groundspeed

When Blue is a Ring Bearer at a Beach Wedding

This is what happens:

He gives his flower girl a good tug, but when she's not quite as ready as he is...

... he ditches and her and moves on.

At least he proceeds to stand next to his brother just as he should.

And for awhile stays that way while waving to people he knows.

But then...

He started the descent.

And once started...

Kevin was busy videotaping, and I was too far away to get his attention. So on he played...

Even corrupting Kaden at one point.

But Kaden actually looks over to Mom on occasion, so he caught my eye (and the death look it was giving) and stood back up.

Aside from when Blue started burying the pillow, handmade by the bride, it was just Blue being Blue and no one expected differently.

And at the end of day he looks good in the pictures, right?

Always standing where he was supposed to stand. As for whether or not he was looking at the camera. Sometimes...

Sometimes not...

But as I reflect back over his behavior I think it could have been much, much worse. Afterall, he never once went after the arch where the bride and groom stood.

So...

Success!

Ropa Vieja

If there is any recipe worth finding grass-fed, humanely raised beef for, it is this one. This is a favorite of mine to make especially when we have guests. 

What you'll need: 3 lb flank steak (can also use London broil or skirt steak) trim fat and cut cross-wise, olive oil, 2 large yellow onions cut in strips, 1 cup chicken broth, 4 or 5 plum tomatoes quartered and seeded, 1/4 cup fresh oregano, 2 bay leaves, 2 tsp cumin, one red, yellow, and orange bell pepper. Seed them and cut into strips, pepper, 3 garlic cloves pressed.  

What you'll do: Heat oil in skillet. Dust meat with pepper and some cumin. Sear the meat until browned on every side. (May need to do in batches) Remove to plate. Sauté one onion in meat drippings. Add broth, tomatoes, oregano, bay leaves, and 1 tsp cumin. Return meat and any juice on the plate. Cook on low for two or three HOURS. Turn meat occasionally (every half hour or so). Don't let it dry out! Add more chicken broth if needed or splash in red wine if you have on hand. Meat should fall apart to the touch of a fork when done. Turn off heat at this point.

About 10 minutes before you need to serve, heat more olive oil in another pan and cook bell peppers, the second onion and garlic. When done/soft add to meat and stir in. Discard bay leaves. Serve!
Serve with (or over) black beans and rice. You can garnish your plate with fresh lime slices. Lime sprinkled over black beans is yummy.

Today. Now. That's all there is.

I worry about this boy. He has fragile X. I have no idea how well he will advance cognitively. How much his emerging anxieties will impair him. How much support he will need through this life.

But I know that he will walk into a wedding reception happily carrying a boardbook, fully expecting someone to come read to His Cuteness. I know that he can tell me every animal in Polar Bear Polar Bear What Do You Hear? (Never mind that the leopard is just a kitty.) I know that he knows all his basic body parts, so we're getting more specific these days. (Toby point to your eyebrow! Toby, where's your ankle?) I know that he is beginning to clue in to color words. The other day he pointed to something in a book and declared it purple, and it was in fact purple! I know that his speach therapist is worried ECI will want to cut down on his speach therapy if she shows them a recent evaluation because he is scoring too close to age appropriate on her tests.

Today. Now. He is my primary joy.

I worry about this boy. I mean, just look at hime. Crazy. He has ADHD. His biological background is sketchy. When he's bad, he's very, very bad. He likes to pretend to be the bad guy after watching movies. This boy has caused me to adopt Mad Eye Moody's mantra CONSTANT VIGILENCE as my mommy mantra.

And yet everyone loves him. The look of worry on his face after his daddy's recent surgery was priceless. Mr Clever picks up on everything. When I ask him to remind me to do something he always remembers. He is fearless. Sunday night for dinner he asked for a THIRD serving of fish. He will be five in about six weeks and he is more than ready for his Kung Fu Panda birthday party.  

Today. Now. He is my greatest entertainment.

Oh goodness do I worry about this boy. I tell him to look over the chapter we read the night before. I tell him the questions I'm going to ask about the chapter so he knows what to look for. I go and put his littlest brother to bed and this is what I come back to...

Homework takes... forever. His reading comprehension is terrible. I am often saying that when communicating with Kaden, one must "Pop bubble, then speak." I have been musing over the possibility of an audio processing disorder. His biological background is a mystery. 

And yet, where he's not a deep thinker, in terms of direct instruction he is a great learner. I think he's gotten a 100% on every single spelling test so far (as in K through 2). He is sweet and caring and only two weeks into life at a new school he was chosen as Leader of the Week. He's got the most beautiful olive skin and big brown eyes. He's developing a mean throwing arm on the baseball field and assisted in three consecutive outs at his last game.

Today. Now. He is my best hugger.

I'm reflecting on worries, potential, and all things parenting because of these Notes from a Dragon Mom. I posted it to facebook, but I wanted to post it again here. 

We have our problems, but NOTHING we face compares to that of parents whose children are terminally ill.  

"Parenting, I’ve come to understand, is about loving my child today. Now. In fact, for any parent, anywhere, that’s all there is."

What a perspective.

Peanut Butter Noodles

What you'll need: 2 cucumbers, 1 cup soy sauce, 1/2 cup coconut milk, 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar, 1/2 cup chunky peanut butter, 4 garlic cloves minced, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp red pepper flakes, salt, 1 16 oz. package rice noodles or angle hair cooked, an 8 oz package shredded carrots, 6 diced green onions.
(This can be a little pricey if you don't have many/any of these items in your pantry, but you'll love it and then the rice wine vinegar and sesame oil will be used again so you won't have all the expense next time.)

What you'll do: peel cucumbers, cut in half length-wise, remove and discard seeds (which I obviously didn't do when I made it for this picture!), cut in long slices.

Whisk soy sauce, coconut milk, vinegar, pb, garlic, oil, red pepper and salt. Add pasta, carrots and onions, tossing to coat. Serve with cucumbers on top. (I don't like the texture the cucumbers get when they are mixed in.) Cover and chill before serving OR mix in warm noodles and serve warm with chicken kabobs on top. We've done it both ways and I like it warm or cold equally.

Veggie Bowls

Kevin watched Fod Inc and King Corn this summer and since then has sworn off factory farmed meat... which pretty much means we eat fish or vegetarian meals these days. And one of my favorite things to do is make rice bowls...  

Here's one that I make a lot that I made up:

Feta Rice Bowl

I guess this could be served as a side dish too, but for us it's the main course, and everyone likes it! 

What you'll need: 1 and 1/2 cups rice (I use Jasmine rice), 2 zucchinis chopped, 1 garlic clove pressed, 2 tomatoes gutted and diced, 1 can garbanzo beans drained and rinsed, about 6 oz crumbled feta, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

What you'll do: Cook rice. Season with salt, pepper, and lemon juice. When almost ready add garbanzo beans. In another pan add some olive oil and then cook the zucchini with the garlic. When rice is done and garbanzos are heated, remove from heat and then mix everything else in.

Fiesta Bowl

This is the type of rice bowl meal I make second most often.  Think Chipotle's veggie bowl... I like to use rice, black beans, corn, and green chilies. I season with lime and cumin and fresh cilantro if I have it. Fresh tomatoes, avocado, and shredded cheddar go on top. Yummers! I have also made once with shrimp on top when we had non vegetarian guests over.

Chicken Lasagna

Last week was desserts. This week we'll do some entrees.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 large onion
1 (10oz) can reduced fat cream of chicken soup
1 (15 oz) jar alfredo sauce (I use Newman's Own)
1 (7oz) jar diced pimiento, undrained
1 (6oz) jar sliced mushrooms, drained (I have never put the mushrooms in, because I hate mushrooms.)
1/3 cup dry white wine
a pinch of dried basil
1 (10oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1 large egg
9 lasagna noodles ( I used the no-boil kind.)
2 1/2 cups cooked chicken
3 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, divided

Melt butter in large skillet over med-high, add in diced onion, saute 5 minutes or until tender.  

Stir in soup, alfredo sauce, pimiento, wine, and basil

Drain spinach well

Stir spinach, cottage cheese, ricotta, parmesan, and egg 

Place 3 lasagna noodles in a lightly greased 13x9inch baking dish. Layer with spinach mix, chicken, sauce mix, and sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Repeat procedure. Top with remaining three noodles and one cup of sauce.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, Sprinkle with remaining cup of cheddar cheese and bake 5 more minutes
(I skip this last cup of cheddar cheese - it's too much for me.)

Pumpkin Patch

We picked out our pumpkin today. We go to the All Villages patch to support that church where Blue goes to school.

Usually we get three carveable pumpkins but our van is dead and we are determined to stay in budget these days in order to squirrel away cash for the new-car fund. (In the mean time I'm driving a FREE car from my father-in-law who decided now would be a good time to get a new car.) Even so, one big pumpkin will do. 

But without Kevin to make silly faces behind me (hernia surgery gets him our of so many things!) I totally struck out on getting a shot of the boys looking cute, at me, and all together.

But, I have to face it, Blue and Kaden are getting a little old for pumpkin patch pictures.

And yet, they do make good pumpkin heads.

I didn't think to try Toby in the pumpkin. He just laughed at his brothers.

With Kaden there to stand behind me and goof around I got plenty of happy Toby pictures.

Then we got serious about picking out our pumpkin.

And Toby got to ride with our pick back to the car.

That shirt Toby has on? It's on its third Stratton boy. I love it when clothes last that long. And since it's probably only been worn 6 times between all three kids, it can still get passed on to a younger cousin.(Oh - don't let the jeans/long sleeves fool you. It was just for pics. It was mid-80s. A little better than the low-90's we had all last week, but still not jeans/long sleeve weather.)

Even though we stuck to the plan of only get one carvable pumpkin, I ended up letting the boys each pick out a small $1 pumpkin. Potential project involving spray paint to come!

Peanut Butter Frosting

And with this little treat I end Dessert Week here on the blog. Hopefully these posts help you change things up a bit for all your upcoming holiday dessert needs!

This is rich so best used with mini chocolate cupcakes. Just use your favorite box mix.

What you'll need: 1 stick butter at room temp, 1 cup creamy peanut butter (non generic), 2 to 3 cups confectioners' sugar (taste!), 3 Tbsp cream  

What you'll do:In a large bowl, beat butter and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Slowly beat confectioner's sugar one cup at a time. Taste with two cups and decide if you want the third. Mix in cream. If needed, add a little more cream until the frosting reaches a good spreading consistency.

Taking Care of My Biggest Boy

Kevin had hernia surgery day. Outpatient. He's fine. All is well.

Originally Kevin's all like, I'll need a ride home at the end of the day. And I'm all, well, I'll be with you all day... And he's like, why?

WHY? Because we're married and this is the first time either one of us has had any kind of surgery and I'd be freaking out if I weren't as close as possible. That's WHY.

Kaden and Blue spent the night with friends and were taken care of today, but poor Toby had to hang with me. I had to wake him up at 5:15am because Kevin had to check in at 6am for 7:30 surgery.  So, he was up at 5:15am and had then the super fun plan of hanging out in a hospital waiting room all day. Woo-hoo! Luckily I hijacked the lounge tv and put it on PBS cartoons. I also brought a lot of books, snacks and toys.

We survived. 

Kevin survived. The doctor said the surgery couldn't have gone any better. I've picked up Kevin's pain meds. I'm serving him his meals in bed.

He's catching up on his DVRed shows and has to take a week off work.

I'm busier than ever. (We have my mom's dog through Monday and grrrr if I have to wash pee sheets one more day in a row...)

Um. When can I get a hernia?

Balls. Or uh... Truffles

Yesterday I posted about buckeyes. Today I'll tell you about all the other ball/truffle-like desserts I've done. In the foreground of this picture are Candy Cane Truffles I made for the first time last Christmas Day. I'll get to those eventually...

In Montana after one of our hikes we stopped into a convenience store for snacks and there at the register was a tupperware with "Martin Mud Balls" 50 cents a piece. We all tried one. Deee-licious. 

I asked her what was in 'em and the clerk said Oreo. Back in the car I announced I was going to figure out how to make them because I was "good with balls."  I quickly added, "As in, ball-style desserts," but my comment still brought on the types of snickers that cannot be avoided even if your company is a missionary pilot, youth pastor, and youth pastor's wife. Oh middle school. You just weren't long enough ago.

A quick search of "Oreo Mud Balls" brought up the same recipe every time:

1 package of Oreos and 1 8oz container of cream cheese - mix this in the blender or food processor. Chill. Roll into balls. Chill some more. Dip in melted chocolate or almond bark. Chill again.

Easy enough. But here are my notes: 

If you eat about five Oreos as you go... recipe still works fine. Also, I used regular Oreos and not doubled stuffed.  (If I buy Oreos just for eating I ONLY get double stuffed.)

I have a super duper heavy power ridiculous blender but it needed some liquid in order to work.  I added heavy whipping cream as needed.  I'd turn blender on for a bit.  Use my muscles to stir it up. Then add some whipping cream. Repeating this process about three times resulted in some excellent Oreo mud.

You could add just a pinch of peppermint extract to the blender mix if you so desired. That would be yummy too.

OR for the yummy peppermint treat above...

Candy Cane Truffles

What you'll need: 1 cup heavy cream, 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, 2 teaspoons light corn syrup, 1 pound chopped semi sweet chocolate plus 12-16 oz. more for dipping, 18 candy canes, 1 teaspoon pure peppermint extract.

What you'll do:
Place candy canes in a food processor fitted with metal blade and pulse until finely chopped. OR you can place on large cutting board, cover with plastic wrap, and crush with a kitchen mallet. Once you've done one or the other, use a fine sieve to sift out powdery residue. Discard this. 

Make ganache. (And say ganache as many times as possible throughout the day. This is a terrific word.)
In a small saucepan bring cream, butter, and corn syrup to full boil. Turn off heat and add 1 lb of chocolate. Don't stir. Gently swirl to cover chocolate with cream. Let stand 5 minutes, add peppermint extract, slowly whisk until chocolate is melted and all is well combined.

Transfer to a large bowl, place in fridge for 45 minutes but revisit to stir every 15 minutes.  (Yes, I actually set timers and did this.)  After 45 minutes it will thicken quickly so begin stirring every 3 to 5 minutes (for about 15 or 20 min) until thick enough to scoop with a spoon. It should come to a pudding-like consistency. Stir in one cup of the candy cane pieces. 

Form ganache (ganache!) into one-inch balls and transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet. Refrigerate till firm (about 10 minutes). Leave in fridge until ready to dip. This ganache inside part can be made up to a week in advance.

Melt your dipping chocolate. Dip ganache balls. 

From there you can place back on parchment paper, chill and be done. (This is where I personally stopped.) OR you can roll the recently chocolate-coated ganache in cocoa powder OR you can roll the recently chocolate-coated ganache in the remaining candy cane crumbles.

Merry Christmas!

And finally...

Cookie Dough Truffles

I'll take a Buckeye over a Cookie Dough Truffle any day but for everyone else, these seem to be the favorite. I like to make tins of these as hostess gifts and/or thank you gifts during the holidays. 

What you need: 1/2 cup softened unsalted butter; 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup egg substitute, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, 1 cup mini choc chips, 3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (I do more mini choc chips instead because my hubby prefers these without nuts.), 1 12 oz package semi sweet choc chips for dipping.

Beat butter and sugars well. Add vanilla and egg substitute and beat well. Add flour and beat well. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts if you're using nuts. Cover and chill about 30 minutes.

Shape into 1 inch balls cover and freeze until firm. 

Melt your chocolate and dip frozen truffles in chocolate coating completely. Place on wax paper and chill in fridge till hardened. Store in fridge up to three days.

And that does it for my chocolate ball/truffle experience.  This year I may try a recipe I have for Egg Nog Truffles. If I do, I'll tell you how it goes!