Write-Away Contest

Don't beat me or I'll cry :)

http://scribbit.blogspot.com/2009/06/junes-write-away-contest.html

Gluten Free Stuffing and Bread Pudding

Gluten Free Thanksgiving

Hoppy Easter

Hope your Easter was as fantastic as ours. Tonight's dinner included an assortment of things I made and didn't make. But, as a throwback to my childhood, I included a classic pound cake with poured fondant (aka orange glaze) the way my Grandma used to make. I used my newest kitchen bling - a Nordic Ware cast iron egg pan. It just makes me smile.

Okey Dokey

Growing up in California, I remember having artichokes in our back yard. It would only produce three or four per year in our measly garden, but my Mom would buy them at the store to supplement our needs as a family of 6.

To this day, I love them and they instantly take me back to my childhood. I can almost feel the warm sun on my back, sitting at the table in the nook of our kitchen. I am so glad our children have grown to enjoy them - especially my oldest who doesn't care for the heart, so she gives them to mom. I've trained her well.

Unfortunately, with four kids and one adult eating today, the bag of ten went very quickly. It occurred to me that, perhaps, not everyone grew up on these and that an artichoke-along was in order. They are coming into season right now and we have even found organic artichokes at our grocery store. So, don't pass these beauties up anymore. Here's how you 'choke...

Happy St. Patrick's Day

In honor of the good St. Pat, we are celebrating at home today with a few green goodies.

Breakfast was strawberry-lime yogurt parfaits with hot cross buns (a la Panera - or Bread Co for the locals). I don't bake at 7AM. Ever. I leave that to the professionals (or, in this case, the machines).

For lunch, we had a trio of Kerrygold cheeses. The girls didn't like "the dark one" - they were all white, but okay. We had them with, what else, green apples! I mixed a concoction of green smoothie with lemon lime soda (that has to be the ultimate bit of health food blasphemy, no?). They went for it. Something about "lucky leprechaun" makes everything taste good.

Once we wrapped up lunch, I started prepping tonight's desserts. We did a cook-along for you. There are several variations on Key Lime Pie out there. Growing up, I loved lemon meringue and lemon chiffon. They were my favorite and my Grandma didn't make it very often - but she would for my birthday. I haven't had her lemon meringue pie in years, but she still does occasionally make lemon chiffon. I decided to try the same variation with our key lime pies. So, here you have a key lime pie - baked - with meringue and a second pie, a no-bake with whipped cream and egg whites folded in - key lime chiffon. I always use pasteurized shell eggs when they won't be cooked entirely.

Here's to you. Drink a pint with me this evening.

Plugra, anyone?

On an evening when pizza delivery would have been lovely, we opted instead for a quick italian vegetable soup.

The usual mirepoix mix of sauteed onions, celery, and carrots plus zucchini, cubed white potatoes, crushed san marzano tomatoes, cannelini beans, and a good handful of tiny alphabet pasta to please the littles. Only a loaf of sesame semolina would suffice alongside, and what better than plugra to top it with?

We use these little custard cups for everything around here. You'll see them filled with sauces, condiments, cereal, ice cream, soups, stews, and beans on any given day. They're darn handy!

The littlest girl's dinner is displayed here:

My favorite corner of my house...

isn't really a corner at all. But, it's that one spot where I just find joy no matter what.

For 10 years, we didn't have a backyard. Sometimes it didn't matter - we had campuses we could walk around, playgrounds we could visit, and driveways we could use chalk on. But, other years, I found it unbearable to not have a safe place where our kids could run around. It was about this time that we moved.

This house wasn't on our radar at first, because it was just a year older than we had hoped to buy. But, after driving to the parallel cul de sac and seeing the backyard for the first time, I was sold. I knew that this was going to be our home.

This "corner" is what I could see from our rear neighbor's side yard.

Today it is a bit different, but vastly improved to meet our needs. The table and chairs were a fantastic find at, of all places, Wal-Mart (after searching high and low for a decent set everywhere else). The beautiful umbrella was a replacement for my red one from Pier 1, but it has since broken under the weight of a huge ice and snow storm.

Since Jack was too small to sit in a chair at that time, we hung a swing - one of our first "home improvement" projects. Now he spends hours in that swing, completely mellow, feeling the wind in his face and watching his sisters at play. I love that he can either face out or in, depending on where the action is or where the sun is shining.

To the left, you can see our fire pit. I personally rearranged the landscaping so that it would have a stable, concrete base to sit on. But, more importantly, it's representative of our great neighbors. In the cooler summer evenings and brisk fall nights, you can walk down our street and see no less than four families with their fire pits out on the driveway and dozens of neighbors out walking around, drinking glasses of wine or bottles of beer, while kids ride bikes up and down the cul de sac or play basketball in the dark. When we moved here, we had no idea that it would be such a part of our lives, and were a bit dismayed by the huge pile of fire wood in the back until we made that connection.

Further back, against the side of the house on the left, is my first real garden. I tore out some mulchy areas back there because I knew I needed to learn this art! We had peppers - SO many jalapenos with the drought and hot summer of last year - a few tomatoes, some bell peppers, and more basil than one family could eat in a lifetime of pestos and caprese salads. There are just three plants remaining now - sage, lavender, and rosemary - but seeing that gorgeous green reminds me that spring is coming and that I CAN grow things!!!

And, of course, it's the place where everything happens outside - where the kids sit and eat popcicles on a hot summer day, where the children of friends eat lunch outside, not wanting to be far from play, where the pinatas are hung at birthday parties and marshmallows are roasted, where we barbecue and drink coffee and sit and just live.