Easter Weekend

We were with the girls Easter weekend and it was a busy one.  Kennedy and I went to Shane's Gramma Bruce's to learn to make cinnamon buns for Easter brunch at Don & Debbie's house.  I learned alot of great tips (and got to use my new mixer - yay!) and Kennedy got to spend some special time with her great-gramma, who I also enjoy.  She is a special lady. 

We made homemade pie crust for her pumpkin pies

Kennedy got to roll out dough for her pan of cinnamon buns - she wasn't too excited when she saw the size of this rolling pin :)  But apparently this rolling pin has been around for a LONG while and is a special part of kids cooking with their Gramma Bruce.  I thought it was adorable!

Her finished pan of cinnamon goodness (they were so delicious, this pan got eaten before Easter brunch!)

So who knew this cookbook was so amazing? I remember Mom using this cookbook seemingly for everything. 

I bought myself the newer version of this book when I got out of college thinking it must be "T-H-E" book to have.  Shane's Gramma Bruce used her (older) version of Mom's BHG cookbook to make cinnamon buns. It had the same worn look, pages ripped out but stuffed back in place, stains on the pages of recipes commonly used, a few pieces of paper with extra recipes tucked here and there, all signs of a cookbook well used.  

The cover may change but the recipes apparently don't.

Maybe this won't come as a shock to you, but I have barely opened that book since I bought it. Until now I declare!  In fact, I used it Easter weekend.  I would like to say I'm high on culinary ambition but that would be a HUGE stretch, so I'm going to say I'm mediocre on culinary ambition and low on culinary confidence.  I was shocked and AMAZED to see that the recipe for hard-boiling eggs could be found in this cookbook.  How hard can boiling eggs be?  Not very apparently, but I just wanted to double check to make sure I somehow didn't mess up the girls' Easter eggs for decorating.  No wonder this cookbook has stood the test of time - it has it all!


Just one more shout out to the neighbors immediately next door - the same ones who sang us Christmas carols on our front porch in Russian at midnight on Christmas morning.  One of the kids brought this dessert surprise over to say Happy Easter...was that thoughtful or what?
 

It was a very sweet gesture and very happy cake decorating!

After successful hard-boiling of eggs (minus one that I broke dropping it in the pot - Shane so kindly showed me how to drop them in with a spoon - what would I do without him - seriously), the girls were excited to dig in and get their fingers dirty. 

Decorating has changed since I was a kid - you now longer just drop an egg in a cup of dye.  They have tie-dye kits and sticker kits and sponge paint kits, and glitter and special crayons; it is really crafty now.

Check out these beauts!

Mixin' It UP!

Oh la la!  I got a shiny new cobalt blue Kitchen-Aid mixer for my birthday.  Shane and his parents went in together and got me this beaut.  This is my first mixer and it's soooooo pretty! I also got new aprons for my birthday which are so exciting!  They almost feel too cute to wear - I don't want to get them dirty!  But the dirtier they are, the more it means I'm cooking, which was the whole point, so I am just trying to limit my messiness as not to get the aprons dirty :)

Another great thing about these aprons - they hide my clothing.  I just noticed in almost every picture taken at home, I'm in the same black Addidas warm up pants and white Hanes t-shirt,  Ya...about that...I apparently have gotten stuck in a comfy clothing rut.  I need some new sweat pants :)

Mixer bliss

I went hog wild and made whoopie pies - I was lookin' like a Cotton with little chocolate cakes spread out all over the kitchen.  The filling definitely wasn't what I remembered hers to be so the next Whoopie Pie batch I will have to try a new recipe for the filling. It made me appreciate all those mud pies of deliciousness that she would bring to every basketball game - not just for my team - but for pretty much all the teams.  How did she ever do that?  They take a lot of time to mix up, bake, and assemble.  Wow...she rocks.

I also tried Lemon Cookies this past weekend...Umm...no.  They were crumbling to pieces before I could even scoop them off the cookie sheet.  Something went horribly wrong.  But success was to be found in homemade pizza dough!  I tried 2 recipes - one for NY style and one for thin crust.  They were both good and I got to use my mixer's dough hook for the first time.  How did people ever used to knead dough by hand?  I will (THANKFULLY) never have to know!!

I look like I'm up to something...

Ya...this is more like it...it's a work in progress

Alligator Steaks and Rail Fences

Remember rubber potatoes?  Somehow Kelsey and I forgot to include those in the Wagner Family Cookbook!  At cooking class this week, I learned to make gluten steaks - made just like rubber potatoes - but sliced thin and soaked in broth.  They are called Alligator Steaks - and of course are NOT really made of alligator.  The lady was a funny instructor - very energetic and had a cute apron with grapes.  I am on the lookout for a cute apron too - it completes the outfit!

I got to talk to her before class and she told me that she is an artist - no really - she is.  And "just like I paint with colors, I love painting with flavors." It's hard to beat that.  Being inspired, I made alligator steak on Saturday; they have to sit overnight, and I'll serve them to Shane tonight for dinner.  We'll see if he likes 'em!  He is such a good sport and has been humoring all my new recipes lately - what a great guy!

I had my first quilting class on Tuesday night.  The teacher, Debbie, is really nice, and very encouraging.  I learned so much just about cutting and ironing - I have so many bad habits!  It was worth the night just for those helpful tips.  We made 3 blocks in class - the rail fence, 9 square and the square dance.   She sent us home with homework to finish before our next class.  I got most of mine done on Sunday afternoon while there was a marathon run of Real Housewives of Orange County - boo yah!

Quilting homework was finishing 10 squares for class on Tuesday.

Here are the flowers Shane and Kennedy picked out last week.  The purple ones have wilted away so I took 'em out and was left with just a white bouquet which was so pretty.  Just the simple white flowers look so cheery on the table.

Shane worked all weekend with Ryan.  They have a new project at the yacht club finishing the inside of a boathouse.  They are putting up wallboard - not sheetrock - it's a honeycombed, really light type of sheetrock that doesn't weigh very much in the boathouse.  They are also putting in a spiral staircase.

This is the upstairs. It will have a fireplace right below their lofted bedroom.

This is part of the kitchen.

This is the view from the upstairs boathouse balcony.  Oh la la! 

Isabella has been striking alot of poses lately.  All her poses have one hand above her head...she cracks us up!

We are very proud of Kennedy.  Here is her certificate for finishing Fast Math.  It's a before-school program that kids can do to help them work on their math skills.  She was the first one in her school this year to finish the program! Yay, Kennedy!

Hope ya'll had a great weekend and I'll keep ya posted on the alligator steak outcome!

Fennel

Had my second cooking class on Thursday night. A new lady who was very cute and nice (but not as adorable or Julia-like as the lady the week before) - taught us to make lentil roast, pesto pizza, jalapeno sweet potato soup and fennel/pear salad.  She did not wear a cute apron either which was a bummer.  I think I need to find a cute apron!  I'm determine anyone can look like a pro in the kitchen with the right apron. I was not a huge fan of the menu selections this week.

The lentil roast was very yummy and I would probably try to make it sometime but I cannot imagine ANYONE in my household eating it.  It did remind me that I haven't had lentils in a VERY long time and I actually miss them!
The sweet potato soup was delicious but reminded me of baby food - the texture was just a too mushy.  But "Julia" sat next to me at class last night and said that semi-pureeing an apple and adding it to the recipe would give it a little more texture and add a little flavor. I may test this one out on Shane...he is actually a really good sport about food.

I also learned about fennel...where does one buy fennel?!  I've never even seen this vegetable!  I guess it has a licorice taste and the leaves are used to make anise.  I don't particularly care for fennel but my horizons were broadened.

The best recipe of the night was actually the juice that they made!  It reminded me of Vacation Bible School punch that Miriam used to make.  All we ever got was a Dixie cup of her punch and I remember craving more of it.  This punch will do the same!  I had W-A-Y more than a Dixie cup of it.

Here's the recipe for the best recipe of Thursday night: Grape Sparkle
Whiz in blender:
1 can white grape juice concentrate
1.5 cans* (18 oz) water
1- 15 oz can pears in syrup, frozen and cut into manageable chunks
1-1.5 t True lime powder (to taste)

Pour into pitcher and add:
1.5 cans* (18 oz) ginger ale
About 4 oz purple grape juice (already reconstituted)
Sweetening to taste

Substitute frozen apple juice for the frozen white grape juice for a nice variation.  Another variation: skip the pears and lime, and add raspberry syrup to taste.

*Measuring with the 12-oz frozen juice can.

Julia and JaNae

I L-O-V-E the movie Julie and Julia with Meryl Streep.  After watching it the first time I fell in love with Julia Child. This classy lady really knew how to enjoy cooking - just look at how much fun there is to be had in the kitchen:

 I have been trying to cook more but to be honest, we eat alot of Fruit Loops and Apple Jacks when we don't have the kids.  I'm ashamed to admit this but yes, it's true.

Why can't there be more hours in a day for cooking and working out?  I keep saying to myself, "Next January our classes will be two years old and won't require as much fine-tuning and you'll both have your evenings back again." Problem with this logic: next year is 11 months away.  This just isn't gonna work.

I was doing really good about cooking a couple nights a week but have relapsed.  When we visited Canby a few weeks ago Lacie gave me her Taste of Home magazine that she was done reading.  So many good recipes I want to try in it.  I just want to feel victorious in the kitchen, is that too much to ask?

Tonight I went to a cooking class at the Kennewick 7th Day church where I met the cutest lady - she was a real-life Julia - minus the french cooking style - minus the french accent - but adorable and vegetarian. 

Here she is in action:

I ate and watched her prepare Vegan and Vegetarian meatballs.  Which reminded me I haven't had Mom's "Meatloaf" in FOREVER!  I am gonna bust out that recipe soon.  We don't have the girls this weekend and Shane is a much better sport about taste-testing food than they are.  She also made Baba Ghanouj that was yummy with toasted pita bread chips.

Here's the recipe:
1 medium eggplant
1/4 c. tahini - I had no idea what this was - it's sesame paste!
1/4 c. fresh lemon juice
3 cloves fresh, minced garlic
1 tsp salt

Prick the eggplant in several places with fork.  Bake at 350 for 1.5 hrs (who has the time for that - OR boil in salted water for 20 mins without skins). Place in food processor with all the ingredients and process until smooth.
Serve with toasted pita bread brushed with a little olive oil. 

I feel like my relapse is going into remission.  I found a renewed energy for trying to learn to cook!

Next thing you know, Shane and I will be sending out Valentine's Day cards like this one from Julia and her hubby, Paul!