Monthly Archives: September 2008

How to Make Croissants – Video with Julia Child

I just watched this very inspiring video with Julia Child on How to Make Croissants, taught by chef Esther McManus.

I think one of these days I’m going to have to try this!  I need a little bit more space in my kitchen, and a little more time to spare, but other than that I think I could do it :) This is a great website, I’m sure I will be spending some more time there looking around. Hope you are as inspired as I was! She even makes some croissants with chocolate in the center, now I might have to try them just for that reason :)

Here’s a recipe for Croissants if you are up for the challenge!

Saturday Night Date – Il Granaio

Me and my Love

On Saturday night, Chris and I had the pleasure of going on a dinner date with two other couples, to one of our favorite restaurants in the Valley, Il Granaio. They have amazing Italian food, it’s the real deal, and a beautiful atmosphere. I wish that I would have taken more pictures, but alas, I was on a date with my husband and it just wasn’t on my priority list! Before we got to the restaurant we had a little extra time so we sat in a park and took pictures of ourselves together. I love this guy, isn’t he handsome? :)

Il Granaio Specials

Anyway, I had the Vitello Marsala (Veal with mushrooms and a wine sauce). Honestly I was a little nervous because I had never had veal before but it was tasty.  Chris had the Filetto al Madera (Filet Mignon sprinkled with Gorgonzola), and wow, it was superb and worth every penny! We shared some red and white wine with our meal, perfecto! Then afterward Chris and I shared the Chocolate Decadance with a steaming hot cup of coffee.  What better way to end an incredible evening with good friends! Thanks you guys for such a lovely evening, we had such a great time, hope to do it again sometime soon! And for anyone who might be looking for a nice restaurant in the Skagit Valley, Mt. Vernon WA, this is the place. Their prices are definitely affordable, the food is excellent and the building is just classy. My favorite dish they serve so far is the Blackened SalmonCaesar, it’s amazing! Just a little tip :)

And of course, thanks to nana and papa who had mercy on us and watched our little rascals. They had a great time at your house, as always, and didn’t want to go home! They even smelled better than they did when we dropped them off! You guys are the best, we love you!

Salmon Salad Spread

Salmon Salad Spread

The other night I made Batter Fried Fish with some salmon that I bought from Costco. I knew that i would have too much for our family to eat if I made it all up.  I didn’t want the salmon to go to waste, I love my chickens but I don’t want to feed them expensive salmon! So I froze about half of the salmon to use later. Tonight I tried a new, to me, recipe.Knowing that this recipe was a little bit out there for the kids, at least the boys, I decided it would be easy to make them something similar, in order to let us try something a little different without having to fight with them about trying something new. If you know me, you know that I am NOT a short order cook, but I know my kids limitations, and I know when I’m feeling up to pushing them to try a new dish :) I decided tonight was not the night for that!

Open-Faced Egg Salad Sandwich Continue reading

Meal planning and shopping lists made simple

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The Husband here with a guest post.

For over a year I have wanted someone to build an online meal planning site that you could plan meals and the ingredients would end up on a shopping list that you could take to the store and plan what is supposed to be on your shelf.

Well I am happy to say that someone finally did it, Its called Tasty Planner and its free.

In their words,

Tasty Planner is here to help you create, plan and share recipes, menus, grocery lists and more. We take out all the hassle in planning great meals for you. We’ll also help you make a few chef friends along the way.

I would suggest taking a look at their features and see if this is something that could help out your family.

Flower and Car Birthday Cupcakes

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This past March we had 4 birthdays to celebrate, three of our kids and one nephew, so we had one big birthday bash and I decided that cupcakes were in order!

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For the girls, I had purchased a flower shaped cupcake pan. I decorated them with pink frosting and very girlie sprinkles and then wrote out their names, one letter on each cupcake, on top of the cupcakes. I had them displayed on a pretty plate and the girls, and boys loved them! Very simple and of course it will be fun to reuse the cupcake pan some day.

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For the boys, I chose blue frosting to hold on the decorative candies. And the cupcake pan? Was a birthday present from my mother in law, I love it! I’ve also used it for muffins and corn bread and it works really well. The decorating was easy, just time consuming but those sweet boys in my life, they are worth it! I have not done many cupcakes so I thought this would be fun for a change, the kids seemed to really enjoy all the sweets! And I guess I just love seeing the looks on their faces when they see my birthday creations, maybe that is what spurs me on to be more creative.

Thoughts on Homemaking – The Wife Sets the Tone

These thoughts have been rolling around in my heart and mind for the past few weeks. Thoughts on wives, and how we set the tone in our homes. At the table when we sit down to sup with our families, during the day while we play and work with our children, and when our husbands come home from their day at work, our attitude really affects the mood of all present in our home.

Proverbs 19:13b “…And the contentions of a wife are a constant dripping.”

Picture this: You’ve been dealing with little Johnny’s whining all day, and it’s starting to wear on you (of course to make you feel worse, later you discover that he’s teething and you didn’t know it but had been irritated at him all day long!). It’s almost time for your husband to come home and you are trying to be the “good” wife and have dinner ready by the time he gets home. But while you are flipping burgers you splatter grease all over one of your nicest T-shirts and burn your hand, bad timing. Continue reading

Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread

Whole Wheat Zucchini Bread

‘Tis the season for making zucchini bread! Our neighbors gave us a nice sized zucchini and we made fried zucchini the other night with some left over batter for our fish. The remainder, I shredded for zucchini bread. I got this recipe from All Recipes and changed a few things. I used only whole wheat flour where they called for part whole wheat and part white. I used olive oil where they called for canola oil, and I used pecans instead of walnuts and added a cup of chocolate chips, yum! We were all very impressed with how this bread turned out, even Aidan who had decided before it even went into the oven, that he didn’t think he would like this bread because it had zucchini in it :) Well, he changed his mind real quick when it came out and smelled so good, and chocolate chips always help!

Note: This recipe makes a triple batch.

Continue reading