Big game tonight at the indoor soccer arena - D's team took on an undefeated powerhouse - and we won!! It was a nail-biter, but with less than a minute left to play, Daniel scored his first goal of the season to win it!! He was PUMPED!!
I didn't actually get the goal on screen when he scored - I tend to get excited and forget to pay attention to where the camera is pointing - but you can clearly here me yelling in a very redneck sort of way when the ball goes in. Enjoy! Daniel is #13 in the blue jersey.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Bebop with Aesop
The Fourth Grade classes put on a musical program called "Bebop with Aesop"at tonight's PTA meeting. It was really, really well done. The chorus wore togas and green laurels, and different kids got to be characters in five different fables. Everyone knew their lines, and everyone was really animated and into it.
Daniel was the grasshopper in the story about the grasshopper and the ants, where the ants were all work, work, work, work, work, and the grasshopper was all hop, hop, hop, hop, hop. Then winter rolls around and the grasshopper freezes and starves his caboose off while the mean old ants enjoy the spoils of their labor. Or something like that.
Daniel did a great job! And check out that wicked cool costume - wonder who helped him with that?
Daniel was the grasshopper in the story about the grasshopper and the ants, where the ants were all work, work, work, work, work, and the grasshopper was all hop, hop, hop, hop, hop. Then winter rolls around and the grasshopper freezes and starves his caboose off while the mean old ants enjoy the spoils of their labor. Or something like that.
Daniel did a great job! And check out that wicked cool costume - wonder who helped him with that?Sunday, February 15, 2009
Improving on Perfection
Submitted for your approval....The Banana Crunch Muffin:
Long-time readers of this blog are well-acquainted with my love for this muffin. Hailing from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, this culinary delight sports walnuts, bananas, and granola. It makes for an extremely hearty breakfast muffin. Some might call it - dare I say it? - the perfect muffin. My apologies to blueberry muffin fans (of which I am one myself), but I do think this muffin achieves perfection. I love to bake a batch on the weekend, and eat them all week for breakfast.
And long-time readers will also recall that I have made one modification to this muffin to make it a healthier breakfast option: I started using white whole wheat flour instead of plain AP flour. It did change the texture and color slightly, but actually made it better in my opinion. A recent kitchen experiment made me wonder if I couldn't improve it even more.
The kitchen experiment to which I refer is homemade granola. Since oatmeal is on my superfood list, I have been trying to get more of it. One of the ways to get oatmeal is to eat granola. Most store-bought granola, however, is loaded with sugar and salt, not to mention unidentifiable chemicals that somehow keep it fresh. So I thought - why not make my own? How hard could it be?
Not hard at all, I discovered. I combined a couple of recipes to land on one that uses oatmeal, almonds, walnuts, (nuts are also on the superfood list), vegetable oil, honey, cinnamon, and a touch of salt. It turned out really, really, good.
So good in fact, that I made another batch just to have enough to put in my banana crunch muffins. The cinnamon in the granola added just a little somethin'-somethin'. And I replaced one stick of melted butter (two total in the recipe) with a half a cup of vegetable oil to cut out some fat. They may have some out slightly drier, but I don't know if I would blame the oil as much as the baking time.
And so it happened that the perfect breakfast muffin just got more perfect. (If our founding fathers can say "more perfect", then so can I.)
I think I'll have another.
Long-time readers of this blog are well-acquainted with my love for this muffin. Hailing from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, this culinary delight sports walnuts, bananas, and granola. It makes for an extremely hearty breakfast muffin. Some might call it - dare I say it? - the perfect muffin. My apologies to blueberry muffin fans (of which I am one myself), but I do think this muffin achieves perfection. I love to bake a batch on the weekend, and eat them all week for breakfast.
And long-time readers will also recall that I have made one modification to this muffin to make it a healthier breakfast option: I started using white whole wheat flour instead of plain AP flour. It did change the texture and color slightly, but actually made it better in my opinion. A recent kitchen experiment made me wonder if I couldn't improve it even more.
The kitchen experiment to which I refer is homemade granola. Since oatmeal is on my superfood list, I have been trying to get more of it. One of the ways to get oatmeal is to eat granola. Most store-bought granola, however, is loaded with sugar and salt, not to mention unidentifiable chemicals that somehow keep it fresh. So I thought - why not make my own? How hard could it be?
Not hard at all, I discovered. I combined a couple of recipes to land on one that uses oatmeal, almonds, walnuts, (nuts are also on the superfood list), vegetable oil, honey, cinnamon, and a touch of salt. It turned out really, really, good.
So good in fact, that I made another batch just to have enough to put in my banana crunch muffins. The cinnamon in the granola added just a little somethin'-somethin'. And I replaced one stick of melted butter (two total in the recipe) with a half a cup of vegetable oil to cut out some fat. They may have some out slightly drier, but I don't know if I would blame the oil as much as the baking time.
And so it happened that the perfect breakfast muffin just got more perfect. (If our founding fathers can say "more perfect", then so can I.)
I think I'll have another.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
The Asheville Meet-Up
Today was the Asheville Meet-Up, postponed from last month due to inclement weather. We met my cousin Kelly and her family (Rob, Meredith, and Christine) at Fuddie's in Ashville, and then went on to the Grove Park Inn to hang out and visit. Paul and Sam were scheduled to make an appearance (Natalie was sick), but Sam woke up with a fever and they cancelled.
But we still had great fun! I hadn't seen Kelly in three years, and it was good to catch up face to face. We' ll be doing this again!
Oh look! Rocks to climb!
It was misty and overcast most of the day, but it cleared in time for us to spend a little time outside at the GPI.
Good times!
But we still had great fun! I hadn't seen Kelly in three years, and it was good to catch up face to face. We' ll be doing this again!
(My Grandmother passed away three years ago tomorrow. I would love for her to see this picture.)
Oh look! Rocks to climb!
It was misty and overcast most of the day, but it cleared in time for us to spend a little time outside at the GPI.Good times!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Blue and Gold
Tonight was the annual Blue and Gold Banquet:
Daniel earned his Webelos Badge and a Compass Emblem.
He went with the gas stove joke, to much applause. One girl scout threw fruit. Not really.
Mr. McCool.
Look at these handsome guys!
Mark and DP made a cookie cake for the auction. We bought it back for ourselves. We know it would be good.We are VERY proud of Daniel and his scouting accomplishments! He has worked very hard this year!
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Your Assistance Needed
Daniel's Blue and Gold Banquet is this Tuesday night. Each den is to perform a skit. The meeting during which Daniel's den was to plan their skit was canceled due to snow. So...with no skit to perform and no time to prepare one, Daniel's den leader has asked each boy to come prepared to tell a joke.
Joke-telling in front of a large group can be a dicey prospect. Long jokes with lots of details tend to flop, especially when the comedian in question is only nine years old. We're thinking DP needs to focus on something really quick and easy to tell, but also packing a lot of humorous punch.
We spent the breakfast hour this morning telling jokes in hopes that Daniel would fine that perfect joke that he could tell. I personally laughed until I cried. We told some good ones. These are our three finalists:
Joke #1: Guy goes skydiving. When he pulls the ripcord on his parachute, nothing happens. He looks around, frantically, and sees some guy coming toward him, shooting right up off the ground. As they guy flies past, he says "HEY! Do you know anything about parachutes?" The other guy says "No! Do you know anything about gas stoves?"
Joke #2: Guy gets found after spending years alone on a deserted island. A member of the rescue party sees three makeshift tents and asks what they are for. The guy says "Well, this one's where I live, and that one's where I go to church. And that one over there's where I used to go to church."
Joke #3, courtesy of Uncle Paul: A horse walks into a bar. The bartender says "Why the long face?"
Here's where you come in. Please leave a comment and vote for your favorite joke. Or leave a new joke of your own. Anything off-color or profanity-laden will obviously be ineligible for the banquet, but feel free to tell it anyway! It feels good to laugh......
Joke-telling in front of a large group can be a dicey prospect. Long jokes with lots of details tend to flop, especially when the comedian in question is only nine years old. We're thinking DP needs to focus on something really quick and easy to tell, but also packing a lot of humorous punch.
We spent the breakfast hour this morning telling jokes in hopes that Daniel would fine that perfect joke that he could tell. I personally laughed until I cried. We told some good ones. These are our three finalists:
Joke #1: Guy goes skydiving. When he pulls the ripcord on his parachute, nothing happens. He looks around, frantically, and sees some guy coming toward him, shooting right up off the ground. As they guy flies past, he says "HEY! Do you know anything about parachutes?" The other guy says "No! Do you know anything about gas stoves?"
Joke #2: Guy gets found after spending years alone on a deserted island. A member of the rescue party sees three makeshift tents and asks what they are for. The guy says "Well, this one's where I live, and that one's where I go to church. And that one over there's where I used to go to church."
Joke #3, courtesy of Uncle Paul: A horse walks into a bar. The bartender says "Why the long face?"
Here's where you come in. Please leave a comment and vote for your favorite joke. Or leave a new joke of your own. Anything off-color or profanity-laden will obviously be ineligible for the banquet, but feel free to tell it anyway! It feels good to laugh......
Friday, February 6, 2009
What I'm Reading Now
The Insight City Guide to Philadelphia.OK, so this post is more about Summer Vacation 2009 than it is about sharing good books, but I'm really not reading anything good right now. I started Rhett Butler's People, but haven't gotten very far. I actually haven't read anything since I finished The Shack at Christmas. We got Mark the new Joe Torre book for his birthday, but he gets to read it first. Nothing else seems particularly engaging. I'm open to suggestions.
But back to the Philadelphia guide. Yes - we're going to Philly for our summer vacay this year. We plan to drive to Hershey, do the Hershey Park thing, then drive through Amish Country to Philly and do the Philly thing for several days. I've never been to Philadelphia and am really excited to visit there - especially since seeing the John Adams series. I found a great hotel in Philly, and Daniel is particularly excited after having watched a Good Eats episode about the quality of pretzels in Philadelphia.
I love trip planning - almost as much as I love the trips themselves!
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
What's For Dinner? (Times 2)
This week, I took a page from Robin Miller and had a "prep-ahead" day. On Sunday, I roasted six bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts. Then I removed the skin and the bones and shredded the meat. I put it in a Tupperware container in the fridge to use this week. Here's what I did with it:
Monday: Enchilada Lasagna. Exactly what it sounds like. I got the recipe from a Good Eats episode I saw last week about tortillas. I made a chili sauce using tomato sauce, chicken broth, cumin, chili powder, and chipotle chili peppers. Then I sauteed an onion, and later added half of the chicken (just to warm it up.) Then I dipped whole wheat tortillas in the sauce, and layered them in the pan with alternate layers of the chicken, the sauce, and Monterrey jack cheese. It baked up just like a lasagna, but with a Mexican flair. Mark wants me to try it using corn tortillas, and Ben wants me to leave out the onions. But they ate it. That's something.
Tuesday: Buffalo Chicken Calzones. These ROCKED. I took the rest of the chicken and tossed it with buffalo sauce (2 parts margarine, 3 parts Texas Pete). I made pizza dough using my standard dough recipe, and rolled out two (approximately) twelve-inch rounds. I made one chicken-only calzone, and one chicken and cheese. I baked them at 450 for 15 minutes. Everyone ate the heck out of them. They were really good.
Monday: Enchilada Lasagna. Exactly what it sounds like. I got the recipe from a Good Eats episode I saw last week about tortillas. I made a chili sauce using tomato sauce, chicken broth, cumin, chili powder, and chipotle chili peppers. Then I sauteed an onion, and later added half of the chicken (just to warm it up.) Then I dipped whole wheat tortillas in the sauce, and layered them in the pan with alternate layers of the chicken, the sauce, and Monterrey jack cheese. It baked up just like a lasagna, but with a Mexican flair. Mark wants me to try it using corn tortillas, and Ben wants me to leave out the onions. But they ate it. That's something.
Tuesday: Buffalo Chicken Calzones. These ROCKED. I took the rest of the chicken and tossed it with buffalo sauce (2 parts margarine, 3 parts Texas Pete). I made pizza dough using my standard dough recipe, and rolled out two (approximately) twelve-inch rounds. I made one chicken-only calzone, and one chicken and cheese. I baked them at 450 for 15 minutes. Everyone ate the heck out of them. They were really good.
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