Happy Monday!
Monday, October 17, 2011
pumpkins!
I had fun painting pumpkins this weekend! Chilly day today...Brrr! It's definitely fall!
Happy Monday!
Happy Monday!
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Cooking and baking
I guess I am going to start blogging about food. After all, it is something Loren and I thoroughly enjoy. I love to cook/bake it, I love to smell it and I love to consume it. This last weekend we attended the International Food Festival in the East Village. There were tons of vendors with a wide variety of food. We ended up with Mesopotamian and Ecuadorian. They were delicious! My recipes will not be quite as ethnic.
It has been oddly warm here lately. I bought ingredients to make soup last week, but I could not bring myself to make it last week when it was near 90 degrees! Today it was a bit cooler and it seemed perfect. My sister and I also had a 'baking cookies day'. Perhaps it will become a ritual as long as we live close. We made delightful pumpkin cookies. I hope you enjoy both recipes as much as we did!
Turkey and White Bean Chili
3 TBS vegetable oil
1 large white onion, chopped
3 garlic gloves, minced or crushed
2 serrano chilies, seeded and minced
4 tsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves
2 tsp chili powder
course salt
1 1/2 pound ground turkey
6 cups chicken stock
1 can (15.5 oz) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 oz) great northern beans
3 TBS cornmeal
sour cream
shredded colby jack cheese
chopped green onion
In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion; cook until tender, 8 minutes. Add garlic, chilies, rosemary, and chili powder and cook for 2 minutes; season with salt. Add turkey and cook until cooked through, 5 minutes. Add broth and beans; bring to a boil over high. Partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 25 minutes. Stir in cornmeal and cook for an additional 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Serve with sour cream, cheese and green onion.
Source: Martha Stewart's Everyday Food Magazine(with adjustments)
Pumpkin Cookies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars. Add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Stir in the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture by hand until just combined. Drop on prepared baking sheets by heaping tablespoonfuls; Butter the bottom of a drinking glass and then dip the bottom of the glass in a bowl of sugar. Flatten the dough balls with the bottom of the glass until they are about ¾ inch thick, dipping the glass in sugar as necessary to prevent sticking.
Bake in preheated oven for 13 to 15 minutes. Cool cookies on wire rack. Once cookies have cooled completely, frost or drizzle with cream cheese frosting.
While the cookies are cooling make frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar and pumpkin pie spice and beat until smooth and creamy.
Source: Sweet Pea's Kitchen
It has been oddly warm here lately. I bought ingredients to make soup last week, but I could not bring myself to make it last week when it was near 90 degrees! Today it was a bit cooler and it seemed perfect. My sister and I also had a 'baking cookies day'. Perhaps it will become a ritual as long as we live close. We made delightful pumpkin cookies. I hope you enjoy both recipes as much as we did!
Turkey and White Bean Chili
3 TBS vegetable oil
1 large white onion, chopped
3 garlic gloves, minced or crushed
2 serrano chilies, seeded and minced
4 tsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves
2 tsp chili powder
course salt
1 1/2 pound ground turkey
6 cups chicken stock
1 can (15.5 oz) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 oz) great northern beans
3 TBS cornmeal
sour cream
shredded colby jack cheese
chopped green onion
In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion; cook until tender, 8 minutes. Add garlic, chilies, rosemary, and chili powder and cook for 2 minutes; season with salt. Add turkey and cook until cooked through, 5 minutes. Add broth and beans; bring to a boil over high. Partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 25 minutes. Stir in cornmeal and cook for an additional 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt. Serve with sour cream, cheese and green onion.
Source: Martha Stewart's Everyday Food Magazine(with adjustments)
Pumpkin Cookies
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 1/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 oz. cream cheese
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugars. Add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Stir in the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture by hand until just combined. Drop on prepared baking sheets by heaping tablespoonfuls; Butter the bottom of a drinking glass and then dip the bottom of the glass in a bowl of sugar. Flatten the dough balls with the bottom of the glass until they are about ¾ inch thick, dipping the glass in sugar as necessary to prevent sticking.
Bake in preheated oven for 13 to 15 minutes. Cool cookies on wire rack. Once cookies have cooled completely, frost or drizzle with cream cheese frosting.
While the cookies are cooling make frosting: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar and pumpkin pie spice and beat until smooth and creamy.
Source: Sweet Pea's Kitchen
Friday, September 30, 2011
Pumpkin Roll
I made 3 of these for my sister's wedding. They are the perfect autumn treat! They are too good not to share the recipe! Have a good weekend! Hadley and I are off to the apple orchard this afternoon. I'm thinking we'll make apple crisp tonight. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE fall?!
Cake:
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 eggs
2/3 cup mashed (canned) pumpkin
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 15 X 10-inch jelly roll pan. Cut wax paper to fit the bottom of the pan and leave an inch overhang on each of the short ends of the pan. Lightly grease the wax paper and sides of the jelly roll pan.
Mix the sugar, flour, salt, soda, cinnamon, eggs and pumpkin in a large bowl. Once mixed, pour mixture over the waxed paper. Sprinkle the walnuts, if using, on top of the mixture. Bake for 14-15 minutes until edges pull away from the sides of the pan and center is done.
Lay a large dishtowel on the counter top (it is best to use a dishtowel without any texture – a tea towel or similar towel works best). Spread a thick dusting of powdered sugar all over the towel. When the cake comes out of the oven, turn the pan upside down on the powdered sugar-laden towel so the wax paper is on the top. Gently peel off the wax paper, being careful not to tear the roll. Starting at one of the short ends, roll the pumpkin cake up with the towel to cool. While the roll is cooling, mix the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar together until it is light and creamy. Once the roll is cool, unroll and with an offset spatula, carefully spread filling in an even layer over the cake. Roll it up without the towel and place in the refrigerator (covered with plastic wrap or wax paper) for about an hour before serving.
Smile!
Here is Hadley at my sister's wedding. He looked quite charming if I do say so myself!
I made the 3 amigos these adorable onsies. It was really hard to get a good picture of them. Hadley only wants to attack poor Trenton's face!
Here is my beautiful sis and new bro-in-law. Congratulations! May you have a lifetime of bliss! We love you so much!
I made the 3 amigos these adorable onsies. It was really hard to get a good picture of them. Hadley only wants to attack poor Trenton's face!
Here is my beautiful sis and new bro-in-law. Congratulations! May you have a lifetime of bliss! We love you so much!
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Busy Bees
Why hello blogging world. It's been a quite a whirl wind for the Ekart's lately, so this might turn into a long post. Where to begin... I still have photos from Hadley's Birthday party to post. I've been having issues with photos on here. Loren needs to convert photos before I can post them apparently. I will try to stay interesting without photos.
We went to St. Louis
Loren got a call from Red Bull asking him to wake board through the jumping carpe in the Mississippi River. I know what you are thinking, "What in the world are jumping carpe?!" I had the same question until we watched a video on YouTube about it. Check it out. It is crazy. We get to St. Louis and get to the river. The guide told us it was too dangerous. Some of the fish get up to 100 pounds! No wake boarding happened, but we did go on an interesting boat ride with the jumping carpe. Now, I hate fish. I get freaked out at the lake about them. I don't want to see them, I don't want to smell them and I certainly don't want to touch them. I have never seen such a sight. Hundreds of fish flipping into the air, some which landed in our boat. I am glad I was not smacked in the face by one! It was unreal. Like I said, check out the videos, it is nuts! The whole "carpe" episode was a side shoot for the main Red Bull Event. The main event was The Mississippi Grind. 5 guys from Minnesota came up with an idea to build a skate park on a river barge and float down the Mississippi River. They Started in Minneapolis and end in New Orleans, with a few stops along the way to host local skateboard competitions. It was pretty sweet. Check out www.redbullusa.com. Even though the wake boarding didn't happen, it was a great getaway. Can't beat a free trip and 20 free cases of Red Bull!
We are in Des Moines
We are currently in Des Moines. Lake life is officially done for the year. Loren is working on a project in Colorado but we will not know anything until January. We will be in Des Moines at least until then. Now is the waiting game. It's a hard place to be but we know that God will direct our path. We have been enjoying lots of family time and nights out with free babysitters! Ah the luxury of living close to family...something we have not had our whole married life. It is not one bit overrated. We have also had fun rediscovering Des Moines. It seems like it has been so long since we have lived here and truthfully it has changed a lot in the past 5 years. I am actually going to work a little bit too. I am going to work at a stationery shop I worked at through high school and college, Letter Perfect. I will work just a few hours a week. It will be fun to have a little something else to do!
Hadley
I seriously need to get the photo issue figured out because Hadley is as cute as ever! He's walking!! He still likes to crawl but he can totally walk all over the place. He is busy, busy, busy and I'm sure he won't slow down. He is like his daddy I believe. He has that little promiscuous personality. Which brings me to a story. I put Hadley down for a nap like usual. He starts crying 1/2 hour into it. I leave him down there for another 1/2 hour. All of the sudden he is screaming. I go down stairs and first I notice it smells like he had a dirty diaper. I walk up to his bed and notice his diaper is off. The little stinker ripped his diaper off, played with his poo and threw it all over the place. Oh and there was a big pile of pee in his crib. I picked him up and brought him upstairs where the lighting was better and I realized he is covered in poo. I didn't know what to do, so I put him in the sink and washed him with dish soap. Yuck!I have learned a very valuable lesson-NEVER put him down for a nap without pants on! Good thing he is so cute! He also has learned how to say ball. It sounds more like ba, but I know that's what he is saying. He is obsessed with the stairs- up and down, up and down we go 100 times a day. He also loves fly swatters and the dogs water dish. Or slapping the swatter in the dog dish. He is 100% boy...messy, loud, busy!
That is all. Sorry, lots to catch up on. Enjoy the fall weather. I love this time of year so very much!
We went to St. Louis
Loren got a call from Red Bull asking him to wake board through the jumping carpe in the Mississippi River. I know what you are thinking, "What in the world are jumping carpe?!" I had the same question until we watched a video on YouTube about it. Check it out. It is crazy. We get to St. Louis and get to the river. The guide told us it was too dangerous. Some of the fish get up to 100 pounds! No wake boarding happened, but we did go on an interesting boat ride with the jumping carpe. Now, I hate fish. I get freaked out at the lake about them. I don't want to see them, I don't want to smell them and I certainly don't want to touch them. I have never seen such a sight. Hundreds of fish flipping into the air, some which landed in our boat. I am glad I was not smacked in the face by one! It was unreal. Like I said, check out the videos, it is nuts! The whole "carpe" episode was a side shoot for the main Red Bull Event. The main event was The Mississippi Grind. 5 guys from Minnesota came up with an idea to build a skate park on a river barge and float down the Mississippi River. They Started in Minneapolis and end in New Orleans, with a few stops along the way to host local skateboard competitions. It was pretty sweet. Check out www.redbullusa.com. Even though the wake boarding didn't happen, it was a great getaway. Can't beat a free trip and 20 free cases of Red Bull!
We are in Des Moines
We are currently in Des Moines. Lake life is officially done for the year. Loren is working on a project in Colorado but we will not know anything until January. We will be in Des Moines at least until then. Now is the waiting game. It's a hard place to be but we know that God will direct our path. We have been enjoying lots of family time and nights out with free babysitters! Ah the luxury of living close to family...something we have not had our whole married life. It is not one bit overrated. We have also had fun rediscovering Des Moines. It seems like it has been so long since we have lived here and truthfully it has changed a lot in the past 5 years. I am actually going to work a little bit too. I am going to work at a stationery shop I worked at through high school and college, Letter Perfect. I will work just a few hours a week. It will be fun to have a little something else to do!
Hadley
I seriously need to get the photo issue figured out because Hadley is as cute as ever! He's walking!! He still likes to crawl but he can totally walk all over the place. He is busy, busy, busy and I'm sure he won't slow down. He is like his daddy I believe. He has that little promiscuous personality. Which brings me to a story. I put Hadley down for a nap like usual. He starts crying 1/2 hour into it. I leave him down there for another 1/2 hour. All of the sudden he is screaming. I go down stairs and first I notice it smells like he had a dirty diaper. I walk up to his bed and notice his diaper is off. The little stinker ripped his diaper off, played with his poo and threw it all over the place. Oh and there was a big pile of pee in his crib. I picked him up and brought him upstairs where the lighting was better and I realized he is covered in poo. I didn't know what to do, so I put him in the sink and washed him with dish soap. Yuck!I have learned a very valuable lesson-NEVER put him down for a nap without pants on! Good thing he is so cute! He also has learned how to say ball. It sounds more like ba, but I know that's what he is saying. He is obsessed with the stairs- up and down, up and down we go 100 times a day. He also loves fly swatters and the dogs water dish. Or slapping the swatter in the dog dish. He is 100% boy...messy, loud, busy!
That is all. Sorry, lots to catch up on. Enjoy the fall weather. I love this time of year so very much!
Sunday, September 11, 2011
oh me, oh my
It's has been yet another month in between postings. My apologies. I must do better. I should be getting in a new routine here now that it is fall. We went to Vail for my dear friend Shadi's wedding. How can a wedding on the base of a mountain not be perfect? She was a beautiful bride! We are so happy for them as they start their new life together. It was a wonderful getaway for Lor and I. We left Master Hadley with Grandmas and Grandpas for 5 days! I was really dreading saying goodbye and as I walked away my heart was sad. But, it was the best thing for me. It was so fun to just "be free". Anyone who has kids totally knows how every once in awhile you need that time to re-energize. We had a wonderful time in Denver and Vail seeing friends and eating good food.
While in Denver, Loren ran into an opportunity. Boulder Parks and Rec want to hear the idea of a cable park. So, here we are in the first stages of him pitching the idea to Boulder. Hmmm... who knows?! It would be crazy if we moved back. We would love it for the fact of all our friends are there but, being closer to family has been so nice. God has a plan and we are seeking that daily. He will make it happen wherever it shall be.
For now, we are packing our bags and saying goodbye to the lake for now. We will be in Des Moines through the end of the year with our families. And we will wait to see where to go from there. We love not knowing the future...;) We are thankful for supportive friends and family!
While in Denver, Loren ran into an opportunity. Boulder Parks and Rec want to hear the idea of a cable park. So, here we are in the first stages of him pitching the idea to Boulder. Hmmm... who knows?! It would be crazy if we moved back. We would love it for the fact of all our friends are there but, being closer to family has been so nice. God has a plan and we are seeking that daily. He will make it happen wherever it shall be.
For now, we are packing our bags and saying goodbye to the lake for now. We will be in Des Moines through the end of the year with our families. And we will wait to see where to go from there. We love not knowing the future...;) We are thankful for supportive friends and family!
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