Stay-At-Home Friday

When it comes to Black Friday, I'm a conscientious objector.

The Friday after Thanksgiving should begin late, after a deep turkey tryptophan induced sleep that makes you sleep in.

Then comes a few cups of coffee and pie as you sit around in your robe a little too long.  Then the kids should spend a lot of time outside and friends stop by to say hello and to eat a little turkey and drink a little wine.

Gana and our friend Sean eating pie directing from the pans on our back porch.
And that's how it's done!

If the Lord opens the door for some do-gooding, you should be busy blessing others, too.

The Friday after Thanksgiving is for living in the afterglow of the gratefulness and contentment we fostered on Thursday.  If you did Thanksgiving right (meaning you focused on all your abundant blessings and how you have more than you deserve and could possibly need and how the Lord has provided so much that your heart is literally overflowing with grace) than I don't see how it's possible to stand in line to fight, elbow, push and swear your way to a 40-inch on sale at a big box electronic store.

Call me crazy.

Leftover Quinoa Stuffing and Pumpkin Dinner Roll for lunch

The Day After Thanksgiving Panini:  Turkey, Cranberry Sauce, Arugula, and Fontina

It was a beautiful day.  A perfect Black Stay-At-Home Friday.

Christmas Eats

I actually don't care for a lot of "holiday" food.  

I don't like stuffing--let's be honest folks, it's soggy bread.  

I don't like yams that are full of sugar and covered in marshmallows--if you're gonna eat a yam or a sweet potato, just treat it like a potato!  Don't try to mask its taste with all that extra stuff.

I only like cranberries if they are from fresh berries.  Cannot stand that canned stuff.

I don't like green bean casserole or any other casserole that has a cream-of-X soup in it or is covered with those crispy fried onion bits stuff.

I don't like ham a lot of time--unless it's a really expensive kind.  If it's the kind from the regular market it's just got a strange texture and squeaks on my teeth.  

But, I LOVE the holidays.  So I have to do my own thing.  One thing I adore is Christmas breakfast.  I love breakfast in general, which is not cereal.  Cereal is a great snack.  Breakfast is warm and buttery and requires a fork.  Christmas breakfast especially.  The oven must be turned on.  And it should take a good long time to eat it, while we sip coffee or tea and watch the sun move across the window.

Christmas Breakfast

Fruit Parfait (fruit, angel food cake, fruit dip)
Cinnamon Toast (from Trader Joe's)
Baked Egg in Ham Cup with Fontina and Dill

Baked Eggs

Christmas Dinner

Beef Wellington with Red Wine Sauce
(Gana and I had a good cut of meat,
but the kids' I made with ground beef.)
Mashed Potatoes
Garlic Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Pumpkin Dinner Rolls

Served up with a Cabernet Sauvignon

Eggnog Shortbread Trifle, AKA a little bit o' heaven

Tea Floats

This was our dessert last Sunday, while celebrating the fourth Sunday of Advent:

Tea Floats!

Zhenas Gypsy Organic Chocolate Chai Tea

with a scoop of Trader Joe's Vanilla ice cream

and a sprinkling of chocolate chips to punch it up a bit

I can't get this picture to flip.  My computer is in the hospital (read: the basement),
so for the time being I'm using Gana's laptop
and he doesn't have the same programs I'm used to using.

Any time is tea time when it comes with ice cream and chocolate chips!

Family Time

For four Sundays leading up to Christmas we observe Advent as a family.  We eat something delicious, including dessert!  We light our candles, sing a hymn or two, and Daddy reads some Scriptures.

Sometimes we follow that with a craft or Mommy reading a Christmas book--Max Lucado, Tommie dePaola, or classic Dickens.  Tonight we watched Christmas movies after dinner.

We had Brats and Roasted Cabbage Wedges for dinner.  And for dessert, Pumpkin Ricotta Fritters.  Nutella hot chocolate for the kids and Turtle Doves for Gana and me.

Pumpkin Ricotta Fritters


(I have no idea where I originally got this recipe!  I've been making these for years.  I've changed it only slightly.  I'd love to give proper credit to it's source, but I don't know where that is.)

1 cup whole milk ricotta
1 cup canned pumpkin
4 eggs
1/4 powdered sugar, plus a bit more for sprinkling on the top
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoon ginger
1 teaspoon nutmeg
a pinch of salt
oil for deep frying
honey for garnish

In a large bowl combine the ricotta, pumpkin, eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, spices and salt.  Mix until smooth.

Heat oil until the handle of a wooden spoon causes bubbles to form around the tip when immersed.

Drop batter by heaping teaspoon full into the hot oil.  Fry until done, turning once.

Drain well on towel.  Transfer to another serving dish (or as I did in small paper sacks) and sprinkle with powdered sugar and drizzle with honey.

Nutella Hot Chocolate

For one serving:

Heat 1/4 cup of whole milk with a few spoonfuls of Nutella.  Whisk until blended.  Add about 3/4 more milk and a pinch of cinnamon.  Heat slowly while whisking it to make it frothy.  Serve in a mug, topped with freshly whipped cream and marshmallows.

Oh, yeah..............

Mother's Day Eats

I had a very FULL Mother's Day.  Full schedule and a full belly!

After breakfast (along with cards and gifts from the kids and Gana) we went to church.  Then it was home for snacks including:

Spicy Shrimp Inari

 Then Gana grilled and we enjoyed a huge lunch as a family (while the Lakers lost their dignity).

Fiddlehead ferns with salt and vinegar



Pork Tenderloin with Lavender Sea Salt



Artichokes with a Parmesan dipping sauce

So, I let the kids do the dishes while I took a brief nap.  Then I had a hot date:

Luc took me out for Cold Stone where we had a Love It sized All Lovin' No Oven.
(Cake Batter ice cream with cookie dough, whipped cream and fudge.)
The best part--He paid and treated me like a lady!

Came home, had a little rest and then it was my next big date, with Israel.  He took me to the movies (Gnomeo and Juliet) and bought me a big popcorn.

I came home and crashed.  My pregnant digestive system was screamin'!  And I was one happy Mama!

Christmas Eats

Now you will see where I get my intense foodiness.  This is the feast my mother prepared on Christmas!

Salad with pears, pomegranate seeds, and candied walnuts

Rustique Bread

Burgundy Mushrooms





New potatoes with parsley and tons of butter

Beef Wellington

Yule Log, a family favorite. 
It would not feel like Christmas dinner was complete
without a slice of this and a cup of tea!



We like my Mom's Yule Log so much, she has to make three!

My Thanksgiving Table, 2010

We celebrated with a total of 27 people (including me).  The primary language spoken was Mongolian (only one of the 27 didn't speak at least a little Mongolian).  Family.  Extended Family.  Friends.  Missionary kids. 

But the food was all the real American deal!  Turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, pumpkin soup and salad, brandied cranberry sauce, asparagus strudel, angel biscuits, carrot souffle, and a relish tray.  Dessert? Apple pie, struessel topped pumpkin pie, cake, and Kahlua coffee.

In all the merry-making, I only remembered to take a picture of the table and the soup.  You'll just have to imagine how breathtaking the rest was.

Red, White and Blue enough to make you green with envy

A post from my daughter Meg, age 9:

Meg's Holiday Pizza

Ingredients:

Philo dough

Sugar

1 stick butter

1 block cream cheese

Splash of vanilla

teaspoon of lemon juice

strawberries

blueberries

Directions:

Put the philo dough between two damp towels.  Get a round pan and put one layer of philo dough on pan.  Brush on melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.  Keep doing this until the last layer.  Then bake it at 350F until done.  Then cool completely.

Make the sauce:  Whip the cream cheese in a medium bowl, put a splash of vanilla, lemon juice, and sugar to taste.  Spread it on the cooled pastry.  And decorate it with strawberries and blueberries.  Or choose what you want to put on it.

Daja: For dessert, we also had Ciliege e Vino (cherries in wine) over ice cream.  OH. MY. WORD.  You should try this.  It was really fresh and sweet and a bit spicy.  Over some organic natural vanilla ice cream it was SMOOTH.

Our first Fourth in our new house.  Our house is beautifully situated for Independence Day celebrations!  Next year, we just might do it big!  From the upper balcony (yes we have more than one), you can see the most amazing view.  And on the horizon line you can see about 20 different firework displays!  We had a blast!

Happy National Donut Day!

Today being Donut Day, we made homemade cake donuts.  I ate five.  Not proud of that, I'm just saying.

Easter Eats and Drinks

Easter Menu:

Honey-Baked Ham (lovingly brought by our guests!)

Carrot Souffle

Mache salad with sugared pecans and blue cheese

Challah

Relish Tray

Drinks:

Sangria with frozen fruit (to sip while we cooked and played outside)

Rober Mondavi Riesling with dinner for the adults

Apple Limeade with dinner for the kids

Dessert:

Bavarian Chocolate Torte

Coffee

THE RECIPES

Carrot Souffle

2 cups cooked carrots

1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
2 heaping tablespoon flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat carrots with mixer or in blender. Add all other ingredients and beat well.

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes or until set.

Sprinkle with chopped walnuts or pecans. Bake five minutes longer.




Mache Salad
(followed losely from Outdoor Entertaining by Williams-Sonoma)

Pecans:
1/2 cup (2oz) pecan halves
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard

Vinaigrette:
1 shallot finely chopped
1/3 cup (3 oz) olive oil
2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Salad:
4 oz. mache (mache is sometimes called Lamb's Lettuce.  If you can't find it, arugula or baby spinach would probably make a good substitute)
4 radishes
1/4 lb. blue cheese crumbled

To prepare the pecans:
Preheat oven to 350F.  Rinse the pecans in a sieve and set aside to drain.  In a small bowl combine the sugar and dry mustard.  Add the pecans and toss until evenly coated.  Spread the pecans on a baking sheet and toast in oven for about 10 minutes or until dark brown.  Set aside and cool completely.  Better yet, make in advance, up to a week and store in an airtight container.

To make the dressing:
Whisk together all the vinaigrette ingredients.  Let stand for 30 minutes or up to four hours to blend the flavors.

To serve the salad combine the mache leaves and thinly sliced radish slices in a bowl.  Drizzle with vinaigrette (I had dressing left over, so be careful not to over dress the salad) and toss evenly to coat.  Top with the pecans and blue cheese.

Grilled Asparagus with Roasted Garlic Toast and Balsamic Vinaigrette

My mom prepared this, my dad grilled it. This is a new family favorite. It will be a repeat! Very, very good. And when grilled, asparagus turns out beautiful!! And the toast was awesome. I love roasted garlic.

Recipe here.

Resurrection Morning!

For some of our Easter traditions and meditations, click here, here, and here.

Easter breakfast is a big to-do in our family. Here are some of what we enjoyed this year:

I cut the pineapple into egg, chick, and bunny shapes.

Blueberries and whipped cream

Creme Brulee Coffee and White Hot Chocolate, both with whipped cream

Fruit, sausage, eggs, and Cherry Coffee Cake.

I don't have a picture of the coffee cake, but you can see it in the right hand corner of the above picture. It's our Easter morning tradition. It's soooooo good. Here's the recipe, (originally from here). You won't be dissappointed:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 (21-ounce) can cherry pie filling

Topping:
1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I use Cinnamon-Plus from Pampered Chef)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup chopped pecans

2 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13-inch baking pan.

Combine butter and sugar and large bowl. Beat until creamy. Beat in eggs and sour cream.
Sift together flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Gradually add the sifted dry ingredients to cream mixture. Beat after each addition. Add vanilla.

Spread 1/2 of this mixture into the prepared pan. Spread with Cherry-pie filling. Spread remaining 1/2 of mixture over pie filling.

Mix sugar, cinnamon, flour and pecans in a small bowl. Cut in butter with two knives. Sprinkle over batter.

Bake 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.