Potato and Mushroom Tart

And so the baking spree continues, this time with something savory rather than sweet. I tried out frozen puff pastry sheets for the first time (from Trader Joe's), and it worked out pretty well. I made a filling out of onions, thyme, kosher salt, pepper, sliced red potatoes, gruyere cheese, and crimini mushrooms (the mushrooms rather dismayed Jared, unfortunately). I used one whole puff pastry sheet to make a single big tart, and then cut the second pastry sheet into four squares to make these smaller individual tarts. The end result was pretty delicious; I'll definitely make these again, or perhaps try the filling (or something a little different) in a big pie or individual little pies. I'd also like to try using the puff pastry sheets to make small triangle sweet tarts filled with jam or preserves--next time I make it up to Bigfork, Montana to visit my family, I'll be bringing home some delicious berry preserves from a great store there to use for just this purpose!

Side By Side at Three Months

After looking at the photos that I took of the boys doing "tummy time" today, I realized that something about the situation looked awfully familiar. Here is a photo of Parker when he was almost exactly the same age that Levi is now (Levi is about ten days younger than Parker was). Actually, as I look at pictures from throughout Parker's third and fourth months, I see Levi just as he is now--they look so similar to me that it's crazy; same smiles, same cute expressions, same big fat bellies. But Parker looks like he was a lot better at tummy time at this age--I guess we'd better intensify Levi's training regimen! Wait--is this the beginning of a lifetime of comparisons...? Uh-oh.

Tummy Time Bros

Levi is getting stronger! He is also feeling much better, I think, although he still has a cough that could break your heart. But his face just looks so much more like him today--he woke up from a three hour nap looking fresh and clear-eyed. And Parker didn't have to blow his nose once today, so things are looking up as we end the weekend and begin a new week!

A Saturday Around the House

We are all still in various stages of sickness while fighting this yucky, yucky cold. The littlest of us, poor little Levi, is not any better yet but hanging in there with bad congestion and a nasty cough; we figure that he still has probably another week to go until he is healthy again. Parker is at the tail end of his battle, Jared is at the beginning of his, and I feel like I'm in an average- to better-than-average holding pattern. So, we've been spending a lot of time around the house lately, although Parker and I did make it out to a birthday party this afternoon for a friend from his school. He came home from the party enjoying a sugar high from the cake, and had fun playing with Levi for a little while, who thankfully had a few stretches of alert happy time today.

Baklava

I decided to try making baklava because I realized that I wasn't really sure how it was made, so I was intrigued. I've never worked with phyllo dough before, and although the recipe as a whole was easy, there were a few steps that added to the overall prep time, such as thawing the dough in the fridge overnight, then letting it warm up to room temperature for two hours, and freezing the assembled baklava so that it could be cut into pieces before baking. So, it's not exactly a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing to make, but now that I've made it and gone through the steps I have a better sense of how to plan ahead so it doesn't feel like it eats up too much time. 


There are three layers of filling--which in this case consists of pistachios, cinnamon, sugar, and cardamom--surrounded by forty sheets of phyllo dough. Each sheet had to be brushed with butter as it was added to the stack; the recipe said to be careful not to overdo it with the butter, or else the final product would be too heavy and greasy. However, I was definitely overly conservative with the butter, and it ended up being a little too dry, although certainly healthier! Overall, though, the final product was yummy--it will be good with hot tea or coffee--but next time I'll let myself get a little wild with the butter :)

Anyone Up For a Pint?

I saw this recipe for Stout Floats in the latest issue of Bon Appetit, and I feel like I just have to give it a try! It sounds pretty over the top, but who can resist either a pint of stout or chocolate ice cream? So why not just have them at the same time?

Ingredients

cocoa syrup

• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder (spooned into cup to measure, then leveled)
• 2/3 cup boiling water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

floats

• 1 cup chilled heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 6 tablespoons Kahlúa or other coffee-flavored liqueur
• Chocolate ice cream
• 3 12-ounce bottles or 2 pints (about) chilled stout

special equipment

• 6 iced-tea spoons
• 6 straws

Preparation

cocoa syrup

• Whisk sugar, cocoa powder, and pinch of salt in small saucepan. Pour 2/3 cup boiling water into heat-resistant measuring cup. Whisk just enough boiling water from cup into cocoa mixture in saucepan to form smooth paste (about 3 tablespoons), then whisk in remaining water. Bring to simmer over low heat, stirring constantly. Simmer syrup 11/2 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla. Cool to room temperature. DO AHEAD Can be made 3 weeks ahead. Cover; chill.

floats

• Using electric mixer, beat cream and vanilla in medium bowl until peaks form. Cover; chill. Pour 1 tablespoon Kahlúa and 1 tablespoon cocoa syrup into each of six 10-ounce glasses. Place 1 scoop of ice cream in each glass. Add stout, pouring gently down side of tilted glass to prevent too much head from forming. Spoon dollop of whipped cream into each glass. Drizzle with cocoa syrup, place spoon and straw in each, and serve immediately.

Read More http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2011/02/stout_floats_with_cocoa_syrup#ixzz1CRdTrAM0

--Paige.

Grandma Margaret Steg (Sanderson)

One of my many as-yet unrealized goals/dreams is to create a genealogy book for our family, including both sides of our families--Jared's and mine--as far back as possible, with photos and stories and information about everyone. I really want to start working on this, but it feels a little overwhelming, and I'm not quite sure how to organize it or approach the project. But, here is a really cool photo that I scanned recently of my grandma on my dad's side, Margaret, probably in Chicago. 

Dessert

Somehow I've managed to do a little baking lately--it helps that this dessert was super fast and easy to make! Lava cake is one of my favorite desserts to have, especially at fancy restaurants ;) I found this simple lava cake recipe on a really fun blog called thepioneerwoman.com; I've been dying to try it for ages, but I never had the ramekins to bake them in or the right kind of chocolate. I finally was all prepared last night, and they came out just right--delicious! Now, if only any of you reading this lived next door, you'd be enjoying the extras!!


The recipe that I used can be found at: 
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/07/molten-chocolate-lava-cake/


There are lots of more complicated recipes out there for lava cakes and souffles that I'll have to try next time to compare. I'm just glad that my first attempt was a success!

Smiling Through the Sickness

Poor little 11-week old Levi has got a respiratory infection called RSV. Parker was the first one in the family to come down with this horrible cold--he is finally on the mend, a week and a half later. But Levi is still in the early stages of the virus, and it's sad to see him sick at such a young age. But he's still trying to be his happy, sweet little Levi self when he can--it's nice to see that he can still muster a smile. You can see that his eyes are really red and watery here, as if he had been crying--but it's really just from being sick. We are so anxious for him to get better!

An Idyllic Day

The weather has been beautiful lately, and it sure puts me in the mood for summer fast! We spent a long afternoon and evening putt-putting around the bay in San Diego, and it was such a nice time. It was fairly warm despite a brisk breeze, and we ate sandwiches on the boat while watching about 100 sabots race around the Shelter Island basin, skippered by really young, really confident sailors! Then we headed down to the Midway and got a great close-up view as the sunset became more beautiful with every passing minute. We made it back to the launch ramp at dark, and I turned around to see Holland America's Oosterdam cruise ship passing right behind us, fully illuminated as it headed out to sea. By then, my feet were freezing and I was chilled to the bone (bringing only flip flops for the day out on the boat was a bit overly optimistic), but the day was totally worth it.

"Surfing" with Grandpa Niki

We stopped by Dee and Niki's house after a nice day out on the San Diego Bay for some pizza, wine, travel stories, and of course, some Grandparent time!

That's What Big Brothers Are For

Ah, yes--let's dress up the baby and make him look funny! He can't fight back! Ha ha ha! Parker was pretty happy when I found this pirate mask buried in the closet from his first birthday party; I guess he wanted to include Levi in the fun, because he had me make a "mask" for him, too--I think Parker said Levi was supposed to be something like a "spooky skeleton baby" or something along those lines...I guess Levi should just get used to this!

Mimi and The Boys

Mimi (Dee) came up for a visit last week, and when I spotted her sitting with both boys I tried to snap a few quick photos to capture the moment!

Mmmmm....Hands!

I'd say that the oral phase has commenced!

Brothers!

Levi is way into sucking on his hand lately, and when I had Parker lay down next to him for a few pictures, I realized that it looked like they were doing the exact same thing! Parker thought it was so funny, and for some diabolical reason he tries to encourage Levi to suck his thumb like he does...he's trying to bring his baby brother over to the dark side! 

Parker and Levi at Two Months

I finally got around to taking some pictures of Levi now that he is two months old, and digging up some similar shots that I took of Parker at two months. We've been so curious to compare photos of them at the same age to see if they look similar...Levi is actually closer to 10 weeks in this picture, so he is a bit bigger and looks a little older, I think (well, combined with the fact that he is kind of giant anyway!). What do you think?

Parker, Levi, and Al

Prindle Pirates

Jared and Parker went sailing by themselves yesterday, and it was a great success. From what I hear, Parker was a very able First Mate, even helping with the jib sheets during a few tacks. They sailed out to the pier and back, and got caught in the rain--but I'm told that they sang pirate songs to keep their spirits high, although they never did find that treasure. Next time.

Life in 3-D

Crab Catching

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!


We spent a fun afternoon in San Diego today visiting Uncle Nate, Auntie Lisa, and Cousin Alex. The boys caught lots of crabs down by the water--Parker wasn't afraid at all to stick his hands right in there and grab the little sand crabs--this makes me so happy, since it's finally one thing that he's NOT timid about!

Black Mountain Hike