Princess Pretty

Little Miss Emma is quite a fan of pretty dresses. She loves her dress-up box of princess costumes, and her two favorite colors are pink and green -- in that order.

So I'm thinking Aunt Kerry really scored well, when she sent this gem to us last week. Kerry had called me & told me she found an adorable dress for Emma to wear for her Easter dress, and wanted to know if I would be ok with that. (She sent a photo to my phone -- I sure love technology!!)

(OK with it??? Of COURSE!)

So these are a few pictures of Em from the night when we opened the box from Kerry. Please forgive the wild hair she's sporting here.... it was the end of the day, and I wasn't feeling like re-doing it just for photos.

Here's Emma, saying, "I love it!" and hugging the new dress. Right after I took this one, she asked if she could try it on:

So, tags and all, here she is. Isn't this dress pretty??

We talked to Kerry on the phone, and told her, "Thank you"...

Then she was twirling and swirling the skirt. Emma has not had any dance classes, but she improvised pretty well!

 

 

 

 

Sure love this little girl! And we love Aunt Kerry, too!!

 

Happy Pi Day!

I know, I'm slow on the blog posts. Somehow, trying to keep up with life trumps recording life on the blog. And, Yes. It's another post in the recipe category. For my kids, who I hope someday will want these recipes!

 

 

 

You thought I was joking when I said that I was on a baking kick right now???? HA! You have no idea.

So for Pi Day/Pie Day, the girls wanted to bring some pies to school. We were on track for 5 pies, but that plan got derailed when we remembered a chiropractor appointment that would completely interrupt a class for which we'd be making pies. Whew -- that last sentence structure was almost painful.

 

So instead, we were down to 2 pies for school. Do-able. Throwing together a cherry pie and an Oreo pie were no problem. (That Oreo pie had issues -- let's just say that I won't be making that version again.)

 

For home -- only favorites would do. And it had been a long time since I'd had a slice of lemon meringue pie.

 

Oh! Be still, my heart!!

 

So, for the record, .... I have to thank Enid. I don't know who Enid is. No clue. I have never met the woman, or even seen a picture of her. But man, oh man ..... Enid knows her stuff, and she for sure knows how to make a really good Lemon Meringue Pie!!

 

My copy of the recipe came from a college roommate, and it has seen better days:

 

 

My roommate didn't know Enid, either!! Who was this woman?? Enid's recipe actually makes 3 pies, but I didn't want to overdo it. The recipe divides easily into thirds, and a few years ago, I scribbled reduction amounts in pencil on the recipe card. (I wonder if the recipe was originally a single, and was multiplied to get more?)

 

You have to start out with blind baking a pie shell. I guess you could buy a pre-made pie shell instead, but why? Pie crust is easy, and I have that new rolling pin  ... and I've just always made my own anyway.

 

So, basically, you roll out the pie crust, put it in the dish, crimp the edges, and prick the whole thing with a fork so you won't get bubbles. Then you line it with a layer of foil, and fill that with pie weights, or:

 

..... dry beans. I've never used pie weights. I keep an old drink cup full of dry beans that I use over and over when I need to blind bake a crust. So, you bake it like that for about 10 minutes. Unsure about it? -- Google it, because doesn't Google know everything? Meanwhile, start by separating 3 eggs.

 

 

Then be sure to get everything else ready. This is really one of those times that you want all the stuff pre-measured, and ready and waiting. This means, get your oven pre-heated NOW, too. 350 degrees, please.

 

For the lemon filling:

 

1 1/2 cups sugar

7 T. Cornstarch

dash salt

1 1/2 cups water

3 egg yolks, beaten

1 t. grated lemon peel

2 T. butter

1/2 to 2/3 cup lemon juice

These are the amounts for just one pie. Sometimes I add some yellow food coloring, but it's not necessary.

 

Here's a trick I learned a long time ago about adding ingredients to a bowl (or pot). If you're measuring multiples, like our 7 tablespoons of cornstarch, when you add it to the pot, put each spoonful in a different location. That way, if you should get distracted and lose count, you can count the piles and still be on track! It works great for adding spices to something, too. So that's why you see 6 little domes -- and one collapsed little dome.

 

I also like to stir together the cornstarch and sugar, before adding the water. It helps to keep the cornstarch from lumping. Cook the sugar, cornstarch, salt, and water over low to medium heat, until thick. When it starts out, it's very thin:

 

It will thicken in clear-ish chunks first, .... if you look really carefully, you can see  one of the thickened  chunks just below the spoon in this next picture:

 

Then as it comes to a boil, it will start to thicken all at once:

 

Then you add the egg yolks. Although Enid doesn't mention it, I would temper the egg yolks with the hot mixture, so that you don't scramble the eggs. Cook for a minute after adding the yolks, and then add the rest of the ingredients.

 

Yes, I think it's "yellow" enough, without adding food coloring.

The other thing Enid says, is to let the filling cool... but that's the other change I make. Popular wisdom now says to keep the filling hot --it will help the meringue.

 

Which means, WHILE it's cooking, you want to be making the meringue at the same time. And that's why a stand mixer is best, so you have your hands free. Not sure why I used my hand mixer in these pictures. Maybe the others were busy with other baking. Just possibly.

 

Yeah, the back of the recipe card is almost as stained scribbled, and smudged as the front!

 

Beat the egg whites....

 

Until you get stiff peaks -- which looks like this:

 

If the top of your egg white peaks fall over, they're not stiff enough yet. Enid adds a teaspoon of lemon juice while still beating. Once the whites are nice and stiff, add 6 tablespoons of sugar and a little bit of cream of tartar. The cream of tartar helps stabilize the egg whites, and keeps the meringue from "weeping". But don't dump it in all at once -- you'll collapse those wonderful air bubbles you worked so hard to get in there. Sprinkle it on gently, a little bit at a time, until it's all incorporated in.

 

Now, you need to get moving. Get that filling into the baked pie shell. I think mine had cooled a little more than I would have liked...

 

Don't stop to lick the spoon yet. It will keep.... as long as no one else in the house knows what you're doing here! Add the meringue to the [hot] filling right away.

 

Make sure you spread the meringue all the way to the edges of the crust ...

 

... and make sure you get a good seal of the meringue against the crust. This helps to keep the meringue from shrinking. So, not just barely touching the crust, but really smooshed into it. Smoosh. It's a technical term.

 

After that, you want to even out the meringue, and that's when I do things the way my mom used to. She would always encourage the meringue into peaks, right on top of the pie:

 

That's the uncooked pie, with the meringue still soft. Occasionally, Mom had over-beaten the egg whites, and then she could only get short little points out of it. But this stuff turned out great, and made pretty peaks and waves. The first time I saw a store-bought lemon meringue pie, I couldn't believe the meringue was just a plain dome on top. What's fun about that??

 

Then you bake this baby. My mom used to zap it in the broiler at a high temperature, just a few minutes, until the meringue darkened. But Enid (and from some of the reading I've done) keeps it at a lower temperature, but cooks it longer. So, 350 degrees, for 12-15 minutes... until it starts turning golden brown on top. Don't overdo it and get it too dark.

 

And then have lots and lots of patience, until it's cool enough to cut and eat.

 

 

The other thing I would say about lemon meringue pie is that it's really just best to go ahead and eat it right away. If you think you're going to eat a little at a time, over a few days -- then the meringue starts getting tough and chewy, and the filling gets watery. Just eat it. Eat it now.

 

Later that evening, I also made an apple pie for Todd and Alyssa -- because not everyone shares my pie preferences! Sorry that I didn't take any pictures -- but Pi Day was a success at the Haven this year!

 

And, Enid -- whoever and wherever you are -- (she could be dead, for all I know) -- thank you for the great pie recipe! I think of you with every bite....

 

.....mmmmmmmmm......

 

 

Spring Happenings at our Haven

I feel like I'm a little behind on things. Every year, I always shake my head in wonder when I look at my calendar. Most people can judge how busy life is by how full their calendar is. My problem, is that when I'm the most busy -- I don't even get things written in on the calendar! It all ends up on the white board that's mounted over our tiny kitchen desk, which gets erased as we go. So, when I look back on it, I know I was the most busy when the calendar was BLANK.

So, relying on just my memory and a handful of photos, .... here's a few things that have been happening around here.

When the annual Home & Garden Show happens, it goes hand-in-hand with breaking out the four-wheelers for in-the-yard rides:

That's Darcie wearing her arm-strap for her tendonitis in her forearm. And *that* would be due to the hazards of being a softball catcher and the hard throws she makes from home to second base.
We use the four-wheeler trailer for transporting product from our store to the Fairgrounds for our booth display in the Home Show. So we have to unload the four-wheelers, bikes, gas cans, extra lawn chairs, etc. -- out of the trailer. If the weather is good, then it's a perfect opportunity for giving the four-year-old those wind-in-your-hair rides in the back yard.

Have I mentioned that I love having a BIG back yard??

One of these days, I have to do a whole post just on Darcie's Facial Expressions. That girl is a master at giving "looks". Maybe this is yet another thing she's teaching Miss Emma?

I've also been on a baking kick lately. It kinda started with the cookies in this post, and I just kept going. These cookies are another recipe in the same cookie cookbook:

I can't remember what they're called. You can just call them addictive. I do need to alter the recipe a bit (it needed another cup of flour to turn out right), but they're seriously yummy. Maple-Pecan-Vanilla Chip-Goodness.

If you like maple bars -- you would absolutely *love* these cookies!

Then Pi Day ("PIE" Day!) happened in there, too. There's a whole 'nother post for that, and it's coming soon, I promise. Whoever came up with the idea of creating a pie-baking-holiday out of a regular calendar date was really on to something. (Pi = 3.14 = Pie on 3/14/2013, ... and every other year!)

And then, our high school softball season started! It's great to be back watching the girls playing softball again. Now if we can just keep their bodies healthy and without injury, we'll be golden! (Alys has already spent lots of time with the athletic trainer and at the chiropractor, and you just saw Darcie's arm-band. This may prove to be an interesting season.)

In case anyone's forgotten, it's Alyssa's senior year, (hahaha!) and she was named the softball team captain. I'm thinking the coach picked her because of the seniors on the team, she probably has the most influence and authority with the other girls. (They all listen to her.) It's interesting to see Darcie really come forward with confidence this year, too. Last year, she was the only freshman on the team, and I think she was rather intimidated by that. This year, things are much different for her!

During the high school season, the team has "Carb Feeds" on the night before games. They take turns hosting the team at their house for a meal and some team bonding time. Alyssa (as team captain) decided to kick off the season and host the first carb feed, and the girls all made tie-dye shirts at our house. They actually made them last year at our house, too, and apparently all wanted to do it again. I have no pictures from the dinner and dying moments -- I must have just been involved with doing stuff. We gave them a build-your-own-nachos night.

Anyway. One of our conversations before the carb feed went something like this:

Daughter: "Are you going to make softball cookies for tomorrow?"
Mother: "Is that what you want? I was kinda thinkin' brownies" (I was going for "easy" over "impressive".)
Daughter: "Well, I kinda told them there would be softball cookies."

So yep, you guessed it.... I made softball cookies. Which is really just sugar cookies, frosted with yellow icing (mine wasn't nearly bright enough this year), and decorated with stitching lines:

I had made some like this last year for the team when they were heading out of town for a game up north. Must have been pretty popular.  ;-D

And Emma helped:

Sure love this kid!

Most of the cookies were plain softballs. I did a few with the girls' uniform numbers on them, but my writing tip on the black glitter-gel was pretty large, so the numbers did not come out as nice as I would have liked. Of course, the teenagers don't seem to care about that!

This Spring is shaping up to be busy, but fun. As much as I love being a homebody, after a winter of being home all the time, I'm looking forward to getting out of town now and again to watch my softball girls. YAY!!



Musically Inclined

When I was a kid, my mother was a huge fan of, "The Lawrence Welk Show" on TV. It came on every Saturday night at 7:00 pm or so. I remember watching it with her as she would roll my damp-from-the-bath hair in curlers for Sunday church the next day. Sometime during watching those shows, my mom got the bright idea that she wanted her youngest daughter [me] to be a violinist. If I wasn't in the room with her, she would call me in -- to see the violinists when they were featured on the program.



Looking back, I think she was prepping my child-mind for her plans.

When I was 7 years old, a man came knocking at our door one evening. I used to think that he was a door-to-door salesman, which was more prevalent then than it is now. Now I wonder if she hadn't already arranged for him to come that evening. (I asked her about it many years later, and she said she couldn't remember.) He was selling music lessons. Lessons on stringed instruments, in particular.

He had a guitar with him. Now we're talking!! THIS was what I was all about! It was the 70's, and a guitar looked really, really interesting to me. He showed me some chords there in our living room. Everyone asked me if I was interested in learning an instrument. I looked at that guitar, wondered how my parents could afford it, and said, YES. I wanted to learn.

At some point, the rug got pulled out from under my feet, when that gentleman told my parents that I was just too small for a guitar. My poor "little arms couldn't reach around it very well." (Like I would never grow??)  And I was "much more suited" to the smaller violin. My mother's eyes gleamed. The old bait-and-switch technique thrived with her!

So, I started violin lessons. My first lessons were group lessons in the rec hall of some church in Lower San Bruno. It lasted about a year, and I thrived on it. I was a competitive little stinker, and I loved being "the best" or second to it. I could play the notes and get them right most of the time, without the teacher coming around to move my fingers.

What I know now, and I didn't know then, was that I have perfect pitch (or absolute pitch). If you're not musical, this is not as "perfect" as it implies. Perfect pitch is the ability to identify a music note just by hearing it, without any other reference. It's not something that you learn, it's something that you either have or don't have. And it has its pros and cons. For one thing, because of it, I'm absolutely horrid at transposing music. But I can stand in the next room, and yell at my piano-playing child, "B-flat!" (Isn't yelling a requirement when you're the parent of a child in music lessons? What? It isn't??)

I didn't know anything about perfect pitch until late in high school. I just thought that everyone heard music the way I did. It never occurred to me otherwise.

But knowing the notes, and playing them well were two different things. I remember that in my earliest months, our dog (who was an outside-only dog).... would howl when I practiced the violin. True story! It seemed that those high pitched notes, combined with my squeaky-beginner's technique would hurt his ears. (He howled at sirens, too.) It was a real blow to my self-esteem! My brother laughing at me didn't help, either.

My mom was also good at guilt. Somehow, she guilted me into playing the violin for more years than I would have chosen. She bemoaned the fact that the other kids hadn't stuck with their music (piano) lessons, and she had lofty dreams of me becoming a concert violinist.

I remember performing twice a year in my teacher's recitals. I played in church, and I played at funerals. It wasn't exactly exciting, and all my performances consisted of me playing alone with a piano for accompaniment. And only one person I knew was taking violin lessons. I felt like I was in a nerdy, geeky minority. And in all honesty, I was nerdy and geeky enough on my own; adding violin-nerdy-geeky wasn't necessary! So, after 7 years of lessons (which was half of my life at that point), like my siblings and most other kids, I finally walked away from it. Mom was desperate, and even offered to have a violin specially custom-made for me if I would just stick with it. But at the time, our schools had no program for stringed instruments. A great marching band, but no orchestra. There was no draw for me. I was done.

. . . . . . . . .


I tell you all of this because as a mom, I've had every one of my kids take piano lessons. Every child has taken lessons, and every child has dropped them. And that might sound like failure. I don't look at it quite that way. Sure, I'd have loved it if one or more of them might have stuck with it! I could have been more devoted to keeping them in lessons. But there came a point with each of them, that I think I valued my relationship with them more than I valued their continued musical careers.

What I value now.... is that seed of music-love that was planted in my kids. I never expected any of my kids to be professional musicians. But I did hope that they would have enough basic musical skills to be able to sit down to the piano, and play something they were interested in.

And now, .... I love when I'm sitting in church, and I sneak a look down the bench and see my child singing the hymn. I love when my kids have knowing looks on their faces when they hear a song from an old Rogers & Hammerstein/Cole Porter/Lerner & Lowe musical. I love that several of them are "band geeks", and have band geeks for friends -- they're great kids. I love that one of my teens is currently listening to music from "Les Mis" on her iPod.

And I love that sometimes, when they think about it or feel like it, ..... my kids will sit down at the piano and play something, just because they want to. If they're doing that, it makes me feel like their piano lessons have served them well -- because they find some joy in music and there is no "forcing" them into it.


One of these days, I'll tell you Part Two to this story. It's called, "How a Music Teacher can Profoundly Influence a Student (positively, or negatively)."  It applies to more than just music teachers, too.

Smile! You know how you get a song stuck in your head? Well, now I've got the Lawrence Welk "Goodnight" song stuck in mine. If you're old enough to remember it, maybe you've got the same song stuck in your head!


P.S. I was searching for one of the few photos of me playing the violin as a kid -- and couldn't come up with it. Sorry!

Ditzy

1. I'm cold, I want hot chocolate.

2. Get the "mom" mug out, and hot chocolate mix out of pantry.

3. Get distracted by the email I promised to send a friend this morning.

4. Get a mug out. Hmm. The "mom" mug must be in the dishwasher.

5. Wonder why the hot chocolate mix isn't in the pantry? Oh, look. Someone left it out on the counter.

6. Eyeball the computer again.

7. Put the mix in the "mom" mug. Add water. Microwave it to get it hot enough.

8. Get a spoon out to stir it.

9. Discover the extra mug out on the counter, from when I thought the "mom" mug was still in the dishwasher. Also, the original spoon is there, too.

10. Heave a huge sigh. Go back to the computer and drink the stupid hot chocolate out of the "mom" mug, without any whipped cream on it. Or chocolate curls.


Yep. That's my morning. Probably ought to finish stacking in the dishwasher. Better make sure the "mom" mug is in it.

Finally Baking! Mmmmmm!

 

No, it's not that I am finally baking. Because I've been doing that a lot lately. It's that I finally took pictures while I was baking. So you're finally getting a baking post. These are two ENTIRELY different things!

 

I am such a sucker for beautiful cookbooks. I am all about those gorgeous food photos. Which means that the pictures are doing their job: they make me want to bake something.

 

So I picked up a new-to-me cookbook at Costco the other night. It's, "Taste Of Home Cookies". It claims 623 "irresistible delights". And instead of posting some old tried-and-true family recipe, ... this is the first one that I tried out of the new cookbook. You never know when you're going to get a new favorite, right?

 

(Looks pretty good, huh? Yeah, I think so, too.)

So here's the recipe.... and a few notes from me along the way.

Fudge-Filled Dessert Strips

 (how can you go wrong with a name like that?)

 

1 cup butter, softened

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk

2 cups chopped walnuts

confectioners' sugar

 

 

So, most of the time, nuts can really be optional in a cookie recipe. But in this one, they're kinda important. So I'd not opt out of that one. I used a Cuisinart hand-chopper-thingy to chop up the walnuts, and after tasting these yummies, I think the next time I make them, I will chop the nuts even finer. Grind them pretty small. But that's just me. So, chop the nuts first, and set them aside.

 

Then, you're making a standard cream cheese crust. So you mix the butter and cream cheese together until they're fluffy:

 

Yeah, that's not the KitchenAid this time. Because I was too impatient to actually wait for the butter and cream cheese to soften, I put them in the bowl and nuked them for a moment in the microwave. And since the only KitchenAid mixing bowls I have are metal..... it meant using a glass bowl, and Old Reliable, the other stand mixer, got the job.

Whoooosh. Then add the flour a little bit at a time. 

 

Bonus points if you add the flour left-handedly, so you can use your right hand to snap a photo.

 

It's a pretty soft dough by this time, and a little sticky, so turn it out onto a lightly-floured counter, and gently knead until it's smooth... just a few minutes. Divide it into fourths, cover, and refrigerate for an hour or two. (When I divided it, I flattened it into an almost rectangular shape, in preparation for rolling it later. It makes the rolling step easier.)

 

Grab another bowl, and pour in that magical sweetened condensed milk:

Whoever invented this stuff was an un-heralded genius. Seriously. Then you add the chocolate chips, and nuke this combination in the microwave. (I did a minute on high power.)

When it comes out, you stir it together until it's smooth...

Ok, well it was almost smooth in that picture, but that is bowl-licking deliciousness right there. Then you stir in the nuts, and it will be really, really thick:

 

We're talking REALLY thick. You can stand a spatula in this stuff:

Ok, pause the recipe for just a moment, and we're talkin' kitchen equipment. First, in this recipe, I HIGHLY recommend that you use either parchment paper, or Silpat mats. You'll see why in a minute. I do love my Silpats, and this is one of the few times that I removed them from the baking sheets that they're on.

Some people get excited over dumb things. Like me getting excited over a new rolling pin:

(That's one of the chilled dough portions, straight out of the fridge.

 

So this is my old rolling pin. Had it for years, have made dozens of pies with this baby, it's got the ball bearings in it, so it rolls smoothly, and it does a pretty good job. I have no complaints.

 

And this is the new maple rolling pin:

It's not a tapered one, but is straight all the way across. The green things on each end are spacer rings. They elevate the rolling pin, so you can get an even thickness of dough all the way across it. See the space here?

Am I the only one that's kind of excited about this? You don't have to use the rings; you can roll like normal without them. The rings come as a set of four rings that slide over the ends. The white rings are used on top of the green ones for your thickest doughs:

And in case you missed it in the first photo.... the rolling surface area of the new rolling pin is almost twice as long as the old one!

I'm sure there will be times I'll use the old one. But the new one makes me want to make pie crusts and pinwheel cookies, and sugar cookies, and, and, and......

Ok. Back to the recipe!

So you roll the out the chilled dough out into a rectangle, 11" x 6 1/2". If  you're not using a Silpat or parchment, you roll it out right on the baking sheet. If you use the parchment or Silpat, I would roll it on one side of the mat.

It says to spread 3/4 cup of the chocolate filling on the dough rectangle. The reality is that the filling is so dang thick, that I molded it like playdough, and laid it on top of the dough. I just guessed at the width of the filling, and centered it on the dough. Then you fold the sides of the dough up and over the filling:

Hmmm. It didn't quite fit. No matter. I just cut some of the extra off the ends and used it to fill in the gap in the middle Then you pinch it to seal the dough all the way around the filling. And then ... you take the whole flat log shape, and turn it over, so that the seam side is down. And that's why you want to use parchment paper or Silpats. Because with the mat under the dough, I just lifted the mat and turned it over to put the dough rectangle on my hand and arm, and let the mat flex to release it. I hope that makes sense.

Flipping it is also why I would roll it out on one side of the mat. Then when you flip it over, you can flip it towards the center of the mat. I was a little worried that if there were any places where the dough hadn't sealed, that the filling would ooze out all over. But that wasn't my experience. That stuff is so thick, it stayed in place, even where my dough was stretched too thin.

Bake them at 350° for 27 minutes. You want them just lightly browned. Remove them to racks to cool.

If I go to make these cookies again, I will definitely not make them as wide. Partly because of the whole wrap-around step, and partly because I think they're just a little too wide, and it makes the cookie tend to break in the middle when you pick it up.

Slice these babies into 1/2" strips. Eat the end pieces when no one is looking. Then sift the confectioners' sugar over the top. The recipe says the powdered sugar is optional, but I wouldn't skip that. They look unfinished without it.

 

The best part, is that I took this plate to my Seminary meeting that evening. I took a bigger platter to my Seminary kids the next morning, and sent one more platter with Alyssa to the Jazz Choir kids at school. So I got my baking fix in, and we only munched a few of the cookies, (waistline savings!) and we gave the rest away!

 

Everybody wins!!

I think I will make these again. But there are 622 other recipes in this cookbook, so it may be a while before I get back to these.

Hardest part? The rolling, molding, stretching, pinching, and flipping the dough. By the fourth log, I was starting to think this was more trouble than it was worth. Easiest part? Dusting with powdered sugar and slicing them up. Suddenly, it didn't seem so much trouble anymore.

I wonder which cookie I should try next......