Apple CRISP!!!!!

There are a few dutch oven gurus in my family so I thought it was time to give it a try.

Not only did I burn it badly but I also forgot to add the sugar. What a great flop! We peeled off the black crust and tried serving it with honey but it could not compete with the S'mores.

I've saved it though and am just hoping someone will eat it for breakfast. The best thing about a flop is it makes the success that much sweeter. The apples are running low but I'm ready to try cornbread or a breakfast casserole.

Flopped

This pita bread literally flopped.  It did not puff up and rise like it should have.  Becca gave me the recipe and she's had great success with it so although this was my first attempt, I confidently doubled it.  Now I have two bags of cracker/pita things, maybe they'll taste good with honey or melted cheese but they are definitely not the pita pockets I had hoped and meal planned for. At first bite one child commented, "these look and taste like cardboard" - great! Well Henry likes to chew on books and things so these will make for good little teething snacks.

I've already consulted with Becca about this flop and she concluded that two things went wrong. #1 I did not add any sugar to the dough which is needed to help activate the yeast when using whole grain flour. #2 I let it sit out way too long on the first rise - we had a frantic clean up for a last minute house showing then I took the kids to The Discovery Gateway museum. I forgot all about my plans to make pitas and my poor dough ended up sitting on the counter for over six hours. We will try it again, but maybe not tomorrow because that is my big day to can the grains.

The worst part about a cooking flop is trying to force yourself to eat it so the ingredients don't go to waste, the best part is finally getting it right - I think the pitas will taste that much better when we do get it. But before we try again I think I'll need to also consult with Suz down in Mexico.

Besides this cooking episode my jeans need a lot of work, the thought of flopping them is tempting but I guess it wouldn't be so if it wasn't a challenge. They are headed to the back burner because time is running out on those Easter dresses.  As for running, it didn't happen today because I woke up to a blizzard.  I'm still sore all over from Saturday's run so snow or no snow it won't be easy to force myself out there even tomorrow but I guess that's what makes it a challenge.      

Keeping the house clean

Last Saturday I went garage saling and bought an 8 man tent, a 5 qt. seasoned dutch oven, an ice cream maker, and a waterproof body glove baby carrier. When I returned home Paul gave me a very concerned look and suggested we have our own garage sale. I admitted I was in denial.

Now that the sign is up the reality of our move is finally sinking in and I am in full force scrubbing walls and starting to pack boxes. It is very difficult to keep everything in order with the kids up and running around. They seem to always "find their fun" digging through the bags and boxes I have labled D.I.


Today was especially hectic because our painter did not show up, we had an Elder's Quorum picnic that Paul was in charge of, and it was Maryanna's birthday. We celebrated her birthday along side breakfast by adding whip cream and candles to french toast. After the singing and unwrapping were through I spent the next hour frantatlically on the phone begging painters to come by and help us out. Meanwhile Paul was picking up moving boxes off Craig's list and then headed over to Toy "R" Us to find the pedal that was missing from Maryanna's new bike. Nobody was watching the kids. They were getting into some over ripe bananas and the mash was all over the kitchen in no time.

I decided they needed a distraction, a confined area, a place they could mess up no problem.....the 8 man tent! That is where they spent the majority of their fun for the day and that is where they will sleep tonight. It was enough entertainment thay I was allowed to clean out kid stuff without them knowing. I'm glad I did because I found one of those over ripe bananas in the bottom of Maryanna's backpack - this move just may generate enough stress to help me drop the excess baby weight.

It is now 12:22 am and I am back to add to this post. At exactly 11:55 pm Paul was downstairs watching the Olympics and packing up books; I was sweeping up the kitchen. Next thing I know there is a whoosing sound and screaming from the backyard. James comes running full force into the house, fast enough to dodge the sprinklers! The other kids weren't so lucky, our poor little birthday girl was soaking wet and disoriented when Paul rescued her. The other two boys were quite concerned about their wet blankies and stuffies. I became concerned about the mess I now had to not only clean up but also dry out. So maybe the 8 man tent was not the best idea but hey.....maybe I won't have to bathe them tomorrow morning.

Never go to the Garden Center on an Empty Stomach

We did not get our garden in until the first week of June. That's o.k. though because UT's spring was unusally cold. Paul worked hard on weeding out our back and preparing the soil. He even arranged for a small wall to be built across the back to create a second terrace that would allow for more crops. This increased our planting space to almost 300 sq feet! This was all I could have wished for - this was my "baby gift" from Paul after Henry was born.

Once the space was prepared I headed to the Garden Center and picked up several plants including zucchini, squash, watermelon, orange peppers, yellow peppers, red pepper, pumpkins, fresh herbs, and several types of tomatos. I even got a few bags of seeds hoping to enjoy some fresh corn, beans, beets, and carrots later in the summer. I was so hungry though that I couldn't resist the little tags that read "asian eggplant" and "armenian cucumbers". I have a thing for ethnic food and my mouth watered and stomach growled as I thought of the delicious spicy fried eggplant I use to eat during the six months I lived in China. I also couldn't help but think of my favorite falafel complete with armenian pickles from Mazza. I grabbed a few of these plants and added it to my cart. I thought "what the heck- I do have the space for it, why not experiment".

It was a great week of the big and little working together when we planted our garden. The girls digged in the garden like it was a massive sandbox. The boys talked to their little seeds and plants like babies and watered them faithfully. They even illustrated little plastic signs where their "babies" rested peacefully. We memorized the scripture D&C 6:33 and talked about the great reward we would enjoy for all our hard work. I repeated the scripture over and over to my children as they began to complain about the weeding. The garden was sure to be all I had hoped it to be.

Unfortunately we have some issues with our soil and apparently there are several hungry birds and rodents around. All that has survived is 4 stalks of corn, a few tomato plants, and a handful of pepper plants. But that is not to say that they are thriving - what is thriving though is one watermelon plant, my asian eggplant, and armenian cucumber! How random! I don't know even how to prepare them, I don't know if anyone will like them let alone eat them. Any ideas? Any recipes? Anybody want some? I've got more than I know how to consume.

In the meantime I have plans for a super compost pile that should solve the problem for next year's crop. Im also glad we didn't invest up to $70,000 on our garden as other families have. Besides the money spent on the soil, plants, and retaining wall, I am only reporting a $20 loss on a pair of light up sandals that Peter thought to "plant". I don't suppose they will yield up any reward but I believe the real reward was the time we enjoyed working together as a family.

Flops

Suz - this one is for you. If I had started blogging in 2006 every other post would have been labled a flop as I made so many mistakes contracting our home remodel. I am full of ideas and a lot of what I attempt does end up as a flop but that is no reason not to try. You actually can learn a lot more from your failures than success. Sometimes I rework them and it turns out better than what I originally anticipated. Sometimes I cry over them, stuff them in a bag and put them high on a shelf. Sometimes I just throw it away to get it out of site and out of mind then feel guilty about time and money wasted ( I guess that is your definintion of an "anti-project").

Pictured here are the unfinished Easter dresses sizes 2 & 3 in a beautiful drapey swiss twill. I started smocking them on our roadtrip early in the fall when I first started feeling morning sickness. I had to put them down. I picked them up again when I started feeling sick with the flu in Feb. I had to put them down. The thought of smocking just makes me feel sick now! Maybe I should sell my pleater on ebay - I just don't know if I'll ever be up for it again. The other is a sweater I started knitting while pregnant with Maryanna. I worked on it a little more while preganant with Clara. I worked on it a little more this pregnancy but just don't have the drive to finish it yet.

Not pictured but worth noting:
-Sourdough start that I couldn't keep alive after three atttempts - threw it away
-Sourdough loaf that turned into a brick - threw it away
-Dozen bagels I forgot to add yeast to - threw them away
-2 dozen bagels I forgot about and burned -threw them away
-rice pudding in the pressure cooker that I forgot to add half the milk - feed it to the kids anyways
-Undercooked Christmas turkey after accidently turning the oven off - put in back in the oven and we ate dessert first then turkey
-Maternity dress that was drafted while pregnant with Peter, cut it out during Maryanna's pregnancy, pieced it together during Clara's pregnancy, set the sleeves in this pregnancy and tried to put the zipper in but since it was on the bias it was way too stretched out over time - I saved the zipper but threw the rest away
-several dead house plants and planted flowers that did not survive my care or lack of care
-Occasional haircuts for Paul and the boys - they just lived with it but still trust me enough to do it.

So there it is Suz. Several of my now public flops. But you're right, it would be just as fun to start photographing and posting about them.