Have you ever had a recipe bookmarked to make for a REALLY long time without ever having the chance to make it? Well, I have! I've had this recipe for Crispy Coconut Shrimp bookmarked for approximately 1 year and 5 months! That just also happens to be when our good friend Ben came up for a visit from the flat lands of Kansas. And it also happens to be the last time we had fresh shrimp in our house. Shawn took Ben out for an overnight fishing and shrimping adventure and they came back victorious.
(Oh, Ben! You really must come visit again--you and your whole family.)
When they returned back to our home, I started pouring over recipes on the internet to find something worthy of the fresh shrimp they had caught. I found several possibilities, but another recipe won out the popular vote that night. So this recipe sat and waited...and waited...and waited.
Fast forward to last week.
Shawn went out on another adventure, this time to check traps and shrimp and crab pots with some work friends. The good news is every trap and pot they checked had something in it! So he again came home with some delicious shrimp. I immediately knew that I wanted to try the coconut recipe that had been waiting so patiently for me, but I had to do a little arm twisting to keep Shawn from putting them into his own recipe.
The following night I made Crispy Coconut Shrimp and it was DE. LI. CIOUS! It was worth the wait, but I really don't think I'll be able to wait another year and 5 months to have it again. I just might have to buy some shrimp at the store. (gasp!)
Whether you've got shrimp fresh from the Alaskan waters nearby or from the grocery store I highly recommend this recipe. It's a keeper!
(Note: We didn't make the Spicy Curry Sauce from the recipe to accompany the shrimp. So I can't necessarily recommend that part of the recipe. We used store bought sweet and sour sauce with our shrimp and rice. Also the next time I make this, I'm going to remove the tails before cooking. I think it will make it easier to eat with utensils--preferably chopsticks!)
Having 3 kids now, we of course get a lot of comments about how much our little babe looks like his older siblings. Most people say how much he looks like his brother. True they definitely look like brothers but I think he looks a bit more like his sister. Although he definitely has his own look--especially with brown eyes instead of the blue eyes of his siblings.
So I thought I'd dig up some photos from "the archives" and show you each of our three kids when they were about 5 or 5 1/2 months old.
Here's the little miss (baby #1) on a plane ride. She was a well seasoned traveler before she even turned 1!
The little man (baby #2) on Easter Sunday.
(Can someone say chunky monkey?)
And our little babe (#3) on some January days.
So now that you are thoroughly informed on how they looked at the same ages, who do you think most resembles the other? (Oh and please use nicknames or #'s in your comments. I try to not use the kid's first names on the blog for security reasons.)
So has it been long enough?
For those of you who made a new year's resolution to eat better, has it been long enough that I can post about these delicious treats? Yeah, I figured so. :)
Exactly two days into the new year and "eating better" resolutions for many people, I brought Chocolate Marshmallow Whoopie Pies to our monthly potluck at church. Despite their timing, they were a hit! I think the next time we have a dessert auction fundraiser, I need to bring these because they just might earn a pretty penny for the cause.
I got the recipe here, but it originally came from Martha.
For some time now I've seen recipes for whoopie pies and even watched a whole Bobby Flay Throwdown episode about them. So making them was definitely at the top of my list. But these were actually my second time making whoopie pies.
A few weeks before Christmas, Shawn informed me that he had signed "us" up for a cookie exchange at work. All we had to do was bring 7 1/2 dozen cookies into work in four days (from when I was informed) and then we'd come home with a mixture of cookies to enjoy/share with friends and neighbors. A nice idea, but I was pretty sure I wasn't going to have time for such things. I was a bit annoyed to say the least that my husband had signed "us" up for this exchange.
Without the option of backing out, we decided on a seasonal version, a pumpkin whoopie pie with cream cheese filing. I was excited to make them even though it meant making180 cookies to get 7 1/2 dozen whoopie pies. The night before the cookies were due for turn in, I was cranking them out, but fading fast. I let Shawn know that I was going to call it a night, make the filling, assemble and deliver the finished cookies in the morning--after I got myself and 3 kids ready to go mind you! (crazy!) I don't know how I thought I was going to do this, but I was pretty sure I couldn't stay up any longer to finish the task before sleep. When I woke up in the morning, I was alarmed to find the kitchen table bare of all the cookies I had baked the night before. I actually went into a moment of panic. Then I realized that there were other changes in the kitchen from when I had gone to bed--different dishes in the sink, etc. I threw open the fridge and found the finished pumpkin whoopie pies all packed up and ready to go. Sometime around 4 am, when Shawn had gotten home from work, he finished them for me. What a guy! He knew how overwhelmed I was getting that week and how the cookie exchange was just a bit too much for me. So as it turned out "we" did participate in the cookie exchange. And I'm very glad, because I couldn't have done it by myself.
The classic Chocolate Marshmallow Whoopie Pie just might be my favorite. However, I've never tried Red Velvet Whoopie Pies. That recipe is now on my list. :)
Have you made any resolutions or goals for this new year? Well, I've made a couple. And I figure if I share them here on the blog, I'll feel a bit accountable to you (my readers) to keep up with them throughout the year. There's always hope right!? :)
One things for sure is that none of my goals for 2011 involve dismissing scrumptious foods. All desserts will be welcome in my home and particularly those made with chocolate. But all in moderation, of course.
(more on this lovely chocolate dessert in coming posts-yum!)
I suppose my main goal for 2011 is to do a better job keeping our home organized. One way I plan to do this is to focus on one area each month. Thanks to my husband for this plan of attack. For January, my first thought was to start small so I could accomplish the goal and not fall flat the first month. But then our plans changed and we've found ourselves in the midst of a fairly large reorganizing project. When we complete our project, I hope to blog about it to show you what we've done. For now, I'll just say that it involves spending some Christmas gift money and several clear storage totes. Good thing they were on sale last week!
Another goal for 2011 is to spend more time reading to my kids and to do more preschool style projects at home with our little man. So far I'm doing better in this area too, but I know I can do more.
I also want to spend more time in the Word and praying this year. This is an area I can always use growth in. I'm sure many of you have goals similar to this. It's one of those things that you can always improve on.
And lastly, I want to gain some more photography skills and do a better job taking pictures, especially of my kids. So far I'm off to a great start, thanks again to my husband. He heard my pleas and for Christmas he got me a new dSLR camera body! YAY! I've REALLY been enjoying using it and can already see an improvement in my photos just with better equipment. But I still want to learn more and do even better.
Here's a couple of quick samples of what I've learned so far--adjusting the white balance on my new camera. It also helps to have a cute model posing for shots.
Hope your new year is off to a great start. What are you planning to accomplish this year?
As the clock is counting down the final minutes of 2010--and more importantly the kids are all in bed and the diapers are in the dryer--I thought I'd post my favorite photos from 2010. This is starting to become a tradition of sorts for me since I've done this for both 2009 and 2008. (click on the years to be directed to those posts) This year though I had a tough time keeping it to just 10 pictures as I did last year. So this year, it's 15. But come on, we had a baby this year...there's automatically going to be extra "baby" pictures that will be my favorites. And since I'm the only paid rule maker on this blog, I'm gonna let myself bend the rules and have 15 pictures for my year end post. Besides, 15 is a nice round number. So here you have it, folks. Fifteen of my favorite family photos from 2010...in no particular order.
Our newest member--just 6 weeks old--love, love, LOVE this photo of him--Sept
Easter outfits and looking like they love each other--Apr
introducing our little babe to his older siblings--makes me cry--Aug
a daddy and his boy--Aug
brothers--Aug
one of my favorites of just the two of us this year--or do I have to say "the three of us" to not insult the mustache?--Aug
eating his snack on a bucket at big sisters preschool field trip--May
showing their goofy sides--tell me yours are like this too--May
Mother's Day--I'm so blessed to have these little ones to care for--May
sprinkler joy--May
having a blast all while picking blueberries--Sept
two buddies, one whale tale, just down the road from our house--LOVE IT!--May
new chicks--June
crazy brothers and dad aiming to displease their sister at her wedding--they succeeded--Aug
a fun loving daddy with whom I'm so glad to share in the journey of parenthood--Apr
Hope you're 2010 has been full of great memories as ours has been. And I hope you have felt the Father "always raining blessings" on you and yours this past year. Here's to 2011 and the amazing blessings, adventures, and memories that await.
Cheers!
Christmas was white. (Fresh snow on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.)
Christmas was magical.
Christmas was exhausting.
Christmas was exciting.
Christmas was a work day for my husband. (Boo)
Christmas was giggly.
Christmas was delicious.
Christmas was fast.
Christmas was relaxing and a wee bit lazy.
Christmas was cozy.
Christmas was a beautiful melody.
Christmas was goofy.
Hope you had a good Christmas too. Ours is still "out" and will probably get packed up shortly. With the end of this busy but fun season, I'm feeling the desire and time to blog once again. Hope there's still a few of you out there to read along and enjoy the ride.
Blessings to you all as 2010 comes to a close and 2011 is just around the bend.
The last couple of weeks have been borderline whirlwind around here. Tomorrow starts the second of a two weekend craft sale that I'm participating in locally. That means my sewing machine has been working overtime, which I don't really mind. :)
All in all, the whole family has adapted well to the added madness of the past few weeks. Fortunately, my sweet baby has complied fairly well. Although his usual pattern of sleeping through the night was very much interrupted. Last night gives me hope that we may being getting back on track. (I'm thinking that he had a growth spurt that made him think he needed to eat more frequently.)
He sure looks good when he sleeps. Well, and when he's awake too. :)
Here it is. The video I mentioned in my last post. The sound is really poor-sorry about that--just realized that today. But here's a script of what she's saying. The first part is a count down of the different steps to getting your violin from rest position to playing position. Then a little chant for holding the bow correctly. And finally she sings a song.
"This is my violin. This is where I put my chin.
E, A, D, G are the four strings, F holes let the music sound.
Here's the front and here's the back. If I drop it, it might crack.
So I hold it close beside me. Rest position you now see."
(And yes, I have it memorized as well. Can you guess how many times I've heard that little diddy?)
Oh and she's using a chopstick for a bow. Her class used some kind of a drumstick I think. But now they're using the real thing!
And know without further ado... Your Paper Violin Concert
One of the things I appreciate about the school our little miss attends is that all kindergartners have three group violin lessons each week. This has been such a neat experience for her. Before we started this program, I had considered starting her in piano lessons, but I suppose that's just because that's what I'm more familiar with. So far violin seems to be a good fit for her and I won't be surprised if she wants to continue learning the violin next year (privately--Right now the school program is just for kindergarten.).
For the first few months of school the students practiced with a paper violin. We actually made these one evening at the school. This is a photo that was in our local paper to update the community on this exciting and new program. The paper violins let the students practice holding a violin, proper posture and how to be on stage.
(photo by Micheal Penn)
A few weeks ago, the kindergartners had a concert to show off their performance skills for parents and grandparents as well as several of the other classes at the school. Our little miss did a great job. She was just as into performing at the concert as she is into the whole idea of playing the violin.
(photo by Bethany Vaughn)
This program is new to the school and actually is one of just a few in the entire nation. Boston, Chicago, New York, and little old Juneau, Alaska! The credit for this successful endeavor goes to the amazing music teacher at the little miss's school, who was just named Alaska's Teacher of the Year. We are so glad and blessed to have a kind teacher who is so passionate at what she does, fostering a love for music in our little one.
Yay for great teachers!
(photo by Michael Penn)
I'm hoping to soon post a video of the little miss doing her concert routine for daddy the evening of the school concert. Stay tuned...
Thanksgiving 2010 was great...in fact, so great and so delicious that this turkey leg is one of the last few things in our fridge left over from that day.
And yeah, you should have seen the look on Shawn's face when he came into the kitchen and found me setting the turkey leg up for this shot. I just figured that having it on a cutting board with one of my furoshiki's behind it would make a much better backdrop than the rest of the turkey carcass awaiting the stew pot. My sister who is having a baby very soon and has an aversion to raw poultry can thank me later. :)
Oh, and do you have turkey still sitting in your fridge? Then I highly recommend Pioneer Woman's Leftover Turkey Pot Pie. We had it tonight for dinner and it was delicious. As with most of her recipes, it's full of good buttery flavor. I suppose you could make it low-cal. Just jog in place when you stir the pan!
Anyway, back to Thanksgiving. The day was good, busy before the meal, but relaxing after--just about how Thanksgiving Day is supposed to go. We ate our meal with several others from our church family over at the church building. One of the perks to that arrangement is that I didn't have to make the whole meal. But I did cook one of the turkeys and I'm so glad I did. The smell that filled our house while it cooked was so wonderful.
I did so much relaxing after the meal that I didn't get very many pictures, but I did get a few of the kids enjoying some post meal time playing with friends.
I'm sure it's no surprise, but I'm very thankful for my family--my three fun and beautiful children and my wonderful husband. I'm also thankful for the Christian families here in Juneau that have children that my kids can grow up with. That's a great blessing.
When I posted my Three Months post a little while ago, I forgot to include a recent detail about our little babe. That's our transition into cloth diapers. We're using a brand called Smartipants. So far, so good. After several weeks now, we like using them. And fortunately, they haven't turned Shawn off from doing diaper changes! Yeah!
Smartipants are considered an "all in one diaper". That means the liner slides inside the outer cover. Basically, the diaper has a pocket that's open on both ends that the absorbent liner slides into. Also, the snaps on the front and sides can be adjusted as the baby grows. So these should last us quite a while.
And look at the chubby roll lines on his knees! So cute!
A happy bum, means a happy baby!
And look how nicely he held his feet for me. Had to take advantage of a little baby toe shot. So cute!
Laying with his smarti bum in the air.
A true little Smartipants all dry and ready for an adventure.
