by Sarah | Jul 5, 2011 | All About Denver, All About Erik, All About Home, All About Kennedy, All About Me, All About Molly, Random
[flickr id=”5502918424″ thumbnail=”small” overlay=”true” size=”small” group=”” align=”left”] Brandon left on Sunday.
Boy Scout camp for a full week.
Riley & Angel left this afternoon.
Gone to their grandparents for 2 days.
Archie leaves in the morning.
Off to work. Then to Family Night at Scout camp. Then work the next day.
The house is empty, save for me.
I sit in silence.
I will most likely be cleaning – something I always do when left alone.
During the in-between I will sit and soak up the silence.
Stuck between content and disturbed.
Normally chaos and noise fill this house.
The silence is disconcerting.
But rare enough that I will take some time to enjoy it.
I have a stack of books to read. Trying to meet my 50 books read in 2011 goal (15 read, several partially read).
I have 6 rooms that all need cleaning – one that needs a splash of paint on the trim.
I will complete what I can.
And enjoy some time off.
by Sarah | Jun 16, 2011 | All About Family, All About Home, All of Us, Community, Random
Last week I got a last second request to go to my brothers house to babysit my two youngest nephews. I left my riot-act at home and hightailed it over to his place. His house is about 2.5 times bigger than ours. Open, spacious, uncluttered.
By the time I got there one nephew was in bed. Two hours later the other went down.
The house was quiet.
It was a Friday night, 9PM.
I stepped out onto their front porch to relax in some of the beautiful night air…
And silence.
No kids running around screaming.
No neighbors calling hello.
Going to each others houses.
Sharing a drink.
A laugh.
Conversation.
Silence.
I thought about my neighborhood and how at about that time all the neighbors would be out doing all of those things. The kids would be playing, racing bikes, running and screaming.
And once again I remembered.
How lucky I am.
Our house is too small.
Overcrowded.
Definitely over-cluttered.
But our neighborhood.
It’s special.
And there’s no place else I would rather be.
by Sarah | Jun 14, 2011 | All About Home, All About Me, Random
Most of my baking craziness comes out in December when I make hundreds upon hundreds of cookies that my family could never possibly eat all of.
In the fall I go crazy with the bread baking.
The summer doesn’t usually lend to a lot of baking. The heat of the stove on top of the heat of weather just doesn’t lend to enthusiasm toward baking.
Some days you just need to.
I wanted to make cupcakes. Something beyond boring simple cake.
Out of that craving came these. Delicious. Moist. Flavorful. Yum.
Pink Lemonade Cupcakes with Fresh Strawberry Buttercream Frosting.
Make them.
You won’t regret it.
Recipe: Pink Lemonade Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 2 3/4 c. Flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 c shortening
- 1 1/2 c granulated sugar
- 5 egg whites
- 2 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 3/4 c milk
- 1/2 c pink lemonade concentrate
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350
- Mix flour, salt, & baking powder (I always sift mine together into a separate bowl).
- In stand mixer beat shortening until it starts to fluff then very gradually add sugar, mixing well between additions.
- Beat for 2 minutes on medium speed.
- Add egg whites 1 at a time.
- Beat in vanilla.
- On low speed add in dry ingredients, lemonade and milk in alternating additions (about 1/3 or 1/4 at a time). Mix until just blended.
- Divide batter among baking cups, filling about 2/3 full.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes.
- Remove and cool on cooling racks.
- Makes 24 cupcakes
Preparation time: 20 minute(s)
Cooking time: 20 minute(s)
Recipe: Fresh Strawberry Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 c. Cut Strawberries
- 3 Tbs Granulated Sugar
- 1 1/2 Sticks Butter (room temp)
- 1/2 c. Heavy Cream
- 2 c. Powdered Sugar
Instructions
- Prepare strawberry coulis: Strawberries & granulated sugar in saucepan and cook until juices begin to release. Cool then blend in food processor or blender.
- In mixer, whip butter until it starts to fluff, add coulis and then heavy cream.
- Add in sugar until frosting reaches desired consistency.
Quick notes
I didn’t have heavy cream, so I used 1/4 c. milk. Frosting is still delicious & fluffy, but it would definitely improve with heavy whipping cream.
by Sarah | Dec 26, 2010 | All About Kennedy, Holidays
All taken w/ Canon Rebel XTi.
For week 12/19-12/25/10
With Angel in the hospital half the week, and dealing with her procedures and at home care I haven’t had a TON of time to take pictures…but I managed to get a few. Not Christmas morning, though…I was content to sit back and watch the action…just happy to have my family all together at HOME instead of in the hospital.
No Touch
Not that it was a problem…she wanted nothing to do with that IV…
‘Boost’ing Our Health
Tired Already
The View
Saved by the Droid
‘Twas the Night
Papa reading to (almost) all the grandkids. Even the oldest listened in
Digging in
Sweet?
See more of my photos over at my flickr account.
That’s all for this week. Head on over to Lotus‘ digs to see more!!
by Sarah | Dec 24, 2010 | All About Kennedy, Cystic Fibrosis, Holidays
I hope your cookies are sweet.
Your trees are beautiful.
Your families are together.
That joy fills your day and your spirit.
We are home.
Our family is together.
And that, in the end, is all that matters.
by Sarah | Dec 18, 2010 | Holidays
I have made a LOT of cookies in my 30+ years. I’ve tasted even more.
When it comes to cutouts, it’s tricky. Too much sugar and it’s just a sugar cookie – too little and they are way too dry.
I used to think my Mom’s were the best…but they always required a ton of frosting to counteract the dryness of the cookie (sorry, Mom) – I stopped making them when I got married and moved out. My aunt’s Christmas cookies, while good – were just never right either (and it’s been so long I can’t remember why).
I tried several recipes in the 8 years I’ve been married – and for the past 3 years I’ve stuck with these. I stumbled on the recipe when I was looking for Polish cookies – and that’s what these were called. BUT, the recipe called for Anise (*gag* *hurl* Blech)…and I was definitely not down with that. So I adapted the cookies to a flavor that was much better.
Let me tell you, this is the easiest dough I have ever worked with and the flavor, when done as I adapted it, is PHENOMENAL.
****
The Best Sugar Cutouts
1c. Butter
1c. Shortening
2c. Sugar
5 Large Eggs
7c. Flour
2Tbs. Baking Powder
1/2tsp. Salt
1/2oz. Almond Extract (original recipe called for Anise, this substitution makes deliciousness)
- Cream the Butter, Sugar and Shortening until smooth and fluffy
- Stir in the eggs one at a time until incorporated
- Add almond
- Mix in the first 6 cups of flour
- From here it’s by sight/feel. Add in flour until you get a moist batter. It should seem too sticky to roll, but solid enough to hold together.
- Chill the dough for at least 2 hours. Preferably overnight.
- Once thoroughly chilled, the dough is a dream to work with. Take off a handful and put the remainder back in the fridge while you roll it out for cutting.
- Place a hunk on a floured surface and roll out for cutting (about 1/8″ thick).
- Bake for 12-15 minutes in a 350* oven.
- Frost with frosting of your choice. I love a good buttercream w/ a touch of corn syrup for shine.
- Decorate all out for your holiday fun (and for Santa’s plate).
And that’s it! The strong almond flavor gives and added touch of yum. The cookies are moist enough that you could eat them plain…but really, who wants to? Frosting is 98% of why we eat the cookies, after all…right?
I hope you enjoy them if you try them. My search for the perfect cutout has finally come to a sweet and delicious end!!
