Living in Munchkinland

This is the recipe for deadly and delicious White Martini. My dad and I fell in love with these in France. Michael and I spent two weeks there with my parents before we had children and we enjoyed going from bar to cafe searching for the perfect White Martini. When we came home we could never again find another. I searched periodically for the recipe, but could never find it either. Finally last November I did some deep google searches and ran across this recipe. We mixed a batch up on Christmas Eve. They were delicious! I know what you are thinking, you don't like gin. I don't like gin either! But I love these! They are strong though, so be prepared. Make one and let me know what you think. Cocktail shaker Ice 2 parts gin 1 part Cointreau 1 part lemon juice Martini glass Lemon wedge 1 tbsp. sugar (for rim of glass) Olive (optional) · Step 1 Fill your cocktail shaker with ice. · Step 2 Measure out your gin, Cointreau and lemon juice, and pour them into the cocktail

We worked in the garden all day yesterday. That's right. I'm trying again this year. I think maybe the weather will be slightly more cooperative. Maybe? Michael has mastered the tiller and has been prepping my soil. (heh, heh, heh, prepping my soil) ANYWAY, I tested my soil a few weeks ago and found I had NO nitrates and very few phosphates. This actually makes me feel better about my failures last season. In order to rectify this situation I did a LOT of research and finally decided I needed to add 3 inches of mushroom compost to my entire garden. I ordered a truckload (15 cubic yards) to be delivered last Friday. The dump truck impressed both Sam and me. On Sunday, Michael and I spread the compost all over the garden. This took a lot of raking and shoveling. It would have been impossible if we hadn't had the tractor. Michael worked it and was flinging compost in all the right places. The kids had a great time for the first few hours, running their dump trucks

I hosted a party yesterday in order to celebrate National Soup Swap Day. It was a blast. We had ten attendees and all brought soup. Every kind was different and they all sounded delicious. It was so special to have all my closest friends there. And there was wine! And snacks! And no children! All in the middle of the afternoon. Totally decadent and so much fun.

Every Sunday I make a menu plan for the week. I thought I might share it here so we could share ideas. Let me know what you are planning too! Sunday: Soup from the Soup Swap! Monday: Sweet Potato, Black Bean Enchiladas from Karina's Kitchen (and my cookbook) Tuesday: Oxtail Soup from A Year of Slow Cooking Wednesday: Southwestern Salmon Burgers from my cook book Thursday: Butternut Squash, Chickpeas and Spinach from Eat Like a Girl (and my cookbook) Friday: Lentils with Beef (from my cookbook) Saturday: I always play a game on Saturday where I create something out of what I have in the freezer and pantry. What are you cooking?

From the back seat of the car. Davis: Mommy, did you know that a long, long, long, longtime ago, black people had to sit on the back of a bus? And they had to drink from different stuff. And black people and white people didn't like each other. And all the presidents and other people came and got together and changed the law! Me: That's great! Davis: But then they got in jail. And there was one that had an idea. His name was Martin Luther King. Me: He was pretty wonderful. Davis: Yeah, and now I can be president! Like Obama! Even though my skin is white. Because color doesn't matter anymore! I can only hope that his whole generation is saying the same thing.

I made these last night and they were delicious. They were also extremely easy and both Michael and the kids liked them and ate them. That's a winning recipe in my book! I topped these with garlic hummus and salad. They might also be good with a little Greek yogurt. Chickpea and Zuchinni Pancakes Makes 2 large pancakes, which make 2 main dish servings or 4 appetizer/side dish servings 3 medium zucchini, or about 4 cups shredded 2 zucchini flowers (optional; adds a bit of color) Some coriander or basil leaves (optional: adds flavor) 1 cup chickpea flour 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. garam masala (or allspice if you don't have garam masala) 1/2 tsp. hot red chili powder 1/2 tsp. curry powder Olive oil for cooking Equipment needed: a non-stick frying pan Finely shred the zucchini - I use a food processor for this. Julienne the zucchini flowers and the herbs. Put all into a large bowl; add the salt, spices and the chickpea flour. Mix well - the moisture that comes out of the zucchini may

I am so, so, so, so, so, so happy to be past the infant/toddler stage around here. I always loved my kids, but life so much more fun/interesting/easy with kids that feed and dress themselves, don't nap, use the potty, talk, play independently and go right to sleep at 6:30 in the evening without me. I'm just not sporty/outdoorsy. I'm in shape and rockin' the gym, but there is no way I want to do a marathon or triathlon because that would mean I would get wet, dirty, or just be uncomfortable in the elements. I don't want to camp either, or play any kind of sport where I might get hurt. I talk too much. I over share. I need a filter on my thoughts. Basically, I think it and then blurt it out. I often regret this. Alcohol exacerbates the problem. That's all for today. XO, me

I made this last night out of the Moosewood Kitchen Classics cookbook. I thought it would be good football watching food. It was outstanding. Make this! My mom brought over a romaine, avocado and grapefruit salad with toasted pine nuts to go with it. It made a great meal. I'm adding it to my cookbook on tastebook right now. Caribbean Sweet Potato Gratin # 1 garlic clove, minced # 1 1/2 t freshly grated lime peel # 2T fresh lime juice # 2T chopped fresh cilantro # 1/2 t dried thyme # 1 1/2 t salt # 1/2 t pepper # 2 1/2 c coconut milk (1 1/2 cans) # 4c peeled and THINLY sliced sweet ptoatoes (1 1/2 lbs) # 1c cooked rice # 1 1/2 c cooked black beans (15 oz can, drained) # 1 1/2 c fresh spinach, rinsed, stemmed,and chopped # # Topping: # 3/4 c cornmeal # 1T vegetable oil # 1/2 t dried thyme # 1/4 t cumin # 1/4 t salt 1. Preheat oven to 350. lightly oil 9x13 baking pan. 2. Combine garlic, lime peel and juice, cilantro, thyme, salt, pepper, and cocnut milk in measuring cup. pour on

We spent a week down in Port Aransas around the New Year. It was wonderful. My parents came with us for the first half and our friends Cheris and Rob came for the second half. We ate great food, we watched the boats come in at Virginia's, we did a two family bike ride all over the island, participated in the Happy "Noon" Year party at the park and got our picture in the local paper. We played on the beach and in the condo. We did arts and crafts and played games and drank wine and ate some more great food. It was a pretty wonderful vacation with some wonderful friends and family. Each trip down there gets easier and more fun. XO! Amber

This evening I read a book to Davis and Sam that ended with a rabbit family arriving at their new home with thirty or so children. I exclaimed that that was a lot of children and asked the kids how it would be to have so many brothers and sisters. Davis shared my amazement over the number of children and replied, “yeah, that would be so many that Daddy would run out of spells.“ I nodded in absent-minded agreement and began to put away the book, and then stopped. “Wait a minute, spells? What are spells, Davis?” Davis began to look slightly unsure, but gamely replied, “You know. Spells are the things Daddy has to add to your egg so you can make babies”.

In 2009 Davis learned to ride a bike, we went to Mardi Gras in New Orleans with Tiff and Keith, I planted my first garden, Sam had salmonella and Davis got stitches, I attended my ten year college reunion, we hosted a huge Walter family reunion, we spent two weeks in Canada with mom and dad, Davis and Sam both learned to swim, we spent lots of weekends with friends and family in Port A, lots of weekends in Houston with the in-laws, we potty trained Sam, we went to New Orleans with mom and dad and no kids for a long weekend, Davis continued his second year of Montessori and exploded with new knowledge and Sam started his first year, Michael squeaked in under the wire with a pretty new Volvo. 2009 was a year of spirituality and family. My husband worked out of town for huge portions of the year. This gave me the opportunity to work on patience and to focus on the kids. Personally, I really worked on my spirituality this year and made significant changes in my life. I joined a gym an