granola for the new year

i welcomed the new year by getting my wisdom teeth removed. almost as awesome as it sounds. but now that the swelling is gone and the stitches are out i'm ready to calmly greet the year ahead of me. the closets are mostly reorganized, the donations dropped off and, most of all, we're doing our best to keep things simple. and that includes the food i'm making and my family is eating.

truth be told, i don't love cooking. if i had the resources i'd hire an alice in two seconds to take over all cooking and housekeeping. but, no alice will be joining us in our 650 square feet anytime soon, so i have to do what i can. and for me, it all starts with loved, simple recipes that i don't mind making and that stick around for a litte while. like granola. in fact, granola is a staple in our house. and i really don't think there is a more deliciously simple granola than that made from the recipe i inherited when i married chip. beautifully basic, not too sweet, just barely salty, and no seeds (i'm not a seed fan). i've been making it regulalrly for the past 9+ years and imagine that, like my mother-in-law, i will continue to fill our home with it's warm honeyed smell for the next 20. i've made huge batches for campouts and i've given it to friends at christmas, but mostly we just love to have it on hand at home for those cozy winter days. and every other day of the year too, really.

Granola

10 c old fashined rolled oats
2c whole wheat flour
2c wheat germ
2c coconut
1.5- 2c chopped pecans and sliced almonds
         mix above ingredients in large bowl

4T vanilla
1/2c water
2c honey
1c (or less) oil
         mix wet ingredients in separate bowl, add to try ingredients
         and combine well. spread in shallow pans. stir gently every
         15 minutes or so while baking. bake at 250 until deep golden
         and almost dry, approximatley 2 hours. remove, let cool.
         store tightly covered. in the refrigerator if you have room (i don't).

put milk over it and eat as cereal, top it with yogurt and fruit, eat it plain, add raisins or whatever to it. however you eat it, enjoy. enjoy the simplicity of the granola and the year ahead. or just throw it all over the kitchen like charlie does. that seems to bring a lot of joy too.

here the boy is, because you haven't seen him in awhile. he's awesome. even if he does draw all over the couch with sharpie and throw his thomas train in my face to wake me up in the morning.

i wanted banana cream pie

so, lately the law around here has been: have a craving, satisfy it as quickly as possible. really great in some ways. really not great in others. happily for me, i don't own a scale. but i do own skinny jeans. which, come to think of it, are definitely scarier than a scale. i should really considering changing the law soon. . . 

i digress.

last week i wanted banana cream pie. but didn't have patience for the 10+ hours of time the pie requires. so, this is what i ate intsead: 

a pretty great substitute. it isn't pie, but it's something sweet and fast. graham cracker, slices of banana topped with lightly sweetened whipped cream. i think we've eaten it two or three times since and everyone is a fan.

and then there was the time when i wanted cheesecake. or chocolate. clearly a cheesecake wasn't happening, and the chocolate just wasn't doing it. so, i melted the chocolate (70% cacao bittersweet. i like dark.) and beat in cream cheese. berries to dip and, oh my word. it really was like eating chocolate cheesecake. but maybe even better because it took two minutes. the blueberries were especially awesome with the super dark mixture. it wasn't sweet enough for the girls, maybe a 60% cacao would have been a better bet for them, and chip isn't a big chocolate fan. but i loved it.

the time will soon come when i care about fitting into my pre-charlie skinny jeans and these quick, sweet treats will have to be forgotten about. but now is not that time. in fact, now i'm very very interested in your quick treats, because your old favorite just might become my new favorite! (and for you good souls who have only quick healthy "treats" to share, don't hold back. heaven knows, i need those too. . .)  thanks for sharing, i'm excited! 

...

unrelated business:

some of you have mentioned bloglines (and other feed readers) not keeping up to date with my blog. that's my fault. kind of a long story involving me jiggerring with some things that had more impact than intended. if you happened to come visit even though your reader tells you it has been five weeks since i updated, i'm so glad, it is great to have you here! in order to be kept up to date you will need to re-subscribe, and everything should be good . . . now,  back to the good stuff: what are your favorites? 

finally

for the past eight years the saturday before halloween has meant one thing and one thing only: the park slope ward chili/pie cook off. four times i have entered my favorite key lime pie and four times i've walked away empty-handed. but not this year, this year it finally happened. i took in my pie and walked away from the evening and the church with this:

 

it's a little embarrassing and a lot ridiculous, but it feels really good to have this apron. clearly, winning is fun and feeds my carefully repressed competitiveness, but the best part is that now i can move on. i can let go of the crazy compulsion i felt to keep shoving this pie in the judges' faces year after year after year. it has gotten it's shout-out and now i am free to make a different pie, or no pie at all. maybe i can figure out a good chili recipe, or maybe not and instead spend all my energy in the always last-minute costume making of the day. (bats this year, and they're so cute).

i am kicking myself for not getting a picture of the pies before they were consumed. sitting among the twenty-two other entries, my pie was simple and lovely, but the pie that really needed documenting was an apple pie, the upper crust of which was decorated with a pie-crust silhouette of joseph smith. oh, i loved it. . .

even though i am picture-less know that this has always been a delicious and easy pie, and now it's a prize-winner. so, make it and be happy. 

Key Lime Pie

6 large egg yolks

6 tsp grated lime zest

whisk yolks and zest until greenish. then add:

1.5 can sweetened condensed milk

mix. then add:

3/4 c fresh lime juice, strained

mix and let stand at room temperature to thicken, usually just a few minutes. 

pour into 9" graham cracker crust (you can buy to make it easier on yourself, but homemade is always better)

bake at 325 for 15-18 minutes, until center is set.

cool completely and top with fresh, homemade whipped cream. garnish with lime zest or sugared, super thin lime slices. 

showering the bride

in a few weeks miriam is marrying martin. this past weekend i got to throw her a bridal shower.

invite.

address changed to protect the innocent. . . which is you- my neighborhood can get kind of sketchy. chip deserves the bulk of the credit here. he took my little sketch of the design on mim's ring, put it through several filters and got this. i'm withholding the very sad attempt at designing an invitation all by myself in order to protect my ego.

the decorations.

don't know what to call them, but the confetti streamer things were inspired by these amazing mobiles and by the invitation itself. cardstock, needle, fishing line, a lot of little knots, glass bead at bottom for weight and a 2"circle punch (my new favorite thing- it totally takes me back to 1987, watching my mulleted older brother walk around the house, squeezing his squeaky grips over and over and over to bulk up his wrists).

oversized confetti spread on the tables. among the many solid pieces were these with the invitation design and words; words that come to martin's mind when he thinks of miriam, his bride-to-be. reading that e-mail almost made me cry.

pictures of mim in banner form. because if you spent the bulk of your childhood with a bowl cut, i'm going to celebrate it. sewn together with a zig-zag stitch; my favorite fast and lazy way to make a banner.

and of course there were balloons, because balloons mean party time.

the table.

without chip in the house to help me take pictures while i finish all the last-minute details i miss important shots like the final version of the table. but it was filled with really yummy stuff, which i can mostly thank the internet for.

if you don't normally put vanilla in your crepes, do it. fresh off the stove, these were the best things i've eaten in months. the next day at the party they were great too. for topping options: lemon curd, mascarpone/ricotta cheese filling, hot fudge sauce, strawberries, bananas, raspberries, fresh lemon juice and powdered sugar. mini quiches- made with this cream cheese tart crust (half the butter)- crazy easy and good. barefoot contessa turkey tea sandwiches- i'll use any excuse i can find to make these. i first had them years ago at brooke's house and have craved them often ever since. baby spinach salad with pears, avocado, goat cheese and raspberry vinaigrette. plums for refreshing before diving into the lemon chiffon cupcakes, ginger snaps and chocolate toffee cookies. and as people parted, there were truffles. i used this recipe with some adjustments (a bit of cream added, and a good amount of bittersweet chocolate in place of the semisweet). and to try to wash all the richness down, juice and lemon-mint water.

album. i love things like this. next to their pictures (which they e-mailed me earlier) everyone wrote a special note just for little mim. hopefully it will be fun for her to look at every now and then. . . to remember all these people when she's an old married woman. . .

among all these little details, which i loved preparing, there was talking, laughing, opening of really great gifts, sighing, over-eating and, above all, celebrating miriam. and that was by far the best part. because this bride-to-be, my sister-in-law (who also happens to be one of my very best friends) deserves to be celebrated.

50:41

as in "oh, it's 50:41! i have to go, grandma!" eve is experimenting with telling time lately, and i am rarely just mommy. today i have been assigned the roles of "mean computer girl" "mean queen" "nice morgana" (the sea witch in little mermaid 2. . . ugh, i'm more than ashamed that my children and i know that. . .) and "grandma." ruthie has been restricted to the sole role of "baby jesus" . . . "come on, baby jesus! i'm making a playground just for you! see-saw for baby jesus! wheee!" i don't really know what to say. 

we've all been cooped up a little more than we'd like lately (didn't leave the house once all week. three kids+ humidity= me hiding by air conditioner). so saturday we made our way up to lawrence farm orchards to do some berry picking. a few strawberries, mostly cherries and fun. we left right around "35:13" and had a great day. as usual, i am now desperate to live on a farm of my own. having inherited the desire from my dad, i've romanticized about living on a farm as long as i can remember. the thought of being so tied to and in tune with the land and life seems so ideal. maybe i should start a little smaller with the dreams and shoot for a backyard first. 

chip has declared that he could go cherry picking every week. if we can avoid charlie getting anymore scary looking mystery hives, i'm all for it too. strangers tried to be nice and pretend that he was just a beautiful little angel, but they were concerned. "oh look, look at that little babyyyy. . ." as they came in for a close up look at the little mess their voices would lower, slow down and a lot of looks of semi-hidden worry were exchanged. but, after we picked, licked all the melted ice cream off (i know, a farm with amazing ice cream. heaven.) and turned in our wagon we drove home with pounds of cherries and hot and sleepy kids. thunderstorms and dinner from friends welcomed us home before warm baths were given and i gave into my exhaustion. i'm a complete wimp in the hot humidity. 

sunday came and with it this cherry pie. and seriously, it was the best pie i've eaten, maybe ever. and bonus; crazy easy. after the cherries are pitted (admittedly a slow process but one i delight in) and after my stained hands are washed, its all about just throwing a few ingredients together and waiting while the goodness bakes. without tapioca or white sugar on hand i substituted corn starch and powdered sugar. worked perfectly. i had raw sugar that maybe i should have used, anybody have any tips for baking with it?? half cake flour made the pie crust magical. 

once the pie was gone (we had help eating it, but could have easily shoved it into our own greedy tummies) we were very sad. so sad, that i woke up this morning determined to make another. it is happily baking in the oven right now while ruth dresses in the cow costume, eve lies daintily on the bed in her cinderella dress and charlie sits in my lap contentedly staring at the glow in front of him. 

 

gaining, gaining

i have a dent in my forehead. a long story involving a stubborn cyst and an overly zealous dermatologist. the other night i was was talking to chip about this pregnancy and my weight gain. as we were talking he pointed out that my dent has become more pronounced as i've grown and then said "huh! it's weird to say your forehead's getting fat, but there it is."

yes. there it is. everyone, attention please; i've got a fat forehead.

on a totally unrelated note. actually, probably a completely related note. . . i made another cake this past weekend. this time it was red velvet in honor of miriam's (chip's sister) birthday. if you're a fan of the red velvet cake then you should check out this recipe from "cake man raven" of brooklyn cake fame. although i'm still a little creeped out by how much red dye i dumped into the batter, it really was so moist and delicious, and with cream cheese frosting it's tough to go wrong.

treats

if you don't have ina garten's barefoot contessa cookbook you should get it. if for no other reason than these coconut cupcakes with cream cheese coconut frosting. they are amazing. within three days we ate 20 of these (would have eaten 24 but i managed to separate myself from four of them for a new mommy) and were still wishing for more. even chip, who is usually no giant fan of delicious sugary treats, couldn't get enough. i'm now using the left over frosting to dip my apples and grapes in and don't plan on stopping until it is completely gone.

in addition to all the sugar flowing through our veins, we got some surprise treats in the mail yesterday! how great are these hats? pam, we love love love them. and the tiny little shoes? i'm in heaven. i've been really lucky in a lot of ways with my marriage, but i totally scored with the great friends i inherited from chip. thanks so much pam- you've made our house a happier place!

happy presidents day

in honor of the presidents we've spent this three-day weekend completing all the tiny jobs around the apartment that have been neglected for the past two years. i think we can almost officially say our renovation is complete. i've also been eating. roughly estimating, i'd say 60% of my diet this week has been of "sugar and oils; consume sparingly" variety. a cheesecake left over from valentine's day, chocolate chips hanging around as rewards for ruth's continued potty training (no diaper all day sunday, including church!), chocolate peanut butter by the spoonful, and as of last night; mary todd lincoln's white cake.

the recipe is from chip's mother, who used to make this cake for her kids growing up. i love tradition and it turns out i love the cake. it tastes old fashioned in the best way possible. a nice subtle flavor thanks to the almonds and a really nice consistency. i used martha stewart's seven minute frosting, but whipped cream would also be pretty and delicious.

i skipped mixing chopped candied pineapple and cherries into the frosting, which i almost regret- it would have been so old-fashioney then. but, i didn't have any and thought the plain white frosting would make a better home for my log cabin addition. we were really close to sticking pennies all over the cake but the idea of that dirty money all over was just too gross.

we're now off to take advantage of the few daylight hours we have left. eve's begging for the museum, chip's pushing the aquarium and ruth just wants more treats. i kind of feel like a nap, but i think that is all the sugar talking. or the baby. . . tough to say at this point.

Mary Todd Lincoln's White Cake

1c butter, softened
2c sugar
     -cream together
1c milk
     -add alternately with stirred together mixture of:
3c flour, sifted
3tsp baking powder
     -add and mix well:
1c finely chopped blanched almonds
     -fold in:
6 egg white, beaten stiff
1tsp vanilla

-bake 60 minutes in well greased and floured 9x13 pan (don't over bake), cut in half lengthwise and layer. frost with any white boiled frosting or whipped cream, optionally adding 1/2c chopped candied pineapple and cherries. i'm now thinking that adding the pineapple/cherries to the frosting for the layer between the cakes would be perfect. still white and smooth but a little more exciting and appropriate for something with mary todd lincoln's name attached to it.

i feel like a pioneer

today i turned what was left of this:

into this:

butter.

i was so happy with that, i decided to turn what was left of this:

into this:

cinnamon butter!

10 minutes of shaking and i feel like i could have walked the plains.

*just in case you are feeling sorry for me, the poor girl who apparently went all the way through the mormon church's primary system without ever making butter in baby food jars on pioneer day, don't. you can rest assured that my primary leaders did not fail me. i'm just a little slow (16 years slow) to figure out real-life application.

i did, however, go all the way through the young women's program without ever once learning how to cross stitch, knit or crochet. how did that happen?

weekend cakes

the weekend is over and i'm happy. with a talk and a lesson at church for me, interviews and a lesson at a training meeting for chip, sunday was busy and exhausting. not the best way to celebrate a birthday. but, all the busy-ness of the weekend aside, we were able to enjoy the incredible weather, eat some good food and have some birthday cake.

this time around i went for carrot cake, specifically "the world's best carrot cake." i love ridiculous claims like this. but, in fairness, this cake is so good. it's the orange zest in the cream cheese frosting that does it. eve was my special helper with the cake. she was sure that adding some linguine noodles would have really made it something special. normally i trust her judgement but i just wasn't so sure about this one. . . so, i passed on the noodles. but i am curious . . . just how gross would that be?

i went for a small 6-inch, three layer cake and had batter to spare for cupcakes. didn't have time to wait for the cake to cool completely, so the frosting melted and the layers kind of slid around on top of one another. and apparently, i didn't have time to wait for the picture before eating half my piece either. . . but looks aside, it was, and always is, really good.

World’s Best Carrot Cake



preheat oven 350. grease, flour, wax paper, grease three round pans.

1.5c whole wheat flour
2/3c white flour
2tsp baking soda
2tsp cinnamon
1/2tsp salt
1/2tsp nutmeg
1/4tsp ginger
combine and set aside

1c sugar
1c brown sugar
1c buttermilk
3/4c veg oil
4 eggs
1.5tsp vanilla
stir until well blended. add to flour mixture along with following:

1lb grated carrots
8oz can crushed pineapple, drained
1c chopped walnuts (pecans)
1c flaked coconut
1/2c raisins
bake until tests done, about 30 minutes. Cool 10 minutes then remove from pans and cool completely. frost with following frosting:

cream cheese frosting

1/2c butter, soft
8oz cream cheese, soft
beat, then add:

16oz powdered sugar
2 tsp grated orange rind
1tsp vanilla

and here we have last weekend's cheesecake. i can't be sure this is the world's best (but don't think it isn't amazing, 'cuz it is) but i'm willing to bet it is the world's fattiest, so here it is:

World's Fattiest Cheesecake

preheat oven to 500.

1c graham cracker crumbs
1/3c sugar
1/4c melted butter
mix and press into springform and chill

5 packages cream cheese
1 1/3c sugar
3Tbs flour
grated rind of one lemon
lemon juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2tsp vanilla
blend hi speed. then add, one at a time:

5 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/4c heavy cream
bake at 500 for 10 minutes. reduce heat to 250 and bake for 60 minutes.

blend:

1 pint sour cream
1tsp vanilla
1/4tsp salt

remove cheesecake from oven, increase temp to 500.

spread sour cream mixture on top, bake at 500 for 5 minutes more.

cool in pan, refrigerate overnight.

i've been eating some sort of "weekend" cake for almost every meal for the last two weeks, which has been really good in that completely gross way. . .