TWD, Real Butterscotch Pudding

I was excited when I saw the recipe for next week, Real Butterscotch Pudding. It is hosted by Donna of Spatulas, Corkscrews and Suitcases (recipe will be posted on Dec. 23). This recipe is supposed to be for next week, but I am doing it out of order so I can make this. We will be gone for the next two challenges so I wanted to get this in this week. Butterscotch is one of Lamar's favorite flavors. He helped me out a lot today with the girls, so he really earned his treat. This pudding was very easy to make and fortunately I had all the ingredients on hand.

This pudding had a very different flavor than the stuff that comes from a box in the grocery store. You can really taste the scotch and it was not overwhelmingly sweet. After finishing his serving, Lamar proclaimed "I like Dorie!" He is even making plans for me to repeat this for a holiday function we are attending.

I served this in Martini glasses. The girls thought this was extra special to eat their dessert out of such an "adult glass." It is the little things that can make a simple pudding dessert extra-special. I really should do this more often.

Fun with Play Dough and Balloons

Nora Beth just loves to play with Play Dough. I just hate the stuff from the store because of its smell and mess. Lamar hates the mess. I decided to make some play dough for Nora Beth. It stays soft and does not make nearly the mess. It is so easy and cheap to make and the dough lasts for weeks. I would much rather have her sit at the counter and play for hours than sit in front of the TV.

My recipe is

3 cups flour

1.5 cups salt

6 tsp cream of tartar

3 tbls oil

3 cups water

Dissolve salt in water

Add all ingredients to a large pot

Stir constantly over medium heat until a ball forms and pulls away from sides

knead dough mixture until the texture matches the store bought stuff

while kneading add food coloring, glitter, vanilla or peppermint extract

Store in an airtight bag while not being used

Here Nora Beth is making pizza. She was so happy rolling out the dough and layering it for toppings.

Now, Nora Beth is not the only one who has fun with kid toys. We went to Lamar's Holiday Work Party. As a way to loosen up the group, games that involve some sort of embarrassment are played. Lamar always volunteers for this. The object of this game was to stuff as many balloons under the shirt as possible. This was hilarious to watch.

At the end, he removed some of the balloons and pranced around. He was so proud of his "full rack!"

Tuesdays With Dorie, Sugar Cookies

It is Tuesdays With Dorie day! This weeks challenge of Grandma's All Occasion Sugar Cookies is hosted by Ulrike of Küchenlatein. These cookies are a variation of the standard sugar cookie recipe that we all seem to use this time of year for roll out cookies. The batter came together easily, but was softer than the recipe I usually use. I was feeling quite lazy, so I opted to just roll the dough into a log and chill it for about 4 hours. Nora Beth and I then cut slices off the log, put on the cookie sheet and sprinkled with colored sugar. They ended up looking more like birthday cookies than anything that comes from my kitchen this time of year. They were delicate and buttery with a hint of vanilla. The family approved, since the plate was clean by the next morning.

Bread - in 5 Minutes!

I have posted several times about bread recently. I am really enjoying baking bread on a regular basis now. I can survive without R2D2! I got a new cookbook a while back called Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day. The title made it sound to good to be true. A fresh loaf of bread in 5 minutes with no kneading? Well it is true. The whole idea is that you make a large batch of dough and keep in refrigerated and you pull out the necessary amount when you are ready to bake. This is so easy and the results are just delicious.

This is a loaf of light whole wheat bread that we enjoyed for dinner tonight. This is the third loaf from my current batch in the fridge. Each loaf is tasting a little more "sour" exactly the way the recipe said it would.

I am thinking that after we return from our holiday trip, I may actually bake bread on a daily (or almost daily) basis. I am borrowing a Grain Grinder from a friend (Thanks Linda!) and I have been grinding my own flour to use with each recipe. This has such a different flavor from the flour purchased in the store.

This new found enjoyment of baking bread does not call for any special equipment, but I am really eyeing a bread stone and pizza peel to make the process easier (and more authentic).

A Three Martini Day

A while back, my friend Eryca posted about having a two martini day. We have all had them. The days where it seems that everything is falling down around you, and it is only 9 AM. That is my day today.

Nora Beth had an accident in her bed, so I get her in the tub and strip her bed. I am rushing around the house because I have two important meetings today. I get Nora out of the tub and breakfast in front of her then jump in the shower myself....then I hear Shianne scream "Nora's Puking!" I rush out of the shower, almost slip on the tile then clean up the second mess of the morning. This is where I declare it a one Martini day.

I realize that my plans for childcare this morning are about to change. I can't take her to Melina's sick. Lamar is unable to help out since he is already at work. I call Lora to bail me out. This makes Nora happy since her Ya-Yo (what she calls Lora) is coming over. Then the heating contractor calls and says they are on their way over - a day early. This has to be a one in a million chance - to have a contractor actually be a day EARLY!

Lora is on her way over, the contractors show up and I am dressed for my first appointment. Then my appointment calls and cancels - she has the same stomach bug that has Nora Beth on the couch with a bowl in front of her. This is where I declare it a two Martini day.

Lora shows up and we are chatting and looking at pictures, Nora is happily entertained with TV and her before mentioned bowl is getting some attention from the cat (argh - another mess!). I am just getting ready to leave for my second important appointment of the day, when the phone rings. That appointment cancels. It is officially a THREE martini day now and it is not even noon yet.

So why do I have a picture of Boba in this post? He looks like he could use a martini after Nora Beth had her way with him last night. She thought Boba would make a cute princess.

Tuesdays With Dorie, Take 2

I had an epiphany on Sunday. This Tuesday's With Dorie was causing some stress for me, mainly because I could not guarantee that I could bake on every Tuesday. Then it hit me. I do not have to bake on Tuesday, I just have to blog about it on Tuesday. Light bulb moment! I baked on Monday for Monday Night Football.

This weeks challenge of Linzer Sables (p.134) was delicious. The recipe can be found here. I chose to use Filberts (aka hazelnuts for anyone outside of the Pacific Northwest) since they are my favorite nut of all time. The recipe had an option of making the cookies into sandwich cookies, which I of course did. I did not have the raspberry or apricot jam that the recipe suggested, so I used some of my homemade carrot cake jam, thinking it would pair well with the nuts. HOME RUN......These were delicious! I am not sure if my substitution is within the "rules," but, for those of you who know me well, when do I listen to rules? It is a well known fact that I am completely unable to follow a recipe.

The dough was easy to make and cleanup was a breeze. My only complaint was that the dough got soft quickly and was difficult to handle. Fortunately, it made a small batch of cookies so I was able to work through the dough quickly. These will definitely make another appearance in my kitchen again.

Now looking at my photography. I am realizing that if I am going to get serious about this food blogging (and eventually make my own cookbook) I need to improve my photography of food. I have been doing research on this one. I have envisioned some props and better lighting and even a new camera (hint hint Santa). I know I have stuff in my craft room that will work, I just have to find the back half of my craft room, ugh!

The pain of War!

This past Saturday marked the Civil War between Oregon State University and University of Oregon. Being the huge football fans that we are (ahem...Lamar is), we of course could not miss the game. We got a smokin deal on a package of tickets a few months ago and were able to see all the November OSU games. We gave up our season tickets last year in protest to the "Mandatory Donation" that comes with them.

The weather could not have been any better for the game. We arrived in Corvallis early so we could spend the day tailgaiting with friends. Lots of yummy food, drinks, games, tossing of the football and friendly rivalry with those wearing the yellow and green.



The game had huge Rose Bowl implications for OSU. We NEEDED them to win.

Some kids were selling items that they made as a fundraiser. Lora thought she needed to have an apron. Just what are you going to do with that apron since you do not cook, Lora?

It was finally time for game time. We walked the two blocks to the stadium. We did not know that we were marching to our deaths as OSU fans. The game was a BLOWOUT! OSU went down hard. We still had a great time. Next year....I feel a comeback!