Peeps and Eggs and the Cross

Our Easter is a series of events that center on family and love:

We move the cross around the circle throughout the season of Lent.  Observing the passage of time and honoring the life of our Savior.  This is our act of remembrance.  It is first and foremost. It is essential.

Then, a few days before Easter, we roast peeps and we smash them up into s'mores because, well, it's a whole lot of fun to roast a sugary yellow chicken.   All families have odd rituals.  This just happens to have become ours.

 Following our sugar rush, we hide glow-in-the-dark Easter eggs.  This recent addition to our Easter celebration came about as a creative way to keep older kids interested in egg hunts.  It is 100% successful.  We hide eggs until long after bedtime, until we crash from adrenaline and sugar. 

When we wake up the following day, around noon because of the aforementioned crash the night before, we dye Easter eggs.  We're a pretty artistic family, so every year we try to find a new way to dye eggs.  This year, I decided on a science lesson.  If you put oil in the dyed water it creates a marbled effect on the eggs, allowing for several colors on one egg.  They were all sad when we ran out of eggs to play with.  I personally think they turned out beautifully.

On Easter morning we rise and, wearing our spring best, we go to church to celebrate our Savior. 

After lunch we still do a traditional egg hunt, though I think we've almost left this stage.  Only the little one truly enjoys the search.  The other two are good sports though, so they still play with her.  Chris hides and the girls seek.  Although I have to say that Sicily is so competitive that she would find them alone, which is what ends up happening by mid-afternoon.  She even changes out of her nice sandals into tennis shoes for the hunt.  Egg hunting is serious business to that girl!  The cat is also an egg hunting participant. She follows the egg hider around, waits until she doesn't think anyone is looking, and then pounces on the egg.  I think she's disappointed every time she finds that it's not a real egg.

After all of this, we spend the rest of the afternoon enjoying the beautiful spring day, remembering the love that was given for us and offering one another the same.

Happy Easter!

Comfort Food

We have had a very busy week full of emotions. Hard homework that brought tears. Bad attitudes that needed readjusting. Hard homework that brought bad attitudes that brought tears. The parents around here are tired and overworked. The older two kids are grumpy and completely over school. And the little one, well what can I say, she's a mischievous little sprite.

Oh, well. The weekend is upon us. But first a little pick-me-up in the form of a platter of chocolate chip cookies.

Lemon-Chocolate Chip Napoleans

I love lemon. I love chocolate. So why not put them together? I don't have a good answer so I did just that. I wanted to make something besides cake for Analiese's birthday. So I made these little quasi-napoleons. They were a huge hit. Instead of the traditional puff pastry, I used chocolate chip cookies to sandwich a lemon cream cheese frosting. It's simple and lovely and, oh, so delicious. Stick some candles on top and you've got yourself some birthday napoleons. Or 4th of July Napoleons. Or "just because I'm awesome" napoleons. Whatever makes you happy and gives you an excuse for some lemony-chocolate goodness. Enjoy!


Lemon-Chocolate Chip Napoleons

for the frosting:

3/4 cup powdered sugar
3 ounces cream cheese
2 Tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup (or more) whipped cream

Blend sugar, cream cheese, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla in a mixer. Once smooth fold in enough whipped cream to form a thick but spreadable frosting. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Spread frosting between 3 layers of your favorite chocolate chip cookies. Top with more frosting and a few milk chocolate chips. Yes, it's that easy.

Yum! Cookies!

The children were nestled all snug in their bed....



While visions of sugar plums danced in their heads...

Well, maybe not sugar plums. Really, what is a sugar plum anyway? My kids may not have been dreaming of sugar plums but they were certainly dreaming of some really yummy cookies because they all got up asking for them this morning. I'm talking about peanut butter s'more bites. I've been getting the daily Food Network twelve days of cookies email. So far most of them haven't really stood out. But yesterday when I got this recipe I knew I had to try it. After eating one, my boy said, "mom if you know how to make Reese's cups why do you buy them?". Thanks Chris. And he's right. I essentially just learned how to make Reese's peanut butter cups, my personal favorite. But then you take that yummy chocolate peanut butter cup sprinkle on some crushed up graham cracker. Mash some marshmallow between it and you've just taken cookie to a whole new level. My husband described it as a two trip cookie. You have to eat half of it and come back to eat the other half later. It's wonderfully awesome and they were so easy to make. Let the cookie swaps begin! Only, this one may not be included in the cookie gift boxes because my family may eat them all before I can get them out of the house! Ummm, I think I'd better go sneak another one right now before the kids get home.

It was pie...

I couldn't help myself. I needed some right now goodness of pie. So I put off the apple butter and made a pie. And it was good. It was good right out of the oven. It was good with ice cream on top. It was good cold late at night. And it was gone too quickly. Luckily there are still approximately 1 1/2 bushels of apples left so I see a few more pies in our future.


Common Apple Pie

• 8 or 9 large apples of several different cooking varieties (I like Granny Smith and Golden Delicious for this), peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
• Juice of 1 large lemon
• Sugar
• Ground cinnamon
• Pinch of both ground cloves and ground nutmeg
• Unsalted butter
• 1 large egg white beaten with a little water, for brushing
• 2 refrigerated pie crusts, or feel free to make your own
  

To make the pie:
Preheat oven to 450° F.

Prepare the crust (I save time and usually use Pillsbury refrigerated crust). Line a 9-inch pie pan with half of the pastry and set aside in the refrigerator, along with the unrolled half, while you make the filling. Taste a few slices of the apples to gauge how much sugar you'll need to make them sweet. In a large bowl, mix the apple slices in the lemon juice. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon to taste, then add the cloves and nutmeg. Pour the apple mixture into the prepared pastry shell. Mound toward the center and dot with butter. Roll out the remaining pastry and carefully lay it over the apples. Seal the edges, cut vent holes, and decorate with extra pieces of dough cut into decorative shapes. Or if you're feeling particularly fancy you can do a lattice top. Brush the egg wash over the surface of the pastry. Place the pie pan on a baking sheet (to catch any spill over) and cook in the middle of the oven for 10 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350° F. and continue to cook for about another hour, until the top crust is a beautiful golden brown. If the edges start to darken too much, cover with a ribbon of aluminum foil.

Hello October

Hello October, my favorite of all months. With your falling leaves and pumpkins. Bring on the wonderful squash and the cinnamon smells. Around our house pumpkin is one of our favorite foods. But that is probably because I only prepare pumpkin in October, November, and December. I refuse to use it outside of those months. It makes our pumpkin dishes special. Seasonal. Sicily calls October "pumpkin day". (Yes, we're still working on the difference between day and month.) So to kick off "pumpkin day" we are off to make what we call "Analiese's favorite pumpkin muffins" because they are her favorite. Clever name, right? I thought I'd share the recipe so that you can enjoy pumpkin day too. Happy October everyone!

Analiese's Favorite Pumpkin Muffins

2 c flour 
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
3/4 c packed light brown sugar
1/2 c whole milk
1 c pumpkin puree
4 Tbsp. melted unsalted butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla (opt.0

Preheat oven to 375.  Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, 
cloves, nutmeg, and salt into a medium mixing bowl.
In a large mixing bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar, milk, pumpkin,
 melted butter, and vanilla.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet and 
mix just until incorporated being careful
not to over mix (or will get to stiff).  Divide into muffin cups. 
Bake until golden: 16 min. for mini muffins; 22 to 25 min for regular 
muffins

O hushed October morning mild
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall
Tomorrows wind, if it be wild,
should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
Tomorrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,
begin the hours of this day slow.
Make the day to us seem less brief.
Hearts not adverse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know.
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away.

-Robert Frost, October

pretty cupcakes

So one of my awesome sisters (I have two awesome sisters, you know) sent me a little package the other day. Inside was a book about cupcakes, which I was eager to get into, and two bottles of blue nail polish, which just made me laugh out loud. Good sisters know when you need to laugh out loud. Well, that night I gave myself a much needed pedicure and read about cupcakes. There are so many cute ideas in this book, but I landed on a butterfly one to be my first challenge. Because you know a book about desserts wasn't going to sit in my kitchen unused for very long, I made them for a party this weekend. They were a big hit and tasted pretty yummy too! Good sisters know when you need to make something chocolaty and yummy. Good sisters also know when you need to talk and how to make you forget about things you don't want to think about. My other awesome sister spent two hours on the phone the other day doing just that. Maybe I can distract Steven from the phone bill with another batch of cupcakes.

summer indulgences

There are two summer treats that we like to indulge ourselves with around here. Now you're going to look at these and say, "those aren't indulgences. they're no where near sinful enough." And you'd be right, unless I told you that we have them for breakfast. There's something about having dessert for breakfast that makes it seem more like off limits calorie filled goodness.

Summer Fruit Pizza:

the "crust":
1 refrigerated pie crust
1 Tbsp cinnamon/sugar

the "sauce":
1 1/4 cups half and half
1pkg. vanilla instant pudding
1 cup whipped cream (homemade always best)

the "toppings":
any seasonal fresh fruit you have sitting around

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Unroll pie crust onto a baking sheet. (you can leave it whole, making it look more like pizza; we like to use cookie cutters to make mini shaped pizzas.) Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until lightly browned. cool completely. Meanwhile, pour half and half into a medium bowl. Add dry pudding mix. Beat with a wire whisk until well blended. Gently fold in whipped cream. Refrigerate until ready to use. Spread "sauce" over crust and top with fruit. Enjoy!

Watermelon Ice:

1/4 cup sugar
2 cups water
4 cups of cubed seedless watermelon
juice of one lime

Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan set over medium heat. Stir until the sugar has completely dissolved. Remove from the heat and allow the syrup to cool.
Puree the watermelon chunks (it is fine if small seeds are still attached) in a blender until smooth. Pour the simple syrup, lime juice, and watermelon puree in a 9 by 11-inch nonreactive baking pan and stir well. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and place in the freezer. After 1 hour, stir the mixture well, using a fork. Return to the freezer for another hour, then stir again. This time allow the mixture to freeze for at least 6 hours or overnight (it is not necessary to continue stirring after you have done it twice).
Remove the pan from the freezer and allow it to sit at room temperature for about 5 minutes. Using a fork, scrape the fruit ice and serve it in a small bowl.

my pajama/play dress clad kitchen helpers in too big aprons and with sticky cherry stained fingers

Back to those berries...

What's a girl to do with 19lbs of berries? Make jam of course. Actually I froze a good amount of them (along with most of the peaches and nectarines we had bought the weekend before). I see blueberry pies, muffins, cobblers, and all number of good things in our future. But with the rest I decided to try my hand at jam. I must confess though that I cheated and made freezer jam, but not because I wasn't motivated to try full out canning. However, I lack the supplies for that and the money to buy them. So freezer jam it is. And oh, is it good (if I do say so myself)! For the last two weeks I have had a daily dose of toast and jam on the side of my coffee, not to mention a midnight snack. Steven has been mixing it into his oatmeal. It's so flavorful. At the rate that we are all consuming it, I don't see it lasting very long. That just means we need to take another trip to the berry patch before the season is over! In the recipe below it calls for crushed blueberries. This makes a very chunky jam, which I love. Steven wasn't a huge fan of the blueberry skin so I pureed the second batch. Some people say this can change the way the jam sets up. I didn't see a difference. The pureed batch still made some very fine jam.

Black and Blue Jam:

4 cups blueberries
2 cups blackberries
5 cups sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice
3/4 cup water
1 package powdered fruit pectin (for a thicker jam, add 1/2 package of pectin and 1/4 cup water

In a large bowl, crush the blueberries by hand. Add the blackberries and crush. Stir in sugar and lemon juice. Let stand for 10 minutes. In a small saucepan, bring water and pectin to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add to fruit mixture; stir for 3 minutes. Pour into jars or freezer containers; cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. cover and let stand overnight, but no longer than 24 hours. Refrigerate or Freeze. Store in freezer for up to 1 year, or in refrigerator for up to 1 month. Makes approximately 8 8oz. jars of jam. Enjoy!

blackberry cobbler

There are some desserts that should only be eaten at certain times of the year. Apple pie should be eaten in the early fall preferably right after a trip to the orchard, and always al a mode. Pumpkin pie can only be eaten in late fall surrounded by friends and family, unless you're sneaking downstairs for a yummy midnight snack, in which case cold pumpkin pie is the best choice. Strawberry Shortcake should only be made with the freshest, ripest strawberries you can find, and therefore can only be eaten in late spring during the picking season. And cobbler is made for eating on a back porch in the dead heat of summer with a cold scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. Homemade vanilla ice cream is even better. Either way cobbler is a summer dessert. Made with fresh summer berries or fresh picked peaches, ummm there isn't much better than that! Around here we like blackberry cobbler the best. In fact, I'm pretty sure my husband could, and would, eat the entire dish in one sitting if the rest of us would let him. Here's to summer and some really good cobbler!