OVER THE EDGE

So today we really should write something about Fat Tuesday or Presidents' Day or spring or celebrating something or other.  But all we can do is relay a little story that we bet you might find familiar.

Yesterday, being Presidents' Day, and being, of course, excited and pleased that our little chickadees would be home from school, we embarked on a small adventure.  Because it was unusually cold here in Texas (high-40s for some may not be very cold - for us it shuts things down), our outing to the park was rescheduled for Chuck E Cheese's.  We're not huge fans.  But the children are, and friends would be there, so off we went.

Two hours later, $60 poorer, we headed to meet more friends at another favorite - Chick-fil-A.  After all, the kids were out of school.  Shouldn't they get to go where they wanted to go?

We didn't fully realize the toll all the indoor excitement was taking on the elders in the crew.  Until we tried to tell a friend where to meet us for lunch, and out came, "Chuck E. fil-A".  Oh boy.  When does school start again?

BON TEMPS

Lots of celebrating going on!  This past Tuesday was "Dat Tuesday" in New Orleans, in honor of those terrific Saints.  And this coming Tuesday is Fat Tuesday, ending several weeks of Mardi Gras-style debauchery.

In honor of all of the above, we're decorating our trees with Mardi Gras beads (great fun for the kids to throw plastic beads into the backyard trees with abandon - it's a party!) and eating Red Beans and Rice.  Here's our recipe.

RED BEANS & RICE

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 pound dried red beans, rinsed & sorted

1 chopped yellow onion

1/2 cup chopped bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon ground thyme

3 dried bay leaves

4 chopped garlic cloves

1 beef boullion cube

2 links andouille sausage, cut into pieces

1 tablespoon Emeril's Essence spice mix (see recipe below)

In a large stockpot, cover the beans with water.  Add baking soda.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cook for 30 minutes.  Rinse.  This is a quick-soak method to soften the beans, saving the time of an overnight soak.  Set the beans aside.

In the same pot, heat a tiny bit of oil, and saute the onion, pepper, celery, and all spices through the thyme until the vegetables are soft.  Add the bay, garlic, and sausage.  Cook for 10 minutes at a medium heat.  Add the beans, boullion cube, Emeril's spices.  Cover all with water (about 1 inch above the beans).  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, uncovered, for about 2 hours.  Mash some of the beans against the side of the pot (best done with a wooden spoon).  Simmer for another 1 1/2 hours or so.  Serve over rice (brown rice to make this super-healthy).

EMERIL'S ESSENCE SPICE MIX

from Emeril Lagasse

2 1/2 tablespoons paprika

1 tablespoons kosher salt

2 tablespoons garlic powder

1 tablespoon pepper

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all.

KUNG-HSI FA-TS'AI!

Happy Chinese New Year!  Since it lands this year on the same day as Valentine's Day, we're going to have a Chinese New Year/Valentine dinner.  Instead of our traditional Feburary 14 heart-shaped pizza and chocolate, we're having Chinese dumplings, wonton soup, and lo mein - long noodles for long life.  Plus something Valentines-y and chocolate at the end.

Since Chinese New Year celebrates the new lunar year and the coming of spring with family, food, and gifts, we've invited the grandparents to our little New Year/Valentine dinner.  And since the grandparents love reading to the children, and the children love the stories (or is it the attention they love?), we've gathered a couple of books for them to read while we take the take-out out of the bags.

Our favorite of the books is Ruby's Wish, by Shirin Yim Bridges.  Ruby's Wish tells the story of a young girl growing up in old, traditional China whose only wish is to go to university, a privelege reserved for boys.  Inspired by Bridges' grandmother's life, the story is a wonderful lesson in Chinese culture and history, appreciating our educational opportunities, and determination.

Happy Valentine's Day, and Kung-Hsi Fa-Ts'ai!

BIRTHDAY BASH: IDEAS FOR CELEBRATING

This past weekend, 25 6- and 7-year old girls joined us for an early Saturday evening "party in your pj's" bash.  Freeze Dance (led by the daddies) was a hit, as were the pinata, silly string, headband decorating, and pizza making.  Whew. 

With all the giggling and screeching, though, the house never looked better.  Our Lucy & Michael banners, along with multi-colored streamers from Party City and a few other odds and ends, set the stage for a really fun time.  Take a look...

We hung a "Lucy Pink Banner" and a "Happy Birthday Banner" in the front hall to greet people.  An easy and cute way to say, "party!"

On the mantle, we decorated with party hats (Party City again) and a felt ball garland (check back for that story another day), then we hung one of our "Personalized Name Banners" below.  The birthday girl loved it.  We like all the colors and the way the triangles echo each other.

At the pizza-making station (a.k.a. our kitchen island) we filled glass containers with leftover scraps of streamers.

For favors, we baked cookies onto lollipop sticks and wrapped them with notes that said, "Thank you for celebrating 7 with me!"  We stuck them into florists' foam inside a basket, then covered the foam with colorful paper fill.  Check back later this week for the cookie & icing recipe!

A HAPPY LUNCH

It's hard to get lunches right.  Grownups want healthy, kids want yummy (and usually nothing that will draw a comment from their lunch buddies).  How to make everyone happy?

We've come up with a fantastic recipe for Banana Muffins that everyone loves.  The children think they're just yummy muffins, and we can see that they're packed with protein (from wheat germ), fiber (from oatmeal), and fruit (you guessed it).

A bonus from making these muffins is that you make a batch of 15 and freeze them.  Take one out in the morning to pack in the lunchbox, and it's defrosted by the time lunch rolls around.  Easy, healthy, delicious.  That's a happy lunch.

BANANA MUFFINS

1/2 cup flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup oats (not quick-cooking)

3/4 cup toasted wheat germ

1 1/2 cups mashed banana (about 2 very ripe bananas)

1/2 cup lowfat or skim milk

1 egg

1 egg white

1/3 cup applesauce

1 teaspoon vanilla

milk chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400.  Line a muffin tin with paper muffin cups.  This recipe makes about 15 muffins, so you may need to use one whole tin plus part of another.

Sift together the first 7 ingredients, through salt.  Stir in the oatmeal and wheat germ. 

In another bowl, mix the banana, milk, eggs, applesauce, and vanilla.  Combine the wet and dry ingredients.  Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins.  If you're feeling fun, add about 3 chocolate chips to each muffin.  Bake for 16 - 18 minutes, until the muffins just begin to look toasty.  Your house will smell fantastic.

 

One more thing...while we hate to plug Pottery Barn, as they did copy our playtent (argh), we must say that they do sell great little plastic boxes that are perfect for toting muffins to school in a lunchbox. 

IT'S NOT SPRING YET...

but it's right around the corner.  Punxsutawney Phil, the famous weather-predicting groundhog, saw his shadow today and predicts six more weeks of winter.  That's fine, because we're starting a spring garden right in our kitchens. 

We just bought and set up a seed starting kit.  Whoever knew growing things from seeds could be so much fun?  You're probably ahead of us and know about these kits, but they're all new to us.  On a whim (while running in for a new garden hose), we bought two kits from Home Depot last weekend.  Surely you can find these at any garden or home store, probably online as well.  So they come with square, plastic grids filled with little freeze-dried pellets of dirt.  Pour a measured amount of water into the grids - be sure to have your children right there - and, like magic, the dirt absorbs the water and "grows" to fill the little squares.  Then, open the seed packets you brought home with the kit and place 1 - 2 seeds in each square.  Cover the whole thing with the plastic top, creating a little greenhouse, and watch.  Our seeds sprouted in a very short time - 4 days, maybe.  Quick enough to keep everyone interested and excited.

Also cool - the saplings grow toward the light.  Amazing, isn't it?  So when we rotate the boxes under the under-counter lights in the kitchen, the plants seem to move.  And, the kits came with charts where we recorded what kind of seed each little box holds, so that we can keep track.  We're trying peas, basil, dill, tomatoes, and green beans.

Once the plants start to thrive, we'll take them in the back yard and start a garden.  Hopefully we'll make it that far!  We'll let you know...

                                                

If you have any experience with growing seeds - or anything on the gardening with kids front, for that matter - please, we would love to hear it!

A TASTE TEST

On a quick trip to the grocery last Monday to pick up something nondescript to make for dinner, we ran into what the store called a "Citrus Fest", or what we called a gigantic push to sell oranges of all kinds.  It worked.

The oranges all looked so bright and unusual.  We didn't know which ones to buy but didn't want to just stay safe and buy our standby navel oranges.  So we did something a little different.  We bought two or three of each kind.  Yes, we bought a lot of oranges.  But all those oranges turned our Monday night dinner into something a little special.

Before everyone came home, we segmented the oranges, putting most of the segments into a large container to make a Grapefruit & Orange Salad (click here for our recipe), and setting aside on a plate five segments of each type of orange.  We snipped the store labels with the names of each orange and taped them to the plate rim, using them to identify the different kinds of orange segments.  And after dinner, we had a dessert taste test.  Everyone was engaged, everyone had their favorite (and their least favorite), and lively conversation ensued.  It was just what Monday night dinner should be.

BE THE HOLIDAY DJ

Old and tired holiday standbys these aren't.  Turn up the volume, gather everyone together, and have a family holiday party, just for your little crew.  Or, use these as a jumping-off point and download a bunch of newish holiday songs to your iPod, bring it to your sister's or mother's, and be the favorite festive DJ.

Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town, Ray Charles
Christmas Don't Be Late, Alvin & The Chipmunks
Blue Christmas, Elvis Presley
Hark the Herald Angels Sing, Weezer
Christmas Time Is Here, George Winston
Frosty the Snowman, Willie Nelson
Last Christmas, Glee Cast
You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch, The Brian Stetzer Orchestra
Oh Good Grief, Vince Guaraldi Trio
The Chrismas Song, Catherine Feeny

and PLEASE don't forget...

Christmas in Hollis, Run-DMC (remember, "It's Christmas time in Hollis, Queens. Mom's cookin' chicken and collard greens...")

A TRAY OF (SUGARY) TREATS

We love to give neighbors and friends easy, homemade treats for the holidays.  We especially like giving the treats in, on, or with something that can be kept and used again - a classic white tray, a Nambe heart-shaped bowl, a copper cookie cutter, a sillicone spatula.  This year, we chose not to actually bake, but to put together a plate of super-easy candy treats.  If you're a dentist, stop reading now.

PEANUT BUTTER BALLS

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 cups smooth peanut butter (not the natural kind)

6 tablespoons butter, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup Rice Krispies

12 ounces chocolate chips

Beat together the first 4 ingredients, starting at slow speed for about a minute, then at high speed for about 3 more minutes.  Stir in the Rice Krispies.  Roll into 1-inch balls and freeze on a foil- or wax paper-lined cookie sheet.  Once the balls are frozen, melt the chocolate chips.  You can do this over a double boiler, but our favorite way is to put them in a glass bowl and microwave at 30-second intervals, stirring in between each interval.  This should take about 1 1/2 minutes.  Using two forks or toothpicks, dip the balls in the chocolate.  Replace onto the cookie sheet, and freeze again.  (You can first add sprinkles or silver dragees if you'd like.)  Yum.

ENGLISH TOFFEE

from a Paula Deen recipe

1 stick plus 6 tablespoons butter

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cold water

1 cup chopped, toasted pecans

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

6 ounces milk chocolate chips

Line a rimmed cookie sheet with heavy-duty foil.  Over medium-high heat, combine first 3 ingredients.  Bring to a boil while stirring constantly, about 10 minutes (do this with a wooden spoon so as not to burn your hands!).  Stop stirring, and continue cooking until mixture reaches 305 degrees on a candy thermometer.  The color will be dark amber.  Work quickly, as this will burn fast (experience), and remove from heat.  Stir in the pecans and vanilla.  Pour onto the cookie sheet and spread to a 1/4-inch thickness.  Let cool slightly (about 4 minutes).  Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top.  When they have melted, spread them evenly over the toffee.  Cool, then pop in the freezer.  Lift the foil out of the pan, and break the toffee into pieces.  Yum again.

CARAMEL POPCORN

2 bags microwave popcorn, popped
1/2 cup roasted, salted peanuts

1/2 cup roasted cashews

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon butter

1/4 cup dark corn syrup

Line a cookie sheet with foil, and spray with non-stick cooking spray.  Spread the popcorn, peanuts, and cashews in a layer on the sheet.  In a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the next 4 ingredients to a boil.  Continue cooking until the mixture reaches 245 on a candy thermometer, about 10 minutes.  Quickly, pour the caramel over the popcorn, peanuts, and cashews.  Make sure everything's pretty well covered, before it gets good and crunchy.  Try telling your family this is a gift and will not stay in the house.

A QUICK TIP

Just a very quick endorsement, because we always love getting a great tip.

Fine details are not necessary, but Febreeze is amazing at freshening up sofas that have been victimized by a surprise session of throwing up (this, of course, after many "couch air flips" immediately following dinner on Saturday night while employing an adorable 13-year-old babysitter, resulting in a phone call that very effectively halts grown-up holiday festivity by saying, "come home NOW, Mommy!").

If this ever happens to you, send whatever can be removed to the dry cleaner, and spray the heck out of the rest with Febreeze.  We were amazed.