Making Mama's Kitchen with a 3.5 and 1.5 year old

Every couple years, it seems like I'm struck with the realization that my kitchen is once again changing.  Not just the physicality of it, like new appliances, new flooring, or in this case, new house, but also the feeling of it.  When I first revamped my blog from "Ashley's Kitchen" to "Making Mama's Kitchen," Annalyn was only about 5 months old and I was astounded at how our kitchen had been taken over by bottles, drying racks, and baby bathtubs.  I could see that my kitchen would never be "mine" again. (post)

As Annalyn got older, she hit the I-want-to-help-with-everything stage and learned how to push the kitchen chairs up to our island to help me cook.  I embraced the change, and learned valuable lessons like, don't fill the mixer bowl and plug it in without checking first to see if she's pulled the knob all the way to high (see post here).  My mother-in-law made us matching aprons and we even used a sweet baking photoshoot to announce that I was pregnant with Emma.

Much

Our little Emma, you are talking up a storm lately!  Honestly, from the moment you wake up yelling "Mom-meeee, Dad-deeee! Up, up, UUUUPP!" you are a little chatterbox.  Your doctor asked me how many words you were saying at your last appointment and I couldn't even put a number to it.  Um, anything and everything?  You repeat, you demand, you mimic, you even put together little sentences.  It's crazy.  I wrote a post a month or so ago on my current favorite word, "too", but I felt the need to write a follow up now that I have a new one.  Though "too" is still as precious as ever, I must say that "much" has taken its top spot.

You see, your current bedtime routine goes something like this (when you're not trying to get 5 teeth at a time and a little possessed, of course):

1 - brush teeth with Sissy (another contender for favorite word - "Sis-see")
2 - put on pajamas and/or nighttime diaper and sleep sack (Daddy does this one a lot because to this day, you fight me like crazy when I change you.  By the end of the night, my hands usually can't keep up, especially on work days.)
3 - kiss Daddy and Annalyn goodnight
4 - grab blankie and baby, read books with Mama in the rocker.  You are very specific about which book and the order, though it isn't always constant (makes it very difficult!).  Lately, you are obsessed with the Duck & Goose books.
5 - after reading 3-5 books, you get to flip the light switch, then we sit back in the rocker to snuggle and sing "twinkle" and "pur-pur" (which you always demand, oftentimes switching midsong) aka Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and Soft Kitty from Big Bang Theory that is your favorite thanks to Anna singing it to you any time you're upset since birth.
6 - once you've had enough of my singing, you look up, say "tiss" (kiss), plant one on me, then proclaim "ni-night, ni-night" in your all-business tone.  I stand up and squeeze as I tell you goodnight and "I love you sooooo much!"  This usually elicits a giggle and the single cutest word in your ever-growing vocabulary:  "MUCH."

I'm not really sure why "much" is the word you chose to start repeating, but it melts my heart.  At first it was unique to Mama, but now you'll say it to Daddy, too.

Needless to say, we love you so MUCH.

Much,

Mama

Russian Black Bread Crackers

Here was the train of thought that lead me to this recipe:

"I wonder how hard it is to make homemade crackers... It can't be that hard, right?"<looks up several recipes for crackers>

"This doesn't look so hard, I'm going to try it... I HAVE to try this."

<random thought creeps in> "I bet I could make a cracker out of Grandpa's Russian black bread recipe... Rye, molasses, coffee, chocolate..." (recipe)

"And what to put on top of the cracker? Well, Grandpa always liked cream cheese on the bread, so that would be good... Or butter, you can't go wrong with butter. But not stick butter, the soft whipped kind..."

"Ah-hah! I'll make my own butter! Fresh  soft butter, that will do it justice!" <see how to make butter post here>

And without further random thoughts, here's how Mama makes Russian black bread crackers:

Russian black bread crackers 

Yield:  about 3 dozen crackers

Ingredients:

- 1 stick of butter

- 1 c. Rye flour

- 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

- 1/4 t. Salt (if using unsalted butter)

- 1 t. Sugar

- 1 T. Instant coffee

- 1 t. Crushed fennel

- 2 t. Cocoa powder

- 3 T. Molasses

How to Make Butter

Until I had done it myself, I would have never imagined how easy it is to make your own butter.  All you need is some heavy cream, a little salt, and a mixer and in a matter of minutes, you have fresh homemade butter.  From there, you can obviously add things like honey/cinnamon, garlic/herbs, etc. to make flavored butter spreads.  For today, we stuck to the basic, lightly salted butter.  It was a great learning opportunity for Annalyn - we talked about what goes in the bowl (cream, salt), where cream comes from, what we do to the cream to make it into butter, and what we call the liquid that comes off when the butter forms (buttermilk - pancakes, anyone?).  Emma liked to be picked up to see each step, too, but her favorite part was definitely sampling the end product on saltine crackers (and later our homemade crackers.)  Here's how Mama makes fresh, creamy, 2-ingredient butter:

Homemade Butter

 

Ingredients:

- 2 c. heavy whipping cream

- 1/4 t. salt (optional)

yields:  1 c. butter plus 1 c. buttermilk

Apple Cider Coffee Cake

Here's a fun fall twist on one of my favorite family recipes, my mom's coffee cake.  The way I see it, you can never go wrong with adding apples to any baked good during the fall and winter months. I made this one in honor of the apple trees Michael planted for me as a birthday gift. Starting a home orchard has been a dream of mine for awhile now and I can't wait to use our own apples for fall baking here in a few years! But for now, here's how Mama makes apple cider coffee cake:

Apple Cider Coffee Cake

Ingredients:
- 1 c. sugar
- 5 T. shortening
- 1/2 t. salt
- 1 egg
- 1/2 c. apple cider
- 1/4 c. milk
- 1 1/2 c. flour
- 1 1/2 t. baking powder
for the topping:
- 1/4 c. sugar
- 1/4 c. brown sugar
- 1 t. cinnamon
- 1 T. flour
- 2 T. cold butter
- 1 apple, peeled and finely chopped

 (I actually made 1 and 1/2 times this recipe in a 9x13" pan since my whole family was visiting)

Annalyn the Time Traveler

Today, we dabbled in time travel. Not sure the exact year, but I'm guessing 1969ish, when my mom was 5 and wearing this dress :) 

I wonder if she was as equally cute and curious as her granddaughter. Something tells me yes...

Too

My little Emma is quite the chatterbox these days.  All of a sudden, her language development is taking off.  She parrots everything we say, in addition to saying so many words on her own (I couldn't even count them when her doctor asked).  Words like "shoulder" and "elbow" are pretty cute to hear her attempt, words like "pink" make me sad that she's hit the princess stage so soon, and words like "kiss!" are just precious.  But I have to say, of all her words right now, "too" is my favorite.  ("Wal-ly!" for Wally Kazaam is a close second.)

Annalyn asks for a snack and Emma runs over saying "too!"

Annalyn puts on a dress and Emma pulls one out of her (or Anna's) drawer, "too, too!"

Annalyn sits down to put her shoes on and Emma brings me hers "Too, shoes, too!"

Annalyn pulls a chair over the island to help me cook, and you guessed it, Emma follows "tooooo!"

Annalyn gets a book off her shelf and Emma reaches up "too! Goose, too!" (Duck & Goose is her favorite book series at the moment.)




I've started realizing that I naturally address Annalyn first, then when Emma pipes in, I respond with "you, too, Em?"  That probably explains her latest "too" trend. That and the fact that little Emma is obviously pretty smitten with her big sis.  They are best buds and little rivals at the same time.

It's so different seeing the big/little sis roles from a mom's point of view. As a kid, I always hated when my little sister (5.5 years younger) insisted on copying everything I did/said/wore/etc. Now, of course, I think it's adorable and I can see how much she loves and adores Annalyn.  Sorry, Linz, I didn't understand back then.  Love you, too. ;)

Tired, Hired, & Admired: What I "knew" about myself at 30 when I was 18

As I come up on my 30th birthday, I can't help but reminisce about how much I've always looked forward to being 30. Opposite of most people, I couldn't wait to grow up at age 18.  I was tired of high school life.  Not like most people my age who just wanted to "break free" from their parents- my parents are great.  I was just itching for what came next.  I'm one of those people who always has a plan, always has a list, and always looks ahead.  It's one of my biggest strengths and at the same time, something I have to constantly remind myself to temper. One way that I've found to help appease this urge to always be moving forward is to take a moment to look back.  Look at where I was, where I hoped to be, and how far I've come.  Even if I'm not exactly what or who I always thought I would be by age 30, I am awfully grateful and proud of these 30 years.  Here's what 18 year old Ashley, in all my infinite wisdom, "knew" about me at 30: 

high school graduation

18 years old

Runza Casserole

Remember when I made these runzas because I had a major craving for one and Michael wouldn't drive 11 hours each way to get one?  Yea, well, still not feasible apparently.  If anyone has a private jet they could loan me on a whim a few times a year when I really need a runza, I'd really appreciate it.  I'll even pay you in pie.

Oooooor, we can make a runza casserole, says the logical, practical, realistic mama in me.  This is about as easy of a "runza" as I can come up with.  For about 30 minutes of prep time and 20 minutes of cooking time, you can have a runza-esque dinner!  Just like regular runzas, you can get creative and personalize them.  My suggestions:  cheeseburger runza - add ketchup/mustard, bacon, and pickles; spicy runza - pepperjack cheese and jalapenos; mushroom swiss runza - swiss cheese and mushrooms.  You get the picture!  I decided to start with the classic cheese runza since it's always a hit, and it did not disappoint.  Here's how Mama makes it:

Runza Casserole

Ingredients: (makes 6 servings)

- 2 tubes refrigerated crescent rolls (get the dough sheets if you can find them, they don't have the perforations!)
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 2 c. chopped cabbage
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 1 t. salt
- 1/2 t. black pepper
- 1/2 t. garlic salt
- 2 t. sugar
- 1 c. shredded cheese

Basil & Spinach Pesto

Do you ever find yourself with an overabundance of basil?  After making many a caprese salad, two big batches of these strawberry tarts, several glasses of blueberry basil lemonade, a couple watermelon orzo salads, and these beautiful lasagna roll-ups, I still had more basil than I knew what to do with this summer.  Especially since my tomatoes haven't done so hot this year.

Hmm, what to do with lots of extra basil....

Uh, make pesto, of course!  And then make some more (it actually freezes well, too!).

Pesto is great as a pasta sauce (leave about 1/2 c. cooking liquid in with the pasta before stirring it in), as a dipping sauce for veggies, to top chicken, or as a quick appetizer with some crackers.  I like to use half basil, half spinach to tone down the basil flavor a little for the kiddos and also add some dark green leafy veggies (always a plus in my book).  Here's how Mama makes it:

Basil & Spinach Pesto

Ingredients:
- 1 c. packed basil leaves
- 1 c. packed baby spinach
- 1/3 c. pine nuts
- 1/2 c. parmesan cheese, grated
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1/2 c. olive oil
- 1/2 t. salt (or to taste)
- 1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper
- pinch of paprika, optional