Yummy

I know some of you also get the "Eating Well" magazine. Last night I thought I'd try a recipe I saw in the June issue, Huevos Rancheros Verdes. (Just think: if I'd added ham, it would be . . . ) I was kind of late getting started and didn't have all of the correct ingredients. So this is what I ended up doing:

I used tortilla chips, and put a handful on each plate. I put grated cheddar on top of each pile of chips. I mixed refried beans with red salsa and heated it up. I made the lettuce / scallion / cilantro / lime /oil / salt and pepper mixture. 

I had each person microwave their plates until the cheese was melted. Then they added a glop of the bean mixture and sprinkled on some of the lettuce mixture. To top it off, I fried each person an egg for the "peak" of their tortilla mountain. 

Well, it does sound a little odd--but everyone loved it. Even the kids ate it all. Milena says, "I'm picky, and even I loved it!" Tal said, "Yum."

I have also made two of the freezer pop recipes in the August issue, and they were both hits. I would love to hear about any recipes you guys have tried.    

I'm trying to be an active poster again . . .

I know that I have abandoned this blog for a long time . . . but I really want that to change. So here goes. This morning I made bread again. I tried out Janice Keller's recipe (from the famlet about 6 years ago) on Monday and it turned out really well . . . so well, in fact, that we needed more bread! (I made 4 loaves.) This morning I thought I'd try using my KitchenAid mixer because kneading that much dough for 10 minutes is nigh to impossible for me given my current bulgy state. I had my doubts about the capacity of the bowl, but thought I'd try. My fears were confirmed. The bowl was too small and every time I added flour it would poof out, covering me, the counter, and all equipment in a film of white dust. But I had to let it knead for 10 minutes, and I had to drive the kids to drama camp . . . . so I hurridly spooned in 6 cups of flour and left the machine on while I raced to the highschool. When I got back the dough ball had engulfed the mixer which was slowly moving closer and closer to the edge of the counter. It looked like a scene from Maurice Sendak's "In the Night Kitchen." The bread, however, turned out fine.

This weekend Omi and I are heading down to Utah to do various errands. We have made a reservation at Daw's Bed and Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. Or perhaps we should call it the "Dawmitory." What shall we do to show our gratitude for their constant hospitality? I know Weston wants Omi to clean the fridge out again . . .

Finally, a new post

But don't get too excited about it. It's not that long . . . I just couldn't access my account forever. However, I did just learn something exciting--the new mission president for Bulgaria is a man Omi knew from her mission! (He was just a young whippersnapper then.) Such a small world . . . so we're thinking of making a trip to Bulgaria this summer after the wedding to see him. Val, wanna come?

New Year Waffles

Happy New Year! We've had a wonderful Christmas and a good beginning to 2009. I thought I'd start this year off with a tasty recipe: Yeast Risen Waffles. This is from Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Everything."

The night before: Begin by melting 8 TBSP butter (one cube) and allowing it to cool. As the butter is cooling, combine 1/2 tsp instant yeast, 2 cups flour (you could use half whole wheat, though they wouldn't rise quite as high), 1 TBSP sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt. Stir in the milk, and add the melted, cooled butter and 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract. The mixture will be loose. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or waxed paper and let it sit out overnight at room temperature. Get out two eggs and leave them sitting out, also (the whites will beat better if the eggs are room temperature. The yolks won't go bad overnight).

In the morning, brush your waffle iron with oil and preheat it. Separate the eggs, mixing the yolks into the batter. Beat the whites until stiff in a separate bowl. Fold the whites gently into the batter.

Spread a cupful of batter onto the waffle iron and bake 3-5 minutes until done. Serve immediately with real syrup.

Delicious!

Done With Grading

Well, I'm done with grading for this semester. It actually went really well--I had them turn in their final papers a week earlier than usual, so I had time to grade them and hand them back. There are a lot of changes I want to make to the syllabus for next semester, but for now--time to relax (clean the house, get Christmas presents ready, help the kids with school Christmas stuff, go to a birthday party (mila), plan a birthday party (Tallis), attend a CPR workshop, visit teach, do all the Christmas cards, sigh sigh).

Stay Out of the Doghouse

A timely reminder to all of us at this holiday season. (If this link doesn't work, copy and paste it into your browser. You'll be glad you did.)

http://bewareofthedoghouse.com/video.aspx

Family Culture

Kevin Galbraith gave a talk about strengthening the family in Sacrament Meeting on Sunday, and he quoted a talk that was given in general conference a while ago. I will try to find the particulars of the talk (so I can verify this properly) but I wanted to ask your opinions on one of the comments he made. He said that research had indicated that one of the most important things that parents could do for their children, in order to raise their children to be faithful Latter-day Saints (in addition to prayer and scripture study) is to develop a "Family Culture" that is strong enough that it provides stability even in the turbulent teenage years. Specifically, the more people involved (cousins, grandparents, etc) the better. My question is this: In addition to what we are already doing, what more can we do to encourage participation in a family culture? Should we be doing more as a "Brown" family to facilitate cousins getting together or interacting? I think Cousins' Chronicles is excellent, but perhaps we could expand somehow on it. Maybe some of you have ideas that your in-law families do, or perhaps ideas that we could implement in our own homes. But I am concerned enough by the horrible state of the world that I would welcome any ideas or suggestions you have.