Vacation Photo Dump: Part I

We enjoyed a wonderful week in Northern Michigan during the last week in August. It was a simply perfect week where Paul and I were able to completely unplug from all computers, cell phones, and any other form of technology and get lost in exploring areas both new and old.

My parents were generous enough to watch Matthew for us while we took Emma on the trip with us. We all agreed that Matthew would have a much more enjoyable time being spoiled by his grandparents then traveling with us. The trip was also a lot less work with just one kiddo in tow and it was kind of nice to spend some quality alone time with little Emma Rosie.

Ready to board the Star Line ferry

Looking a little nervous about her first ferry trip. Never fear, Emma! You will love it!

The first day, we drove straight up to Mackinaw City where we boarded the ferry to head over to Mackinac Island. Paul and I honeymooned on Mackinac Island and we absolutely loved the quaint, charming, peaceful atmosphere. It's a great place to relax, unwind, and enjoy one another's company. Not to mention, the views are absolutely stunning! The ferry ride over was so beautiful. The water was incredibly blue, the sun was shining, and the wind in our faces was surprisingly refreshing. Baby Emma loved the ferry ride. Crazy kid.

Loving the wind in her face. In addition to making the baby happy, the wind also gives Mom a nifty hairstyle!

We're here!

Emma was fascinated with all the horses on the island. Every time she would hear one trotting nearby,
\she would whip around wildly in an attempt to get a good look!

Immediately upon arriving, we began to explore downtown Mackinac. We bought Matthew a little souvenir within the first 10 minutes because we already missed him! It was a cute little ceramic turtle that we found in a tiny antique store. Paul saw it first and immediately thought of Matthew. After that brief stint of parental guilt, we grabbed our first couple bites of fudge, enjoyed a wonderful apple-brie flatbread at the Pink Pony patio for a snack, and then headed out for a long walk around the perimeter of the island. We were just so gosh darn happy to be back in the place where we spent the first blissful week of our married life. We began thinking and reminiscing about how much has happened since that time. We now are no longer just "we two" but rather a foursome, a teeny little family with our little son and daughter (and two angels in heaven)! We held hands tightly, silently thanking God for all his blessings...just too many to count!

About 8 1/2 miles later, we headed over to The Inn at Stonecliffe to check into our room for the night. We stayed in a suite at Stonecliffe during our honeymoon and enjoyed the location so much that we decided to stay there again but this time we rented a room in the mansion itself. The mansion is located up on the bluff, a brief 2 mile walk from downtown. It is ensconced in the woods and feels very remote and private. Being up on the bluff provides a beautiful picturesque view of Lake Huron and the Mackinac Bridge. Our room was clean and cozy, but a bit warm because there is no air conditioning. It really did not bother me or Emma, but poor Paul was dying. He immediately took a long, cold shower in order to cool down from our long hike. Emma and I enjoyed the grounds and the view while waiting for him to recover.

Emma was not too sure she liked those waves.

We dined that evening on the Stonecliffe patio (they have an awesome restaurant operating out of the mansion kitchen) and enjoyed our first taste of Beef Wellington (delicious!) as the sun set in the distance. The evening would have been absolutely perfect except for the fact that Emma started making some really obnoxious grunting noises in the middle of dinner service. Luckily, the other two couples dining outside found the situation and our vain attempts at quieting her (it only made her grunt and squeal louder than a pig at a 4-H fair) to be fairly amusing.

Atop an old revolutionary-era cannon at British Landing

Having a really hard time trying to get her to smile.

Why so serious, Emma?

She will ALWAYS smile for her Daddy!

Except when I'm trying to get a picture of them smiling together!

After dinner, Emma was still a bit fussy, so we decided to take her for a walk through the woods. It was already pretty dark, but it was kind of fun to be wandering around at night. We headed into town and grabbed some more fudge for dessert (naturally) and a bottle of blackberry wine to enjoy later. By the time we made it back to our room, Emma was asleep for the night. It was a perfect first day.

The BEST German Rye Bread

My husband is very proud of his German heritage. In fact, he is so proud of it that you would think he was fresh off the boat at Ellis Island with fond memories of the motherland dancing through his homesick mind. As much as I love to tease him, I think it is wonderful that he has such an interest in his family origins and support his desire to learn more about his genealogy. Paul can't wait to travel to Europe again sometime soon and explore the area of Germany from which his family hails. Until that time comes, he has been slowly preparing for the trip by practicing his German using the Rosetta Stone software. Let me tell you...his progress is very slow. Sometimes, judging by the sounds I hear coming from the office, I am unsure whether he is speaking some very garbled German or choking on his snack.

Meine beiden kleinen Deutschen jungens!

One thing my German hubby loves is rye bread. Rye bread particularly made with lots of molasses and no caraway seeds. I have made many versions of rye over the years and normally the process is a bit time consuming because rye flour has very little gluten in comparison to wheat and requires a lot of time to ferment in order to build a structure so you are not left with a homemade brick by the end of the baking process. In the past, I have added some vital wheat gluten to the dough in order to speed up the process and that has worked well. However, the crumb on the bread was still a bit heavier than I would have liked. Some recipes for "rye bread" call for a high amount of white flour with a small addition of rye, but I wanted the rye flavor to be highlighted.

Then I stumbled upon this recipe. It is quick, straightforward, and results in a chewy crusted bread with a soft interior crumb. The molasses flavor is a delicious complement to the rye flour, the true hero of this loaf. Paul took a bite and declared this a "perfect" loaf. It's a keeper.

As a side note, this pairs wonderfully with slices of Kerrygold Swiss, our new favorite cheese!

The Best German Rye Bread
adapted from Simply Recipes

2 tablespoons active dry yeast
2 1/2 cups of warm water
2/3 cup molasses
5 cups bread flour
2 cups rye flour
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil (not extra-virgin)
1/4 cup cocoa powder


In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the molasses and stir to combine. Let the mixture stand for 5 minutes or until very foamy.

Add the salt, oil, cocoa powder, 2 cups of rye flour, and 2 cups of bread flour. Mix well using the paddle attachment. Switch to the dough hook, add in another cup of flour, and begin kneading the dough. Gradually add in up to 2 more cups of flour until the mixture is no longer sticky but still a bit tacky. Knead until smooth and elastic. I actually ended up finishing the kneading process by hand.

Coat a large bowl with a bit of oil. Form the dough into a ball and place in the bowl, turning once to coat with oil. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm place to rise until doubled in size (about 90 minutes).

Punch the dough down and remove from the bowl. Knead a few times on the countertop. Divide the dough evenly in half and form into batards, rounds, or loaf shapes. Place in either a greased 9x5" loaf pan (if making loaves) or onto cornmeal dusted sheets of parchment paper (if forming into batards or rounds). Cover with plastic and allow to rise once more for about 45-60 minutes, or until nearly doubled in size.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the center position. Place a pizza stone on the center rack to preheat with the rest of the oven if you would like to bake your batards or rounds on a stone.

When ready to bake, use a very sharp knife to make several slits across the top of the loaves before immediately placing the bread in the oven. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the bread sounds hollow when tapped and an instant read thermometer inserted into the center of the bread reads above 195 degrees.

Let the loaves cool completely on a wire rack (if the bread was baked in a loaf pan, let cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack before turning out of pans).

Grab-and-Go Soft Oatmeal Bars

I have written many, many times about how my wonderful husband Paul will spend hours researching his latest and greatest engineering projects, updating his profile on Linkedin, or getting caught up on the wisdom of Dave Ramsey but will not devote more than a minute to preparing and eating a healthy breakfast in the morning before heading off to work. He will choose to go hungry (quick oats just are not quick enough for him) until mid-morning by which time he is so famished and fatigued that he begins to scour the halls of work looking for leftover food from the previous afternoon's business meetings, usually in the form of stale pizza. And then he gets a tummy ache and feels awesome for the rest of the day.

Thus, it has become my job as Paul's loving wife to make breakfast so ridiculously accessible and requiring such little effort or work on his part that the next quickest feeding option would be via an intravenous line. Enter these soft oatmeal bars. Reminiscent of the ones you can purchase from the store (but a lot healthier), these bars are quick and easy to make. Once allowed to cool completely, cut them into the size you desire, wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and throw into the freezer for a quick grab-and-go breakfast that even my neanderthalic husband can handle. This recipe is just a basic starting point from which so many variations can be made. Add in some nut butter, try using different nuts and seeds, experiment with various dried fruits, use other sweeteners such as maple syrup and honey...the variations are pretty endless!

These are husband approved although I am not sure how much that counts because anything tastes better than stale pizza. Paul also wanted me to note that these taste delicious frozen. He would know since I doubt he has the patience to allow them the 20 minutes they need to thaw. Or the 30 seconds they would take to microwave.

Soft Baked Oatmeal Bars
adapted from Kath Eats Real Food

1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup dried blueberries
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1-1/4 cups milk
1 egg, whisked
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir together oats, almonds, blueberries, sunflower seeds, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add milk, egg, and vanilla then stir to combine. Pour mixture into a nonstick-sprayed 8×8 baking dish then bake for 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes our clean.

Cool completely then cut into bars/triangles and store in the refrigerator for 2-3 days, or individually wrap in saran wrap and freeze. Pop in the microwave to reheat.

Seven Quick Takes: Catching Up

"You're not the only one in need of coffee in the morning, MOM!"

It seems like it has been a crazy long time since I have added anything new to this little blog! But there are plenty of reasons for that....we have been traveling like crazy! Here is a quick rundown on some of the random happenings of the past couple weeks.

-1-

We just returned from our vacation to Michigan. The gray hairs I gave myself by fretting about the gloomy weather forecast were completely unnecessary as the weather turned out to be gorgeous for our entire trip. I need to learn to stop putting so much emotion into the weather forecast and just go with it.

-2-

We discovered some really delicious new food combinations on our trip. Paul and I were dorks and took notes on the various components so we can try to recreate the dishes at home. One of my favorite appetizers was a flatbread covered with brie, candied walnuts, thinly sliced apples, arugula, and honey. Delicious! Oh, and Paul had a dish with goat cheese - and LIKED IT! It was a beet salad with whipped goat cheese and an ice wine gastrique. That dish is also on the "must try soon" list.

-3-

We definitely had eggs and toast for dinner two nights in a row after returning from vacation. That's what you get for cleaning out the refrigerator before leaving and not feeling quite up to grocery shopping after returning.

-4-

I think Matthew is completely potty trained! I'm still keeping my fingers crossed, but we have had no accidents. Last Saturday, Paul and I woke up bright and early to the sound of Matthew rushing into the bathroom down the hall and using it. Paul grabbed my hand and whispered: "Isn't that wonderful?" I squeezed his hand excitedly back before stopping to think about how much our perspective of what defines "wonderful" has changed since we became parents.

-5-

Speaking of Matthew, at a restaurant the other night, Paul and I were deep in conversation and unwisely ignoring Matthew (I thought he was happily munching away). In the two minutes we were completely preoccupied, he unscrewed the salt shaker, opened several sugar packets, and poured them into the shaker because "we need more salt."

*Facepalm*

-6-

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of attending my college roommate's bridal shower. It was such a lovely afternoon filled with great food and conversation. Her family was so welcoming and it was such a pleasure to be included in the occasion. I'm really looking forward to their wedding in October! Baby Emma made friends with my roommate's nephew who is 8 months older. They shared a moment on the floor where they spent a bit of time exploring one another's feet. Too cute!

-7-

The downside of all that driving over the past couples weeks: displaced ribs. My have three ribs on my right side that have completely slid out of place causing me a lot of pain, discomfort and bruising. Unfortunately, there does not appear to be any short term fix to this problem. Just a lot of physical therapy, rest, and probably a new mattress for our bed.

Baby Emma looks rightfully worried to have Matthew hovering above her. 

Starting tomorrow, I should be getting back into a regular blogging groove with more pictures and recipes. In the meantime, please head on over to Conversion Diary to check out more quick takes!

Campanelle with Fresh Corn and Pistachio Pesto

The main reason I had children was so they could one day shuck my corn for me...

And don't worry. Despite the serious expression of his face, he really enjoys this little chore. It might take him all afternoon, but at least he is sitting still and quietly (with determination) doing something productive.

That corn he is shucking went into this delicious pasta we made for dinner. Now, I have been making a variation of this pasta for about 4 years now. The original recipe comes from an issue of Bon Appetite that I had seen while perusing the magazine stands while waiting in line at the grocery store. The unique corn pesto immediately caught my eye because it sounded like such a great idea. Paired with bacon, basil, and Parmesan cheese, this dish was sure to be a winner! The only issue I had with it is that the pine nuts are so darn expensive. I know that they are the traditional nut used to make pesto, but I thought maybe I could bring down the cost of this recipe by using another nut - and pistachios seemed ideal to me. They are slightly sweet with a mild enough flavor that would not overwhelm the pesto and scream "pistachio flavor." Rather, they would serve to complement all the other components of the finished dish.

And boy did they ever. Paul could not stop eating this pasta and Matthew was a big fan as well. It may or may not have had something to do with the bacon, but Paul declared that the pistachios made the pesto really sing.

If this sounds weird to you, just trust me. This dish is amazing. I look forward to making this every year and it will continue to be part of our summer lineup.

Campanelle with Fresh Corn and Pistachio Pesto
adapted from Bon Appetite Magazine

Note: Toss the pesto with as much pasta as you want. In the past, I have used only about 8 ounces of pasta for this recipe, but I spread it out among 16 ounces of pasta this past time and it still was awesome (especially with a lot of extra Parmesan added!).

6 slices bacon, preferably thick-sliced
6 cups fresh cut-from-the-cob sweet corn
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/3 cup roasted, salted shelled pistachios
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
8-16 ounces campanelle pasta
3/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Cut each bacon slice in half length-wise, then crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces.  Cook in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp and brown, then transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.  Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of the fat.

Add the corn, garlic, salt and pepper to the skillet, and saute until the corn is just tender, but not brown, 3-5 minutes.  Transfer 1 1/2 cups of the corn to a small bowl and reserve.  Transfer the rest to a food processor, and add the pistachios and 1/2 cup of Parmesan.  Pulse to blend the mixture until fairly smooth, stopping to scrape down the bowl as necessary. With the machine running, slowly stream the oil through the feed tube and blend until pesto is almost smooth, scraping down as needed.  Set aside.

Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and pasta and give it a stir. Cook pasta until just a bit firm to the bite (not quite as done as you would want it).  Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the pasta water and drain the pasta.  Return pasta to the pot and add the pesto, reserved corn kernels, reserved bacon, and 1/2 cup fresh herbs.  Toss well and add pasta water 1/4 cup at a time until the desired consistency is reached (I usually end up adding about 1/2 cup).  Cook an additional 2-3 minutes, or until pasta is cooked through.  Taste, and season with additional salt and pepper as needed.

Summer Corn Chowder

Sweet corn season will be over before we know it! I have eaten my fair share of summer corn and I am sure going to miss it when I will have to resort to the frozen packs of corn during the winter. One of the best ways to use fresh sweet corn is in a fresh summer chowder. This can be made vegetarian by omitting the bacon and instead cooking the corn and onion in a bit of butter over medium heat although Paul would balk if I EVER were to make this without the bacon. In fact, when we made this for dinner last week, he actually came home and fried a couple extra pieces so his bowl could have some "extra garnish." Matthew, who has inherited his father's deep passion for all things bacon, was certainly singing Paul's praises as he fried up the extra pork fat.

With or without bacon, the corn is truly the star of this chowder. Pureeing a couple cans of corn with a little chicken broth helps lend a smooth consistency to the soup without having to resort to adding extra cream and drowning out the corn flavor. Serve with a side of corn bread or hot buttered rolls for dipping!

Fresh Corn Chowder
adapted from Cook's Country

6 large ears of corn
2 (15 ounce) cans whole kernel corn, drained
5 cups chicken broth
3 slices of bacon, chopped fine
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 pound red potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 cup heavy cream or half/half
4 scallions, thinly sliced

Cut the kernels from the ears of corn and reserve kernels and cobs separately. Puree the canned corn and 2 cups of broth in a blender until completely smooth. Set aside.

Cook the bacon in a dutch oven over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a paper towel lined plate and set aside. Cook the onion, corn kernels, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in bacon fat until vegetables are softened and golden brown.

Add the potatoes, corn puree, remaining broth, and reserved corn cobs to dutch oven and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are tender (about 15 minutes). Discard cobs and stir in cream, scallions, and reserved bacon. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve!

7 Quick Takes: The Week in Review

Linking up with Jen for 7 Quick Takes Friday! This has certainly been a busy week in anticipation of our upcoming vacation. In fact, I should be packing right now but instead am choosing to blog because I hate packing. Here is a quick rundown of a couple highlights from this past week!

-1-

We took Matthew to see some trains at a local railway museum. They had an actual steam engine circa 1910 running on the tracks and we foolishly thought he would love to see it since he talks pretty much nonstop about Thomas the Train. However, the loud noises the steam engine made proved to be too much for him and he was pretty much terrified and begging to go home the whole time. Since we had taken a bit of a drive to get to the museum, we forced him to at least walk through the whole thing although he insisted that Paul hold him the entire time. He could not wait to get back into the car, although he did declare during the drive home: "I had fun at the train station!" 

Whatever.

-2-

Baby Emma has been rolling around a ton and scooting herself forward using her back feet. I don't think she really has a lot of control over these movements because she will randomly face plant and then have a bit of trouble recovering (she usually ends up wailing in frustration until someone comes to "rescue" her by flipping her back over). However, I do think it will only be a matter of time before she starts crawling. She spends a lot of time analyzing her big brother (who never stops moving) and I get the impression she is just itching to join him in his shenanigans. For now, I am enjoying her lack of mobility before I have two crazy children flying off the walls.

-3-

I am getting SO EXCITED because our trip to revisit our honeymoon location for our five year anniversary is in just a few days! However, I have been keeping an eye on the weather forecast and it looks like it will be raining the whole time! Selfish as it sounds, I have been praying like mad that the weather will clear up while we are there because Paul and I both get headaches from rain and persistent cloudiness. I really want this to be a great trip...and it should be because we'll be spending uninterrupted time together. But still. A little sunshine would be nice.

-4-

Matthew discovered that Baby Emma is not yet ready to catch a football. He had been tossing his football around while I cleaned up the bedroom. Suddenly, I heard him say: "Here Baby Emma, catch!" Before I could react, he beamed her in the forehead with the football. She just blinked a few times, obviously stunned. I flipped out a bit and asked Matthew since Baby Emma cannot walk, talk, feed herself, dress herself, or hold herself up why in heaven's name did he think she would be able to catch a football? 

His reply: "She has fingers."

-5-

On an episode of Sesame Street this week, Ricky Gervais was the guest star. I had to turn it off. I have major problems with crass, immoral celebrities being featured on children's shows. Nevermind the whole Elmo fiasco. I'll get off my tiny little soapbox now.

-6-

This week, Matthew and I have been baking up a storm in preparation for the bridal shower of my college roomie. Since we picked a gazillion blueberries last weekend, almost everything features blueberries - muffins, quickbreads, and scones. We also made a peach bread, an experimental loaf of banana bread, and a couple different roll recipes. I am done baking for a couple weeks and my freezer is STUFFED (and so is Matthew...goodness gracious that child can eat his weight in baked goods!).

-7-

Our washing machine has been broken for the last two weeks. This has been totally annoying. Several visits from the repairman and trips to the laundromat later, today it will finally be fixed! Luckily, Matthew has not had any accidents over this past week. Emma on the other hand is running out of clothes...

Head on over to Jen for more exciting Quick Takes!