Thursday, December 15, 2011

Christmas Fudge- Guest Post!

Here is Cooking with Addy's first guest blogger!  Terra Lenihan is my great friend and mother to two of Addy and Elena's best friends.  Her fudge is awesome!
Christmas Fudge
 
Every Christmastime, one of my favorite traditions is making my mom’s famous Mexican fudge. My list of friends and family who receive our fudge each year has grown, and many people have already been asking, “Are you making your fudge this year?!” With our two boys in elementary school, our list of teacher recipients has grown, too.
 
Making Mexican fudge is a labor of love, requiring lots of chocolate, slow stirring and patience. In my kitchen all evening yesterday, I slowly stirred the chocolate in with the thick sweetened condensed milk, coffee (instant coffee so it dissolves nicely into the chocolate), cinnamon, and vanilla. For about 30-40 minutes on the double boiler, I stirred and stirred, watching the ingredients melt together, until finally forming a hot, oily, chocolaty mixture. After sending pictures to my mom of the process last night, I learned that she was creating the same recipe in her own California kitchen!
Melting the ingredients for the Mexican Fudge.
 
Liam, our first grader, is studying the rainforest and Mexico in school, so it was fun to discover that nearly all of the ingredients for Mexican fudge come right from the rainforest. We toured the tropical conservatory at the Denver Botanic Gardens last week with his class, and saw and touched cacao trees, cinnamon bark, a coffee plant, and even the distinctive orchid that creates our baking essential, vanilla bean.
Liam and classmates look up at a cacao tree at the Tropical Conservatory at the Denver Botanic Gardens.
 
With all of the kids in our life these days, I decided to try out a new fudge this year as well, since the flavor of the Mexican fudge is strong and, well, because I don’t want to caffeinate all of the kids. I am calling this one Pooh-bear fudge. The ingredients are simple: chocolate (I used semi-sweet but milk would work as well), peanut butter, and honey. Liam sampled the fudge this morning after it hardened overnight, and called it delicious. Keenan liked that you could really taste the peanut butter.
 
With both of these recipes, nuts could be added. I didn’t have any on hand this year, so I left them out, but often times I will add chopped pecans or walnuts to the Mexican fudge. Enjoy, and let us know if you try these or make any good modifications.
 
(Julia, I need to go on a run today since naturally I had to sample all this fudge this morning!)
 
Mexican Fudge
18 oz semi-sweet chocolate
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 T instant coffee
1 t ground cinnamon
1 t vanilla
½ c chopped nuts (optional)
 
In a heavy saucepan or double boiler, under low heat, melt the chocolate chips with the sweetened condensed milk, coffee, cinnamon, and vanilla. Using a rubber spatula, stir constantly. Remove from heat. Spread evenly onto a wax paper-lined pan. Chill for 2-3 hours, or until firm. Turn fudge onto a cutting board, and cut into squares. Store loosely covered at room temperature. Makes about 1-¾ pounds.
 
Pooh-bear Fudge
 
18 oz semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips
1 c creamy peanut butter
3/4 c honey
 
In a heavy saucepan or double boiler, under low heat, melt ingredients together, stirring constantly. Spread evenly into a wax paper-lined pan, and chill until firm. May also be chilled in the refrigerator. Turn fudge onto a cutting board, and cut into squares. Store loosely at room temperature. Enjoy!

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Snow day dreams

So I'm dreaming of summer a bit today.  It's snowy and cold here and while sledding was fun this morning snow is a hassle!  How many calories do you burn getting snow pants, coats, hats, mittens, socks, boots and scarves on two kids and yourself?  By the time we get everyone bundled and supplied with extra mittens I'm ready to call it a day!

Thankfully, contrary to popular belief Colorado is not all cold and snow.  This week it looks like the snow will stick around but soon enough I'm sure it will be pleasant again.  At least it better be.  And in the mean time I'll dream of summer and the fun we had in North Carolina. 

We did a lot of cooking while we were there this summer.  One of the things I'm anxious to make again are these gnocchi that Aunt Marie taught us how to make.  These are light and yummy gnocchi.  Tender bites of deliciousness. This made a really big batch because we were having lots of company but you could easily halve the recipe.

Ricotta Gnocchi
32 oz whole milk ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
dash nutmeg
extra flour for dusting
extra salt for seasoning water

At least a couple hours before you want to cook or up to a day ahead, drain ricotta cheese in strainer lined with paper towels.  In a large bowl, gently mix drained ricotta, eggs, flour, salt and nutmeg.  Refrigerate for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, prepare a cutting board with flour and a sharp knife for cutting dough.  Boil a large pot of salted water.  Break of workable size chunks of dough.  If the dough is too sticky to work with add more flour in small amounts at a time until it is just workable.  Roll into logs thumb thick and cut in bite size chunks.  Prepare about a quarter of the dough and then gently add gnocchi to boiling water, stir so that they don't stick together.  Boil for two minutes once the gnocchi have popped back the surface of the water.  While they boil prepare the next batch.  Scoop out of water and set in colander to drain.  We needed to rinse ours so they didn't stick together.  Repeat with dough making sure the water comes back to a boil between batches.




We served ours with a simple tomato sauce of fresh tomatoes simmered with garlic, onions, salt and a little butter and olive oil, lightly dressed greens, a chewy ciabatta garlic bread and extra Parmesan cheese.  Seriously good food.  Mmm, who is hungry?!

Monday, December 5, 2011

Meatless Monday

Tonight the girls and I ate vegan.  Roasted cauliflower and potato gnocchi.  It was good, if monochromatic.  We had covered most of the other colors earlier in the day.  Addy picked the herbs from our pretty indoor plant and Elena helped me break up the cauliflower for roasting.  We all enjoyed it, especially the roasted cauliflower which had been tossed with olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh rosemary and sage.  There was extra since I roasted the whole head.  I froze it for another day.
Normally I like this meal with fresh grated Parmesan cheese but since I was trying to be vegan we left that off.  If I'd had toasted pine nuts they would have added a nice crunch.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Cherry Pie without Chocolate

I wish I had another piece right now!

It's hard to see here, but the pie can stand up on it's own without oozing!

The hardest part of making the pie was actually deciding what recipe to use.

Since fruit pies don't usually have chocolate in them I don't make a lot of pies or even eat that much pie.  I wasn't really sure what I was looking for in a good pie.  But with a pit bit of research I think made a darn good cherry pie.

I ended up pulling the pie from three different places.  The crust recipe came from here.  It turned out as promised; flaky and neutral.  I froze half of it to use another day.

I used the Betty Crocker Cherry Pie recipe for the cherry filling but decreased the sugar and added a dash of vanilla.

6 cups red tart cherries-mine were frozen, I defrosted in the refrigerator and let them drain.
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp vanilla

Then because I was a bit worried about how juicy the cherries were I picked a crumble topping recipe from the internet.  I figured the crumble would help soak up the juice.  Chad was looking for a pie that would stand up on it's own and not ooze off the crust. He also doesn't like nuts in food so this is a pretty straight forward topping. I think the crumble helped this pie meet that challenge.

1 cup flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup cold butter
Cut together until butter is pea size or smaller.

Heat oven to 425.  After the dough has chilled for 30 minutes roll to 1/4 inch thick and cut to fit pie pan.  Place in pan and flute/crimp edges.  Pour in cherry mixture and top with crumble.  Bake for 35 to 45 minutes until crust is brown.  The crumble topping browned really quickly so I laid a piece of tinfoil over it.  When the crust was golden brown I turned off the oven and left the pie in the oven to cool.  We served it the next day with whipped cream.

I started this pie while the girls were napping and finished while they were playing with Chad.  If they had been around to help they could have rolled the pie dough, stirred the cherries and sprinkled the crumble.

Friday, December 2, 2011

You have to be nice to me, I'm your sister

This morning Elena pulled Addy's hair and then a few minutes later she hit her with the remote.  I helped them hug and make up and now they are making nests from the pillows.  Addy says to Elena, "Elena you have to be nice to me.  I'm you're sister, I've taught you how to walk, how to crawl, how to talk.  I've even taught you how to cook.  You have to be nice to me."  Then Addy tells me that when she grows up she's going to name her blog Cooking with Addy, Elena, Mommy, Daddy and Suka.  How's that for a URL?

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Trends

I don't consider myself trendy and I am ok with that.  I embrace the fact that I'm kind of a dork.  But I got pretty excited when I saw that we hit two food trends (as noticed by Epicurious.com) with our Thanksgiving meal.

2012 Food Trends  See Cuisine and Cooking at Home

What do you think about these food trends?

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner

Addy's class shared their favorite parts of Thanksgiving dinner at school yesterday.  They each brought something to share for snack.  Addy brought papadum, coriander chutney, tamarind and date chutney, and some of the cranberry chutney that we had made together.  What was your favorite part of your meal?

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Yellow Rice

Chad loves yellow snow rice.  Sometimes we call it fried rice but to me that conjures up Chinese flavors. The yellow rice he made for our Thanksgiving focused more on the Indian flavors.  It's an easy side dish for lots of meals.  Last night we served the left overs (which had been frozen and reheated in the microwave) to friends with ham and the left over sweet potato masala.  It went over pretty well with all the kids (even the pickier eaters).
I cooked a bunch of plain white rice in the rice cooker. Chad melted some ghee in the wok and then stirfried about 1/2 cup chopped onions.  He added 1 tsp of turmeric and 1 tsp of crushed coriander seeds and salt to taste.  Then he stirred in the rice.  Easy-peasy.  Sometimes we add peas or an egg.  Sometimes we use sesame oil or soy sauce for flavors.  Either way it's a favorite around here.

Sunday, November 27, 2011

Thanksgiving 2011

Mmm, a brownie on my left, champagne on my right (tea steeping in the kitchen).  Football on in the next room.  Girls napping.  I think I'll take this peaceful moment to record what a great Thanksgiving dinner we made.

Menu:
Fried turkey
Sweet potato masala
Saag Paneer

Yellow Rice
Roti
Papadum
Cranberry Chutney
Various store bought chutneys and pickles


We fried a fresh local turkey that I purchased at Herb's Meat.  The day before I soaked it and two chickens in a brine of ginger, cloves, allspice, brown sugar, black pepper, salt, vegetable broth and water.

Also on Wednesday I made the paneer.  Heat 1/2 gallon whole milk to just boiling.  Remove from heat. Add 3 TBL of fresh lemon juice. Stir gently as curds and whey separate.  The whey will be light yellowish and the curds will be white and tender.  Let sit about ten minutes and then poor into a strainer lined with cheese cloth.  I save the whey for baking but you can compost it if you'd rather.  Once cool and drained gather the paneer into a disc by pulling the corners of the cheese cloth in and wrapping in the ends around the cheese.  Compress between two plates in the refrigerator.  I weighed it down with a jar of milk but use whatever works for you.  You can eat it fresh or the next day.  I don't know how long it lasts because we always eat it right up!

Also on Wednesday I made the cranberry chutney.   I used this recipe.  The only thing I changed was I left out the raisins and 2 Tbls more sugar to make up for their sweetness.  I used an equal amount of apple to onion.  It is so good that Addy picked it as her favorite part of the meal.

Thanksgiving day we dried the birds and sprinkled with salt and pepper.  Chad fried the chickens together for 3 1/2 minutes a lb.  Then he did the turkey.  Moist and delicious. After the chickens cooled I put them in freezer bags in the freezer.  We'll eat them later by defrosting in the refrigerator over night and then heating gently in the oven.

I made the sweet potato masala by peeling a bunch of sweet potatoes and chopping them into bite size pieces.  I simmered these in a jar of Patak's butter chicken sauce that I bought at My India's.   I picked the butter chicken sauce because the ingredients listed seemed close to the flavors I taste in my favorite sweet potato masala at Yak and Yeti in Westminster.  It was a decent match but not perfect.  I'll have to experiment with it some more.

I made the saag paneer by cooking about 10 oz of washed spinach in boiling water for about two minutes. Use a frying pan for this. Drain and reserve 1/2 cup cooking water.  Using a food processor or blender, puree the spinach and set aside.  In the same apparatus (no need to wash) chop one small onion, one large or two small tomatoes, 1 inch ginger, chopped, 1 seeded hot pepper, 1 1/2 tsp garam masala, 1 tsp salt and the reserved cooking water.  In the pan you used to cook the spinach heat about a 1 T. spoon of ghee or oil.  Toast 2 tsp of cumin in the hot oil for until a shade darker.  Pour in the onion/tomato mixture and simmer for 30 minutes.  Add the spinach and 1/4 cup heavy cream, stir until combined and warm. Cut the paneer in to bite size chunks.  Gently stir into saag.  

I will have to share our recipe for yellow rice another day.  The girls are up!

Right before eating we prepared the roti and papadum that I bought at My India's.  Both heated up nicely on a hot dry skillet.

Brine ingredients

Yum!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Kitchen Helpers


New playground area at the Denver Zoo,
We're busy these days.  The weather has stayed beautiful and pleasant well into October so I've been keeping the girls outside as much as they'll take!  Friday we went to the pumpkin patch, Monday the zoo.  
The view from the Rock Creek Pumpkin Patch was gorgeous.

This weekend is Addy's birthday.  So excited!  Part of my prep is to clean out the refrigerator so I'll have room for party treats.  That means tonight's dinner is a big salad and grilled cheese sandwiches. We'll have roasted beets, carrots, a cucumber, tomatoes, peppers, goat cheese, toasted pine nuts and fresh herbs on the salad.  I'll toss in some left over brown rice too.  I have a loaf of whole wheat/spelt french bread from Udi's that I bought on clearance for $2.09! I suppose it was on clearance because it was getting old but grilling it will take any staleness away.

When I plan supper I also like to think ahead to what the girls can  do to help so tonight in addition to setting the table (even baby Elena can carry some silverware to the table) they'll pick the herbs, spin the lettuce, mix the toppings together, and put the sandwiches together.  If they still need a task Addy likes to illustrate a menu to go along with our meals and Elena likes to wash dishes.
Oh, it gets messy.  But she loves it.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Saturday = Project Day

It's been a busy day and it's only 1:45.  The girls are napping and I'm making chimichurri.
Earlier today Addy and I pressed grapes to make grape juice.  Tomorrow we'll make it in to jelly.  Chad sanded and re-stained our gnome and the picnic table.

And most importantly we taught Addy to ride her bike without training wheels!! 

Friday, September 9, 2011

Rolling in Dough

It's peach season!  Probably getting close to the end of it too.  But they've been delish this year.  Last weekend Terra and I had a peach pie bake off!  It was fun to get together and share food that we had both worked hard on with our families.  Terra won with her yummy peach pie with a crumble topping! 

I made a fairly traditional pie with an all butter crust.  It was pretty yummy and flaky.  The girls had a good time rolling out the extra dough.  Then we sprinkled it with cinnamon sugar and baked it along with the pie.  Yummy, crispy cinnamony buttery goodness. 



Since my pie was not the winning recipe I will share a different recipe with you.

We made dinner "to go" for a friend who came by for a play date this week and she reported back that her family loved the rolls we made.  I adapted this from the recipe for oatmeal bread in the Oster User Manual and Bread Recipes pamphlet that came with my bread maker.

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Rolls
1 1/4 cups water
3 T. honey
2 T. butter
3/4 cup oats
1 3/4 tsp. salt
3 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 T. oat bran
2 T. dry milk
2 tsp yeast

I did it on dough setting in the bread maker.  We threw the ingredients into the bread maker before we went out to Paul Derda for playground time and lunch.  The dough sat for a few hours before Addy and I shaped them after nap.  I let them rise in the oven for about 30 minutes after we had shaped them.  I brushed them with egg and sprinkled with sesame seeds then baked at 350 for 25 mins. This makes about 16 rolls.  You can also shape all of your rolls onto two pans.  Freeze one pan and bake the other.  Once the rolls are frozen, pop them off the pan and put them in a freezer safe bag.  Then they are ready for another day.  Just take out the number that you need, place them on a pan a couple of hours before you want to bake them.  They will defrost quickly.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Addy's Fruit Parfaits

Saturday morning we walked over to the "Purple Park" by the Mamie Doud Library.  Healthy Learning Paths was hosting the 2011 Children's Wellness Adventure.  Addy especially enjoyed the bike rodeo.  Elena enjoyed the hula hoops and I enjoyed the back massage I got at the Chiropractor's booth.
Addy rides through a obstacle course, following street signs.  Broomfield Police Officer was on hand to guide and teach.

Elena tries hula hooping.  She heard it is good exercise, but she needs her Bammer to show her how it's done.
Other booths included the Kiwansis, Rotary, CASA, a family mental health practioner, Higgy's Ice Cream (one of our new favs).  Each booth had something for the kids to do and lots of information for the adults too.  The event was listed for $5 a family but when I registered I was told I didn't have to pay.  The girls each got t-shirts and some nice healthy breakfast type snacks.
Maybe next year Terra and I will have a Green Bee booth!
At one of the booths Addy got to make a yogurt parfait.  Here is the recipe in her words:
You get bananas and granola.  And then some blueberries, raspberries, and peaches and some strawberries and then you cut them.  Put some chopped fruit in a cup.  Then you put the yogurt on first and then the granola.  Then you put some more chopped fruit on top of the yogurt and granola.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Sweet things

We have been having a good week hosting Molly's sister Kelly. She is walking across the United States and has stopped here to visit and gear up for the trek across the Rockies. We picked her up from Boulder on Tuesday.

Wednesday, seeking adventure and an escape from the heat we headed to Hammond's Candy Factory in Denver. It was only a 15 minute drive from here and the free tour included and nice size free sample. Addy has been asking how lollipops are made so it was a timely trip to answer her questions. We were able to watch hot sugar being poured onto the cooling tables and workers wrapping candy on to the sticks for lollipops. They make beautiful hard candy as well as their own caramels and chocolates. I liked the Mitchell Candy which is a handmade marshmallow wrapped in caramel.
I think we could have been happy with our samples but we did a little shopping too.

As a regular practice we try not to eat much candy. Lately I have been enjoying homemade granola as a healthy yet sweet snack. Both girls can help with the mixing and pouring parts of this recipe. This recipe came from my mom but I change it every time based on what I have on hand.

3 1/2 cups oatmeal
1/2 wheat germ
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1 T cinnamon
1 tsp turmeric
1/4 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots

Mix dry ingredients together in a 9x13 in metal pan. Drizzle with oil and honey. Bake at 375
for 45 minutes. Stir every 15 minutes until toasty and golden brown. Stir in dried fruit while still warm. Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container. We enjoy it over plain yogurt with fresh fruit.


Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Earthquakes

We didn't feel the earthquake Monday night.  But it was one of those this to shall pass nights, where I'm exhausted but morning can't come soon enough.  The girls went to bed just fine and I stayed up watching a little Intervention on A&E.  Around 9:30 I shut everything off and went to bed. At 1:30 I awoke to the voice of the BBC playing on the computer, that I had turned off.  Do you think the earthquake shook it on?  Then at three o'clock I'm poked awake out of a deep sleep by Addy asking me the time.  I snap at her and she goes back to bed.  I stay awake feeling guilty for snapping at her.  By four I'm asleep again but she's back poking me and wondering if it is time to get up.  I let her get in bed with me, then I lay awake pondering how I can get her to stop this nonsense.  At 5 Elena wakes up to nurse.  I didn't even try to fall asleep again.

Not our best night. Naps were pretty sweet though.


I did figure out away to help Addy though.  She now has two clocks beside her bed.  One that sings her to sleep and turns yellow when we set it for daytime.  It is analog and hard for her to read at this point.  The other little clock is digital and I've taught her that if the first number is a 5 she may get up and quietly get in bed with us. If the first number is a 6 she can get up, also at 6 her analog clock turns yellow.  Any other number she should be asleep and not get out of bed.  This morning she lasted until 5:30 before getting in bed with me.

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Playing Peek a boo vs. Blogging

I was going to blog . . . but playing peek-a-boo with a warm snuggling baby won.

 A quick visual of what I did manage to get done before the snuggle woke up.

Mise en place for Chimichurri

Roasted corn, sliced off the cob, sauteed with butter and sweet onion.

cilantro, parsley, tomatillo, tomato and Serrano pepper to add to sauteed corn


On the menu for the night: skirt steak with chimichurri, sauteed corn, fresh bread, and lots of baby kisses.


Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Would you like some Chimichurri?

We've spent all of July in North Carolina at my parents beautiful new house.  We've done lots of hiking swimming and adventuring. 

We've also made some pretty great food.  Friday afternoon Mom and Dad took off to Asheville to pick Marie up from the airport, leaving Ben, his friends Chris and Dana, me and the girls here to hang out and play with the expectation that we would also cook dinner.

We made the best steak dinner I've had in a while.  Fresh green beans, baked potatoes, rolls, NY strip steak, chimichurri and some pretty darn tasty wines.

Addy found eight potatoes, washed them, poked them with a fork and then arranged them in the cold oven.  Think of all the skills she was building; counting, one to one correspondence, fine motor skills, spacial relationships,  verbal skills and a sense of responsibility.


 Yummy ciabatta rolls arranged by Addy to warm in the oven just before serving. 


Uncle Ben mans the grill.  He rubbed these with salt, papper and oil before grilling to medium rare.  We let them rest about 10 minutes before serving.     
And now for the best part of the meal--the chimichurri.  Chimichurri is a green sauce from Argentina.  It can be used as a marinade or dipping sauce.  We used it as a dipping sauce for the meat and bread.

Ben had had this with a friend earilier in the week and came up with this recipe based on that experience and a little googling. 

1 bunch parsley
1 bunch cilantro
1 handful fresh oregano
8 cloves garlic
1 wedge lemon
1/2 onion
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp black pepper
5/8 tsp

Roughly chop herbs and add to blender or food processor with peeled garlic, chopped onion, salt and pepper.  Squeeze lemon over all and blend while adding oil and vinegar.  Chill for about an hour before serving.  Serves 6-8.


Getting ready for the blender dance.
Helping Uncle Ben put the chimichuri in a bowl for the fridge.
Two words:  Yum! Yum!
Chris and Dana, friends, meal collaborators and photographers, seen here with the wine: A red with Susana in its name and a white by Quattro Mani.  Both very good.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Wednesday

I don't read a lot of blogs but I have noticed on some that they pick themes for the days of the week; like meatless Monday or Wordless Wednesday.  I ran across one yesterday that had a Worms for Wednesday theme.   I'm haven't been able to pick one for myself but have several ideas for today.

WOW! Museum Wednesday:
I wish they were both looking at the camera!  Elena especially enjoyed herself there today.

Worm Watching Wednesday:
Can you see the big fat worm by Addy's hand? We rescued it from the sidewalk during our bike ride/jog this morning.

Or perhaps Whole Wheat Wednesday:

We made a really tasty whole wheat corn bread last night.  I put the dry ingredients together and got the pan ready while the girls napped.  After nap we had a play date and returned home just in time for Addy to crack a couple of eggs and stir in the milk and butter. 


I love sweet moist cornbread and have always made it with white flour.  I tried this recipe yesterday though and was completely surprised at how well it turned out. It was still light and moist even with whole wheat flour and fairly coarse stone ground corn meal.  Chad didn't ask if it was different and both of the girls ate it right up.  There are a couple variations on the recipe. I used melted butter, regular milk and brown sugar. 

Monday, May 23, 2011

Juggling with Kids

I think I should rename my blog.  It isn't just Addy anymore and we are up to a lot more than cooking these days.  Although cooking does factor into our days quite frequently.

Addy woke up Saturday morning asking to have all of her preschool classmates over plus several other friends.  Unable to pull off such a party at short notice I attempted to pacify her with a long family walk, Home Depot and Taco Bell (!) with Daddy, and an after nap trip to the Butterfly Pavilion.

Not to be dissuaded, Sunday morning, she awoke with the same request.  I put her off again with a planned swimming date and an afternoon bike ride.

Ever persistent, I knew what to expect Monday morning.  I emailed a bunch of friends.  We ended up with 8 kids and 5 moms, including us.  As one mom said, "Addy is getting her mega playdate."

Partly in their honor and partly because we didn't eat very many bananas last week we made some mini banana muffins this morning.  Addy and I had just started when Elena woke up from her very short morning nap.  So I popped her in the sling and we continued. 

I took this picture with my phone with Elena in the sling.

We stuffed our incomplete mixture in the fridge while we rode the bike and bike trailer to a La Leche League meeting and had a picnic lunch. We finished them off when we got back.  The muffins turned out just fine despite the rest and the fact that I let Addy measure the sugar completely by herself.
Addy made the muffin on the left for Elena and the one on the right for herself.