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6/29/2013

Mussel Bound!

6/29/2013 0 Comments

Haha, get it?  Mussel bound.  Can you guess what I've cooked up this week?  Mussels!  Okay, let me just tell you, this is a pretty cool dish to make for a couple of reasons.  One, you feel really mighty because...well...you kill your dinner.  Don't be sad, though.  It's okay because it's delicious.  Also, it looks really impressive, so make this for a dinner party or some other time when you have friend over.  Finally, it couldn't be simpler to do.  There's hardly a proper recipe, just basic guidelines, because mussels are really versatile.  Nevertheless, I used this guide the first time I made them.  The biggest thing to remember are the safety guidelines about discarding dead mussels.  Besides that, just be sure to choose accompanying players that don't overpower their delicate flavor.  Get really creative, though.  What about a buttery chardonnay and dried cranberries at Thanksgiving?  Or a little sake and soy sauce and served over rice noodles for an Asian flair.  Seriously, the sky's the limit.  I choose the Mediterranean route when making this batch.



So here are my mussels, freshly home from the store.  I sprayed mine gently with water just to give them a rinse.  They were already de-bearded, which was nice.



Prep took no more than ten minutes (I cheated with tinned tomatoes) before these little guys went into their "sauna".  Sleep tight!  A few minutes later the mussels were cooked and ready for a little basil to go on top.



And here's the beautiful finished product.  I had some tomato garlic bread for the broth (yum!) and some delicious cider to drink with it.  Oh!  There's another good idea.  Cider and mussels, yes, please!  The only thing I would have changed would have been to dice my shallots instead of slicing them, but that's minor.  And you get to eat with your hands!  Well, I'm sure there are people out there that prefer to use a fork or something, but I find it's easier to just get right in there with the tools God gave you.

Did I mention this took mere minutes?  Seriously, this is such a yummy and easy meal.  I don't know why I didn't start making mussels sooner.  And it feels so fancy.  Give it a try.














6/26/2013

Sharing a Room

6/26/2013 0 Comments
So a while ago, after Christmas, we moved the boys into the same room so they could have their space plus a play area.

Then in February, we found out we were pregnant and the play area was then going to have to be returned to a bedroom. That transformation will have to start soon, but in the mean time they've been enjoying it.

Here are a few pics of the boys' new room.
 This is from the doorway. We've got 4 dressers total which provides plenty of storage for all of their clothes

 Here's just a close-up of some of their wall art and where our guinea pigs live.
Here are the bunk beds, freshly slept in. The beds are not as tall as normal beds, which was one of the concerns we had.
Here's Dev's laptop and desk area. The orange table was a table I had down in the family room, but its perfect for holding wii games.
 Here's the sign I just finished for the boys. Hopefully they take it to heart, because honestly that's most of the reason they get in trouble.
These wall figures were made by the boys' great-grandfather. I had to put them high, so the clocks in them would stop being played with. Luckily the boys still love Mario and Yoshi. :)

 Tomorrow I'll share more on the sign, and then I've got some updated pics of the room that will be baby sister's nursery!

Heather

6/22/2013

Feeling a Little Raw

6/22/2013 0 Comments

Howdy, folks!  Long time no see.  I debated even posting this culinary adventure because it has a sad ending.  Nevertheless, I think it's a good one to share.  Warning: If you're a germ-ophobe, walk away now.  Why?  Because we're serving raw meat in this episode of Friday Food Frenzy.  That's right.  Raw meat.  Let's get started.

Carpaccio.  Bless you.  Nope, not quite.  Carpaccio is a fabulous, decadent, yet splendidly simple dish of raw beef tenderloin pounded flat and served very elegantly.  And it takes almost  that takes almost no time.  The prep work actually takes longer than the food because you want to make sure you're working in a clean environment.  Here's a little video from Alton Brown that I used as a guide.  It's also pretty entertaining, as he usually is. :-)



Okay, first, I got everything ready starting with the work surface.  My island was the best place for this because it's nice and isolated and ready to clean.  Oh, and it's my favorite place to work as well. :-)  I disinfected the top of the island and wiped it down with a wet paper towel afterward.

*Confession: If it was just me, I might not have been so neurotic about sanitization, but the hubs...well, he was a bit nervous.

After the work surface was clean of 99.9% of bacteria (or so the canister said), I laid out all of my materials.  Again, isolation was the idea here.  Get this.  That was the hardest part.  Onto the mandatory beatings!



Here you see my tenderloin slices all lined up and wrapped in plastic.  I definitely felt a little Dexter-ish at this point.  Secure and contained.  Oh, and it's important to note that you should only ever do this with a fresh, unopened package of tenderloin.  Don't use leftovers for this dish; it deserves better than that.



I'm not 100% certain this part was necessary, but, again, to make the hubs feel better I wrapped the plastic-wrapped loin slices in a tea towel and pounded the entire little package flat on a cookie sheet.  Who knows, maybe the plastic could have ripped while it was being flattened...or something.  After the slices are nice a thin, it's just time to plate and dress.



Oh, carpaccio, you look beautiful!  I just spiraled the slices around the plate, topped with toasted walnuts, shaved parmesan  and arugula, and lightly drizzled the whole lot with extra virgin olive oil.  Oh, and just a sprinkle of salt and pepper.  Se magnifique!  Or wait, what's that in Italian?  Because this is an Italian dish.  Oh, who cares?!  It's awesome!


So I loved it.  So delicate and delicious and lovely.  And, being the cook, I can confidently say I know it was prepared in as germ-free as environment as possible.  Now, here's the sad bit.  Even having seen the whole process, Mike still felt too uneasy about it to eat any...until he cooked it.  This bothers me.  Not because I don't understand his fears (I do; I know the risk involved), but because he'll happily order carpaccio at one of our favorite restaurants!  He swears it's nothing against me, but I still take it personally.  I'm working on getting over this...

This dish is definitely a food-venture if there ever was one.



6/18/2013

Planning for Baby!

6/18/2013 0 Comments
So a week ago, the boys and I found out that baby #3 is a bouncing baby GIRL!!!!

I will say that we're all thrilled. Harrison was not thrilled at first, but only because he didn't realize that he could be a big brother to a baby sister. Once he figured that out, he was good. Although he still won't call baby girl by her name. Its just Baby.

Dev was over the moon, because he's said the entire time that she was a girl. Steve is excited for the change of pace, and I was super happy, which then turned to panic. What the heck do you do with a girl!?!?! I mean, I know I'm a girl, but I've got boys down pat. Boys are easy. Girls are scary and unknown. My fear and trepidation lasted exactly for one evening and then I was over it.

Planning started the next day! I think I'm going to do a more in depth post on just what her room will be like, since I've got most of it planned and sketched out. My notebook looks like a bipolar person owns it. Some of it is super technical with drawings and measurements and well put together lists for what needs to happen, and then other pages have random thoughts scrawled in all directions. Oh well. Its how I work. :)

I did happen to find some terrific fabric at Hancock this last weekend, so the colors are set. I'm even excited that Harrison picked out all the colors for her room. The boy did good.

So anyways, here's a pic of our new baby girl, Reagan.

Here's a sneak peak of what Harrison picked out. There's no pink, but that's ok. I like that he included both his and Dev's favorite colors.



Heather

6/13/2013

Gettin' our Hands Dirty...

6/13/2013 0 Comments
So two years ago, I had a landscape design done for the front of the house {see it HERE}, and we're finally getting around to starting it.

I haven't tackled the extreme slope of a garden that's in front of our porch, but the hubs has definitely risen to the challenge of breaking up the dirt clay that makes up the sections of garden we have added. He fussed at me for lifting the pick axe. Its only 5 pounds, but something about being 5 months pregnant or something, so I went and sat down on the porch and directed for a few minutes. As you can see, our entire front yard is nice red clay. No wonder there are several brick factories in and around us.


We've taken a couple of weekends, only working on Saturday morning, while the front is shadowed by the house. We still have 2 or so weekends of work in front of us, but its coming along!! I didn't realize that when the plan called for about 17 plants, it really, REALLY meant it. 7 liriopes did not cut filling in this space.


Luckily, I found more liriopes at the Lowe's in Manassas and bought 10 more plants to help fill in this space!


We even added the solar lights that my mother-in-law gave us. They finish off the space nicely, and light up the walkway, since the lamppost is not currently working. At least its doing a fine job of holding the clematis up. :) 
Doesn't the clemaits look like something out of a Dr. Seuss book? I can't wait till he gets bigger. Hopefully it'll bloom this autumn, but the coreopsis surrounding it have really started to take off. Of course, all the plants are new, but I can't wait until these buggers fill in!

I also decided to move two of my huge clumps of day lilies to around our trees in the front yard. So Steve dug them up for me, separated them and then planted them inside the new tree rings.


All that is left, is to tackle the new garden over by the garage and then the sloped garden. I'm afraid of the sloped garden, but in the meantime I'm going to enjoy the lovely work we've already put into the yard. What I didn't show you was the enclosed garden, because it looks pretty much the same as it did 2 years ago. The big difference? Everything is larger. :)

See you guys later!
Heather

6/12/2013

A little competition never hurt anyone...

6/12/2013 0 Comments
I'd like to know when being 7 was the new 16. Dev is 7.5 and lord almighty does he have an attitude some most times. Its aggravating. I know he's exploring his independence and all of his new-found knowledge, but please, I'd really like my sweet little boy back. Granted some of the acting out is probably due because of baby #3, but seriously, I'm over it.

So in order to help with the harmony of the house; the hubs, Devlin and I sat down and discussed the chore situation. It was a huge bone of contentment. He didn't want to do them, but wanted to get paid for them. Complained constantly. Basically the house was always angry at one another, mostly because of the fight the chores had become.

We came up with 5 chores that had to get done, every day, no matter what. If he didn't get these chores done, it would affect the allowance he could earn. The other 5 chores we came up with were the ones he'd get paid for. $.10 for every chore done (providing the 5 basic ones were done). He can earn up to $.50 a day, which equals $15 a month (what he was earning before). The difference being that the money offering chores were not mandatory. He could choose not to do them, but he would not get paid for them. We decided that all the chores needed to be done by the end of dinner, because at the end of dinner; we'd tally the monies earned/forfeited and write the amount he earned for that day. At the end of each week, we'd total up his take.

Everyone agreed and signed a contract. Steve and I then made a simpler one for Harrison, and he can earn half of what Dev can earn. Same rules all the way around.

The first couple of days were rough. Very rough. I didn't have the chore charts done yet, so it was hard to track what had been done and what hadn't been done. Behavior was also an issue. Well, I got the chore charts done and then a funny thing happened. The boys started competing with each other. Who could get the most stickers (magnets) done before the other. Competition is good for the soul, because the first 3 days, Harrison not only earned more money than Devlin, he wiped the floor with him. That first week, Harrison made only $.05 less than Devlin, because by the 5th or 6th day Dev had had enough. It was game time.

The chore charts were simple enough to make. 1 1x12, Galvanized Flashing, Silver Upholstery Nails, Magnet Paper, Cardstock, Glossy Accents and Black Vinyl. I stained the wood with Kona from Rustoleum. Mostly because its a one coat wonder and its quick and dirty. I needed these things pronto! I glued the galvanized sheeting down with some liquid nails adhesive, and then finished off the edges with the upholstery nails. I like the industrial look it gives them.
 I used my Silhouette to cut out the vinyl, cardstock and magnets. After getting everything just so and assembled it all. I topped off the magnets with glossy accents to help protect the cardstock from use. I also made sure to have the magnets attached to the metal so they wouldn't curl up. That made a huge difference.


As you can see the competition is going strong. We make allowances for evening where we might be out and not home for dinner, but the time frame is usually the same, and things are flowing much smoother now. Thank goodness, because the next thing we get to tackle is the play room. Its time to start planning the nursery!!!
Heather