Hey, Y'all!

Comfort Food Saturday: Almond Cream Cheese Pound Cake

A friend of ours had a birthday this week, so I decided to give him the gift of cake. In true Jen form, however, I decided to bake said cake at the last minute, so I had to scour my kitchen cabinets to see what I had that could be turned into something edible.  Seeing how I was out of confectioner's sugar, I needed something that could be served frosting-free.  I've been wanting to make something in the bundt pan my grandma gave me, so I decided on a pound cake.  A little of this, a little of that and VOILA! Almond Cream Cheese Pound Cake.  I did cheat and use a cake mix as my base, mostly because I was low on flour.  I used a vanilla cake mix, but you could easily use a yellow or plain white mix as well.  (If you don't use a vanilla cake mix, throw in a half-teaspoon of vanilla extract for flavor.)  Next time, I think I'll try a chocolate version of this because how good would THAT be?  Anyway, thanks to Logan for being born so we could have cake!

ALMOND CREAM CHEESE POUND CAKE

• 1 package vanilla cake mix
• 1--8 oz. package cream cheese at room temperature
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 teaspoon pure almond extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly spray a 10-inch bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray, then dust with flour.  Shake out excess flour and set pan aside. Place cake mix, cream cheese, water, sugar, eggs, oil and extract in a large bowl and blend with an electric mixer on low for 1 minute.  Scrape sides of bowl with a rubber spatula, then continue mixing on medium speed for 2 minutes, until batter looks smooth and well-blended.  Pour batter into bundt pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.  Place pan in oven and bake 35-40 minutes*, until golden brown and done in the middle.  Allow cake to cool in pan for 20 minutes.  Run a long, sharp knife around the edge of the cake, invert it onto a wire rack or plate, then invert it onto a serving platter so that it's right side up.

*My cake took closer to 45 minutes.  It will likely vary depending on your individual oven.  Since a bundt pan is too deep to do the traditional "toothpick test" for doneness, I used a BBQ skewer.

Countdown to BlogHer: The Vlog

You do not even want to know the drama surrounding this vlog.  It took me 2 days to make it work.  I actually did a different version that I love, but it's so big that I can't get it to upload. So this one will have to do.  I warn you that I look exhausted because Dean woke me up at 5am.  I also got my hair cut today and she did a blow-out, so it's very straight and a bit flippy.  But there ya go.  Please feel free to use this as a tutorial to get through my accent.  If you watch it enough times, you just might be able to understand what I"m saying next week!

 

 

Wordless Wednesday: Carbon Copy

Profound Randomness (Now with more parentheses!)

For some reason, I'm putting a lot of pressure on myself to write something profound. Or profoundly funny. Or both.  I guess it could be because BlogHer is so close and I want my front page to be full of awesome! writing! when people I meet there visit.  Or it could be that it's Monday. Or that I'm between jobs and the most profound thing I've done all day was combining a manufacturer coupon with a store coupon, thus getting two, count 'em, two dollars off my baby wipes.  I should probably just go to the kitchen and bake something. 

I did manage to drag poor Marcus and Dean to Target, where I bought the most amazing control-top pantyhose I've ever owned and scored some beach toys for 48 cents. (It should be noted that I will probably ruin the pantyhose the first time I try to put them on and should, therefore, have bought two pairs.  Alas.) Then we came home and entertained ourselves by presenting Dean with a big bowl of spaghetti for lunch and watching him slurp noodles. (It's the little things, folks.)  I'd like to be able to report that we've been outside frolicking in the warm summer breeze, but A) there's no breeze in Alabama in July and B) it's hot, y'all.  Every Sunday, I wake up and wonder if there would be a good day that week to hit the zoo.  Then I go outside to get the paper and I have a heat stroke and decide that if it's this hot at 6:30am, there's no way any of us will survive a trip to the zoo unless we can go at midnight. (Unfortunately, they're not open then.)

We find different things to busy ourselves with indoors.  Sometimes it's family Play-Doh tournaments, other times it's me reading cookbooks and suggesting I make fun new desserts, only to have Marcus say, "I'd rather just have the chocolate thing." (the chocolate thing being this)  Sometimes we throw Dean into the bathtub to "swim" because he refuses to go into his blow-up pool on the deck. "Nope.  Hot," he whispers when we ask if he wants to go swimming outside.  Our library doesn't do story time in the summer, which seems very silly to me. I mean, wouldn't that be the ideal time to do story time?  When the little darlings aren't in school and need intellectual stimulation in the form of literacy-building activities???     ??  Dean and I did take a free Kindermusik class a couple of weeks ago. Aside from the fact that they spell music with a K (SUCH a pet-peeve of mine), it was ok.  Unfortunately, it was JUST ok.  We mistakenly got put into the 6 months to 2 years class when I think Dean would have liked the 2-4 year old class a lot better.  He had a pretty good time, but a lot of the exercises were just not active enough to hold his attention.  If they do another free demo day, we'll go and try again, but I definitely want us to TRY again before we commit to 6 class sessions at nearly $10 a pop.  I wish we had a Gymboree around here...

Dean will be going back to Mother's Day Out this year. We've got him signed up for Monday, Wednesday and Friday. He had such a great time last year and blossomed so much with the extra (and different) attention.  I think it's good for him to have a break from me and I think the structure this provides is excellent.  He's on a schedule that works well, he gets lots of social interaction and, probably most importantly, they are just better at arts and crafts than I am. He brought home some super-cute creations last year that I'd look at and go, "Man. I have a Master of Fine Arts degree and there's no way I could have thought to do that."  The Mother's Day "let's make a baby food jar into a lady bug" project was our favorite with the "Christmas wreath made entirely out of your child's handprints" coming in a close second.  Here at home, a craft project usually consists of Dean making monkeys with his rubber stamps until he gets bored and does a face-plant onto the ink pad. (You should see his nose-print art, though.)

This is going to be a weird week, I can already tell.  Next Wednesday is Marcus's 40th birthday, then Thursday I leave for BlogHer (ohmigaaaaaaaaaaaaah), Marcus's show opens and we get one week closer to back-to-school.  Maybe we'll try to squeeze in that trip to the zoo.  Or maybe we'll just be weenies and go to the movies. If I were a bettin' girl, I'd put money on the movies.

Comfort Food Saturday: Macaroni and Cheese

I know this is the recipe everyone has probably been waiting to read since I started my Comfort Food Saturday feature.  Macaroni and Cheese is the ultimate comfort food and southerners make it like no one else.  The best mac and cheese I've ever had in my life was made by Marcus's Aunt Belle.  We visited her on our trip to the Florida Keys and she made a huge lunch. She didn't need to. One bite of her killer mac and cheese and I didn't want anything else in my belly.  My favorite thing about her recipe is that she used all different kinds of pasta.  There was some penne, a few bow ties, some wagon wheels and maybe a handfull or two of elbow macaroni.  Feel free to use whichever shape you prefer and get ready for the best mac and cheese you've ever eaten.

MACARONI AND CHEESE

• 3 cups uncooked pasta
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing dish
• 2--12 oz. cans evaporated milk
• 1/3 cup lowfat or skim milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2--8 oz. packages shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1--8 oz. package shredded monterrey jack cheese
• Paprika, salt and pepper to taste
• Breadcrumbs (if you prefer) to sprinkle on top

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease 13 x 9 casserole dish with butter.  In a large pot, bring 6 cups of water to a boil and add pasta and a dash of salt.  Cook pasta until tender (just al dente, not limp!).  Drain and return to pot.  Add butter;  toss with pasta until butter is melted. 

In medium bowl, whisk together evaporated milk, regular milk and eggs.  Add garlic powder and salt and pepper, if desired.  Mix cheddar and jack cheeses together in another bowl (or a ziplock baggie).

Place 1/3 of the pasta in an even layer in the bottom of prepared baking dish; cover evenly with 1/3 cheese. Repeat with remaining pasta and cheese mixture. Pour milk mixture evenly over contents of baking dish. Sprinkle with paprika and/or breadcrumbs, if desired. Bake until top layer is lightly browned, 35 to 45 minutes. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

.

Who's the boss?

After a couple of hours of destroying exploring the kitchen, playing in the master bedroom, reading books and playing "cave," Dean dragged the rubbermaid bin we use to store stuffed animals (animals which are now scattered all over his bedroom floor) down to the family room, climbed into it, asked me to "make dark," which means turn off the light, and told me "go work."  So here I am.  He is watching "Baby Pig" (Babe, the movie about a pig who herds sheep) and giving a running commentary. He just declared, "Oh, no, baby pig in trouble! Help, Sugar!"

He's also naked.

Last night, we'd just had our nightly family jam session, where we put on VH1 Classic and dance to some 80's alternative music in the hopes of getting out those last few drops of 2 year old crazy energy before bath and bedtime.  (If you've never seen a 2 year old break it down to old-school R.E.M. and Crowded House, you don't know what you're missing.) Suddenly, Dean turned off the tv, grabbed a blanket and said, "Sugar, Daddy, night night."  This did not mean that HE wanted to go to bed....it meant WE were supposed to go to bed.  He made me go upstairs and lie down. With a baby blanket.  Marcus finally convinced him to take a bath by telling him he could play with his super-cool bass boat in the tub.  I was then allowed to get up and join them. 

The independent streak is sometimes frustrating, often hilarious, and really fun to watch.  I like that Dean is able to make decisions about what he wants to do, watch, play with and eat.  Yesterday I put on the DVD of Pete's Dragon, one of my all-time favorite Disney movies.  The first time I showed it to Dean, he was not at all interested.  This time, however, he asked to watch it, giggled every time Elliot came onscreen and hummed along to the songs.  Naturally, this made me cry on his head. (C'mon...you can't tell me YOU don't get teary-eyed when Helen Reddy sings "Candle On The Water.")

I think we're hitting a growth spurt because Dean's appetite has waned a bit in the past few days.  (This always happens before he hits a spurt.)  He barely ate a thing for breakfast or lunch yesterday, but asked for 2nd helpings of meatloaf and peas at dinner. As long as he asks for something to eat that's reasonable, which it almost always is with Dean, we provide it.  He's very opinionated about snacktime, too.  Don't you DARE offer him apples if he wants pickles or a banana if he wants a peach.  He's decided that he should be able to dictate what I have for a snack, too.  He just allowed me a piece of white bread and a juice box. Yum, yum.

Whenever we go anywhere these days, Dean wants to drive.  We've tried the conventional approaches:  explaining that it's illegal (and rude) for toddlers to drive, telling him how much cooler his carseat is than our seats, bribing him with food, etc., but he still wants to drive.  He also wants to get into Marcus's truck and play whenever we're outside. This is not a good idea because A) he messes with all the knobs and switches, so the next time we start the truck, the windshield wipers are on high, the radio is blasting and the rear defrost is engaged, and B) it's 4000 degrees outside and playing in the truck will surely fry his little baby skin.  But there's no reasoning with him. We were going to take him for a drive and an ice cream cone last night, but he got so bent out of shape that we wouldn't let him drive that we had to abort our mission and come inside.

But, you know, tantrums and bossiness aside, he is one of the sweetest, most loving and accepting people in my life. He doesn't judge the fact that I'm sitting here with unbrushed hair wearing a 15 year old t-shirt and maternity yoga pants. And he doesn't seem to mind when I have onion breath.

He's good people.

Two And A Half

Oh, this boy.

The two-and-a-halfedness is killing me.  My little baby is disappearing so quickly. Fortunately, the little boy he's growing into is the most fun person I think I've ever had the pleasure of knowing.  Everything seems to be changing about him. He moves differently. He has a new big-boy haircut and he's finally filling out his size 2T clothes.  He sings along to his favorite songs and counts everything. 

The way his playtime has changed is fascinating to me.  He knows his favorite books so well that he can practically quote them to me, yet he's constantly noticing new things on each page.  Goonight Moon  takes twice as long to read these days because he's so busy pointing out all the things he sees, things I'd never even noticed. (Did you know there's an elephant on the bookshelf? And a giraffe?)  He's also rediscovered Mister Brown Can Moo, Can You?, a favorite from his tiny baby days. He runs around making all the sounds and laughing his head off.

Like any two-year-old, he fixates on things the thinks are cool.  We took him to the movies for the first time today (he LOVED it). All weekend, we spent time talking about what the movies would be like:  You sit in your own big seat, you get to have a snack and they turn out the lights.  Marcus turned the light off in the  living room the other day while we watched Jack's Big Music Show to demonstrate.  Dean now thinks that any time the tv is on, the light MUST be off.  We'll all likely be blind by the end of the week.

Fortunately, he hasn't figured out yet that he's too cool for me.  He still gives me wonderful snuggles in the mornings, so wonderful in fact that I don't mind getting up to claim them, and he's getting better at holding hands.  If you give him French fries ("ishy wise" in Deanspeak) he'll be your friend forever.  He's got a bossy streak, too--he just shushed his daddy and me for talking while he was trying to read aloud to Stu the monkey.

He likes to bake. He can unload the dishwasher. He still calls me "Sugar."  He has inside jokes with his dad.  He helped us wash the cars the other day, taking charge of soaping up the sponges and making sure he was in the line of fire whenever we'd spray the hose.  He still cries whenever we offer him chicken, but eats beef and veggies like it's his job.  He prefers apples and nectarines to all other fruit these days and has been enjoying pouring his yogurt into our popsicle molds to make himself frozen treats.

And right now, he's beating me with a throw pillow, so I'd better go and play with him.

Countdown to BlogHer 10: Ramblings of a Newbie

My mind is reeling over the fact that BlogHer is less than 3 weeks away.  I go through cycles--one minute I'm pumped, promising myself that I'm going to attack the conference with confidence and make it exactly what I want it to be, then the next minute I'm thinking "What if no one wants to have anything to do with me? What if I'm the girl at Cheeseburgher that no one talks to and I'm just standing there with a McDonald's bag on my head?"  The latter freak out, of course, is usually brief, as I know myself and I know that I have no problem at all walking up to strangers. I talk to large groups of people for a living...hopefully those skills will come in handy.

Several of my blog and Twitter friends have been kind enough to help me with my packing list, business cards and the like, and one dear lady has even offered to let me change clothes in her hotel room. (The lady attached to that link, by the way, will likely be my new BFF by the time BlogHer weekend is over. Love her!)  I've been making more and more connections online with folks who are going and I'm very excited to meet so many of my blog friends IRL. I'm having a lunch date with Amanda, who lives an hour away from me, some time this week so we'll each have a familiar pal going into the conference.  I'm jazzed to see Ilina again, too, especially after our super-fun IRL meeting last year.

Marcus brought up a good point last night. You see, I often read him excerpts of my favorite blog posts or talk about my blog friends and what they're going through at any given time.  He asked last night, "So will your blog friends who use code names for their family members use those at BlogHer, or will they say their real names?" GOOD QUESTION!  And I have no idea.  And I kinda don't care.  Honestly, using real names might just confuse me, so if you're someone who uses codes or nicknames, please feel free to continue.

I'm happy about the Newbie Breakfast.  I'm hoping Amanda and I can go together, so we at least have one familiar face in the room.  I'm doing the People's Party on Thursday night, so I should meet some folks there, too.  There's also a Speed Dating session the first morning that sounds like absolute chaotic fun.

I was reading through Frema's post-BlogHer posts last night, just trying to get an idea of what to expect from the persepective of a blog friend I feel I know fairly well after a few years of reading her writing. (I'm SO SAD she can't make it this year--she's #1 on my list of blog friends to meet.)  I was thinking of how easy it would be to become star-struck and avoid introducing myself to some of my favorite well-known bloggers out of fear of bothering them or making a doofus of myself.  But you know what?  It's very likely that they need to hear what I have to say. A lot of them have helped me through rough patches in my life over the past couple of years, or at the very least, have given me a lot to laugh about and think about.  Plus, they are just people, just like me, attending this conference for many of the same reasons I am attending.  Who knows where BlogHer will be over the next several years and what will be going on in my life at that time?  I may not go again for a while, so I'm going to take advantage of this opportunity to meet as many people as I can.  That? Means these ladies had better look out because I'm coming in for a handshake, or in this lady's case, an uncomfortably long hug.

Comfort Food Saturday: The Cheeseball of Happiness

I combed through my archives looking for this recipe because I was SURE I'd featured it before.  The fact that I haven't is sort of sad. I've been depriving you of some serious deliciousness it would seem.  My friend Daniel introduced Marcus and me to this recipe years ago and it's been a favorite in our house ever since.  Sometimes we have it for lunch. We always make it for parties.  I made it for some friends the other night and one of them was so happy he danced.  It has 3 simple ingredients and takes virtually no time to make. It's the perfect party offering--people will love it and everyone will be impressed that you MADE a cheeseball (possibly the easiest thing in the world to make...but don't tell  them that.)  Make one and bring a little happy to your day.

THE CHEESEBALL OF HAPPINESS

• 1 8-oz block cream cheese
• 1 envelope Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix
• Seasoned pepper (I recommend Lawry's brand. McCormick is also good.)

Allow cream cheese to soften out of refrigerator, about 20 minutes.  Place cream cheese in bowl with ranch dressing mix.  Mix with hands until blended well.  Form into a ball, leaving a flat spot on the bottom, where it will sit on the plate. Sprinkle seasoned pepper all over ball. (It's nice to have an assistant for this part.)  Place on a plate and serve with crackers or veggies.  Also delicious spread on a bagel.

HOTel

Our air conditioner broke on Tuesday evening.  Marcus and I had been out for our first date night in a looooong time, so BJ the Manny was here with Dean. BJ noticed it was a little warm, but assumed it's because, and I quote, he's a "bear," and thought nothing of it.  When we arrived home, I went up to check on the sleeping bebe only to discover warm air shooting out of our vents.  This happened once before because our A/C froze from being turned down too low, but after a few hours, it thawed and was back to normal.  We turned it off and hoped this was the case this time, too.  It wasn't.

As soon as BJ left, Dean woke up crying because he was hot. We got him some cold water to drink and brought him, along with all or bedtime stuff, down to the living room where the three of us camped out on the couches for the night.  We were actually fairly comfortable under the ceiling fan and with the box fan pointed at us.  Fortunately, i remembered to put pillows down on the floor in case Dean rolled off.  At 2am, I opened my eyes to find him on said pillows. I"m not sure whether he rolled off the couch or just decided it would be neat to sleep on throw pillows, but whatever.  He woke up around 6:30 Wednesday morning, looked around and, realizing we were all in the living room, said, "Cool!"  He was very concerned about his daddy, who slept on the couch while Dean and I shared the sectional.  I assured him his daddy was fine and we began our day.

Around noon it got unbearable.  We put Dean in the car, hoping he'd get a nap while we drove around aimlessly, enjoying the car's A/C.  A call had been made to our A/C repairman, but we'd had to leave a message.  Dean slept about 20 minutes. Finally, we went home and ate a lot of popsicles.  Around 4:00, my dad called to say he and my mom would treat us to a hotel stay for the evening.  We were out the door 20 minutes later.

Marcus found a great deal on priceline.com and we ended up at a hotel featuring free dinner AND breakfast.  The room was great, the food was good and we had a blast in the pool.  It was like our own little mini-vacation. Now here's the thing about our son:  he LOVES hotels. He thinks it's his lot in life to touch every single thing in a hotel room and he's mildly obsessed with hotel bath tubs.  The first thing he did was pick up the phone, which we promptly unplugged, lest the little dear rack up a thousand dollar phone bill by calling Belize or something.  He then got into the closet, rode on the luggage rack, discovered the satellite radio (and danced), then popped up the footrest on the recliner, where he spent most of the evening hiding under a blanket. And he stripped, because OF COURSE he did.He ran around like an insane man for hours.  We finally caught him at 10pm (TEN PEE EMMMMMM) and made him lie down.  Eventually he gave out and so did we.  On Thursday morning, we discovered him lying sideways on the bed, spread out like the letter X.

 After reluctantly checking out of the hotel, we came home, let Dean nap under the fan, then smiled all the way to the bank when the A/C guy told us our repair would be EXTREMELY affordable.  (Like, so affordable we didn't have to use a credit card--score!)  It's delightfullly cool now and we're all rejuvenated from our one-night vacation. AND AND AND!  Tonight we have REAL plans with REAL friends who also have REAL children! Adult conversation! Squee!  Other children for Dean to play with and fun to be had and pizza to be eaten! Squee some more!  In case you couldn't tell, we're really, really excited. Squee! (one for the road)