Awwwwhhh.....

Ain't she cute??


That is, when she's not licking the screen.

50 States of Mind

This one's for all my kooky homeschooling pals who might be looking for ideas for next year's curriculum....



Adam saw them out touring Delaware tonight, so we had to check out the blog.

I Swear....

...over a bar of Scharffen Berger's 72% cacao 10th anniversary limited series blend, that even after three years of owning this house, every single time I do any kind of work in the yard I find an old ball (or two, or three). Really.

The previous owners had 3 sons and they lived here for 15 years.....so I guess that adds up to a lot of ball playing--and ball losing--in the yard. Or else, it's a house ghost that is just trying to torment me.

p.s. I finally finished uploading the pictures for a post I started a month ago on my summer garden, but it won't show up unless you scroll down for it....or just click here.

On the Town

"New York, New York! What a wonderful town. The Bronx is up and the Battery's down; the people ride in a hole in the ground. New York, New York...what a wonderful town!"

Phew! I'm finally catching up on the post about my recent long weekend in NYC with some of my favorite people (and four of whom I've known since elementary school). Thanks to absolutely perfect weather and a city full of amazing food, with no shortage of sightseeing, hours of museum walking, delis and dessert shops that stay open late, and the kind of friends where the conversations are extensive, are never without some serious belly laughter, and can always go longer, we had ourselves a really, really, really, really (did I say REALLY!) fabulous time.

And a big thanks to Sharon, quite possibly the best MIL ever, for hosting us (complete with a new set of Sister Solidarity Socks). And thanks to Adam, certainly the best husband ever, who didn't even flinch when I said that I was planning to spend four days away and leave him with house and kids and kitty-litter duty (ok, actually, he does that one anyway). However, he did try and give me a scare about what outfits he dressed the girls in for church.

So, if you can endure my travel log, here's how it went down--with thanks to Anna, Emily, and Challey for allowing me to pilfer some of these pictures from their far more interesting blog posts about the trip.

Eating.
What's a trip to NYC without some seriously good eats?

Becca with a falafel on Upper West Side

Grimaldi's pizza--under the Brooklyn Bridge

Anna with a cream puff from Beard Papa's.

Pie and cheesecake from Carnegie Deli (after seeing Mary Poppins)

Anna and I with a Rueben

Meeting Julie for dinner and desserts in the West Village

last dinner out...uummm, Indian

Cheese blintzes from Zabar's for breakfast

Museums




Walking (and walking and walking), sightseeing, and a little shopping mixed in

And top it all off with a little Celebrity Sighting
.....here's where we saw Tina Fey filming an episode of 30 Rock while we were walking across the Brooklyn Bridge.

It was such a fantastic trip--I think that Anna summed it up perfectly with her Soul Food post. Thanks all--let's do it again!

The End

Why it pays off being married to a true scientist

this is all that is left this morning......after I ate 5 or so for breakfast, that is

Whereas I would have said something like, "just trust that Fanny Farmer to make a good peanut butter cookie," over the last month someone else in the house got a bee in his bonnet when it came to making a better cookie. And after much research, experimentation, and note taking, (with my willing sampling and evaluation), I believe that it's safe to say that he's finally reached perfection.

Okay, he is reticent to declare perfection after "only four measley attempts," he's demanding to take over this post in order to add a few clarifications before he's willing to make public his new recipe. Take it away Cookie Maker:

Actually it is only three measley attempts to recreate some peanut butter cookies I made last year for Mother's Day. Basically last Mother's Day I made a recipe which was an amalgam of multiple peanut butter cookie recipes. The cookies turned out with a very rich shortbread texture. Since I hadn't really documented the combination I ran three experiments in an attempt to find a peanut butter cookie J would love as much as the first batch.

Experiment 1. Joy of Cooking p. 831. This produced a stand up melt-in your mouth chewy PB cookie.

Experiment 2. Cooks Illustrated's "The New Best Recipe" minus peanuts in the food processor. Basically I was being lazy since I was cooking with 3 little helpers so I skipped the food processor step. This produced a batch which wasn't as "melt in your mouthy" to quote Jennette, but this probably needs to be repeated with the exact recipe for a fair judgement.

Experiment 3. Joy of Cooking p. 831 minus vegetable oil & increased PB to 1 1/3 C. This produced the shortbread texture that Jennette remembered so fondly from Mother's Day 2007. So, here's the recipe I used.

Preheat oven to 350°F (I used convection because I love having all the cookies going simultaneously, I can't bear to cook cookies without it.)

Whisk together thoroughly

2.5 C flour

1.25 t baking powder

0.5 t baking soda

0.25 t salt

Beat on medium speed until well blended and fluffy

1.33 C Peanut butter

12 T (1.5 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1/3 C powdered sugar

1C packed light brown sugar

Add and beat until well combined:

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

2.5 t vanilla

Stir in the flour mixture. Let the dough stand for 5' to firm. Roll into balls, drop on cookie sheet and use a fork to make the standard PB cookie pattern. Bake 9-12' until brown at the edges (rotate sheet halfway through if you don't have convection). Let the cookies firm before transferring to wire rack to cool. Due to their shortbread texture you need to treat them gently or they will fall apart on you.

Personally I still have at least 2 or 3 more experiments before I can feel comfortable with declaring victory. I would like to repeat Experiment 3, but with 1 1/4 to 1 1/3 C of crunchy peanut butter because I think it will taste better. Then maybe a Cooks Illustrated with the food processor ground peanut dust, and maybe even the more traditional shortening based Fanny Farmer/RS cookbook that most of us grew up with.

So that's where we are so far. We'll keep you posted on any further developments.

Of Socks and Solidarity

When I pulled these socks out of the drawer today I remembered that it is almost 3 years to the weekend since two of my dearest girlfriends from Berkeley (and dearest friends in general) and I had a reunion in New York City. My mother-in-law, ever the gracious and generous hostess, bought us each a pair of these socks to celebrate our weekend together being free from kids and houses, and she named them the Sister Solidarity Socks. We wore them with pride.

Today as I put them on I thought about how now one of these friends is going through an experience so hard and painful that I would wish it on no one. For weeks--no months--now she's faced a road of emotional challenges that has been nothing but uphill and that would level even the strongest of spirits. And as my heart has been daily breaking for her, I am still amazed at her fortitude and endurance. But now she's facing immediate decisions and actions that require her to be stronger and more vigilant and more faithful than she's probably ever been asked to have been before--and to do this by herself. At least she feels like she's by herself. But I want her to know that I wear these socks today, once again, in solidarity because she is not and will never be alone. And I know that it is not just me but that there are many others out there whose thoughts and prayers (both silent and aloud) are also for her.

My meager message for her: Trust. Hope.

And know that you are loved.

I Mop

Remember when I had my old kitchen floor and it was so ugly and I told myself that it didn't make any difference if I mopped it or not because it always looked disgusting no matter what. And then remember how I promised myself that when I got the new and beautiful wood floor that mopping would surely be a priority. Well, not so much. I could use the excuse that since I was taught in the mopping school of on-hands-and-knees-with-razor blade-and-toothbrush, and that using a quick and easy stick mop is worthless, that naturally it would take anyone a long time to get around to it. But, who am I fooling.

Nonetheless, I'm patting myself on the back today because it's clean !

Maybe it's not a red-letter day at your house, but it is at ours. Check back with me in 4 months and I'll let you know if it happened again.

p.s. Also, I mowed the lawn today too. How's that for more back-patting!