the remaking of a kitchen

several weeks ago the local paper ran an article about bagels and included the recipe. today was the designated bagel day and it was fun and they even taste good! don helped with the shaping and the timing of the boiling procedure. we ended up with two dozen bagels and shared some across the street. most of them are plain or water bagels as the woman called them in the article, the others are topped with sesame seeds.
we had some this afternoon with veggie cream cheese and they were really tasty! tomorrow morning will bring more tasting experiences! david requested some when they visited and i told him he can help make them. it's really easy and it's fun.

Labels: bagels, david, water and sesame

another call today with sarah, siena and auntie jewlee. we got to see jewlee's new do which is pretty cute. her allergic reaction is under control and she is looking great! siena was wearing a dress that both sarah and jewlee wore previously and it came from another source to us. i love the history of little dresses!
as we were finishing up the call david came in with melinda so we were able to meet her, and david mentioned bagels which leads into the next post!

Labels: auntie jewlee, david, melinda, sarah and siena

i feel incredibly lucky that we can communicate this way. it makes the miles just disappear for awhile! how lovely.




it was a fun conversation with siena smiling away and relating to us long distance. sarah's new do is pretty cute too! it warms my heart to see the love between the two of them.....very special.



we've had two skype calls in the past couple of days. always lots of fun. siena had to show how she could drink from her sippie cup. sarah said she decided to try it and filled the cup with water. when she handed it to siena she took it in one hand then grabbed the second handle with her other hand tipped it up and started to drink. guess she'd been watching people drink from their cups and knew the scoop! she didn't protest that it was water just went at it. what a smartie!

Labels: sarah and siena, sippie cup, skype

the procedure was to start out cooking on top of the stove and then move the pan into the oven. the stew was removed to add the potatoes and then back to the oven for a bit. the finishing was done on top of the stove. we enjoyed it with a tossed salad and one of bittman's baguettes. it was all pretty tasty!




patrick gave me a subscription to cook's illustrated magazine as a gift and i've enjoyed reading all the details on the how and why of making a perfect whatever as directed in the recipes. i'd made a grocery trip earlier this week to get the ingredients and decided today was the day to try their beef stew.
it had a lot of steps, but after reading the trials and errors on the way to perfection i began to appreciate their efforts. it called for chuck blade roast and one of the details was removing the fat and the membrane and it took longer than i expected.
the rest of the ingredients were carrots, onions, potatoes and some other unusual things that i believe made for a better stew. i spent quite a bit of time on it, and of course watching the play offs at the same time added to the enjoyment.

Labels: beef stew, cook's, patrick

oh yay! a skype call certainly brightens a day!
it was such fun for don and i to talk to siena and sarah again.....and david too as he walked in from cooking dinner. siena was very interested in the computer cords which needed to be moved out of her reach. she is very curious and thinks that everything is good to chew....probably not the cords. poor baby. :)
she is trying new foods each day and seems to be enjoying them immensely. at the last pediatrician visit she weighed 17lb 8oz, the same as sarah at a year....she's 27 inches tall. did i mention she is adorable and the happiest little girl. we played long distance peek-a-boo and she was giggling. i do love to hear babies giggle. it is absolutely contagious.
we love skype calls!! :)

Labels: david, giggles, sarah and siena, skype

in preparation for the family visiting we obtained an exersaucer. it was delivered and set up and then picked up after they left. very nice.
siena had a blast learning to use it and kept herself and rest of us very amused. she has one at home, but this one was quite different. she started slow, but as the days passed she was able to conquer most of the options and had a great time. she was able to bounce and turn and make noises. we laughed as she began to extend her arms so she could make noise with one hand and make things move with the other. what a girl!!

Labels: exersaucer, movement, noise, siena