End-of-the-Summer Pool Party

I can't believe how fast the summer has gone by. Nathan and Leah started school yesterday and Malinda, Eve and Joshua start school on Monday.

Today was our playgroup's end-of-the-summer pool party and potluck. We had an ABC potluck, which is where the letters A-Z are put into a bowl and letter or two are pulled out and given to each family who is planning to attend. We got Z and C. I didn't have time to make two separate dishes, although I had some really good plans for what to make with those letters. Instead I combined the letters and made Cheesy Zucchini Wedges It was super simple and very yummy.

Here's a picture of Joshua at the pool. (Thanks Britney! Your camera is awesome!) The sun was in his eyes so that's the reason for the funny smile. A great time was had by all!

Baked Ziti

recipe from my friend Tobreth Hansen

This takes about 40 minutes start to finish and only one pot!!

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes (I use 1/2 teaspoon but the recipe officially calls for less)

6 cloves garlic, pressed or sliced (your preference I have done both but used pressed today)

2 14.5-oz cans stewed tomatoes, pureed in a blender (I have used plain and Italian seasoned and both work okay)

3 cups water

12 oz. tube noodles - I use penne rigate because I like it best

1/2 cup cream

1 oz parmesan (about 1/2 cup if you do not have a scale)

1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped

4 ounces of shredded mozzarella (about 1 cup if you do not have a scale)

Preheat oven to 475.

Heat oil in deep frying pan. When shimmering add garlic. Saute about 30 seconds then add the red chili flakes and saute a few more seconds. Add pureed tomatoes to the pan and reduce to a simmer. Heat for 10-12 minutes. Next, add noodles and 3 cups of water to the pan - set a timer for how long the noodles need. Cover. Turn heat to high until full boil and then turn down to a simmer for remaining time the noodles need. My noodles need about 11 minutes. Remove from heat. Add cream and parmesan and fresh basil. Stir to combine. Top with cheese and bake for 10-12 minutes until golden. I have found Raley's brand cheese burns quickly so needs less time. Costco brand cheese takes about 12 minutes.

Now the cheaty note - if you do not have fresh basil on hand (it is better with fresh but what I made today was not with fresh basil) add a couple teaspoons to the tomatoes when they go in (I never measure this part). Then omit the basil at the very end.

Weight Watchers - 61 points for whole pan. Eat 1/8 for 8 points.

Spiders Beware!

Joshua just saw a spider, but it crawled away and we can't find it. Never fear! Joshua has a plan. He is drawing pictures of things that scare spiders and leaving them around the floor so the spider will be scared and stay away. He also tells me that if the spider crawls onto one of the pictures I can just fold the spider up in it and throw it away. So far we have pictures of...

a mouse

a police officer shooting a spider

a yellow jacket

a picture of a giant and a spider. The giant has an axe and a pokemon and they are causing trouble for the spider.

And finally, the dreaded pillow pet bee.

If you were a spider would you come near?

I've Been Creating the Perfect Berry Buttercream Frosting

I had a Cook's Illustrated kind of weekend. Since Thursday, I've been on a quest to make the perfect berry frosting - something I've wanted to do since I had this divine berry frosting at my favorite bakery in Los Gatos last year. I went there as a special treat on Thursday and it gave me the push I needed to get to work on it.

After reading several recipes I set out to create my own version (or try to recreate the one at "Icing on the Cake."

I tried two methods I found in recipes. One was a recipe from "Sprinkles Cupcakes." It was okay, but I'd seen a lot of recipes like it on blogs and it just didn't have that really good berry kick that I wanted - it was too bland.

Then I tried one that used a berry syrup and a buttercream frosting made with egg yolks that you temper and something didn't go right with that. So I added the syrup to my regular buttercream recipe and that was better, but still not what I was looking for.

By that time I had a really well formed idea of what I wanted to do. I worked on it this morning and by this afternoon I had made the PERFECT berry buttercream frosting!! Now I just can't decide if it should be my secret recipe. I think I'll hang on to it for a little while. Maybe I'll share it a few months from now. I can't wait to make cupcakes tomorrow to put the frosting on. YUM!!

Joshua thinks his name should be spelled...

Joshua has informed us (now that he is learning to read) that his name should have a "w" in it. For the last week he has signed his name Joshuwa -make sense doesn't it? (phonetically anyway)

Leah & Matthew play Siciliano by Bach

Leah and Matthew played this in church on Sunday and it was BEAUTIFUL! This recording of one of their practices doesn't do it justice, especially since the camera was too far away from the flute, but it's still very enjoyable.

Eve's First Make-Up & Makeover

When my girls turn 12, we have a special outing to the department store for a makeover. This is their introduction to wearing make-up. I love it because it's a special time for us and because the girls get great instruction about how to wear make-up in a natural way - not overdone. We got a make-up artist that was so great about pre-teen makeup!! Here's some pictures of it all. Did I mention we had so much fun!?!

She's beautiful with or without make-up, but she looks a bit more grown up with the make-up. Here's the final result...