Happy Halloween

Hope all your little ghosts and ghouls had a candy-filled and fun Halloween!! Personally, I'm thrilled that we actually had one for the first time in two years...after having the holiday cancelled in 2011 due to a snowstorm, and in 2012 due to Hurricane Sandy. I'm not sure if it was the unseasonably warmish weather we had this year, or the sheer excitement of finally having an uninterrupted Halloween, but we were flooded with trick-o-treaters this year. I almost ran out of candy!
This Halloween, my younger son was an order of french fries and my little pumpkin was a strawberry. My oldest, who's now in middle school, wasn't as excited about getting dressed up this year, since he didn't have the usual parade at school. So, at the last minute, he threw on a scary old lady mask we had hanging around in the attic, and an old robe and slippers of mine. It did the trick! Happy Halloween!
Halloween - 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012

Happy Memorial Day

These photos were taken at last year's Memorial Day parade as my son marched with his little league team. Today was another great day - gorgeous weather, New England charm galore while we watched another great parade, and a BBQ with friends. The commencement of Summer. But more than anything a day to remember those who have given the ultimate sacrifice. Thank you to all who've served our country...past and present.
Hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Happy Memorial Day!

Happy Mother's Day

I love that Mother's Day takes place during the most beautiful time of year...spring! Not a coincidence I'm sure, because spring is the time of rebirth. New life is blooming everywhere you look.
I hope it's a beautiful day for all of you Mamas out there...and that you're getting spoiled silly as a reward for all the amazing things you do every day of the year!

Happy Easter

My brother-in-law had to work today, so we hosted an Easter dinner on Saturday this year, and for the first time in longer than I can remember, we don't have to be anywhere, or host anything today. What a treat! I'm thinking this is the way it should always be, because starting a school/work week the day after a holiday can be a challenge. In my mind, all holidays should have at least one "recovery" day afterwards.
The baskets from the Easter Bunny have been ripped apart and the board game playing has begun, so I'm off to enjoy a lazy day with the family. I hope that whatever you have going on today, you have an enjoyable Spring day doing something you love. Happy Easter!

Happy Thanksgiving

It's just about time for bed after a lovely and relaxing holiday meal with family. As per tradition, we spent the day at my brother-in-law's house where everyone comes with a dish, or two, or three to contribute to the feast. Everything was especially delicious this year, yet even so, I didn't go overboard. I sampled a little of everything and didn't have to loosen my belt a notch like I usually do (which is a factor in my ability to write this post...normally, I'd be doing this right now). Most importantly, today was a day to remember how much I have to be thankful for.
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Cranberry Hazelnut Bread

I've waited an entire year to make this recipe. It wasn't by choice either, or because I just never got around to it, or because I think cranberries should only be enjoyed in November. The problem was, cranberries are very difficult to find at any time of year other than this one. Not finding fresh cranberries at the market in August is something I would expect. But even frozen? Maybe it's just me, or where I live, but frozen cranberries are not something grocers stock around here off season (and by off-season, I mean anytime other than the Holidays). So when I finally saw fresh cranberries at the market, I grabbed some. Then I went to the freezer department and - lo and behold, they were there too! I grabbed a couple bags, and now I'm primed to bake with cranberries whenever the impulse strikes.

The thing is, cranberries are great all Winter long. Moreover, this Cranberry Hazelnut Bread is great all Winter long. I sampled this particular version at a family dinner about a year ago, and was surprised by how much I liked it. I couldn't place what it was I liked so much about it, until it occurred to me that it was the hazelnuts!
While pecans, or walnuts seem to be the more popular choice in most cranberry bread recipes, hazelnuts are by far the winner in my book. Even better if you leave them on the coarser side of "coarsely chopped".

I don't bake with hazelnuts much. For one, they're pricey, and two, they're a pain to peel. But with this recipe there's no need to be too particular about getting every inch of skin off. I used the method I usually use, which is to roast them and then rub the skins off with a dish towel. I would estimate that I managed to get about two thirds of the skins off this way.
If you'd like, you can try dampening the dish towel slightly. I've heard that does a good job as well. Or if you're really seeking perfection, you can try this method I found here, from Alice Medrich via an episode of Julia Child's cooking show.

Happy Halloween

I'm starting to think Mother Nature has a vendetta for trick or treating because this is the second year in a row we've been hit with a mother of a storm in October. But after a fair amount of sulking, my kids have realized that we have it really good right now compared to many folks, and we've got nothing to complain about.
We walked to our neighbors houses tonight collecting candy (not many because of the situation here), and stayed up late carving pumpkins since there's no school this week. I have much to share here, but my Internet has been out. I hope to catch up soon!
Hope all of you are safe after the storm, and that you and your little ones had a great Halloween!

St. Patrick's Day Recipes

Over the years I've accumulated quite a few St. Patrick's Day recipes here! With the Irish holiday right around the corner, it's time to break out the shamrocks, leprechauns and pots of gold...and to share some of my favorites with you. Scroll down to find links for them all!
{above: Cheddar & Guinness Dip}

{left: Guinness Beef Stew | right: Boxty}

{left: Irish Brown Bread | right: Brown Butter Soda Bread}

{left: Corned Beef & Cabbage Dinner | right: Guinness Mustard & Horseradish Cream}

{left: Reuben Sandwiches | right: Homemade Russian Dressing | and for Dessert? not pictured: Guinness Gingerbread}

Happy Valentine's Day

As I always like to say, the best gifts are the homemade kind.  This school project brought home by my little guy is no exception.  Although it wasn't made with the intention of becoming a Valentine's gift, he decided to give it to me as one...and I couldn't be happier.  I was laughing out loud when I read it and discovered that my son describes his father and I as 'flexelbull'.  Could I ask for a better character description?  I also always get a kick out of the fact that both my Bozos are always praising me as being a good mom because I feed them, or buy them food, or drinks.  I guess that's what happens when your mom cooks, writes about and takes pictures of food.  Truth is...I think both my boys are pretty 'thotful' and kind too.  Happy Valentine's Day!

"Show Some Love with a Lollipop" Valentines

One of my favorite pastimes {that's not food related per se} is to peruse design and crafting blogs.  I love design - as I've mentioned many times before, but I also love anything crafty.  Unfortunately, most of the time the farthest I get is just looking at crafty things - because I don't have a whole lot of free time for the task of actually executing anything. 
This year's Valentine project is a perfect case in point.  Before anyone starts freaking out about how cute this Valentine is {and yes, I think it's cute too} - it wasn't my idea.  I saw this 3D lollipop Valentine on Design Mom {originally from the blog, 24-7-365} two years ago.  I bookmarked it, intending to make some with my Bozos, but as typically happens, I ran out of time and was forced to run to the drug store and buy some Valentines in a box.  Last year it seemed that many people had caught wind of this technique because I started seeing it more and more.  But once again, I missed the boat.  Now, with the invention of Pinterest, this Valentine has blown up all over the place....and, finally - I set aside the time to make some and share them here.

I honestly don't know what I was waiting for, because one of best things about this project is that it's super easy!  It literally took us about a half hour to make enough for both my boy's classmates.
In order to put my own little twist on the idea, I decided take some inspiration from the another modern craze and make mine using Instagram {along with a couple other iPhone apps}.  Here's a what we did...
{1.} Take the Photo: I began by having my boys stand in front of a solid background, with one hand outstretched into a fist while I took their picture - you can use any background you'd like, but the less busy the better.  As far as what kind of camera to use, you can use the camera app that comes with your phone, the camera function inside of Instagram itself, or any other camera app of your choice {you could also bag the camera phone route and take your photo using a regular digital camera}.  I took mine using my favorite iPhone camera app, Camera+.  I then opened the photo with Instagram to crop the photo into a square, add a filter effect and a white border to the photo.
{2.} Add Text to Photo {optional}: I could have done this in Photoshop, or another photo editing program, like Picnik {which happens to be closing in April - but can be used until then!}.  But I decided to keep things simple and used another iPhone app I love, called Labelbox.  It's a fun {and free!} app that lets you add retro looking labels to your photos.  After the text was added I uploaded the finished photo to my computer. {Note: you can skip the text part if you'd like and have your child write directly on the photo using a Sharpie marker}

{3.} Resize the Photo: Depending on what size you'd like the finished card to be, you can either print out the photos as is or you can resize them and lay them out in a document to make printing out multiples easier.  We were giving our Valentines tucked inside a goodie bag, so I needed them to be relatively small.  To do this, I used Photoshop to resize the original into a 2 1/4" square.  I then created a 8 1/2" x 11" blank document and laid the small square images out onto the sheet, making it possible to print 12 cards out at once.
{4.} Print & Trim the Cards: You'll need a heavier weight paper for this project as plain copy paper is too flimsy to hold a lollipop.  Initially I used white cardstock, but the photo came out a bit grainy looking {which you can see in these photo here}.  It would have been perfectly acceptable as it wasn't too bad, but I decided to try a heavy matte photo paper instead and it came out much better...perfectly clear and crisp.  I then used a paper cutter to trim the cards.

{5.} Punch holes in cards & assemble: Lastly, I used a single hole punch to cut holes into the top and bottom of my boy's fists.  We slid the lollipop sticks through the holes...and voila! We were done - almost.

You could stop there...or you could take it a bit further by tucking the cards inside of some super cute goodie bags - like these red chevron striped ones from Pretty Tape.  We wanted to give a few more candy treats inside so these goodie bags were perfect.  My boys wrote their classmate's names on strips of washi tape and stuck them to the front of the bags.  They've been obsessed with Japanese washi tape for awhile now - as have I.  Pretty Tape also has an amazing selection of tapes, if you're interested.  They finished each bag with a Hersey kiss and a Dove milk chocolate heart.
I've never seen them more excited about bringing Valentines to school as they are tonight!  I hope you enjoy this little tutorial...and that you and all your wee ones have a fun day tomorrow!

A Lovely Christmas

This week off has been heavenly so far.  We have pretty much assembled everything that needed to be assembled, opened every toy that could be opened, played every game there was to play and only got out of our pajamas when we really needed to...like the day we ran out of milk.  Normally the period after the holidays can be a bit gloomy for me.  I usually get so excited about Christmas, put all this energy and effort into the big day and then when it's over I'm left with the post-holiday blues.  I'm sure it's coming - maybe it will arrive once New Year's has come and gone - or maybe I'm wrong and it won't come at all this year?
I'm not sure what's different about this holiday season, but one thing that comes to mind is that I was so desperately in need of some down time.  For many reasons, things this year were even busier than they normally are.  My to-do lists were a mile long with no realistic hope of possibly tackling it all.  To be perfectly frank, there were a few days when I feared I might be on the verge of a nervous breakdown - for reals.  So getting this time with no pressing deadlines to meet {well - there are but they'll have to wait}, no social obligations to attend, nothing that absolutely had to get done this very second, has been a godsend.  Because honestly - what is this season really about?
For me, it's about family.  It's about spending quality time with my kids, with the electronic balls and chains I have around me most of the time turned off and playing Hangman, or putting together a new scooter.

So - as you can probably imagine, I have no food posts for you at the moment.  I have done some cooking - because cooking does bring me joy too and there's nothing much better than puttering around the house in my new fleece housecoat robe and making something yummy to eat.
However, in a possible act of unforeseen grace - I dropped my camera battery a few days prior to Christmas.  I used the camera again a few times after I dropped it so I didn't think much of it at the time.  But sadly, when I went to grab it first thing Christmas morning - it didn't work.  A major bummer to say the least, because is there really any better photo op than opening presents on Christmas morning?  Thankfully, I had my trusty iPhone camera at the ready.  Not the best pictures in the world when lined up next to photos from my Nikon - but better than nothing at all. 

Along with some photos I took on Christmas day, I thought I'd also share with you some of the favorite gifts we gave or received this year.  It's interesting to me that the things I think will be the number one hit of the day sometimes aren't - while the sleeper gifts, the ones you think might go unnoticed are the ones the kids play with all day long.  Case in point - how many times have your kids had hours of fun with an big empty appliance or electronics box?
Santa brought heating pad stuffed animals this year.  He must have known that my boys have a "secret" soft spot for all things cuddly.  Both my guys, but especially my little one, also love using my microwavable flaxseed pillow whenever they're sick or get hurt so I guess it's not all that surprising.  I don't mind one bit that they still appreciate babyish things as they're growing up way too fast.
A fun gift that sounded absolutely disgusting to me in every way, yet was actually pretty authentic and not bad tasting at all {in small doses} were gigantic gummi bears {in clear, pineapple flavor of course}.  A set of stilts for kids were nerve wracking for me but have been getting quite a bit of mileage.  
My favorite gifts to receive are the handmade variety.  Sometimes just doing something for someone or making them something is all that's really needed to show you care.  This year, I received lots of little tchotchkes from my little one - all adorned with different "I love my Mommy" sentiments.  My older boy gave me a hand woven bowl made from yarn, beads and straw.  He made it in art class at school and I'm seriously impressed.  Hubbie put up a glass plant shelf with pretty brackets in a sunny dining room window.  I've been wanting it up for a really long time and I love it. 

Another gift I love, which isn't pictured here, was a 2012 Kate Spade desk calendar.  The paper is super nice {I'm a paper snob} and the images inside are very cool.  While on the subject of super nice paper, I bought the hubbie a monogrammed magnetic notepad from Pinhole Press. I was very impressed with the quality and I love that the magnet covers the entire back of the pad.
This was our first Christmas with our new kitty {more on her soon} and she really loved all the wrapping paper, along with attacking my beloved ornaments and drinking the Christmas tree water.  And - that "robe" I mentioned earlier?

I'm wearing it {along with a new starry scarf!} in the photo above...during a cuddly moment with my kitty while we watched the kids open their presents.  I'm embarrassed to admit I'm at the age where I'd even consider wearing such a thing.  I hope I don't offend anyone by saying this, but it's similar to something I remember my grandmother wearing.  She used to call it her "housecoat".
It was a gift I bought myself and I love it!  Not the most flattering item of clothing I own, but boy is it comfortable.  I love that it zips up versus the tie waist real robes have - which makes staying in it all day long real easy to do.  A little too easy I must say. 

The all day pajama days are coming to an end and it's back to the grind soon.  I will have had my fill of relaxing and having the boys home with me very soon too.  Along with the lovely moments, there's been the fair share of driving me crazy as well.  There's only so much, "Mom, he's touching me", "Mom, he's not giving me a turn" - Mom, Mom, Mom... that I can handle. 
It's almost time to take the tree and decorations down and pack them away for the year.  I'm not sure if I'll take them down this weekend or wait until Epiphany.  Once the tree is gone it's time to find homes for everything underneath it, which is why I'm not rushing to the task.  January is organization month.  Next on deck is getting a new camera battery so I can shoot again as soon as possible.  I can't wait to share some of the recipes I used this holiday...Christmas dinner came out so good!
So - Did you all have a nice Christmas?  What was your favorite gift to give or receive this year?  Do you let Christmas linger around your house until New Years or are you quick to get it all packed away?

Merry Christmas!

Things are just winding down for the day.  The kids stayed up late to play with their new toys from Santa, the dishes are done and the house is about as close to back together as it's going to get tonight.  Which is not very far. 
The holidays are a lot of work for me...and for most, I presume.  The days leading up to the big one can be frantic and very long.  But at the heart of everything - the reason I want to do it all - is the joy on the faces of my boys on Christmas morning.  Along with the family traditions that are making lifelong memories for them.  I'm looking forward to the upcoming week of school vacation - no homework, no alarm clock, no sports.  Just having time to enjoy all the new fun stuff we have to play with. 
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!
{photo:  this was our holiday card this year which I'm sending to you all virtually.  xoxo -Katie}

Tree Chopping 2011

I am so behind the eight ball this year - it's not even funny.  There's something about getting older that makes the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas seem shorter and shorter.  When I was a kid, waiting for Christmas to come seemed like an eternity and a day.  But now? It's ridiculous how fast time flies. 
All the cookie posts I intended to post this week just aren't happening.  But I do have this post of our annual tree chopping adventures.  We do it every year, but typically I host a gathering back at my house afterwards.  This year I needed to simplify - so we tailgated at the tree farm.  It was the best and I think it may become our new tradition.  Everyone is always so busy this time of year and it just makes sense.  Everyone who came brought something.  I made a pot of chili, some biscuits and some vermontucky lemonade {maple lemonade with bourbon} - a friend brought hot cider and sugar cookies - and my brother-in-law went all Martha on us and brought a folding table with a tablecloth, a pot of hotdogs, hot cocoa and a basket full of condiments.  We all stuffed ourselves silly, then rode the hayride up to the trees and picked the perfect one.  Here are some pictures from the day...featuring friends and their kids, along with my nephews {one of whom really loves to ham it up for the camera - I love it!}
Do any of you cut your tree fresh?  I love how long they last and how amazing they smell!
{past year's tree chopping here + here}

Note: one or two of these photos could have possibly been snapped by the Dh. He makes a stink when I don't give him credit...so there you go :)
Another note: For those folks out there who happen to like photography and use a Dslr camera with a lens hood...I always sort of wondered how much I really needed to bother using mine, yet always did...until it broke recently.  You can see sun glare in many of these photos - so now I know that I actually did need it! 

Bozo Pic of the Week...

After the Halloween snowstorm fiasco and the resulting cancellation of school on the day of the spooktastic holiday, all planned classroom activities were nixed. Someone...or many someones...must have given the principal an earful because it was decided several days later that everything was back on!
So - a week ago the Bozos and all their schoolmates got their beloved Halloween parade and an opportunity to march through their school's basketball courts. Yay!
I have to say it's one of the days I most look forward to. I know I'm biased, but I think our school has some of the most creative and outrageous costumes around. I love seeing all the wee little ones dressed up in their cute princess and firemen get-ups. The older kids are usually the ones who get super imaginative. Some of my favorites this year were a candy vending machine, a boom box set to station Z100, a big bunch of purple balloon grapes, a Lego man and a takeout container of lo-mein noodles.

Happy Halloween!

Hope everyone is having a fun-filled Halloween! For those folks living in the path of the recent Nor'easter here in New England, I hope you're electricity and heat are back on.
For us, we made it through without losing power. I was very happy, as we have a small co-op electric company in our neighborhood and we're usually the first to lose power.
Many others were not so lucky. In my town alone 5,700 households lost power...on a day when temperatures were frigid! Because of the this, along with downed trees all over the place, school was canceled today. Which ordinarily would have been cause for celebration. But, today there were all sorts of fun activities planned at school - the annual Halloween parade and classroom parties - all were cancelled along with school...a major bummer!

Then late this afternoon our Mayor announced that Halloween had been postponed until Saturday night. Are you kidding me? How does one cancel [or postpone] Halloween? My kids were in tears.
But, we decided to flip our porch light on...have the candy ready...and suit up for Trick or Treating anyway and take our chances that others would be doing the same. I understand that some neighborhoods are still without power, and that downed power lines are a real hazard. But, our neighborhood was safe, so we went. Good thing too because it was the best year yet! My boys made out like bandits.
[This year, Bozo #1 was Pac-Man and #2 was a Ninja! The Scream characters are the boys who live across the street. Fun times!]
Past Halloweens here, here, and here.

Happy 4th of July!

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday and enjoy some great food, family & fireworks!

Cinco de Mayo

Mexican Food...how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
In America, Cinco de Mayo is a holiday that celebrates Mexican culture, traditions & food. In other words, it's my kind of holiday...especially when there's Margaritas involved.
Over the years, I have posted a few Mexican inspired dishes here. I thought I would share, for those who are celebrating, hosting a party, or just feel like having something good for dinner.
Appetizers, Side & Drinks: Margaritas, Watermelon Margaritas, Guacamole, Salsa Verde Cruda, Mexican Chopped Salad, Havana Black Beans Main Course: Chicken Enchiladas with Red Chile Sauce, Steak Tacos, Tamale Pie, Chicken Chili Verde & Fish Tacos.

Holiday Baking Round-Up...

For those of you out there who bake for the holidays...most of you seem to be in full swing! I have yet to start. If you're like me & need to get going on it, here's some inspiration for you. A collection of everything "Holiday Baking" from The Parsley Thief over the years. Enjoy!
a. Saltine Toffee, b. Almond Shortbread Stars, c. Coconut Cream-Filled Macaroons, d. Rum Balls, e. Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, f. Spiced Cardamom Snowflakes, g. Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies, h. Lime Meltaways, i. Tate's Chocolate Chip Cookies, j. Butterscotch Pudding, k. Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies, l. Date Nut Spice Bread, m. Hawaiian Wedding Cookies, n. Guinness Stout Ginger Cake, o. Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars, p. Crinkle Cookies, q. Pecan Linzer Cookies with Cherry Filling, r. Spice Sugar Cookies, s. Sugar Cookies {not pictured}
More to come over the month of December...

Thanksgiving Recipe Ideas...

The past week or so I've been thinking of adding some Thanksgiving appropriate posts to the sidebar, or somewhere on my homepage. I wanted them to be easy to access when people are in the planning stages of their holiday menus. But, I was having trouble getting it all to fit & work the way I wanted. Then, while visiting a blogger friend's site {Hi Winnie!}, I noticed she had done a round-up type of post, showcasing everything she had that would be Thanksgiving friendly. I thought...that's what I was looking for!
So, here are some recipes from over the past several years, which would work well for your Thanksgiving feast. Some are traditional, some are not. Some would be great as side dishes, some as a main course option for any vegetarians out there. Then, of course, some desserts!

Starters:
Fall Bruschetta, Roasted Shrimp Cocktail, Grilled Baba Ghanoush, Mini Crab Cakes, Harvest Pumpkin Soup & Crudités with Ranch Dip

Main Course & Sides:
Mashed Sweet Potatoes, Chestnut Stuffing with Leeks & Apples, Shallot & Goat Cheese Tart, Ham & Asparagus Strata, Garlic Roasted Cauliflower, Buttermilk Biscuits, Roasted Caprese Salad, Warm Orzo Salad with Beets & Greens, Fennel & Orange Salad, Creamed Spinach, Wheat Berry, Date & Walnut Salad, Yukon Gold & Sweet Potato Gratin,
Arugula Salad with Lemon-Parmesan Dressing, Bulgur Salad with Wilted Chard & Green Olives & Caesar Salad

Desserts:
Guinness Stout Ginger Cake, Apple Crisp, Pumpkin Purée {to make your Pumpkin Pie from scratch}, Rustic Apple Crostata, Red Wine Cake & Pineapple Upside Down Cake

I hope to cram in a few final recipes this week...
Have a great Thanksgiving!