Book Club and stuffed dates

 
This inviting table welcomed us this month at book club.  My friends have the most lovely homes.  We're reading and cooking our way through Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist.

 
This month's menu consisted of bacon wrapped goat cheese stuffed dates,  Mexican grilled corn, dark chocolate sea sated toffee, enchiladas and a delicious guacamole.  Those are my dates below.  They were pretty yum.  I ate a lot of them and also did some damage on the toffee.

The food is always great, and I love learning new cooking techniques, but the company is tremendous and the conversation is delightful.  These gals are wise and funny and a breath of fresh air amidst a busy week.  

Last month we ditched cooking together and ended up out to eat at a downtown sushi spot.  The service was less than great and we ended up with discounted meal.  We decided we are better cooks.

Here's how those yummy stuffed dates are made:  I'll be making them again!

2 packages of dates (found in the produce section)
1 pack of bacon
8 oz. goat cheese (found in the specialty cheese case)

Slice the dates open, but not in half.  Pull out the pit.  It sort of looks like a pecan.  Spoon in a little dip of the goat cheese.  Wrap each in a half a strip of bacon.  Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes.  We flipped them at about 15 minutes. They can be served warm or room temperature, or as I discovered the next morning, cold from the fridge.  I actually thought they were even better the next day. 

Next month, we are cooking, eating and exchanging Christmas goodies.

book club- kitchen 2

We met again, my 6 new mama friends, to cook and eat and talk and avoid homework with the kids and bedtime drama and just be grown ups together.

We met at a different home and made dishes from the next section of our book, Bread and Wine. Section one post here.

We take a lot of photos of our treats!  We met in a different friend's home, a farm house that has been in her husbands family for three generations, that she and her husband recently restored.  It's gorgeous and homey and a great place to gather.

The other mama's have kids who are a little bit older and I'm learning a lot about parenting teens.  As we've had a little interaction with their kids passing through the house and those I see at school occasionally, or work with for the middle school musicals, I'm impressed. They have respectful, mannerly teens.  I want that and I'm tucking all this good info away for later! 

We cooked and then devoured together watermelon feta salad, mango chicken curry, breakfast cookies, sweet potato fries with sriracha dipping sauce, and an Italian sausage cassoulet.  We had to take home our breakfast cookie because there was so much food going on. 

I was in charge of the chicken curry and it turned out pretty decent.  I guess I just don't really love the curry flavor, but it was fine.  Better than my biscuit flop from last month.  I thought it would be super spicy but it was not at all.

The watermelon feta salad was amazing! It contained watermelon, feta, mint, arugula, and a balsamic dressing.   It had lime as well which gave it a fun flavor.  It tasted like a special summer drink.  I always think arugula is bitter, but spinach might be a tastier base to the salad next time. 

I so enjoy meeting with these ladies.  I'm going to have to get better at time management though.  I can hardly stay out until 10 and miss an entire evening at home without getting behind a little in every area of life!  The papers that needed graded are still not caught up and today I'm the laundry queen!  I say that as I take an hour our of my Sunday to post this.  Guess a time management class may be needed. 

Books and friends= mom fun

One of my dear student's parents has been so sweet to me.  I had her oldest last year, have her middle child this year and with any luck, will have her youngest next year.  She invited me to join a book club she was starting with some of her favorite ladies.  I knew a few of them from school and church and was intrigued by the book. 

 

Green Well Salad

 

It's called Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist.  It's about food, but also community.  It's a Christian book, but not devotional.  It's recipes and the stories that go with them.  The book has been super enjoyable, the recipes have been good, and joining friends, new and old, around the table, is pretty great.

 

 

We get together at one of our homes (insert footnote!) and cook the recipes from the section of the book we read that month.  Then we feast and discussed the chapters.   (footnote- We will not be meeting at my house- they all have lovely, lovely homes with huge kitchens and plenty of room for entertaining.  My house can have one cook in the kitchen, two if you are close!)

 

Me and my mama friend

 

Last week we made (and devoured and enjoyed) steak au poivre with cognac pan sauce, green well salad with cherries and walnuts,  risotto, goat cheese biscuits (insert footnote!) and flourless chocolate brownies.  (footnote- I was in charge of the goat cheese biscuits.  No problem.  I bake.  I make biscuits.  I even tested out the recipe the week before at home since I'm not usually cooking with goat cheese and fresh shredded parmesan cheese.  They were great.  So, I measured out all my ingredients and brought them to cook at book club.  When I pulled them out of the oven, there was clearly an issue.  I had forgotten the baking powder.  They were little dough balls.  Chewy little unleavened bread clumps.  They were slightly embarrassing.  Add that to the fact that I showed up in a crazy tiny little rental car and I was pretty impressive that evening.  -We had someone bump our mini van in July and the new tailgate was finally in.  I had a little rental for three days.  Three long and cramped days.  I'm not used to driving a teeny tiny car and was pretty sure I'd be run over on the road.)

 

 

I learned some new cooking skills. I met some new friends. We talked about our kids, our jobs, and our moms.  We stayed out past 10pm on a school night!  I learned to make risotto.  The green bowl was from book club, the orange bowl was my recreation later that week with bacon, mushroom, and shrimp. 

 

 

Next month has some promising recipes and another lovely home to gather in. 

thrifty girl

 

Bee's an entrepreneur, a wheeler and a dealer if you like.  The neighbors were have a yard sale last weekend and she saw an opportunity to make a few bucks.  She sold lemonade until it got too hot, then she recruited the neighbor kids to man the stand.  Wait until I tell her that her blog could make money!  You may have seen her selling pretzels, cookies, kettle corn, and flowers, or center pieces made from yard trash,  cookies,  and art, always selling art and her famous hankey blankeys, patent pending.

 

 

Speaking of my thrifty girl, this past week, we went to the theme park with some friends (actually last year's student and her family).  Bee and the friend used their goggles to collect things from the wave pool and lazy river bottom.  In addition to the bobby pins and earrings, keychains, beads, and broken necklaces, they found money.  Over the course of about 6 hours, they found $8.00! 

After we used our season passes as a discount, it was just enough to buy a few ice creams and a cotton candy!  The cutie in pink was a student last year, and her brother, the boy between Bee and Lou, may be a student next year!  They have a younger brother too so I could have three years in a row of this awesome family!

movie and dessert

In the summer, I sit at the pool while the kiddos swim and I devour magazines.  I have to get them at the recycling center because I go through at least two a day.  I tore out a picture and recipe for this delicious strawberry peach rustic tart like free form pie yumminess.  I think it was from Woman's Day or Family Circle or Real Simple.  I read lots of different magazines and sometimes they're old.  I read a wonderful article the other day from a 1995 Healthy Cooking magazine.  I can't use them for fashion advice, but the cooking doesn't change.   I tell the kids its safer when they have friends over if I'm on the deck instead of in the pool.  I'm not sure I can support that with evidence, but it works. 

Anyway, then I misplaced the torn out recipe.  No worries, pinterest saved the day.  I found a few similar recipes.  I ended up using a recipe from Sally's baking Addiction for this rustic galette.  (I found other similar recipes at Couple of Cooks and Simply Recipes)  We had peaches on the counter and strawberries in the garden.  The low producers I mentioned the other day, have recently sprung forth with a new round of berries.  And since I always keep butter on hand, lots of butter, we were ready to make this.

Rustic Fruit Galette

 

Filling: 

3 ripe peaches (peel, and slice thinly),  2 cups fresh strawberries (sliced- Bee's job),  2 T  sugar,  1 t vanilla (the real stuff if you can! My brother gets mine from Mexico- ask your brother for some- or ask my brother.) 

-Combine these items in a bowl and set aside while you prepare the crust.

 

Crust: 

Whisk together- 1 and 1/2 cups flour,  3 T sugar,  1/4 t salt

Cut in:  1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter (I throw it in the freezer for 15 min)

Add:  1/4 cup ice water, plus more as needed  (I added an additional 2-3T)

 

Knead his dough gently and quickly until it's not sticky.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour... unless you're in a hurry, or really hungry, then refrigerate for 15-20 minutes.

 

Pull out of fridge and unwrap.  Using additional flour as needed, roll out into a thin pie crust like shape.  I rolled it right on my baking stone.  I know lots of people like parchment paper, I'm a fan of the stone.

 

Add fruit (use a slotted spoon) to the center of crust circle and then fold up edges over the top.  If you want pictures to guide you here, use one of the links above.  I was too buttery at this point to take pictures.  Pour about 2 T of the remaining juice over the fruit portion. 

 

Optional:  Beat 1 egg for an egg wash over the crust portion.   You could also sprinkle a little sugar on the egg wash.

 

I also made a simple glaze to add to the top after it was slightly cooled.  I mixed the remaining fruit juice, which was about 1-2 T with enough powdered sugar to make a little glaze. 

 

Bake for 25-35 minutes or until the crust is golden brown at a 425 degree oven.  Allow to slightly cool before serving.

 

This dessert put us all in such a nice mood that we suffered from some temporary insanity and invited some neighbor friends over for a late night movie.   Unfortunately, movies can't be started until 8:20ish and that makes for a late late night.  It's hard to get up for  early church when you're 7 and were up until 10:00 pm.

In these pictures, the kids are singing along to Frozen sound track while we wait for the sun to set.  The popcorn was gone before the movie started. 

the big screen

For hubby's birthday back in April, we got him an outdoor movie setup. It got it's first public showing the last day of school.  It was also Lou's last baseball game.  We hosted the end of season celebration at our house since Hubby coached the team.   We had 12 baseball boys and their families over. 

 

 

Perfect time to bring out the theater.  And, another good use for the hill in the backyard- built in stadium seating. 

 

 

 Here's how we did it.  The projector and speakers sit on a cart that connects with the dvd player through a stereo system.  There is the option to hook up the laptop if we want to stream Netflix or iTunes movies.  That's the simplified version of that cart part.  Hubby was in charge of the cart, I was in charge of the screen.  I can tell you more about the cart if you're interested.

I bought a piece of "black out tenting" material from a tent company in southern Indiana.  Here's the company, I happened to be driving by and they have an outlet shop open to the public and were able to cut just what I needed.  I've seen people use white tarp, drop cloth, or even a sheet.  Ours is 8ft x5 ft.  The ratio from the projector is 19:6, so I wanted something that could be similar in ratio.    I screwed the top and bottom onto 1x3.   I think they boards were 12 foot boards and we cut off 6-8 inches on each side.  The additional bottom piece was really just to weight it down a bit.  We wanted it portable and it does roll up for storage and transport. 

Hubby added another board to the side of the swing set that we added a few brackets to.  The top of the screen simply slides down into the brackets.  The screen can be set up and taken down in just a few minutes.   The first instillation of screen to frame boards had to be redone once.  The screen had a shiny side and a matte side.  The sales woman told me she thought the shiny side made more sense, turns out the matte is a better viewing side.  Also, I did the first time myself and hubby did the second himself.  He's more a precision guy... I eyeball everything. 

The speakers get turned towards us and I've asked the neighbors, and they said they could hear much, even with their windows open.  We really had it loud so I was a little concerned.  We can start it as soon as the sun starts setting, but don't have to wait for dark. 

But, it's totally better after dark.  Our guests watched a bit, ran around, watched a little more, ran around some more, and then crashed on the blankets for the last bit of movie.

We also discovered that Lou and Bee both have a perfect view from their windows.  Take note!  Hubby and I were getting ready to watch "I am Legend" after the kids went to bed one evening and discovered this.  Good catch!

I have about $35.00 in the screen system.  Hubby had most of the items needed for the cart already on hand.  He did buy a new projector using two years worth of Best Buy gift cards. We discovered, the thing to look for in the projector is the luminosity (bulb brightness) and bulb life.  I think it's a pay for what you get sort of thing. 

Lou has asked for his birthday party to be a swimming moving party.  I think we can do that!

icecream sensory play

We went to a friend's birthday party last week and we took a really fun gift.  Our little buddy likes to play restaurant and loves when we loan him our sensory bins.  We combined the two and made an ice-cream parlor kit.
 

 
He loved it! Like, really loved it!
 

 
Most of the items came from the dollar store or hobby lobby.  If I was doing this for preschool or my own kids, I could have reused things from home and it would have been cheaper to put together.
 

 
Here's what we included (and approximate prices in case you're figuring out if this will be affordable for your kiddos)
 
1 large bag of white pom poms (Hobby Lobby  {HL} $2.99)
2 medium bags of brown pom poms (HL .99 each)  -I had wanted pink too, but had to put some back- I was going over budget)
2 small bags tiny multi colored pom poms for sprinkles (99 cents each HL)
2 bananas ($3.00 each from HL in the floral arranging area)
ice-cream scooper (25 cents from goodwill)
1 package (2 in pkg) of baked potato dishes for banana split containers (Dollar Tree {DT} 1$)
1 pack (3 in pack) little blue bowls (DT 1$)
1 pack multi colored baby silverware (DT $1)
1 birthday shot glass (DT 1$)
1 large bowl to hold ice-cream (DT -wedding area 1$)
1 bunch of fake flowers (DT 1$)
plastic salt and pepper shakers for sprinkles container (DT $1)
Red pom poms and plastic jar- from home added at last minute for cherries)
frame from IKEA $1
menu cards- I made myself at home using Word.
 
 

 
If I was making this for preschool, I would not let them pour out the tiny pom poms.  It was time consuming to pick them all out to reset.

 

 
Other than the free for all with colored M&Ms at the party I think the icecream was the most popular item!  At one point the birthday boy was missing and he was found up in his room playing ice-cream parlor. 

He's 6

That little man of mine turned 6 yesterday!  Good grief.... Frankly I'm amazed we've had no stitches or broken bones up to this point.

We took a few of his buddies from school to the rock climbing place for his party.  I've never had a party someplace other than the house, but it was nice!  He's had a baseball party, a pirate party, a monster truck party, a camping party, a pool party, and now this rock climbing party.

At our particular place, they have you watch a short video with the instructions and then they run you through a short 'skills test' out on the wall.  Then your free to climb. 

There's Bee, she loves to climb too.

They have a 'party room' but it's the same room they show the video in.  We snuck in very briefly for brownies (no cake for Lou) and presents.

Our place requires a 1:3 ratio for adult belayers to kids.  We had a 1:1 so the kids were able to climb and climb!

 Here are the invites.  I cut out the black part with my silhouette.  It's an image I found through google images and edited a little.  It was a girl with a ponytail.  I fixed that right up though.

I also used that same image on some tags we attached to some cliff bars that we sent home with the guests.

We had water bottles for all the kiddos too.  I bought 1$ water bottles at target and covered the image on them with a vinyl circle.  Then I cut out everybody's name and added that to the bottles.  They worked out great. 

 

Speaking of presents, look what one friend showed up with. 

Hermit crabs!  Great gift for animal loving friends!  They were the givers of last year's best boy gift ever!

There was even one in there for Bee.  She named hers Olympia.