Schmidt Family Sunday Ginger Edition

This month for our third Sunday we had soup and Stromboli and then we made and decorated gingerbread houses. OK that's enough of explanation, onto the houses!

 First we have the beginnings of Justin's.... we're not sure what it ended up being. He said it was a diarama (sp?) You be the judge

 Dorthy And Rowan working on their house. Yeah this picture below is the best smile Dorthy could muster. She was concentrating...

 Next we have Charles and Amber's Sugar cookie house. They decorated the roof of theirs with BottleCaps. It turned out cute. I'm pretty sure Charles just chose BottleCaps so he could pick them off an eat them whenever he wanted, but it turned out cute. :)

 After Justin finished his uh...diorama (again, spelling?) he decided he would help Steph with hers. As per usual with baked goods, if we were actually judging these she would probably win. Why because it was adorable and blah blah blah.

 Mostly she would win because of this tree.

 Tim and I built our house out of graham crackers, and if you can't tell, it's supposed to look like our own house.

 Apparently what our house would look like if it was built on slowly shifting frosting.

I was a lot of fun as always to spend time with everyone, except Sarah and Colton who are still up in Washington doing who knows what. Anyways, we missed them and that was our third family sunday! Now some pictures of my cute kids.... :)

Little Bex... He is so smiley now, I love it.

 This one is my favorite. His face looks like, "Seriously? Come on guys, lets be mature."

 My Bridget...trouble. big big trouble.

 My little lady Riley...

Well that's all for right now. Because that's what you came here for, right to see pictures of my kids and nothing else? Why thank you, you're so kind. Til next month, Turds!

Curried Chicken and Grape Salad (Steph)

Sarah and Amber hosted a baby shower for Melanie this past weekend and asked Dorthy, Mom and I to help out with food.  I made a curried chicken salad that I found in A Decade of Cooking: The COSTCO Way and thought I'd share the recipe with anyone who might be interested.  Here it is.

Approx 2 lbs cooked chicken breast (about 4)*
1 cup red or green seedless grapes, halved
1/2 cup diced dried apricots
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1/2 cup diced celery
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
Lettuce for serving**

Dressing
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons curry powder
2 teaspoons honey
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons lime juice

-Cube chicken meat.
-Place the chicken in a large bowl and add grapes, apricots, red onion, raisins, pine nuts, celery and green onions. Toss gently.
-To prepare dressing, combine all ingredients and mix well.
-Pour dressing over the chicken salad and toss until the mixture is coated
-Serve on lettuce

*Recipe calls for one whole roasted chicken, but I only had breast meat
**Recipe suggests butter lettuce, but I served it on pieces of romaine.  It's also good on top of a bed of greens.

Book Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (Steph)

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

By Ransom Riggs

 4 ½ of 5 thumbs up

Jacob Portman was a young man with his future laid before his feet.  As an heir to a drug store empire, Jacob has gone through the motions of life, without any excitement or aspirations of his own.  Growing up, Jacob was regaled with far-fetched stories, and photographs, of his grandfather’s childhood and the youngsters he grew up with. Many of these young friend’s had special powers or talents (or so Jacob’s grandfather said) that Jacob believed at first but as he grew older, knew that the accounts must have been made up, and the fanciful pictures fabricated.  It’s not until the grisly murder of Jacob’s grandfather by an otherworldly creature that Jacob decides to travel to Wales to attempt to sort out his grandfather’s past. 

The one aspect that makes this book such a delight to read is the photographs.  The author, Riggs, is a photograph collector and initially intended to make this a picture book for children, but instead gathered more pictures from a different collector and developed a story around them.  The photos are all antique, black and white, and strange. Because of this, some of them are extremely creepy.

Funny side-note: I read the eBook version on our tablet and before a picture is shown, the text would end before reaching the bottom of the screen and before the chapter felt like it was over, so I knew when the photos were coming.  I would get so anxious about what photo that would pop up when I tapped the screen that my heart would race and the pictures would sometimes startle me. It was like waiting-for-the-toast- to-pop-up effect.  (Trust me; I know how ridiculous I am.  Feel free to laugh at my expense.)

That being said, the photos add a sense of tangibility to the story that most books don’t have, which makes it fun and engaging.  An untitled sequel is to be released in January of 2014.

Life of Pi (mom)

So I know that we review good books, and great recipes, but I have recently watched the movie Life of Pi.  I thought it was wonderful.  It may sound to some that I am being kind of gushy about it, but it is a movie that makes you think about what you believe.
It is narrated and told by Pi.  He begins with how he got his name and how he learns lessons from his childhood.  He is a very introspective child and is interested in many things around him.  this part of the story takes place in India in the 1950's after France returned their territory to India.  The stark differences between  the area where the colonists live and where the native Hindu live is shown.  Pi is raised in a poor family who own a zoo and choose to move to Canada when then Indian government begins to make changes that would effect them.  The family and all the animals from the zoo board a Japanese freighter where they are caught in a storm.  Pi is the only human survivor along with a Bengal tiger.  As the two struggle to keep alive on the Pacific Ocean, they learn much about each other and Pi contemplates his place in world as he experiences many wonders at sea.   He and the tiger are washed ashore in Mexico where he recovers and tells his story to investigators.  He is not believed and asked to tell the truth.  After he tells a story that they want to hear, they leave him with doubt that he even knew what happened to him.
     There are several thoughts in the movie that made me think about my own faith and affirmed that we are all in the sight and care of God.  It also made me think of the things that are in my life and made me grateful for what I have been blessed.
     I will be getting the book from the library to read.  I will review it when I get finished with it.

Book Review: The Diviners (Steph)

The Diviners by Libba Bray

 5 out of 5 thumbs up

It’s the roaring twenties, and Evie O’Neil has been sent to live with her uncle in Manhattan because of some scandalous rumor that she started. The information behind the rumor she collected with a strange talent she posses, but could never tell anyone about without looking like a lunatic.  Evie couldn’t be happier with her punishment.  An aspiring flapper and avid party girl, Evie relishes the idea of living in the Big Apple basking in the night-life of the array of clubs that await her there.  Her uncle, Will, curator for the Museum of American Folklore, Superstition and the Occult, allows Evie her freedom in exchange for her help around the Museum.

Meanwhile, a string of odd murders has the local police baffled and when strange symbols are found on the bodies, Will and the museum’s staff, including Evie, are summoned to assist in the investigations.  As the team works to solve the killings- and stay a step ahead of the murderer- Evie uncovers some secrets of her own, and learns that she’s not the only one with unusual talents.   

This book was a lot of fun to read.  I liked the colorful characters and the intricate storyline.  This book is, in a word, creepy (but, you know, in a good way) and had me biting my nails and staying up way to late to finish "just one more chapter." There are quite a few characters, each with their own storyline, almost to the point where it might get distracting, but not quite.  The language of the time-period as portrayed in this book, I've read some describe as stereotypical, but I'm ignorant enough to not know any better, so I really liked it.  I think it's the "cat's pajamas." 

My only criticism is really more of a frustration.  At nearly 600 pages, I was sure that this book was a stand-alone, single-volume, good read.  But as the pages got thinner in my right hand, and I had increasingly more unanswered questions, I realized (and confirmed by checking online) that this is only the first book in a series. Groan.  Not that I don't like reading book series, I just don't like waiting for the subsequent books to be released.  I'm not that patient.

Other than that, would I recommend this book? You bet your "life-ski."

Book Review: Warm Bodies (Steph)

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

 4 out of 5 thumbs up

R is a zombie who lives at the airport.  He likes to ride the escalator, listen to vinyl records and has a surprisingly advanced vocabulary, for a zombie.  He remembers nothing from his past life including his name, where he was from, what he was like, or how long ago he died (or became un-dead).  He eats the Living, an aspect of his new life he’s not proud of. On a hunting trip, R meets Julie, the girlfriend of a young man he had just finished devouring, and decides to spare her and keep her safe.  The bizarre relationship that blossoms between the two starts a revolution that will change the course of humanity (and zombie-anity).

Warm Bodies is an entertaining read which takes you into the world after the zombie apocalypse and into the culture of the corpses themselves. Though the ending is a tad predictable, the journey that you take through the mind of R is engaging and as a result, you begin to have feelings for this Dead character, besides the normal zombie reaction of needing to shoot him in the face.  This is a zombie book, after all, so there is some gore, and the language is pretty bad and the main characters (teens) drink kind of a lot, but I guess you could blame that on zombies eating all the mothers of the characters, so there’s no one left to chastise them when they have a potty mouth.  They also probably figure, “hey, it’s the end of the world…” The movie based on this book is hits theaters February 1, 2013 -and I’ll probably go see it.

Book Review: Uglies Series (Steph)

Uglies Series by Scott Westerfield

Books in this series: Uglies, Pretties, Specials, and Extras 

4 ½ out of 5 thumbs up

Fifteen-year-old Tally Youngblood is counting down the days until her sixteenth birthday when she will finally receives the operation to make her pretty.  Then, she’ll finally be more than a nobody, more than just another ugly.  In the meantime, Tally spends her time tricking, impressing the younger uglies with her deviant escapades.  After a trick sneaking into New Pretty Town to see a friend, she runs into Shay, another fifteen-year-old girl who she befriends, glad to have someone to pass the time with until she’s pretty.  Tally and Shay share a birthday, they love to hoverboard and they both have a fondness for breaking the rules.  The subject of becoming a pretty is one thing they disagree on.  As the day to Tally’s sixteenth birthday draws nearer, she is swept up into an adventure that may ultimately change her mind.

I really enjoyed these books.  Set in the future, there is plenty of new-fangled technology and gadgets, most of which run on magnetics.   They also have their own sort of language, especially the pretties, which is a little strange and almost a little annoying at first, but after a while, I sort of liked it and by the end, I was wishing that we all spoke like that.  These are really fun, well-paced books with likable characters.  Definitely a great pick for any YF/Sci-Fi fans looking for a fun read.

Tea Time ( mom)
Sarah called me last week and asked if I could help her make crumpets for a tea party she had planned with her friends.  I know that we had talked about having one, but we have never planned it.  So she came over, all dressed up, and we made crumpets.  It turns out that they are similar to pancakes only with yeast in them. Here is the recipe:
Crumpets
2 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp. yeast
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
 1/4 cup warm water for dissolving the yeast
1 1/4 cups warm milk
4-6 3 inch rings, cookie cutters or crumpet molds.  Wide mouth canning rings work just fine.
cooking spray

1. Dissolve yeast into warm water with sugar.  Let proof. Whisk flour and salt in mixing bowl. Barely heat milk to warm.  After yeast has proofed, combine yeast and milk with flour and salt until smooth and thick.  Cover and let rise.  Stir down.
2.Spray a skillet and the metal rings with cooling spray.  Heat skillet over medium heat, and place metal rings on the skillet and let them heat up.  Spoon batter into the rings filling only half way.  Let the crumpets cook until bottoms are browned.  the tops appear nearly dry and popped bubbles appear on top, about 5 minutes. Flip and remove the rings from around the crumpets.  Cook until browned about 1 to 2 more minutes.  Repeat.  Keep warm in preheated oven until all crumpets are cooked.

These were so easy I though well maybe English muffins wouldn't be hard either.  So I looked up a recipe and they were so easy,  I wondered why I haven't been making them on a regular basis.  They were good.
So here is the recipe for the English muffins:

English muffins
1 cup milk, warmed to room temp.
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. yeast
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup melted shortening.
6 cups or so of flour
1 tsp. salt
corn meal

1. Warm the milk to room temp.  Stir in sugar until dissolved and set aside to cool.  Dissolve yeast in warm water.  Proof about 10 minutes.
2.  In a large bowl, combine milk, yeast shortening and 3 cups of flour.  Beat until smooth.  Add salt and enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough.  Knead.  Place in an oiled bowl and cover to let rise about an hour.
3. Punch down.  Roll out to 1/2 in thick. Make sure you roll it out thin enough. Cut with round cutter.  Dip top and bottom in cornmeal and set on a pan lined with waxed paper to rise.  Cover and let rise 1/2 hour.
4. Heat greased griddle to medium heat, about 350.  Cook muffins on griddle about 10 minutes on each side. You can keep warm in the oven if you plan to eat them right away or allow them to cool for storage. Split with a fork and toast to eat.

Yummy!