Blueberry Peach Fruit Salad with Thyme

Today we celebrated Abbie's birthday (details pending). Because I always like an excuse to make yummy food and the hot dogs and fish crackers that we served the kids just didn't quite make it up to par, I decided to make some food for the moms that hang out at the party. This is yummy "girl food," although Russ liked it too. I was especially excited about the fruit salad because I've never made it before and WOW! This is one to take somewhere when you really want to impress people AND you want to eat yummy food. The guy who invented the recipe is also the one who made the double vanilla cupcake recipe (also served at the party.) I believe that alone should be a selling point. Here is his blog. Don't get me wrong the pasta chicken salad is also excellent, but I've grown up eating it so I guess the novelty has worn off. Note: The pasta salad says it serves ten. I think it serves a lot more than that.

Blueberry Peach Fruit Salad with Thyme  -- Garrett McCord

Ingredients

• 4 peaches
• 4 nectarines
• 1 cup of blueberries
• 2 teaspoons of fresh, chopped thyme
• 1 teaspoon of grated ginger
• 1/4 cup of lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon of lemon zest
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1/4 cup of sugar (depending on how sweet the fruit is, you may be able to skip all together)

• Or 1 tablespoon of agave syrup in lieu of water and sugar

Method

1 If using water and sugar place them into a sauce pot and bring to a boil and liquid is reduced by half into a simple syrup. Allow to cool.

2 Chop up the peaches and nectarines and place them in a bowl with the blueberries. Pour over the cooled simple syrup or agave syrup. Add the thyme, lemon juice, lemon zest, and ginger.

3 Stir and cover with plastic wrap, place in the fridge and allow to macerate for one hour. Serve.

Serves 4-8.

Bow-tie Chicken Salad  (serves 10)                  Perri Ebert

4 Chicken Breasts, cooked and chopped

1 12oz. pkg. bow-tie pasta

2 C chopped celery

1 small can pineapple tidbits

1 small can mandarin oranges

1 pkg. mixed blend lettuce or Romain

4 green onions chopped

1 C cashews chopped (may be omitted)

1 C red grapes

Dressing:

1 C mayo

1 16 oz. bottle Cole slaw dressing

Mix everything except for lettuce and dressing.  Chill 2 hours.  Mix with lettuce and dressing just before serving. (You won’t need all the dressing)

Kids Say the Darndest Things

It takes being so sick you don't see your kids for a few days to really miss them. Oh, you might miss them while you are on vacation without them but lets be honest you planned the vacation without them on purpose and while it reminds you that you love them you really don't want them with you at the moment. When you are sick however everything else looks like bliss and you realize that as challenging as parenting can be it is much easier without the continual desire to crawl under your covers and sleep yourself into the next decade. So on that mostly unrelated note here are some interesting things said by my children lately.

Abbie-isms

This first conversation was between Abbie and my mother while Russ and I were on vacation a few weeks ago.

Grandma E: Abbie you can pick out one toy at the store today.
A: Really?
Grandma E: Yeah.
A (in a shocked/conspiratorial tone): My mom doesn't buy me anything!
Grandma E: Yeah, moms are sometimes like that.
A: But not Grandmas!

The next story was between Russ and Abbie when he was putting her to bed while I was sick.

Russ: Abbie remember you promised you would eat a good dinner tomorrow. Will you remember that?
A: How will I remember? Oh, I know... I will use my mind. I have two minds. One mind that changes and one mind that remembers. I will use that mind.

Savannah-isms

Savannah loves to say prayers at our house. She loves it so much that if it is someone else's turn to say the prayer she will pray out loud in the background of the prayer. Sometimes she repeats what they say, sometimes she goes out on her own.  This last Sunday at church Russ was a lone parent managing two girls. My friend took Abbie (thanks Brenda!) and left Russ and Savannah for the duration of the meeting. It is also relevant to note that as a holiday weekend there were not a lot of people there and Russ swears no other children. In an effort to get her to be quiet for just a moment during prayers, Russ would whisper, "Savannah, time for prayers!" But instead of simply folding her arms and ceasing to make noise, Savannah would start trying to say (somewhat loudly) each and every prayer throughout the meeting "thank thee dis Daaay, thank thee dis Daaay," etc. At first, Russ tried to explain to her that it was someone else's turn, but then she would start having a fit and crying in Savannah-speak: "I wanna Say it!". So thinking it was the lesser of two evils, he let her repeat the remainder of the prayers.

And just tonight Savannah developed her own knock knock joke (of which she is very proud).

Savannah - Knock, knock
Other person - Who's there?
S - (scanning the room)MMMmmmm Baby Lexi.
O - Baby Lexi who?
S - Knock knock?
O- Who's there?
S- (scanning the room) MMMMMmmmm Baby Lexi's diaper.
O-Baby Lexi's diaper who.
S - Knock knock.
O - Who's there?
S - (scanning the room) Orange.
O- Orange Who?
S - Knock, knock.

As you can see it still needs some work.

Sick Time

At a full-time (or part-time) job when you call in sick you make one phone call to the office explain that you are near death and crawl back under the covers never to be disturbed by work again until your white blood cells, C-vitamins, anti-oxidants, anti-biotics etc. have done their job and healed you. There might be a rare occasion for a phone call asking for a file or information on a project but once you have declared yourself too sick for work, work pretty much leaves you alone.

Not so with motherhood.

When you are sick as a mother your work sits on your bed with you reading stories, still needs help wiping when she goes number 2, asks to be fed (the nerve), adds to your in-box by creating messes around you (I know in-boxes fill when you take sick days at other jobs too.), tells you about their day, and wants demands to go to the park. Oh you can ignore the work for awhile but that takes active effort and eventually you just drag your aching body off your bed and comply. Submit.


The only way to stop this madness is by getting really, really, really, sick. Then you can -- in some cases -- call in the big guns by asking your spouse to leave their work (and let their in-box to fill up) and manage things for awhile. I thankfully married someone willing, able, and a saint for doing this. One way to do this is by getting a fever of 103 and having a throat so sore that you have to take ibuprofen just to swallow -- no joke. (Through this experience I learned that high fevers are actually much more serious in adults than children. Great.) Now a normal person would know immediately that she had strep throat, go to the doctor and get on anti-biotics and would cease to cause disruption to her entire family. But if the sore throat doesn't start so bad, and your kids just had bouts of a 12 hour fever you just might assume you caught it from them and it will be over tomorrow. You might.

Only tomorrow you drug yourself on 800 mgs of ibuprofen convince yourself you are better, send hubby off to work, and power through the day. It isn't until you are halfway through a temple session, (Hey, your sister is going through for the first time and you are not going to miss it. Under no other circumstances is this okay.) and you are dousing yourself in hand sanitizer every 10 minutes and start to get the chills so badly your teeth chatter (I wish I was exaggerating here.) that you realize you are really, really sick.

Thankfully the next day is Saturday and your husband doesn't have to take time off. (Unless he has an emergency work meeting in which case thank heavens for mom and dad!)  You drag yourself to the doctor and get the necessary drugs, which because of your complete stupidity take longer to work because you put it off. In which case you can sit it bed all.day.long watching inane movies and calling friends just to distract you from your misery. This day ends up being the worst not only because you are the sickest you've been in recent memory, but also because your husband points out to you half way through the day that it is your anniversary, and you completely forgot. Also bad because while you were the louse who forgot your anniversary your husband is managing everything without complaint. Ugh.

But by Sunday afternoon you actually think the end is near enough to blog about it.

(Yes, this blog is a cry out for sympathy but I have been in my bedroom far too much over the last four days and in addition to the real fever, cabin fever has definitely set in.)

Burritos

Burritos?

Yup! Until this week I had never made burritos . It is a sad commentary for a dish so easy but there you have it. And these burritos were pretty much whatever I thought of, aka whatever I had in the house. So here are the fillings I used:

Slow cooked chicken & salsa with sour cream added at the end
Rice
Black Beans
Avacado
Lime Juice
Cheese

They were pretty good for something just thrown together. But I still felt like something was lacking. So the question of the day was. What do you put in your burritos?

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Last week I made spaghetti and meatballs and never did a post on it. They were good. Very good, possibly the best meatballs I've ever eaten and a fantastic 10 minute-start-to-finish sauce that was delish. I just haven't had the time or drive to post about it. I don't know if I have the drive today (as you will see by the length of this post) but here I am.

Partly because - spaghetti and meatballs - what more can you say. Easy go to meal. Spaghetti ends up on the floor under booster chairs covering my children - but everyone likes it. That is about it. I also like how easy this meal is but it isn't pre-packaged.

I don't even have the meatball recipe with me right now so I will give you the sauce recipe and if you want the meatball recipe email me.


Killer - I mean killer Spaghetti Sauce in 10 minutes! 

Take a clove of garlic and saute in olive oil for 30 seconds or until fragrant. (If you are making meatballs use the same pan so all the drippings are the fat you saute in and you get the extra flavor.)  Then add a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes (The crushed gives it a thick saucy consistency.). Simmer for 10 minutes then add a couple of tablespoons of chopped fresh basil - yes it has to be fresh but it is worth it. Salt and pepper and done. This sauce completes in just a few minutes longer than it takes to cook noodles. You get homemade points and it tastes so good!

Weekend Warriors

I think I am a fun person. I know how to have a good time. I think I am fun mom. We go to the park, the zoo, the library, we make cookies. We are a fun lovin' house. But this weekend reminded me what fun is. I got to spend the entire weekend just with Russ in St. George for our anniversary. (Thanks Mom and Dad! The girls have told me that we need to leave again just so they can stay with you.) I would have been fine just relaxing around, waking up when I chose, and having uninterrupted conversation with my husband. (Okay so my definition of fun is starting to sound more and more boring.) But thankfully we did that and much, much more.

After arriving on Thursday night, we woke up Friday and hiked Angels' Landing in Zions National Park. The hike itself was beautiful, reasonably challenging, and provided wonderful views. It is a fairly normal, almost tame hike for the first two miles and then the last mile is almost literally straight up with shear drops on both sides. While it triggered a bit of my acrophobia it was well worth it. However what topped off the experience was a gentleman who brought his flute on the trail. Every so often beautiful melodies would come floating through the canyon complimenting the scenery. It has become my new "happy place" memory to escape to when my world is chaos.

Saturday we kept going with a bike ride up Snow Canyon. Snow Canyon may only be seven miles but the last one made me alternatively want to cry like a baby and swear like a sailor. However after the summit was reached we enjoyed a heart stopping ride along the road on a bike trail that almost exactly replicates a roller coaster. It is the only reward worth making the excruciating climb.

And Sunday we rested....while sitting atop a red sandstone mesa over looking St. George and talked for two hours straight. No one interrupted us. Neither of us fell asleep from exhaustion. No phones ran. No one went to meetings. It was heavenly.

Monday we were back and moving back in Zions. We decided to bike through the canyon. The ride is fairly leisurely and the views provide the only way to really see the expanse of canyon that is truly breathtaking. Next time we will probably only bike through the canyon as it really is so impressive.

Today we are home. Back to rain and work. It is a good thing we love our kids so much.

PS - Tonight is a new recipe for Spaghetti and Meatballs...MMMmmmmm!

Double Vanilla

Let me start by asking a question...other than ice cream have you ever had something vanilla flavored? Not with a little vanilla in it - we've all had that - but where the sole flavor you should experience is rich, creamy, decedent vanilla.


Until a few days ago I hadn't.

This is the story. My sister-in-law introduced me to Stephanie Nielson's blog and video  After crying through the video, I went back and have read over a year's worth of blog entries that have caused every emotion on the spectrum but most of all awe, at what an amazing woman, mother and wife Stephanie is.

Please at least take a peak I promise you will not regret it....but come back because trust me you want this recipe. Along her journey of healing Stephanie mentioned Double Vanilla cupcakes that she was using to add more junk to a desperately empty trunk. At the time I thought..."Odd, why would anyone obsess over something other than deep rich chocolate." And I let it pass.

The on Mother's Day Russ cracked open the New Best to make me the most amazing French Toast I've ever had, and while the recipe doesn't specify Vanilla French Toast - the two tsp of vanilla richly infused every bite. From that moment on I thought of Stephanie's Double Vanilla Cupcakes.

Yesterday (note Tuesday, so only two days after the first hit) I caved and googled Double Vanilla Cupcake recipe and got this...
          
I am a convert. I would never, never guess that anything could compare with chocolate as the best flavor on the planet but I might even say this takes the cake (pun intended).  All I can say is try it. I didn't even use vanilla beans, just extract and W.O.W. depth of flavor, almost nuanced that has forced, I mean forced, me to eat three just today. Some things can not be helped.

Please try it. And then run a marathon.

Fries

Last night was just about as perfect a dinner as we could have - everyone loved it.

I started off with a fruit salad but for the topping I used sour cream with a little bit of brown sugar mixed it. The sour cream ups the richness factor considerably. It tasted like a dessert.

Then on to the burgers. I made these burgers (Remember the ones that turned Russ into a carnivore?) But made a fantastic alteration. Instead of stuffing the burgers with shredded cheddar we went blue and I'm not looking back. The Blue Cheese gets soft and creamy at such hot temperatures and - oh my. Bliss! Then in addition to all the standard toppings we added bacon. A nice homemade Blue Bacon burger with considerably less grease. MMMMMMMMmmmm. Excuse me while I swoon.

Then on to the new recipe...Oven Fries. Now when I think Oven Fries I think a weak attempt at roasted potatoes that doesn't really go with burgers or just about anything else, but thanks to the good ol' New Best Recipe (Have you bought it yet? Are you a convert? Really about $20 on Amazon!) there was some amazing success. Crisp crunchy fries that aren't very oily at all. These cooked up while I was preparing the burgers. And best of all - super easy.

Oven Fries

Serves 3-4

3 russet potatoes cut lengthwise into 10-12 even wedges (getting the wedges even is the most difficult part of this recipe.
5 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt and Pepper


Adjust an oven rack to the lowest position; and heat to 475. Meanwhile (after peeled) place potatoes in a large bowl and cover with hot tap water; soak for ten minutes. Coat a cookies sheet (with sides) with 4 of the tablespoons of oil and sprinkle evenly with 3/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.

Drain and thoroughly dry potatoes. Then coat potatoes with remaining tablespoon of oil. Put the potatoes in a single layer on the cookie sheet and then cover tightly with foil and bake for 5 minutes. Remove foil and cointue to bake until the bottoms of the potatoes are golden 15-20 minutes. Using a metal spatua and tongs flip each wedge. Continue baking until the fries are golden and crisp 5 -15 minutes longer, rotation the pan as needed.

Remove from oven and drain off oil. Season more if needed.

Mother's Day Request

In order to purge the angry feelings I am currently harboring toward my insurance company that continually takes my money but doesn't cover me for any services that we actually use as a family I am going to show our most recent family pictures.  Sigh.

These pictures were taken on request from my mom who wanted vertical family pictures. She has a vision for her living room that involves all things vertical. So because she is a wonderful mother, we love her, and want to aid in her vision we rushed to ask my brother to meet us at Liberty Park and snap a few photos for Mother's Day. Thankfully, myself and Russ's family got to benefit from my mom's vision as well because I am a big fan of the way they turned out.

I really like this last one. It was just for fun and not part of the vision but I think it is what we will end up using for a family picture at our house! There I feel somewhat revived.

Surprise of the Magi

We've had a bit of stress in our home the last few weeks, and despite some Lemon Glazed Cookie redemption from my bloody chicken nightmare, Russ and I both needed a break. So last night I decided to surprise him and pick him up from work a few minutes early, take him to dinner and go up to Park City for an evening off.

 I called his dad and step-mom and got them to babysit and my plans were complete.

We had one slight hiccup however - we needed to borrow Russ's dad's truck to do some home repair moving today. No apparent problem. But Russ helpfully offered to call and work everything out with his dad. Unfortunately I didn't know whether or not his dad knew that his babysitting job was a secret from Russ. I was terrified he would mention something during the phone call. I tried to get a hold of Lee but no luck.


"Russ, let's just use my dad's truck. I think it can carry the girls. It will be easier. I'll just take care of it." Thankfully he didn't know that my parents were out of town and unable to offer a truck so the fib worked perfectly.

I drove downtown just ten minutes before Russ got off work feeling quite smug in my perfectly executed ambush when I got a phone call.

"Emily, where are you?"

"Downtown where are you?"

"Home. I got off work early and went to get a video  for us to watch tonight."

"Oh."

Needless to say Russ rushed back downtown where we had an amazing dinner at nook called Eva (Reasonably priced and FAN.TAS.TIC!) and then made it to Park City in time to realize that the art gallery was closed.  We still wandered around chatted and had a great time. Still,  I'll have to be less cunning in my deceptions next time.

A Bloody Mess

The last 24 hours are enough to make me want to give up cooking forever. Oh wait, I am responsible for feeding my family. Sigh.

Last night I had planned a lovely dinner. Garlic Rosemary Roasted Chicken with Au Jus. I started at 3:30 ( Yes 3:30!!) I brinned the chicken with 11/2 quarts of water 1/2 cup salt 10 cloves of crushed garlic and 1 sprig of fresh rosemary -- for an HOUR, yes an hour. During this hour we walked/rode out bike to the park only to turn around 5 minutes after we got there because Abbie forgot to go potty before we left. At the end of the hour the chicken was rubbed with a garlic rosemary paste under the skin, and it all went into a 450 degree oven. 

Fifteen minutes later 10 cloves of garlic were added to the pan. Fifteen minutes after that the chicken was rotated breast side up and the chicken broth was added to the pan. Thirty minutes later it was supposed to be done. Blood ran throughout the pan. I baked for 20 minutes and checked. It looked good until I cut into a thigh - more blood. Fifteen minutes later the thigh was good and I started to carve the chicken - blood burst out of the breast. One and a half hours after the chicken was supposed to be done the juices ran clear but the breast meat was dry.

What happened?!?


I don't think the chicken was too big, I had defrosted it in the fridge starting last Wednesday. Anyone please?


Then today I thought I would make my own mayo after discovering that the mayo in the fridge was completely out. I followed the recipe exactly and the mayo turned out yellow and runny. Again why? I used it because I needed something in the dinner I was making but I am worried about how it will turn out.


I had developed the clearly irrational belief that I had turned into a semi-decent cook. Now I just want to eat take out for the next ten years.

My Inner Princess

I have laid off doing too many fun hairstyles for the girls lately. Even though it is like playing with doll hair (dolls that whine, squirm, wiggle and scream) we have just had too much going on to spend time experimenting with cute new do's. This Sunday, however, I found a great hairstyle that is easy too do, looks hard, and both girls sat still for it. (Miracle!) It was fun when they were all dressed up for church. That inner princess that I had never realized was there is fighting hard to get out and make herself known. Maybe I'll become crafty in the process....doubt it.