Kiah's Primary talk on Service

Kiah gave a talk in Primary yesterday.  When we got home we recorded it for loved ones to see.  Kiah did such a great job preparing for this talk!  We really are so proud of her.

Trail Mix

So this is what Annalise looked like shortly after I gave her some Trail Mix.  I quickly gave her some meds and snapped a picture.  She was not in a photo shoot mood.  I have no idea what she reacted to.  This girl gets hives way too often!

Thanksgiving

This year for Thanksgiving PeePaw came to visit.  We took the opportunity to head to Branson, MO for some Holiday fun.  We did a ton!  A lot of things wouldn't allow picture taking, or I just didn't take any.


We decided to Ride the Ducks.  We heard lots of one-liners!  Did we ever!  Each of the kids got to drive the boat for a bit.

Each of the kids got a License as well

We also went to the butterfly museum.  It was a lot of fun, and pretty amazing.  They had a  mirror maze too and the kids had a ton of fun in the maze.  It was pretty difficult too!

This butterfly landed on me and took a ride with me for quite some time!  I couldn't believe it.  I even got it off of me a couple times, but it would always come flying back.

That night Chris and I went out on a date.  We ate dinner at Dobyns Dining Room in The Keeter Center at the College of the Ozarks, aka Hard Work U.  It is a really cool idea for a school.  There is no tuition and all the students graduate without debt.  Each student works for the school for 15 hrs/wk as part of their education.  The food was amazing.  I loved it!  After dinner we went to the Titanic Museum.  I didn't get to take a picture because we literally drove-up as they were preparing to close the doors.  They were kind enough to let us sneak in.  We had to kinda hurry through a bit since they were closing-up in 90 min.  It was really neat.  As you enter you are given a passport and travel through the museum as that person.  I was Norah Murphy, 28.  She was a "Spirited lass" from Ireland. I was thought to be escaping an abusive husband.  She was traveling with a Michael McEvoy.  We were 3rd class passengers.  Chris was Mathew Sadlier, 20.  Because I was female, I lived, but my travel companion was not so lucky; neither was Mr. Sadlier.  Neither of their bodies were ever recovered.... or if they were, they were one of the bodies that were never identified.


The museum was a neat experience.  I learned so much.  It was also fun to touch an "iceberg," test how long I could keep my hand in water the same temperature as that night, see how hard it was to walk on a sinking boat.  Not to mention all the  artifacts.  AND the scare of my lifetime, when I ran into, and almost toppled a display case!  I am not sure I have ever hugged and inanimate object so tightly.  It was fun in the end.  I was actually with a museum guide.  We both turned around to walk... I just happened to be close to an exhibit case.  I have no idea how I caught it from falling.  He laughed at me because I just stood there and hugged the thing for a moment.  It still makes my stomach turn a bit to think about.

Wednesday we went to the Fish Hatchery.  The fish hatchery there produces 800,000 trout each year.  We got to feed some of the fish.  we also got to see them ejecting eggs from some fish.  After the Hatchery we went to Silver Dollar City.  It was fun taking Kiah on her first REAL roller coaster.   Eli didn't enjoy it as much.

The kids really enjoyed this ride

We bought this little sailor cap for her when we Rode the Duck.  She wouldn't take it off the entire trip!

Eli fell asleep

While Eli napped, and Kiah was on a ride with PeePaw, Anna collected some leaves.   I kinda wish she had napped!  Notice the binky I tried to bribe her with!

Thursday for Thanksgiving we went to the Dixie Stampede.  We were on the North Pole Team and we won!  It was a ton of food.  Of course we had tons extras cuz the kids didn't eat much.  Kiah constantly surprises me with her memory and observation skills.  As you walk between the parking lot and the building you pass by all the horses and their stalls.  Above their stalls are their names and a little info about each horse.  As we were walking back to our car after the show Kiah noticed that the horses were not in their correct stalls.  The clincher was "Star."  Somehow she knew that the horse in Star's stall was not actually Star.

we enjoyed some popcorn while we watched the pre-show!

Daring Cook: Souffle

 Dave and Linda from Monkeyshines in the Kitchen chose Soufflés as our November 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge! Dave and Linda provided two of their own delicious recipes plus a sinfully decadent chocolate soufflé recipe adapted from Gordon Ramsay’s recipe found at the BBC Good Food website.

So I was kinda excited about making a souffle.  Trying to figure out if all the drama you see on TV and movies was true.  I decided to make 2 souffles.  The first one I made was chocolate.  It came out of the oven and it looked and smelled amazing.  I went to grab my camera, and it wasn't where I thought it was.  It wasn't in the first 3 spots I thought it was.  By the time I found it and got back to take the picture it was too late.  You see, souffles rise with steam, and when the steam is gone, well, so is the souffle...sorta.  It still tasted great, it was just collapsed.  I got a picture of it anyway. 

The second souffle I made was a cheddar souffle.  It was very tasty, although a bit egg-y for me.  Chris seemed to like it, even though he didn't eat much.

I learned a valuable lesson about being prepared.  I worked really hard to be prepared to make the souffle, but I didn't follow through on my preparations to make sure my camera was ready.  Oh well.  At least I did it!

The recipes as I received them:

Chocolate Souffle

Adapted From BBC Good Food Recipe by Gordon Ramsay

Ingredients

FOR THE DISHES

2 Tbsp (30 ml) 1 oz (30g) unsalted butter, for greasing
Cocoa powder or finely grated chocolate

FOR THE CREME PATISSERIE

2 tbsp (30 ml) (18 gm) (2/3 oz) plain (all-purpose) flour
2 tsp (10 gm) (0.35 oz) caster (superfine) sugar (regular sugar is OK)
½ tsp (4½ gm) (0.15 oz) corn starch (aka cornflour)
1 medium egg yolk
1 medium whole egg
4 Tbsp (60 ml) milk
5 Tbsp (75 ml) heavy cream (or double cream)
3 oz (90gm) good-quality dark chocolate preferably 70+% cocoa solids, broken in pieces
2 Tbsp (30 ml) (15 gm) (½ oz) unsweetened cocoa powder
Optional: 2 tsp orange zest or 2 tsp minced chipotle chile en adobo or 1 tsp chipotle chile powder. (The chile version is a Monkeyshines favorite!) Optional: powdered sugar for dusting

FOR THE EGG WHITES

6 medium egg whites
6½ Tbsp (95 ml) 3 oz (90g) superfine/caster sugar (if you don’t have it, regular sugar is OK)

Directions:

1. Heat oven to moderate 375 ˚F/190 ˚C/gas mark 5.
2. Take four 1 cup/~240ml soufflé dishes and brush them completely with softened butter. Tip a little cocoa powder or grated chocolate into each dish, roll the dish around tilting it as you do so it is evenly lined all round.
3. For the crème patisserie, mix the flour, sugar and corn starch into a small bowl. Put egg yolk and whole egg into a medium sized bowl, beat lightly, then beat in half of the flour mixture to give a smooth paste. Tip in the rest of the flour mixture and cocoa powder and mix well.
4. To make the ganache, pour the milk and cream into a pan and bring just to the boil. Remove from the heat. Add the chocolate and beat until it is melted and smooth with no lumps.
5. Gradually stir hot chocolate ganache into the paste from step 3, and add the orange zest or chile if using. This is your crème patisserie.
6. Whisk the egg whites to soft peaks with an electric whisk. Sprinkle in the sugar as you are mixing. Keep whisking to give stiff, firm peaks to give volume to the soufflés.

These are stiff peaks

7. Stir about 2 tbsp (30 ml) of the beaten egg whites into the crème patisserie. Carefully fold in a third of the rest, cutting through the mixture. Fold in another third (take care not to lose the volume), then fold in the rest.
8. Spoon the mixture into the dishes. Run a spoon across the top of each dish so the mixture is completely flat. Take a little time to wipe any splashes off the outside of each dish, or they will burn on while cooking.
9. Bake the soufflés for 15-17 minutes.
10. The soufflés should have risen by about two thirds of their original height and jiggle when moved, but be set on top.

Cheese Souffle

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
• dash cayenne pepper
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar or Swiss cheese
• 4 eggs, separated

Directions

1. In a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in the flour, mustard and cayenne until smooth; gradually add the milk. bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; stir in cheese until melted. Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Cool slightly.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into egg yolk mixture. Pour into four greased 10-oz. souffle dishes or custard cups. Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Serve immediately.

Watercress Soufflé

This soufflé could really have used a collar..

Ingredients

2 Tbsp 1 oz/30g butter plus additional for the soufflé dish
3½ Tbsp (55 ml) 1 oz/30g plain (all purpose) flour
1 cup/8 fluid oz (240ml) milk
½ cup (120 ml) 2 oz/60g parmesan cheese, finely grated plus additional for the soufflé dish
1 cup (250ml) 2 oz/60g finely chopped de-stemmed watercress (can substitute spinach) – about 1 large bunch (this measure is the leaves after they’ve been washed, de-stemmed, and chopped)
4 large eggs, separated
½ tsp (2½ ml) (3 gm) (.1 oz) prepared mustard
¼ tsp (1¼ ml) (1½ gm) (0.05 oz) cream of tartar*
Salt and pepper to taste
* If you can’t find cream of tartar, a dash (~ ½ tsp) of lemon juice can be substituted

Directions:

1. Butter the soufflé dish(es) thoroughly, then grate a small amount of cheese in each dish and tap so that the sides are evenly coated with the cheese. Place the dish(es) in the refrigerator until needed (according to some sites, this helps the soufflé climb).
2. Preheat the oven to moderate 350º F / 180º C / gas mark 4
3. Wash and chop the watercress if you haven’t already.
4. Finely grate the parmesan cheese
5. In a medium sized saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat, then stir in the flour to make a roux. Cook 1 minute, then add the milk, a little at a time, and stir until just thickened, about 1 minute. Add the cheese and stir until it’s just melted. Remove from heat then add the watercress and salt and pepper.
6. In a larger pan, bring water to a gentle simmer. Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl set just over this water until pale and slightly foamy – about 6 minutes. (I held the bowl just above the simmering water to be sure I didn’t cook the eggs)
7. Mix the egg yolks into the watercress sauce.
8. Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until they form stiff peaks yet are still glossy.
9. Fold the egg whites into the sauce in 3 additions so that it’s evenly mixed, but you don’t lose too much volume.
10. Remove the soufflé dish from the refrigerator and spoon the mix into it. Use a spatula to even the tops of the soufflés and wipe off any spills.
11. Bake 25 minutes for small dishes or 40 minutes if using a large soufflé dish, then serve immediately.

Crab and Artichoke Soufflé

A Monkeyshines in the Kitchen recipe

Ingredients

1 cup (250 ml) 4 oz/120g crab meat, flaked and lightly-packed
½ cup (125 ml) 2 oz/60 g finely chopped cooked artichoke hearts (frozen, fresh or from a jar is OK, but please don’t use the marinated-in-oil style), Alternatively, lightly sautéed leeks would be nice here too.
2 large egg yolks
3 large egg whites
½ tsp (2½ ml) (3 gm) (.1 oz) salt
¼ tsp (1¼ ml) (1½ gm) (0.05 oz) cream of tartar*
1 cup (250 ml) 2 ½ oz (75g) Gruyere cheese, shredded
½ tsp (2½ ml) (2 gm) (0.07 oz) white pepper
1 Tbsp (15 ml) (14 gm) (½ oz) butter
1 Tbsp (15 ml) (9 gm) (1/3 oz) flour
1 tsp (5 ml) (3 gm) (.1 oz) dried chives or tarragon
1 cup 8 fluid oz (250ml) milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Additional butter and bread crumbs for preparing the dishes
* If you can’t find cream of tartar, a dash (~ ½ tsp) of lemon juice can be substituted

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to moderate 375 ˚F/190 ˚C/gas mark 5
2. Prepare dishes – you can use one 2-quart (US)/1.9 litre or six 1-cup/240 ml soufflé dishes – by buttering the dish, then coating with bread crumbs. (You may have some left over soufflé mixture if you go with the smaller soufflé dishes.)
3. Chop the artichoke hearts into ¼”/0.5cm dice. If you use frozen or from a jar, then there’s no need to cook them. If you are using fresh, then steam gently until just softened, about 5 minutes or sauté over low heat until just ever so lightly browned.
4. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter, then stir in the flour to make a roux. – you just want to get the flour evenly blended to a paste, not cook the roux for any length of time. Gradually stir in the milk, mixing all the time. Add herbs, then the cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted and you have a thick sauce. Remove from heat.
5. Beat the egg yolks well and gently warm them, either according to the instructions for watercress soufflé (above) or by adding some of the cheese sauce. Gradually stir the egg yolks into the cheese sauce until well blended.
6. Add the artichoke and flaked crab meat to the cheese sauce.
7. Beat the egg whites until at the stiff peak stage
8. Fold the whites in thirds into the sauce.
9. Spoon the mixture into your baking dish and level the tops using a spatula. Be sure to wipe up any spills and make sure the edge is clean.
10. Bake for 40 min if you’re using a large soufflé dish or 25 min if using smaller dishes – the soufflé should be richly browned.

Race for the Cure

Even though I didn't get to actually run the race, I did put in a lot of work to help others run the race.... or at least have a good time while they did.

To raise the funds for our entry fees, we had a Rummage Sale.  This is the 3rd year the Young Women at church have run in the Race for the Cure and each year they have a Rummage Sale to raise the money.  This was the first year it worked out for me to be able to shop or assist.    To help the process I made these crowns and aprons for the money takers.  We now use the crowns, on occasion, for certain cleaning assignment denotation!

I also made 24 tutus for our team to wear as they raced.  I didn't take a picture of them.  I really didn't have the time.   They were fun projects.  

Kiah lost another tooth

But this time she REALLY lost it. She was worried about the Tooth Fairy, so I told her to write a note to the Tooth Fairy.

Kiah's School Play

 Kiah's 1st grade play with this evening.  She did a great job as one of the 3 little pigs.  It was really hard to understand most of the kids, but luckily I have a script, so I added some subtitles!