For All You Land Lubbers

I'm a member of a pretty amazing moms' group.  Thatbaby is one of the youngest in the group, but the moms are all about my age and all really fun.  We get together with the kids, without the kids, in large groups, or even just a couple of us at a time.  But up until this weekend, it's definitely been exclusive to us moms.

This weekend the whole family was invited to a Pirate Party hosted by one of the women in the group.  They had recently returned from a wedding in Barbados where they got to sail on a pirate ship and decided to bring the party home with them.

It was a chance for us to get together and for our husbands to better understand why we drop off the kids with them so we can escape into some margaritas.

The invitation said to wear your best pirate gear.  So we did.  Thatbaby was reluctant to wear his mask.

Poor kid.  It took him 9 months to figure out his parents are nuts.  You can almost see him begging for someone to save him.  Those poor tortured eyes.

I already knew the company would be great.  I guess I shouldn't be surprised that a bunch of fantastic women would have some pretty cool husbands.  And the food was phenomenal.  They served Caribbean chicken, rice, beans, rum punch, fruit, chips, salads.  Thatbaby gorged himself on watermelon which is his favorite thing right now.

My own contribution was in the dessert field - since you can never have too many desserts.  I decided that cupcakes, which are already a crowd pleaser, would be even more so if I kept them with the theme.  I decided on a nice, nutty pecan cupcake and paired it with a cream cheese frosting.  Playing around with food coloring and my little pirate man was born.

Almost as cute as the little pirates that were running around the party (newly walking babies are tough cookies).

Pecan Pirate Cupcakes

2 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 cup milk

1/4 cup melted butter

1/2 cup chopped pecans

cream cheese frosting

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Place liners in  muffin pan.  Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl.
2. Add the egg, milk, and butter stirring only enough to mix.
3. Stir in the pecans.
4. Spoon into the pans filling about 2/3 full.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.
5. Cool completely and frost with cream cheese frosting.

So un-American

 I once spent the Fourth of July in Vienna. You'll probably be shocked to hear that outside of the United States, most countries don't celebrate our Independence Day.  I know.  So in Vienna there were no parades and no fireworks.  My friends and I gathered in a Irish Pub and did Tequila shots all night.  Happy Birthday America!  It was probably my most international moment.

This year rivals that memory in terms of really celebrating the Fourth of July.  We barely left the house!  When I asked Thatboy what he wanted to do on our day off he had one request - "Can we sleep in?"

Well, honestly - we couldn't.  Thatbaby wanted to get up and greet the day.  But by not making plans, we could ensure Thatboy sneak in some naptime during the baby's naps.  And I could get a run in. 

When everyone was up and showered we headed out to Lake Miramar for a little walk.  There were flags there, so we were totally patriotic.

 

The plan was to meet up with the K's at a nearby burger joint, because, as Thatboy pointed out, "Hamburgers are very American."  Then we'd come back to the lake for fireworks.  But the lake was closed to car access long before the fireworks and the burger joint was closed for the holiday.  So we had to make spur of the moment new plans.

Thank goodness for smart phones

Instead, we met the Ks at a nearby Thai restaurant.  Which is slightly less American.  But definitely tasty.  Thatbaby loved his first experience with Thai food as he gobbled up satay, pad see-ew, and steak salad.  We loved getting to see the Ks and spend time with their newest and smallest addition.  He's so much more awake and alert now than when we last saw him.

And instead of watching fireworks from the lake, we watched them from the restaurant parking lot.  Which meant no fighting crowds, no getting their insanely early to get a good spot, and no lines of cars in and out of the parking lot.

Most of us watched the fireworks.  The littlest members of our group were either sleeping or eating.

 

 To continue with the less-than-patriotic theme of this thread I leave you with a Mexican dish.  (I know, we've gone from burgers to Thai, to tacos, but bear with me - this one is good.)  Rick Bayless practically introduced a new type of Mexican to Americans - one that wasn't all about ground beef, hard shells, and refried beans.  Using fresh ingredients with tastes you may not expect - like the combination of pineapple and pork.  I actually made these tacos several weeks ago, but as I was making up our menu for this week I knew I'd be adding these on and thought it would be cruel of me not to share.  It's another one of those crockpot meals I've been trying to do more of lately.  Which means it's tasty and easy.  And there's nothing more American than that!

Smoky Pork Tinga Tacos (from Rick Bayless)

1 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1/2″ cubes
2 lbs. boneless pork shoulder, cut into 1″ pieces
1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes with chiles
3-4 chipotles in adobo, sliced
1 TBSP adobo sauce
1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp dried oregano
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium white onion, sliced 1/4″ thick

1. Spread the potatoes over the bottom of a crockpot  and top with the pork.
2. In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, chipotles, adobo sauce, Worcestershire, oregano, garlic, onion, and about 1 1/2 tsp. salt.  Pour the mixture evenly over the meat and potatoes.
3. Cover and cook on high for 6 hours or low for 8-10 hours.
4. Serve with warm tortillas, cheese, and avocados for making soft tacos.

New Feature: Mommy Mondays

Inspired by Courtney's latest post asking for baby help I thought maybe I should add a new regular feature to the blog.  As much as this isn't a mommy blog, Thatbaby sure is making his appearance fairly regularly.    Because let's face it - with new little one in the house, there is very little else to report on.  Thatboy and I are insanely boring these days.  In fact, our "busy weekend" was basically just filled up with one playdate after another. 

So I thought I would take one day of the week and use it to address all the fun aspects of new mommyhood.  With all the other new moms and moms-to-be out there it's a little place where I can share my "what I've learned so far" in the hopes it can help others.  I don't represent to be an expert in anything, but I'm more than happy to share my experiences.

With that in mind, let me know if there's any topic you're interested in - pregnancy, labor, breastfeeding, baby products, whatever - and I'll try my best to address them.

But for now, I'll give you a little taste of where we are now.  Thatbaby turned 9 months last week. 9 MONTHS!  The 9 months when I was pregnant seemed to last for years.  The 9 months since he was born have gone by in a blink of an eye.

Weight: 19lbs 3oz (+ 11lbs 13oz)

 Height: 27.5" (+ 7.5")
Head: 18" (+ 4.7")

Sleep: For the most part Thatbaby goes to bed between 8 and 8:30pm and sleeps till around 7am with one wakeup between 2 and 4am where he eats, and then goes to sleep. He's had a couple weeks of congestion this month, which usually means disrupted sleep, but for some reason he's been sleeping really well even stuffed up.  Although we place him to bed on his back, by the time we leave the room he's on his side or his stomach.  Sometimes pressed up against the bars of his crib.

Eating: Apparently babies are supposed to drop feedings and/or space them out.  Thatbaby never got the memo.  He still nurses/gets a bottle every 3 hours or so during the day (more often at daycare) and is scarfing down 3 full meals a day.  This month his daycare has asked us to send in more food for his lunch since he eats pretty much everything we send in.  Which might explain why he's gained 4lbs in the past 3 months.

Best Moment: Definitely crawling!  And not just the crawling - now he comes to find us.  Which is my favorite.  I love when I hear his little "I'm coming to get you noises" and I know I'll see his little face coming around the corner any second.

Monthly Wisdom: This is my all-time favorite age so far.  I love the new mobility, I love the independence, I love the interactions.  He has so much personality and he's such a happy baby these days.  Except of course when he's the saddest baby in the world. I know a lot of people complain about having mobile babies, but this guy is so much happier now that he can get where he wants - which makes us all happy.

Goals for the Upcoming Month:
- Work on Thatbaby's social interactions so he's as fun with his friends as he is at daycare.
- Get Thatbaby to bed earlier (which means get dinner on the table earlier)

Things Thatbaby is doing:
- Crawling
- Pulling on furniture up to his knees
- Hiding his toys in little nooks and crannies.  He loves to put things in holes, underneath other things, in baskets, etc.
-Eating a ton of food.
- Bouncing/Dancing to music

A different kind of brisket

It certainly is a good thing I sent in banana bread this week.  Because my child?  Well, lets just say that he's been less than loveable lately.

Yesterday when I dropped him off at daycare he was sitting in his little "coffee clatch" with his friends as I put away his things.  As I put my shoes back on, about to leave, I watched him pick up a toy block, and throw it at one of his friends.  Whose child is this?  They moved him away from her and told him to be gentle as I cautioned him that if he wasn't nice to his friends, they wouldn't be his friends anymore.

When I went to pick him up, I got the standard report - "Thatbaby is such a happy baby!  He's always in such a good mood." 

"Oh good, does that mean he stopped throwing blocks at the other children?"

"He didn't throw any blocks - his new things is pulling hair.  He thinks it's hysterical.  And when we move him away he reaches for more - laughing."

When did my sweet little boy, who tried to cheer up his daycare girlfriend when she was crying turn into this little monster?

Thankfully dinners have not been as difficult as Thatbaby.  I'm really trying to utilize my crockpot more so that at least one thing is easy in my life.  Coming home and having dinner ready to go is one less thing I need to worry about.  We can get eating, Thatbaby can get to bed, and Thatboy and I can have some time to discuss the day.

It definitely helps that crockpot dinners can be just as delicious as those that you slave away all day making.  Which is understandable, since the food is cooking all day.  Meat becomes so tender it falls apart when you wave a fork over it.  I've never made brisket in the crockpot, but it's the perfect meat for it, something that deserves to be cooked low and slow.

When I have made brisket, it's fallen into one of two categories, a brisket roasted with onions, potatoes, and carrots from my Jewish heritage, or the corned beef variety from Thatboy's Irish heritage.  This one is a bit different.  It belongs to neither of us.  But since it encompasses some of our favorite flavors, it will quickly become ours.

Southwestern Pulled Brisket (From Lemons and Love)

3 pounds beef brisket
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 Spanish onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, with their juices
2 chipotle chiles en adobo
 2 bay leaves
3 tablespoons molasses
tortillas

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Season the beef with salt and pepper. Brown the meat on both sides (10 minutes total)
2. Transfer the beef to the slow cooker.
3. Add garlic, onion, chili powder, coriander, and cumin to drippings in the skillet and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. 
4. Add vinegar and boil until it's almost gone, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
5. Stir in water and pour the mixture over the brisket. 
6. Crush the tomatoes through your fingers into the slow cooker; add the tomato juices, chipotles, bay leaves, and molasses. 
7. Cover the cooker, set it on LOW, and cook the brisket until it pulls apart easily with a fork, about 8 hours.
8. Shred the meat with 2 forks and stir it evenly into the sauce; season with salt and pepper, to taste. 
9. Remove and discard bay leaves. Pile the meat on tortillas and serve.

A special treat for a holiday week

A couple weeks ago I made a banana bread. And it was good. Fabulous on its own, but even better with a little nutella on top.

There's just something about banana bread - don't you think?  It's like the chocolate chip cookie of breads.  Warm, comforting, and homey. The homey quality probably has a lot to do with the fact that Thatmom used to make banana bread quite frequently when I was growing up.  Studded with chocolate chips, there was always one in the freezer.  Even the smell of banana bread cooking brings me home.  I have a hard time not cutting into it as soon as it comes hot out of the oven.

I wanted to do something nice for Thatbaby's daycare providers.  After all, they do so much for him.   So as a pre-holiday treat I made the bread again and brought it in for them.  Thatbaby is already the favorite there, since apparently he saves his "saddest baby in the world" routine for us, but this certainly sealed the deal.

 Banana Bread

2 eggs, beaten
3 bananas, mashed
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. applesauce
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 c. chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a loaf pan.  Combine eggs, banana, sugar, and applesauce in an electric mixer.
2. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  Mix thoroughly.
3. Stir in walnuts and pour into the pan.  Bake for about an hour.

He likes to move it, move it

About 3 weeks ago, Thatbaby decided he'd had enough with the sedentary lifestyle.  He started crawling. 

And crawling wasn't enough.  So excited to be mobile, he started with the other hallmarks of near-toddlerhood.  He started exploring.  Exploring our dvds, exploring the bookshelves, exploring under the crib.  So far he hasn't caused any trouble, but we know those days are numbered.  So we spent this past weekend baby-proofing.

Thatbaby was very helpful in the "keeping track of packaging materials" department

Gone are the days of open garbage cans and open bookshelves.  Now all our books and dvds are in fabric shelves.  Our garbage has a lid and stepper. The furniture is securely attached to the wall.  And all the cabinets are locked.  I only managed to break one the first night we installed them.  Obviously the kitchen is now Thatgirl-proofed too.

Don't worry, I can still work my way around.  I just have to remember not to yank open the doors.  Which means I can share in today's festivities with a truly All American dish.  Meatloaf.  It's one of Thatboy's favorites, and it seems like Thatbaby is following suit.  And while it may not be my favorite meal, sometimes I bend to the will of the majority. 

Happy Independence Day Y'all!

 Oatmeal Meatloaf

2 eggs beaten

1 can tomato paste

3/4 tsp seasoned salt

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

3/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

1/2 onion, diced

 1lb ground beef

1 cup of oatmeal

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine eggs, tomato paste, seasoned salt, garlic powder, and black pepper in a medium bowl.
2. Stir in peppers and onions.
3. Add beef and oatmeal and mix well.  Place in a pan and bake for 1 hour.

The rest of the recipe

I promised you yesterday I'd share the recipe for the fabulous brioche the chicken burger rests upon.  I'm true to my word.

I have a thing for egg breads.  Denser, richer, and seemingly more flavorful than your un-egged variety.  So brioche, with its golden yellow color is one of my favorite kinds of breads.  It's perfect for burgers, great for a grilled cheese or patty melts, and one of the best breads to use for French toast. 

Its versatility makes it ideal for just about any of your bread needs.

Brioche (From the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)

2 pkgs yeast

1 cup warm milk

2/3 cup butter

1 egg

4 egg yolk

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

grated rind of 1 lemon

5 1/2 cups white flour

1. Stir the yeast into the milk in a large mixing bowl and let stand for 5 minutes to dissolve.
2. Add the butter, egg, egg yolks, sugar, salt, lemon rind, and about 2 1/2 cups flour.  Beat thoroughly, then add as much of the remaining flour as is necessary for a dough that handles easily.
3. Turn out onto a lightly floured board.  Knead for a minute or two and let rest for 10 minutes.  Continue to knead until smooth and elastic.
4. Put the dough in a large, buttered bowl, over, adn let rise in a warm spot until double in bulk.
5. Punch down and let it rise again until slightly less than double in bulk, for a least 4 hours or in a covered bowl in the refrigerator overnght.
6. Butter a loaf pan and a 6 cup muffin pan and fill them one-third full.  Cover and let double once again.
7. Preheat oven to 375.  Bake bread, allowing about 2 minutes for the muffins and 45 minutes for the bread.  Remove from pan and cool on racks.

Shroomy Sandwich

This weekend we went to the fair.  I love going to the fair.  For so many reasons.

There are the fun exhibits.  This year the theme was "Out of this World" so lots of space type exhibits, black lights, and crazy lighting.  Thatbaby was fascinated.

He also loved the lights on the rides.  He's going to love riding them when he's a little older.

And it was fun to watch him see the animals.  He's been to the zoo a bunch of times, but apparently before he had real awareness of the lions and tigers and bears (oh my).  This weekend he stared open-mouthed at the giant cows and laughed at the antics of the goats.

Being at the fair wore him out.  Which meant he got a really good nap while we were there.  Long enough for us to indulge in our other fair favorite - the food.  The fried delights of the fair which Thatbaby really doesn't need to partake in.  We were glad he was sleeping.

Instead, we gave him faux-fried things.  Chicken patties patted thin and covered in a mushroom crust.  It has all the crunch of fried chicken, but far more figure friendly.  Thatbaby LOVES this, especially the arugula.  But we already know he adores greens.  I served this on some nice brioche slices.  I'll post the recipe tomorrow.

Mushroom Crusted Chicken Burgers (From Elly Says Opa)

1 oz. dried mushrooms (I used porcini)
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
1.25 lbs. ground chicken
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 small shallot, minced
2 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley
1 Tbsp. olive oil
4 slices Havarti cheese
4 burger buns, split and toasted
arugula, for serving

1. In the bowl of a food processor, grind the dried mushrooms to a coarse powder.  Reserve 1 tablespoon of the powder. Transfer the rest to a shallow bowl or pie plate and mix in the salt and pepper.
2.  In a large bowl, combine the reserved mushroom powder, chicken, Worcestershire, mustard, shallot, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste (I used about 3/4 tsp. salt and 1/4 tsp. pepper).  Form into 4 equal-sized patties.
3.  Working one burger at a time, coat the outside with the mushroom powder, pressing lightly to adhere.
4.  Preheat a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, and add the oil.
5.  Cook the burgers 4-5 minutes per side, or until the meat is cooked through.  Add the cheese for the last minute or two in order for it to melt.
6.  Serve the burgers on toasted buns, topped with arugula.

More More More! (How do you like it?)

Remember when I found wheatberries?  And how excited I was?  I became a little obsessed  (I know - surprise surprise)

I've been using them in everything.  Which explains the wheatberry bread yesterday.  And it explains this lentil and wheatberry salad.

I first saw the recipe on Brady's blog.  She used it with Israeli cous cous and goat cheese.  Both excellent choices.  When I glanced back at the original recipe, I noticed it called for those elusive wheatberries.  It quickly got added to my "to make" list - just as soon as I could find them.  Or, as soon as I could find them and didn't have another use for them.

I had a bunch of perfectly cooked wheatberries left over from my bread making endeavor and I felt this was the perfect opportunity to make this dish.  The sweetness of the onions perfectly complements the saltiness of the feta.  The lentils give it a nice earthy flavor, and the wheatberries are perfectly chewy.

As per the suggestion we served it with lots of hot sauce (well, for Thatboy and I,  Thatbaby got his sans sririacha). 

Wheat berries with Carmelized Onions, Feta, and Lentils (from The Way The Cookie Crumbles)

¾ cup wheat berries
salt
2 onions, sliced about ¼-inch thick
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ cup lentils, preferably lentils de puy, picked over and rinsed
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
hot sauce (optional)
lemon wedges (optional)

1. Soak the wheat berries in water for at least an hour and up to overnight. Put them in a pot with enough water to cover by a few inches. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover the pot, and simmer until they’re tender, 1 to 2 hours. Add ½ teaspoon salt once they’ve started to soften.
2. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and ¼ teaspoon salt, reduce the heat to medium, and cook, stirring somewhat frequently, until they just start to brown, about 8 minutes. Reduce to heat to medium-low and continue to cook and stir until the onions are evenly golden brown, about 20 minutes longer.
3. Put the lentils into a small saucepan. Add 3 cups of cold water and ¼ teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer until tender but not falling apart, about 20 to 25 minutes Drain.
4. Combine the wheat berries, caramelized onions, lentils, and feta. Adjust the seasonings if necessary and serve with either hot sauce or lemon wedges, if desired.

Yays and Boos

It's been a while since I've done one of those, but today it seems deserved.

Yay! I love the post office by my office.  There's never a line, even during the lunch hour, and the postal worker who mans the desk is the cutest old man.  And he's ridiculously helpful.  It seems like something small, but being able to run a quick errand that actually turns out quick is kind of a big deal.

Boo!  The new law clerk is driving me nuts.  Was I ever that young and clueless?  I now spend half my day giving him direction/redirection. 

Yay! Another case gone.  Granted I only got involved with it last week, but we got word today that the appellate counsel is officially taking over, so I don't have to worry about more being tossed on my plate.

Boo!  Thatbaby has gotten into the habit of sneaking in a last nap after daycare.  And somehow that translates to a late dinner while we wait for him to wake up.

Yay!  With our fridge and freezer officially stocked full of bread, at least we have something to snack on while we wait for dinner!

Whole Wheat Bread with Wheat Berries (From the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)

1/2 cup wheat berries

1 cup milk

1/4 cup sugar

2 tsp salt

1 pkg yeast

2 cups cups wheat flour

4 cups white flour

1. Simmer the wheat berries in water to cover for several hours or until soft.  
2. Bring 1/2 cup water to a boil, mix it with the milk, sugar, and salt in a large bowl and let cool to lukewarm.
3. In a separate container, measure 1/2 cup of warm water, stir in the yeast, and let stand 5 minutes to dissolve.
4. Add the dissolved yeast, the whole-wheat flour, and 2 cups of the white flour to the first mixture.  Beat thoroughly, then turn out onto a lightly floured board, adding enough flour so that the dough handles easily.
5. Knead for a few minutes and let rest for 10 minutes.  Add as much of the remaining flour as necessary to keep the dough from being sticky.
6. Resume kneading for 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic.  Place in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm spot until double in bulk.
7. Punch down and knead in the wheat berries.  
8. Shape into two loaves.  Place in greased loaf pans, cover,, and let rise again until almost double in bulk.
9. Preheat oven to 375.  Bake bread for about 45 minutes.  Remove bread and cool on racks.

Turn About As Fair Play

Thatboy planned a phenomenal day for me on Mother's Day, so I wanted to give him something similar.  When I asked him what he wanted to do, he said his ideal Father's Day would be a day at the beach with all of us. 

He got a head start on the weekend when Thatbaby's daycare provided him with his first father's day gift.  They are far better at getting handprints than we are.  And they also had a more success with finger painting than our at-home experience.

We started off the morning at Original Pancake House for breakfast, since it's Thatboy's favorite breakfast place.  He had his usual giant pancakes, cutting off some for Thatbaby who also had some egg.

And then it was off to the beach.  Thatbaby could hardly contain his excitement for his first beach day.

Thatboy headed out to surf, while Thatbaby, Thatdog and I played in the sand.  Thatbaby pulled his "saddest baby in the world" routine when I wouldn't let him eat the seed pods that dot the beach.  One of these days I have to get video of it.  It involves a pout, a wail, and him throwing his body into the ground.

When That boy returned from his surf session, he brought Thatbaby out to the water.

This lasted just long enough for that wave to roll in.  The Pacific Ocean?  She's cold.  And Thatbaby is a delicate flower. 

When it started getting late we packed up and headed home.  We cleaned ourselves up and headed to Thatboy's favorite restaurant.  There's nothing he doesn't like about this place, from the very first plate of bread that's set on the table.  That's right we go through more than one plate of bread.

I haven't quite mastered their fantastic bread - warm and herby.  But this one is pretty popular in my house.  And setting it on the table: warm with butter melting off of it, can elicit similar happiness.

Water Bread and Rolls (From the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)

1 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp shortening

1 Tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 pkg yeast

6 cups white bread

1. Mix the butter, shortening, sugar and salt in a large bowl. 
2. Bring 2 ups water to a boil, add it to mixture and let cool to lukewarm.  
3. Measure 1/4 cup warm water in a separate container, add the yeast and let it stand for 5 minutes to dissolve.  
4. Add the dissolved yeast and 5 cups of the flour to the first mixture and mix thoroughly.  Turn out onto a lightly floured board and let rest for about 10 minutes.  
5. Adding as much of the remaining flour as necessary, knead until smooth and elastic.  Place the dough in a large, buttered bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk.  
6. Punch the dough down and knead it once or twice.  Half-fill a buttered loaf pan; bread the remaining dough into pieces the size of small lemons and arrange them, sides touching, on a  buttered 9 inch pie plate.  Cover the pan and the pie plate and let the dough double in bulk once again.  
7. Preheat the oven to 375.  Bake bread, allowing about 25 minutes for the rolls and about 45 minutes for the loaf.  Removed from pans and cool on racks.

An easy fix

If you haven't been able to tell from my lack of posts, things have been a bit crazy here.  It started before my brother's wedding with me prepping for my first trial.

I've done trial preparation before, but usually I'm prepping for someone else.  This is the first time I had to write an opening, deal with voir dire and other last minute details like prepping witnesses.  This meant many late nights.  In fact, we came home early from the wedding weekend so I could head in to work for more prep. 

Dinners have been ridiculous at our house because of that.  For the most part, I didn't eat.  And when I did, it was something Thatboy had prepared - and he doesn't cook.  And yet, I've decided that he is now in charge of making pizza in our house due to one fabulous midnight meal that was waiting for me one night.

I'm just now getting caught up, almost a month a later.  So dinners are still a little haphazard.  Something quick is really what the times call for.  Like chicken fajitas.  Which I adore.  Especially because I can put steaming hot plates on the table and let Thatboy and I fend for ourselves.  (I'm kind enough to hep Thatbaby out.)  His favorite food right now is tacos, so having fajitas ready to go makes him a very happy baby.  And having something I can easily pull out of the fridge and reheat makes me a very happy girl.

Chicken Fajitas

1 teaspoon canola oil

1 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and sliced thin

1/2 red onion, sliced thin

Salt and pepper

2 chicken breasts

1/4 cup oj

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1/2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce

1/2 tsp mustard

1/2 tomato, chopped

1 green onion, sliced

tortillas

1. Heat the oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add the bell pepper and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent. Remove from heat.
2. Add the oj, half of the cilantro, Worcestershire, garlic, and chipotle to the skillet.
3. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and add to the skillet.  Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, about 5 minutes. 
4. Flip the chicken, cover and continue to cook 10 to 12 minutes.
5. Remove chicken from pan and shred.
6. Continue to simmer the sauce in the pan until slightly thickened.  
7. Remove from heat and stir in the chicken, mustard, tomatoes, green onion, and remaining cilantro.  Serve with the pepper/onion mixture and tortillas.

Another Year Bites The Dust

Welp, I did it.  I got older.  For the first time in ages my birthday was on a weekend, which meant I got to celebrate all day with those I loved.  

Thatboy continued with our tradition of balloons everywhere, and Thatbaby was old enough to appreciate it this time around.  For a baby that can't crawl, he's amazingly fast at getting around and getting after those balloons (as evidenced by the blur that is his head, hands, and feet.)

I had made English muffins earlier in the week and had been dreaming about Southwestern benedicts ever since.  I asked Thatboy if he had breakfast plans for me and when he said no, I got right on to making one of my favorites - English muffins topped with guacamole, black beans, poached eggs, and cheese.

English Muffins (from the Fannie Farmer Cookbook)
1 cup milk
2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp shortening
1 pkg yeast
3 cups flour

1. Bring 1/2 cup to a boil, mi it with the milk, salt, sugar, and shortening in a large bowl, and let cool to lukewarm.
2. Stir the yeast into 1/4 cup warm water and let it stand for 5 minutes to dissolve. 
3. Add the dissolved yeast and 2 cups of the flour to the first mixture and beat vigorously.  Cover and let rise in a  warm place until double in bulk.
4. Stir, add the remaining flour and beat well.  Cover and let the dough double in bulk once again.  
5. Turn out onto a light floured board and pat the dough until it is 1/2 inch thick. Cut into 2 inch rounds, over, and let rise until almost double. 
6. Cook on a well-greased, fairly hot griddle or in a skillet for about 15 minutes on each side, turning muffins and adjusting the heat if they are getting brown too fast.  Cool a little, then split in half and toast.

I got some fabulous look, like the new Nook Glow - so I could read my bookclub's book selections without being terribly embarrassed.

And a new curling iron since mine crapped out.

And a mandoline - something I've always wanted!

After breakfast Thatmom showed up to keep an eye on Thatbaby so I could enjoy a day of surprising fun Thatboy had set up for me.  Our first stop was Coronado Island where he rented a surrey so we could ride around the island.

Chicks and ducks and geese better scurry...

This was followed by a very grown up lunch down at the waterside with a view of the city.

Grownup = drinking during the day

 

After we headed to my request for the day.  We've been to the movies twice since September of 2011.  Both times we went were "Parent Movie Mornings" where the audience was filled with parents and babies.  And both times were to go see movies Thatboy wanted to see.  I wanted to go to a grown-up movie.

Grown-up movie = drinking in the theater and no children present.

We went to the fancy movie theater that opened last year by us.  Coincidentally it's where we saw the last movie we saw before Thatbaby was born.  Leather reclining seats, seat-side waiters, and of course, a full bar.

After the movie we went home to pick up Thatmom and Thatbaby and we headed to dinner.  My pick!  We sat under the stars in a garden courtyard of Jayne's Gastropub and we talked and laughed all night.  It was a mellow birthday, but a nice break from the everyday.