see.we-cycle

Recycling, I have noticed, is not a craze here as it was in San Francisco. And coming from the land of 4 separate trash bins in your home (plastic + glass, paper, food, and 'garbage') and very little actual "garbage" to throw away every 2 weeks... it has been a bit of a shock. I have yet to see any recycling bins and I am really not sure what to do with the bags of recycle we have piling up next to our sink. I have, however, found a use for my old jelly jars.
Candles

Candles are the easiest craft ever, and take very little 'skill' and even less time.

You need:
wicks
wax
jars
double boiler
heat
fragrance (optional)

oh! and chopsticks come in handy :)

measure the wax

Warm Vanilla Sugar Smell
key word here is "warm", we need as much warmth around here as we can get.

Heat up the wax. I use this double boiler for my soap making.
Pretty flower. I got all my supplies from good will.

After the wax melts stir in the fragrance and then pour into jars.

Don't worry about the pee-pee yellow color... it cools.

Candles!

see.cup.of.comfort

It was recently suggested to me that when you are feeling home-sick you should eat/drink junk food to feel better. (thanks for the advice jen)
Sorry to disappoint you... but a hot cup of apple cider with home made whipped cream was the best we could do :)
Mike was really confused when I told him what I was making..
"we don't have whipped cream"
"yes we do"
him checking the fridge "no we don't"

hot cider

mixer

whip:
heavy cream, vanilla, and confectioners sugar

hot, sweet, delicious comfort
in a cup :)

see.memory

This past November my niece, Ms. Valerie Jean, turned 4!

Unfortunately Aunt Mel has been low on funds but not low on creativity! So I came up with a little something for her Birthday.

Remember Memory?
No, that is not a trick question, remember the game Memory?
Well what if all the memory card pictures were of people you knew very well?

I came up with this idea a while ago but never actually put it together until now.
I compiled 15 pictures of Valerie's family (Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Adam, Aunt Loni, Owen, Jeremy, Charlotte, Aunt Mel, Uncle Mike, and Miles) and printed them as 2.5" x 3" playing cards.

Each picture has a double, its match. I cut them out and then glued them to a same sized card with the word "Memory" on it. Then I laminated the picture side.

Scramble the cards, lay them out in perfect rows (when I was little I remember the rows HAD to be perfect) and Play!

I made Mike try it out with me. We ended up playing 4 rounds of Memory. I kept winning and it was really upsetting Mike. I think I was winning because I just made the game! Not sure, but that is why there is no picture of him playing... he was not exactly smiling for the camera!

Happy Birthday Val Jean! I can't wait to play Memory with you when I see you!

see.tukey.2009

Turkey day 2009

see.we

see.upside.down.turkey
My friend Kate's mom suggested she cook the turkey upside down for the first several hours... so the turkey juices follow the law of gravity and make the meat juicy. It worked rather well.

see.upside.down.dog
Kate and Paul's dog Rebel. I think he heard us talking about the upside down turkey and tried out this technique on himself.

see.potato.prep
7 lbs of potatoes! Almost as much as the entire turkey! haa

see.he.turkey

see.table.ware

see.dinner
(for all who are interested)

Piccadilly Carrot Soufflé
(I have edited the recipe slightly)
1 1/2 pounds peeled carrots (about 9 medium)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1/3 cup high-gluten or bread flour
2 eggs
2 egg whites
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted margarine or butter
1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

Boil or Steam carrots until extra soft, about 30 minutes in a steamer basket set over boiling water. Drain well.

While the carrots are still warm, transfer to large bowl of an electric mixer and add granulated sugar, baking powder, vanilla and flour. Beat slowly until carrots mash, then increase speed to medium and beat 3 minutes, or until very smooth.

With the mixer on low, add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Gradually add the melted margarine.

Whip the egg whites until medium peaks form. Fold into carrot mixture.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spoon the carrot mixture into a 9-inch round pan or casserole dish. (The mixture will rise, so pan should not be more than half full.)

Bake about 1 1/2 hours, or until the top is a light golden brown. Sprinkle lightly with confectioners' sugar and serve immediately. (The souffle will fall after being taken out of the oven.)
Enjoy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

see.pre.turkey.day

The day before Thanksgiving, November 25, my kitchen saw some serious action. We had plans to eat at a friend's house about 1.5 blocks away. This was our official 'first Thanksgiving' together sans-family. Same for our friends. We bonded together and were going to eat in style. After about 5 calls to my mother for cooking advice, I started... let the cooking begin!

The line up:
1. Homemade Dinner rolls
2. Carrot Souffle
3. Green-Bean Casserole
4. Fresh Cranberry Sauce
5. Apple Pie
6. Homemade Cinnamon Rolls
(I was going to head over to my friend's house early to help with the bird- nothing like fresh cinnamon rolls to get people in the mood to cook)

I had never eaten carrot souffle until one Thanksgiving at Mike's Mom (Jeanette's) house. From that Thanksgiving I learned 2 things: 1. Carrots mixed with sugar, eggs, and butter are really delicious 2. Mike is really attached to a carrot dish, he is obsessed.
Thanks to Google and several helpful internet sites, I managed to find a recipe for Piccadilly's Carrot Souffle. Then I made Mike help prep the carrots.

Next, came the apples and the apple pie. An amazingly helpful apple pie tip from one of my favorite chefs:
Once apples are peeled, cored and cut into slices, set them in a strainer with a bowl underneath. Let them sit for 1.5 hours. The apples will drain their juices into the bowl. Before you bake the assembled pie, take the juice from the apples and heat them in a pot. Since most of the juice is sugar, the juice will cook down to a nice apple glaze, that you can brush onto the top of your pie.

Dessert :)

This pose is for my sister, Jen.
I call it the cooking pose.

Next up, Cinnamon rolls!!!
You have to roll it out, then roll it up!

Always a hit!

I have to admit, this is a cookbook I checked out from the Library.
Southern Cooking... come on, is there any other way to cook?

Some pics of the fresh cranberry sauce. I just love the color of cranberries.

Cranberries, port wine, sugar, orange zest, and vanilla beans. YUM!

see.wedding.weekend

We flew to Florida for Mike's best friend's wedding-weekend. Wes and Mike have known each other for years and share many great memories of surfing, high school, and college. Wes asked Mike to be a groomsman for his wedding and Mike gladly accepted. The weekend was full of visiting family, friends, and driving up and down the East Coast of Florida. I regret not taking more pictures of all the people we visited. We had a great dinner with Mike's family and my dad Thursday night, we spent some fun time with Mike's dad and his gal Susie. Visiting Florida is a non-stop visit-a-thon and we wouldn't have it any other way.

The night before the wedding 'bro-mance' as they called it. Wes is the very happy guy at the bottom center of the picture.

A quick brunch with Miss Lindsay and her mom.

The wedding was beautiful. Outside, on the river, perfect weather, and beautiful bride.
Jackie and Wes.

They look so great together!!

Lucky number 7.

He.

She. goofing off.

I accidentally caught the bouquet. I was told that Jackie may aim for a specific person (not me) so I dodged it the first time. It landed right next to me. So Jackie had to throw it again. This time, it landed in my arms so I had to catch it. And no, Mike did not catch the garter.
Sunday, My mom drove over to spend some time with me. This was the only picture I took! I am so disappointed.
Overall, it was a fun trip. Now we are back in the ice cold tundra but whenever it gets too cold I can (in my mind) go back to this warm and sunny Florida beach, and go walking next to my mom.