Strawberries, Anyone?

I have a strawberry obsession going on right now.  I didn't mean for it to happen and I never even used to like strawberries.  I started liking them when I was pregnant and it became a permanent thing (unlike Domino's Pizza, which I used to love and now, for reasons I won't detail, I will never ever be able to eat again).  Anyhow, awhile back I posted about joining a CSA with a local greenhouse, Dean's Greenhouse. Since the weather was so unseasonably warm this spring, their first crop was ready a couple weeks early for pickup so I was able to get our first box of goods on Tuesday.  Inside was a box of strawberries, a bunch of Swiss chard, and a big bag of sugar snap peas.  I had already bought a box of strawberries over the weekend that still wasn't finished so I found myself on strawberry overload.

We ate a bunch of them, then I made strawberry bars using this recipe.  The only adjustment I made to the recipe was adding about a tablespoon of cornstarch to the strawberry mixture to thicken it up a bit.  They were delicious--maybe even better than the blueberry bars.  They were gone in a day.  Don't judge.

I still had some strawberries left, plus some heavy whipping cream from another recipe (why is it impossible to find heavy whipping cream in a small size?  I needed 1/4 cup but had to buy a quart).  The only solution I could see was to make pancakes with strawberry and whipped cream topping.  I'd actually never made whipped cream before, and now that I have I might make it all the time.  I added a little powdered sugar (2 tablespoons or so), a splash of vanilla extract, and a teaspoon of sweetener.  I ended up with a giant bowl of whipped cream, but that's a good problem to have.  I found that putting a dollop of whipped cream on a graham cracker makes for a tasty dessert.  Also, eating it straight from the bowl isn't out of the question.

To add to the strawberry theme going on, Charlotte and I went to a garage sale yesterday morning.  I have some berry decorations for her party (mostly strawberries) and I found these:

I kind of love them.

Enjoy your long Memorial Day weekend!

~Stacy

Baby Food

I decided to finally try my hand at making my own baby food today and was happily surprised at how quick and painless it was!  I had a few large containers of fresh fruit that I was worried Chad and I wouldn't eat in time, so I figured a good way to make sure nothing went to waste was to puree and freeze some of it for Charlotte.  She loves fruit, so hopefully she will appreciate my efforts :)

I used strawberries and honeydew.  For the honeydew, I bought a pre-chopped and peeled container so a lot of the work was already done for me.  All I had to do was toss it in the blender and puree for about 20 seconds.  Since Charlotte has teeth (5 of them, oh boy!) and has been on solids for quite awhile now I left the texture a little rougher, but for a younger baby you'd definitely want to make sure to leave it in there awhile longer to get it as smooth as possible.  After that, I poured the mixture into a clean and dry ice cube tray, popped it in the freezer, and once it was completely frozen put all the cubes into a labeled freezer bag.

I have a book on making all sorts of baby foods and it recommended a slightly different process for berries.  I washed, hulled and chopped each strawberry and put the pieces into a small saucepan on low.  I cooked them on low for about 5-6 minutes, then mashed with a potato masher (fork will work fine as well) into a finer consistency.  Again, I left a rougher texture and some tiny pieces in there (smaller than a pea) but you could mash or puree to a super fine texture for younger babies.  I followed the same freezing/storing process as the honeydew. 

Now I have two large bags full of fruit!  It was so easy that I think I might start experimenting with more fruits and vegetables.  The best part about these is they can be thawed and served as is or mixed into cereal or oatmeal.  Also, if Charlotte doesn't like them then I can just put them back into the blender with some milk, yogurt, and ice cubes and make us smoothies.  Don't those strawberries look delicious?

~Stacy

Sous Chefs

Today I decided to make applesauce.  I had a bunch of Granny Smiths on hand and it was a cold, lazy Sunday and the idea of homemade applesauce sounded right.  I love the way it makes the whole house smell soooo good, the way a scented candle tries but just can't match.  I don't have any kind of recipe; I just peel, slice into chunks, sprinkle some cinnamon and sugar on top and cook.  I let mine cook a really long time on low, until almost all the chunks break down on their own.  After about an hour I mash whatever is left, let it cool just a little bit, and eat.  Yum.

 

Luckily I had my sous chefs on hand to assist.  First up is Chef Charlotte:

She is ready to help out with the towel, should I need it, but in the meantime she has fun waving it around and squealing loudly.  I like to think she's cheering me on, and her enthusiasm for my cooking is very motivating.

 

Next, Chef Howard:

I gauge his interest by his ear size, so this means that Howard is very, very interested in helping.  Those satellite dishes attached to his head verify this.

 He is especially helpful with cleanup, particularly of the apple-piece-fell-between-the-cupboard-and-oven variety.

He was unsuccessful, but I appreciate his effort.  I rewarded him with a piece of apple that wasn't covered in dust.

All that helping gets tiring, so while I was enjoying this...

...they were doing this:

Love them.  Especially the last one :)

Hope your weekend was great.

~Stacy

First Christmas

Christmas was wonderful.  Chad said it, and I agree, that this year was the best Christmas we've ever had.  We cleaned, we cooked, we baked, we shopped, we cleaned some more.  Hosting Christmas turned out to be a very good decision.  Everyone had a wonderful time and Charlotte was able to nap in her own bed, which translated to a happy baby all day long.

Let's back up a second to Christmas Eve.  I asked Chad what I should make and he suggested mac & cheese.  I didn't want to just make any old mac & cheese, especially since his mom was arriving that morning from Maine and his brother was in town on leave from the military.  I found a recipe for Baked Macaroni and Cheese which is possibly the best mac & cheese recipe ever.  I used extra sharp cheddar (yum) and bought pre-cooked bacon as a time saver.  This recipe is incredible, easy, and makes a TON so you can easily feed a large crowd or have plenty to freeze for later.  Right now I have 6 individual servings in my freezer to pull out when I don't feel like cooking.  Or making breakfast.  I had mac & cheese for breakfast.








Delicious.

Later on, Chad and I let Charlotte open her gifts from us (Santa will bring the presents next year).  She mostly enjoyed the paper and bows but I was delighted to see how much she loved the blocks I made!



I made a bag for them with fabric yo-yos and a big letter "C" on the front.  I didn't get a good shot of it, so you'll just have to imagine :)





A sock in one hand and a block in the other.  Life is good.

Chad and I exchanged gifts in the evening.  He gave me so many great things, many of which I'll be blogging about in the near future.  I have about a thousand project ideas.  In the meantime, here's the fabric stash bin he picked out:


He found it at this great Etsy shop

Christmas day was busy--my house looked like Santa's workshop exploded.  Charlotte opened (tons) more presents and we ate, ate, and ate some more.  It was an exhaustingly wonderful day.



Merry Christmas--I hope yours was fabulous.


This photo is courtesy of my friend Sara


~Stacy