously mentioned, my husband and I met as Peace Corps Volunteers in Mongolia. When you share something like that (how many people can say they met their husband when he was on his way to the market to buy fermented mare's milk?), it is not surprising that certain elements of the culture and customs stick with you years beyond your return. When you bring kids into the mix, it becomes important all over again to introduce and share some of that experience with them.

With that in mind, every February Sean and I get into Tsagaan Sar mode. Tsagaan Sar (translated as "White Moon") is the Mongolian Lunar New Year celebration. In Mongolia, it is a three day celebration of visiting family and friends, paying respects to elders, and consuming copious amounts of meat dumplings, sheep back fat, salty milk tea, and vodka. Around these parts, we take it down a notch, but we do our best to bring some of the spirit of the holiday to our home. Here are a few highlights from 2012:

• We currently have Mongolian vests for both of our kids. The smaller silk vest was sent by a Mongolian friend when Finn was born. The larger felt vest was purchased for my nephew when I was in Mongolia and has since been passed back to me.

•  Every year, Sean goes to great lengths to prepare a traditional Mongolian tower of cookies as a centerpiece for the Tsagaan Sar table. The cookies, called "ul boov" (which translates to "shoe sole") are typically deep fried in huge vats of oil then arranged in a circular tower and topped with candy and pieces of dried cheese. We tried this one year, and multiple sacks of flour and jugs of oil later, we had a big oily mess. The next year we tried adapting an unleavened bread recipe. It worked a bit better but still wasn't quite right. This year, after my Christmas craft discovery, we decided to construct the ul boov out of salt dough then stamp them...and not only did it work beautifully, but we never have to worry about making it again - after Tsagaan Sar dinner, Sean deconstructed and packed away the cookies for next year's centerpiece. 

•  We taught Finn the traditional Mongolian greeting, and he welcomed our guests to the gathering. Finn speaking Mongolian in his gruff little voice was one of the highlights of the evening for me.

All in all, a very successful and celebratory Tsagaan Sar gathering. From our family to yours, we hope your two-year-old horse has enough fat for the winter, your two-year-old yak has enough muscle, and all of your animals passed the winter safely!