Darn!!! I have to get more yarn!

EARLY AFTERNOON HIKING

there's nothing like hiking on a spring-like afternoon in the mountains when there's hardly a soul to be seen.  not a sound except for the stream, birds chirping and our kids calling out to eachother "wait for me guys!"

 

our nunbers were perfect.  six kids and three moms.  it hardly took any time to get to the falls. althoug we did stop on the way up for a little water break.

 

so, of course, we had to take some photos.  the kids found the rocks irresistable.

 

allsion expertly navigating the rocks.

 

i love the water and the rocks and the moss.  we had the waterfall to ourselves.  the kids had so much fun playing in the water.  we saw a pair of mating salamanders.  the comments from the kids were so funny.  "are they stuck together?"  "they are having a bonding time."  "ewwww - how gross!!!"  the last one came from the older girls that had more of an idea of what was going on.  we saw a tiny from snuggled into a rock camoflaged very well.  helen spotted him with her eagle eyes.

 

of course, we had to have snack time.

 

we headed out with lots more slipping and falling than going up.  all the kids ended up with soaking shoes.  some got more dirty than others.  but we made it out without any major injuries.  on the drive down, we saw a snake crossing the road so we had to stop and take photos.

 

we actually had two snake sightings.  on the way up the trail, the kids spotted a snake that was black and yellow and orange (or red).  by the time i got there to see it was already in the bushes so i didn't get a very good view of it.  wish i'd gotten a shot of it.  the wildlife was the highlight, except for the bugs.  kaitlin and i had a big conversation about ticks at bedtime.  she was very concerned about how one gets them and how one gets rid of them.

i was so pooped after the hike.  when we got home allison and jayda went swimming.  i took a rest and decided there was not going to be any cooking.  took the kids to the farmer's market.  i gave them money to go find their dinner while i sat at nicole's, a little french sidewalk cafe and had french onion soup, salad, cheese and charcuterie and wine with friends.  what a wonderful way to spend the day.

THE REASON THE BED IS UNMADE

 

this is blusey.  she and her brother and sister come in every morning after being out all night and get on the bed.  they are so tired from their antics at night that they fall asleep and stay on the bed for practically the entire morning.  i don't have the heart to disturb them.  they cuddle up together.  i was going to get a great shot of all three of them together this morning but the girls found them and had to russtle them up so two of them left.  oh well.  she makes a pretty picture. 

allison bought this at the bookfair at school.  when we got home she picked out a recipie to try.  of course we didn't have everything we needed and i was short a few other things for dinner so i ran to trader joe's.  allison made them all on her own.  of course, i was hovering nearby but she did the reading and measuring on her own.

 

my sister gave me a huge set of the pretty little glasses.  you can't see the detail in them but they are quite sweet.  little flowers and leaves on vines cut into them.  quite delicate.  they were asking to be used for just this purpose.

   

the happy recipient.  there was just enough left in the blender for their dad to have some.  the cookbook is full of many pretty pink things that i think we'll be making.  always fun to get a new cookbook to inspire onself.

CROCK POT CHICKEN WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH RISOTTO

this is an unbelieveably easy dish that is delicious!!!

 

i put this in the crock pot this morning at about 7am.  i had a baggie with these herbs that i had picked the other day.  the only thing that i forgot to put in was the lemon.  i just added it now.  here's the recipie.

SLOW COOKED GARLIC LEMON HERBED CHICKEN

1 chicken (less than 5 pounds is best - they get a little gamey above 5 pounds)

2 heads of garlic, cut in half

1 lemon, cut in half

2 handfuls of herbs (leave them on their stems) i've used rosemary, thyme and sage here

place all ingredients in the crock pot and cover.  cook on low for 10-12 hours or high for 4-6 hours.  discard herbs.  put the garlic aside.  take the chicken apart (i do it in while it's still in the crock pot to avoid a mess on a cutting board to be cleaned up later).  place chicken and garlic on platter.

the thing i like most about this recipie is that there is no liquid added.  the meat falls right off the bone and is infused with the flavors of the herbs, garlic and lemon.  i love to serve this with butternut squash risotto.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH RISOTTO

1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed (or buy the already prepared kind in the bag at trader joe's) -you'll need 1 cup of of the cubed squash.  i keep the unused portion for another meal.

1/2 cup diced onion (or 1 -2 diced shallots)

1 TB olive oil

1 cup risotto (arborio rice)

2-4 cups chicken broth - homemade or low sodium from trader joe's

1/2 - 1 cup white wine

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

1/2 ts salt

1/2 ts pepper

place chicken stock in pot over high heat.  heat olive oil in a separate arge pot.  add onion and saute until softened.  add rice and stir until coated with oil for about a minute.  using a ladle, add a cup of chicken stock.  stir.  start adding the chicken stock at about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring between each addition.  the key is to wait 'till the stock is absorbed somewhat by the rice before adding more.  the bubbles should be kind of big (like frog's eyes is what the chefs said at culinary school).  after you've added 2 cups of the stock, add the suquash, stir.  keep adding stock, stirring.  after you've added abot 3 cups of the chicken stock, add the wine, keep stirring,  you have to stirr pretty much continuously or it will stick to the bottom and burn.  this develops a creamy rice mixture.  add about another 1/2 cup of stock stir, check rice to see if it's cooked enough.  it should not have any hardness (or bite) left.  if it's not ready, keep adding stock (if you run out, just use water).  once this is cooked enough, turn off the heat and add the parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.  serve immediately. 

what i like about this meal is that you really don't have to worry so much about getting the timing right.  the chicken can sit in the crock pot until almost right before you start the risotto. 

an alternative way to make the risotto for springtime would be to change the squash for asparagus (just add later in the cooking of the rice) or peas (same thing, add later to avoid over cooking)

MOM'S FIRST SOCK COMPLETED

 

my mom has now completed knitting her first sock.  aren't they a beautiful green colorway?  my cousin, from elliebelly sent this to her for either her birthday or christmas.  this is handpainted yarn.  she makes the most beautiful yarns i've evern seen.  my dad made the sock blocker.  we all need them now that we're all sock knitters.

MORE GREEN THINGS - and naughty leprechauns

   

well.  they did it again.  we woke up to clusters of leprechaun dust all over the house.  everywhere they stopped they left a mess.  the girls ran all around checking to see all the places the little buggers had been.

 

then these were discovered.  i guess they broke into the m & m factory.

 

then the pancake batter turned green.  in case you are wondering, the clumps are banana.  the kids gobbled them up but wondered why the juice wasn't green too.  last year they left green splashes on the toilets.  messy messy!!!

 

it's hard to see the clovers on this dishcloth in this photo but this is one of the best dishcloths i've knit.  not necessarily because of the clover pattern or the color.  the reason i like it so much is that i used a much smaller needle.  most patterns call for #7 needles.  i use #6's because i am happier with the end product.  this pattern called for #5s.  it's a very tight knit.  this actually feels a bit like a woven fabric because it's so tight.  i got the pattern for this clots from kris knits blog.  she's an amazing woman that has wonderful knit patterns.  some are free.  some are for sale.  when i was getting the link i saw that she has some more things on there that i've got to check out.  one of them was a cute bib.  and since i'm making a whole set of bibs for a friend's shower at the end of the month i might just have to make one of hers. 

GREEN

 

it all started with this.  i had a hankering for split pea soup and just happened to have all the ingreditnts in the house.  my mom has made this recipie since i was a child.  i remember that there were always enough leftovers for another meal.  for some reason, this never happens in my house.  i think we have big eaters.  i'm going to share the recipie.

GRANDMA'S SPLIT PEA SOUP.

1 pound split peas

1 ham hock (the ones at bristol farms are better.  they actually have some meat on them.  the ones everywhere else are mostly fat - you could substitute smoked turkey leg but i prefer the ham).

1 yellow onion, chopped

2 med/large carrots, chopped

2 ribs celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

6 cups water

dash cayenne pepper

2 tsp dried thyme

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper to taste (add s & p after it's finished cooking)

place all ingredients in crock pot.  cook on low for 10-12 hours.  remove ham hock and cut the meat into small pieces.  discard bones and fat.  at this point you can puree the soup with a hand held blender if you want a smoother consistency.  add the meat and season with salt and pepper to taste.

to make a complete protein, serve with bread.  sometimes i serve this with corn muffins but i can't stop at one so i haven't been making them lately.

MAI TAIS ANYONE

 

i made the most amazing pitcher of mai tais.  it's emerils' recipie that i got from foodtv.com.  last time i made them was one summer evening when the diamonds came for dinner.  all i remember was having a wonderful time and then all of a sudden my dad coming up from behind me and taking my glass and walking off.  i guess he thought i'd had enough.  even though i really don't care for sweet drinks i had these on my mind for saturday night.  we were having korean ribs and i just thought they'd be the perfect drink.  i think i'd had two at this point.  looking a little ... fuzzy.  literally and figuratively.  larry must be holding my drink. 

OLIVIA'S BANANA BREAD

i have a young friend that loves my banana bread.  i think she really likes me  mostly because of my banana bread.  i'll take it though.  i promised her the recipie so i thought i'd post it here for her as well as share it with everyone else.  it's truly wonderful.  i first made it back in 1993.  the recipie is from the stars desserts cookbook (restaurant in san francisco).  i've altered it a bit so it's safe to say it's mine now.  but i'm naming it olivia's banana bread.  i made some when i went into the hospital to give birth to robert.  i wasn't sure how the food would be and, somehow, i thought banana bread would be a good idea.  so here it is.

this recipie makes 2 loafs.

8 ounces unsalted butter (2 sticks), room temperature

1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown suger (not dark!!!)

4 large eggs, room temperature

1 1/4 cups mashed banans (about 3)

2 1/2 cups flour (feel free to substitute no more than half flour with whole wheat.  i added 1/2 cup ground flax.  adds a nice nutty flavor)

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 cup pecans (or walnuts)

1 cup dark chocolate chips (i use ghirideli dark)

preheat oven to 350 degrees.  grease two loaf pans. 

combine dry ingredients in a bowl.  add nuts and chocolate chips to same bowl.  set aside. 

in an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  add eggs, one at a time, scraping down sides after each addition.  add bananas, mix to combine.  add dry ingredients.  mix to combine.   do not overmix.

bake approx 50 minutes until bread springs back and is nicely browned.  cool in pans for 15 minutes.  turn out of pans.  allow to cool completely before cutting into slices.  this keeps nicely for about a week in an airtight container.

 

batter in pans.

 

freshly turned out loaves.

MOM'S STUFF

all the photos from this post will be from my mom's camera.  she wanted them shared with the family so i though the easiest thing would be to put them on my blog.  this first one is of aunti claire.  she got a new do.  the two of them went to lunch and a movie sunday and mom took some photos so we could all see the new look.  i think she looks fantastic.

 

mom knit this beautiful scarf for my sister.  we went to the lys together to pick out the yarn for her. it suits her perfectly and mom did a great job knitting it up.  she ended up having to get another skein after she finished the first three.  when she got the new one home, she realized that it was from a different dye lot.  she was very clever and split it up and put the new one on each end so it turned out even.  it really is wonderful.

 

mom made this purse for an for her birthday back in november.  it is fully lined.  these colors are perfect for ann.  mom did a great job on this one too.

POPPY'S BIRTHDAY

 

all poppy wanted for his birthday was a canvas work apron for his woodworking.  had to be full body with pockets for his tools.  it took much searching on google to finally find something that fit the bill.  i found many belt aprons made of canvas.  pretty women's aprons.  plastic factory worker aprons.  beautiful leather aprons that were the right configuration but not canvas.  this one i got from duluth trading company.  it's made out of recycled fire hose.  i'm pretty sure he would have wanted something a bit longer but i think i made a good choice.  he wears it every day while he's working in the yard and in his woodshop.  he knit the sweater on the table in front of him.  my cousin got it for him from a cool yarn coop (wish i knew the name of it).  it's made out of plant fibers by women in nigeria.  see the computer in the background?  that's where i am right now.

   

ann and kaitlin knitting at the party

 

allison knitting at the party.  concentrating very hard.

 

me pausing during my knitting.  i'm wearing the scarflet that i started a little over a month ago.  doesn't really go with what i've got on but i had to show it off. 

poppy knit this for kaitin.  he made one for allison as well, just a different colorway.  the girls love these.  allison has a matching scarf.

 

tabs (the licker) and blue (the lickee) having a cleaning session.  they love eachother.  blue was throwing up the other night while i was at the gym.  turns out she swallowed a ponytail holder.  they find the little ones and carry them around in their mouths.  they take them to their food bowls and drop them in for safekeeping while they eat.  they do this with their little finger puppet toys that they play with.  it's adorable.  they are like little kids with their toys.