This week's menu

In the last couple of years the distribution of cooking labor has been a little lopsided, with my darling husband doing the lion's share of the cooking. I've been planning menus and making shopping lists, which helps take the stress off him, but it is still a lot of work to do all of the actual preparation of food. So, this semester we've revamped our menu planning a little. Brian's class schedule keeps him busy in the afternoon now, where before he was home and able to cook. Since I get off earlier, I'm taking more of a lead. Yay!! Now we plan our meals to (roughly) follow this schedule:

Sunday: Large meal that makes left overs (cooked together)
Monday: leftovers
Tuesday: Kristen cooks
Wednesday: date night - cook together or eat out
Thursday: crock pot/slow cooker or pre-prepped throw in the oven casserole (Brian takes lead, I finish)
Friday: Brian cooks
Saturday: play it by ear, usually cook together whatever strikes the fancy.

That means we do most menu planning on Saturdays or Sundays and grocery shop the same day. I take leftovers for lunch when I'm able, so we're trying to do a fair bit of extra cooking, when its not something more expensive (not making extra steaks or fish usually, for example).

I'm pretty excited about our menu this week. It is a little fancier than some weeks, mostly because of Valentine's day on Friday. ♥

February 9 - 14, 2014

Sunday: Chicken pot pie with biscuit crust
Monday: leftover pot pie
Tuesday: Tropical sea scallops with cucumber mango salad and rice
Wednesday: Mozzarella stuffed caprese burgers with balsamic glaze drizzle and grilled squash
Thursday: Baked ziti
Friday: TBD Valentine's day celebration

I'll likely go to our favorite grocery store Friday and pick up something awesome to make together. They have fantastic steak, stuffed fish, mostly prepped shellfish... so something will come together easily and deliciously. Plus I'm keeping a dessert trick up my sleeve. ;) Not that I can spring much on him... he'll be home all day! No Friday classes this semester, lucky duck.

Your turn! 
How do you share the load? Who does most of the cooking at your house?
What are your Valentine's day plans this year? Any favorite traditions?

Busy summer!

So, its been a few weeks. So much for hitting the blog hard this summer, eh?

Really, this is just a quick check in. I'll be along with some food in the next week or two.

What have I been up to?

Honeymoon!

We went to St. Lucia for a week at the beginning of August. Talk about AMAZING. We realized while there that this is the first "grown-up" vacation I've ever taken. I only ever went home for school breaks, and we've only done 2-3 day weekend jaunts before. I guess the Boston trip last summer counts for something, but that was more visiting friends and family than getting away just to unwind and sightsee. This was sleeping in, eating out, catamaran touring, ocean swimming, rum drink sipping relaxation. I've got some food posts to share out of this one, trust me! My favorite food memories? Eating at a hotel where the chef had made the reservation for us, perfectly cooked rack of lamb, fried plantains (I made those!) and creole breakfast with salt fish and floats. Also the Chairman's reserve spiced rum. Makes the most delicious rum and coke... you can taste and distinguish actual spice flavors, which is so cool. :) And the Piton beer reminds me of meals with my Farfar, who's beers of choice were Carlsberg and Heineken... it had that kind of flavor to me.

Reading!

The books on the left are ones I've already finished in August (three were on the kindle), and the ones on the right are my "next up" stack. :)

Reading. TONS. I read 10 books in the month of August. Instead of defaulting to "what do I want to watch" and grabbing the remote, I've been reaching for my book. Its been AWESOME. If you check out my 29 by 29 list (see tab above) you can follow my list. Just finished Jurassic Park today, only took me three days (and this, after school has already started!) Earlier this week I read Before I Go to Sleep by S J Watson, which was so phenomenal I read it in just TWO DAYS. I got the book from the library Tuesday and finished it Wednesday. I thought about it every time I had a break at school Wednesday too. XD

New classroom!

Started a new job! I am now at a middle school (again) teaching 6th grade science and social studies. So far I LOVE IT. My kids are great, my team is great, my principal is great. I'm really happy to not have the super long commute, it makes such a huge difference to the day. I actually have time and energy left to be helpful and interesting at home. This week I helped make dinner last Monday, cleaned up from dinner a couple times this week, did general chores including a load of laundry on Wednesday, etc. It doesn't sound like much, but its a move in the right direction from it being mostly Brian handling everything to me being human enough at the end of a work day to take some of that off his shoulders. Even if it is just cleaning up a meal instead of grouching that the kitchen is messy, its big steps here. I am so happy to be at a place where I can serve a group of children and my own family in such a balanced and fulfilling way. Now I'm just looking at keeping that balance once the paper grading starts!

New haircut!!

(Terrible pic, but I'll get some better ones this weekend, whatwith labor day festivities.)
I swore I would do it someday, and I finally did. I went with some slightly conservative side swept bangs, since I was a little nervous to make the leap, but they are super cute. Finally I love pony tails on me! Now I just need to get the gym thing happening again so I can rock that look in public. Usually, pony tails are reserved for cleaning, super hot sticky weather, and ugh I can't deal with you (which happens less right after a haircut!). The inspiration pictures ranged from Victoria Beckham (extreme end) to Sandra Bullock (conservative end). My stylist nailed what I was talking about. :)

What was your favorite way to stay busy this summer?

Sangria Saturday

Happy Cinco de Mayo, everyone! I know for most Americans this is just an excuse to have a taco and a Mexican beer, but the holiday does of course have deeper roots. Fortunately, recent years have brought us ignorant Americans greater enlightenment, so most people no longer believe that it is a Mexican Independence day. Before that wide information wave, the rumor probably started because 5th of May sounds so much like the 4th of July, but Mexico's independence is celebrated on September 16th. El Grito de Independencia is marked as the day that Father Hidalgo (and others) rang the bell of a local church to signal the start of their fight for liberty from Spain. My understanding is that original plans had the revolt starting in October, but they were discovered and started things a bit early. Just like my rum mixing this morning. ;) ;)

No, Cinco de Mayo marks the Battle of Puebla, an unlikely win the Mexican army pulled against French forces during the American Civil war. That was about 50 years after Hidalgo did his thing.

And since the Spanish had nothing to do with Cinco de Mayo, I have no problem serving (vaguely) Spanish Sangria at my boyfriend's birthday party tonight. While I love celebrating Mexican heritage and culture (and all cultures!) I love celebrating him more. ;)


The ingredients for this recipe are approximate, and per pitcher. If you are having more than 6-8 people over, I recommend 2 pitchers and up. You don't need very many glasses of this stuff to really really feel it, but it is super tasty with all the fruit and people will come back for more! The apples soak up rum really well and give a great burst when you bite them. YUM.

Sensational Sangria
a joyful foodie original

Ingredients:
750ml bottle of red wine*
1 1/2 cups spiced rum
1/2 cup sugar
1 orange, sliced
1 lemon, sliced
1 lime, sliced
1 apple, cubed
any extra fruit you can find, including strawberries, blueberries, peaches, plums, pineapple, mango, etc. (I've never tried banana...hm.)
1 can lemon-lime soda or flavored seltzer

Directions:
Wash ALL fruit (even the citrus, the peel is going in the pitcher). Slice all citrus into thin rounds. (Be sure you start at the stem, so you get a nice cross section. Chop the apple into bite size pieces. Add rum, sugar, and fruit to a pitcher. Stir or swirl to make sure the sugar isn't sitting on top of the fruit and is down in the rum and to coat all fruit.

Chill for at least 6 hours, overnight would be best! You can speed it up if you must, but maybe use simple syrup instead of sugar so it is dissolved.
In the morning, or at least 2 hours before party time, add the red wine and continue chilling.
When ready to serve, add 1 can of lemon-lime soda OR 1 1/2 cups of seltzer in a complementary flavor (think: mixed berry seltzer if you went heavy on the berries, etc).



*Red wine note: I've always used box wine. That works out to be 3.17 cups of red wine, so I do basically 3 1/4. A little extra wine won't hurt. ;) If you want to use an actual bottle, I've heard really good things about Blackberry Merlot in this recipe. :)


Tips and tricks:

If you are an organic produce shopper, this might be a good occasion to bend your rules. Usually, you only need to buy organic produce that you will not peel, ie apples, pears, berries, etc. However, the whole peel is going in the pitcher on this recipe, so if you are really conscious of pesticides etc, consider picking up all your fruit on the organic wall of your local shop this time. :)


If you are having a big big party, and going big punch bowl with this one, you can expect to need something more like:
2 apples, 3 oranges, 3 limes, 3 lemons, 2 quarts of strawberries, and much more of a 5L box of wine!

Depending on your punch bowl this is super easy to scale. Basically, you want 1/2 cup sugar and 1 1/2 cups rum for every three cups red wine. Keep in mind that a box of wine is almost 7 bottles (like 6 2/3), so you can scale up a LOT with one box, but you will need extra bottles of rum. (I need a whole 750ml bottle of rum for 3 pitchers, consider doing a handle if you are scaling up a lot.)
Add as much fruit as you want from there!! The more the better, really! It makes the punch bowl super pretty and adds such great flavor.


If you don't have a punch bowl and want to have refills handy, soak extra fruit in rum and sugar in a sealed container in the fridge. Then you can add to the pitchers as necessary throughout the night. The balance won't be quite the same, or mingled, but people will be quite a bit along and they won't notice. ;) Do keep an eye on the fruit though, as people tend to try to snitch pieces. XD


Whatever you are up to this lovely cinco de mayo, I hope you have a lovely time at it. And maybe have an extra one for me. ;)

Edit 2/10/13: I'm trying to make my recipes more printer friendly. If you like this format for printing, please do drop a comment and let me know so I can decide how best to proceed with user-friendlyfying this place!

Chocolate Lava Cakes

I am so excited about this recipe I have to start the post before they are even finished cooking!! The last chocolate lava cake recipe I tried was from Cooking Light. They were just OK. They called for espresso powder and I found they were just a little too... dark. The flavor was kinda smokey. Don't get me wrong, we ate most of the cakes the batch yielded, but I knew there had to be better.
Tonight's recipe came from my new favorite blog. I found it while trying to refresh my memory on an old favorite salmon recipe. The pictures are gorgeous, the recipes simple and encouraging, and the whole thing made me completely miss cooking. As you may have noticed (or forgotten due to my looooooong absence), I have had a new teaching position this year. (Did I even mention? 4th grade math.) It has been exhausting (beyond any teaching job I've had before, with the exception of student teaching and the semester with mono).

Brian has done all of the cooking since I got the job.

I think I have made breakfast two or three times on the weekends. And there was a chicken pot pie (which he learned how to make and made the next time). And something else more recently... that I can't remember.

So when I stumbled on this blog tonight, I was... engrossed. Perhaps obsessed. Every few entries was another "ohhh, I want to try this one" or "Oooooh, look at this picture!!" So while Brian finished making our salmon dinner, I read about lemon poppyseed cake and latkes and chocolate lava cakes. After dinner I seemed restless. When queried as to what was the matter, I whined, "I miss cooking." Brian asked if I wanted to make dessert. He had trouble reading my reaction, as I limped my tired feet back to the couch to check the still open laptop. Did I have the ingredients for those magically looking molten chocolate piles of heaven?? Butter... check, Brian restocked tonight. Eggs... check, exactly the right amount. Flour... always. Semi-sweet chocolate... I buy the chips in bulk at Costco. Powdered sugar... I always have powdered sugar, in case there is a frosting emergency. And whipped cream. Hmmm. Maybe?? There was a can at least... maybe?? Brian checks; there is! HOORAY! I leap into action.

Everything on the counter.

No powdered sugar.

I realize then that I have not baked since we arrived in August. Well, French Toast while the family was still here. But not a cake. Nothing with icing. All the powdered sugar I remembered was in Massachusetts. Not North Carolina. I had decided it was cheap enough to not bother packing, and left it for the roommate (who also bakes). That would save me worrying about a powdered sugar explosion in the moving boxes.
Then I got the job. And stopped cooking, for reasons of sanity. Lesson plans, assessments, paperwork, new acronyms, filing systems, 53 fourth graders (at last count, if the "he moved" rumors prove false). o.0

Brian, seeing my disappointment, ran to the store. Is that love or what? (I joke sometimes I can't tell if it is of the dessert or me, but we all know. <3

Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes
from Rachel at homesweetandsavory

New Grill -- Shrimp and Pineapple Kebabs

There is nothing like grilling in the summer. We've been fortunate in Boston to have either my landlord's grill or my roommate's grill, so we've never had one of our own. Luckily there were never any "ugh, they left the gas on AGAIN?!" moments or surprises. Once we got here it seemed important to find a grill as quickly as possible. It happened pretty quickly... we found one today! Best part? It was free!! Thanks be to craigslist. A very kind gentleman posted a grill his friend had left behind, and was asking $20. The starter is broken, it has some slight cosmetic rust, but it works! And he didn't want a dime. Said he didn't want scrap metal seekers bothering him. Bonus; he took one look at Brian's compact car and threw it in his mini van.



To celebrate, we've had two of three meals hot off the grill today. :D Basic hotdogs for lunch, and never fails to make me swoon shrimp and pineapple kebabs for dinner. Wouldn't you know this is another recipe I can't recall where I first saw it? I know I read it the first time... I've just made it from memory - or as close as I can get - every time since then.

Shrimp and Pineapple Kebabs
from ???

40 raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (tails on)
1 pineapple (you'll use about 3/4 of it)
1 red onion
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1 tbsp sesame seeds

Cut up the pineapple; start by cutting off the top leafy part. Then cut down the sides to shave off the outside spiny bits. Then cut off the bottom outside bit. If you look at the middle, there is a core - this part is woody and not good for nomming on. Cut off sections of the pineapple leaving that part behind, just like you would an apple. If you cut too far into it, you'll know, just trim it off. Cut those pineapple portions down into rough cubes, about 1 inch chunks. The idea is that the pineapple will char before the shrimp, and help protect it from overcooking and drying out, so don't get them too small. Plus, they split when skewered if they're too small.
Of course you can skip all that if you are substituting canned pineapple cubes. ;)

Cut the red onion into quarters or eighths (depending on number of skewers planned, and how cooked you want the onion). My pictures show eighths.

Toast the sesame seeds for a couple of minutes. Do not burn them! I find 4 minutes at 350*F is usually enough, it may finish faster in a toaster oven (I don't remember toaster times, and don't have a new toaster yet to try it).


Mix the sesame seeds with the teriyaki sauce.


Recruit a partner to help skewer the ingredients. I go every other pineapple, shrimp, pineapple and so on. Make sure you have a pineapple on each end; this helps keep the slippery shrimp in place, and boosts them off the grill. Put a red onion quarter/eighth near the middle of the skewer. Keep going until all skewers are full! We got 6 skewers out of the ingredients listed. It just depends on the size of your shrimp and pineapple pieces.





Use a silicone basting brush to brush on the sauce/seed mixture. The silicone really grabs the seeds, I was pleased with how easy this made it. Just brush them off on the pineapple chunks!



Grill for about 6 minutes, turning once. Shrimp are done when pink. Make sure they aren't grey, but don't leave them on the grill to dry out!




Tips:
*to pick a pineapple, look for 3 things: color, smell, leaves. Color: it should be yellow, not green or brown, over much of the outside. Some green or some brown is ok, but too much means its either not ripe yet or past the ideal. Smell: if you smell near the base of the pineapple or the yellowest parts, it should smell like pineapple! Funny thing, huh? Leaves: my mom's fiance Steve swears by the leaf trick; grab a leaf and pull... if it comes out, its probably ripe. If they don't budge, don't buy it.
* you can easily sub a can of pineapple chunks if fresh pineapple isn't affordable/available/ripe.
* grill the extra pineapple to serve with vanilla ice cream for dessert. You can chill it a couple of days and then nuke it for a few seconds and it will still have that smokey grilled flavor. You can even make a simple glaze for it... though I bet a simple carmel sauce drizzled over it would be yummy.
* this can be prepped a few hours in advance. Then you're all set to throw them on the grill at dinner time! I wouldn't do it more than 4-6 hours early... you don't want the pineapple to dry out or anything weird. I'm too excited to eat this recipe to try longer advance prep times!
* Get the kids involved making their own skewers! Just be sure to help them with the onions (if they want onions... I don't eat them, but Brian loves them) since they can be tricky to stab through.
Notes on skewers: Some people swear by metal skewers. I haven't gotten around to buying a set yet. I find the wooden ones you pick up at the grocery store work fine. For shrimp, you don't usually have to do the pre-soak step because the cook time is so short. However, if you want to cook something that has to be well done (like chicken, or thick steak), soak the skewers in water for around 20 minutes before you load them up and grill. Once we get to more chicken and beef grilling, I may revisit my stance on not getting the metal ones. ;)


Tonight I served the kebabs with sliced French bread. It was handy and quick. This is also lovely with rice, cous cous, or grilled pita or naan slices. Start the meal with an appetizer salad while you wait, or be sure to have an extra helping of greens at lunch. ;) Just don't try to do too much once the kebabs are assembled - shrimp grills up really fast! (And gets cold quickly.)



Joyfully,
Kristen


PS: I just hit 1000 site visits! Thanks guys! :D

Anticipation

I have been dying to share my big news with you all!! I have had a ton of excitement.

My dad was in town for most of a week.
I had something like 5 interviews while my dad was here. It rained and poured interviews the first few days of November!! I had 4 total since last Thursday!!
I flew home to see my Farfar for his 90th birthday. I was so blessed to get to fly home and share it with him.
The job I wanted the most (and had a second interview with, the morning I flew to AZ!) said they would call Tuesday night (the day I flew). So I spent the whole flight expecting a voicemail on the other side! YIKES. Let me tell you guys, this airplane ride was the longest since the one to visit Brian in Hawaii when I only got to see him every six months. What a miracle… God sure does work in mysterious ways. All those interviews right before my trip, but late enough that I didn't have an offer yet and I still got to go still! Amazing.

SO! I didn't find out until Sunday evening... but they offered me the job!! I wanted to wait until after I signed paperwork, but everything wound up moving so fast that I wound up completing my first week before I've had a chance to sit down and post this!!

So in case you're skimming at this point, since I've babbled a lot and there are no pictures in sight...

I got a job!!!!! I'm teaching 8th grade math, and have three levels of classes, 5 periods total. My kids are awesome, and I am having a blast. It is exactly what I've been wanting.


I've been planning my celebratory "I HAVE A CLASSROOM!!!!!!" meal since… well, its been at least a year and a half, probably more like two years. I went to this restaurant during restaurant week back in college with a friend and it was one of the best meals I've ever had. You'll have to forgive the gaps in remembering… this was several years ago. I will review the place again after a more current visit! (Hopefully in the next two weeks...)

The Wine Cellar
Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, MA

The waiter was very versed in the expensive wine list that entitles the place to its boastful name. We were quite new to wine at the time, and leaned heavily on his recommendations. My friend had recently discovered that she liked Reislings, but we decided that wouldn't go with the food. Instead we selected a Cabernet Savingion. I would have no hope of telling you the vineyard or… well, anything specific about it, but it worked very well with the dishes. We nursed the one bottle through the whole meal and giggled all the way home.

First Course: We split their cheese fondue starter. It is a two person minimum, but we had agreed in advance. :) It was served with bread for dipping. I will visit the website and report on the cheeses more specifically, but this was the kind of dish you wanted to curl up inside of. YUM. I mean you really can't go wrong with melted cheese (unless its American, eww).

Second Course: I had the fondue main course as well. This was a broth served with meat, which you let sit in the hot broth to cook it. I had never seen such a thing! I was in love. My friend had something non-fondue, but I have no idea what.

Third Course: Chocolate Fondue. I think we had dark chocolate with Grand Marnier mixed in. They serve it with cookies and fruit and pound cake and marshmallows to dip in it. I'm pretty sure we licked the thing clean.


So when Brian and I started planning for our grand somedays I went to the website to see if it was something we could afford to do as a non-restaurant week date. We can… but only as a special occasion. So I declared when I got my job I would go to The Wine Cellar with Brian. That day may finally be just a week and change away!! They have a fondue based dinner for two that looked very appealing… I hope there is still something like that.

I have tried on a couple of occasions to make an acceptable fondue on my own at home. I do have an actual fondue set now (…in the basement, I think) so I will share some of my attempts. And future successes. ;)

Chocolate Mug Cake

You ever have one of those days where you have less than no time, but really just want a piece of chocolate? Better, a piece of chocolate cake? This is that chocolate cake. It will never win an award for beauty and its not the best tasting cake you'll ever eat, but it is fast. How fast, you ask? 5 minutes.

3 minute Chocolate Mug Cake
from an email chain

1 coffee mug
4 tbsp flour (plain, not self rising)
4 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp baking cocoa
1 egg
3 tbsp milk
3 tbsp oil
3 tbsp chocolate chips (optional) mini chips would be the best
small splash of vanilla

Add the dry ingredients to the mug and mix well.
Add the egg and mix thoroughly.
Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.
Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla and mix again.

Put the mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug but don't be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired. Eat! This can serve 2 if you want to share.

Tips: Don't add extra time if it looks moist or shiny. It will overcook and be super chewy.
This is great for using the last dribble of frosting out of the can in the fridge, or you can make a simple powdered sugar mix to smear on. Chocolate or carmel sundae sauce works nicely too. :)

This is NOT a pretty cake!! You could probably cut it in half and frost a quick two layer thing out of it, but you were looking for quick, right?? So just don't look at it real hard and enjoy.

Spinning in the microwave... Look at it rise...

It really does cook up over the edge of the mug.

Leaning on the plate.
Yes, its propped up with a toothpick.

The frosting is pink from a birthday cake's leftovers. XD
It looked better on the birthday cake, I promise.

This was definitely the type of weekend where I only had 5 minutes! We moved Brian in to my apartment, and cleaned everything. It looks fantastic, I'm very proud. :) I did resist the siren call of the chocolate mug cake this week though, these are pictures from last time. I'm looking forward to apple pies this week. ;)

Events and Distractions

Life has been quite busy around here! I had that long gap between posts because of a series of unfortunate immune system events (low grade cold + week of insomnia = real cold and real case of the crabbies). I spent the time torturing myself with thoughts of what I wanted to cook and bake and looking up recipes and photos online and in my bedside stack of cooking magazines. Anyone else do that? Just me?

Now that the cold has passed I have a series of exciting events. Most immediately has been the project of completely cleaning out my room. This is dual purpose; Brian, my boyfriend of almost three years, is moving into my apartment AND my dad is visiting from Germany. We're renting a moving van this weekend, my dad arrives early next week. Am I crazy? Maybe a little. Luckily Brian doesn't have a ton of stuff (do guys usually?) and most of it has been coming by car load over the last two weeks. We drove his dresser over on the top of his compact car this week... I wish I'd taken a picture of that!! So the clothes are getting unpacked into the dresser and closet as they arrive, and stuff for storage is going to the basement on an ongoing basis. Just have to get the rest of my clutter out of the way! I'm really excited to see the final transformation... and to finally be able to say my boyfriend lives with me! About time! :D

Also exciting; my roommate has adopted two kittens from a friend. They are adorable and completely distracting. I have the smaller one curled up next to me while I write this. The kittens adore my room because it doesn't smell like my roommates first cat. The result so far is that they seem to think I'm also "mom". Not that I'm complaining... I love the little things. Total sweethearts!

Meet Empress:

She's not the most photogenic cat I've ever met, but she was very nervous. It was her first day. I'm sure there will be better ones in the future.

Her undercoat is positively ORANGE in direct sunlight. Beautiful. She's about 2 years old, I believe.

Meet Auryn:

She's only about 6 months old, and still very kitten. Big ears, very playful. I've got ten minutes of video of her attacking my freshly washed duvet cover from once it was back on the bed last night.

Of course like all kittens, she's asleep on it five minutes later. XD This was actually day 2, Sunday morning. She came in, spent 15 minutes exploring the room, and the did the sleepy Sunday morning kitten thing for me. <3

Yes, they are both named for the Neverending Story. XD



So! I've got back posts to catch up on. And a bunch of cooking coming up with my dad in town! I suspect he will want to eat in more than out. This is where you come in!! What are your favorite meals to cook for visiting family?

Mini Pancake Bites and Apple Picking!

Yesterday was an exciting day for me, cooking wise. My new apron (by Boojiboo on etsy) arrived this week, so I got to wear it to make Mini Pancake Bites!

I've been looking forward to these since I first saw the
post on Bakerella about a month back.


Mini Maple Chocolate Chip Pancake Muffins
from Bakerella

1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2/3 cup buttermilk
1 egg
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar in a medium bowl. Sift together with a wire whisk.
In another bowl, stir buttermilk, egg, maple syrup and melted butter until just combined.
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir with a spoon until combined.
Stir in chocolate chips. Reserve a few chips to sprinkle on the tops.
Bake for 8-9 minutes.
Makes 24 mini pancake muffins.

Let cool slightly and remove from the pan. You may need to use a toothpick around the edges to separate the pancake muffins from the pan.
Serve immediately with warmed butter if you like or even just with maple syrup.





Of course, I forgot to sprinkle chocolate chips on the first two pans. So they look a little more boring. Still taste great!!


Brian decided that he could fix the missin' chips issue.

Look, its happy to see you!

Fill the mini muffin cups about two thirds of the way. They're small, so its hard to be exact. I wound up with four extra minis, but I won't complain. ;)

---

After that excitement, we went apple picking!! SO there are apple recipes to look forward too!! Like my 5 star apple pie. And apple cobbler. And baked apples. And apple and cheese stuffed chicken. I am so excited!!!
It was however wicked hot for apple picking. It was forecast to be 83 degrees, so we were sweating. No shade, no breeze, definitely not your expected fall weather.

We did see some pretty awesome stuff though, despite the heat.

Pears! They were out of season already when I went last year. This was the first fruit picked of the day.


We stood in a pretty amazingly short line for apple cider donuts and carmel apples.



A teeny tiny apple that Beth picked.


The bunnies were really feeling the heat. Too hot to move! Though we did witness one sit on top of another... who was too hot to move. XD



I just love this dragonfly that Brian got some awesome shots of;



All in all? Some very happy apple pickers.


Joyfully yours,
Kristen

Why did the chicken cross the road?*

Brian made dinner Monday night, since I made breakfast and had a meeting until 7:30. So he did the shopping while I sat in committee, and was making dinner when I got home. He served me the most beautiful plate of grilled chicken, salad, and rice. I was so hungry. Usually I find grilled chicken dry and unappealing, but this chicken was beautiful!! I cut into it, expecting it to be raw in the middle because it was so tender. It was perfectly cooked through, and so moist!! I could not say enough good about it. I cautioned him that if he is so good at cooking soon he'll have to take over. After all, I've already put him in charge of red pasta sauce, bacon, and eggs. (I'm not saying I can't cook those... but he's really good at them, and let's encourage some division of cooking labor, am I right?)



This is about the point where he gets a sheepish look on his face. The corners of his lips pull up slightly. "What?", I demand. "I'm never going to be able to recreate it!" he declares.

And so the story of the chicken unfolds. This chicken started the afternoon frozen in a ziplock bag. He took it out, opened it up, and dumped in some marinade.
And then? He took it with him. To run errands.

Let me say that last part again.
He took the chicken with him to run errands.

Let me paint the picture further. This ziplock of chicken rode in his car - in the passenger seat - while he went to CVS for gel insoles, went to Trader Joe's for some spinach for the salad and a bunch of etc groceries, and I believe for a stop at his house. When he stopped at traffic lights, he would reach over and massage the chicken through the bag to rub in the oils and help defrost the middle more.
Luckily, he also gives me massages. I'd hate to be jealous of the chicken.

His methods are not conventional... but let me tell you this was probably the best piece of chicken I've ever eaten. I don't intend to write up a recipe card for it... but it was delicious!!

Till next time!
Joyfully,
Kristen


*Title inspired by my mom. :)