How about Brownies and a book? (mom)

Last Friday, Steph, Mel and I took the babies and went to Grandma H's house to give her a perm.  When we got there, she was in the process of making some zucchini brownies from a recipe in the newspaper.  I needed to start on her perm right away because she had to leave at three and we had arrived late due to traffic. It always takes so long to get out of the valley.  Anyway, she asked Steph to finish what she had started.  The recipe turned out more like cake than brownie.  So, yesterday it was Sarah's turn to host a team dinner and I decided to find a recipe for zucchini brownies.  This is what I came up with.  I modified a zucchini bar receipe into a brownie recipe.  It turned out wonderful and yummy!  Try it!
Zucchini Brownies
In a large mixing bowl, cream the following ingredients:
4 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cup sugar
2 cup zucchini, grated ( I peeled it because it was older.  Younger zucchini doesn't need to be peeled.)
In another bowl, combine
2 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. soda
1/2 cup cocoa powder
Use a whisk to combine these well.  Add to the wet ingredients. Don't over mix.  Pour into a greased jelly roll pan (cookie sheet) and bake for 25 to 30 minutes at 350 *.  Be sure to set your timer so you don't over bake. Cool for at least 30 minutes before frosting.
Brownie Frosting
2 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup softened margarine
1/3 cup boiling water
1 tsp. vanilla
dash of salt
Combine powdered sugar and cocoa powder.  Add butter, vanilla and enough boiling water to mix together.  If more water is needed, add a spoonfull at a time until it becomes spreading consistency.  Frost cooled brownies.  It is yummy for zucchini.

I finished the latest book I was reading.  The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke was originally written in German and translated to English about the same time that the first Harry Potter came out.  It is set in Venice, Italy in  modern day.  It is about 2 young boys who have run away from their relatives because they are not nice people.  The two boys are taken in by a group of street children and adventure begins.  There is a detective, intrigue, and magic in the book.  It wasn't a really hard read.  I enjoyed it even though it was hard for me to get into at first.  You have to get through the first few chapters to meet all of the characters.  I did find that I liked the main characters.  I would have to say that if you want a quick read with adventure this is it.

Let Them Eat Cake

We've had two birthdays within the past three days, so we've had a lot of cake.  On Friday, we celebrated Steve's dad's birthday and I made a cake.  I did a yellow cake from scratch with a recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, as well as a butter frosting.  I divided the cake batter between my two 1/4 size baking sheets.  One of them had parchment on the bottom so I could turn out the layer, while I left the other layer in the pan.  I spread the one in the pan with frosting, then turned the other layer topside down and frosted that.   My cake decorating skills need some practice, but this is how it turned out.

I pressed sprinkles into the sides, in case the picture doesn't show it too well.  The cake turned out kind of dry and tough, I think I beat the batter a little too long.  Never the less, Rowan thinks he needs a piece everytime we pass it.

Today, it was Chris's birthday and she requested the Chocolate Cream Cake from the Lion House Classics cookbook.  It's a devil's food cake (from a mix) layered with stabilized whip cream, which has gelatin in it.  It's frosted with a chocolate frosting, the recipe for which is also in the book.  Everything was going beautifully: the layers baked perfectly, I was able to cut them without any problem, the whip cream and the frosting went together flawlessly.  I didn't have any problems until I tried to frost the cake.  The stupid frosting wouldn't spread and I was loosing my cool since we were going into Granny's for dinner and the time to leave was fast approaching.  I yelled at the cake and at Rory (poor guy).  The layers were sliding and the cream was oozing out from in between them.  Just when it was time to leave, I took a deep breath, and had a "duh" moment.  My frosting was WAY too thick.  It was just right when I made it, but it sat for a while since the cake wasn't quite cool.  I scraped what I could salvage off the cake and added some more milk.  It went on like a dream, although I was in a hurry so I was slopping chocolate frosting everywhere.  I put some of the extra cream in a pastry bag and piped a shell border around the top and bottom.

Chris said it was just what she wanted.

I did have one more little issue.  When I added more milk, I added just a hair too much, and then the car was warm, so the frosting was kind of running off the sides and pooling around the bottom of the cake.  I just scraped it off after putting it in the fridge for a little bit, then added the border.

Lately, I haven't been able to make a cake without having some issue.  Most of you probably know about Rowan's birthday cake.  I was tired and in a hurry, but I wanted to do a cake from scratch.  When I pulled it out of the oven,  it looked like it had fallen, but not really.  I'm not sure how to explain it.  We decorated  it and went on with the festivities.  The cake was good, but different.  It was really rich, dense and moist, which was great, because a lot of chocolate cakes (as this was) seem dry to me.  A few days later I went back and looked at the recipe and discovered where I deviated from the instructions.  It called for 3/4 cup butter, but, as I said, I was tired, so I saw 3/4 and thought, "Well, there are four sticks of butter in a box, I should use three sticks".  It made perfect sense to me at the time, but that's TWICE the amount of butter!  No wonder it was good.

I think my favorite cake mistake is one Steph actually made.  She posted the incident on her blog.  She is such a good sport to share it with the rest of us.

Just a little thought (Mom)

As most of you know, I have been getting some fashion magazines due to a misunderstanding that happened about 9 months ago.  Well tonight I was looking at the Elle, 25 anniversary mag, before I throw it into the recycle and they had a section in there with women modeling clothing.  Now most of the women were actresses or daughters of famous people but there were some who were actually bloggers and NYC scenesters.  So where do you sign up for that job and what would the qualification be?  Hmmmm.
Oh, to make this legal post, I have started to read the Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke.  So far  so good.  I'll let you know when I'm finished with it.

Tips for around the house (Mom)

If you keep up with Melanie's blog, you know that I like tips that are so you don't have to spend money on specialty cleaning items if you don't want to.  I just got a few more that I wanted to share.
MAKE FURNITURE NEW AGAIN:  Need to repair a scratch or blemish on varnished furniture?  Rub the area with cooking oil and a soft cloth.  To color in nicks or scratches in wood stained furniture, cabinets and trim, rub the area with a pecan nut (they will be very available soon for the holiday season).  The oil of the nut Will "re stain" the wood.  If your wood furniture has a water stain, simply rub mayo on the stain and let it sit over night.  wipe off the may in the morning and the finish will be restored.  COOL!
SHARPEN SCISSORS: To sharpen a dull pair of scissors, cut through a sheet of sandpaper a couple of times.  They'll be like new!  ( I don't know about fabric scissors, but I would try it on paper cutting scissors.)
REATTACH LOOSE KNOBS:  When putting loose knobs back on drawers, dip the screws in clear fingernail polish or shellac before resetting them.  This will help the knobs stay tight much longer.  ( I've done that with wood glue before.
SPARKLING CLEAN MIRRORS:  Your bathroom mirror won't fog up if you clean it with canned shaving cream... and it will stay streak free!  (Charles was asking me about that the other day, if there was product that would make it so the mirrors wouldn't fog up.  I told him there was, because we had some once.  Shaving cream is much more accessible and affordable)
NO MORE REFRIGERATOR ODOR:   To remove odors cause by spoiled food in your refrigerator, place a few crumpled brown paper bags into the back of the refrigerator, changing them with fresh ones whenever the bags begin to smell.  In no time, the bags will have absorbed all of the odor.
SHINY SHOWER DOORS:  Keep shower doors shiny and clear by using a soft cloth moistened with baby oil.  The baby oil prevents build up from dirt and soap, and keeps hard water spots from forming for several months.  ( I used to do this a long time ago, but for some reason stopped.  Make sure your surfaces are really clean, then put the oil on.  It works well on shiny shower tiles too.)
Now you're thinking but this is a cooking or book blog not tips, well I got these from a cooking magazine and thought I would share them!

The bookin' side (Mom)

We hadn't decided on a book yet, so I thought I would blog about the two books I have read in the last week. Melanie had recommended and brought over The Looking Glass Wars for dad to read.  Dad said he couldn't get into it so I decided to read it.  As far as "getting" into it, that wasn't hard.  It was based on Alice in Wonderland, a story which is familiar, then takes a twist to update it.  I read it easily and finished it in no time.  I would give it a thumbs up.
After I finished that book, I read a book that Justin had recommended a while ago.  Skulduggery Pleasant is a kind of magical mystery.  It was good.  I would give it a thumbs up too, but I did find it to be somewhat predictable.  It is written on a teen/junior high level.
So two books I've read that I would recommend to everyone to read.

Dishes have to do with food, right? (Steph)

On the 24th of July we had a BBQ/ clean the garage out party at Kevin's grandparents' house.  They basically just emptied all the boxes from the garage, had the children (Kevin's dad and his siblings) sort through what they wanted, then whatever was left the grandkids could go through and sort through what they wanted.  Then everything else could go to the DI and no one could complain that they never got to look through it or anything.  Even Kevin's aunt and uncle who live in Boston were there so everyone was involved.  We didn't arrive until later in the day after all the children  and some of the grandchildren had already gone through some of the stuff.

We met Kevin's mom on the front lawn and she said that we were welcome to take anything we saw if we liked it.  I thought, "I don't want any of this junk."  Kevin actually said it out loud.  He left to go find someone to visit with and I was left on the front lawn to mill through piles of other people's stuff.  Honestly, most of it was just garbage that I didn't think even the DI would want, then my eye caught a little pile of translucent green.  I think colored glass was all the rage in like the seventies or something, but it's gone out of and back into style since then.  Luckily for me, I think colored glass is in again, or at least that's what they tell me when I window shop at home decor stores. 

Anyway, this pile was a bunch of green glass vases and a bowl that were in really good shape and actually kind of pretty. I took it, making sure that no one wanted it and looked for anything else that I might use or like. Not long after, I found four matching soup bowls and saucers that were brand new and still in the box.  I also found a butter dish that was in really good shape, no cracks or anything.  I was pretty proud of myself and my treasures.  Here's what they look like.

This one doesn't really match the others, but it's still cute.

I think this bowl is my favorite one.

 

 

 I guess Kevin's mom noticed that I thought that this green glass was pretty, so the other day as she was going through some of her antique dishes, she asked me if I wanted these teacups and saucers.  Well, look how cute they are...

 

It's a set of three cups and three saucers, so maybe not a full set, but I can't drink out of more than one at a time anyway. So now we really have to have tea parties. 

Also, about the book club.  How about we just read any book of our own choice and discuss them on the blog (or at the tea party).  That way we can read whatever we want and no one has to go out a buy a book or worry about finding it at the library.  But most importantly, we don't have pick one book that we all want to read, which hasn't been going very well.  Let me know what you think.

Back from the Farm, Part Deux (Dorthy)

I am going to augment Mel's previous post, and guess what, Sarah?  I have pictures, even better, I have a video.  A video of Kevin "cooking"...

This was the first time Kevin had ever made Jiffy Pop, and he did pretty good, over a really, really hot fire, no less.  And, the finished product:

In addition to some of the foods Mel has mentioned, we enjoyed Starbursts (for a good cause; Sarah needed the wrappers to answer a kid who asked her to homecoming).

Cherry cheese danishes, much to the delight of Tim, Rory, and Rowan.

Watermelon, as modeled by the lovely Abi.

And here's Riley helping her daddy take a nap after all that good food.  She is so cute!

Here is some of the peach pie Grandma "asked" Mom to make.  Obviously, it was a hit.

None of us were thinking about the blog for the better part of the trip, until the last day when Mom asked if anyone had been taking pictures of the food.  Oops.  A big thanks to all who helped prepare the foods, especially Dad and Mom.  I can't wait until the next trip!  Star wipe, and out.

Back From the Farm

We're back safe and sound from the farm and our post Labor Day Family trip and I have to say that I think we all had a really good time. The first night Friday night was, pretty much... uh freezing, but the second night Saturday night, was actually quite pleasant. It's always sad to leave and I'm seriously thinking about investing in a little camping trailer or something because I'm spoiled and a brat. Don't get me wrong, I love tenting it and hard core CAMPING, but I get claustrophobic and I really have a hard time actually GOING to sleep. So maybe someday down the road we'll get a tent trailer or something small that I can pack all my camping stuff into. SOMEDAY, but for now, we'll sleep in the tent. But I guess since this is a food blog I should talk about the food we ate instead of my earthly wants. So Friday night we ate hot dogs and they were, well, hot dogs Then my mom and other siblings showed up around 8 or 9 that night and we ate more hot dogs and chili. So chili dogs. It was great. We all went to bed with tummy aches. Saturday morning we had our huge family breakfast with french toast, eggs, bacon and sausage, orange juice and milk oh and hot choclate. For lunch on Saturday the people who didn't go on a hike up to the waterfall, (pictures coming soon),  sat around and snacked on the goodies Steph and Kevin had brought, while Mom was over at Grandama's house making peach and pear pies which Grandma requested.  The conversation between the two of them went something like this:

Gma- "Chris brought down peaches and pears yesterday, so if you would like to go over and make some pies, they are there. the recipe for the peach pie is in the oldest cookbook I have and the Struesel Pear pie is in there too."

Mom- " Uh... oookay..."
Grandma and Grandpa leave for a family reunion.

Mom- " I think Grandma wants pie so I better go make some."
All the girls are laughing at this point because, Grandma has MASTERED the art of "asking" when it's really telling. And you can't say no because you know, it's my Grandma, and it's hilarious.
Anywho, the people who DID hike up to the waterfall came back and they had hoagie sandwiches. Saturday night Grandma and Grandpa came back over and we had Dutch oven chicken with corn on the cob and salad and rolls... It was delicious. That's all I can really say. Tim and I went to bed super early because Riley actually fell asleep so we wanted to catch some while we could, and everyone else stayed up and popped popcorn on the fire.
Sunday morning came and my mom didn't want to cook so she had just planned on having cereal and things we could eat really quick and pack away but we wanted to get rid of some of the stuff we brought so dad and Steph cooked up the rest of the eggs and everyone had a lot to eat. Then as the day progressed we were getting hungry so we had lunch with Grandma and Grandpa of sub sandwiches and chips and watermelon. There was also a lot of food for that meal as well. Eventually we got everything cleaned and packed away and Kevin toted the guns out. So a few people went up in to sagebrush and shot 22 and shotguns while the babies and the rest of us sat down at the camp waiting for them to come back. Riley started to get cranky and she started to bite, so I decided it was probably time for us to head home so she could get cleaned up and take a decent nap. We said our goodbyes and headed out. We LOVE spending time at the farm and I really wish I could do it more often, but all in all, it was a great family get together and I think we all had a really good time.

Labor Day with the Fellows

Yesterday, the three of us (Rory, Rowan and I) along with my in-laws decided to do something special for the holiday.  We settled on a menu of chicken and beef kabobs, baked beans, grilled corn and watermelon.  We marinated the chicken in Italian dressing and put seasoning salt on the beef, alternating the meat on the skewers with bell peppers and onion.  We brined the corn in water with salt and sugar (a la America's Test Kitchen).  Rowan helped out with this ppart, relishing getting to play in the water as he dunked each ear of corn.  The baked beans are from the Lion House cookbook  and are very similar to the ones Chris makes, the only differences being Chris uses a full tablespoon of Worchestershire sauce and only one bell pepper and onion.  I also told Rory that we were going to saute the pepper and onion, even though the recipe doesn't say to.

Baked Beans

2 29-ounce cans pork and beans
2 large onions, chopped
2 large green peppers, chopped
1 cup catsup
1 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 pound lean bacon, cut up and cooked till crisp, then drained

Combine ingredients well in 9x13 baking pan.  Bake at 325 degrees for 2 1/2 hours, covered with aluminum foil.  Uncover and bake another 30 minutes.  Makes 8 to 10 servings.

We had a lot more food than we could eat, so we have a good amount of leftovers.  Rory's dad said everything was excellent, which, if you know Steve, is like 7 thumbs up.

Labor of Love (Mom)

So last night we had a barbeque for the Labor Day Weekend.  Nothing really spectacular, just burgers and hotdogs.  The best things was to see my children together.  Of course we were missing Justin and Sarah was in Gunnison with Jordan's family, but I love it when we get together like that.  Dad was really good to humor me on this.  He cooked the burgers, very well I may add, and cleaned up afterwards.  I hadn't been very patient with him that morning, but he did it anyway.  I think he preferred to have it last night instead of tomorrow.  I t is supposed to be cold tomorrow anyway. 
I only know that we always have alot of food and I always eat too much.  The best fun was being together.

We need to pick a book! (Mom)

I know that some of us don't want to go out and buy a new book every time we decide on one to read, but we can buy one and share or go to the library.  Sharing them would make us read a little faster, maybe.  Anyways, I copied a list of books last year when I was in a class at school.  Katherine Paterson wrote the Bridge to Terabithia which I am all sure we know and some of us don't love, but she has written some other books that we might consider. 
I remembered the name of the book by Suzanne Collins, it is Hunters Revenge.  It is a young adult book, so it might not be a real easy read.

Books by Katherine Paterson:
Angels and Other Strangers
The Field of the Dogs
The Great Gilly Hopkins
Jacob Have I Loved
The Kings Equal
The Master Puppeteer
Of Nightingales That Weep
Preacher's Boy
The Sign of the Chrysanthemum

I haven't read any of them, but if there is one we would like to try,  I'll see if I can find it at the library or online at a book website.
I am sure I can come up with some other book lists too.  Just you wait!

Cookies (Dorthy)

Some time last week, I did a second batch of cookies from an America's Test Kitcthen recipe.  They turned out a lot prettier than the first batch, so much so I wished I knew where my camera was so I could take a picture and show everyone.  Anyway, I thought I'd share the recipe with everyone.

Big Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 12-ounce bag chocolate chips

Melt butter and let cool.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Line baking sheets with parchment.  Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl.  Cream butter and sugar together, incorporate eggs and vanilla.  Add dry mixture a little at a time with mixer on low speed , scraping sides.  Stir in chocolate chips.  Roll 1/4 cup of dough into a ball for each cookie and place 2 1/2 inches apart on baking sheet.  Bake untill the edges are golden but the centers are still soft and puffy (about 17 - 20 minutes).  Be sure to rotate and switch the pans  about halfway through baking if you are doing more than one sheet at a time.  Let cookies cool on pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

These did not last past the next morning either time I made them.  Since Chris likes only milk chocolate chips, that's what I used even though the original recipe calls for semisweet.  We bought the maxi chips, which work well because these are BIG cookies.  The first time I made them, I didn't really let the butter cool after melting, and I think they did spread a little more than they were supposed to.  I guess melting the butter and adding the extra egg yolks adds extra moisture, which makes the cookies chewy.  Just think of how chewy they would be if I DOUBLED the butter!  JUST KIDDING!  Everyone at my house came to the consensus that they were the best chocolate chip cookies ever, but even as good as they were, I thought there was something missing.  If you try it and have any ideas, let me know.

Just one more quick thing.  I want to brag about my birthday gift from Granny and Kate.  They got me two 1/4 size baking sheets with lids and precut parchment paper along with a nice metal spatula.  I need to etch my name on them, since I will be using them a lot for ward/family functions.  And they went to Gygi's to get them, so they are super nice.

Something from Mom

So it has taken me a while to figure this blogging business but I think I have it now.  So far the posts and comments have been very interesting to me.  I thought I would add to the recipes too with the Fresh Garden Salsa that I made.  I experimented with it so that I could get some accurate measurements.  So.. Here goes.

Fresh Garden Salsa  ( Salsa Fresca)
1 cup finely diced onion
1/2 cup finely diced green bell pepper
1/4 cup finely seeded and diced hot peppers ( I used serrano and jalapeno because it was in the garden.  You can add more if you want it hotter.)
2 Tbsp. fresh chopped flat leaf parsley or cilantro.  (Fresh is best when it comes to parsley)
2 1/2 cup peeled, seeded, and diced tomatoes
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
Mix all the ingredients together in bowl. Yes, a bowl.  Stir until mixed well and serve with you favorite chips or mexican food.  I am not sure how long it will keep in the fridge.  I would say 5-7 days.  It is YUMMY!  Dad doesn't like it because it gets watery, but that has alot of flavor in it.

I have to agree that parsley is really the greatest.  It is one of those flavors that you think,"Hmmm what is this?"  I always try to have at least some dried on hand.

Sour cream is also good in pretty much any thing.  In fact, I think I have a recipe for a sour cream chocolate cake and sour cream chocolate frosting.  I have made fruit salads for special events with sour cream in it.  One time we had a primary event of some kind, and we made a frozen sour cream and fruit salad.  YEA for sour cream.  There are also other things that I like to keep on hand.  Cream cheese, plain yogurt, dried buttermilk (found in the baking section) and dry whipped topping.   They are great to have in your pantry or fridge.

By the way, I was at the elementary today, and took class to the library.  Apparently, September is Roald Dahl month.  We could read a Roald Dahl book for this month.  They would be a really read and fun too.  I have a few of them here and we could pass them around when we are finished.  There was another book that I heard about today too, but I can't remember the name now.  I will find it out.  I remember the author, Suzanne Collins.  My memory...Honestly.   Let me know what you want to do!

Guacamole Chicken Wraps (Mel)

Any time I cook is reason to blog about because it doesn't happen very much. Tim took my car to work today so I couldn't be distracted with anything else this afternoon, so I begrudgingly got stuff out to get dinner started. I had planned a menu on Monday using recipes from on of the 5 cookbooks I have and tonights meal was Guacamole Chicken Wraps and Refried Bean Soup. So... that's what we did, although Tim took FOREVER to come home from work, so it may have been a little on the cold side when he was eating but mine was nice and hot and delicious. I first thawed two chicken breasts and patted them dry so I could decide what to rub them with. salt and pepper is always nice, but since these were Gaucamole chicken wraps I thought they should have a little southwestern flair. I made a dry rub out of the following:

Paprika (a lot) for good color
cayenne pepper not too much cause I didn't want to burn my lips off
Parsley (because it's the best flippin' seasoning on God's green earth)
onion powder
garlic powder
salt
black pepper

Then I rubbed the (now dried) chicken down with this mixture which I mixed together with a fork and put it in a 400 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes. When it came out, the chicken was juicy and the rub had made a nice crunchy skin on the outside of the chicken.
Then for the guacamole I used:

1 ripe avocado
1 ripe (but not too ripe) tomato
1/2 small white onion
1 small clove minced garlic
1/2 small minced cucumber (wait for it, the reason is coming)
salt
pepper
dash of lime juice

I stirred it all together, but was careful not to mush it up and started to make the soup. For the Refried Bean Soup which, yes sounds pretty lame and kinda gross, but it's not; I used the following ingredients:
1 can of refried beans (duh)
1 can of chicken broth
1/2 small white onion
1 small hand crushed ripe tomato
dash of parsley (seriously I put parsley in everything and my life is better for it)
seasoning to taste

I dumped it all in a saucepan and let it simmer and cook down a little bit and when it was done I topped it with cheese and sour cream and it was DELICIOUS. Try it and tell me it's not. Oh yeah the reason for the cucumber... because I felt like it and it was soooo good. It made the whole guacamole just chill out. Tim loved it too. Which is the reason why we don't have any pictures of it.

So I was talking to my mom yesterday at Sarah's soccer game and we decided that we would like to read easy reads like Fablehaven, and that kind of stuff. Any who objects can write a comment below and we'll decide if we care enough or not to think about your suggestion.