Clafoutis

Kaitlyn found a recipe that she wanted to try. It is French (pronounced kla-FOO-tee) so she kept saying "oui" (pronounced "we"). She pestered us for a solid 3 days before we were broken down enough to make it with her.

What does she think of it now that it is made? "It is nasty." It is actually pretty good if you like custard, which Katie does not like (unless it is in the middle of a donut).

Clafoutis

4 eggs

2 cups milk

1/3 C flour

1/3 C sugar

1/4 t salt

1 t vanilla extract

1/2 C fresh or frozen fruit

Blend all ingredients except fruit in a blender on low speed for 30 seconds. Pour into a quiche dish or ovenproof glass dish. Put fruit on top. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until clafoutis is not very jiggly.

He Ain't No Snake Charmer

He came staggering in the door proclaiming, "I hate snakes!"

Kaitlyn and I rushed to see what happened, only to be confronted with a bloodied head that was being dabbed with a bloody rag. Uh, oh.

"DID YOU GET BIT BY A SNAKE??" Thank goodness the answer was no.

He was shooting his rifle when he felt something move under his foot. He looked down to find a snake wriggling, trying to get out.

Although he is a tough toughy, the shock of a snake right under his shoe was too much. He tensed up, which caused his finger to squeeze the trigger and the kick knocked the scope right into his head. He spent the next couple of minutes flat on the ground. It is unclear if blacking out was part of the ordeal.

The snake got away and Kevin did, too.

And just think....I was worried about MYSELF when Kevin started stockpiling weapons....

He ain't no snake charmer but he can hit a penny at 75 feet.

Dixie Cup Tower

The girls made a tower with Dixie cups. Then they knocked it down. Then they built it back up. Then they knocked it down...

I found this note downstairs. I like how it sums everything up.

The Littlest Moose

Katie is showing us just how little the moose is. It fits right in between her two fingers.

Here is a close up of the moose.

Later, when we were on a hike to the waterfall, Kevin turned a corner and was right next to a baby moose. He looked to the other side, and saw that he was right in between that baby and it's mom. Not good. He backed away, told us to stop walking, and Mike threw a rock at her to see if she would get agitated and charge us. She didn't bowl us over, but we decided to tun around rather than risk getting close to them again.

Tomato Basil Soup with Feta

It started with an email from Kurt. He has been working in Scottsdale, AZ during the budget shortfall and is tired of being away from his family.

"I really want to come home, but they have me chained to the lab down here. Could you send a file baked in a cake in your next email? I'll get you the soup recipe....really, you can believe me...please!"

Ah, yes. The soup recipe. The one he waved under my nose clear back in March. So far I haven't been given a copy, even though he has copiously promised to send it. Although I want to help him break free, I must respond in a practical manner:

"I'd like to help you. Really I would. Unfortunately, I have been waiting for this recipe for so long that I can no longer trust that I will ever receive it. The most I can hope for is a dinner invitation to your neighbor's house. Hmm....what are the chances of that??

I had better play it safe and NOT send that cake I just baked."

Ten minutes later I was presented with the recipe in my inbox. So there ya have it. If you threaten to stop by for dinner, any recipe you have been coveting will suddenly find it's way to your door.

Tomato-Basil Soup with Feta Cheese

2 28-ounce cans of crushed tomatoes (Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes are awesome!)

1 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes

1 15 ounce can of plain tomato sauce

1 medium to large yellow onion

3 cloves of garlic (more if you like garlic)

1 tsp. salt

2-3 cups of low-sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)

¼ cup of olive oil (extra virgin if you want a richer taste)

1 package of feta cheese (the best you can afford, preferably French or Greek feta)

¼ cup of minced fresh basil or 1/8 cup of dried basil

Pepper to taste

Chop onion and sauté in olive oil until translucent (about 8 minutes). Add chopped garlic and sauté an additional 2 minutes. Add the three cans of crushed and diced tomatoes as well as the chicken broth and salt. Reduce for 20 minutes over a high flame. (If you have a screen, use it as this soup splatters terribly!)

Use an immersion blender or standing blender to purée the onion and tomato mixture after reduction. Place over medium-low heat and add the crumbled feta cheese, basil, can of tomato sauce and pepper. Taste for salt. Heat through and serve.

This soup is excellent with a nice amount of feta so use it liberally if you like feta. The better the feta, the less salty it tastes so make sure the soup has adequate flavor.

Don't forget about the feta! It is much better with it in there.

After I got the recipe, I sent him this photo:

He wrote back that he wanted a file in a cake.....NOT a cake in a file. Oh, well. The pirate sure is cute.

Honey Peach Ice Cream

I've been dreaming about it - FANTASIZING about it - for months. I reminisced about Texas peaches, and how Hali and I bought some from a roadside stand. It was heaven on earth. If I could live my life in Texas, eating peaches and making ice cream, it would be a thoroughly fulfilling life. Well....at least if Kevin was there, eating everything with me.

The peaches weren't from Texas, but the ice cream was still delicious. Ahhhh.....who says the way to a woman's heart isn't through her stomach?

Honey Peach Ice Cream

4 large ripe peaches, peeled and coarsely chopped

1/4 C honey

1 C whole milk

1 C cream

3 large egg yolks

1/2 C sugar

2 t vanilla

Put 2 peaches in a small saucepan with the honey. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the peaches are soft but not mushy (10 minutes.) Blend with a hand blender then set the puree aside while you make the custard.

Bring the milk and cream to a boil in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. In a medium bowl whisk the egg yolks and sugar until well blended and slightly thickened. While whisking, stir 1/3 of the hot milk which will temper the eggs so they don't curdle. Continue whisking and pour in the rest of the milk mixture.

Put the milk/cream/egg mixture into a pan over medium heat until the custard thickens and coats the back of a spoon. If you run your finger down the bowl of the spoon, the custard should not run into the track. It should reach 170 degrees, but not go over 180 degrees.

Remove from pan and pour into a 2 quart glass measuring cup. Stir in vanilla and peach puree. Refrigerate until chilled then churn into ice cream according to your ice cream freezer's directions.

Finely dice the remaining 2 peaches. Just before the ice cream is thickened, add the peaches and churn to blend. Remove from the ice cream freezer and pack into a bowl. Freeze for 2 hours until it is firm enough to scoop.

Get Thee to an Infirmary

Apparently I've been sniffling and coughing too much. Lucas printed a warning sign just for little ole' me and taped it over the top of my cube, so I have to duck under it to get to my computer. It is SOLID COLOR. I won't tell the admin, who might kick his hiney if she saw that page filled with colored ink.

It has made me incredibly self conscious. I try to clear my throat as quietly as I can to stay under the radar. No deal. Steve yells, "GET THEE TO AN INFIRMARY" every single time.

I told Chris, who originally had the cold, that he was on my bad list. Technically, he gave it to Lori and she gave it to me, so Chris says he will not take the blame. Drat. He is a quality control guy so there isn't a lot I can do to appeal his 'not to blame' status.

Cucumber Marinade

Susie is amazing. She was born in Mexico and has managed to live for over 26 years as a single woman. Her grandma asks why she wants to be a man. Her family thinks she is a man because she is an engineer, and she really should have been married 10 years ago.

Another thing amazing about Susie is that she can cook. Man alive, she can cook. Supposedly her mom is a better cook than her. I'll believe it when I see it.

She brought in marinated cucumbers and let us try them. I really don't like cucumbers, but these were really good. When I asked her for the recipe she said, "There are three ingredients: salt, vinegar, and hot sauce. Everything is to taste." TO TASTE?? I can't reproduce that.

Apparently, it doesn't matter how much of anything you put in there. I also threw in a dash of soy sauce. It got a big thumbs up from Kevin, too.

Cucumber Marinade

1-2 cucumbers, cut into fourths and thinly sliced

salt

hot sauce

vinegar

Radish Salad

Kathleen brought a radish salad to the 4th of July picnic at the Ashford's. It was fan-tab-u-lous. I told Kevin how good it was, but he doesn't like radishes, so I didn't think he would try it. He took a big handful (there's no use bothering with a plate) and took a bite. His face went from really happy to grossed out in a split second. Then he looked down at his hand - he had the whole rest of his hand filled with radishes. Hehe. I got to watch him put it all in his mouth and swallow as quickly as he could.

So when I made a batch of the salad and brought it on a camping trip, I was shocked to see him walk over, try it, then dish himself a huge helping. Uhhh...what are you doing, Kevin? He said he liked it. The mustard and vinegar really cut the 'hot' of the radishes.

This was the start of a love affair with vegetables. Never before in my very shielded life have I sat down with a bowl full of vegetables and ACTUALLY ENJOYED eating them. Sheesh....I'm gettin' old.

Radish Salad

2 medium shallots (or a couple of shakes of shallot salt)

2 t Dijon mustard

3 T rice vinegar

1/2 C extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

4 cups thinly sliced radishes

1 C arugula (or mustard greens or parsley), stems discarded

4 hard boiled eggs, chopped small

Use a hand blender to make the dressing from the shallots, mustard, vinegar, and oil. Then in a large bowl, slice the radishes, chop the arugula, and chop the eggs. Mix in the dressing, and serve. This lasts a long time in the fridge.

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You picked a BAD DAY to quit smoking

Lucas lives a clean life. He doesn't drink coffee, alcohol, or any soda with sugar or caffeine. But he does smoke. At least he used to. He started quitting several weeks ago. The past week and a half has almost driven him back to his bad habit.

This is Lucas at the end of our mind-numbing marathon of testing. The following are things that have become normal in our sleep-deprived state:

1) Lucas taps his foot up and down with so much intensity that I want to walk over and whack him. I have to physically restrain myself so that I won't:

a) tell him that he is incredibly annoying and I never, ever want to see him again

b) find something really heavy to throw at him

c) pay "Big Bubba" to hold his knee down so it can't oscillate 300 times per second

2) We both joke at least 6 times each day that it would be better to quit our jobs than to endure one more second of testing.

3) The bags under our eyes have caused people to start glancing down when they pass us in the hall or walk past up in the lab.

Seven times we have been threatened with having to redo all of our testing because we found a failure that might force us to get a new build and start from scratch. Four of those times we actually did have to start over. Each test takes 14 hours and has to be repeated 3 times to prove it can consistently pass, so we don't take kindly to threats of that nature.

Thankfully, today we finally finished the entire set of tests. We haven't killed each other. Lucas hasn't reverted to his smokin' ways. To us, the week has been a success. But he wishes he hadn't chosen last week to stop smoking.

A Question From Carrie

The call came Saturday evening. Kevin and I were in the fruit isle of the grocery store.

"Hi Megan, this is Carrie." Immediately I started racking my brain…hmmmm…who is Carrie? Instead of the obvious reply, "Carrie who?" my big mouth blurted (all on its own), "Hi! How's it going?"

To which she replied, "Good! I am just wondering how it went."

Now I am stuck. How did it go? What does that MEAN? Who is Carrie and what was I supposed to be doing for her? Did I forget about some commitment? It wouldn't be unusual for me to double book a day and then forget about one of the appointments, but for the life of me I can not think of who she could possibly be. Have I even SPOKEN to a Carrie in the immediate past?

After a stiflingly long pause there is no choice but to ask, "I am sorry….who are you?" And she says, "This is Terri W." OH! It's my the woman in charge of the project I have been slaving over for the past 3 weeks. She is calling to check on my status since I have worked late on Friday and all day on Saturday. Thankfully it went great. The only real problem is that I feel like a dufus for not recognizing her voice on the phone, and then trying to play along instead of asking who she was right away.

Note to self: program the number of all work associates into my cell phone.

Second note to self: never, NEVER, agree to work overtime every day for 11 days in a row. Especially if it is during the move of a wonderful family, and I feel obligated to help them move. It really blocks clear thinking to not have time to relax.