Ummm... So what do I do now?

Hubby thinks it's time to start making Christmas cookies. Now, I don't disagree. His butter cookies improve with age and it certainly will save time later. Except...

Except that letting Hubby into the kitchen is sometimes disastrous, and tonight was no exception. After all was said and done, we ended up with two beautiful batches of butter cookies and a bowl full of 4 1/2 cups bread flour and 1 1/2 cups sugar*. Yep, bread flour. Can't use bread flour for cookies!

So, the question is, what do I do with a bowl full of bread flour and sugar? My first thought was to make challah, since that is a fairly sweet bread, but there is enough suger mixed with the flour to make EIGHT loaves of challah, following the recipe in the Joy of Cooking. I don't need that many.

Any suggestions?

*In his defense, last Christmas, there was only one tub of flour on the counter. Now there are two, one bread flour and the other all-purpose. Since they aren't labeled, they both just look like flour, as he so aptly put it. And he is a great cook.

Oh, Pumpkins!

I love pumpkin. There is something about that orange color and squashy taste that just fills me with warmth and contentment. Perhaps I didn't always love pumpkin as well as I do now, but that's just because I didn't know where good pumpkin came from.

Apparently, there are two general categories for pumpkin: eating and carving. Now, you can always eat carving pumpkins. I grew up eating our Jack-O-Lanterns before they got (too) moldy. My mom would cut them up (and cut out the mold), steam them, puree them, and freeze them in convenient sized bags to use all year long. And who am I to question this order of things? It is the way it must be done!

So, last year after carving our pumpkins, I did what I was supposed to do and processed the pumpkins (they were not moldy). But I did something different without really intending to. While at the pumpkin patch, I fell in love with a beautiful pumpkin. It was a brighter orange than I had seen before and, while rather too squat and heavy for a jack-o-lantern, I knew I needed to have it. Back at home, it was dutifully carved and, within a day or two, processed into puree. Initially, I was astounded by only the orangeness of the puree. And then my mom made a pumpkin pie out of it. Wow.

To make a long story short, I'm not going back. In the future, I will be purchasing some pumpkins to carve and some to eat. I've already done that this year, getting not one, not two, but three Rouge Vif D'etampes pumpkins (two of which have already gone the way of the freezer).

 

A helpful hint when processing your own pumpkin:

Drain your pumpkin. I line a colander with paper towel, pour my pumpkin in, and then let it sit for a long time, often overnight in the refrigerator. The pumpkin doesn't stick to the paper towel once it has drained enough.

And some words of wisdom (ie don't repeat my stupid mistake):

Don't try and use a food strainer to remove the skin from the pumpkin. I have a pumpkin screen for mine and I thought I would try it out. Of course, I tried to do things right and looked online for instructions, but wouldn't you know, there is nothing worthwhile to be found searching under "food strainer pumpkin how to". So I tried just one. Sure enough, little pieces of skin came through. (Now, I'm not sure why you would use a food strainer to do your pumpkin if you have to scrape the flesh out with a spoon anyway. I'll take my stick blender anyday.)

And because I can't help it, one of the few photos of my cute little pumpkins.

 

And what do you do with pumpkin puree? I like the Joy of Cooking pumpkin pie recipe, or my mom's pumpkin pancake recipe.

Or you can try these:

 

And because I just can't help myself, here is one more pumpkin treat to enjoy.

Why I love being a Mom

It's pictures like this that show why being a mom is so rewarding. I wouldn't trade them for the world.

 

By the way, even though I haven't posted much lately, I am trying to post more on my kids' blogs. So check them out if you can! (If you want in on this insiders club, just let me know. Their blogs are private, not exclusive.)

Did you miss me? Reflection and Confession

Yes, I know I haven't posted in three months. I apologize to the half a dozen of you that occasionally read my blog, but I had my reasons. Life has gotten busy. So, let me show you what I have been doing, in no particular order:

Running after a very mobile little boy.



Filling my new chest freezer (which we've crammed in our already cramped apartment) with eggplant, pesto, blueberries and anything we can find on sale.


Re-rearranging my hall closet to fit in my canning (First time I've ever canned!).


Working on my Pain au Levain making skills and showing them off at the fair.


Celebrating one birthday...


... And then another.


Developing scars.


Swimming in Zion (with a bunch of polygamists (not shown)) and learning to wear underwear everywhere.


Growing our very own rooftop oasis.


As you can see, I've been busy. Mathias is getting to the age where he demands a lot more attention. But how can you resist such a cute little boy as he lifts up your hand and gently places Moo, Baa, La La La into it for the 15th time in a day?

Summer time is a time of light, and here in the northwest, you have to take advantage of it. In addition, summer is a time of fresh produce and I really have been spending many of my evenings canning and freezing.

And above all, I've been trying really hard to not spend so much time on the computer. There are much more important things that I need to focus on and that I take too long to do. Besides, I have trouble believing that there are people out there who really want to know what I'm doing everyday. I mean, who really wants to know that I can nurse Mathias in my Ergo while hiking near Cedar Breaks? Maybe there is someone, but I really don't feel like I am that talented of a writer or that interesting of a person to really matter in the blogosphere.

Whew, I got that out of my system. Now you know the real reason behind my silence. Now, don't worry. I'm not going to drop out completely, but my posts are going to be fewer and farther between. But I'll save this blog for the major discoveries.

Sleep at Last

As you know, we have had some adventures with Mathias and his sleeping pattern. After the last breakthrough, we settled into an acceptable pattern of him waking up twice to eat, once right before we went to bed and once more sometime in the 2:00 to 3:00 am time period. Things were looking good, even if I still had to get up at night.

Then he stopped wanting to nurse during the day. Sorry, Bud, but that is not acceptable. Mathias would nurse well at night, and then not nurse much until dinner time. To me, there is nothing worse than wanting to feed my baby and to have him refuse, expressing his desire with wiggles, screams and bites.

Luckily, I spoke to a wise friend at church (the wisdom coming from having six kids) who said that she had had the same problem with some of her kids and that the only way to fix it was to stop nursing them at night. Inspired by her experiences and the hope that there was a solution to the problem (that I would be happy with), we started that night.

A week and a half later, I'm happy to say that Mathias is well on his way to sleeping through the night. I started by just cutting out the second feeding, but the last couple of nights, he has cut out the first one as well. I've been getting so much sleep that I am just exhausted! And even better than that, Mathias has nursed well during the day ever since I started. He doesn't get as distracted as he used to so I don't have to shut myself up in a room and warn Anna to stay away or else.

Hurray for Sleep!

AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So, I went to grind some corn in my Nutrimill this morning (for cornbread). I poured the corn in, turned it on and it just didn't sound right.

I stopped it, fiddled with the dial a bit, and turned it on again. Still didn't sound right.

Fiddled with it some more. Still didn't sound right and then stopped making any sound at all. Ummm, not good. Especially when there is smoke coming out of the back.

WHAT DO I DO!?! HOW DO I SURVIVE WITHOUT MY GRINDER!?! (at least until I can find a Bosch store in the area who's phone is not answered by a fax machine.)

Parsnips A-Plenty

What do you do with parsnips? After Oma (my mother-in-law) left some for us at Easter time, I've been wondering what to do with them. Roasted parsnips are great, but the flavor of parsnips is so distinct and unusual that it is hard to pair them up with other dishes, at least the meals in my repetoire.

Then, the other night I was watching Good Eats at a friend's house and Alton made this recipe. Now, it seemed a little strange to me too, using parsnips in muffins, but I was surprised with how well they turned out (yes, the parsnips were still good after all that time in the refrigerator). What a great way to highlight the flavor of parnsips, Alton!

And for those of you who like Homestarrunner, I hope you enjoy this.