Time Flies - August Already!

The days and weeks of summer are flying by ever so quickly. Nathan is in the middle of a run of 9 shows in 10 days and this leaves me to the challenge of wrangling the oh-so-busy toddler and the infant on my own. I'll just say that some days are better than others. Henry is becoming a big boy now and has started to use the potty. This is monumental news for us. Having two babies in diapers at once is stinky and costly and stinky. We are not getting too excited, however, as he is really two young yet to use the potty with any reliability. Still, a step in the right direction. Siri is two months old already and is off the charts for height and weight, clocking in at 24 inches and nearly 15 pounds. She slept seven hours in-a-row(!) last night and another four after that, making for an almost normal night of sleep for me. She is also a coo-coo-ca-chooing up a storm and winning over friends and neighbors alike with her charming smile.

I am looking forward to fall already as the past two weeks of god-awful hot, humid weather have had me cranky. I can't wait for cooler temps and delicious fall breezes. I am also looking forward to potentially getting back to work a bit with some contracting and to continuing work on my Masters degree. The real question being, of course, whether or not I can juggle it all. Time will tell.

The above photo was taken by my cousin Vicki, whom I love unconditionally, and wish I saw more often. She stopped by for a quick visit last weekend with my Aunt Paulette and Uncle Ron. My folks were also here, so it was a really nice weekend of family time. I love that my children are getting to spend so much time with both sets of their grandparents!

The Piglet and the Beach Bum

Siri is growing by leaps and bounds. Her rolls have rolls. Good baby!

Henry starts swimming lessons with Daddy today. They are going to the Aqua Tots class at the YWCA. Good thing, too, because the kid loves the water!

Spicy Asian Slaw

More cabbage from the farm this week and I finally have figured out how to not destroy it in my food processor. You'd think it'd take less than a year to figure out which blades to use for what, but not so. My deteriorated mental state (baby brain) doesn't help, of course, but now that I've got it down, more slaw! I took the sweetheart cabbage, a couple of carrots and a cucumber for a shred and came up with this. Plain old cole slaw is boring and this is reminiscent of some of my favorite sushi rolls.

1/2 head cabbage, shredded
2 medium carrots, shredded
1 medium cucumber, shredded (squeeze out excess water)
1 1/2 cups snow peas, chopped in one-inch pieces
Dressing:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tbls spicy Asian mustard or dijion
1 tbls low-sodium soy sauce
1 tbls Sirracha Sauce
1 tbls rice wine vinegar or lemon juice
1 tbls toasted sesame seeds
Sesame chili oil to taste (I used a lot as I like it hot!)

(NOTE: Use Kewpie Mayo if you've got it, which is a Japanese mayonnaise made with rice wine vinegar, otherwise regular Hellman's. There is never a good time for Miracle Whip, which is NOT mayonnaise, but a bastardization that they even refer to as "salad dressing." Ick. But, I digress.)

Chef Henry

Despite a lack of classical training, Chef Henry is a bit of a culinary prodigy. He is a proponent of using fresh, locally sourced ingredients and, in particular, a fan of organic broccoli and fresh strawberries. Chef Henry's whisking skills are particularly good, so he whipped up some heavy cream, powdered sugar and cream cheese yesterday to make an airy and lovely frosting for his new favorite dessert, a poppy seed-strawberry cake. It's heavenly, Chef Henry!

Who doesn't love to lick the beaters?

The finished product, in a word, delicious!

Billowing Strawberry Poppy Seed Layer Cake
From Dishing with Kathy Casey

Cake
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tbls baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
8 tbls (1 stick) salted butter, softened
1 cup whole milk
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbls poppy seeds

Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar
2 cups cream

Filling
1/2 cup strawberry jam
1 pint strawberries, sliced very thin

Topping
1 pint strawberries, cut in half

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour three 8-inch round cake pans and set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer or other large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the softened butter. Using an electric mixer, mix on medium speed for 1 minute. Add half of the milk and mix for 2 minutes more to cream the batter. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and add the remaining milk, eggs, and vanilla. Continue mixing on medium speed for 2 more minutes. Stir in the poppy seeds.

Divide the batter evenly among the prepared pans and bake for 20 minutes to 25 minutes, or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and cool in the pans on a rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of each cake layer and turn in out onto a rack to cool thoroughly.

Meanwhile, make the frosting: Using an electric mixer, beat the softened cream cheese and vanilla on medium speed for 1 minute. Turn the speed to high and mix for 1 minute. Stop the mixer, add 1 cup of the powdered sugar, and mix on low speed for 1 minute. Repeat twice, until all the powdered sugar had been added, then increase the mixer speed to high and whip for 3 minutes.

In another bowl, whip the cream until stiff, then fold it gently into the cream cheese mixture until just incorporated. Refrigerate until ready to frost the cake.

To make the filling: In a medium bowl, stir the strawberry jam until smooth, then gently fold in the strawberries. Set aside until ready to fill the cake.

To assemble and frost the cake: On a large cake plate, place 1 layer of the cake. Spoon one-half of the strawberry filling in the center, then spread it out to 3/4 inch from the edge. Top with 1 cup of the frosting and spread the frosting to 3/4 inch from the edge. Place another layer of cake on top and repeat. Place the final layer of cake on top, then press down gently on the cake layers to stabilize them.

With a large rubber or cake spatula, mound half of the remaining frosting on the top of the cake. Spread the other half around the sides of the cake, covering up all cake and swirling the frosting decoratively. Smooth out the frosting on top of the cake. Let the frosting dry a little before garnishing the cake.

Stem the garnish berries, and cut them in half lengthwise. Place, cut sides down, around the top edge of the cake. Arrange any extra strawberries in a small pattern in the middle of the cake. Refrigerate the cake until ready to serve.

Great American Summer Pastime

It's no secret that Nathan and I are baseball fans. We've had season tickets to the Twins for 5 or 6 years now. So, it should come as no surprise that we wanted to get the kids out to see the new stadium this season. Hank went to the Metrodome last year and visited the new ballpark early this March when we got to go for a first-look pre-season. Siri also went in utero this spring and I enjoyed the looks I got while I enjoyed my n/a beer in the Town Ball Tavern. Siri made her first game, officially, at two and a half weeks old and did very well. We took Henry just last week and while he only managed to sit on our seats for about an inning, he did charm everyone in both Sections 105 and 106 as well as a few in the Twins Pub and the upper deck as he did laps around the stadium at break neck toddler speed. He also got to ride the train for the first time which was almost more exciting to him than having nearly 41,000 people sing the "baseball song" to him during the seventh inning stretch!

April 20, 2010 - 7 months pregnant with Siri
Siri's first game - July 1, 2010Henry's first game at Target Field - July 21, 2010
Riding the TRAIN!

Siri at One Month

Siri is one month old today and thriving. Really thriving! I mean to say, the girl is a piglet! And a beauty, too :)

The stats:
11 lbs 12 ounces
22 inches long
15 1/4 inch head

Siri Comes Home