Turkey Sing 2016 - Videos!

E's Pre-K Class had a Turkey Sing on Friday. I was the only one that could get away from work to enjoy the performance, but not to worry. I video taped it all for you and hopefully most of them will work here.  They are tremendously cute turkeys :)

Not a song- just cute smiles :)

One more song :)

Miscellaneous Monday

I sometimes have these random things I want to share that aren't really about my family per se, but are of interest.  Usually these go in my "five on friday" posts full of random favorites.  It has been awhile since I've done one of those and have a few things I want to share that are somewhat time limited.  Take a look!

1.  Scary Mommy Thanksgiving Project -- You probably know that food insecurity is one of our ongoing chairities.  We donate monthly to the OK Regional Food Bank, but do try to make an extra effort near the holidays.  This year, we sponsored a family through the Scary Mommy Thanksgiving Project.  They then sent me the background of the family we sponsored.  So heartbreaking, sweet, and I feel so blessed to be able to help.  I hope that some of you can join me or find a similar charity near you.  Yes $50 might be a stretch so give $5 and feed one person.

2. Week in the Life - I've been doing Week in the Life for several years. This is an annual memory keeping exercise with Ali Edwards.  For one week, we closely document the days of our life in all their ordinary every day nature.  This year it is Oct. 27-Nov. 2.  I think it will be extra fun to have it cover our week of Halloween as we're always very busy during this season. I will be using Ali's kit to make a physical book of our week in words and photos, but many people just play along by blogging it as we go.  I invite you to join me in either approach and I'll be sharing here too!

3. We love Pumpkinville at the Myriad Children's Garden.  It is so beautifully done and so very much fun.  I encourage you to check it out now through Oct. 31!  There will be more about our recent visit on the blog soon, but in the meantime, week days are a great time as it is a little less crowded.  They also have pumpkins for sale this year, which we happily took advantage of.

4. Storybook Village -  In other Halloween fun, we are thinking of trying out Arcadia Lake's Storybook Forrest this year.  Have any of you tried it/liked it? Let me know!

5.  30 Days of Thankful - Cathy Z has an annual 30 days of Thankful project to keep gratitude at the forefront of November.  I have sometimes participated and may again this year. Unlike Week in the Life and December Daily, I don't usually do the minibook, but do find different ways to keep daily gratitude in my family's days for November and hopefully make a habit of it.  My plan is just a Scrapbook page with 30 lines to list one thing every day and maybe a facing page with some images.  Who knows, I may just do a blog list or set of impressions, but I do hope to use this or something similar to keep our gratitude project going.  How do you focus on gratitude throughout the year and especially in November?

Ten on Tuesday

1. Selfies, not taken by me, are starting to appear on my phone ...

2.  We celebrated Halloween with the Korenaks last week.  This included bobbing for apples "okie style."

 

3.  Trick or treating with five kids and six adults was quite an adventure.  We went a bit further than usual and everyone was definitely tired when we arrived home.  Grandma was waiting for us and handing out even more candy!  (Oh, and M did go as batgirl after all!)

4.  We have a lot of candy around here.  Honestly, I am fine so long as I don't have any, but if I open one, I have trouble stopping.  It is a problem.  We sent most of the left overs to Brent's work, but there is still too much here....

5.  Then there was the much anticipated kiosk making --- this picture was in progress, obviously it is filled and totally beautiful now.  It was quite the experience and looks beautiful. Go visit them at Penn Square!

6.  The next day, I was off work so it was mostly a play day at home.  I went and had lunch with B and took some photos of Red Ribbon Week at his school. E slept through all of that.... as you can see.  He did have a wild time at home with his cousins though.

 

7.  We drove to Dallas and had fun celebrating Great-Granddaddy's 86th birthday.  We also attempted family pictures with the larger group.  I am excited to see them, but a bit worried as M got hurt right before we the photographer started and E also really wanted Daddy to be holding him, so who knows what they are up to in the photos... my guess is "not smiling"

 

 

 

8.  Then we went off to a very loud, delicious family dinner at Grimaldi's.  They kids had a tremendous amount of fun. 

9.  I finally got my hair colored/cut.  Granted, the process included 3 hours.... ahem. But my hair looks cute? (Well, it is actually still wet, but I'm sure it "will" look cute).

10. Guess what? For the first time since I moved home I'm hosting Thanksgiving at my house!  I'm excited, but also looking for ideas.  Food ideas are good, but also things to do with you know, a dozen or so people at our house, how to make it fun for the kids, crafts we could do during the inevitable "waiting" and what sorts of things will make good Thanksgiving memories for all of us.... things to ponder and suggestions very welcome!

Cooperation Feasting with Song!

For all of you that missed out on the Kindergarten Cooperation Feast yesterday, here are the videos of the mini-program.  Our son is the one in red, right there in the middle.  Very adorable! 

 The program was followed by a "stone soup" made out of items the children has each brought to class, along with bread, and sweet potato pie with whipped cream, which B discovered he loved.  His class also made the butter for the tables by shaking the tubs of heavy cream, just like we used to do when I was inn grade school.  

I hope you enjoy the below and suspect it will take you back to the days of your own elementary school programs.  Happy Thanksgiving from our family to yours!

Ten on Tuesday

1.  The Thanksgiving cooking has begun!  So far, I've made two fruit salad's for MDO and the traditional cheeseball for the Dotter/Blakley Thanksgiving.  The Cheeseball is "slightly" more spicy than usual, it turns out.  As you may know, the last step in our cheeseball recipe is a dash or two of cayenne pepper.  I added my usual amount, then tasted and remembered that my cayenne is MUCH fresher than usual.  I tried to dial it back by adding in more cream cheese, etc... and we now have a larger and still slightly spicy cheeseball. Ooops?

2.  The remaining things I plan to cook for Thanksgiving week are:

• Beef Wellington - We adapt this somewhat, but this is the origin
• Roasted Root Vegetables - using the collection from this week's vegetable basket and a few more tossed with olive oil, salt, and maybe just a spice or two.
• Homemade Bread - the recipe for which I really will post one day
• Homemade Apple Sauce - I have no actual recipe in mind, but I do have a lot of apples!
• Cheesy Polenta - I'll probably make it something like this. 
• Peanut Butter Fudge -  Scroll to the second 15 minute version
• Chocolate Pie - via the Smitten Kitchen, of course

What are you making? I'm always looking for tasty ideas!

3.  Today's tasty idea was this Fresh Tomato Sauce from Smitten Kitchen.  Our tomatoes were of the hot house variety via our vegetable basket and needed a bit more oomph.  I added a little tomato powder and Parmesan Pesto Sprinkle and it was awesome!

4.  We have decided to paint the bathroom.  I suspect this is a hidden compulsion from my father to start ridiculous projects right when large groups of people "might" show up at your house.  We've bought all the supplies and committed to them staying in the garage until after Thanksgiving.  I picked out the color in about 3 minutes at Home Depot and it is basically white, with maybe a tiny hint of blue, but Brent says to brace yourselves it is just going to look white.

5.  E loves to give me big open mouth kisses and I love it too.  He is talking more and more and to my completely crazy imagination I thought I heard him saying mama when he was crying once and another time thought he was saying hello. I know I'm nuts, but whatever.  He is also rolling both directions now, on occasion and wildly in love with jumping.  He thinks big brother is a complete riot and makes this hysterical giggle type noise when B walks past. It is great fun.  He has also started sucking his pointer finger more, which results in this odd thoughtful look a lot of the time. 

6.  I attempted running yesterday under the thought that I was going crazy and surely was well enough.  I was most clearly not.  I did feel like I needed to walk more than usual, but only when I got back did I realize I was light headed and probably not getting enough oxygen.  My cough appears to be worse also. I am endeavoring to give myself more time to heal.  We shall see.

7  M has had two "feasts" at school this week and brought home a large selection of turkey themed crafts, place mats, hats, and a very adorable song.  She was delighted to be picked up early today to go see big brother and is quite ready for Thanksgiving to begin.

8.  B had his first mini-school program today.  We videotaped each song and I'll try to upload them soon as they are so adorable. Then, they all shared a jointly made stone soup, milk, bread, and pumpkin pie.  B discovered that pumpkin pie was very good indeed and was delighted to get to go home early for the second day in a row. (Yesterday I checked him out early to go to the Doctor to work on his very persistent, constant coughing). 

9.  Everyone else in our family is off of school/work tomorrow and I believe headed to the zoo.  I, meanwhile, just keep thinking I am off and am sure to be disappointed.  Work is going well, but the zoo on a lovely fall day sounds better.

10.  While Brent has been home a bit more this week we've been trying to do some more cleaning.  I'm not sure we're making huge progress, but today I did vacuum and clean with the kids in a dress and pearls.  It was very June Cleaver here today.  (I had dressed up for the program, per the instructions).  We also came to the sad realization that the rooms we don't let kids in are actually messier than the others (aka office and our bedroom suite). This is not really surprising, but not a good thing.  We tided our room a bit tonight, but the office is too big of a project for this moment.  

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanks giving and thanks for joining me here this year!

Are you ready for Thanksgiving?

I've lost my voice and everyone around here is either just done being sick, sick, or getting sick.  Consequently, the class I was teaching at the Spice Shop this weekend has been post-poned until after Thanksgiving when I can, you know, talk again.

The winner of the Black Canyon Chili Powder Give away is Commentor #3 - Mary!  I will send the spices your way if you email me your new address!  Everyone that entered though will get a small sample at least for participating.  Find me and I'll find you some spices :)

I will likely have a larger role in cooking for Brent's family Thanksgiving this year, but am less full of ideas than usual, do you have any suggestions?  I suspect I'll be making side dishes and dessert, if that helps. 

We're trying to get focused on being thankful.  Actually, the biggest help this year is that the kids come home with some Thanksgiving craft or project everyday reminding us and helping us refocus.  The cutest bit so far is this video of M's class singing their turkey song (which I hope you can see via the link as it won't let me embed it here). 

It has been a rough week, but mostly our kids have been great troupers about the chaos, shifting schedules, sick mom and their own sniffles.  I, for one, am ready to begin my thanks giving today.

• Thank goodness for awesome kids. 
• Thanks also for Peppermint Mochas from Starbucks which magically gift me my voice back for an hour or two if I'm willing to splurge.  Weird, but true.
•  I'm also thankful that I got to visit with fellow GW alums last night and discovered how weirdly interconnected we all are in the small world that is OKC.  
• Thanks to amazing family, friends, colleagues, doctors, nurses, and neighbors who have been a help in this difficult week. 

I so hope next week is much healthier and full of thanks and great stories! May your week be full of these blessings too!

Ten on Tuesday

 

1.  This guy is having a tough week, as is our entire family.  Brent's dad, Bill suffered a stroke on Sunday evening.  He is OK, but experiencing some muscle weakness and blood pressure problems.  He remains in the hospital and surrounded by people that love him and are preparing to help with the steps back to strength.  He is in good spirits.  Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated. 

 

2.  As you likely know my husband and I met via Alpha Phi Omega (APO), a co-ed community service fraternity, while at OU.  Many of our friends joined as well and we spent hundreds of hours in college doing community service  We are trying to pass that tradition on to our own kids.  This weekend, the Wainrights hosted a party to collect and pact boxes for Operation Christmas Child.  The kids helped sort, make capes, and write little notes to the ten recipients and now we'll get to track where our boxes end up.  We also snacked, played, talked, and had a wonderful time!

 

3.  This guy is not feeling so hot.  He has a little cold and is having trouble breathing and sleeping.  Thus we are all having trouble sleeping.  We took him to the Doctor and confirmed he doesn't have an ear infection  he is just miserable. 

 

4.  M and I went to Ashtyn's pony party this weekend and had a grand time. M was a little nervous of all the strangers and to my great surprise was scared to ride the actual ponies in attendance.  She did eat a HUGE number of carrot sticks though and enjoyed playing and helping with the presents.

 

5.  Soccer Season is over.  We will miss our Dragonfly buddies and look forward to playing in the spring. I think we will miss the Tigers a bit less and do not anticipate M playing again any time soon.  B is now back to happily to swimming and M is taking dance once a week. 

 

6.  Last week, Brent and I went to the installation of the new OSSM President - Frank Y. H. Wang, Ph.D.  Meanwhile, the kids stayed home with Grammie and Granddaddy doing fun things like building this LEGO Mater.  I am so glad for all the time they get with their Grandparents.

 

7.  So, with the stroke and sickness here I completely missed our 12 on the 12th and E's 5 month post and pictures.  They will happen sometime this week, maybe when there is less snot on his nose every minute.  Able took some pictures for me so we'll see what we can cobble together.  More to come on our cutie.

8. This Thursday evening there is a GW Alumni Event at Put a Cork in it Winery in OKC. I plan to attend and if there are any local alums you can find more information here.  There will be events like this all over the country so if you aren't in OK you can likely find one near you as well on the calender here. 

9.  For those following the story of my sister's little family.  I wanted to let you know that they had an in utero ECHO done this week on the new little baby they are expecting in February and it looked good!  Hooray for happy news in a tough week.

10.  You may recall that for the last two years Beef Wellington has become our family's Thanksgiving Tradition after my Grandfather found a recipe in the Wall Street Journal.  This Sunday at 5:30, I will be teaching a class at Savory Spice Shop in OKC that will teach participants how to make this delicious and fancy dish.  The class costs $20 paid in advance and is limited to 20 participants.  We will be working off our family's adapted version of the original Wall Street Journal recipe, using Savory Spice products and sharing a taste of our family's new tradition.  If you'd like to join in, they are doing sign ups at the shop (4400 N. Western Ave. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73118) or you can sign up by phone during business hours 405-525-9119 or via email to okc@savoryspiceshop.com.  Of course you can also contact me, my Mom, or brother to sign up. 

I hope to see some of you this weekend and pray that all your families have a safe and healthy week and holiday season. 

Recipe: Roasted Pears with Cranberries and Dried Cherries

I have to admit, I never did fine a vegetable side dish that I thought would woo the masses at the Richards/Rouse Thanksgiving.  I did find a fruit one (and after receiving proper permission) tried this variation that I thought was delicious.  I began with Martha Stewart's Roasted Pears and Dried Fruit and then made some adjustments resulting in this:

Roasted Pears, Cranberries and Dried Cherries

Ingredients:
2/3 c. Apple Cider
1/4 c. brown sugar
2 T unsalted butter, melted
3 pears, cored and cut into 8 wedges each -- I used three different varieties of pears for more flavor
3/4 c. dried tart cherries
4 oz fresh cranberries
zest of 1 lemon, removed in wide strips with a vegetable peeler
juice of one lemon

(Optional- 1/3 c. reduced fat sour cream + 1 T Brown sugar as a topping).

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In 9x13 in baking dish, whisk together apple cider, sugar, and butter.  Add pears, dried cherries, cranberries, lemon zest, and lemon juice.  Toss to combine.

2.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake 15 minutes.  Remove foil and continue to bake tossing once, until fruit is tender and beginning to brown (25 minutes or more--- we found some varieties of pear took longer to cook than others so if you want a very consistent texture maybe use only one variety).

3. Optional - whisk together sour cream and sugar.  Serve warm or at room temperature with the sweetened sour cream.

This makes enough for four -- I quadrupled this recipe and served it at both our family gatherings.  Using the fresh cranberries did make some of the pears turn red, particularly upon subsequent reheating, but that didn't bother me at all. I hope you all enjoy it as well!

Ten on Tuesday

1. Our lovely M has moved on from sometimes randomly repeating 40 x 8 to randomly yelling and discussing "salsa," although late today she admitted she wasn't sure what it was.  The beauties of two.  I have promised that she can taste some tomorrow.  She has had it before and seemed to like it, but it has been awhile so we'll refresh her recollection.


2.  We began all the Thanksgiving festivities with the Rouse/Richards fun on Wednesday.  It was a long, lovely, delicious day.  The kids had an amazing time playing with Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, Grandparents, etc... I focused mostly on the kitchen as I love to do.  I managed to burn my hand rather badly, but otherwise all went well.  A bustling house and a wonderful day.  I "think" Jamie took pictures for me so I may have some to share soon.

3.  On Friday, we had Thanksgiving at my Mom's house, complete with the Beef Wellington and Tarte Tatin (see below).  My Grandpa Dotter, Uncle Jim, Aunt Laurie and cousin Kristen all joined us for a big feast.  The kids were super excited to get to use their Thanksgiving placemats from school at both grandparents feasts. It was a very cold day, but most people found time for a walk or bike ride outside or fun in the leaves with the kittens before heading in for the late afternoon cheeseball. B LOVED the cheeseball this year -- a way earlier adopter of this tradition than his Uncle Able or many others have been.

4.  One of the weird things about my Dad dying early is this need to have no regrets about some little things that I can control.  Most recently, this meant that I spent $80 on 2.7 lbs beef tenderloin for my husband's beloved Beef Wellington rather than buying the cheaper cut.  I wanted to do this nice thing for him now, while I can and not regret being cheap later. Of course, we discover later he would have been fine trying an alternate cut, but its the thought, right?  Meanwhile, I think it is official and Brent has won everyone over to having Beef Wellington as an annual tradition.  Everyone loved it and as high process as it is for the cook it is worth it for the rare food that Brent truly loves.  (Here is the recipe we use from the Wall Street Journal.  It says it takes five hours, but is probably doable in less than three and we do cut some corners, like not having truffle butter or veal bones in our process.)

5.  This started to veer off into a multitude of other recipes, some long and some not.  I think I'll share one more here than do a couple of side posts with recipes for you.   I did make the Girls Gone Child Tarte Tatin -- simple and lovely.  (Brent swears I won't make it again because it was easy, delicious and worked right the first time... we shall see).

6. After the Thanksgiving fun at the farm the kids helped my Mom decorate her Christmas tree and the house.  They and she loved it.  I think another new tradition "might" be in the works!  (Yes, all these pictures were taken with my phone as my camera ran out of battery early in the farm visit.. sad).

7.  B was a super helper today.  He did everything I asked without protest, helped his sister with many things, and generally was a rockstar..... somewhere in the middle of this I began to realize his voice is all funny and his eyes are red so maybe a allergy plagued rockstar? (Hoping to skip yet another round of colds).

8.  Oh the mortgage refinance.... We have finally signed some papers and sent them off for our "streamlined" refinance... there were more than 150 pages in the packet and it required some dashing around OKC for signatures, copies and bothering my lovely finance guy (Able-- he can be your finance guy too -405-314-6209).  In short, it really didn't seem too streamlined to me.  If all goes well it will finally be finished in about three weeks and the year of the pondering the refi will be over. Really it only took so long as we so deplore the gathering the 150+ pages and signing our money away all over again.  It did seriously inspire me to buy a new printer after borrowing my Mom's this weekend demonstrated that printing can, in fact, be pain free.  Who knew?

9.  Exercise--- how you can tell it was not a good exercise week is that this is way down by number 9.  I ran last Tuesday and Wednesday and have done nothing much on the cardio front since.  Last Wednesday's run was awesome as I got to run outside with M and made it the whole way with no walking.  Just awesome-- followed by long weekend and generally droopiness (in denial about cold possibilities).  I WILL exercise tomorrow one way or the other... seriously.

10.  I don't know if you've noticed, but there is only one day left in November.  For you my happy blog readers, this means the beginning of much more active posting from me as we begin December Daily.  While I do plan to do my journaling in the book by hand, I will still journal here and probably a bit more than the book will eventually see. I also plan to upload photos almost daily as in the past.  I am both excited and just a bit trepidatious at the size of it all. The good news is that B remembers things from our Advent swirl last year fondly and so loved the Christmas beginnings at my Mom's this weekend so I know it is all worth it.

I hope you all have a wonderful week and hope to hear from you soon!

Ten on Tuesday

1.  I have been wondering why I was so much more tired this week-- and then I remembered, I haven't run in about 10 days due to various sicknesses and doing some other types of exercise (swimming, zumba, weights, etc).  So, back on the treadmill I went and am much more awake this evening.  Hooray!

2.  Tonight was the last night of swimming classes for this round.  B, again, refused to yell help during the safety training-- this drives us and his teacher crazy and Brent may have uttered some sort of ultimatum about next time...In any case, basketball is starting soon!

3.  I came to the odd realization that while I LOVE making pie for Thanksgiving and it is in fact almost the only time I make pie, I don't have any actual pie in my baking plans as for the moment planning on Tarte Tatin and Chocolate Mousse for the farm... may have to reconsider.

4.  I had an impromptu crafting evening with Tracie this evening.  I love our random evening chat/craft adventures and wish we got to do it more.  Here's hoping we see each other again soon dear friend.

5.  Our kids are growing strangely fond of Yo Gabba Gabba --- I am not.  I would rather Sesame Street for hours, but do get some chores done if they are watching it, I suppose.

6.  B and M have been having Thanksgiving feasts at school this week.  B is fairly tight lipped about what they are eating, but quite enthusiastic about their costuming.  His class was the Indians and M's wore hats that looked like turkeys.  I asked if there were any Pilgrims.  He said he didn't think so, but that Miss Milena's class wore black hats with belts on them--oh right, Pilgrims.  We did get lots of fun Thanksgiving art this week too.

7.  Tomorrow the kids are out of school and Brent is taking his furlough day for the month.  They are so excited for a play day while I work.  So far the plans are a trip to the library with Daddy and maybe getting to see Grandma at lunch.  I think we are all ready for a break from the work/school routine and very excited for Thanksgiving.

8.  We went to the St. Joseph's Thanksgiving Dinner in Bison this week.  I had THE best kolache of my life and got to visit with some old friends while enjoying a delicious meal. We were quite early, so as to get the best kolaches, but had a weird experience trying to get into town as both main entrances were closed due to railroad work.  Not great timing as this is arguably the highest traffic day Bison sees most years.  In good news, it looks like most people found their way around the detour as the dinner was bustling.

9.  I again ask Brent for a topic idea and in addition to some of the above the thought I should bring your attention to the Echidna's.  Everyone knows about the platypuses being mammals that laying eggs, well the Echidna's (aka spiny anteaters) are also in this group. They principally live in New Guinea and Australia and you can read more from Wikipedia here.

10. As most of you know, I am a big fan of Orangette's sweet potato biscuit recipe.  I make this recipe in huge batches and freeze most of them to reheat with later meals.  However, I am very intrigued by Smitten Kitchen's new Sweet Potato (and marshmallow) biscuits and might give these a try this week as well as how could they not be awesome and so cute!

I hope you all have a lovely Thanksgiving.  We are looking forward to spending lots of time feasting, talking and laughing with our family and friends and hope you do too!

Ten on Tuesday

1.  My health is a mess.  I'm going to spare you the detail, but in the last three days have had a new issue a day, each miserable.  I think Brent and I decided it was sometime around July or October 2010 when I was last fully healthy with no "issues." We're dreaming such a day comes again and working on that.

2. Per item 1 - less jogging this week.  Only one day of jogging, a very nice run outside, alone with lots of wind. I did get to return to Zumba on Friday with Rosanna which was wonderful and hopefully by Friday I'll have at least a few of these issues under control enough to go again.

3.  I "think" the refinance of our house is finally going to happen in the next couple weeks.  Yes, we've been talking about this since probably February, but finally seem to have a deal that may work well.

4.  I devoured a new set of books this weekend. The A Hidden Witch (A Modern Witch Series: Book 2) and A Modern Witch (A Modern Witch Series: Book 1) and Witches on Parole: Unlocked (A Modern Witch trilogy, book 1) all by Deborah Geary.  These are a bit less intricate and complex than the A Discovery of Witches book I read last, but they are well written, thoughtful, and emotionally compelling stories of family, belonging, love and discovery.  I quite enjoyed them and am happy to lend my Kindle versions to whomever is interested. (Yes, it is possible I should branch out a bit for my selection.  Any light fiction suggestions?)

5.  The kids have randomly fallen back into playing with the pretend kitchen they got from Santa last Christmas.  We are getting all sorts of culinary treats and "diet coke" from M as well as lots of fruits and veggies from B.  (Because they are healthy for me when I'm sick, I hear).  He even made vegetable fruit soup today.  Very sweet and lots of fun.

6.  M is suddenly also taken with this little toy dog (or maybe it is a bear??) that you cuddle and it cries a little or snores when it sleeps.  She feeds it a bottle and carries it around a lot, often in a basket with her toy big bird.  She is very attentive which is good as that puppy is quite a demanding baby!

7.  B went on his first really long play date last week with his friend Preston.  He was at Preston's house for maybe five or so hours!  I hear they had lots of fun playing games, eating Happy Meals and generally being small boys.  I'm so glad it finally worked out as they have wanted to do this forever (as I guess seeing each other 25 hours a week at school isn't enough?)

8.  Saturday was so odd this week - no football or soccer.  We were sort of at loose ends so we fell back to errands and jogging before naps and Ashtyn's birthday party.  Kind of nice, but probably the last quiet Saturday for awhile.  We had Corwyn's birthday on Sunday too which I hear was awesome, but sadly missed home sick with ailment #1.   Sigh.

9.  I have my Thanksgiving food assignment for the Richards/Rouse festivities.  I have been assigned a vegetable side, which is admittedly not my strong suit.  The traditional things like mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and probably green beans are taken so any one have a suggestion for me?  Limited more as I probably won't have too much access to an oven immediately before eating time, but could possibly use a stove top.  Brent says I should make the roasted cauliflower, but just did that for these folks in October so I'm brainstorming, but appreciate ideas.  I'm trying to worm my way into bringing an Appetizer too, as I have ideas for that already.  For Blakley/Dotter Thanksgiving I've requested to and hope to bring pies... we shall see.  Here are some recipes you might consider from my blog posts in prior years:

Amazing Cauliflower
The Best Broccoli  (link is to the Amateur Gourmet, my recommendation is here).
Raisin Cream Pie
Dotter Pecan Pie
Foolproof Pie Crust
Dotter Cheeseball
Thanksgiving Dressing/Stuffing

10.  Happy Birthday to Jess, Erik, Corwyn, Emily, Ashtyn, Uncle Jim, Nick, Molly, and all the other November birthdays.  I hope they are all lovely.

Have a wonderful week all!

It all comes back to Pie

So, I finally did it. For the first time since my Dad died I was finally able to work up the moxie to do a page that was, at least sort of, about him. This one is technically about pie. His favorite pie (or at least close to it). A pie flavor I resisted pretty much his whole life -- Cream Raisin Pie*. We made it for Thanksgiving and I added this huge meringue batch. It was positively phenomenal, if I do say so myself. It was absolutely worth documenting (the recipe is on the back -- and below). Here's hoping that something as simple as shared love for pie will help me through the next stage of my grieving process and help me tell a few more of these simple, wonderful stories.

Raisin Cream Pie

1 baked pie shell (you can find my recipe here)

1 cup raisins (I always mix raisins with a little water and squeeze them around a bit with my fingers and then drain before I use them in a recipe because I think they're dirty )

1 1/3 c. sugar

1 cup water

1 cup cream

pinch of salt

4 egg yolks

4 T. cornstarch or 2 T. flour

1 t. vanilla

Boil raisins, water and sugar for two min. Mix cornstarch into cream, add salt and egg yolk and add to boiling raisin mixture. Cook until thick. Pour into baked pie shell. Use egg whites for meringue.

Marshmallow Meringue: (something I found on another raisin cream pie recipe)

4 egg whites

1 cup marshmallow cream

dash of salt.

Beat egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. Spread over pie filling, sealing to edge of crust. Bake in 350 degrees oven 12 to fifteen minutes or until lightly browned.



*Technically he prefer something called Sour Cream Raisin, but we ended up making this and loving it and I am sure he would have too.

Scrapbooking Supplies:  Patterned Paper:  My Minds Eye, Heidi Swapp, and Crate Paper; Border Sticker & Tag - Crate Paper, Letter Stickers - Bella Blvd; Paint: SC Mister Huey in Calico Cream, Adhesive: Glue Dots

Ten on Tuesday

1.  The thing about taking a day off in a job where no one does your work when you're gone is that you just end up working twice as hard the next day.  The double edged sword of annual leave and why I think I may have too many vacation days (Seriously, could be like 8 weeks a year depending on how meetings go-pondering alternative set-ups for next year).

2. B elected to go with M to Kidzstreet this afternoon  rather than stay home with me. Not sure what that's about, but he promised to take care of her and it was only $12 more + a distraction free work day so I went with it.  They both were totally fine being left and had to be corralled for farewell hugs.

3.  Modestly afraid that Thanksgiving at the farm may turn into Pie Fest 2010 as the list of pies keeps growing and I'm not 100% sure we've settled on the main dish.  Maybe Beef Wellington? (We will have all had turkey 1-3 times before at least by then...) Currently prepping for two apple pies, probably 1-2 pecan pies, chocolate cream pie, sour cream raisin and maybe pumpkin for my mom by the time both my remaining Thanksgiving feasts are over.  Any other requests? (I am joking..sort of).

4. Slight lull in the scrapbooking this week.  I'm not sure why, but needing to find some new inspiration or ideas to start back up as I feel happier when I'm doing it.

5.  M has started annoyingly pulling my hair and on occasion hitting people with remotes.  This is not tolerable and has landed her in baby time out.  Which is vaguely hysterical, but I need the time out more than she does. Also, she is teething so a bit moody, but also completely adorable somehow occasionally at the same time.

6. She has also been big into extended snuggle and tickle time today which I enjoy and appears to be a big fan of watching B play Super Mario Galaxy which is hilarious as she cheers him on.

7.  The tomato sauce turned out rather well although not that red.  We had it this evening with meat balls of sorts (left over meatloaf in chunks) and pasta.  The pasta was a mix of bow ties and ABC pasta.  We mixed veggies in too and let M try feeding herself (hers did not have red sauce).  She did amazingly well with her spoon this evening.  Very impressed.

8. My chest is finally improving. My Grandpa gave me a thorough exam and while we're still not sure what caused it, I am clearer on why it is taking so long to heal and more confident it isn't something else masquerading as costochondritis. I am still trying to be careful and limiting my activity, lifting M, etc, but glad to not have sharp pain.  Dream of getting to do Zumba again one of these weeks.

9. Spent some time this evening brainstorming Christmas present thoughts with Brent.  We got roughly no where, which was expected, but did toss some ideas around.  We are not black friday shoppers so not that big of a rush, but don't want to miss internet shipping deadlines.

10. I "think" I have managed to create my own Christmas card using photos from our family photo shoot and some tricks of Picasa and Picnik.com..  They are now delightfully linked as Google bought Picnik which makes it easier.  This may be the simplest card ever, but I'm good with that.

How go your Thanksgiving plans? Thinking ahead yet? I am trying not too, but feel it coming. I'm excited about December Daily starting soon and Brent is pondering putting lights on the house.  Meanwhile, our gratitude project continues and has gone pretty well so far. We're even succeeding at not repeating much.  Hope you have a great week and I'll try to pop in another time or two amidst all the pie making!

Thanksgiving Stuffing/Dressing

In response to my request for recipes or Thanksgiving prep questions Roxanna asked about a stuffing recipe (to be made outside the bird.   This, oddly brought on a whole raft of memories and ideas.  (Note-- I'm going to refer to it as stuffing throughout even though what I'm talking about is most likely dressing just for convenience and lack of confusion). First, I should say, that we never make stuffing in the bird due to health concerns (that it not get to a high enough temp to kill the bacteria from the raw bird) and because we just need more stuffing than fits in a turkey!

Growing up, I think most o fthe time my mom made the stove top variety and I loved it.  I used to make it for myself with extra water as I like mine mushy.  I would also always have stuffing at the Bison dinner.  The stuffing there is delightfully mushy.  I adore it.  Sometimes it is nearly all that I put on my plate and usually take a little home too.  So tasty and delicious.  My third Thanksgiving meal was usually with the Dotters and my Grandpa always makes this lovely cornbread stuffing usually with interesting things in it (sometimes interesting things he calls pork and turn out to be other things....).    Last year, My Grandpa was running  a bit late so my Mom and I started on stuffing prep without him and the recipe goes something like this.

Ingredients:
Bread (see below for explanation/amounts of each item)
Onions
Celery
Carrot (Optional - also consider mushrooms, apples, cranberries, water chestnuts, garlic, etc)
Sage (or herb of choice -- consider rosemary, parsley, thyme, etc...)
Chicken stock
Kitchen Bouquet (optional)
Salt
Pepper


(My apologies Roxanna that this is a tiny bit vague, but rest assured this is one of those sort of dishes where perfection is not required).

1.  Gather the bread of your choice.  We made a cornbread for a portion of ours.  I prefer that the cornbread be less than 50% of the total bread.  My Grandpa, generally, prefers closer to 75%, but as I was was the one prepping we went with a lower ratio.  The remaining bread was chunks of bread we had left over.  Some of it was from french bread/baguettes, I suspect there was probably some left over hot dog buns or sandwich bread.  The key is that you pick breads that you like and that you have at least three kinds to get the complexity of flavor.  I would say that the very minimum amount would be four cups (for maybe 2-3 people) our group is much larger so we multiply accordingly.

2.  Cut bread into cubes and toast.  Basically put it on cookie sheets in a hot oven (maybe 450 degrees) for 10 minutes or so stirring occasionally.  You are looking for the bread to dry out and turn lightly brown in places. (When bread is toasted, turn the oven down to 375 for the stuffing)

3.  Meanwhile, chop (or if you like it smaller dice) onions, celery, carrots and garlic.  For a small batch probably one small onion, two stalks of celery and one carrot.  Multiple up accordingly.  I put a tiny bit of garlic in mine, but many do not.  It is really up to you.  You might consider other veggies such as peppers or water chestnuts or fruits like apples or dried cranberries in the mix here if you are feeling adventurous.

4.  Gather herbs of your choice.  In our case, my mom has herbs growing just outside the door so we get very fresh ones.  The typical choice would be sage and thyme. Either dry or fresh. If you have fresh a couple tablespoons is great if you are using dry then half that.

5. Saute the vegetables in a few tablespoons of butter in a large stock pot. (Two Tablespoons for small batch up to eight or so for a large batch).  Taking time here will really enhance the flavor of the dish.  I would recommend moderate heat and frequent stirring for about 15 minutes.  We are looking for a hit of color and everything to be soft and fragrant.  (If you are adding apples or mushrooms to the mix it is good to toss them into this saute a bit later in the cooking cycle, but they will be more flavorful for having joined the party here).

6. Add any herbs you like finely minced to the pot and cook briefly until you begin to smell the herbs.

7. Add the bread to the herbs and vegetables mix.  Stir thoroughly to mix and coat the bread with the toasted bread mixture with the butter, herbs and savory vegetables.  If you are adding dried cranberries or other additions such as meat that did not get sauteed in step five this is the time for those.

8. Begin to add the chicken stock a 1/2 a cup or so at a time.  This is where things get a little more subjective.  I, for example, like my stuffing rather wet.  Others, often prefer to have the bread retain its shape more clearly.  Roughly, I would say one cup minimum probably four cups or so for a large batch.  Mix very gently so as not to break up the bread too much.  Then taste.  Does it have full flavor or sort of just still taste like bread? If it needs more flavor, consider first adding salt and more of the herbs you've been using along with some pepper.  If it still isn't quite the Thanksgiving flavor you were thinking of try this secret from the Bison kitchens that I adopted last year: Kitchen Bouquet Browning & Seasoning Sauce  This is essentially, concentrated flavorings meant to enhance the flavor of gravy, but I think makes for extra flavorful stuffing as well.   It does not take very much of this so I recommend a light touch.

9.  Once you are satisfied with the flavor, pour the mix into a greased pan (I use two 9x13 pans, but if you are doing a small version 8x8 would work well).  Cook the stuffing for 20 minutes or so at 375 degrees.  You are looking for a slight crust to form and maybe a bit of browning, but not for it to dry out entirely.  (Hint-- should your stuffing get too dry you can add some moisture back with gravy or remaining chicken stock that is already hot).

10.  Serve and be happy.

Last year, my Grandpa came in around the mix and tasting phase and we, of course, tinkered a lot as my Grandpa and I are wont to do.  We very much enjoy playing with flavors and perfecting things.  We are, as you can see, much less committed to writing things down precisely.  (You can read a more precise version from the Pioneer Woman here).This is a general feel for how it goes, but the short message is this:  Dry out some bread, add some sauteed onions and celery along with sage and chicken broth, cook briefly and enjoy.    Stuffing isn't part of the meal to stress about, but it can clearly be a way to build flavors and memories together.

Thanks to Roxanna for taking me down memory lane through one of my favorite family foods.  Thanks also to everyone that suggested recipes.  You can find them in the comments of this post.  I have yet to be given any assignments for this year, but will let you know what I end up making, hopefully in advance.  I feel like I will almost certainly be making pies and am just beginning to look for some recipes.  Such a tasty season!

Thinking of Thanksgiving

Apparently, my thoughts are skittering ahead to Thanksgiving recipes.  The below is a layout I made that includes two recipes that are typically part of the Dotter Family Thanksgiving celebration. I previously blogged these recipes here and here.  The page was inspired by the American Crafts Recipe Week Challenge, but fit well with my current ponderings.  I'm not sure what I'm making for the festivities this year.  Any suggestions or special requests? Any recipes you'd like me to share here?

Supplies: Patterned Paper: American Crafts Junior Line - Rock On and Up, Up and Away, Cardstock: White  and Kraft American Crafts and Brown Core'dinations, American Crafts Metallic Copper Honey Puffy Thickers, Pink Paislee Artisan Tape - Green & Grey, Scotch Dot Roller Adhesive, Fiskars Border Punch - Apron Lace,  Tim Holtz Distressed Ink Pad - Vintage Photo ---other letters cut with Silhouette using Brush Script font.

Gratitude

For the last four Thursdays, I have been posting "Thankful Thursday" submissions each week to help shift my focus towards Thankfulness for all the blessings in my life even though it has been a very difficult fall.  Beginning on Monday I am spreading the Gratitude Project to our entire family.  I want to teach my children about the importance of gratitude and giving thanks for their blessings beyond the routine "thank you."  I also want to increase our collective awareness of the beauty, richness, and blessing that is our daily life.

To try and keep our project on track and have a more tangible way of expressing our thanks,  we have created our "30 Days of Gratitude" Calendar from Jessica Sprague.  It was on sale for only a $1 a few weeks ago and contains printable files and instructions for a month long daily observance of gratitude. I admit that actually assembling the project did lead to some ungracious feelings on my part.  It essentially requires assembling thirty pockets and tags -- including printing, cutting, adhering (I used glue lines, of course), threading ribbon etc.  Of course given my frustration with repetitive tasks this was not a good fit for me, but B jumped in to help with the final phases which helped enormously.

It is cute and we have our pockets assembled which will hopefully help keep us going. Tomorrow, we will hang ribbons with the pockets on them somewhere in our living room (where M can't reach) and begin having a daily moment where we gather and write down our five things we are thankful for.  The idea is that it will be five different things each day recorded on the corresponding note card, but we will see.  I'm not sure how well we'll do with remembering each day, but we're going to do our best.

Before beginning assembly of the calendar, I purchased the 30 Days of Gratitude Mini-Album file set as well (this weekends $1 Hybrid project).  It includes spaces for all our cards and places for pictures of things we are grateful for as well as quotes.  I'm hoping it is a bit less repetitive than the pockets project, but am holding off starting assembling it for a week or so as other things need attention first.

I'm throwing all this out there just as some ideas for contemplating gratitude all month long.  I have a few other projects and posts planned for this month and Thankful Thursdays will continue through Thanksgiving as well. I find I am seeking grace and awareness of life's gifts in this phase of life and November seems the perfect time to build it into our days in a more concrete way.  I hope you will join me and welcome any ideas you have for other Thanksgiving ideas or crafts as we focus on the important theme underlying the big feast. (I'll likely have some recipes to share as well as we near the feast).  Have a wonderful week!

December Daily & other recent pages

I've been doing some scrapbooking here and there, particularly on the December Daily pages through Day 13. Here are some samplings of the outcomes thus far.

Yes, it would be cooler if they were in numerical order, but I lack the patience just now.  Just trust that they are in the book:)

Fool-Proof Pie Crust

Have you started making your pie crust yet? If not, I recommend you start as soon as possible. You'll thank me later as that stuff needs to chill and it is one thing off your big list that can easily be done in advance. I have lots of pie responsibilities this year so I'm making a double batch of my "Fool-proof Pie Crust." It is chilling as we speak. What is going in the crust is still under some debate. Therefore, if you're recipe hunting let me provide an easy, delicious crust alternative along with some preparation notes. Enjoy!

Makes 3 crusts (enough for one two crust pie and one single crust pie).

Wet Ingredients:

1 Egg
1 T + 1/4 tsp white vinegar (that extra 1/4 tsp is key)
1/2 c. cold water

Dry Ingredients

4 c. flour
1 T. Sugar
1 tsp. Salt
1 3/4 fat --- I usually use 1c. butter and 3/4c. shortening, but you can use all of one or the other or a combination of your choice. The butter tastes better, the shortening will give you a flakier texture. If using butter, I recommend cutting it into relatively small cubes before adding.

The order that follows is important so read through the instructions and then start from the beginning.

1. Mix the egg and vinegar. Then add the water to this mixture and set aside.
2. Sift or pulse in a food processor flour, sugar, and salt.
3. "cut in" the fat -- This can be done by pulsing a food processor, using a pastry blender or criss-crossing through the flour mix and fat with two opposing knives. Your goal is small pea size bits of flower covered butter/shortening evenly distributed throughout.
4. When the mixture looks like coarse meal (vague isn't that? basically you're looking for little clumps of butter in the dry mixture throughout) - add in the pre-mixed wet ingredients. You may want to use your hands to help it combine. NOTE - It will likely look too dry.
5. Incorporate what you can roughly into a ball of dough and then chill for AT LEAST 30 minutes. It is going to be a bit wetter feeling after chilling so you'll be able to get the rest of that flour in later. NOTE: It can be chilled longer or even frozen. If you're in a hurry (that never happens, right?) you can put it in the freezer for 10-15min instead chilling in the fridge for 30 minutes.

6. Once chilled, divide into three balls of dough. Sprinkle the work surface liberally with flour and set your ball in the center. (NOTE: I like to roll my dough out using something between it and the rolling pin such as a flattened out produce bag. This prevents sticking and can help with the transfer to the pie pan). Roll dough from the center out to the edges alternating directions until it is about 1/4 inch think (exact thickness is personal preference, but will affect cooking times). (OK, I'm not that good at describing this - for pictures, instructions and a very similar recipe see the Pioneer Woman's Perfect Pie Crust. Yes, I'm slightly nervous that she says only Crisco will work as I only had butter on hand today.....).

Place your crusts in your pie pan of choice and go forth with the rest of your pie recipe which will likely have baking times and temps included. Hint - if you are just using butter, you may want to chill again after putting the crust in the pie pan.

(The pictures here are my pies last year, as clearly this year's are still in progress....)

Still here?? Did you know my darling hubby insists on cleaning the kitchen and doing the dishes, BEFORE I start baking? Fun guy that, but I'm not complaining!

Happy Thanksgiving!