Strong Man

Jeremy and I are considering changing the little rascal's name to Magnus as he can push a full grown man on his "Tow Mater" push cart - sweet! Actually, that is not true and it might be considered a wee bit cruel as he was trying really hard to push it but it wouldn't budge.


Alas, I baked bread today for the very first time. Why have I waited so long?! It was incredibly easy and freaking AMAZING! While I was washing the dishes, O was apparently busy emptying my drawers of hot pads and towels and climbed right in! Well hello! Aren't you proud of yourself!


When I first moved to the Little Apple I was befriended by Julie. She introduced us to several people, helped me find an OB, and made us feel extremely welcome. One day she surprised me with spicy Thai noodles (with the hope of jump starting labor) and a loaf of fresh bread! IT WAS AMAZING. I think I ate all of the bread and shared NONE of it with Jeremy. He wasn't carrying a baby so I really didn't see the point.


Anyfood, Julie graciously shared the recipe with me and has agreed to allow me to share it with you! Right before we moved out to the Little Apple, J's cousin was about ready to throw out her bread maker because she never used it. I snatched it up, and FINALLY put it to good use today!

Julie's Bread
Makes One Loaf of Deliciousness

Ingredients
9 oz warm water
3 ¼ cups bread flour
3 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon yeast (I used rapid rise yeast because I had it and it was fine)
4 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions
Add ingredients in this order into your bread machine. Just use warm tap water (not hot, not cold), then add flour (Julie recommends King Arthur and declares that it seriously makes it so much better. I don't have King Arthur currently, I will be checking out the store shortly), sugar, and salt. Then make a little indentation on the top of the pile and add the yeast in the indentation. Pour the olive oil into the corners.

Turn your bread machine on the "dough setting." After about 10 minutes, take a rubber spatula and get the crumbs out of the corners and add them into the

dough. After the machine is done, place the dough in a regular bread pan, coated with Pam. Place a cloth napkin or thin dishtowel over the dough and let it rise while the oven heats up. Bake for about 28 minutes at 350*. Let it cool for a minute in the pan, the move it to a wire rack to cool.

Variations

You can substitute one cup of whole wheat flour for white flour or 1/4 cup graham flour for 1/4 cup white flour if you want to be healthier. (I opted for the whole wheat variation this time and it was SO GOOD.) Julie also uses the same recipe for dinner rolls and cinnamon buns: just roll out the dough and spread butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon on top. Roll it up, cut it and bake for 25 minutes. (I will be making these for my man this weekend!)

Cleansing...

First, how cute is this family pic? It is so hard to find family pics where Owen is a) not sucking on a foffy, b) looking on the camera, and c) smiling! Since I can remember, my family has always worn the Old Navy 4th of July T-shirts, and this year was no different!

Second: we are starting a cleanse from the 4th of July through the 4th of August. I don't know why the 4th, but it seemed like a great place to start. And, no, we aren't doing the traditional cleanse of lemon juice, cayenne and maple syrup. We are just cutting out that which is superfluous: dessert (boooooo - we are actually just cutting back and only having it 3x/week!), fast food (we eat WAY too much fast food - it is kind of gross), and alcohol (I am going to miss my Skinny Girl Margaritas!). So basically we are just trying to eat whole foods for one month, and then be more intentional after this month about eating healthily.

So we started out our month of "cleanse" with this DELISH dish! I pulled this "Grilled Vegetable and Chickpeas with Couscous" out of the 2006 Cooking Light Annual Recipes. We are committed to have Meatless Mondays and this will definitely be in the rotation, along with the Quinoa Taco Salad!

Grilled Vegetables and Chickpeas with Couscous
Serves 4

Ingredients
1 large zucchini (about 8 ounces)
1 large yellow squash (about 6 ounces - I actually used eggplant)
1 small green bell pepper, quartered
1 small red bell pepper, quartered
1 small onion (I used red), cut into 1/4 inch thick slices (about 1/2 cup)
Cooking spray
1 cup water
3/4 cup uncooked couscous (I used Trader Joe's wheat couscous)
1/2 tsp hot pepper sauce (I used Sriracha)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp ground cumin
Dash of ground cinnamon
3/4 cup cherry tomatoes, halved (I used a whole tomato left over from burgers on the 4th!)
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 tbsp EVOO (I didn't add this and I didn't miss it either!)
1 (15 1/2 oz) can chickpeas/garbanzo beans, drained
1/4 cup (1 oz) crumbled feta cheese

Instructions

1. Prepare grill. (I used my All Clad grill pan because it was WAY TO STINKING HOT to even consider lighting up the grill and standing outside.)

2. Cut zucchini and squash lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices. (I cut the eggplant in 1/4 inch rounds. I also splashed a little EVOO on the zuc and eggplant.) Place zucchini, squash, bell peppers and onion on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 3 minutes on each side or until well browned. Remove veggies to a cutting board; cool. Chop veggies into bite-sized pieces; place in a large bowl.

3. Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in couscous and next 5 ingredients. Cover, remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes.

4. Add couscous, tomatoes, and next 4 ingredients to veggie mixture; toss well. Sprinkle each serving with cheese.

Yield: 4 servings (1 3/4 cups couscous and 1 tablespoon of feta).

*We topped ours off with extra Sriracha sauce!

Here's to a healthy and fresh July!

It's My Birthday Too!

I CANNOT believe my little nephew is already ONE!! It seems like yesterday I was pacing at Panera waiting for the phone call that he had arrived! We had just moved to the Little Apple and I still didn't have internet access at home, thus I had to hang at Panera so I could send out the "He's Arrived" email to family and friends. My mom called from the delivery room and said, "can you hear your nephew crying?" - I am tearing up just thinking about it. Ah, he is such a HUGE blessing to our family!!

Happy First Birthday Favorite Nephew!! We traveled to California for his Cowboy birthday party - my sister did an amazing job! We had pulled pork sandwiches, baked beans, coleslaw, watermelon, s'more pops, and snickerdoodle cupcakes! (BTW: my brother-in-law gets father of the year award because he scoured the internet and found bales of hay to set the cowboy scene! While that might not be difficult where I live, it was no easy feat in California!)

Aren't the cupcake toppers adorable?? The snickerdoodle cupcakes were AMAZING. My mom made them out of the "Cake Mix Doctor" cookbook which I own and have never used. Those days are over - not only did they come together quickly, but they were TO DIE FOR! They were moist and light and had just the right amount of cinnamon. My sister topped them with cinnamon butter cream - SO GOOD. I will be making these for our care group!!

Will got his very own giant cupcake - he went nuts! There was a ton left over, so he got a part two of cake eating because Auntie Meg messed up and forgot to press "record" on the video camera...I felt terrible. We did re-record and he loved it. I think he is a frosting man like his mama!

Snickerdoodle Cake
Serves 16

Ingredients
Solid vegetable shortening for greasing the pans
Flour for dusting the pans
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain white cake mix
1 cup whole milk
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Cinnamon Buttercream Ingredients
(makes 3 1/2 cups - however, my mom's friend Mickey says she always needs more and therefore doubles the recipe)
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
3 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar sifted
3 to 4 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions
1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350*. Generously grease two 9" round cake pans with solid vegetable shortening, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess four. Set the pans aside.

2. Place the cake mix, milk, melted butter, eggs, vanilla and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. The batter should look well combined. Divide the batter between the prepared pans, smoothing it out with the rubber spatula. Place the pans in the oven side by side.

3. Bake the cakes until they are golden brown and spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 27 to 29 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 10 minutes. Run a dinner knife around the edge of each layer and invert each onto a rack, then invert them again onto another rack so that the cakes are right side up. Allow them to cool completely, 30 minutes more.

4. Meanwhile, prepare the Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting. Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until fluffy, 30 seconds. Stop the machine and add the confectioners' sugar, 3 tablespoons milk, and vanilla. Blend with the mixer on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy, 1 minute more. Bled in up to 1 tablespoon milk if the frosting seems too stiff.

5. Place one cake layer right side up, on a serving platter. Spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer, right side up, on top of the first layer and frost the top and sides of the cake with clean smooth strokes.
* Place the cake, uncovered in the refrigerator until the frosting sets, 20 minutes. Cover the cake with waxed paper and store in the fridge for up to 1 week. Or freeze it, wrapped in aluminum foil, for up to 6 months. Thaw the cake overnight the fridge before serving.

Happy birthday sweet boy!

Let Freedom Ring!

Little O is totally ready to celebrate our Nation's Independence! How cute are those little teethers?! He just got two more on top on either side, but they are slow to move into place. And today he bit my shoulder for the first time - SWEET. I yelped in pain and puffed out his bottom lip and started crying. Like he was the one that got bit with razor sharp baby teeth!! Anyhow, I love this little bug and hopefully he'll wear is USA headband for a few more pics :)


What could be more patriotic and evoke feelings of summertime than watermelon mojitos? (Okay, okay, I recognize that the "mojito" is a Cuban drink, but I like the American twist with some delicious summertime watermelon!) We had these tonight on our front porch listening to the fools in our neighborhood light their fireworks two days early. I remember last year going CRAZY listening to the fireworks. For whatever reason I am strictly opposed to lighting off personal fireworks unless it is the 4th of July. It's just wrong. Last year I just about lost my mind - I was also 36 weeks pregnant, super hot, and super irritable. Kansas heat and humidity is WAY more bearable when you AREN'T preggers!!

Watermelon Mojitos
Makes 6 drinks ~ "Barefoot Contessa How Easy is That?"

Ingredients
30 large fresh mint leaves, coarsely torn by hand
3 to 4 thick slices fresh watermelon (This instruction was hard to follow for me, so I just threw in 2 cups of already chopped up watermelon sans seeds and got a cup and a half of watermelon juice. The recipe calls for 2 cups of watermelon juice later in the instructions.)
12 ounces light rum, such as Bacardi
1/2 cup simple syrup (J Man makes it with one cup sugar, and one cup water. Heat over high heat until the sugar is dissolved.)
6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (3 limes)
Sprigs of mint and spears of watermelon, for serving

Instructions
Use a mortar and pestle to mash the mint leaves. Remove and discard the rind and seeds of the watermelon. Put the fruit into a food processor fitted with the steel blade and puree. Put the mashed mint into a large pitcher with 2 cups of pureed watermelon, the rum, simple syrup, and lime juice and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into a pitcher for serving.

Place ice cubs in 6 glasses and pour the mojito mixture into the glasses. Garnish with sprigs of fresh mint and spears of watermelon. Serve ice cold.

Happy 4th of July!