My oven broke. (Go ahead. Laugh. It's funny. Sort of.)
But never fear. Spring Spudnut-athon 2009 was not impacted. On the contrary, the long-standing family tradition of worldwide worship + gross overindulgence (recipe here) rose to new and exciting heights with the children's introduction of...
Interpretive Frying.
Perfect circles are so overrated...
I think it's the next big thing, don't you?
Chances are you know the story of Stone Soup. It is an old English folktale, retold in many different ways, about a hungry traveler who uses a "magic" stone to trick some miserly villagers into sharing their food with him.
We have read lots of different versions (including this one by Marcia Brown that won a Caldecott Medal in 1947) but I think our favorite (so far) is "The Real Story of Stone Soup" by Ying Chang Compestine. It is hilarious and fun and, unlike other versions, actually incorporates the stone as a useful element in making the soup.
(In the absence of a proper pot, three resourceful Chinese brothers make soup by digging a hole in the sand, lining it with plantain leaves, filling it with water, and bringing the water to a boil using three hot rocks they have heated in a fire. Brilliant.)
As you might imagine, I love the use of on-hand ingredients in this story, so of course, the kids and I made our own Stone Soup:
Ingredients:
1 well-chosen stone + whatever we had in the fridge/cupboard...
Olive oil
Onion
Celery
Carrots
Potatoes
Garlic
Basil
Double-strength beef broth
Barley
Spinach
Salt and pepper
Milk
K liked it, Liv declared it "not her favorite", and Asher refused to touch it (aside from a few half-hearted licks of the stone itself, presumably for comparison's sake in relation to the countless other rocks he's undoubtedly tasted).
Still, this endeavor was more about the creative process than the end result, and, as the kids had a lot of fun experimenting (newsflash: six-year-olds actually like peeling potatoes) I consider it a success.
Happy Valentine's Day!
Last weekend, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints gathered in churches and homes around the world to partake of the spiritual feast that was the 178th Semiannual General Conference.
My favorite take-aways from the event's proceedings:
"There is no tomorrow to remember if we don't do something today."
"What is most important almost always involves the people around us...never let a problem to be solved become more important than a person to be loved."
(Inspiring words from church president, Thomas S. Monson.)
Of course, according to family code, no spiritual feast could ever be complete without feasting of a more temporal (read: pass the Pepto) nature. Behold, the highlights of the Olson Family's Biannual Spudnut-athon...
I know some of you are probably asking...what in the world is a spudnut? For the uninitiated, I would describe it as a cousin to the more widely-known donut, its defining ingredient being--you guessed it--potatoes (spuds). I originally thought this delicious culinary confection was the result of some enterprising Idahoan's creative genius. A little googlizing, however, tells me its origins go farther than that--to Germany, actually (sorry, Idahoans).
Wherever they come from, K has fond memories of spudnuts as a part of his family's twice-yearly conference weekend ritual. Making them together is a tradition we have chosen to continue with our own family, and now I share the recipe with you (equal opportunity for greasy pastry aficionados the world over, I say):
Spudnuts
Ingredients:
1 cup mashed potatoes (1 to 2 potatoes)
1/2 cup of potato water (water from the boiled potatoes)
2 packages of yeast (or 2 tablespoons)
3 eggs
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
6 cups sifted flour
1/2 cup powdered milk
2 lbs. powdered sugar
3/4 cup melted butter
Make mashed potatoes and set aside 1/2 cup of water from the potatoes.
Dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water.
Mix 1 cup warm water with eggs, oil, potato water, mashed potatoes, sugar, cinnamon, salt, 3 cups sifted flour, and powdered milk. Beat it all up.
Add yeast and beat well.
Add remaining sifted flour.
Cover and let rise until it doubles (about 1 hour).
Put down a lot of flour and roll dough 3/4 inch thick and cut with doughnut cutters. Put more flour on top of dough because it is really sticky.
Let rise another 20 to 30 minutes.
Fry in hot oil (375 F).
Nothing says "party" like pizza at 9:00 in the morning.
Right?
Cookbook-inspired invitations:
Appropriate party/cooking attire:
Seven (recycled) dishtowels + 14 yards double-fold bias tape = aprons for each guest.
Making pizzas:
Touring the kitchen:
The giant refrigerator was, of course, a (giant) hit, as was the soda dispenser (4 root beers, 1 lemonade, 3 waters). I was slightly disconcerted by the puddles of water all over the floor, but no one else seemed to mind. And the pizza was...
Tasty:
Dessert + party favors to-go:
Done! (Until next year...)
It's tough to say who was more excited--the birthday girl or her parents. K made the sign, which, by the way, is how I (most recently) fell in love with him all over again.
Birthday morning surprises...
She asked for a basket first a bike second. Luckily, she got both.
Birthday accessories...
The badge (made by moi) is a tradition we've had for several years, but the felt crown (inspired by Amanda Soule and others) is new. I made it completely out of materials I had on hand (including the tie which I recycled from a retired pair of drawstring pants--woot!). The resulting color combination is something I normally wouldn't have chosen, but I love how it turned out.
Inaugural bike ride...
A little wobbly/unsure, but did you see? No training wheels or anything! (Thank you, beloved balance bike. You have served us well.)
Cake...
Baking a cake together has become a birthday tradition. This year Liv looked through my cookbooks and selected "Orange Juice and Olive Oil Cake with Pine Nuts" from this book. Ooo-kay.
As birthday girl, she also got to select the rest of the day's menu...
Breakfast:
Bagel with peanut butter and strawberry jam
Cottage cheese
Pears
Lunch:
Turkey and cheese sandwich
Watermelon
Dinner:
Pasta with homemade alfredo sauce
Broccoli
Birthday wishes...
Loved ones near and far made the day extra special with their phone calls, cards, emails...
and, of course, gifts. Nothing like some raging consumerism to make my kid look like this:
Six sparkler candles...
Happy birthday, sweet, sweet girl. We love you.
Judging by my recent post titles, it probably seems like all we do is eat around here. To which my response would be:
Is that a problem?
Heh. We occasionally do other things as well. But, let's be honest, where we really *shine* is eating. (Exhibit A: Raise your hand if you've been to a steakhouse with K and witnessed my husband's disturbing/awe-inspiring ability to consume an entire cow in one sitting. Yeah, I know. Avert your eyes next time.)
So I mentioned the delicious frozen yogurt I had at a place called Red Mango a while ago. And my plans to make my own version at home. Turns out it really is as simple as throwing plain Greek-style yogurt and a little bit of sugar in an ice cream maker:
Some of you may be wondering what Greek-style yogurt is. In a nutshell, it's regular yogurt that has been strained, making it significantly thicker than the regular stuff--more like a sour cream consistency.
If you don't have Greek yogurt on hand (not all stores carry it--check the health food section of your supermarket), you can make your own by lining a strainer with a thick paper towel, pouring plain yogurt into the strainer, and letting it drain into a bowl in the fridge for a couple hours. (This is the part where the whole nerdy family stands around ooh-ing and aah-ing about how much water came out. "Whoa--look at that! It's science! Cool!") Keep in mind that straining the yogurt will reduce its volume by about half, so you'll want to buy about twice as much yogurt as you think you need.
To turn your Greek yogurt into Ho-Fro-Yo (homemade frozen yogurt--catchy, right?) you'll want to add some sugar. How much is really up to you, but since it's supposed to be tart, you really don't need a lot. Topping it with fresh fruit (we used peaches) adds additional sweetness. Speaking of which, Wednesday = Farmer's Market Day. And (surprise, surprise) we're hungry. So...
Happy frozen yogurt making!
Green eggs (not to mention ham) = not very appetizing in my book. And so (drumroll, please) the On-Hand Modern Kids' Cooking School presents...
How to Make Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs
Step 1: Don a fancy apron. (Chef's note: Important. Do not skip this step.)
(Editor's Note: Eat your hearts out, cast of Top Chef. This chef is so good, she can not only tie her own apron, she can do it behind her back!)
Step 2: Hire a competent (or at least willing) soux chef. Yes, that knife is upside-down, but give the kid a break...
He's. Concentrating. So. Hard.
Step 3: Fill a pot with enough water to cover the eggs. Bring water to boil.
Step 4: Set the timer and boil uncovered for 1 minute. Cover, remove from heat, and set the timer again, this time for 13 minutes.
Step 5: Rinse eggs under cold water to cool. (FYI, cold water also helps make peeling the eggs easier.) Peel, rinse, and slice the eggs.
Step 6: Bask in the glory of your perfectly-cooked hard-boiled eggs! (Amuse yourself at length by encouraging your 2-year-old to say "yellow yolks".)
A classic line from a classic Bill Murray movie. Before the lure of the Academy and his transformation into a "serious actor". (Boring.)
This post has nothing to do with Bill Murray, by the way. That line is just what came to mind during one of those rare moments with my son when he was actually sitting still, not emitting any high-pitched sound effects, while still remaining conscious:
He's learning his colors and can consistently tell the difference between red and orange, which means he's one step ahead of his father already. (Woot!)
I heart these Stockmar block crayons which double as both a coloring instrument and a stacking toy. They also have the added advantage of being practically indestructible, which is saying something in this house. In addition, they come in a metal tin with a picture of a horse on the front, of which Asher is most enamored. ("Neeeeeeigh!" Yeah, the moratorium on sound effects didn't last long...)
And speaking of stacking toys, here's a picture of Liv using dominoes to practice place value:
I'm not sure what my expectations were for this summer. I had initially planned on taking a break from homeschooling, but it seems that school and home life have effectively merged for us. Which is exactly the point, I guess...? We'll keep it casual, though. Plenty of hours logged at the pool already this summer...
Meanwhile, Liv's increasing interest in the culinary arts means we've been having a sort of mini Cooking Camp. So far, she's learned to make scrambled eggs and bean and cheese quesadillas. With her newly-acquired cheese-grating and can-opening skills, I think she's ready to tackle this on-hand ingredient wonder:
Easy Kids' Pasta (serves 4):
Now if she could just learn to do the grocery shopping too...heh.
Well...the cookies didn't work. On the other hand, breaking my car did. K is (gasp!) home before 10:00 tonight. On the other hand, now I have no car, and I was supposed to help supervise some girls from church at a youth camp a couple of hours away. On the other hand, (are you out of hands yet?) there are other adults there and I just received word there's been a tornado warning and everyone's taking shelter in a local church building. So...I guess I'm not missing much.
Sigh. It's always something, isn't it? Fortunately, the issue with the car isn't anything terribly serious and/or expensive to fix. Mostly because K is doing the work himself. Yup, enlightening bathroom reading material and (nearly) free car maintenance--those are the perks of being married to an engineer. Well, that and unlimited access to little-known Star Wars trivia. Unfortunately, it's pretty sad when a "night off" from work means tackling only the most urgent of what is, admittedly, a pretty long to-do list. No wonder the guy never comes home lately.
Meanwhile, I took some pictures while the kids and I were out for a walk this afternoon:
Two things are clear: our driveway needs refinishing and...I need a pedicure. Neither is which is likely to happen any time soon.
And now that your appetite has been sufficiently whetted by a picture of my foot...that bread dough I posted about last week? It makes really great pizza too:
