Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

How to Age your Kid in 5 Minutes

I finally cut Natalie's hair. Maybe it's because she's the baby and I don't want her to go through any of those rites of passage that signify aging, maybe it's because I had hopes that she would be the kid that didn't mind having her hair brushed every day, or maybe it's because I didn't want to risk marring her innate "cute" factor, but I haven't cut Natalie's hair at all. Not even to get gum out.

By this age, Leah had been having her bangs cut fairly regularly and was nearing her first major haircut. But, and I sadly admit this, Natalie does not have Leah's hair. Incidentally, Natalie's fingernails, ear wax and hair grow slower and less abundantly than Leah's. So, on a bit of a whim last night after dinner, I asked, "Natalie, would you like to get some bangs tonight?" To which she giggled and cheered in approval.

Out came the good scissors and a comb, and we set up a makeshift salon on the back deck. A quick "Before" shot...


And we dug in. Look at how much these long bangs pain her. They have got to go.


And go they do! And already smiles and laughter from the little one!


And here's the "After:"

Who is this bright-eyed three-year old? It couldn't possibly be the same little tyke sitting in this chair five minutes ago! As soon as I'd cut it, I kicked myself a bit for not doing this sooner. It is such an improvement to be able to see her face!

This past week, we also rang in Leah's birthday. We rode through the rain in the Tour de Tonka before heading up to the cabin for the lake association's annual picnic and games, as well as some delicious homemade pizzas for dinner. It turned out to be a very busy and beautiful day. A week later, Leah had her friends join her at a nearby community farm for a belated birthday party. A fun mix of small farm life, amazing cupcakes, and mega crazy kids.


I also tried to recreate some scrumptious and substantial corn flake crusted, french toast that I enjoyed at Wishbone in Chicago years ago. Using this kid-friendly recipe, the girls and I putzed through the steps and turned out some rather tasty dippers. By themselves, they're not that sweet, which is fine considering we drowned them in syrup, but I'm tempted to try different, more sinful cereals to coat these bad boys. Coco Roos, perhaps? :)

That's it for this post. Go Twins!

Friday, January 15, 2010

Dee-lish!

Along with so many other awesome goodies, my lovely folks gave us a big ol' bag of pecans and some locally sourced and produced maple syrup. Not long after our return from the holiday trip, I put those two magical ingredients to work with the help of a recipe I was itchin' to try for Cinnamon Maple Pecans.

*** Please take a moment to wipe the drool from the corners of your mouth. ***



I found the recipe on the Craft zine blog and immediately bookmarked it. I love the simplicity of ingredients, the fact that it's not terribly sinful as a snack, the aromas that escape the oven as the pecans roast, and the amazing taste -- a bit like kettle corn with with balance of salty and sweet. So good, I just had to share.



This treat does have one major drawback -- they simply don't last long in our house. We all grab a little handful whenever the stash is out, and within a day or two, they are long gone and I'm prepping a new double batch for the oven. Give it a whirl, and let me know if any of you come up with some fun variations.