Hi! . . . atus. . .

Hi Everyone! Sorry I haven't been up and blogging lately.  I promise I will get back to it soon.  Just like all my favorite TV shows, I'm taking a brief hiatus.  I need some time to sleep in, relax, travel abroad, watch my eyelashes grow, needlepoint, lose my mind concentrate on year-end activities for The Girl and on wrapping up the homeschool year with The Boy. To let you know how down to "bizness" we are-he has taking to responding to me with a "Yes, Sir!" and a salute. Okay, maybe no salute.  I'll have lots to share with you in June when I get back online. Until then, keep enjoying what matters most in life.  Can I hear  a "Yes, Sir!"?

Lookin’ for Luck? Then taste a rainbow . . .

But it is going to taste just like a vanilla cupcake.  We love St. Patrick’s Day. We get busy in March planning our Irish feast, making leprechaun traps, culling clovers, and looking for pots o’ gold and rainbows.  Here’s one of our favorite places to find luck . . . in a cupcake.

The Girl and The Boy love these magical cupcakes and every time I make them, people are amazed.  When they ask me how I do it, I like to say it is an ancient Chinese Irish secret. (Any of you remember that commercial about the ring around the collar?) I digress . . .back to the cupcakes. They are really easy to make, I’m usually just too lazy, forgetful busy to explain it. So here goes . . .

You can use a box cake mix or this recipe for Light-as-Air Vanilla Cupcakes. 

The food coloring specifics come from a recipe from Family Fun Magazine.

Don’t forget to top them with a beautiful whipped cream cloud and maybe a gold-foiled wrapped chocolate coin. Any way you choose to make them-may the Luck of the Irish always be with you!

Rainbow Cupcakes

Prepare your favorite box cake recipe or Light-as-Air Vanilla Cupcakes. Then divide the batter evenly into six small bowls. Dye each bowl of batter a rainbow color using food coloring. See chart below.

Red	18 red drops
Orange	12 yellow drops and 4 red drops
Yellow	12 yellow drops
Green	12 green drops
Blue	12 blue drops
Purple	9 red drops and 6 blue drops

Preheat oven according to your recipe instructions. Line 16 cupcake pans with baking cups.  

Evenly distribute the batter between among the cups, starting with the purple, then blue, then green and so on.  I use a Tablespoon to get an even amount in each cup.  After each spoonful, gently spread the batter with the back of a spoon to even it out and cover the color underneath.

Bake the cupcakes according to your recipe instructions. Cool and enjoy with a whipped cream cloud!

Source: Family Fun Magazine and leprechaun magic.

Violet Beuregarde’s Brown Butter Blueberry Bars

I’m feeling a little blue . . .like Violet Beauregarde blue . . . as in blueberry blue. 

 I have a friend who works for a local produce company.  I’ll call her KT. She supplied us with about 12 baskets of beautiful blueberries a few weeks ago. So what to do with all these berries? I froze some and then spent a few hours minutes on Pinterest and was inspired by Tide and Thyme’s recipe for Brown Butter Cranberry Shortbread Bars to create my version of Brown Butter Blueberry Bars.  The only problem? We can’t stop eating them and we are beginning to hear the chants of the Oompa Loompas because soon B, The Girl, The Boy and I will all have to be rolled out the door to the juicing machine. Really, as I am typing this, I am sure my skin has a slight tinge of blue. I did use some in my brown glop healthy, green smoothie, and also made some yummy blueberry lemonade for The Boy and The Girl. But nothing tastes as good as THE BARS so we’ve made three batches with the fresh berries and now we are onto more batches with the frozen. No, we didn’t eat them all in one sitting AND we gave some to our favorite blueberry benefactor, KT and her family.  But let me tell you, it is just the right mix of nutty, buttery, crunch and the smell of the bubbly, blue filling is like a summer morning.

Don’t believe me . . . here’s the recipe . . . try it . . . I dare you . . . but don’t call me when the Oompa Loompas arrive.

Blueberry Brown Butter  Bars

Crust/Streusel


1 cup plus 5 Tablespoons butter


1 cup sugar


3/4 teaspoon salt


2 large egg yolks


3 cups plus 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoons cornmeal

Filling


12 oz (about 2 cups) fresh or frozen blueberries


1 cup sugar


1/4 cup fresh-squeezed lemon juice

dash of cinnamon

To make the crust

Line a 13×9-inch pan using the foil sling method, leaving an overhang on opposing sides so you can lift the bars out after baking. Spray the pan and foil with nonstick cooking spray.

Add the butter to a medium saucepan set over medium-low heat. Melt the butter, swirling the pan frequently. Once the butter has melted, it will start to bubble and foam. Continue to cook (continuing to swirl the pan) until the butter turns brown and smells nutty – be patient and watch carefully, it can go from brown to burned quickly. Turn off the heat under the pan, and let the butter cool until lukewarm.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the butter, 3/4 cup of the sugar, and the salt. Beat in the egg yolks. Use a rubber spatula to stir in the flour until completely incorporated. The dough will be thick and stiff. Transfer about 2 cups to the prepared pan and press into an even layer in the bottom of the pan. Prick the dough all over with a fork, then chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, or until firm.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 325 F.

Bake the crust for about 20 minutes, or until it begins to set, but has not yet started to brown around the edges.

While the crust bakes, make the streusel by combining the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar and cornmeal with the reserved dough. Use your fingers to mix until crumbly.

To make the blueberry filling

 Combine the blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, and cinnamon in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-high, and continue boiling until the mixture is thick and syrupy, about 5-8 minutes. Turn off the heat, and let cool for 5-10 minutes.

Assembly

Spread the blueberry mixture in an even layer over the hot crust. Sprinkle the streusel over the top. Increase the oven temperature to 350 F, and bake on a rack placed in the top of the oven for about 25 minutes, or until the streusel is golden.

Transfer the pan to a wire rack and cool for at least 1 hour (you can also cool in the fridge if you want to speed up the process). Once cool, use the foil handles to lift the bars out. Place on a cutting board, and cut into squares before serving. Store for up to a week in an airtight container at room temperature.

Source: recipe adapted from Tide and Thyme. 

Pudding Like a Night on the Sea

As part of The Boy’s reading lesson last week we read Pudding Like a Night on the Sea by Ann Cameron. 

It is a realistic fiction story about two brothers up to mischief. Julian and Huey watch their father make a special pudding as a treat for their mother. Their father says it “tastes like a raft full of lemons” and “like a night on the sea.” The boys are supposed to wait for their mother to come home but they secretly taste the pudding thinking, “Well, a little bit won’t hurt.”  And as we all know a little bit almost always turns into A LOT! As punishment, their father says that there will be some “beating” and “whipping.”  Uh Oh! But they end up having to make another pudding for their mother by “beating” and “whipping” the eggs until their arms hurt.  The illustrations are so colorful and the descriptions so engaging, that The Boy was inspired to write down the recipe.  He then typed and designed it on the computer. Here it is:

The Pudding Like a Night on the Sea

Ingredients

*5 Lemons

 *eggs

* sugar

* cream

Directions

Squeeze the lemons. Put the yolks in a pan and the whites in a bowl. Beat yolks. Add sugar. Lemons, and cream. Put on the stove. Stir fast. Whip the egg whites. Mix into the pudding.

Not much to go on but priceless, don't you think?

So we looked up a lot of other recipes and came up with this:

 Ina Garten’s Lemon Mousse 

The part that mattered most? We all made it together-The Boy squeezed the lemons and whipped the cream. The Girl learned to separate the eggs and beat the whites to a stiff peak. Then we all put our parts together to make this:

Beautiful, foamy, tart, fluffy, and it tasted like "a whole raft of lemons floating at sea".

A Hero, Nonetheless.

I have been struggling with writing posts this week. You'll have to bear with me while I focus on something serious. I promise I'll get back to the fun stuff but I can’t post something frivolous while I watch the news and hear story after story of the devastation of this past week in Indiana, Kentucky, and other parts of the world.  It reminds me of the things that matter most; that life is so precious and all around us are heroes in everyday clothes. 


One such person is Stephanie Decker. 

Her story is very public and has spread like the tornado that destroyed her home, but not her family.  She is the mother who protected her children with a shield of her own body from two roaring tornadoes.  It cost her part of both legs.  She told the news that she is not a hero.

"I call myself a mom," she said. "I love my kids…I wanted to do anything I could to protect them. I think any parent would."

She is right about being a parent and loving her kids but, she is not right about doing what every parent would because everyday, there are people who take their kids for granted, who do not love their children or hold them close, do not shield them from the harms of life. Instead, they neglect and abuse them.  So, I want to thank Stephanie for being a hero of the best kind. Thank you for showing us an example of the brave, true unconditional love all parents should have.  You are a hero in my book, Stephanie Decker, nonetheless.

Downton Abbey and Once Upon A Time

This is the first Sunday evening I have truly missed Downton Abbey. Last weekend, I was all distracted with my date with Oscar.  Now I’m really sad to see the season end. I am sure The Girl is happy to see my faux accent end, though. I must say, the part that brought tears to my eyes was the kitchen maid, Daisy’s story-so very sweet and she deserves to be special to someone. Don’t you think?  

I am not at all sorry to see Sir Richard leave and I loved the parting words of Lady Crawley, “Do you promise?”  And even O’Brien broke her tough shell a bit.  Most of all-Matthew and Lady Mary-finally!!!! 

Well, it is going to be a long wait but until then we’ve got Once Upon A Time and I’m a sucker for fairy tales.  

Turns out The Girl and The Boy are too.  Although, The Boy may tell you it is not his favorite show but you might see his nose growing because he’d be lying.  Sunday evening rolls around and we all snuggle up to watch what is going to happen in Storybrooke, Maine this week.  Will the Mayor/Evil Queen prevail over good again? Does Emma know that Mary Margaret/Snow White is her mother? What other tricks does Mr. Gold/Rumpelstiltskin have up his sleeve?  It is all so intriguing, frustrating, and familiar.  We love it and I think you will too. Check it out and let me know what you think.

If Life Gives You Apples . . .

After a week’s worth of lunches. This is what I’m left with.

I hate for them to go to waste. I feed some to The Turtle and after awhile, even she gets tired of them.

Well, The Boy and I are reading Farmer Boy by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Real book form! Best part? This was my actual copy from when I was in third grade. The Boy thinks it is hilarious to see my handwriting claiming the book as my own.

Anyway, Almonzo’s mother packs the dinner pails for school with crispy apple turnovers, “plump crusts filled with melting slices of apple and spicy brown juice”.  So this gave me an idea . . . Apple Hand Pies!

Now I know it is not very Martha of me, but I did not make my own crust for these pies-I like to “get ‘er dun” as Mater says.   I keep some pre-made store-bought versions in the freezer just for this type of thing. I don’t have a favorite brand-I just get what is on sale looks like a good quality piecrust and I am not ashamed; especially when I have such a warm, toasty way to welcome The Girl home from school.

I bet you are wondering how I made them so cute?  I have this handy thing from Pampered Chef, called the Cut-N-Seal but you can just use a circle cookie cutter.

 Apple Pie Filling*

2 Tablespoons butter

6-8 apples (any variety) peeled, cored, and chopped into small pieces

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

½ cup granulated sugar

¼ cup brown sugar

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

½ - 1 cup water

1 Tablespoon cornstarch

Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Stir in the apples, lemon, sugar, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally until the apples have softened and begin to break down, about 10 minutes.

Add water and cornstarch to pot and bring to a boil. Cook until desired thickness.

Cool and assemble pies.

*Filling can be made ahead of time and stored in freezer.

Assembly

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

I used two rounds of pre-made pie-crust to make about 12 hand pies.  Working with one round at a time, lay out dough on parchment paper and cut out shapes using circle cookie cutter.  Place a heaping Tablespoon of filling in middle of each circle (only half of what you cut out-these are the bottoms). Keep a small perimeter bare around the edge. Place a second circle on top of the first and use your fingertips to seal the edges.  You can then use the tines of a fork around the edge of the circle. Repeat with the remaining mini-pies.

Place the pies on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Beat an egg with a 1 Tablespoon of water for egg wash.  Brush the tops of the pies with egg wash and sprinkle with a cinnamon sugar. Using a knife, make a small “x” in the middle of pie so steam can escape.

Bake for about 10 minutes. Try to cool because everyone will be snatching them up, burning their fingers and tongues in the process.

Shhhhhh . . . Secret Sauce Chili

Rain, rain go away but if you’re not . . . we are having chili today!

This brings cheers of joy to my family. They love this chili and this chili alone. It is not your average spicy-hot-peppery, salty chili-dog chili but a mildly-spicy, sweet, tangy, addictive concoction. It is a family recipe passed down from Nan.  Too bad its not more complicated.  Here’s the secret. Another Not-So-Martha Good Thing. 

Homade (yes, that’s how it is spelled) Chili Sauce

(I’ve given you an online link to order but I get it at my local grocery store in the condiment aisle. If they don’t carry it-ask them to order it for you.)

It is a vinegar, tangy- sweet sauce that makes this chili unique.  The jar is pretty too!

Nan also has a secret recipe for corn muffins . . .

Love the Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix. You can’t go wrong with “America’s Favorite” since 1930. 

These Not-So-Martha Good Thing muffins come out perfectly toasty on the outside and crumbly, soft on the inside.  Drizzled with honey or crumbled in the chili-they are perfect-and you can’t beat the price! In a later post, I’ll share a recipe for Blueberry Muffins using this mix but with homemade flair.

I know, I know. Not very Martha-like but worth it. You’ll like it-maybe even love it. So try it and let me know what you think.

Rainy Day Chili

3 Tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped finely

1-2 Tablespoons of chili powder

pinch of red pepper flakes

salt

1 clove of garlic, crushed and minced

1 1/2 pounds ground beef or ground turkey

1 jar of Homade Chili Sauce (secret sauce)

1 30 ounce can of dark red kidney beans (undrained)

1 15 ounce can of dark red kidney beans (undrained)

1 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes (undrained)

1 Tablespoon of tomato paste

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering.  Add onions, chili powder, red pepper flakes and ½ teaspoon of salt. Cook until onion is soft, about 7 minutes. Add garlic and cook for about 15 seconds until fragrant but not brown.

Add meat and increase the heat to medium-high. Cook, breaking up the meat with a spoon, until no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Stir in the “secret sauce’, beans, diced tomatoes with their juice, tomato paste, and another ½ teaspoon of salt Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 45 minutes.

Remove lid and continue to simmer until meat is tender, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving.

Serve with corn muffins, cheese, diced onions, sour cream and whatever else you like on your chili.

You can also serve “Cincinnati style” over pasta.  That’s good too!

Oscar, My Date Tonight

This post will be short because I am getting ready for my Big Date tonight . . . 

Oscar.  

B says this is like my Super Bowl Sunday but he loves it just as much as I do.  Every year, we look forward to the Academy Awards.  The amount of celebrating we do varies.  It just so happens B’s birthday is around this time so I use it as an excuse to prep special celebratory food. B thinks it is all for him-actually not really, he knows me better than that.  In the past we’ve done super nachos, sticky wings, an “all-mini” theme i.e. tiny grilled cheese, tiny tacos, tiny corn dogs, very-large tiny martinis.  This year we are going with Shirley Temples, steak, baked potatoes and fixin’s, and chocolate cake for dessert.

Whatever the menu, it usually doesn’t involve much planning and prep because the highlight is not the food, it is the competition.  All of us-B, The Girl, The Boy, me, and usually Grandma-enjoy a fierce friendly rivalry to see who can earn the most points on our Academy Awards ballots. We have no tangible prizes, just the laureate of being the winner and the glorious reputation of “One to Beat Next Year”.  Here’s how it works.  We print out the ballots and fill in our choices while watching the Red Carpet Show.  Even if we haven’t seen all the nominated movies (if it not out on DVD or rated G-forget it) or have no idea what a cinematographer really does, we stand by our selections to the very end, rooting them on to the finish, whooping with joy when they win, falling to the floor in devastation when they lose. Walking by our house, you might think crazed, face-painted fans waving foam fingers live here. We are that serious.

This year, I have upped the ante a bit and added Oscar Bingo from How About Orange  This should add a fun twist to the event. While you’re there, check out the printable ballot as well.

Well, gotta run, I’m flat-ironing my hair, my make-up artist (The Girl) just woke-up arrived, and there is only a few hours until Oscar arrives.

How are you prepping for the red carpet?

M-I-C . . .K-E-Y

Look what we found at Target. 

The Boy and The Girl begged persuaded me to buy it.  Here were their reasons:

            “It is on sale.”

            “We all love Disneyland and Mickey Mouse, even Grandma does too.” (This is true.)

            “You won’t have to make your own homemade soap anymore.  It is runny and it stinks.”  


Uhhhmmm, Okaaay. I guess the whole “living green” part of making my own foaming soap has yet to catch on with The Boy and The Girl.  

So, of course I gave in and it is just so darn adorable on the bathroom counter.  Truth is, I really didn’t need much convincing after the “It is on sale.” comment. I am a sucker for anything on sale. And guess what? It is lemonade scented-that’s right not just lemon but lemonADE. Right now, as I am typing (and because I type so fast), I am catching the slightest whiff of those frozen lemonades they sell in Disneyland-you know which ones I am talking about. The tart, lemony, slushy goodness in a cup; sticky and sweet, dripping down your hand and hopefully not in your purse, perfect on those, hot, unbearable days when you are standing in line for a million, zillion hours for It’s a Small World. I’m drooling now . . . over soap.  That’s right, it smells that good!  It comes in a Minnie version too, Strawberry Fizz scent. We’ll have to try that one next . . . but only if it is on sale.

Please note: I am not being paid by Target or Method to write this. In fact, I paid them, but it was on sale!

What is one your new favorite things?

Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler and Beignets!

To celebrate Mardi Gras, I decided to make Beignets.  I’ll never forget my first taste of those puffy, flaky sweet clouds.  It was the summer of my 15th birthday and my first real trip on an airplane. Our destination? New Orleans.  It was an interesting trip, mainly for my hair (I have naturally, curly hair so you can imagine the affect of humidity). It was a great culinary excursion with my first taste of gumbo, blackened anything, and deep-fried duck with chutney. Best part?

Ode to Joe . . . Cup o’, that is

      I thought I should start a Monday post with the morning love of my life, Joe (don’t tell B-although his morning love is Chai-that spicy, cup-goddess).

See? Joe even has his own initial mug at my house. (Just kidding-we share the same first initial- This “J” is for Jen.)

      My love affair with coffee did not begin until after age 30 a certain decade of my life when I had two kids, a full-time job, was a project manager of millions, part-time Girl Scout leader, sometimes school volunteer, half-marathon runner, and overall woman extrordinaire.  At least that’s what coffee made me believe.

Thumb’s Up With A Cherry On Top!

Nan called me the other day. Who is Nan you ask?  She is my 79 year-old nanna.  She needed to ask me a question.  Just so you know this is exactly what all her messages say.  “Hi, its Nanna. Uh, uhm. Hello? Just have a question. Call me back. Love you. (Long pause) Bye.” She still really hasn’t adapted to voicemail or answering machines or telephones of any kind, for that matter.  Gotta love her though.  Back to her question of the day.  She needed a cake for one of her bible study ladies.  They like to celebrate birthdays with cake.  She wanted to order a coconut cake.  Panic set in . . . I have not been able to make a good coconut cake. It is one of the few cake recipes I have yet to master.  So, I hopped on to Pinterest for a few hours minutes and came up with a plan.  I would like to credit Chocolate Therapy’s The Best Coconut Cake  for the filling, assembly and inspiration.  I then used my “favorite, all-time, go-to, super-secret, very-complicated, white cake recipe.” And it won’t be a secret anymore because I am going to share it with you.  It comes from my trusty Cake Mix Bible. I know, once again, a Not-So-Martha Good Thing-using cake mix but it is always everyone’s favorite white cake; moist, vanilla-goodness with a little something extra, you can’t quite put our finger on (it is almond extract). Then, I put it all together and put a cherry on top because that’s all this beautiful, snowy-white vision of coconut needed. Don’t you think?

Prehistoric Times

We have a new addition to our brood! Good news-doesn’t require feeding of any sort.  Bad news-I already broke its neck.  Announcing . . . Woolly-the Woolly Mammoth! 

Isn’t he cute?  This was a very cool “homeschool style” project for The Boy.  He just completed a science unit on Living Things of the Past and fossils.  We He became fascinated with the Woolly Mammoth so he completed an animal report with pictures and tons of facts.

Pink Cupcakes, Barbie’s Birthday, and Zazzle

It was my friend, “Barbie’s” birthday last week.  That’s not her real name but she is a total Barbie Girl from head to toe.  I made her cute, adorable, Barbie-sized, pink cupcakes. The best part?  The frosting! It is made with cherry Laffy Taffy-how Barbie is that? It is the perfect bite of fluffy, whipped, cloud-like, tart cherry. Something this good deserves no competition so it is best on the Light-As-Air Mini Vanilla cupcakes. I have also made this frosting with other types of chewy candy-Airheads are a personal favorite-thinking of the watermelon flavor right now is making me drool! You could try Starburst, Mamba, Tootsie rolls-the options are endless.

Please Sir . . . I want S’more

Granola bars that is. Quoting lines and singing songs from Oliver! is not unusual in our house. The Girl and The Boy spent a summer in a local theatre production of Oliver! a couple years back. So fast forward, The Girl has a new favorite snack.  It took some convincing for her to forget her favorite, store-bought version but now she’d “do anything” for our homemade granola bars.  Thank you to Self Reliance By Jamie  for the inspiration and the first few batches.  Now, we have been inventing our own versions.  The latest?  S’more Granola Bars.  So go ahead,  have “S’more Food, Glorious, Food!” (Sorry for the Oliver! puns, I can’t help myself.)

Homeschool Style

The Boy is homeschooled.  We are fairly new to the process but it fits right in with our hippy “Montessori” household (in quotes because we do not follow the philosophy but it is what some people like to call our parenting style).  It has not been unusual for our house to be dominated by the interests and current obsessions of the The Girl and The Boy.  I don’t mind the clutter of legos, art projects, experiments, and inventions of all types. It is what matters most to us.  So even prior to our adventure in homeschool, our house was a place of fun, learning, and discovery but not always of neurotic impeccable neatness.  Now that we homeschool The Boy, we like to call it “Homeschool Style”.

You had me at Dulce . . .

I don’t know about you, but I am a recipe hoarder collector and all it takes is one word or ingredient or a pretty picture and I’m a goner. The recipe is torn and thrown into a pile of papers, receipts, wrappers,etc.  neatly cut out of the package or magazine page and filed appropriately.  I found the inspiration for this recipe on the inside of a Challenge Butter package and all it took? The words “Dulce” and “Brownies”.  Really, it probably would have just taken “Brownies” but the “Dulce” made me look twice.  Made it today in honor of the Superbowl and it was so worth it.  Chocolately, caramel, gooey-goodness. 

Mmmmmm. Want some?  I bet you do!

My New Addiction . . .

I have a new addiction, “Downton Abbey” on PBS.  Have you seen it? I first heard about it while watching the Golden Globes this year and thought, “Who would ever watch a show about a stuffy, English family and their boring, old house, when you can entertain your mind with such high-quality programs, such as the “Real Housewives of Such and Such”? Well, now I know who would-ME!!!