Food

Lately I haven't felt too much like blogging. I'm still reading other people's blogs, but I haven't felt inspired to write much of anything.

I could blame being busy, but I really think it has more to do with the cooler weather moving in and the beginning of a new season. Saying good-bye to the dog days of sun and summer causes me to shift my food focus and allows me to appreciate things that, in the summer, I might not appreciate quite as much, like Erin's homemade, canned applesauce

and my homemade marinara, made with fresh summer tomatoes all the more.

It's a little early for seasonal affective disorder to hit, but I can still enjoy its cure of comfort food, no?

Zucchini

It should not surprise me that on this day last year I posted about zucchini. July in Wisconsin is rife with the squash. If you don't grow it yourself, someone else you know does, and zucchini plants are prolific.

And, so, my zucchini supply is bountiful. Just as I use up the last of my supply, more appears.

Last night it was zucchini pancakes, my absolute favorite way to use zucchini as a dinner component.

Today, though, it was time to move onto sweeter fare: a chocolate zucchini cake from an issue of Bon Appétit. The cake is fabulous and with the substitution of whole wheat flour, I can almost believe it's healthy. Healthy or not, it's a perfectly moist chocolate cake. If you can, enjoy it warm!



Chocolate Zucchini Cake

2 1/4 cups sifted all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 cups grated unpeeled zucchini (about 2 1/2 medium)
1 6-ounce package (about 1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter and flour 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into medium bowl. Beat sugar, butter and oil in large bowl until well blended. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract. Mix in dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk in 3 additions each. Mix in grated zucchini. Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips and nuts over.

Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool cake completely in pan.

Making Bread

I often forget that kids have the same sense of accomplishment that adults do when they create something worthwhile and meaningful. You can see the pride on their faces when they paint a picture that's hung on the refrigerator or when they carefully put away a freshly folded basket of laundry or help me with something or another for Caroline.

Yesterday we needed to make bread. Madeleine and Hank wanted to do it and so I let them take the job over. I did supervise, of course, but that was about all I had to do. They've been helping me cook and bake for so long that measuring and mixing are second nature to them.

I demonstrated how to knead the bread, but they did it themselves.





They put the kneaded dough in bowls, they found a warm spot for the dough to rise, they punched the dough down, they shaped the dough for the bread pans, they baked the bread and they flipped the bread out of its pan.

When Joe got home later in the evening, the kids raced to show Joe their loaves of bread. Each child beamed with pride and excitement over the loaf they had created and couldn't wait to cut into it and sample a piece.

RIP, Bread Machine

I know how to make bread without a bread machine. It's not hard. I get that. And with the dough hook attachment for my Kitchenaid it's even easier.

Still, clean up is so, so much easier with a bread machine. No counters to wipe clean of flour, no bowls, no oven to run... just toss some flour, yeast, milk, etc. in the pan, press start and go. No kneading, no timing, nothing. Couldn't be any easier, right?

The past few times I've used my bread machine the final product has been one floury, crusty and, yet, wet mass of kitchen strangeness, like some science experiment gone bad. Somehow the paddle isn't mixing the ingredients well enough and the bread isn't turning out.

I think it's time to get rid of my bread machine. Space-wise, I'll be glad to get rid of the appliance giant that takes up a lot of storage space, but the part of me that appreciates easy, homemade bread is sad to see it go. Back to making bread from scratch, I guess. *sigh*

Visit

Last Wednesday night, as I arrived home from hockey practice with four tired and hungry kids I was prepared to meet my poor husband who'd been so busy at work that he'd been leaving around 3:30 a.m. just to get everything done and also to deal with getting four cranky kids into the house and fed and into bed without incident. Instead I was greeted by a bag full of hot, fresh Chinese take-out bought up by Bob. It was a nice treat after a busy day!

New Project

I am not a crafty person. I am not selling myself short and I'm not simply being modest; I'm being honest. When it comes to being creative, it's just not in me.

That said, there are things in the creative world that even non-creative people can do with the assistance of creative people. Like sewing, for instance. Non-creative people, like me, can still enjoy mending things that need to be fixed and we can even enjoy creating things that other, more creative people, have designed for us. I am one of those people. I enjoy taking nothing and creating something useful. It's one of the reasons I love to cook so much; when all that basic, plain food is mixed together in such a way that something delicious and beautiful is made by my own hands, it makes be feel very satisfied and fulfilled. And when people enjoy that creation? Even better!

So, it's not surprising that I would also feel drawn to the creating and making of useful things like pillows, duvet covers and Halloween costumes.

Except I have a small problem. I don't know how to sew. Sure, I can do basic things like sew a button on a shirt or mend a rip along a seam, but that's it. I'm not too proud to admit that, until yesterday, the very idea of a sewing machine frightened me to my core.

Yesterday that changed. I needed to make cat tails for the girls' Halloween costumes and I decided I was going to use that easy project to figure out how to use Madeleine's Singer Simple sewing machine. And you know what? I did it! It took me all day but, by the end of the day, I figured out how to wind the bobbin, load the bobbin, thread the needle and raise the bobbin thread. My first cat tail's seam was uneven and awful, but my second? Pretty good, even if I do say so myself.

Next week Madeleine and I are going to make a pillow or two so that I can get some more practice in, but our next major project? Madeleine wants to duvet cover for her comforter. Stay tuned!

Try This Cake

Seriously. This cake is just that good. I feel like surely I must be overstating, but this might be the best chocolate cake I've ever eaten. The recipe comes from an old Penzey's Spice catalog and I finally tried it yesterday. I will be making it again, for sure.

Aunt Velma's Chocolate Cake

2 c. flour
1/2 c. cocoa powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 c. butter
2 c. sugar
2 c. boiling water
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt (note: I skip the sifting step 99.999% of the time, but I wouldn't skip it w/this recipe). In a separate bowl, cream together vanilla, butter and sugar. Add boiling water, blend, then add eggs and mix until well blended. Gradually add dry ingredients and mix well. Pour into ungreased 9x13 pan and bake for 30 minutes.

Penzey's also tags a buttercream frosting recipe to go with the cake but, I'll be honest, I think it would have been way too much frosting for this moist, rich cake and I halved it and purposely tried to get a runnier consistency. I am sharing the halved recipe here, so if you want lots of gooey frosting, double the following.

1/2 lb, powdered sugar, sifted (I skipped the sifting here to no ill-effects)
1/6-1/4 c. soft butter
1/16 tsp. salt (skip if using salted butter)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1.5-3.5 tbsp. milk

Beat together powdered sugar, butter, salt and vanilla. Add enough milk to get good spreading consistency. For chocolate frosting (which I did and would highly recommend) add 1/4 c. cocoa powder. Adding the cocoa powder will necessitate more milk, however.

Zucchini

No one in my immediate family loves zucchini, including me. I mean, it's OK, but it's not something I crave in the summer, even when it's fresh. Still, though, we always somehow end up with some fresh zucchini multiple times a summer and I refuse to waste a perfectly good, healthy vegetable, so we eat what we're given and, despite the fact that it's not my favorite, I always appreciate the gift of fresh garden produce.

Last night I prepared it a new way and, I have to say, I've never liked it so well. I sautéed two zucchini in a bit of olive oil with some kosher salt until it was cooked through but still firm. I then threw it into a bowl and tossed with with some freshly ground pepper, freshly squeezed lemon juice (about half a lemon) and some diced scallions. It was quite good and even the kids ate their required portions with minimal fuss.

Independence Day 2009

OK, so we celebrated Independence Day what, two weeks ago? Yes, I'm just getting around to posting pictures now. I'm going to blame my tardiness on the fact that we've been (or at least felt) unusually busy.

We started out the day as we usually do with the kids and me sleeping while Joe ran up to reserve a good spot for the parade and, as usual, he scored a great spot which was easily able to accommodate family and friends. Prior to leaving for the 11:30 a.m. parade, some of the neighborhood kids occupied themselves by decorating their bikes and riding up and down the sidewalk yelling (which, actually, aside from the American flags, isn't a whole lot different than what they do every other day).



After the parade family (Dad and Diana with Cloence and Blake joining us later) and friends headed back to our house for a cold salad and sandwich spread that included this seriously fantastic pasta salad that I copied from the Pioneer Woman. Try it. It's just fantastic.



Another shot of the food, this time trying to get a side view of my pregnant belly. Before you say, "Oh wow, you look so small!" let me just forewarn you that that comment grates on my nerves like no other. Yes, I'm tall. Yes, I carry my babies up and down more than out. For what it's worth, my belly is measuring larger than the weeks I am pregnant. Bottom line is, I may not look as big as you thought you did at this point (caveat: if you carried multiples, you win), but I can't breathe, walk or go more than sixty minutes without going to the bathroom so, trust you me, I am plenty big for this stage of pregnancy (33 weeks).



After we ate we sat outside chatting for hours while the kids played happily and quietly for just as long (a 4th of July miracle!) until about 7 p.m. when we headed to a local park to watch the fireworks. Dad had brought up sparklers for the kids so they entertained themselves with those for awhile as we waited until 9:30 for the show to start.





We finally got home from the fireworks around 10:45 p.m. Even Madeleine, who never admits fatigue, confessed that she was pretty tired so all three kids went right to bed, as did all two remaining adults and all felt satisfied at the end of the day that it had been another great Independence Day.

Candy

Question: What is fun about fun size candy bars?

Answer: Nothing. Absolutely nothing, especially when you're craving a serious sugar fix.

Rhubarb

When I was a child I hated rhubarb season. Mom was a big dessert person and made them often, but in late spring, once her rhubarb was ready to harvest, the desserts all began to have one common denominator: rhubarb. I ate them grudgingly but always secretly couldn't wait until the rhubarb was all gone and we could get back to non-rhubarb desserts.

I don't know when it happened, but sometime in the past few years I started craving rhubarb desserts. Last year I finally bit the bullet and planted some rhubarb plants in our yard, but I can't harvest any until next year (and even then only sparingly). Well, wonder of wonders, Dad brought up a huge grocery bag of rhubarb yesterday full of freshly picked rhubarb that he was given by a friend.

Right now I have this cooling on my prep table:




It's rhubarb oatmeal pie and I can't wait to dig into it. In a few minutes I'm going to start a rhubarb compote which was, funnily enough, my absolute least favorite, most dreaded rhubarb concoction that Mom made every spring. Funny how time and maturity can change your taste buds.

Peppery Wisconsin Mascarpone Pasta Sauce with Bacon

I love, love, love this pasta. Love it! It's so easy, so yummy and, depending on the phase of the moon, the kids will even eat it (last time I made it they had seconds, last night Madeleine said she hated it).

2 tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 shallots, diced
1 c. onion, diced
8 slices thick-sliced pepper bacon, cut in strips 1 in. long (if peppered bacon not available, add 1 tsp. course ground pepper)
14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
8 oz. can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
8 oz. Wisconsin Mascarpone cheese
3 tbsp. fresh basil leaves, julienned

Heat oil in large saute pan. Add garlic, shallots and onions; saute over medium heat until tender, about 5 mins. Do not brown. Stir in bacon. Raise heat to medium high and cook until bacon cooks through but does not crisp (if I'm dealing with especially fatty bacon I usually cook it almost completely through in the microwave before this step so that I can drain some of the fat). Add diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. Salt and pepper to taste. Simmer about 15 to 20 min., or until sauce thickens and reduces a little. Off heat, add Wisconsin Mascarpone cheese and basil. Stir well.

Toss with about 1/2 lb. cooked pasta (I prefer fettuccine, but any long, hollow pasta would be great).

Elisabeth Bakes

This picture of Elisabeth baking just makes me laugh. She's started doing the hand-on-hip thing more and more lately and, for some reason, seeing a three-year-old in that pose is just comical.

Cold Weather and Food

You know what the worst part of my sixty-seven degree house with old drafty windows besides being chilled all the time? It's being hungry all the time for things like mashed potatoes and gravy, fresh, warm bread and all sorts of other kinds of stick-to-your-ribs types of food. Yeah, I can hide under bulky sweaters now because I need to to not turn into an icicle, but gee whiz, if I keep eating like this and feeling so starving all the time, what happens in June?

Please tell me there are others out there in freezing areas who are feeling hungrier than usual!

Settle This Debate

If you're a pickle person, what brand is your favorite? I am practically addicted to Classen Kosher Dill pickles. Joe, on the other hand, is a Milwaukee's pickles guy while I think they're so inferior to Classen's pickles that I hesitate to entertain debate on the matter.

So, settle the debate. Which brand makes a better pickle?

Book Club

I have always been a reader.  I have always had the ability to lose myself in a book and to become so engrossed that the world around me almost ceases to exist.

Despite my love of reading, I have never joined a book club as so many other readers do.  I don't know why, really.  Many seem more focused on idle chit-chat and gossip than discussing the book at hand and others seem more interested in reading books I am not interested in reading.  So I've never joined.

Well, now, Madeleine is a reader. She too has the ability to lose herself in a book and become oblivious to the world around her.  

I decided to create a mother/daughter book club for her that embodies all the characteristics of a book club I would like to be a member of.  Tonight was our book club's first meeting.  This evening, Madeleine and I carefully arranged vanilla meringues and chocolate meringues on one platter and a plate of scones on another platter.  We then poured a gallon of Trader Joe's peach juice into a teapot and carefully set out four cups and saucers alongside the "tea" in preparation of the discussion of a decidedly British book (by myself I set out an array of wine glasses and a favorite Beaujolais). Four girls in total (six belong to the club, but two could not make it) arrived at our house tonight at 6:30 p.m. to talk over Matilda by Roald Dahl. 

I don't know what I expected.  I knew Madeleine loved the book.  She raced through it in a matter of days and those days were filled with loud snorts and giggles.  I knew the other girls had loved the book based on what I heard from the other moms.  But loving a book does not always translate into being able to talk about a book.  But it did tonight.

I was amazed-- amazed-- at the insightful thoughts these girls had.  Matilda isn't incredibly layered, but there are some inferences to be made that I thought the girls might miss.  Nope, they all were well aware of all the different characters' nuances, what made each unique, why the Wormwoods and the Trunchbull had to be so fantastically evil to make the book funny and why Matilda and Miss Honey related to each other.

All the girls took the job of discussing the book very seriously for about an hour, which was a lot longer than I thought we would get serious discussion out of them and during that hour I could see how much fun they were all having thinking about different scenes in the book and letting other peoples' thoughts about the book soak in.

I can't wait for our next book club night!

Piano Competition

Today was a big day for Madeleine, a day our family has had marked on our calendar for months now. Today was a Milwaukee area youth music competition. Madeleine's piano instructor recommended it to us months ago and Madeleine has been busily practicing her two pieces ever since.

We arrive at the competition site at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee about forty-five minutes early. Enough time to walk around and explore the building and, of course, enough time to sit around in a student lounge and be nervous.


And, for younger, not nervous siblings, enough time to invent new games.


But, finally, her twelve-thirty time slot looms near so we make our way over to the room Madeleine was to perform in. She dutifully, albeit distractedly, poses for a picture.


And then we wait. Nervously.


And then, after all that waiting, she is called in to perform. It is short and Superdad and I are reduced to listening through the door as only the judge is allowed in the room with Madeleine. From what we can hear she sounds good. I am nervous. Who knew parents got nervous when their children compete?

And then, quickly, it is over. Madeleine is out and is all smiles. The nervousness is gone. Hugs are distributed and then, on to a celebration. Where? Culvers, for frozen custard!


Just a short time ago Madeleine's piano instructor called to give us her results. What were they? A number one or "superior"-- the top score possible! Her judge writes: Next stop a concert hall. Bravo!

A good day. Yes, a very good day.

Christmas Cookie Baking

In movies baking Christmas cookies is always conveyed as peaceful. Idyllic. Smiling people sit around a nice, clean table and calmly, yet somehow efficiently, get all their baking done and the end result of all their efforts is just as lovely as the romantic process of making the cookies.

Each year I can't shake that imagery. Each year I envision, at the very least, a table free of red, green and white sticky icing and a floor free of a generous heaping of different colored sugars. I hope, each year, that the simple process of rolling out, baking and decorating of simple sugar cookies will take less than two and a half hours.

And though things never go as I imagined, and though the clean-up takes almost as long as the rolling, baking and decorating, I always forget how much fun it is to watch the kids heap a mound of green sugar on the toe of one gingerbread man while leaving the rest bare, or watch them generously mound and mix the red and green icings on an unsuspecting Santa Claus cut-out.

This year was no exception, and although it took far longer than it should have, I am proud to say I did not decorate even one cookie; the big kids did it all (Elisabeth was napping), I was only minimally frustrated a few times ("Please stop sticking the cookie cutters in the flour and spilling it all over the floor!") and I now have some Christmas cookies to share on Christmas Eve. Hooray!

Lull

I feel like I'm in a lull right now in regards to many things I normally find enjoyable. Or maybe calling it a funk would be more appropriate.

In any event I have many, many unread books in my home that I'm anxious to read and, yet, can't quite work up interest in any of them right now. Blogging? I love to write, but lately the mood hasn't struck me.

Maybe it's because I've been busy watching the kids build snowmen...

and baking gingerbread men (you really should try the recipe; it's extra delicious, though admittedly, time consuming!)...


and, of course, schooling Madeleine, which really deserves a post in and of itself, but, like I said, I'm in a lull right now. A funk. So maybe later.

Pies

I have been up to my elbows in pie today. I'm not hosting Thanksgiving this year, my mother-in-law is. But I'm still baking the pies (which I volunteered to do because I like to bake).

But I'm sick of baking right now. I'm sick of pies. All told I have two apple, two pumpkin and one peanut butter chocolate pie sitting in my refrigerator right now and if you asked me to eat them right now I couldn't. I'm that sick of them.

And bless Superdad. He came home from work and dutifully smelled the pies and ogled over them to an appropriate degree. I now feel my time was well spent.

But I'm still tired.

Off for Thanksgiving tomorrow with my internet-less in-laws. Back in a few days!