cookie monsters

we finally got around to trying cookies from the cravory (410 degrees.) these cookies have been getting RAVE reviews all over the place. they sell at a couple of sunday farmers markets and then do mail orders. it's been hard getting my hands on them, because i don't shop on sundays. well guess what?!? the deli llama in hillcrest is now selling them. p and i meandered down and bought a handful. we tried the chocolate chip, birthday cake and red velvet. they definitely lived up to the hype. bryan, p and i give them 2 thumbs up (we are definitely cookie monsters) and i am excited about sampling more of their unique flavors in the future.

all done

this is my first afghan. i am really proud of it. i started it back in february, and i showed some progress here and here. i worked on it doing a row or 2 each night for a while, but stopped for a month or 2 before i took it on our road trip and finished it off.

i finished it ahead of schedule, but i am still going to save it and give it to p for christmas. i can just see her cuddling up in it while we watch shows or have down time. this size will be great for her as she grows, as it is bigger than a lap quilt. i think it is a little smaller than a twin sized quilt. the zig zag is a pretty easy pattern and i would recommend it to anyone who wants to make a throw. i actually REALLY want to make another one for me, but i am forcing myself to try a new pattern for my next afghan.

homemade spumoni

i made this spumoni ice cream a couple of weeks ago. it was dilishious. i have always loved spumoni and since i've been on my ice cream making kick, i had to try it. it is the first recipe that i made up, so i'm pretty stoked about it.

this takes 4 days to make with my ice cream maker, because i need to let my freezer bowl refreeze in between freezings.

day one: make the custard base for each ice cream and keep them in your fridge until you are ready to freeze each flavor.
day two: make chocolate ice cream
day three: make pistachio ice cream
day four: make strawberry ice cream
EAT

spumoni ice cream

makes 2 1/4 quarts
don't buy fat free cream...it doesn't work super well

chocolate

2 egg yolks
2/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. whole milk
1/2 c. half+half
1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa
1 1/3 c. cream
2 t. vanilla
1/4 t. salt

combine egg yolks and sugar. warm milk and half + half in heavy saucepan until almost boiling and then whisk in the yolk mixture and cocoa- mix well and continue stirring until the mixture is thick. to test to see if it is done, you can dip a spoon in the mixture and if it stays in place when you run your finger along the backside of the spoon.

strain mixture

place in fridge overnight

when you are ready to freeze the ice cream, add the cream, salt and vanilla. freeze.


pour into a tuperware or container with flexible sides. i had to use 2 containers.




pistachio

3 egg yolks
2/3 c. + 1/4c. sugar
1/2 c. whole milk
1/2 c. half+half
1 c. shelled pistachios (i got mine pre-shelled from trader joe's)
1 1/3 c. cream
2 t. vanilla
1/4 t. salt (if the pistachios you use are salted, don't add this)

blend the pistachios with 1/4 c. of sugar until powdery. combine pistachios, egg yolks and sugar. warm milk and half + half in heavy saucepan until almost boiling and then whisk in the yolk mixture-mix well. continue stirring until the mixture is thick.


strain mixture-you may want to use a spoon to stir as you strain this one to help get the mixture through.

place in fridge overnight

when you are ready to freeze the ice cream, add the cream, salt and vanilla. freeze.


pour onto chocolate and return to freezer.

strawberry

2 egg yolks
2/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. whole milk
1/2 c. half+half
1 c. pureed strawberries
1 1/3 c. cream
2 t. vanilla
1/4 t. salt

combine egg yolks and sugar. warm milk and half + half in heavy saucepan until almost boiling and then whisk in the yolk mixture and strawberries- mix well and continue stirring until the mixture is thick.

strain mixture

place in fridge overnight

when you are ready to freeze the ice cream, add the cream, salt and the vanilla. freeze.


layer it on top of the pistachio and return to freezer.



place in freezer for 2+ hours before serving.

to serve slide out of tuperware. to do this i used a knife to go around the edge of the ice cream, then heated up the sides a bit by running hot water over the container, and then i squose the sides the get the ice cream out.

after serving i cut up the ice cream vertically and put it back in the tuperware container so that i could serve up from the container the next time we want to eat it.

enjoy!

grannying up the table

for a while i've been wanting to make a new table runner to mix things up a bit. i thought i might quilt one using this tutorial. i think i still might, but i decided to make on that matched my new granny square coasters. i love the color this piece adds to my house.

if you would like to try your hand at making one like it, just follow these instructions.

1. make 18 granny squares. there is a simple tutorial here, but you will need to add one more round in white by putting a dc in each dc around the square and in the 2ch space put (2dc, ch2, 2 dc.)
2. sew them together with a tapestry needle-3 across and 6 down.
3. make a border around the whole runner by putting a hdc in each dc and in each of the 4 corners put (2hdc, ch 2, 2 hdc)

i surf

image from weheartit.com

bryan and i had our first surfing lesson on friday. we are taking them from a member of our ward, tim tower (doesn't his name just say, "surfer"?!?!) he is a retired judge in his 60s who started surfing at 45. i think he is so cool. he spends a lot of time learning about surfing. he told us that san diego and hawii were the 2 important places in the history of surfing. san diego surfers really modernized the sport.

we had our lesson at 7, so i had to wake up at 6 to go get our babysitter. i am not a morning person, but this adventure was worth the sleep loss.

a few thoughts on surfing:

1. it is super hard
bryan did really well. i stood up like 2 times, but fell very quickly the first time and the second time i TOTALLY missed the wave.
2. yoga practice did help my ability to "pop up," BUT popping up on a surf board is totally different than on the sand.
3. you must be fearless. i kept thinking i might die and i think over thinking the process actually made me less safe.
4. swallowing salt water is super gross.
4. i am glad that tim towers told us about the grey and white sharks sited where we were surfing AFTER we got out of the water and were walking to the car. yikes.

we were supremly tired and quite salty at the end of the session. the next day we were both sore. we are having one more lesson and i am sure it will be more successful the second time around.

now that i "surf" i am feeling much more like a san diegan.

chocolate zucchini cake

i don't know if you like zucchini, but i guarantee that you will like this cake if you like chocolate. it is moist and delicious.

in my family we made this cake many times during the late summer months when my parents had more zucchinis from their garden than they knew what to do with. i look forward to the day when i have a patch of land where i can grow my own garden.

this recipe is my grandma tippetts' and i have made a few adjustments to it.

chocolate zucchini cake : janet tippetts

batter:

1/2 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. canola oil
1 3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 c. grated zucchini
2 1/4 c flour
1 t. vanilla
1/2 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. cocoa
1/4 t. cinnamon
1 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
1 1/2 t. baking powder

topping:

1 c. chocolate chips
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. chopped nuts (optional)

(high altitude adjustment: add 1/4 more flour)

preheat oven to 350 degrees
grease and flour a 9x13x2 cake pan*
combine all ingredients and sprinkle topping ingredients on top before baking.
bake for 30-40 min
it is done when a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean

*i like to use a loaf pan for my small family. i don't like ending up with too much extra cake (bryan doesn't eat many sweets, so i end up finishing it off...whatever size the cake it is.) if you want to make it in a loaf pan like i did, then 1/2 the recipe.

nathan...the one year-old

wow! what a week. we played catch up this week and i attacked the mountain of laundry that accumulated while our guests were in town. i feel like things are getting back to normal, which is great. i am going to try to get back to work on penelope's quilt for her bed. penelope switched to a twin sized bed at the beginning of april. i had hoped to have the quilt done shortly after that, no dice. i think for the next 2 weeks i will be working on that and trying to get p's room all cute and stuff. today bryan and i are resuming our car search..which was put on hold for awhile. i really don't like car searching, but i am feeling great...maybe a bit sore from our surfing adventure (more on that on monday.) i hope you all have a fantastic weekend.

here are a few pictures i took of nathan white when they came up last week. i think he is so cute. he turned 1 on August 7. happy late birthday baby nathan.




ps do you recognize the ball in the first picture?

with the boys

as previously mentioned my brothers phil and zach came to visit last week. on wednesday phil came with penelope and me to the san diego zoo while zach went to disneyland with justin and anna. we saw the seal show, rode the skyfari, saw the pandas and many other animals. it was good to have some time to chat with my little bro.

we went to phil's bbq with phil and zach. they didn't give phil a discount for being a phil, but they did give us the best barbeque i have EVER had. we ordered baby back ribs, el toro sandwiches, onion rings, and fries. i would recommend any of these items, but the sandwich is what i will order every time we go brave their long lines and eat there. if you want to hit it up, but avoid the lines, then call in your order.

GRAPHIC IMAGES BELOW...PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

that night we went to PB, did a little shopping and walked crystal pier. it was a good day.

thank you to my brothers for making the trip out to visit!

beach party

last week was a whirlwind! my friend jess road tripped back from utah with us and we had a bunch of fun for the first 1/2 of the week. we went to some museums, the beach and downtown. my brothers arrived on thursday for a cali trip before they get busy with their schooling. it was a blast. justin and anna came in from riverside on friday and we went to the beach.

nathan...how cute is this kid?!?! adorable.

a great shot of phil and zach..they had fun.

josh & penelope got buried in the sand

we finished off the day with the BEST pizza in san diego...BERKLEY PIZZA. it was simply amazing. we will definitely be frequenting this joint. we also enjoyed the spumoni ice cream that i'd been making in shifts over the days before...it was a hit and i am excited to share the recipe with you.