Snowball Cookies

On Friday, on the way to pick up the clever girl from preschool, I remembered that her "graduation" was Saturday and I had volunteered to bring cookies to the subsequent open house.  Of course at that time I was on the way HOME from the grocery store, so I would need to make cookies with ingredients I had on hand.  That is not generally a problem.  But then when I picked up the clever girl and asked her what kind of cookies we should make, she told me that someone already brought in chocolate chip cookies for the open house.  Hmmm.  My "go-to" cookies are chocolate chip or brownies.  But if someone else was bringing chocolate chip, maybe I should try for something without chocolate.  GASP!  What?  A COOKIE with no CHOCOLATE?  Oh, boy.

Maybe we should make peanut butter cookies?  No, we have no roasted peanuts.
Maybe we should make oatmeal cookies?  No, not in the mood.
To my folder of favorite recipes I went - and found SNOWBALL cookies!  Yahoo!  This will do the trick.

Baby Overalls

I originally knit these baby overalls while I was pregnant with the clever girl, over 5 years ago.  So I apologize that I don't remember all of the details of the knitting process...  The pattern is from the book Easy Baby Knits by Claire Montgomerie. 

The pattern calls for an aran weight yarn, and I used Baby Cashmerino, by Debbie Bliss, so I had to do all sorts of math to get the sizing and gauge right.  It would certainly be easier (and faster) in the aran weight yarn, but Baby Cashmerino is so wonderful and I happened to have it in my stash at the time!  The pattern calls for snap tape for the bottom (or to just knit the bottom together but I find that to be terribly inconvenient for diaper changing purposes).  The only snap tape I found had tiny little snaps that didn't actually stick together very well, so I ended up sewing snaps onto pieces of grosgrain ribbon, and sewing those onto the outfit instead of the snap tape.  Much more secure! 

It is so rewarding to see my kiddos in clothes I made, and doubly so that they can both wear some of them!  This won't continue for long, as the clever girl's clothes eventually got more "girlie", but I'll enjoy it while I can! 

TWD: Baking with Julia - Fresh Rhubarb Upside Down Cake

Our recipe this week for Tuesday's with Dorie was Fresh Rhubarb Upside Down Cake.  It was actually supposed to be baby-cakes, as in individual 4-inch cakes, but the recipe also provided instructions for making one big cake so that is the route I took.

My only challenge with this recipe was in locating the rhubarb.  Four weeks ago today, the clever baby was born via an emergency c-section (all is well, no worries) and I was told that I could not drive for at least 4 weeks.  My parents came in town to help and then my in-laws came (they leave today - boo!)  I didn't want to ask my in-laws to drive all over town searching for this illusive ingredient.  The grocery store closest to my house is crummy, and they certainly did not have fresh rhubarb.  My in-laws checked another grocery store of the same chain and had no luck there either.  Luckily, Mr. Clever Mom works near a gourmet grocery store so I begged him to stop by on the way home and of course, this particular store had rhubarb!  Yippee!  This recovery is so hard, mostly in a mental way, as I am used to being able to do things like, say, drive, lift things, exercise, etc.  Ugh.  But I am listening to my doctor and obeying the rules.  The last thing I want is to set myself backwards!  And happily, I have had lots of help.  So enough moaning and lets get on to the recipe!

A Baby Bolero...

We woke up to chilly weather today!  It is in the low 50's and let me tell you, in Houston, Texas, in May, that is downright crazy.  Practically freezing!  I LOVE it!  I am a huge fan of cool weather (I know, I live in the wrong place for that) so I was thrilled to wake up to this cool air this morning.  And it meant that I could pull out this super cute Baby Bolero that I knit for the clever girl back when she was a wee one.  Now the clever baby gets to give it a go!   He is also wearing a long sleeved onesie that I dyed orange when I made the snuggle blankets.  I think he looks quite dapper, don't you?

The pattern for the Baby Bolero can be found in the book "One Skein" by Leigh Radford.  It is a super fast knit and truly only needs one skein of worsted weight yarn (unless I guess your skein is super tiny or something).  I have actually made this bolero before using two different colors, making the sleeves and trim one color and the body another.  If you need a quick project for a gift or for your own baby, check this out.

There is this sweet eyelet detail on the back of the sweater, too.  It is supposedly an Arabic symbol for protection.  I don't know if it is or not, but I like the idea!  Babies certainly need protecting, don't they?  My sweet clever baby is all wrapped up, cradled in his grandma's protective arms.  What could be better?

TWD: Baking with Julia - Chocolate Truffle Tart

Happy Birthday to me, happy birthday to me...  For my birthday, I made the Chocolate Truffle Tart from Baking with Julia.  My Tuesday's with Dorie group schedules recipes for the first and third Tuesday of each month.  If there happens to be a FIFTH Tuesday (like today), we can do a recipe we missed, repeat a recipe, do nothing, whatever we choose.  I only have a couple of recipes left that I missed (baked before I joined the group) so I decided to bake one of those.  And lucky for me, it ended up being Chocolate Truffle Tarts!  Yahoo! 

My birthday was actually in late March, but I planned ahead for this post since I knew I'd have a newborn baby in my home sometime in April and may not be up to baking much.  And really, who can say no to a birthday cake like this?  Not me!

This recipe is delicious!  Yum.  A perfect chocolate-y treat if you love chocolate.  If you don't, you will want to pass this recipe right on by!

Deep Dish Ham Quiche

My family enjoys quiche.  I figure anything made in a pie shell is good, and since the clever girl agrees that makes dinner easier at times!  This is the Deep Dish Ham Quiche by Tyler Florence.  It is different than my normal quiche, in that this one is almost custard-like on the inside, with a smooth velvety texture.  YUM.  Since it is deep dish, you get lots of that yummy velvety stuff.  Plus, unlike most quiches, it does not contain any cheese.  Different, huh?  Oh, and it includes caramelized onions.  Is there anything that isn't made better with caramelized onions?  Well, in the savory food category, anyway?  I do think caramelized onion ice cream would be dreadful, but in savory items, it is ALL GOOD.  I wouldn't say this is a HEALTHY recipe, but every so often you just have to dive in and go all the way with food.   I did try to make it a "little" healthier but it is what it is.

Deep-Dish Ham Quiche

adapted from Tyler Florence, Food Network

1 pastry shell - I use this recipe but you could use a store-bought one as well!
Filling:
3 tablespoons extra-virgin-olive oil
2 large Vidalia onions, sliced
3/4 pound smoked ham, cubed
8 large eggs
1 quart heavy cream (! used 2 cups 2% milk and 2 cups heavy cream)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Roll your pastry/pie crust into a 14-inch circle about 1/4 inch thick.  Carefully place the dough into a 9-inch springform pan and press the dough firmly onto the bottom and the sides so it fits tightly.  Place the springform pan on a cookie sheet so it is easier to move in and out of the oven.  Your oven will thank you if there are any leaks, plus the quiche is pretty heavy so the cookie sheet helps there, too.

To make the filling:

Heat a skillet over medium-low heat.  Coat the pan with oil and add the onions.  Allow to slowly cook, stirring, until they caramelize and release their natural sugars.  Add a few tablespoons of water to help the onions break down if you need to.  This can take 30 minutes to an hour, so you could do this in advance if you prefer.  Once the onions are nice and caramelized, add the ham and cook, stirring, for about 10 minutes to get some color in the ham.  Remove from the heat.  

Preheat oven to 375F.  In a large bowl, beat the eggs until frothy.  Add the cream/milk, season with salt and pepper.  Arrange the caramelized onions and ham over the bottom of the crust and carefully pour in the cream/egg mixture.  The filling should be about 1 inch from the top of the pan.  Cover loosely with foil and bake for 1 1/2 hours.  Remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes, or until the quiche is set, puffy, and jiggles slightly.  Remove to a wire rack and allow to cool for 30 minutes before serving. 

Printable Recipe

This recipe takes a bit more time than your average quiche recipe but I encourage you to give it a try.  It makes a nice dinner and could be a special brunch dish as well.  I like that it is different - more custardy, no cheese...  It really is delicious!

All-in-one-Holiday Bundt Cake

Yes, this recipe does conger up thoughts of Thanksgiving and Christmas, however a good bundt cake can really be served any time.  And this is one great bundt cake.  So I challenge you to think outside the "holiday season" with this recipe and make it anytime.  It is so good, why only have it during one season??

I recently made this cake for a friend's retirement party.  I didn't actually intend for it to be a cake for the party, though it did turn out that way.  I just wanted to bake my friend and her husband a cake to celebrate her retirement!  This is a friend that I used to work with, back in the day when I was a federal law enforcement officer.  I know, it is hard to believe!  I am so proud of my friend, as there are not many female agents in general, and VERY FEW that I admire as much as this friend.  She was a true mentor and role model for me.  She helped me to be a great agent and I taught her to knit!  Ha!  That was a scream.  Anyway, I was thrilled to attend her retirement party and I am so happy for her to be starting this whole new chapter in her life.

Her husband liked this cake so much he evidently would get this glazed look in his eye and would not stop talking about it!  So I gave my friend the recipe and she made it for him again!  

I honestly decided to make this cake for my friend the morning of her retirement lunch.  It was a spur of the moment decision.  That is how easy this cake is.  Just throw it together and jump into the shower.  It will be ready around the same time you are all dressed and ready to go.