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Taking Matters Into His Own Hands

After tripping over this piece of flooring every single day for the past 8 months, Andrew decided to take the matter in his own hands.

We won!!! We won!!!

We won the Sarasota Chamber of Commerce Minority Business of the Year!!! woohoo!

The awards ceremony was yesterday, attended by over 600 business, political and community leaders. The press was there - I was interviewed by a local television station and a very nice article ran on the front page Business section of 2 newspapers.

I don't even remember what I said during my acceptance speech. All I remember is some laughter (I think I made a joke) and applause for saying something a little controversial.

The award that we won is titled "Minority Business of the Year" - while I am very honored to receive the award, it kinda hit a nerve with me. When we were growing up in Nebraska in the 70's, we were minorities. Moving to Los Angeles and San Francisco, we were just one of many cultures and races. I don't think I even used the word minority when we lived in CA.

Sarasota/Bradenton is not Nebraska, but it is not Los Angeles either. In the spirit of diversity and forward thinking, I believe that the Sarasota Chamber really needs to re-think this category.
My kids don't know the word "minority." They know "Chinese American" and "Asian" - but I never taught them the word "minority." Thats because they shouldn't have to know this distinction. We are a human race, all different shades of colors, and we should totally celebrate our culture. But to have a word that distinguishes Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, Middle Easterners...basically any other race that is not Caucasian....in this day and age is just not right. Its time to retire the word "minority" and celebrate cultural differences of all races.

I do not want my kids to have to be labeled anything other than just a kid.

So I guess that while flattered with this award, I hope that I can give a different perspective to the community.

Andrew's Hole In One

Last weekend, we took the kids to play miniature golf....Andrew got a hole in one all by himself!! I helped Nathan with a shot and we got a hole in one too!

Andrew is actually really good at putt-putt golf. He swings with conviction and he putts gently.

Nathan...well...he thinks the game is to hit once, chase the ball and pick it up and drop it in the hole. Cute even though he kept picking up everyone's balls and dropping them in the hole!

Here are the rest of the pictures. Scroll towards the end to see golfing pics.

Nathan the Cross Dresser

IMG_5599, originally uploaded by Steamy Kitchen.

His favorite thing to do in the morning is get a pair of someone else's shoes and walk around the house with them. The higher, the better because then he can walk on tile and make lots of noise.

This is becoming a trend....hmmm.....

Bagels

Andrew loves little mini bagels. He'll eat 3 whole bagels in one sitting, with cream cheese of course.

Last week, he held one up just like this, and said, "Look MOMMMY!!! I'm eating a BUTT-HOLE!"

Nathan got his swim trophy too! He was so proud of it, "same same like Andrew!" But he would not take off those silly swim goggles, even when they fogged up and he couldn't see out of them.

April

I have been spending so much time on my other website http://steamykitchen.wordpress.com/ that I haven't had a chance to really post much about the kids' adventures. :-( I know, I need to keep these memories alive!

Dear Andrew,
I am SO proud of you! This month you got a little trophy from Miss Amy, your swimming teacher when you finished your sessions. The trophy was priceless- you eyed it when we first arrived that day...and I told you that if you did your swim-float-swim that you could earn your trophy too. For the next 10 minutes, your swimming was flawless and you concentrated so hard to make it perfect.

When Miss Amy handed you the trophy, I almost cried. Your first trophy! Andrew, I will never forget this moment, because it was the first time that you glowed with that so much pride. It was something that you worked so very hard for, swimming every single day, practicing and learning. I think you understood the concept of "I earned this."


You held the trophy above your head with both hands and exclaimed, "Mommy! I have a Piston Cup!" (from the movie Cars) The excitement on your face was priceless.

We went to school and you brought that trophy for show and tell. Ms. Ashley said that you never let go of that trophy all day long. On the playground, it went down the slide with you, on the swing, through the playhouse. In the class, it never left your side, you even took a nap clutching the trophy.

At home, you didn't even let your brother or any of us touch it. Every person that came through our door at that night's dinner party, you proudly held it up, "Look, I got a trophy!!" The cutest moment was when you were riding your Razor scooter. Since you needed both hands, you put the trophy behind you on the scooter's platform and rode around with the trophy in the 'back seat.'

Andrew, you are also developing quite a bit of attitude. Uncle Jay was here visiting, and you weren't listening to me when I told you to pick up your toys (for the 3rd time). So I said, "Ok, Andrew, pick up your toys or you'll get a spanking."

"NO! I don't want to!" he continues playing with his toy.

I spanked him.

(andrew glared at me) "that didn't hurt mom."

I'm totally speechless. Uncle Jay had to hide his head because he was trying not to laugh. In the end, I totally busted out laughing.

----
Dear Nathan,
All of the sudden you are talking in full sentences! Mommy and Daddy have to remember this and try not to use babytalk with you anymore. Because it sounds so silly when we do now;

"Nathan, night-night time? go bye-bye?"

"Mommy, no. I don't want to. I'm not tired."

Every single day, oh, at random times of the day, you'll say to us, "We're going to Disneyworld?" Anytime we pack you up in the car, you'll say "Disneyworld?" If I'm putting on make up, "Disneyworld?" If I even glance at my car keys, "Disneyworld?" If we even use the word "going" in a sentence, you say "Disneyworld?"




----
Dear Boys,

The funniest moment this month had to be just a few nights ago. The four of us were sitting at the dinner table, eating our pasta. Every one was quietly eating. I look up and Nathan, you were staring off to the side, with the most serious, concerned look on your face. The brows were tight, your eyes were focused on something outside the window.

"Nathan, whats going on?"

(big mouthful of pasta) "Iadfkna pfffshttfpin" (brows even more tight)

"Whats did you say?"

Daddy looks at you, sees your strange look on your face "Nathan, are you ok?"

(still chewing) "Ihjksfjfsfgkllaaapin"

Now, mommy and daddy are both curious, "What did you say? Say again Nathan."

"Ikaglakghsfjskgpin"

Andrew, obviously was bored from the conversation and even more bored from the pasta and chicken dish. He had one elbow on the table, propping his head up, the other lazily forking some pasta. Without even looking up, he rolled his eyes and said in a bored, exasperated manner, "He said he's poopin."

"Nathan, are you pooping?"

"Yessftf."


----
Note: I'll post more tomorrow - its 2:30am and I'm getting tired!

Mangrove Grill

We had an amazing time Saturday night at Mangrove Grill - the weather was totally perfect and it just was a perfect evening.

I'm teaching Andrew how to use my big fancy Canon Rebel XT camera - he is amazing on focusing on things.(oh yeah and not dropping the camera) He knows what he want to take a picture of and zeroes in on the subject. So cute to see his tiny hands grip that massive camera so tightly, yet he knows that he has to be delicate with his trigger finger to snap the shot. Sometimes he squints both eyes instead of just one and says, "I can't see!" So what did he take a pic of? Guess which ones he took:

A very proud boy

Andrew is so proud of his swimming trophy! He took it to school for show and tell, and for 24 hours, did not let go of the trophy - the thing even came with him to the bathroom!

More pics here (most recent at the end)

Me and my brother

My brother, originally uploaded by jadenhair.

I love my brother Jay!

Our Pet, the Lion

I wonder who he was referring to when he responded with "LION" - though come to think of it, the timing of that assignment synchronized nicely with my monthly PMS schedule.

Happy Easter!

DON'T EVEN ASK

IMG_3493, originally uploaded by jadenhair.

He disappeared for 10 minutes, came back looking like this. He did this ALL BY HIMSELF!!!! It reminds me of a time, oh about 25 years ago when my brother did the same thing.

Thats so scary.

WWJD?!?

Nathan came home with this nifty piece of artwork. I just didn't get the sticker with "WWJD" on it.

Where in the World did John Doe go?

Willy Wonka Jumpin Dots?

When Will Jujubees Die?

No....its really "What Would Jesus Do?"

I didn't know Jesus was so hip that he had his own acronym! I need one too!

Day at the Beach

We went on a lame Easter Egg Hunt:



And we went to the beach to hunt for seashells!



Nathan kissed his girlfriend again:




Click here to see the rest of the photos!

Very cool tool

Look what I discovered today online! You upload any photo and within minutes, a mosiac is created filled with photos from flickr. Its so cool! Click on the photo above to get a full sized image

http://imagemosaicgenerator.click42.com

DAN! DAN!

"Andrew, what does a firetruck say?"

"Wooowooowooowooo DAN! DAN! Wooowooowooowoo!"

I kept asking Andrew who is the hell is Dan? Is he the fireman? Is he the dispatcher? What does he look like? I meditated on it. I woke up in the middle of the night wondering who is Dan. I asked God who he was. Buddha didn't know either.

Then, DUH! DUH! I got it.

You see, the DAN! DAN! is the horn thingy that the firetrucks sound off in between the sirens. Of course you knew that.

The only explanation that I can come up with on WHY IT TOOK ME 5 DAYS TO FIGURE OUT was we never had DAN! DAN! growing up. And the ONLY time I was ever asked "What does a firetruck say?" was when I was a kid. Its just not a topic of conversation during fine cocktail hour.

Thats my explanation and I'm stickin' to it.

Nathan's Girlfriend

My friend, Julie's daughter. Her name is Jocelyn. Nathan is so in love - they sat next to each other eating dinner and had conversation with each other all night.

Click here to see other pics from this weekend.

New Recipes Posted

We prepared an amazing feast for our friends this past Sunday.  

Marinated Grilled Skirt Steak
Persian Cherry Rice
Moroccan Grilled Shrimp & Vegetable Skewers
Tiramisu

Recipes at www.steamykitchen.com

Visit from the Haugstatters!

Last week our old neighbors came to visit - Brooke and Harley are so big now!  The kids just came right in and within minutes it was as if they had never left.  Of course we miss them so much. Funny thing is that their old house is up on the market....maybe they can buy back their old house $100K less than what they sold it for!

Andrew and Harley



The beautiful girls: Brooke & Harley

Nathan, International Playboy

The funniest thing happened yesterday - I was sitting outside on the lanai ready a magazine when Nathan comes over, drags his little patio chair next to me, runs back inside and comes back with 3 items:

Daddy's sunglasses
Daddy's cell phone
Sippy cup with Vodka maritni (ok, just kidding) Apple juice

He plops himself in the chair, puts the cup in its holder, puts on Daddy's sunglass...UPSIDE down...and proceeds to dial Po Po's number on the cell phone (I'm sure we'll get our cell phone bill and see that Nathan really called Istanbul for 2 hours)

After a 2 minute conversation with PoPo, which included words such as "chocolate" "ok" and "good boy"... he called MiMi and that conversation included "Disneyworld"  
"Magic Dingdong" and "good boy."  

I couldn't quite make out the whole conversation, but I think it had to do with telling both his 
grandmas that he was a good boy and deserved to be showered with many gifts and prizes 
of the chocolate flavor.  I bet he didn't even mention that 45 minutes ago, he had his chocolate 
confiscated because he whacked his brother in the head with a wooden train track.  

After the calls, he looks at me and he says, "Look at me! I'm Daddy!"  Here are the rest of the pics.

So busted!!! Got caught kissing one of his girlfriends, Carson, at school!!!!

New Digital Doctors Pinellas Office

We are just about to sign the lease to take our 2nd office location!  It in Clearwater, about 35 minutes north of Bradenton.  The location is great - right off the major interstate and on a very very busy street.  During traffic hours, its stop and go right in front of our shop...which is perfect for exposure.  Its not going to be a "store-front" like the Bradenton shop, but more of a place where our Pinellas techs can go and work on computers, store inventory and work with customers by appointment.  We're not quite ready to have a storefront - but this gives us the opportunity to have a second location and grow into that.

We're taking over the space currently leased by a cell phone repair company - its 800 s.f. and will have new carpets.  Move in date is in May.

My New Cooking Blog

I've decided to keep my recipes separate from my ramblings about life...visit my new cooking site to see recipes and photos of dishes that I make!

www.steamykitchen.com

Banana-nanna Bread

What do you with 6 over ripe bananas?  Why make Banana-nanna Bread of course!  This is by far the best Banana Bread I've ever had. 
Its perfectly moist and is packed with bananas so you get the full flavor of the fruit.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt (or 1/4 tsp table salt)
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/2 cups mashed overripe bananas (about 4 bananas)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.  

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir until well combined.  Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

I love using my Pampered Chef loaf pan for this.  The kids LOVE this bread warm with some butter.

Korean BBQ - Kalbi

Korean BBQ - Kalbi, originally uploaded by jadenhair.

Saturday night we prepared a Korean BBQ feast for our friends. This is Kalbi - which is grilled short ribs. I ran out of kimchee for the photo! Traditionally, you take a lettuce leaf, place rice, a piece of meat and kimchee, roll it up and eat. I enjoy using seasoned seaweed instead of the lettuce. I love the crunch and saltiness of the seaweed! Recipe will come soon.  

I'm using my new macro lens that my husband bought for me for Christmas. I still have to work on the lighting.  My next purchase will probably be some lights on a stand so that I can control the shadows and highlights better.  I would have liked to get the grains of rice in the shot better, but the sunlight-through-window created a glare on the white rice.  And darn! This pic would have been perfect with some kimchee but my friend Mac chowed down!  This pic was taken the next day after our dinner.

The biggest challenge I'm facing is once I'm done preparing a meal, its TIME TO EAT! Not time to take out the camera and fiddle with the zoom and fuss about the lighting.  So half the time I forgot to take the picture, and the other half of the time, there aren't any LEFTOVERS to take a pic of.  I had also made Chap Chae (Korean noodle dish), but didn't have any left to photograph.  I'm going to have to re-think my whole food photography strategy!

Tapioca Pearls with Sweet Coconut & Cantelope

This is a recipe from my Mom - she used to serve this in the summer time to cool off.  Usually its made with honeydew, but the cantelope was on sale, ripe and smelled so fresh!  This isn't a very well-known dessert in Asian American restaurants, but it can be found in dim-sum eateries in Hong Kong as a perfect ending to a meal.

We served this as dessert after our Korean BBQ feast.  It was just the right dessert to enjoy to cool us down after all the smoky heat of BBQ.  

Tapioca Pearls with Sweet Coconut & Cantelope
2/3 cup Tapioca (tapioca pearls - not the instant stuff!  I used the small size)
1 cup whole milk
2 cups coconut milk (full fat)
4 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar
Fruit: honeydew or cantelope, diced small

Bring water and sugar to boil. Turn heat down to low, add the milk and stir.  Once the mixture is almost back to a boil, turn off the heat.  Add the coconut milk and stir.  Remove from heat and cool in refrigerator.

While coconut milk mixture is cooling, soak tapioca pearls in cold water for 20 minutes. The pearls will expand a little and turn bright white.  Bring 4 cups of water to a boil - and add the tapioca pearls.  Stir constantly for 2 minutes.  The pearls will turn translucent.   Turn off the heat and drain the pearls in a fine colander.  Use cold running water to rinse the pearls and stop the cooking process.  Set the pearls aside until ready to serve.  

When ready to serve, ladle the coconut milk into each bowl, add a spoonful of tapioca and top with diced fruit.  Enjoy!

Some Notes  
Don't boil the coconut milk - it makes it oily.  For curries, its fine, because its a hot spicy dish. But for a cool, simple dessert, you need to make sure that the heat is turned off before stirring.

Don't add the tapioca or fruit until right before serving. If you add it in and let it sit, the dish will become bitter.  Why? I don't know....my momma said so!

Use full fat coconut milk. I rarely use lite because its just not worth it.  Save your calories on something else, but not the coconut milk!  I also get my coconut milk at an Asian market. I've tried other brands at regular supermarkets, but they never are as full flavored, thick and rich as the Thai brands. The brand that I consistently reach for is "Chaokoh."

Tapioca pearls come in different sizes - I like using small size pearls, it goes really nicely with finely diced honeydew or cantelope.  

Other variations:  Use canned lychee or diced mangoes instead.  Top the dessert with shaved coconut.  Add ginger to the coconut milk mixture (grate the ginger on a rasp or a traditional Japanese ginger grater, squeeze the pulp and only use the juice.  
there is nothing more annoying than getting ginger fibers stuck in your teeth!)

Brothers

IMG_2823, originally uploaded by jadenhair.

Hi, I haven't posted in a while. Its been very very busy here at the business (which is great!) but leaves me very little time for fun things like keeping up with this blog.

Here are some pics of the boys! I'm also busy designing a new website just for my cooking and posting of recipes.

Link to Technorati

Technorati Profile

Happy Birthday Nathan!

Nathan is 2 years old! We made 2 train cakes - one to share with his friends at school and the other to share that night with our family friends at home.

Here are more pics from December.

Holy Trains!

The game they played was how close can they get their nose to the moving toy train without getting scolded by Mom. over. and over. and over. and over. again.

Gingerbread house version 2006

The mistreated and misunderstood vegetable.

I first had hashed brussels sprouts at a nice waterfront gucci-type restaurant in Longboat Key called Pattigeorge's.  I like brussels sprouts, but the only recipes I ever see for them are so similar and boring. Such a shame for such a cute vegetable!  I always vowed that if someone came up with a good recipe that showcased the nuttiness and slightly bitter quality of the vegetable, I would be a lifelong spokesperson for the green nub.

Here is my version:

Hashed Brussels Sprouts
1 lemon
1 lb brussels sprouts
2 Tbs olive oil
2 tsp butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs white wine
1/2 small onion, chopped
1/2 tsp sugar

1) Grate lemon zest and juice the lemon. You should have about 3T of lemon juice.

2) Cut off the bottom stem of the sprouts, discard. Slice the sprouts thinly, place in glass bowl and toss with 2T of lemon juice. Finely chop onion and mince the garlic.

3) In large skillet, heat oil and butter together. When hot, add the onion and cook over medium heat until onion is soft and transparent. Add garlic, stir for 1 minute until garlic is fragrant.
4 Turn heat to high, add sprouts. Fry until sprouts are soft and lightly cooked. About 4 minutes. Add white wine, 1T of lemon juice, 1T of zest, sugar, salt and pepper to taste.

Optional:  You could also brown small cubes of pancetta with the onion to add a smoky flavor to the dish.  

Secrets to bread baking

...that most cookbooks won't tell you:

1) The reason shaping the dough is important:  In the recipe for "No Knead Bread" this is when you shape the dough into a "ball" shape.  You want to create surface tension, so that the second rising produces an beautiful, even bread that bakes evenly.  I usually will use my hands to smooth and stretch the surface and pinch the bottom to hold that tension.

2) The covered pot will trap moisture in the bread, creating a steamy environment that is perfect for producing a crust.  It acts like a mini-hearth oven that radiates the heat evenly on all sides.

3)  Rose Beranbaum, author of The Bread Bible, has a blog - myself and a few others have been chatting with her about this recipe.  
She suggest that you don't need to punch down the dough for multiple risings - this will "overexercise" the dough, it will tighten the crumb and you won't get the nice airy holes that make this bread so darn good.

4)  I used my Pampered Chef large rectangular baker for perfect results. The first time I tried this recipe, I used my very expensive Le Creuset pot - however that was a bad idea. While the bread was perfect, the Le Creuset's max safe temperature is 450.  Using the convection setting, the oven probably got a lot hotter than that.  My husband would not appreciate exploding porcelein enameled cast iron at $20 per square inch.  I was on a mission to find a cheap-o cast iron covered pot today, but I had the kids with me. Tootin' around town with them for 3 hours and $60 in bribes (bubble gum, gummy bears, Brio train tunnel) later, no luck.  So I guess if I ever find this "cheap" cast iron dutch oven - I should probably add the 
cost of the bribes to calculate true COGS (cost of goods sold)....and it will probably turn a $20 pot into more like $120, depending on COB (cost of bribes).  This just doesn't make sense, huh?  I could have bought online, but I was thinking to save $10 on shipping and just buy locally here.  Crap. I'm screwed!  It would have been cheaper to hire a babysitter.  Now I'm digressing....back to bread....

5)  Why do you not need to "knead" the bread?  Here is an excerpt from NY Times article, quoting Howard McGee.   Never mind, NY Times makes you pay for the archives.  Anyways, if I remember correctly, Howard McGee, the author of On Food and Cooking, which is the bible on food science, says that the long, slow rising will have the same effect as kneading. 
Giving the dough 18 hours to rise PLUS using so little yeast is what make this bread so delicious.  It allows the gluten to develop slowly, producing a lighter, tender, airy bread.  The wetness of the dough makes it hard to knead anyways. Wet dough produces the best bread.

6)  The internal temperature of the bread should be 210 degrees.

7) Everyone measures differently, so the best way to measure how much flour to use is to weigh it.  16.5 oz is what I use.  You want to be pretty exact in following recipes for baking.  Flour is difficult to measure with measuring cup because people scoop differently and humidity will also affect how the flour settles and sits in the container.  

8)  If you don't have 12-18 hours to let rise, double the amount of yeast to 1/2 tsp and let rise for 6-8 hours.  

9)  After baking, let the bread cool 20 minutes before cutting into it.  Why?  I forgot why. hmmm....need to research.  Something about implosion of your kitchen floor.  But honestly, like a kid with a candy bar, I can never wait the entire 20 minutes and I end up standing at the kitchen counter with knife in hand, salivating until I can't stand it anymore.  I've never been known for my patience.  Oh well.  

10) Bread flour is different than All Purpose flour. I've only used Bread Flour in this recipe, which contains higher gluten.  Bread flour also has other additives that allow the gas to be trapped in the dough during the risings better than All Purpose.  It gives the bread the nice chewy texture.

11)  Too tired to think of the 11th smart thing to say about bread.  So, I'll leave it at this and go to sleep!

No-Knead Bread

I haven't been this excited about baking in a long long time.   I think foodies would understand my obsession with baking the perfect loaf of bread  and making the perfect pizza dough.  This weekend, I accomplished both!  




Its the easiest recipe ever - Andrew helped me make it! The recipe is adapted from NY Times article on Jim Lahey on "No Knead Bread."  Here is the article, but more importantly, here is the video to show how simple it is.

I have some adjustments to the recipe - first of all, there is no way that "room temp" is 70 degrees here. Its more like 77 in November.  Secondly, I have a convection oven that I like to use.  The ease of this bread and combination of different bread baking techniques makes this recipe one that will be passed down generations.

The Perfect Loaf
Adapted from Jim Lahey "No Knead Bread" published by NY Times

3 cups bread flour (16.5 oz)
1 1/2 cups warm room temp water
1/4 teaspoon yeast
1 tablespoon kosher salt

1. In bowl, combine all ingredients until it comes together into a doughy mass. I use my hands like a dough hook, but you could certainly use a big wooden spoon.  This should only take a minute or two.  The dough will be shaggy looking and wet.  Cover tightly with plastic wrap.

2. Let dough rest for at least 12 hours like this.  Ideal is 18 hours, but since it is warmer than 70 degrees in my home, I usually leave it for 12 hours.

3. About 2 hours before you want to bake, put dough on floured counter, stretch it out long
vertically.  Take top end, fold down. Take bottom end, fold up (sort of like an envelope). Take left end, fold to the right.  Take right end, fold to left.  The goal is to the the dough into a round ball shape.  Place dough, seam side down on a floured towel.  Let sit for 2 hours.

4. One hour before you want to bake, turn on your oven to 450 degrees, place a covered pot  in the oven to pre-heat. Some home ovens don't go that high in temp, just use the highest setting you have.

5. When you are ready to bake, carefully dump the dough in the pot, trying to get the seam side up.  Cover with lid.  Turn oven down to 425 (convection) or keep at 450 (regular oven). Bake 27 minutes.  Uncover.  Bake additional 15-20 minutes, until nicely browned - burnt caramel color.  (internal temperature of bread should be 210 degrees)

Thats it! You will be rewarded with a thin, crunchy brown crust, large, open holes. The bread is slightly chewy, flavorful and perfect texture.

Baking your own bread is deeply soul satisfying, it makes me feel like I am so close to the earth.  I can taste the wheat. 

Tonight, as I placed the tip of my knife into the bread and moved down through the crust, the snap and crunch of the crust gave way to tender, spongy body.  I knew even without tasting it, that it was the most perfect loaf of bread that I have ever made.  
Andrew and I slathered butter on our slices.  We sat on the kitchen floor, my hands still with traces of flour, and had a wonderful moment of just enjoying bread that we made together.  

Just like his Po-Po, Andrew loves bread.  Each time, he would come ask, "More bread please" with arms outstretched. I would place a warm buttered slice in his small hands - he cradled it so gently, carefully ran to the stairs, never taking his eyes off the prize.  He sat on the third step and ate his bread, wiggling his toes between bites.  Three times he did this.

Yes, this is my son. Perhaps one day when he is older, he will read this recipe and story and remember how his Mommy taught him how to eat homemade 
bread - with lots of butter and with eyes closed, totally savoring every single bite.

The Perfect Pizza

I'm bummed that I forgot to snap pics of the pizza (too hungry to remember) - but I can tell you this - my boys LOVED the crust. It had a firm bite, chewy interior and browned perfectly on the bottom.  So, after 4 years of searching, experimenting, eating and gaining 10 pounds, this is it:

The Ultimate Pizza Dough
Adapted from American Pie by Peter Reinhardt

Makes 3  12-ounce dough balls

5 cups (22.5 ounces) of bread flour
3 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons salt (or 3 1/2 teasp kosher salt)
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 3/4 cups room temperature water

1. In electric mixer, combine all dry ingredients.  Slowly add in the water/honey mixture until just combined.

2. Mix with dough hook on low speed for 2 minutes. Stop, using spatula, combine any last loose bits of dough.  Mix on low for another 2 minutes or until all flour incorporated and forms a course ball.

3.  Let dough rest for 5 minutes.  Mix again on med-low for 2 minutes or until dough clears the sides of the bowl and sticks just a little bit on the bottom of the bowl.  Adjust flour/water as necessary.

4.  Take dough out, knead lightly by hand for 1 minute. Divide into 3 equal portions.  Round each piece into a ball and brush lightly with olive oil.  Place each ball in a gallon-sized ziploc bag. Let balls sit at room temperature for 15 minutes, then put them in the refrigerator overnight (or freeze)

5.  Next day, remove dough from refrigerator 2 hours prior to baking. Punch down, let sit on counter until ready to bake.

(Bake with sauce and toppings on pre-heated pizza stone: 450 degrees for 7-9 minutes)



 

Ratting out your mother

Dear boys,
We've had a fun-filled month - MiMi and Papa came to visit, and then PoPo and GongGong came to stay for a week.  Nathan, you discovered the magic of saying "tick-or-tweeeet" - too bad it only works on 1 day of the the year.

Andrew - there are times when I absolutely know that you are my child.  Those times include: 

a) when you so politely request if you can have chocolate for dinner because you had a tough-luck day and don't feel well

b) in the morning when I am still half asleep and I put socks on your cold little feet 
that don't quite match.  Even if the socks are BOTH the same shade of off-white, but one has a 1/4" ridge and the other has 1/8" ridge, you will throw a hissy fit because they don't match.  

And then there are times when I wonder who spawned this child.

Specifically, earlier this year when I rear-ended a cop and you told me 

"Mommy, YOU HIT A POLICEMAN!  You are in big trouble!  You need to go home and go 
to TIME OUT!"  

It really wasn't THAT bad - I mearly tapped his car - in fact, there was absolutely no damage to either car. It was just too bad that I did this in FRONT OF 4 other policemen on a MAJOR street right in my neighborhood.  This is the same major street that all my friends, enemies, associates, customers, co-workers and community leaders use precisely at 9:34 a.m.  Of course at that time, I was driving the Digi-mobile which not only has a 2-foot logo of our company in bright yellow - but also our phone number on all sides of the truck.

The cop made me pull over for 40 minutes , while he ran my I.D. through CODIS, AFIS, FBI Most Wanted, and the national database of "mothers who let their kids eat candy for dinner for sole purpose of bribing them to behaving in public places"

In the meantime, my son questions me: "Mommy, why did you hit that policeman?" "Are you in trouble?" "Policeman is going to put you in a cave."

"Andrew, I didn't hit a policeMAN, it was a policeCAR."

As the cop came back to our car, he nodded over to Andrew in the back seat.  At that precise moment, I knew I would be forever in deep shit.  With that simple nod, he and my son had a mutual understanding, an unspoken male bond that communicated, 

"Yes, I know officer. It is my duty to uphold the traditions of the brotherhood federation of police force world wide (the same damn brotherhood that calls your house twice a year asking for donations).  I will punish my mother.  I will make sure that she will never ever forget this day.  This punishment will be far greater than any ticket you can give her."

"My son, May the force be with you."

So, now fast forward to present.....picture this:

Its dark, 7:30pm.  Both kids in car.  Full from nice dinner out. Husband driving in his car behind me. 
Lonely dark stretch of Lorraine Road.  On phone with husband to pass the time driving while
kids are quietly watching movie in back seat.

Husband: "Oh there's a cop! And he's making a U-turn going to catch someone."

Me: "What stupid idiot is making trouble?"

Me: "OH !(*#@&!(*%!@$!!!!"
(pull over, roll down window)

Officer: "Hi Ma'am. Did you know you were speeding?"

Me: "Hi officer. Yes, I know I was speeding. I am SO SORRY. Just trying to get the kids home."

Andrew: (very casually in an exasperated tone, without taking his eyes off the movie)
"Mommy, did you hit a policeman AGAIN???"

Me: (silently projecting) "SHUT THE *&@#$!!!-UP ANDREW"

Officer: (shines flashlight at Andrew in the back seat)
(very long awkward pause)

He let me go with just a written warning.  I think he recognized Andrew from the Brotherhood 
yearbook.  
 

Knitted Stocking

Nathan's stocking, originally uploaded by jadenhair.

This must be my month of finishing. I'm getting good at not starting a new project until I've finished another. This was based on Nicky Epstein's free pattern floating on the web. It took a LONG time to find this pattern - I don't think its well known. Other than the stocking dimensions, candy cane and holly leaves, the rest of the stocking design is my own. I think it needs one or two more things (and the back is plain), but I wanted to leave room for making a new embellishment every year. The off-white yarn is not 100% wool - its a very soft, fluffy yarn I found at Jo-ann. I had to trim with red furry fabric so that we could stuff the stocking with goodies without stretching it out. I still need to embroider Nathan's name on it. (Mimi is making Andrew's stocking). I also used the knitting machine that my friend Jan taught me how to use on the body of the stocking. It only took 10 minutes to knit!

I also used the knitting machine on the gray sweater that I am wearing in the previous post. Thank you Jan for teaching me!

Next project will be to finish this project that I started a few months ago.

The Next Food Network Star

Wish me luck....I just sent off my audition tape to The Food Network!!!

I bribe my sons

This is the sweater that I had made for Andrew - I finally got him to stand still for a picture. Of course I had to bribe him (1) one Hershey's Kiss to be a model for 5 minutes.

I also knit the grey sweater I'm wearing. Its for my mom as a gift so I'll post more detailed pics of it another time.

More pics