Mommy? Where Daddy go?

No doubt about it, we are missing Dr. Fields around here. Unfortunately all good things must come to an end. It was wonderful having you around for so long sweetheart. I'll miss all the afternoon games of Sequence and your masterful art of protein-shake making. I just can't make them like you do.

newsprint

First time my daughter and I have appeared together in a newspaper, that I know of. :)

4th of July 2009

Despite unfavorable weather conditions, we still had a great 4th of July. It was the morning after Bobby's first on-call night. (Nobody died on his watch so that's good.) Franny came downstairs and asked where Daddy was. After I told her Daddy was at work, she said, "He needs to come home and go to sleep." We met up with him for a pancake breakfast at the church.

The girls and I headed to Walmart for some groceries and by the time we got home, Daddy was fast asleep. The girls spent the morning watching cartoons and playing while I prepared some 4th of July food for the Wilson's BBQ that night. I made the creamiest lime meringue pie and a Dill Potato Salad. (recipe below)

We watched the shortest parade I've ever seen- and that's not necessarily a bad thing- and the kids were able to collect some free candy and SWAG.

Apparently this is Sophie's "pretty face" because that's what I asked her for when I took this picture.

Mad dash to catch the parachutes. Franny loved watching the fireworks.

And Franny's Daddy loved lighting the fireworks.

Especially these.

Potato, Cucumber and Dill Salad adapted from Bon Appétit | July 1992

Yield: Serves 4

2 pounds baby red potatoes, sliced
3 1/2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons country-style Dijon mustard
2 Tbs olive oil
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
3/4 pound pickling cucumbers, sliced
Fresh dill sprigs

Cook potatoes in pot of boiling water until just tender. Drain. Transfer to large bowl. Add 2 tablespoons vinegar to hot potatoes and stir gently. Combine remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar, mayo, oil, and mustard in small bowl. Add chopped dill. Mix into potatoes. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.) Mix in cucumbers. Garnish with dill sprigs.

Prize-Winning Pies and Cupcakes

Whenever we visit the Eastern Idaho State Fair- which is considerably often, considering we live in Missouri- my favorite displays to look at are the prize-winning pies. It's a facet of small town America I didn't get to witness first hand growing up in Southern California, but I remember reading about in books like Charlotte's Web. So I was thrilled when I found out that Kirksville was having an apple pie contest and a cupcake contest the weekend of the 4th!

It all started when my friend Marie told me she and her daughter were going to enter cupcakes in the contest and would we like to as well? Uh, yes please! There's a blog I love to poke around at called Bakerella- have you ever tried her Thank you Betty bars? I thought I'd check her blog out for any great 4th of July themed cupcakes. Instead I found these hamburger cupcakes she made for Father's Day. Could you just die?! It was so easy. I knew those were the ones.

I baked a yellow cake mix in the cups (2/3 full), as per the suggestion of her highness, the one and only Bakerella. I sliced them into thirds and kept only the top and bottom pieces as the buns. I used my 1/4 cup measuring cup to cut brownies (mix) into circles. Hamburger Patties! So brilliant! I bought vanilla frosting, mixed yellow, green, and red food coloring into three separate portions of it and piped them onto the top of the patties using only ziplock baggies with small tips cut off. Then a little water brushed on the tops with a pastry brush and few sesame seed shakes and we achieved the most adorable cupcake I have absolutely ever seen.


The girls had fun. Well, Franny and Corrinne had fun. Sophie was only interested in eating Corrinne's jelly bean corn kernels. Isn't this idea adorable as well? It comes from a book called Hello Cupcake that I went ahead and ordered for my best friend Annie for her birthday. I'm glad you like it!!

Then we patiently waited for the results. A couple of brothers took 3rd place, Corrinne's corn on the cob took 2nd and WOOHOO, Franny took 1st. It was so exciting. She has not been able to stop talking about it since it happened. "Mommy, did they give me a "congratulations" (first place ribbon)?" "Mommy, did they call my name?" "Mommy, did I win first place at the cupcake contest?" "Mommy, what does hamburger cupcake mean? So it's not real?" It's been a good opportunity for us to help her with skills at recalling events. She keeps going up to people and saying things like, "They called my name!" And that's it. So we can say, why did they call your name? where were you when they called your name? etc. It was a great moment, except I felt so bad for Sophie. Corrinne's name was called, Franny's name was called and she kept asking for her turn. It was so sad. She was too young to enter the contest, but of course she helped with the cupcakes. She was so upset I had to take her out when they were taking pictures of the winners, so thank you Marie for snapping this shot for me.

I went online to read about the Kirksville holiday events and the cupcake rules and I discovered that there was an apple pie contest as well. HOT DOG! I love baking pies. There is something so gratifying in making your own crust and having it lay perfectly in the pan and crimping the edges decoratively with your fingers. And then the way it makes your house smell while it bakes. The salty, flaky crust paired with the sweet filling. I just love pies. I usually only make apple pies in the fall, though, when there are better apples to choose from. But I went for it anyway. If Granny Smith are good enough for Ina Garten's recipe, then they're food enough for me too. I actually tried a new recipe. I looked for one that was similar to my friend Bill Brady's, though, as he is naturally the master apple pie-maker. His crust recipe uses all shortening and doesn't call for any sugar. I really like the absence of sugar, but I am a true butter snob. So I turned to 101 cookbooks. I trust her recipes, they have never done me wrong. Actually, what really sold me on her recipe was the butterfly cutout on top of her pie. I started looking for a good summery cookie-cutter, and found this star that came with a set that Annie (BFF who I gave the cookbook to) gave me for my birthday last year. Perfect! The recipe is nothing fancy. I brushed an egg wash on top of the crust and dusted it with cinnamon sugar. I followed the recipe pretty closely except I used only a dash of allspice instead of the 1/4 tsp or so the recipe calls for.


So after the cupcake contest results were given, they auctioned off some donated pies and we continued to wait for the apple pie contest results. My pie took second place! I was thrilled! Franny was thrilled for me, too. The rest of the night she was making up songs about it. Waving her little ribbon around and singing, "Katherine and Franny, you did a good job, congratulations!" We had to bring two pies- one for judging and one for auctioning off. My pie was sold for $22.50. The first place pie, an apple pecan streusel pie, sold for a whopping $90! Ninety bucks for a pie! It was Bobby's first night on call at the hospital, so it was a girls' night out. After the contests were over, we were walking to the car and passed Pagliai's, a local pizza joint. We ducked in and shared a small pizza and a big root beer. (Jayne, you were right. That is kid's pizza for sure. Although I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it. It reminded me of my youth and I found myself wanting to order a side of ranch for dipping like I used to at Chuck E Cheese's.) Franny wanted me to take pictures of her making these scary hand gestures accompanied with varied emotional faces. You'll find happy, sad, scared, surprised... Sophie wanted in on the fun, too.

Sunday Dinner - Blueberry Pie and Basil Butter

Franny was sick on Sunday, so I stayed home from church with her and made a nice big Sunday dinner. I've noticed all the new recipes I've been trying out have been desserts. I've been sticking with the old faithfuls for dinner, so you may have seen a few of these before. The Chicken and Artichoke Casserole recipe I consider a gift from my mother. If all the casserole recipes make up a neighborhood, then this recipe is the fancy model home and the formulaic cream of mushroom casserole recipe is the one bedroom apartment atop the car mechanic's shop. So next time you're in the mood for a delicious chicken casserole, try this one- I promise you won't be sorry! (Did I mention it freezes well?) ;)

Also, I can't leave this Lime Dressing alone. Sour cream, lime zest, lime juice, and a little sugar. So simple and yet so delicious. Tastes great on all fruit.

I got really into flavored butters for a while- especially raspberry butter. Yum! But I remembered one that I used to make when we lived in Provo that Bobby really liked. Basil Garlic Butter. You just take four tablespoons or so of softened butter and mix in a very small amount of minced fresh basil and garlic. We're talking like 1/4 tsp or less of each. Mix it up and spread on your rolls. I had forgotten how delicious this tastes. We still have more of the butter, but we're out of the rolls. I think when I'm done here I'll go make some more.

My berry of choice is usually raspberry, and up until now I'd have probably called the blueberry my least favorite. But our recent trip to Blueberry Hill changed all that. I had a meeting at church with some ladies on Sunday and I decided a blueberry pie would be fun to try. I just love making pies. I just found out there's an apple pie contest on the 4th of July this year. I'm so all over that. Anyway, I found this recipe that calls for a cornmeal crust. I was intrigued and read all the reviews. Everyone seemed to love it so I thought I'd go for it. Boy was I happy I did. It had only 1/4 cup of cornmeal in the crust and added the slightest little crunch and just made the whole pie more interesting to me. The ladies at church loved it. Nobody had a crumb left on their plate. The recipe calls for a lemon butter cream to accompany it, but I made Erin's Lemon ice cream recipe instead. It was perfect.

Blueberry Pie with Cornmeal Crust and Lemon Ice Cream Bon Appétit | July 2008

Yield: Makes 8 servings

Crust:
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornmeal (preferably stone-ground, medium grind)
3 tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 6 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks total) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/4 cup nonhydrogenated solid vegetable shortening, frozen, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 tablespoons (or more) ice water

Filling:
5 cups fresh blueberries (about 27 ounces)
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon water
Milk (for brushing)
1 1/2 tablespoons raw sugar*
Lemon Ice Cream

For crust:

Blend flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter and shortening; using on/off turns, blend until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add 4 tablespoons ice water; blend just until moist clumps begin to form, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry. Gather dough into ball. Divide dough in half; flatten each half into disk. Wrap disks separately in plastic and chill at least 1 hour. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. Soften dough 10 minutes at room temperature before rolling out.

For filling:

Combine blueberries, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon water in large bowl; toss to blend. Let stand at room temperature until juices begin to form, about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Place rimmed baking sheet in bottom of oven. Roll out 1 dough disk between 2 sheets of generously floured parchment paper to 12-inch round. Peel off top parchment sheet; invert dough into 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Carefully peel off second parchment sheet. Gently press dough into pie dish, pressing any cracks together as needed to seal and leaving dough overhang. Spoon filling into pie crust.

Roll out second dough disk between 2 sheets of generously floured parchment paper to 12-inch round. Peel off top parchment sheet. Carefully and evenly invert dough atop filling. Peel off second parchment sheet. Trim overhang of both crusts to 1 inch. Fold overhang under and press to seal. Crimp edges decoratively. Cut five 2-inch-long slits in top crust of pie to allow steam to escape during baking. Lightly brush top crust (not edges) with milk. Sprinkle with raw sugar.

Bake pie 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F and continue baking until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbling thickly through slits, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool pie completely on rack. Cut into wedges and serve with Lemon Ice Cream.

"Blue Strawberries"

Sophie and I tagged along with Tara and her four girls to a blueberry farm just outside our town. We picked delicious blueberries to our heart's content for $2.50 per pound. Sophie had a good time. For a while she was calling them "blue strawberries." She liked picking the green ones best for some reason, even though I told her over and over to only pick the blue ones. And everytime she pulled one off the bush she screamed, "I GOT ONE!! MOMMY, I GOT ONE!!" I've read "Blueberries for Sal" for her at least ten times since we went. She wants it be her story for every naptime and bedtime. I bought two pounds and they are already gone! We used them in our pancakes, in some delicious blueberry muffins and in a blueberry pie I made for our dessert tonight. I can't wait to try it with homemade lemon ice cream.

I love this muffin recipe. I'd say it's definitely worth the extra time to make the blueberry jam. Very tasty. The original recipe can be found here and calls for a lemon sugar topping. I opted to use the streusel topping instead and it was fabulous.

Blueberry Muffins with Streusel Topping

MAKES 12 MUFFINS

2 cups (about 10 ounces) fresh blueberries, picked over
1 1/8 cups (8 ounces) plus 1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/2 cups (12½ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk (see note)
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract

Note: If buttermilk is unavailable, substitute 3/4 cup plain whole-milk or low-fat yogurt thinned with 1/4 cup milk.

1. FOR THE TOPPING: Stir together sugar and lemon zest in small bowl until combined; set aside.

2. FOR THE MUFFINS: Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray standard muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Bring 1 cup blueberries and 1 teaspoon sugar to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, mashing berries with spoon several times and stirring frequently, until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to ¼ cup, about 6 minutes. Transfer to small bowl and cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.

3. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in large bowl. Whisk remaining 11/8 cups sugar and eggs together in medium bowl until thick and homogeneous, about 45 seconds. Slowly whisk in butter and oil until combined. Whisk in buttermilk and vanilla until combined. Using rubber spatula, fold egg mixture and remaining cup blueberries into flour mixture until just moistened. (Batter will be very lumpy with few spots of dry flour; do not overmix.)

4. Following photos above, use ice cream scoop or large spoon to divide batter equally among prepared muffin cups (batter should completely fill cups and mound slightly). Spoon teaspoon of cooked berry mixture into center of each mound of batter. Using chopstick or skewer, gently swirl berry filling into batter using figure-eight motion.

instructions for streusel topping: Follow recipe for Best Blueberry Muffins, omitting Lemon-Sugar Topping. Prepare streusel by combining 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, 3 tablespoons dark brown sugar, pinch table salt, and ½ cup plus 3 tablespoons (3½ ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour in small bowl. Drizzle with 5 tablespoons warm, melted unsalted butter and toss with fork until evenly moistened and mixture forms large chunks with some pea-sized pieces throughout. Proceed with recipe as directed, sprinkling streusel topping over muffins before baking.

5. Bake until muffin tops are golden and just firm, 17 to 19 minutes, rotating muffin tin from front to back halfway through baking time. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving.

I just love her funny little face.

Our Caribbean Cruise

Our cruise was amazing- it was everything you want in a vacation. There were so many stories and pictures that it was really hard to choose my favorites. I don't journal anywhere else but here and since I figure people don't really want to scroll through all my vacation pictures, I thought I'd just backdate them and link them all to this post. So if you want to read anymore about any of the ports we visited, just click on the link below each picture.

Puerto Rico- our bonus vacation day.

Aruba- our first time snorkeling.

Bonaire, where the scuba-diving is awesome and the flamingos run wild.

Grenada- most romantic beach ever.

Dominica: The Rain Forest!

St. Thomas (post coming soon) - I saw the most amazing sea turtle while I was snorkeling at this beach.



Pictures and stories from the ship.