Flat Stanley & Pickles

We sent A's Flat Stanley to Paris.  Irene was kind enough to show him around town. I  wished that I could have fit in the envelope and spent the time in Paris with Irene.  Irene is such a talented photographer among other things...like a mother of twin boys.  She has a blog. She also has this blog which are pictures of London vs Paris.

Stanley being sent away

A was so excited to get Stanley back!

look at all the goodies!

A was so excited that Stanley went to church

Stanley at the bakery

Irene also sent these lovely photos....

a photocard

i miss the Eiffel Tower

Pickles

 

12 pickles cut into spears (I cut mine in half then into spears)

1 Tablespoon of kosher salt

1 cup of vinegar

6 Tablespoon of sugar

1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt

1 jalapeno

1. Sprinkle 1 Tablespoon of salt on the spears and mix with hands so the salt is incorporated throughout. Let it sit for an hour and then drain the liquid out.

2. In pyrex cup mix the vinegar, salt and the sugar until the salt/sugar dissolves. Cut one jalapeno into slices.

3. Throw the pickles,the vinegar mixture, and the jalapeno peppers all in a Ziplock bag.  Put it in the fridge for at least 12 hours. 

 

Valentine's Day

I had a little Valentine's Day party for A.  I hope everyone had a great love day!

simple decorations with streamers

appetizers

spaghetti and meatballs for lunch!

getting ready to decorate cupcakes

A's cupcake

my niece's cupcakes

sugar cookies ready to be decorated

Yipee...it's Friday!

Next Tuesday is Valentine's Day. I already took A to Target to get her Valentine cards last week (I learned from last year when I went the weekend before Valentine's day and the shelves were EMPTY!).

I also have a little party planned for A and a few of her friends.

Here are some lovely Valentine's Day cards

satsuma press

ephemera

luludee

egg press

elum

ink meets paper

I was disappointed to learn that Franklin Covey discontinued making the monthly planner I purchase every year. I couldn't find one that I liked so I decided to make one. It was pretty easy since there are so many templates online. I just changed the size, the font, and the color.

New England Clam chowder

I decided to try a new recipe every other week.  So the other night I made clam chowder. The recipe is pretty easy especially if you use canned clams.

Saute the onions and minced garlic with 2 Tablespoons of butter

add the bacon and saute until the onions are golden brown

add the celery and carrots

sprinkle 2 Tablespoons of flour and mix

add the potatoes, milk, and bay leaf

Clam Chowder

recipe adapted from Wililams Sonoma

3 lb littleneck clams in their shells, well scrubbed (I used 2 cans of chopped clams in clam juice, reserve juice)

1 c bottled clams juice (if you are using clams in their shells)

2 T butter

1 yellow onion, finely chopped

1/4 c diced salt pork or bacon

2 celery stalks, thinly sliced

1 carrot chopped

2 T all-purpose flour

2 waxy red or white potatoes (about 10oz), diced

3 c milk or half and half

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper

2 T finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

**If you are using littleneck clams in their shells.

In a large saucepan over med-high heat, combine the clams and clam juice and bring to boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and steam the clams until they open, 5-8 mins. Remove from the heat and discard any clams that failed to open. Remove the clams from their shells (cut in half if very large), reserving a few in shells for garnish.

Strain the clam juice through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheese-cloth (muslin) to remove any grit. You should have 1 1/2 to 2 cups. Set aside.

*If using cans, drain the clams and save the clam juice.

In a large sauce pan over medium high heat, melt the butter. 

Add the onion and saute until just softened, 3-5 minutes. 

Add the salt pork/bacon and saute, stirring occasionally until the pork is cooked through and the onion is golden brown, about 2 minutes longer. 

Add the celery and carrots and saute for 1 min. 

Add the flour and cook stirring with a wooden spoon, for 2 minutes longer. 

Stir in the strained clam juice, potatoes, milk and bay leaf. Raise the heat to med-high and bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat to med and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

Discard the bay leaf and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the parsley, shucked clams and reserved clams in their shells. Cook for 1 min longer to warm the clams through.

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies

My Brother in law turned 40 last weekend...my sister threw him a party!

picture collage idea from Martha Stewart

didn't want him to forget he was turning the big 4 0

I made lemon bars

I also made healthy cookies...they don't taste healthy!

loaded with oats and oat bran!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

recipe adapted from Heidi Swanson

2 3/4 cups of rolled oats (not instant)
1 cup of whole wheat flour
2/3 cup oat bran (you can also use wheat bran or wheat germ)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups of light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups of semi-sweet chocolate bar, chopped and shaved into chunks

Preheat the oven to 350F 

In a medium bowl combine the oats, flour, oat bran, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. 

In another bowl, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in sugar for 3+ minutes, scraping down sides a few times. Add the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla.  

Add the dry ingredients, and stir until everything barely comes together. 

Stir in the chocolate, mixing until it is evenly distributed throughout the dough.

Scoop the dough and arrange each cookie at least 3-inches apart on the prepared baking sheet. Rotate the pans once about 2/3 the way through baking - back to front, top to bottom. Bake the cookies about 10-12 minutes (cookie will be chewy).  If you want a crispier cookie bake until deeply golden on the edges.

Pear Vanilla Bundt

I was cleaning out my kitchen drawer, the one stuffed with pens...markers...coupons...pieces of chocolate...playdoh...random recipes from magazine, blogs, books from the library. I came across a pear bundt cake recipe that I had worked on a while ago. I was trying to make it healthier (there is only 1/4 C of butter in the recipe). So I decided to give it another try.

chopped up d'anjou & bosc pears that I had

Pear Vanilla Bundt Cake

3 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 cups vanilla sugar* or regular granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 large eggs
1/2 cup pear sauce or unsweetened apple sauce 

1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1 1/2 - 2 cups peeled, diced pear (1 large or 2 small)

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a 10 inch bundt pan.

1.  Sift all the dry (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon) ingredients in a bowl. 

2. In another large bowl, using an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time.  Then add the vanilla extract and the pear sauce.

3. Alternating add the dry and wet ingredients to the butter/sugar mixture. Stir only until just combined, then gently fold in the diced pears.

Bake for about 50 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. After the cake cools you can dust it with powdered sugar.

*You can easily make vanilla sugar.  After I use a vanilla bean (the seeds scraped out).  I throw the empty bean into a jar of sugar.  Just make sure the jar or container is airtight and voila you have vanilla sugar.

Have a great weekend! We have a fun Saturday planned...will blog about it on Monday!

It's Super Bowl Sunday....I loved Ferris Bueller's Day Off...Go Giants!

Blueberry Lemon Muffins

We went to Disneyland recently.  It was a bit crowded, but we had a great time!

with my sisters

Fail!

I made General Tso's chicken last week for dinner.  I forgot to take the broccoli our of the steamer so they came out like mush...fail! 

General Tso's Chicken

My friend loves Heidi Swanson.  I had some apples so I decided to make her healthy apple cake....looks okay...but it was tough...tasted like...well...cardboard.

looks can be deceiving

Blueberry Lemon Muffins

I love citrus!

Blueberry Lemon Muffins

recipe by Mark Bittman

3 tablespoons melted butter or neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn, plus more for the muffin tin

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 egg

1 cup milk, plus more if needed

1 cup of blueberries

1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest

1. Heat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin and line it with paper or foil muffin cups.

2. Mix together the dry ingredients in a bowl. Beat together the egg, milk, and melted butter or oil in another bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into it. Using a large spoon or rubber spatula, combine the ingredients swiftly, stirring and folding rather than beating and stopping as soon as all the dry ingredients are moistened. The batter should be lumpy, not smooth, and thick but quite moist; add a little more milk or other liquid if necessary. Fold in the lemon zest and the blueberries.

3. Spoon the batter into the muffin tins, filling them about two-thirds full and handling the batter as little as possible. Bake for about 20 minutes (about 30 minutes for larger muffins) or until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before taking them out of the tin. Serve warm.