Small

A small package came in the mail for me last week, Small Steps for Catholic Moms from Ginny! I was one of the lucky recipients of her gave away last week.  I'm reading it when I wake up and again after lunch, because sometimes I just can't remember the devotional.  Thank you so much, Ginny for sharing a book you love!

Our days have been better.  Yesterday Audrey and Colton played together really well - "Baby and Daddy," and "Escaped Farm Animals."  You would have to ask Audrey how to play these games, as they are purely her own invention.  Colton is always happy to follow her lead.

Our days have turned much cooler.  We baked a pumpkin stuffed with bacon, apple and cheddar cheese tonight for dinner.  You should totally bake one too!  Happy Monday!

Pizza Season

 
I know, pizza doesn't really have a season, like BLT or zucchini bread.  But I like to think of May to August, when it is way to hot to turn the oven on, let alone to 500 degrees, as pizza's off-season.  So come September we are really ready for a slice.

Yesterday was cool and rainy, a good day to make some dough and turn on the oven.   We had plain jane cheese and BBQ chicken.  Nice and simple.

What are you eating this week?

Fruit Dumplings

It's becoming a bit of a tradition around here to make fruit dumplings for Colton's birthday.  We follow the recipe that Craig's grandma used.  This was by far my best batch, as was evident by the eating.  Colton had cleaned his plate before I could take a picture of him.

Have you every had fruit dumplings?  No? They were new to me, too, when I joined the Baxa family.  They originate in the Baxa's Bohemian, or Czech, heritage. Here's how we make them.

Make a dough, similar to pie dough, with flour, salt, butter and cream cheese and add eggs. Then you wrap the dough around the fruit (we like plums but any ripe fruit will work) and boil for about 10 minutes.  Cut open the steaming fruit, being careful of the pit, and layer the toppings over. I like to layer mine with bread crumbs, butter, sugar and cottage cheese.

Can you picture it?  (This and this are similar to how we make ours)  I know, it sounds a crazy, but oh so delicious.

So happy birthday Colton, my sweet little dumpling!

This is a picture of last year's dumplings. 

Weekend Pesto

This weekend, among other things, I made pesto. Two batches, with basil from our garden.  One jar for now (in the fridge), one jar for later (in the freezer).  Although, to be honest, the "now" is almost gone. We've been eating it on fresh bread and mixed with hummus and - my favorite - with radishes. I like this idea of now and later, on this small scale.  I hope I can remember it and apply it to other things.

Snow Day

Thursday morning brought my favorite kind of snow, with big, fat, swirling snowflakes.  The temperature stayed in single digits, so after dropping Audrey off at preschool, Colton and I went to Whole Foods for some entertainment.  We walked up and down the aisles, trying the samples and smelling lotions.  It was a good day for tasting, with lots of chips and dips, in preparation for the Super Bowl tomorrow.

In the afternoon, Audrey and I made these pretzels.  They were pretty good, I have to say.  You could make them for the game, they don't take that long and you  probably have every thing you need already.  Except fancy mustard.  You definitely need fancy mustard.

We're excited about the Super Bowl.  And the commercials.  And the nachos.  I remember when I was a kid and it seemed like 49ers were in the game every other year.  And totally crazy that the quarterback played for the Wolf Pack.   GO '9ers!