tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-140832492024-03-14T11:11:33.878-05:00I Have To Cook AnywayI have to cook anyway, so I might as well blog about it.Lauriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14052996605598644759noreply@blogger.comBlogger149125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14083249.post-17594033087301950092009-04-22T22:47:00.002-05:002009-04-22T22:49:26.660-05:00Riddle Me ThisSo, Hypatia picked out her clothes the night before. On the top of the stack is a pair of underwear, two socks, and four cotton balls. what are the cotton balls for?<br /><br />Hmmmm???Lauriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14052996605598644759noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14083249.post-26838977472732527402009-04-22T21:58:00.001-05:002009-04-22T21:59:57.383-05:00RandomositySee how I changed my title? Random. I can do that. I can be random. But, can I be random consistently?<br /><br />Probably not.<br /><br />If not, am I being random?Lauriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14052996605598644759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14083249.post-78616543709955034112008-08-05T13:38:00.002-05:002008-08-05T14:01:53.941-05:00I made a wicked good Banana Cream PieIt is difficult to be sure just how many grams of carbs are in a slice, though. So, Dylan just guessed. For every 15 grams of carbs that he eats, he takes one unit of Novolog (fast acting insulin). Knowing that the pie would have a LOT of carbs, he took six units of Novolog.<br /><br />Well, six units was too much. His blood glucose tanked. This was shortly before bedtime, and if he is chasing a low, he can't go to bed. It is too risky to go to sleep with low blood sugar, because you might not wake up.<br /><br />By 11:00pm, he was at a good number, so he wanted to check just one more time, around 11:15. He plopped down on the couch and fell fast asleep. At midnight, I tried to wake him up, but he was too sleepy. I figured I could just check his sugar myself, but he had left the test strips in some odd place, and I couldn't find them. So, I kept trying to wake him up. Finally, he woke up enough to realize that he needed to go to bed. He was still dressed, so he went to the laundry room to take off his clothes (he does this rather than worry about having dirty clothes in his room).<br /><br />I was in the kitchen, waiting for him, so we could check his sugar when I realized that he wasn't undressing. No, he was standing there and I'll be darned if it didn't sound like he was pouring water on the dirty clothes. Water? Where would he get water? WATER??? Yikes!<br /><br />"Dylan!! Are you peeing???" No response.<br /><br />"Dylan!" I ran to where he was and sure enough, he was sleepily relieving himself all over the pile of dirty clothes!<br /><br />I started howling with laughter! "Dylan! You are in the laundry room! You are peeing on clothes! This is the laundry room!!"<br /><br />He looked at me with a vacant stare, laced with a bit of annoyance.<br /><br />I was laughing until tears ran down my face! Dylan was peeing on my laundry! He was clearly annoyed with me for yelling at him. Poor child was still asleep, apparently. I suggested to him that he stop peeing and finish in a more appropriate place, but was met with obstinate resistance. Not gonna happen. He couldn't figure out who this crazy woman was, much less why the crazy woman was yelling and laughing.<br /><br />With no choice left but to wait, I tried to maneuver my hand around the yellow stream, and remove items that might benefit from not being covered in pee. When he was finished, I immediately filled the washing machine.<br /><br />By the time he was finished peeing (it was a looong pee), he was awake enough to check his own blood sugar. He was high (245 mg/dl). Typical. It happens every time he has a bad low. He eats sugar to bring it up, but his liver spills extra sugar into his bloodstream an effort to compensate. Before long, he is way above normal.<br /><br />Just for reference, normal BG (blood glucose) readings in a non-diabetic stay pretty close to 100 mg/dl, with a little fluctuation up and down. Even after eating a lot of sugar/carbs, a non-diabetic would never have a reading over 200 mg/dl. As a matter of fact, if a person ever has a reading of over 200 mg/dl (as long as it is accurate), he/she would be diagnosed with diabetesLauriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14052996605598644759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14083249.post-83315671105862623682008-06-12T13:05:00.001-05:002008-06-12T13:06:51.057-05:00I really need a new title.Since I obviously don't do much posting about my food anymore. I really should have picked a more generic title, don't you think?Lauriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14052996605598644759noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14083249.post-60193728149238324892008-03-30T21:41:00.005-05:002008-03-30T21:55:07.156-05:00Little Chickies!My son has been incubating eggs, and they started hatching today!! What an exciting day! <br /><br />I have been learning about raising and hatching chickens on backyardchickens.com. So, as they hatched, I was reading up on what to expect. One of the first things I learned is that while it is best to let the chicken hatch fully on its own, sometimes the chickens don't hatch properly and intervention may save their lives. How many of you have heard that if you help a chicken hatch, it will die because it needs to gain strength while hatching? Well, that is not really true. If the chick is too big, it will not have room to rotate and it will die, unhatched. Also, if the chick pecks through the shell and there is not enough humidity, the membrane will dry out, and make it impossible for the chick to hatch. In both cases, you can hear the chick peeping, and it is healthy, but if it doesn't get out of the shell it will die. At this point, careful intervention can save the chicks life. <br /><br />Out of the 5 that have hatched so far, we assisted with 2 of them. They are looking good so far! <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbEnqT1g-BX6sNy0a12XC8COYlp5lBWa5qKdGqZr3QEqWGbtQe3v-UvJFR51soNw3FhiCUBaXdj8vRxBgXFhUnGtRvijmuHP3X74VBa-3OdmVZAUlqky5VWVKaKCVIJYwFEOrW/s1600-h/hatchlings2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbEnqT1g-BX6sNy0a12XC8COYlp5lBWa5qKdGqZr3QEqWGbtQe3v-UvJFR51soNw3FhiCUBaXdj8vRxBgXFhUnGtRvijmuHP3X74VBa-3OdmVZAUlqky5VWVKaKCVIJYwFEOrW/s320/hatchlings2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5183730891271022658" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaXB99DHEou0d4Cwh69CsxG4zVgVTu9E5pCdnA-r1-1rSLE_z9wviCuMyjLpfQIfjWZuTvsfwgF5cUmPLLcCBHNQ-XGWpbhLO6THsEEVcmVwNh6sDMyTABgJg2bDW_n30C4VPZ/s1600-h/hatchlings6.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaXB99DHEou0d4Cwh69CsxG4zVgVTu9E5pCdnA-r1-1rSLE_z9wviCuMyjLpfQIfjWZuTvsfwgF5cUmPLLcCBHNQ-XGWpbhLO6THsEEVcmVwNh6sDMyTABgJg2bDW_n30C4VPZ/s320/hatchlings6.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5183732982920095874" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSeEZG9e0SvF46ouF2rEqQ3a5pY8rcS8AM7O_sQkEYYGsHIoERIHbUxQZJN9iWgEF_YHkYMRIPPETq8kXkXK4c_kzI50aSGzSxBQqvkLRWNcgURViSLeoESsNxuPQZcNNLrQrG/s1600-h/hatchlings1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSeEZG9e0SvF46ouF2rEqQ3a5pY8rcS8AM7O_sQkEYYGsHIoERIHbUxQZJN9iWgEF_YHkYMRIPPETq8kXkXK4c_kzI50aSGzSxBQqvkLRWNcgURViSLeoESsNxuPQZcNNLrQrG/s320/hatchlings1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5183730886976055346" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdEFiPRHcPxa03ScVXu3sJBJalfKPvr1asHXek-gC04VRVQb1T44iOY2ZFZ-gSmTkmv1dtEX7F13TGeGH54lGc5XhddUxM0AkSg9UEil_6yr4btEroTQ4Ggm15JmC2JsUOdokR/s1600-h/hatchlings3.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdEFiPRHcPxa03ScVXu3sJBJalfKPvr1asHXek-gC04VRVQb1T44iOY2ZFZ-gSmTkmv1dtEX7F13TGeGH54lGc5XhddUxM0AkSg9UEil_6yr4btEroTQ4Ggm15JmC2JsUOdokR/s320/hatchlings3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5183730891271022674" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq0bhyohgAFKLeZeMkOyktXaQ4TowRWKrVulndvIP3oKoj-4rBgjbKNgW-flFnkBqnCp8eY6f7rmrZdjT9WFRs4zEOoLN0_NQ-Bbza3YNva6_ioOcvez6r3-k9xTH8Ec3kXMbj/s1600-h/hatchlings4.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq0bhyohgAFKLeZeMkOyktXaQ4TowRWKrVulndvIP3oKoj-4rBgjbKNgW-flFnkBqnCp8eY6f7rmrZdjT9WFRs4zEOoLN0_NQ-Bbza3YNva6_ioOcvez6r3-k9xTH8Ec3kXMbj/s320/hatchlings4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5183730895565989986" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXTiUnoxmSCxVMqakw28eB2DqSnvOxEPiuanopXhwWsTWlA-3XOMQVIAyHnfaOSUxzA4YmAcwaL09gnuXt7VtblizafGobhcxP1UuUljLvs2IVHbxn4ZhPOmd7y4TZ61-px0vy/s1600-h/hatchlings5.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXTiUnoxmSCxVMqakw28eB2DqSnvOxEPiuanopXhwWsTWlA-3XOMQVIAyHnfaOSUxzA4YmAcwaL09gnuXt7VtblizafGobhcxP1UuUljLvs2IVHbxn4ZhPOmd7y4TZ61-px0vy/s320/hatchlings5.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5183730895565990002" /></a>Lauriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14052996605598644759noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14083249.post-7220915943811024682008-03-25T14:07:00.004-05:002008-03-25T14:20:56.379-05:00I've been tie dyingI love to tie dye. I don't do it often enough! My daughter has been bugging me to do some more. She loves all the things I dabble in, such as jewelry making, tie dye, etc. She is my little "mini me".<br /><br />So, she helped, and this is a sampling of what we made:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidpbEcotedk6F4ki3bKzxC5lEE_JUNEZ7o1eQy6tyQIuGk6IyZo1YNl4UGto5-WM6PJrCvtZSDPfu9a0y_j23YRXnEnPGw5Ugwl8a-aZcPCSan729atSfmzpNZC1dHzVSFH_F4/s1600-h/mandala.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidpbEcotedk6F4ki3bKzxC5lEE_JUNEZ7o1eQy6tyQIuGk6IyZo1YNl4UGto5-WM6PJrCvtZSDPfu9a0y_j23YRXnEnPGw5Ugwl8a-aZcPCSan729atSfmzpNZC1dHzVSFH_F4/s320/mandala.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181759020245821426" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9jKO5yz_4gDUD73TbpyBbOkNBU-nTmDmFcB9jIaltHByLPVbTD44GFA0JiXTc0bN0l5_HsF18esreMbnULsWbidC5QoFi4FuYVGFoWmoaWgm9dMgXw_DJz_ShuSF3t7PiqBtW/s1600-h/tiedyedress.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9jKO5yz_4gDUD73TbpyBbOkNBU-nTmDmFcB9jIaltHByLPVbTD44GFA0JiXTc0bN0l5_HsF18esreMbnULsWbidC5QoFi4FuYVGFoWmoaWgm9dMgXw_DJz_ShuSF3t7PiqBtW/s320/tiedyedress.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181759033130723330" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinKbqztnbDd16X71r5ldgxIEpbCo5AYStumPf7wXSWbKyGiat6f-eJpTCWQNEOScgVAkpxEigLqVnpXJ2cVjlZ-E26S2TbKTlYAkZr8zfSews2eUxp3jtmdDQHJOhzbTqfhU4s/s1600-h/000_0005.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinKbqztnbDd16X71r5ldgxIEpbCo5AYStumPf7wXSWbKyGiat6f-eJpTCWQNEOScgVAkpxEigLqVnpXJ2cVjlZ-E26S2TbKTlYAkZr8zfSews2eUxp3jtmdDQHJOhzbTqfhU4s/s320/000_0005.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181759088965298194" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicmwcDVzSpSajWLjwYRBr9j_jx71vxQjZnnw2kUWXFypi7wKxqSeUmAl7HarKa367IRNqhZnmCh8XauLxzqVtquVkePpxpwoYYkSRpdCuQGXMkDP9c-LhshJbv2vmb0hZlE9XG/s1600-h/tiedyedots.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicmwcDVzSpSajWLjwYRBr9j_jx71vxQjZnnw2kUWXFypi7wKxqSeUmAl7HarKa367IRNqhZnmCh8XauLxzqVtquVkePpxpwoYYkSRpdCuQGXMkDP9c-LhshJbv2vmb0hZlE9XG/s320/tiedyedots.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5181759097555232802" /></a>Lauriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14052996605598644759noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14083249.post-12320918881461659492008-03-03T08:54:00.013-06:002008-03-03T10:35:24.881-06:00Life happens...While I have been neglecting this blog, life just kept on coming. And with it came some changes. <br /><br />For months, my in-laws had planned to take my son with them on a 6 week trip to Europe. Because my in-laws don't like to go to Europe in the summer (high tourist season), they were going from late August through mid-October. Dylan would have to miss the first 8 weeks of school. We discussed this with his school Principal in May and he said it would not be a problem. We got his passport and we were good to go! He was so excited!<br /><br />In early August of '07 to we made the trip to Atlanta drop him off at his Grandparent's house. We stayed there for a few days. While we were there, I noticed that he was getting up in the night to pee. This was unusual. Usually he slept right through the night. <br /><br />We left for Arkansas, and Dylan stayed. He (and his Grandparents) left for Europe on Aug 28. They rented a car and they drove through Italy, Germany and France for 6 glorious weeks. <br /><br />While they traveled, they noticed that Dylan was thirsty all the time. They had to carry bottled water with them and he just couldn't get enough. Of course he peed a lot. And when I say peed a lot, I mean A LOT!! He couldn't go much more than a half an hour without feeling a desperate need to pee. He finally got to the point that he would just go find a spot and pee, even if it was in front of everyone at the Eiffel Tower. While they drove, his need to pee was so irritating, that they finally gave him a pee bottle, and told him to pee in that, so they wouldn't have to stop every half hour. He filled bottle after bottle. They also noticed that he ate more food than the two of them put together! He could finish a huge Kebab sandwich and start in on his Grandmother's! They could barely keep up with his appetite.<br /><br />And yet, he was getting thinner.<br /><br />We returned to Atlanta to pick up Dylan in late October. My in-laws joked about how much Dylan could eat, drink, and pee. On our 10 hour drive home, we realized just how bad it was. He would sit in the back seat howling because of his desperate need to pee!<br /><br />So, Dylan had missed the first 8 weeks of school. He is a smart child and the principal and counselor had no problems with us wanting to pull him out of school to go to Europe. They were sure that he would slide right back into school with no problems. <br /><br />He didn't.<br /><br />He just couldn't get back into the swing of things. When I had my first parent/teacher conference a few weeks after his return, the teacher said "Is Dylan an underachiever?" I didn't know what to say.<br /><br />He brought home C's on his report card for the first time ever, and I just didn't know what to do. Last year, he almost had a C in math and we knew it was due to speeding through his homework so he could read. He would do it as fast as he could in the classroom and then read books. He never even brought homework home. We grounded him from the computer until the grades were up, and, boom, he brought up his grades. It was no big deal.<br /><br />This was different. He had two C's, and he just wasn't keeping up with his school work. He was making bad grades because he couldn't do the work! I would help him with homework and I could tell that his brain was fumbling over all the information. In a months time, he hadn't even read 1 book! Not one! Very unusual!<br /><br />I was wondering if we had made a huge mistake letting him go to Europe.<br /><br />One night he just sat up in his top bunk and threw up all over everything. It was a huge mess! My husband told him to get a big drink of water, and I followed him into the kitchen. He drank a large glass and immediately threw up what seemed like a gallon of water onto the floor. He felt ok in the morning, so we did nothing. Little did we know, we should have taken him straight to ER that very night! <br /><br />The continuous thirst and urge to pee continued. Meanwhile, new symptoms emerged. He had constant heartburn, and very painful canker sores in his mouth. His skin was chapped and very dry. He was eating massive quantities of food, more than what a normal adult would eat, and yet he was so thin. And his personality was just...different. He was so irrational! He would cry easily, over the silliest things. Where was the son I knew before he went to Europe? This child was just so changed!<br /><br />One day, I tried to get him to walk to school (maybe 1/4 of a mile or less) and he just wouldn't do it! He used to love walking to school! He just whined and moaned and complained until I drove him. I was so annoyed with him!<br /><br />On November 28th, Dylan attended a chess tournament with his GATE class. During the lunch break, he ate a few bites and then threw up all over. He seemed to feel ok, so no one bothered to called me. He continued to play chess, winning 4 out of the 5 games he played (amazingly!). The last game was a stale mate. He came home and told me about throwing up, and he threw up several more times after he got home. He was very hungry, but was convinced that he needed pizza. We had eaten pizza the day before, and somehow he felt that pizza would make him feel better. He was completely irrational about it. He kept telling me that he HAD to have pizza. I kept telling him that we were not getting pizza and he just kept asking me where we could get pizza.<br /><br />He wasn't feeling well. That much was obvious. But when I would ask him if he felt sick, he would say no. He was so lethargic. All he could do was just lay on the couch with a blanket over his head. I kept checking him for a fever, but there was none. <br /><br />He looked terrible (and had for days). His skin was pale gray and he had dark circles around his eyes. His hands were bright purple-red, though. It was very noticeable. At this point, I also noticed that he was starting to make a strange labored breathing sound. Additionally, his breath smelled funny. I kept asking him to breathe on my face, so I could figure out the smell.<br /><br />I started looking online for symptoms involving strange smelling breath. That led me to reading about a fruity odor on the breath, which led me to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetic_ketoacidosis">Diabetic Ketoacidosis</a>, or DKA. <br /><br />Ah, well, obviously it wasn't that, because Dylan <span style="font-style:italic;">doesn't have diabetes</span>. So what if his symptoms matched DKA? It had to be something else, because <span style="font-weight:bold;">he doesn't have Diabetes!!!!</span> And yet, every time I googled his symptoms, DKA was always the top match.<br /><br />I called our insurance's health line. I talked with the nurse. I can't remember just what I told her, but she never came up with the idea that he had Diabetes. She just said keep an eye on him.<br /><br />Dylan had been telling me for the last few days that I needed to make an appointment for him to see the doctor. He knew that something was seriously wrong and wanted me to take him in. So, thinking that he was right, I made an appointment for him to go to the doctor on Fri. (two days away). I figured we could test for Diabetes on the off chance that it was that. But, at the same time, I knew that if it was Diabetes, we'd never make it that long, since he was throwing up already, which was a sign of severe DKA. Once you are at the point of throwing up, you need to be hospitalized.<br /><br />Obviously, I was able to <span style="font-style:italic;">intellectually</span> grasp the concept of diabetes, but I was completely unable to believe that this was what my son was <span style="font-style:italic;">actually suffering from</span>. I <span style="font-style:italic;">knew</span> he didn't have diabetes. I knew that if we took him to the ER, we'd laugh at ourselves for getting all anxious over some silly thing that wasn't diabetes. <br /><br />Initially, my husband discouraged me from taking him to the ER, pointing out that I had wasted $50 when I took my daughter to the ER for hitting her head on the floor. She momentarily lost consciousness and I decided to take her in. She was absolutely fine. We rarely go to the ER.<br /><br />As the night wore on, my son breathed heavier and became more lethargic. I didn't want him to be alone in his bed, so I slept next to him on our double futon. His hands were still bright red. Finally, it got to the point that he couldn't sleep due to his labored breathing (lack of oxygen!!). Finally, I woke my husband at 2:00 AM and told him that Dylan just couldn't breathe. Sean took a shower and Dylan got dressed. My other children were asleep and had school that morning, so I stayed home. As they walked out the door, I told Dylan not to worry, that it was probably no big deal (serious denial on my part).<br /><br />They drove the 1/2 hour to the Children's Hospital. During the drive, my husband knew that it had to be Diabetes. Upon arrival, my husband mentioned Diabetes, and since Dylan was struggling to breathe, they acted quickly. They had his blood tested, and an IV in, and a diagnosis within 15 minutes. <br /><br />My husband called me and simply said "It is Diabetes." After talking with him for a minute, I hung up and started shaking and crying. It was early morning, Thursday, November 29. A date that my son (and I) will always remember.<br /><br />My son was put in PICU for a day and a half and then we were transferred to a regular floor, where we received diabetic training for the next 2 and a half days. They don't let you leave the hospital until they feel you are at least somewhat competent in caring for your newly diagnosed child.<br /><br />In retrospect, I now know that my son was very near death. When he was struggling to breathe, we waited. My husband showered. We drove the 1/2 hour. The poor child should have been life flighted to the hospital. It was that serious. He was almost to the point of cardiac arrest when he finally got to the ER. His body chemistry was so out of whack that they couldn't even give him insulin right away. His blood was highly acidic, which is very dangerous and cannot be tolerated for very long. His potassium levels were low and insulin will cause them to drop even more. If they had given him insulin right away, he would have had a heart attack. After several hours, they gave him insulin and Dylan slept while his body chemistry began to correct. <br /><br />Dylan is a Type 1 diabetic. His pancreas does not make insulin and it never will. He will be required to take insulin for the rest of his life (or until there is a cure). It has been 3 months since diagnosis and Dylan is doing great! He needs to have insulin shots every day. At every meal, he checks his blood sugar, and then counts the carbs in his food (before he eats) and gives himself a shot of fast acting insulin (Novolog) at a ratio of 1 unit to every 15 carbs. At night he gives himself a shot of slow acting basal insulin (Lantus). He is allowed to eat almost any food, with one caveat. He has to cover it with insulin. Random snacking and thoughtless eating just doesn't work. <br /><br />Life as a diabetic is so complicated. He checks his blood sugar a minimum of 4 times a day, and sometimes as much as 10 times a day. Every day (every minute!) is a balancing act of getting enough insulin to keep his sugars from being too high, but not getting so much insulin that his sugars drop dangerously low. Dylan is remarkably responsible about his own care. He is simply amazing!Lauriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14052996605598644759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14083249.post-35245710254829193582008-03-01T10:03:00.004-06:002008-03-01T10:35:08.900-06:00I'm still cooking, but ...Here are my latest creations. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5WZ1AXMCToCoxcWOo9LQ1nPtxSvQddfSEOblrN04zn_6om8aYWQtVm4J_7oCytSnEkIlBAit46h3CTwdAcZ4cG_WWFKoxAQA_dIjNZeM2_83ipSUfr-W__-Ru4OCGRGu16RL_/s1600-h/bluemultinecklace.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5WZ1AXMCToCoxcWOo9LQ1nPtxSvQddfSEOblrN04zn_6om8aYWQtVm4J_7oCytSnEkIlBAit46h3CTwdAcZ4cG_WWFKoxAQA_dIjNZeM2_83ipSUfr-W__-Ru4OCGRGu16RL_/s320/bluemultinecklace.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172805032027956370" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTyeKPsQY2JJtGwmLP1hgvMcn6LEcRoxVJv1aI95QvbEv1OAvBCvnNBnTf_wHx4aI55AVEuf9P9Tywaf_9jMBi3eIm2_SVCbMFwWF_R2afTcAHrtCxbQUDbyEKqXoKna2FXybG/s1600-h/lumierenecklace.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTyeKPsQY2JJtGwmLP1hgvMcn6LEcRoxVJv1aI95QvbEv1OAvBCvnNBnTf_wHx4aI55AVEuf9P9Tywaf_9jMBi3eIm2_SVCbMFwWF_R2afTcAHrtCxbQUDbyEKqXoKna2FXybG/s320/lumierenecklace.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172805036322923682" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMvP2DgPHkIMJOEuBz3nR6-fPBbIjxZO3jc2TAZJnlRB17N-7sbXOCV5JgVAeQobMiigE4jZCjsOzux-mDZSb0bs8PH-ojcIWsD0dTAVI6G3lhaO92V9WfW04_-HMtRzWyM_2o/s1600-h/brown+necklace1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMvP2DgPHkIMJOEuBz3nR6-fPBbIjxZO3jc2TAZJnlRB17N-7sbXOCV5JgVAeQobMiigE4jZCjsOzux-mDZSb0bs8PH-ojcIWsD0dTAVI6G3lhaO92V9WfW04_-HMtRzWyM_2o/s320/brown+necklace1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172805044912858290" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_4UZxgv5OuyFk72ZZ6lr-rNvVjxXiD9vv3NNIQUWdHM2TMDMkSCt7nRRm5GuuYkxWmESZFbKfxON5LtiCnU5kPlI9F3K-VBT_JF86wgX5tlV6vT6YTr2jS5z3xGE7LOTJuYvk/s1600-h/brown+necklace.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_4UZxgv5OuyFk72ZZ6lr-rNvVjxXiD9vv3NNIQUWdHM2TMDMkSCt7nRRm5GuuYkxWmESZFbKfxON5LtiCnU5kPlI9F3K-VBT_JF86wgX5tlV6vT6YTr2jS5z3xGE7LOTJuYvk/s320/brown+necklace.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5172805053502792898" /></a>Lauriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14052996605598644759noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14083249.post-84137472017543840612008-02-05T00:14:00.001-06:002008-02-05T00:19:45.961-06:00Hmm...So, I am indeed alive. I love that picture that I took of the pasta (the one in the logo up top, she said as she points upwards).<br /><br />Sigh. Maybe I'll post...<br /><br />Maybe not.<br /><br />Like I said: <span style="font-style:italic;">When I get around to it.</span> Apparently I haven't gotten around to it yet.<br /><br />I think I have ADD.Lauriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14052996605598644759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14083249.post-31023049947805618602008-02-05T00:14:00.000-06:002008-02-05T00:16:46.711-06:00Hmm...So, I am indeed alive. I love that picture that I took of the pasta (the one in the logo up top *points upwards*.<br /><br />Sigh. Maybe I'll post...<br /><br />Maybe not.<br /><br />I think I have ADD.Lauriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14052996605598644759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14083249.post-13584967900377748472007-05-28T23:05:00.000-05:002007-05-28T23:07:32.041-05:00PastaSee those beautiful noodles in my new logo? Uh huh. I made them. And when I get around to it, I'll post about it. You'll just have to wait until then, m'kay?Lauriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14052996605598644759noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14083249.post-31322942488557311062007-05-13T15:59:00.000-05:002007-05-13T16:17:41.858-05:00Cream Puffs<center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwK4ncmRA62bZF9PppfJiJUQ2cECH8MniFLh5EGnaEsxANQikWGwS20D4zfny-x_WoP0aJE295DT0zm32nZaDWgDdavQLHlAi4APm06LoiacKygFIoO9cFRzqfowPlSy0DI88_/s1600-h/cream+puff.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwK4ncmRA62bZF9PppfJiJUQ2cECH8MniFLh5EGnaEsxANQikWGwS20D4zfny-x_WoP0aJE295DT0zm32nZaDWgDdavQLHlAi4APm06LoiacKygFIoO9cFRzqfowPlSy0DI88_/s320/cream+puff.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5064156537655865890" /></a></center><br /><br />My daughter wanted to make dessert for me for Mothers Day, and when she suggested Cream Puffs, I just knew we had to make them! Today was <span style="font-weight:bold;">definitely</span> a Cream Puff Day!!!<br /><br />They are quite simple to make and they are oh so fun to eat! <br /><center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjhMHgeAUHeDsPqayi1wTo8KR52zxAKPpfgPAy4Maumf7sFQOXOyKD5nKcek_tX5Zv1OukGEIGSRwGWTD9htwjXeNIcUzEdBlbmpk_5Kg8HW7KZS95QmWou9m-0dYSxcrFDqDz/s1600-h/creampuff2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjhMHgeAUHeDsPqayi1wTo8KR52zxAKPpfgPAy4Maumf7sFQOXOyKD5nKcek_tX5Zv1OukGEIGSRwGWTD9htwjXeNIcUzEdBlbmpk_5Kg8HW7KZS95QmWou9m-0dYSxcrFDqDz/s320/creampuff2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5064156546245800514" /></a><br /></center><br />For the Filling:<br /><br />Make 1 recipe vanilla pudding. (I made homemade vanilla pudding from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, but a box of pudding made according to directions works well too). Whip about 1 cup of cream, adding vanilla and sugar. Fold the whipped cream into the pudding until fully incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge.<br /><br />For the pastry:<br /><br />1/2 cup butter<br />1 cup water<br />1/4 teaspoon salt<br />1 cup all-purpose flour<br />4 eggs<br /><br />Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).<br /><br />In a large pot, bring water and butter to a rolling boil. Stir in flour and salt until the mixture forms a ball. Transfer the dough to a large mixing bowl. Using a wooden spoon or stand mixer, beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet.<br /><br />Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown.<br /><br />When the shells are cool, either split and fill them with the pudding mixture, or use a pastry bag to pipe the pudding into the shells. <br /><br />When I split the shells, I pulled out a little of the inside to create a little pocket to hold the filling, but this is optional.<br /><br />Dust with powdered sugar or drizzle some homemade hot fudge sauce on top.<br /><center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7i0O4NdWnsR2kxvL6WOYtEQKinCNt4GLueVp1TCwVip_miAGosRb9BpXzu4CRIfx3v3c2nQORb-j_l0EkKiS3Caqxh4VtZ9tpNcFgwTnc8h_ZMqnhDsv-lSau-tEFLIjZBn97/s1600-h/creampuff1.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7i0O4NdWnsR2kxvL6WOYtEQKinCNt4GLueVp1TCwVip_miAGosRb9BpXzu4CRIfx3v3c2nQORb-j_l0EkKiS3Caqxh4VtZ9tpNcFgwTnc8h_ZMqnhDsv-lSau-tEFLIjZBn97/s320/creampuff1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5064156541950833202" /></a></center>Lauriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14052996605598644759noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14083249.post-55053850968305377312007-05-09T12:11:00.000-05:002007-05-09T12:59:25.873-05:00Yes, that's an orange and blue birthday cake.We've had two birthdays these past few weeks. Hypatia is a Cinco de Mayo baby, born on May 5, 2000. She turned 5 on 05/05/05!! And I didn't even plan it that way!! May 5, 2000 is also special because of the way the planets aligned that day, too. I'll have to google it:<br /><br />http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/alignment.html<br />http://stardate.org/nightsky/may05.html<br /><br />So, now she is 7 and I had to decorate a cake. She wanted pink frosting, but I accidentally used peach. When I informed her, she got excited and said "YES!! I really wanted orange, but I didn't know you had it!! Make it MORE orange!!" Serendipity! So I kept adding peach until we had an orange that would rival any Halloween cake out there. Then, for the accent color she insisted on a nice blue color. So, this is what we ended up with. It suited her just fine.<br /><center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0SOCCW2RtGJdboFhCzQmgJmAr34CJkLDPai4VkaRuEd8jKRxlXLrcnGK7d7pbWR2TLR5nMHUXkwgP658t-W4yeiktzb2aVlWopMOpJf12SFsgdtSJd4EDQHZwOEseG-D_qoWM/s1600-h/hypatiascake.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0SOCCW2RtGJdboFhCzQmgJmAr34CJkLDPai4VkaRuEd8jKRxlXLrcnGK7d7pbWR2TLR5nMHUXkwgP658t-W4yeiktzb2aVlWopMOpJf12SFsgdtSJd4EDQHZwOEseG-D_qoWM/s320/hypatiascake.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062610242055123410" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheGc_Hpviy_zvDZv9nPIYW9RMSVrc1v6mw7ErM3PKUpGZ3ZFEHvyLdRE6Wfvx22jUVNdwSMucpyfxsFfCt9na8hRUU08P-oSi-2RSC6ei9Nx9UZ_gqf8s_jsa6Mfi4JY_c96ry/s1600-h/hypatiascake1.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheGc_Hpviy_zvDZv9nPIYW9RMSVrc1v6mw7ErM3PKUpGZ3ZFEHvyLdRE6Wfvx22jUVNdwSMucpyfxsFfCt9na8hRUU08P-oSi-2RSC6ei9Nx9UZ_gqf8s_jsa6Mfi4JY_c96ry/s320/hypatiascake1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062610246350090722" /></a><br /></center><br /><br />Dylan turned 11 on April 25. Due to the rush of the day, and things going on in the evening, I didn't get a cake made. Dylan wasn't bothered in the least. He stuck some candles in some cookies he had made and opened presents anyway:<br /><center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb3j79nAal8CHjKq1ojqxJc82I-wFKKiVB3E0NMY5v5qYXCCciV-hBeamV2xwiPZJbFaMJvHtKuTvXddL3d8fc-6Rb0k-w8_9b0abiWEp5PCTLXB3EDdka1FZ2EwQC4marG6wA/s1600-h/dylanscake.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb3j79nAal8CHjKq1ojqxJc82I-wFKKiVB3E0NMY5v5qYXCCciV-hBeamV2xwiPZJbFaMJvHtKuTvXddL3d8fc-6Rb0k-w8_9b0abiWEp5PCTLXB3EDdka1FZ2EwQC4marG6wA/s320/dylanscake.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062617977291223538" /></a></center><br /><br />And, for a laugh, I have some good blackmail photos for when my 3 year old grows up:<br /><center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Fl5sRn09-IAt5EFjWVt9tDDp9GTrgzfjlkT8JGxYb44djjTwI6_6JqRpzhbTG2Iue3ydkTcqaAj-2Md3AlKX8xXQz4n_pmwOA_tUjI7v0qld7HkKry5MTt6DUIuBb0kUx6m4/s1600-h/lipstickwade.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9Fl5sRn09-IAt5EFjWVt9tDDp9GTrgzfjlkT8JGxYb44djjTwI6_6JqRpzhbTG2Iue3ydkTcqaAj-2Md3AlKX8xXQz4n_pmwOA_tUjI7v0qld7HkKry5MTt6DUIuBb0kUx6m4/s320/lipstickwade.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062617977291223554" /></a><br /></center>Lauriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14052996605598644759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14083249.post-20244055921520010042007-02-15T10:17:00.000-06:002007-02-15T11:17:47.944-06:00Ok, so I took a cake decorating class a couple of years ago at Michaels.I decorate cakes for my family, but thats as far as it goes, lol. I'm really not very good. This is the cake I made for Sean for Valentine's Day. <br /><br />I'm also going to give a little lesson in photography. Not that I know much at all, but I do know one thing. Natural lighting beats out flash any day. When you are taking pictures of food, use natural lighting, or your pictures will suffer from an ugly yellowish cast. If you take pictures when natural lighting is simply not available (say, during the winter in Alaska), then I would suggest buying or making a light box. While I have yet to do this, I've read many tutorials about this on the internet, and it seems to work very well. <br /><br />Now I'm going to tell you a little secret: When photographing my food, I usually put the plate on a dining room chair and scoot it next to the window. High tech, huh? Its just the place that has the best natural lighting. The table is a little too far away to take advantage of the natural light, and I don't want to bother with moving the whole table, then moving it back. So I just move the chair and take the picture there.<br /><br />So, here are the pictures. See what you think!<br /><br />A close up of my dandy cake. I placed it on a chair and scooted it next to the window. <br /><center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ZgZFnnwEjfIRRv-Zhfjzd-up_y2o0Yy8ezgxTDN-lO72wQZt6UTCYhwkzJtznrsWYe-QlbeQEMPysmkXhis0oQo1HaIiR6u7Y6_tB8maUSh52FvJ4_puG_YDSKlP0qhJMkZr/s1600-h/valentines.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7ZgZFnnwEjfIRRv-Zhfjzd-up_y2o0Yy8ezgxTDN-lO72wQZt6UTCYhwkzJtznrsWYe-QlbeQEMPysmkXhis0oQo1HaIiR6u7Y6_tB8maUSh52FvJ4_puG_YDSKlP0qhJMkZr/s320/valentines.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5031798129344477282" border="0" /></a></center><br />This next picture was taken the same way, on a chair next to the window.<br /><center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9xVmbqsE0UTRNBG3CmmIm31XXehJ2TesZQ_yOnVJbWFQ3QYWtEZJeH29TQIO4vpWlvGb_QxHlob2W1T2nGtzhJKuzaEMzknc7cEr1uCDKG5zjJELq7M_24d-bHW0jHMIyw1G5/s1600-h/valentines1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9xVmbqsE0UTRNBG3CmmIm31XXehJ2TesZQ_yOnVJbWFQ3QYWtEZJeH29TQIO4vpWlvGb_QxHlob2W1T2nGtzhJKuzaEMzknc7cEr1uCDKG5zjJELq7M_24d-bHW0jHMIyw1G5/s320/valentines1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5031798133639444594" border="0" /></a></center><br />This next picture was taken on my dining room table, and the flash was used. As you can see, the window is nearby, but just not near enough. The picture is yellow and ugly. All of these three pictures were taken within minutes of eachother.<br /><center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxxJgdD4kgNlGdwGCMUJbG5MduICVVv3HKyJ0Ymh3nGSGJaL8Yop_tLPumV-CcAr9BCSRR5llCn-0NnqDqnFMmqsjhh2nHXBsNrAOsdZs42Ix5Rkl3fCqUhTiwnRliZonegXxv/s1600-h/valentines2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxxJgdD4kgNlGdwGCMUJbG5MduICVVv3HKyJ0Ymh3nGSGJaL8Yop_tLPumV-CcAr9BCSRR5llCn-0NnqDqnFMmqsjhh2nHXBsNrAOsdZs42Ix5Rkl3fCqUhTiwnRliZonegXxv/s320/valentines2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5031798137934411906" border="0" /></a></center><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />CARROT CAKE</span><br />This next picture is of some carrot cake that I made some time ago, way back in October, I think. When the cake was ready to eat, it was dark outside, so there was no natural lighting available. So, for comparison, I took one picture with a flash and one without. Then, the next day, I took a picture in the middle of the day, when there was plenty of natural light coming in through the window.<br /><br />This one was taken inside, with a flash.<br /><center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRYO4uKKgHMbhQczB0_jH43YHb7N8qGoB8LIFzokX5ff-qp6NwnoLfqPPsHZhAR64-mu8LDkvjybVh-bmM8nI-UkhIx6LdMDerKOngCFzwVNJwPPobaq3YvvttUR6ixGQw-xCA/s1600-h/carrot+cake.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRYO4uKKgHMbhQczB0_jH43YHb7N8qGoB8LIFzokX5ff-qp6NwnoLfqPPsHZhAR64-mu8LDkvjybVh-bmM8nI-UkhIx6LdMDerKOngCFzwVNJwPPobaq3YvvttUR6ixGQw-xCA/s320/carrot+cake.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5031798142229379218" border="0" /></a></center><br />This one was taken inside, without a flash.<br /><center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb2oHBP01t2yM-6iKopS2rREpmIaLfT6mHecvE4mXgrOmarsX7rGIKx1y7dev44l8yCCugCTsgW8S_x2KcOQVCuJeLBGcNQ6fX8hcZktRNdwTSCwAo12Ej15RM2VxqvzU_HMDb/s1600-h/carrot+cake1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb2oHBP01t2yM-6iKopS2rREpmIaLfT6mHecvE4mXgrOmarsX7rGIKx1y7dev44l8yCCugCTsgW8S_x2KcOQVCuJeLBGcNQ6fX8hcZktRNdwTSCwAo12Ej15RM2VxqvzU_HMDb/s320/carrot+cake1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5031798146524346530" border="0" /></a></center><br />And this one was taken the next day, with natural lighting and no flash.<br /><center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj510heZS03Y1sdIwbE0HgP-buoRczJ1DQ6X0br_uJEjN7Eb-VJ-CgFQADcLqGy3E3gUhotODPRgUECNtd_fx_OUqK0TsayCNqwrQJ_gBx4T9jILBrCaizXGjicr4dV7iqzchWX/s1600-h/carrot+cake2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj510heZS03Y1sdIwbE0HgP-buoRczJ1DQ6X0br_uJEjN7Eb-VJ-CgFQADcLqGy3E3gUhotODPRgUECNtd_fx_OUqK0TsayCNqwrQJ_gBx4T9jILBrCaizXGjicr4dV7iqzchWX/s320/carrot+cake2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5031798984042969266" border="0" /></a></center><br /><br />So, you can see the difference that lighting makes. <br /><br />Wasn't that educational? <br /><br /><br />Carrot Cake Recipe:<br /><br />1 cup pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped<br />3 cups finely grated carrots or zucchini, or a mixture of the two<br />2 cups all-purpose flour<br />2 teaspoons baking soda<br />1 teaspoon salt<br />2 teaspoons ground cinnamon<br />4 large eggs<br />2 cups granulated white sugar<br />1/2 cup canola oil<br />1 cup applesauce<br />2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract<br /><br />In the bowl of an electric mixer, with the paddle attachment, beat the oil, sugar, applesauce, vanilla and eggs until combined. <br /><br />Sift flour, soda, salt and cinnamon together in a bowl. Fold gently into egg mixture, until just combined. <br /><br />Fold walnuts and carrots into batter.<br /><br />Bake in a greased and floured 9x13 pan at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes.<br /><br />Cream Cheese Frosting:<br /><br />1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature<br />8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature<br />1 lb powdered sugar<br />2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract<br /><br />In bowl of electric mixer, with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter, on low speed, until very smooth with no lumps. Gradually add the sifted powdered sugar and beat, on low speed, until fully incorporated and smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract.Lauriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14052996605598644759noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14083249.post-64852139144642956382007-01-27T10:18:00.000-06:002007-01-27T10:52:32.886-06:00This is like my recurring dream...For years I had this recurring dream. Not frequently, but maybe once or twice a year. It was something like this:<br /><br />Phone rings. I answer, but forget to say hello. Because I never say hello, noone responds. I'm sure that someone is there and I know that if I had just said hello, that person would respond. But, since I missed my chance to say hello (and there is an illogical dream rule that states that once missed, I couldn't get that chance back). The mysterious caller and I would just sit there in a dreamy stalemate, listening to silence. At this point I would wake up, rather frustrated. <br /><br />A few weeks ago, I realized that this blog had turned into something like this dream. Once I had gone a couple of weeks without posting, I felt like I had lost my chance! I would look at it and just continue to wait...<br /><br />Well, this morning, I made crepes, and they were fabulous!!! Oh my! I can't just let this one slip by my blog, oh no.<br /><br />So here goes. I just woke up from my dream, and now I'm going to post again. Wish me luck!<br /><br />This recipe comes from my Mother-in-Law. When she made it for me the first time (just after I was married), there was no fruit in it, just the crepes, syrup, and whipped cream. It was so good! We have added the fruit and I think its even better! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOpGG8wx3ttP31yE_tMjW3pUPop7jD00PeWJCzkqz5zx4WKoVyIgrJAi79-V-CWH0vziNzgX9YHp1RNzjNABfw4MYRqlgZnz7ov2KPeS77NyeLY_wKmVS8AnQyTxL5qZKa-lWT/s1600-h/crepes.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOpGG8wx3ttP31yE_tMjW3pUPop7jD00PeWJCzkqz5zx4WKoVyIgrJAi79-V-CWH0vziNzgX9YHp1RNzjNABfw4MYRqlgZnz7ov2KPeS77NyeLY_wKmVS8AnQyTxL5qZKa-lWT/s320/crepes.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5024747649661191810" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Fruit Filled Crepes with Orange Syrup</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">For the Crepes:</span><br />1 c. milk<br />3 eggs<br />3/4 cups flour<br />1 tbsp. sugar<br />1/4 tsp. salt<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Combine</span> the ingredients in the blender and blend on high speed 1 minute until smooth. Allow to sit for a while (I made the syrup during this time).<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Heat</span> an 8" crepe pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle a few drips of water on the pan; if they sizzle, the pan is ready to use. Coat hot pan with a spray of oil, or a drizzle of butter.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Pour</span> about 1/4 cup of the batter onto the skillet. Immediately pick up the pan and tilt and swirl it so that the batter covers the entire bottom of the pan. Pour any excess batter back into the bowl. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Loosen</span> the edges of the crepe with a metal spatula. You can use a spatula to turn the crepe, or you can use your fingers. Using both hands, pick up the loosened edges with your thumb and index finger and quickly flip it over. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Cook</span> on the other side until lightly golden (usually less than a minute). and slide it out onto a plate. I stacked them on top of each other and they didn't stick. If you are making them for later use, you may want to separate them with wax paper.<br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><br />For the Syrup:</span><br />1/2 cup honey<br />1/2 cup butter<br />1/3 cup fresh orange juice<br />1/2 teaspoon orange peel<br />1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Bring</span> honey and butter to a boil, remove from heat and add the orange juice and orange peel. At this point, I added a bit of vanilla. <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />To Serve:</span><br />Sliced bananas<br />Fresh or frozen fruit: blueberries, strawberries, etc.<br />Unsweetened or lightly sweetened whipped cream<br />Orange Syrup<br />Crepes<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Roll</span> crepes with fruit inside (and a little syrup). Top with additional fruit, syrup and whipped cream.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIpYWjWfquxMgqXzEF336iDJ3UZzq1i_HaP-SIt_aFjgKRRUx4d_4Jsau0Z3-tB3hyPV9MBnYAX-2xnzpp6ycc-F8QiWe-jmgg1ywhPaHYIDbFisC8OeLHPYqz2H7F1BYKV4No/s1600-h/crepes1.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIpYWjWfquxMgqXzEF336iDJ3UZzq1i_HaP-SIt_aFjgKRRUx4d_4Jsau0Z3-tB3hyPV9MBnYAX-2xnzpp6ycc-F8QiWe-jmgg1ywhPaHYIDbFisC8OeLHPYqz2H7F1BYKV4No/s320/crepes1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5024747649661191826" /></a>Lauriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14052996605598644759noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14083249.post-52069494473609758282006-12-21T07:42:00.000-06:002006-12-22T19:04:22.874-06:00Cinnamon Roll Coffee CakeRecently, my children were introduced to the concept of "dessert for breakfast" in the form of coffee cake. While we were visiting my husband's relatives for Thanksgiving, my Mother-in-Law made us a coffee cake on the morning we left to drive home. My daughter, Hannah, was so excited, she giggled to her sister: "Its like dessert! For breakfast!!" She really thought we were getting away with something! Can you tell that she doesn't like oatmeal for breakfast? As far as she is concerned, this is a dream come true.<br /><br />So, shortly after our return, the children begged me to make a coffee cake for breakfast. I had been eyeing a recipe in a recent issue of <a href="http://www.cuisineathome.com/">Cuisine at Home</a>. It looked so good but so...high calorie. Oh well, I made it anyway. <br /><br />Oh my it was wonderful!!! I have to say that it is too rich for every day fare, but Sean has now declared it our official Christmas Morning breakfast, thus displacing our typical Christmas breakfast of Blueberry Muffins. I think it is a good idea to only associate this particular recipe with a once-a-year tradition. That many butter, nuts and eggs on a regular basis could result in the onset of premature death!<br /><center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirJXLN75ic9X586DlB6dg_o5yQbfIy_6reeM4xp-64yfi6aWTRjboxOQCruj43ZFURbj_Atv8nl3MmxjXL8gSTZ8KupRCd7lqhvMnwkX0ZxpnnRge6Wkk_tR1WPXVtqP4JTE0p/s1600-h/coffeecake1.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirJXLN75ic9X586DlB6dg_o5yQbfIy_6reeM4xp-64yfi6aWTRjboxOQCruj43ZFURbj_Atv8nl3MmxjXL8gSTZ8KupRCd7lqhvMnwkX0ZxpnnRge6Wkk_tR1WPXVtqP4JTE0p/s320/coffeecake1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5011520766209950898" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOTluzB4uUIYrUXBXnaPpeQA01z3AbKb4cGeelrRDHjWPGqrEmFEPAXcYUGSzyvEuVlu7ufYC0XyorE_EV5FT5cHMnBxpjL3yrR9lT_YOthUIfjdb5U5d6AAdew3UE3lKQQfzO/s1600-h/coffeecake.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOTluzB4uUIYrUXBXnaPpeQA01z3AbKb4cGeelrRDHjWPGqrEmFEPAXcYUGSzyvEuVlu7ufYC0XyorE_EV5FT5cHMnBxpjL3yrR9lT_YOthUIfjdb5U5d6AAdew3UE3lKQQfzO/s320/coffeecake.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5011521530714129602" /></a><br /></center><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />"Cinnamon Roll" Coffee Cake</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Makes one 9" cake<br />Total time: About 1 1/2 hours<br />Only about a million calories!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">For the Caramel-</span><br />Stir Together:<br />3/4 cup brown sugar<br />1/4 cup heavy cream<br />Pinch of salt<br />Sprinkle:<br />1 cup chopped pecans<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />For The Streusel-</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Process:</span><br />1/2 cup brown sugar<br />1/3 cup all-purpose flour<br />4 tablespoons unsalted butter, sliced<br />1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon<br />1/4 tablespoons salt<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">For The Cake-</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Whisk Together:</span><br />1/2 cup buttermilk<br />1/4 cup lowfat vanilla yogurt (I used plain)<br />2 eggs<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Sift Together:</span><br />1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour<br />1/2 teaspoon baking powder<br />1/2 teaspoon baking soda<br />1/2 teaspoon table salt<br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Cream:</span><br />1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened<br />3/4 cup sugar<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Preheat</span> oven to 350 degrees; coat a 9" cake pan with nonstick spray. [It should be a pan with rather high sides; my pan was a bit short and the caramel dripped out the sides a bit. I just used a regular 9 inch round pan.]<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Stir</span> together brown sugar, cream, and salt for the caramel. Pour into prepared pan and spread to coat the bottom. Sprinkle pecans over the caramel.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Process</span> brown sugar, flour, butter, cinnamon, and salt for the streusel in a food processor. Pulse until small clumps form; set aside<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Whisk</span> buttermilk, yogurt, and eggs together for the cake in a measuring cup with a pour spout.<br />Sift flour, baking powder, soda, and salt onto a paper plate.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Cream</span> butter and sugar with a mixer just until combined. Alternately add dry and wet ingredients, starting and ending with the dry. Blend each addition just until incorporated.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Spread</span> half the batter over the caramel, then sprinkle with half the streusel. Carefully spread remaining batter over that and top with remaining steusel. Bake 50-60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Cool</span> cake for 5 minutes on a rack, then run a paring knife around the sides to loosen. Invert onto a serving platter while hot, then let cool slightly before slicing. Due to the sticky top, an electric knife is best for cutting, but a sharp, thin bladed knife is fine too.Lauriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14052996605598644759noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14083249.post-79571768852263490172006-12-07T08:37:00.000-06:002006-12-22T19:07:29.398-06:00Low Calorie Chickpea StewI've just been downright lazy lately. I have things to post, but what I apparently lack at the moment is the motivation. I'm not going to promise to post more often or anything, but I just wanted all 3 of my readers out there to know that I'm alive and posting occasionally...<br /><br />This was an adaptation of a recipe from a WW cookbook. I really liked it and it filled me up nicely. It has chicken in it, but I think it would be good without the chicken too.<br /><center><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJkRFz_d4hMdOEzlXhqno_Gl5pVmzege8CiOTeWkjOG6oFk4ZMlveEmS8IORbU1j0_0G1gc3GyuOmmNR3D9vYcJ4QxurR9RTrg1aH53VvZt70IvvQ3X90-_xhYF2FCrBWFcWQU/s1600-h/chickpeastew.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJkRFz_d4hMdOEzlXhqno_Gl5pVmzege8CiOTeWkjOG6oFk4ZMlveEmS8IORbU1j0_0G1gc3GyuOmmNR3D9vYcJ4QxurR9RTrg1aH53VvZt70IvvQ3X90-_xhYF2FCrBWFcWQU/s320/chickpeastew.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5011522024635368658" /></a></center><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Chickpea Stew</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><br />In a large dutch oven or sauce pan, melt and brown (but do not burn):</span><br />2 teaspoons butter<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Add, saute for several minutes:</span><br />1 frozen chicken breast half (mine was huge, so I used only one, feel free to use as much as you want), thawed and cut into chunks<br />1 med onion, chopped<br />1 annehiem chili, chopped<br />1 carrot, peeled and chopped big<br />1 turnip, peeled and chopped<br />1 cup diced eggplant<br />2 tablespoons chopped parsley<br />2 tablespoons chopped cilantro<br />1/2 teaspoon cinnamon<br />1/2 teaspoon tumeric<br /><span style="font-style:italic;"><br />Add, simmer until vegetables are soft, and liquid has cooked down (about 20 minutes):</span><br />1 1/4 cups chicken broth (I opened a can and used the other 1/2 cup in the Harissa sauce)<br />1 can diced tomatoes<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Add, simmer 2 minutes more:</span><br />1 zucchini, chopped big<br />1 cup cooked chickpeas<br />2 tablespoons raisins<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Serve with:</span><br /><br /><center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqcu58VNlofIEsOx0R8JdJn1Gxw1hDsE4OJAK7v8QBzM6fLBN7zrkXdrPJxevkuMV3iLHHsb1oWaQnAyWnRit3WCqCe8pIj92evkyIAYLUK_51KxD7i9AhLc3NCvKy0oq-BuaG/s1600-h/harrissa.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqcu58VNlofIEsOx0R8JdJn1Gxw1hDsE4OJAK7v8QBzM6fLBN7zrkXdrPJxevkuMV3iLHHsb1oWaQnAyWnRit3WCqCe8pIj92evkyIAYLUK_51KxD7i9AhLc3NCvKy0oq-BuaG/s320/harrissa.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5011522578686149858" /></a></center><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Red Pepper (Harissa) Sauce</span><br /><br />1/2 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth<br />2 jarred roasted red peppers, chopped<br />1 tablespoon olive oil<br />2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice<br />1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground cumin<br />1 tablespoon chopped parsley<br />1 tablespoon chopped cilantro<br /><br />Blend in a food processor until smoothLauriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14052996605598644759noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14083249.post-42031767347550098752006-12-01T12:02:00.000-06:002006-12-01T12:22:22.119-06:00Sushi<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1201/1719/1600/sushiroll.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1201/1719/320/sushiroll.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /></div>So, I made sushi a few weeks ago! Looks beautiful, doesn't it! There are many tutorials online about making sushi. Take a look!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sushifaq.com/howtomakesushiathome.htm">Sushi FAQ</a><br /><a href="http://www.hub-uk.com/cooking/tipssushi.htm">Sushi Tips</a><br /><a href="http://www.stashtea.com/swinstru.htm">Stash Tea</a><br /><a href="http://www.imakesushi.com/howto/sushi-roll.html">I Make Sushi</a><br /><a href="http://whatscookingamerica.net/Appetizers/CaliforniaRoll.htm">Whats Cooking America (california roll)</a><br /><a href="http://japanesefood.about.com/od/sushiforbeginner/ss/makingsushi.htm">Sushi for Beginners at About.com</a><br /></div><br />I filled my sushi with cucumbers, radishes, avocado, and tofu. I didn't have any fake crabmeat on hand, but I did have some tofu. So I sliced it into strips and marinated it in some teriyaki sauce for a while. To be on the safe side, bacterially speaking, I cooked the tofu in a fry pan before using it in my sushi. Everyone loved it, so I guess it worked out fine, lol.<br /><br />If you and your family love sushi, you really need to give this a try. We also bought some wasabi and pickled ginger to go with it, although I think I'll try pickling my own ginger next time.<br /><br />Lastly, I also made some absolutely wonderful miso soup to go with it. Alas, I have yet to actually get a decent picture of it, so you will have to forgive me for this picture. Here it is:<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/1201/1719/1600/250223/miso%20soup.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/1201/1719/320/563998/miso%20soup.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Miso soup really deserves its own entry, and I'll do just that some day. Until then, read about it at Maki's blog: <a href="http://www.justhungry.com/2003/12/japanese_basics.html">I Was Really Just Very Hungry</a>. <br /></div></div>Lauriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14052996605598644759noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14083249.post-49922545095369495422006-11-30T09:22:00.000-06:002006-11-30T15:55:27.930-06:00Thanksgiving Highlights<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span>Because we don't like traveling for Christmas, we usually go to Atlanta to visit Sean's family at Thanksgiving. Being a family of foodies, they LOVE Thanksgiving and it is fun to visit during this time. Also, my youngest was born right around Thanskgiving and so far, we have celebrated all of his birthdays at his grandparent's house in Atlanta. Since I was visiting, I didn't have to do much cooking. I did make Greek Meatballs for them on Sunday for Wade's birthday, though.</span><br /><br /><span>The following pictures are some of the highlights from the meal and Wade's birthday.</span><br /></div><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br />My Father in Law prepping the cooked turkey.</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/1201/1719/1600/340805/thanksgiving1.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/1201/1719/320/354959/thanksgiving1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">An Orange Roll Tradition</span><br /><br />It just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without them!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/1201/1719/1600/63609/thanksgiving2.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/1201/1719/320/625876/thanksgiving2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/1201/1719/1600/331934/thanksgiving.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/1201/1719/320/476432/thanksgiving.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/1201/1719/1600/276040/thanksgiving3.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/1201/1719/320/184199/thanksgiving3.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Orange Rolls</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">heat:</span><br />1 cup milk<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">add:</span><br />1 yeast cake (how quaint! I would guess about 1 1/2 tsp instant yeast or 1 packet of active dry yeast)<br />3 tablespoons butter<br />1/2 cup sugar<br />3 eggs, slightly beaten<br />1 cup flour<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">let rise for 2 1/2 hours<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">add:</span><br />3 cups flour<br />1 teaspoon salt<br /><span style="font-style: italic;">let rise til double (will be sticky)<br /><br /></span><span style="font-weight: bold;">In a separate bowl, make a paste with:</span><br />6 tablespoons butter, softened<br />1/2 cup sugar<br />2 tablespoons orange juice concentrate<br />Zest from one orange<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">When dough is doubled, divide in 2 parts and roll to 1/4 inch thickness. Spread each with orange paste. Roll as jelly roll. Cut into 1 inch thickness. Place in greased muffin tins. Rise til center cones. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes.</span><br /></div><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sweet Potato Casserole</span><br /><br />Yum!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/1201/1719/1600/756960/thanksgiving4.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/1201/1719/320/844783/thanksgiving4.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Wade's Birthday<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span>Wade's birthday is Nov. 26, always close to Thanksgiving.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/1201/1719/1600/476792/thanksgiving5.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/1201/1719/320/487709/thanksgiving5.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/1201/1719/1600/86555/thanksgiving6.jpg"><img style="cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/1201/1719/320/955987/thanksgiving6.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></div>Lauriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14052996605598644759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14083249.post-81012869298139239842006-11-21T09:04:00.000-06:002006-11-21T09:17:52.568-06:00More Eggs!<center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/1201/1719/1600/997775/eggs.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/1201/1719/320/356993/eggs.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a></center><br />Oh the thrill of having chickens! We now have several of them laying! Every day, the children come home from school and dash to the hen house to see if there are any new eggs. We have averaging one a day, and lately now, its been 2 a day. On Sunday we got our first green egg! Many of the chickens are called Easter Egg Chickens, and they are supposed to lay eggs of various colors. They are a mix of a couple of different breeds, bred specifically for colorful eggs. <br /><br />Once all of the hens (we have 17 hens) start laying, we'll have more eggs than we will know what to do with! <br /><br /><center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/1201/1719/1600/893163/eggs1.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/1201/1719/320/405198/eggs1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a></center>Lauriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14052996605598644759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14083249.post-16386389798060653732006-11-20T10:38:00.000-06:002006-11-20T10:44:34.904-06:00Baked Chili Relleno and Brazillian Black Bean StewThese were both based on the Brazillian national dish called Feijoada. I made these over a month ago. I guess I should at least post the pictures, lol! They were pretty good, but I don't think I'll ever make them again because they both had polish sausage in them and I really have a hard time enjoying food that is so closely related to a hotdog. I'm just not able to enjoy sausage much anymore. As I eat, I picture all the mixed meat and fat going into it and I get a little grossed out, lol. So if I do anything like this again, I'm leaving out the sausages. Lesson learned!<br /><br /><center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1201/1719/1600/bakedrelleno.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1201/1719/320/bakedrelleno.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1201/1719/1600/brazillianblackbeanstew.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1201/1719/320/brazillianblackbeanstew.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a></center>Lauriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14052996605598644759noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14083249.post-86655320677536818712006-11-16T14:22:00.000-06:002006-11-16T09:28:38.406-06:00Greek Meatballs with Lemon Couscous and Feta Yogurt DressingI think this is my son's favorite meal now. It has become the standard by which all other meals are now judged, as far as he is concerned. You should hear it: "Mmmm...Mom this is really good! I almost like it as much as the Greek Meatballs!"<br /><br />This recipe comes to you curtesy of our subscription to <a href="http://www.cuisineathome.com/">Cuisine at Home</a>. It is a great magazine, but alas, I may let the subscription go, because I'm trying to eat healthier. Sigh.<br /><br />I made this with ground turkey instead of ground chuck. I used green olives instead of Kalamata olives. Not that I prefer green to kalamatas, but I can't get kalamatas around here without going to a specialty store. Yeah, we ain't too cultured 'round these here parts.<br /><br />I served the meal along with a salad of diced cucumber, parsley, and green onion.<br /><br /><center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/7609/905259587769044/1600/greekmeatballs1.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/7609/905259587769044/320/greekmeatballs1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/7609/905259587769044/1600/greekmeatballs.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/7609/905259587769044/320/greekmeatballs.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a></center><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Greek Meatballs with Lemon Couscous and Feta Yogurt Dressing</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Greek Meatballs</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Makes 12 meatballs; total time: 1 hour</span><br /><br />1 cup bread crumbs<br />1/4 cup milk (whole or 2%)<br />1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbles<br />1/4 cup minced fresh parsley<br />2 tablespoons scallions minced<br />1 teaspoon kosher salt<br />2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves<br />1 egg, lightly beaten<br />1 lb ground chuck<br />2 tablespoons olive oil<br />3/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted, halved<br />1 tablespoon garlic, minced<br />1 teaspoon red pepper flakes<br />6 cups tomatoes, quartered, or 2 cans whole tamatoes (28 oz each)<br />Salt and pepper to taste<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Combine</span> crumbs, milk, feta, parsley, scallions, salt, oregano, and egg in a mixing bowl.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Stir in</span> the ground chuck and mix lightly but well. Shape the mixture into balls about 2" in diameter.<br />Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high. Add meatballs and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan and keep warm.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Add</span> olives, garlic, and pepper flakes to the pan and saute 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and cook 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, return meatballs to the pan, and simmer 5 minutes, or until cooked through.<br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Serve</span> over couscous, topped with feta dressing and garnished with cucmber and lemon zest.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Lemon Couscous</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Makes 2 cups; total time: 10 minutes</span><br /><br />3/4 cup chicken broth<br />1/4 cup fresh lemon juice<br />1 tablespoon salted butter<br />1/2 teaspoon kosher salt<br />3/4 cup dry plain couscous<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Bring</span> broth, lemon juice, butter, and salt to a boil in a saucepan. Remove from heat, add couscous, stir and cover. Let stand 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Feta Yogurt Dressing</span><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Makes about 1/2 cup; total time: 5 minutes</span><br /><br />1/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled<br />1/4 cup plain yogurt<br />2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice<br />1/2 teaspoon kosher salt<br />1/4 teaspoon black pepper<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Combine all</span> ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Cover and chill until ready to use.Lauriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14052996605598644759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14083249.post-50337708399222963222006-11-11T22:29:00.000-06:002006-11-11T10:31:24.625-06:00Cheese FondueThis is seriously one of my family's favorite all time recipes. They beg for it, they plead for it, they cheer when I make it. Even my pickiest eater loves it! I'm sure that part of it is the fun of dipping the food into the fondue. But they love the flavor too!<br /><br />When I make it, I often can't find the right cheeses, so I substitute whatever looks closest. The recipe calls for 2 main cheeses: a strong swiss (Gruyére), and a bleu (Roquefort). I keep that in mind when I substitute. If I can't find Gruyére, I use Emmentaller. But if I can't find either, I don't make it. Without a strong Swiss, the fondue just wouldn't taste right. <br /><br />So far, I have never used Roquefort. Last time I made it I used Danish Bleu Cheese. I have also substituted non-bleu cheeses with great success. I'll just pick a fancy cheese that seems good and use that instead.<br /><br />I always make a nice chewy french bread for dipping. I have found that we also like a variety of other dippers, with carrots and apples being our favorite.<br /><br />This recipe came from an old Bon Apetit magazine (from probably 15 years ago). It was in my mother-in-law's collection. <br /><br /><center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1201/1719/1600/cheesefondue.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1201/1719/320/cheesefondue.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1201/1719/1600/cheesefondue2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1201/1719/320/cheesefondue2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a></center><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Gruyére, White Wine and Mustard Fondue</span><br /><br />5 cups lighly packed grated Gruyére Cheese (about 13 ounces)<br />2 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour<br />1 3/4 cups white wine (or apple juice)<br />2 medium garlic cloves, pressed<br />1/4 cup crumbled Roquefort cheese<br />1/4 cup Dijon mustard<br /><br />Combine Gruyére cheese and flour in large bowl. Simmer wine and garlic in heavy medium saucepan or fundue pot 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add Gruyére cheese mixture to saucepan 1 handful at a time, stirring constantly until cheese melts before adding another handful. Whisk in Roquefort cheese (mixture will look grainy). Whisk in mustard. Boil until smooth and thick, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Place pot over canned heat burner to keep warm. <br /><br />We always serve with: bread cubes, diced carrots, and apple slices. <br />The recipe recommends to serve with: bread cubes, steamed red potatoes, and grilled sausages.Lauriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14052996605598644759noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14083249.post-72180374954951833392006-11-09T19:27:00.000-06:002006-11-09T10:29:29.260-06:00BreadMmmm...bread...<br /><br />I don't make this bread too often, but it is dense, chewy, and perfect!<br /><br />Its just a basic homemade french bread, allowed to rise long, cool, and slow, for a total of 3 rises. It was just flour (with some vital wheat gluten added to make it a bit chewier), yeast, salt, and water. I also spritzed it with water a few times while it was baking in the oven.<br /><br />Simply the best.<br /><br /><center><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1201/1719/1600/bread.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1201/1719/320/bread.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />A picture of the underside. It was pretty too, lol! I baked it on a pizza stone and used polenta to keep it from sticking.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1201/1719/1600/bread3.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1201/1719/320/bread3.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />This is warm, out of the oven, with a bit of melting butter on it. I've started eating healthier, so I didn't really eat much of this bread. This was my daughter's piece.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1201/1719/1600/bread1.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/1201/1719/320/bread1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a></center><br /><br />I made it to go with my next post...Lauriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14052996605598644759noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14083249.post-66857453881254537562006-11-06T13:25:00.000-06:002006-11-06T14:18:05.249-06:00Update on meI know I haven't been updating as often as I used to. I'm still lovin' the blog thang, but there are a few things that are slowing me down. <br /><br />1. In the summer when I started the blog, the sun was pouring into our dining room window between 5 and 7 pm every night. It was so easy to get good lighting for my photos. Now, its dark at 5 and it has really made it hard to take a good photo. I keep planning on making a light box to take pictures in, but of course, I haven't gotten around to it. <br /><br />2. I'm fat. I'm losing weight (you know, that lifestyle change thing) and I'm cooking and eating a little differently and I'm hoping to turn this blog into a little bit of a healthy eating blog. Right now, I'm still posting recipes from a few weeks ago and they are still pretty fattening at times. Actually, I don't intend to completely cut out all the fattening goodies, but I hope to cut down on them.<br /><br />3. As I <a href="http://ihavetocookanyway.blogspot.com/2006/10/curried-split-pea-soup.html">previously posted</a>, I'm spending too much time on the computer lately. Since I've never experienced the misery of being a victim of substance abuse, I figure I have to have some sort of habit that ruins my life and turns me into a zombie. I could sit here for hours, unaware of my life slowly ticking by. I can't let that happen. So I've cut down on my time on the internet. The fact is that I don't want to part with the internet (and this blog), but sometimes I feel like living in a house with internet connection is somewhat akin to a recovering alchoholic who lives in a bar. Sometimes I have my son lock up the mouse in his treasure box (I don't know the combination to his lock, lol). That way, I can't get on the computer the whole time the kids are at school! Clever, huh? Or sad...really.<br /><br />Well, there you go. Not that anyone really cares, lol!Lauriehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14052996605598644759noreply@blogger.com0