Dancing pants

Taking a break from tormenting the squirrels


Taking command of the neighborhood


Playing out back with Dad

Thanks Sarabeth for the snazzy Jayna hand-me-down. We love this dress!

A new phase

A new big girl bed...



New big girl sheets...

and one tired girl.

Desert Preacher

When we moved to Tucson we met transplants from other areas of the US. Many of them were converts; they used to live in green, rainy, cold climates and now were avid lovers of the Sonoran desert. One woman was so bold to say that she had become a "desert preacher", which I assume means one who earnestly advocates for the beauty and unique setting that is the desert. We never thought we would become one.

On days when we hated the desert, it was to us an ugly, hot, pile of dirt. When we loved it, we loved it. Prickly Pears. Saguaros. Baby Quails. Lizards. Blue Sky. Awesome weather. Monsoons. Mountains and beautiful, beautiful sunsets.

And then there is the food...oh, the food!! So good! Well, we'll just have to learn to make it on our own now - and I hope you can join along with me.

After I finished my MA, I took several books and traded them in for one of our now favorite cookbooks. Sam has made a few signature dishes his own from the cookbook, one in particular is a favorite of mine called "Pollo en Escabeche de Cebollas Caramelizades, Zanahorias y Jalapenos" - roughly, Chicken with onions, carrots and jalapenos with a tangy sauce.

We made this dish the other night for our dear friends Sarah and Mike, but started it out with my new favorite salsa - Roasted Tomatillo. I think you should try it - it's easy and yummy. It makes us feel like we at least learned a thing or two when living in the desert, and now can preach about it's many, many wonderful attributes like, Roasted Tomatillo Salsa.

Try it. Then you can say you know how to make green salsa.

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa - Makes 1 1/2 cups

4 medium (about 8oz total) tomatillos, husked, rinsed and halved. (should be about the size of a nectarine, smaller than an apple).

2 large garlic cloves, peeled

Hot green chiles to taste (either 2 serranos or 1 jalapeno), stemmed and roughly chopped.

1/3 cup loosley packed and roughly chopped cilantro

1/2 small white onion, finely chopped

salt

You should be able to get all ingredients at the grocery store, even the tomatillos.

(WARNING - be careful when working with fresh chilis. Do not touch the inside of them you seed and slice them. Use utensils. Rookie mistake means burning fingers for at least a day and NEVER touch your eyes! Wash hands after working with them. Trust me.)

Instructions: you don't have to roast the tomatillos. You can simply husk, rinse and quarter them before throwing in your blender/food processor. I like them roasted.

Roasting: over medium high heat in a non-stick skillet, lay the garlic and tomatillos, cut side down in the pan. I recommend using a layer of aluminum foil in the pan to prevent sticking. Allow the tomatillos to brown (about 3-4 minutes) then turn them over with a spatula and brown the other side.

Preparing the Salsa: scrape the tomatillos and garlic into a blender/food processor and let cool to room temperature (about 3 minutes). Add the chilis, cilantro and 1/4 cup water. Blend to a coarse puree. Pour into a salasa dish and thin with a little water, if necessary (I skip this step). Scoop chopped onion into a strainer and rinse under cold water. Stir into the salsa. TAste and season with salt (I use about 1/2 teaspoon). Put in fridge.

Serve with your fav tortilla chip. You may want to consider making a double batch if you have more than 2 people - it goes fast.

Linda's Banana Bread

I love picking up recipes from people I've met throughout my life. I tend to end up naming the recipe after them. This one came from my OSU college roommate, Linda. She made this bread on a regular basis and was kind enough to teach me how to make it the year I lived with her. She also forgave me for putting a whole chicken on to boil, dozing off while I was "studying" only to wake up to a smoke filled house and the most putrid aroma you've ever smelled because the water evaporated and the chicken was burning in the stock-pot!!!

I think of her every time I make this bread, which is the best part of picking up recipes from people you have the privilege of meeting throughout life, especially when you have fond memories of them.

Enjoy!

Linda's Banana Bread

1 1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup softened butter/margarine (or applesauce)

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups mashed, ripe bananas (3-4 med)

1/2 cup buttermilk (which I never have, so I just use regular milk)

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

(optional: chopped nuts, granola, chocolate chips, or whatever suits your fancy...)

Place oven rack on lowest position. Preheat 350 degrees. Grease only bottom of your bread loaf pan(s).

Mix sugar and butter in large bowl

Stir in eggs until well blended

Add bananas, buttermilk and vanilla. Beat until smooth

Mix dry ingredients together separately and then add to the wet mixture until just moistened.

Pour into one large loaf pan, or 2 small loaf pans.

Bake 50-60 minutes until pick/knife comes out clean from the middle.

You don't have time to bake you say? You have kids? Well, give them the dictionary to read so you can whip this yummy bread up!

"Normal people stay home and watch TV"

...said Sam. I swiftly stuck my tongue out at him.

We went to an outdoor showing of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs last night at the Clarke-Palmore House Museum http://usgwarchives.net/va/photo/henrico/palmore.jpg.

Picnic. Blankets. Coloring. Activities. Popcorn. Lemonade. Grooving to "Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho..."

Looks to me like we had fun. Like normal people.

Settled

Webster's Dictionary: Settled - 1. To establish residence 2. To come or cause to come to rest 3. To restore tranquility, to calm.

Vintage Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sam is in his glory. I have not cooked dinner very much the past 2 years (Ada is 2...do you think there is a correlation?). Dinner was usually his domain, and he got really, really good at it, so why put forth the effort? Now that I'm home with Ada I have the opportunity to begin cooking again, something I used to really enjoy - and I can do most of the prep work while Ada is napping.

Some of my favorite bloggers share their yummy recipes, and I always enjoy visiting their sites for great ideas, or at least to peer into the lives of others and see what they put on their dinner table.

I have been having a hard time finding ingredients I like in Richmond, particularly for Tucson-style food (go figure...Latinos make up just under 3% of the population here) - BUT, I found the local "Bodega Latina" and picked up some items that I was looking for the other day. I'd like to share some of the recipes I learned while in Tucson, and others I found in cookbooks, with hopes that you will be adventerous and try them along with me...won't you?

Until then, I leave you with this great Vintage Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe from a Vintage baking book that my sister-in-law Melanie (a fellow lover of all things vintage), gave me for the holidays a few years ago. I have always struggled finding a recipe that didn't produce overcooked or hard chocolate chip cookies. I like this recipe and think it's all in the chemistry, which is what baking is all about, isn't it?

Enjoy!

1 Cup shortening

3/4 granulated sugar

3/4 brown suger

2 eggs, beaten

Cream shortening in a med-large bowl with a handmixer. Add sugars gradually, and cream well. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl and then add to the shortening and sugar, beat well.

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon hot water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a separate bowl sift the flour and salt together. In a very small bowl combine the hot water with the baking soda until it dissolves. Add both to the creamed shortening mixture. I have been adding the flour mixture first and then adding the baking soda/water mixture. Add the vanilla. Mix together with your hand mixer.

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
14 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips

Fold the chips and nuts in with a spoon. Once folding is completed, drop dough from a teaspoon (yes, a teaspoon) onto a greased cooky sheet. I recommend using parchment paper for baking on a pampered chef cookie sheet. If you have a regular cookie sheet I would still recommend using the parchment paper. If you don't buy/use parchment paper I think it's worth it and something you'll have for a while if you don't do a lot of baking.

Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes. Play with the time - I have found 11 minutes works perfectly. You want these coming out looking not done, if they are brown then you will have a hard cookie.

Last but not least, share with those you love!