-40 Fashion

This is my new dog-walking hat. I was getting so tired of not being able to keep my ears and forehead warm at the same time, that I thought it was high time to find a hat that could do both at once. This little Woolrich number does the trick nicely. Murray, who thinks my personal style should be more Park Avenue than Green Acres, is less than impressed, and thinks I look like my dad. He's got a point, just add the Makinac jacket and a pair of gum boots....

Teeny, Tiny Treats

Sarah and I have started a new venture. We are making birthday cakes in the Easy Bake Oven she and Caroline got for Christmas. Caroline isn't all that taken with it, but Sarah is the cook, and has been having lots of fun making cakes all by herself.

We found a recipe on the Internet that yields a mix for 12 cakes, so have a little store of cakes mixes saved in snack sized zip-lock baggies and ready to go. I bought tiny candy boxes and paper doilies at the Bulk Food Store and Sarah made her first birthday cake for her friend Hannah. It looked adorable. We had such a lot of fun doing it, that the girls' other BFF, Rebecca will also get a tiny cake as part of her birthday present next week.

Another Day at the Office

Or not. We're in week 6 of a transit strike that has lengthened our commute time from 45mins. each way to 2 hours. So most of the time, I work from home because loosing 4 hours a day to the commute isn't my idea of a good use of my time. We also have the reality of having to pick the girls up from the village day care by 5:45 each day just to add to our scheduling headaches.

This morning, Murray headed out at 8:00 and called to say he got out to the main road, saw two lanes of traffic at a complete stand still, and decided to turn around and come back home. So here we are looking out the window at the falling snow ( above is the view from the kitchen doors) and working remotely. It's not bad, you can wander into the kitchen whenever you like and make a cup of tea, and the dog is certainly happy to have us here. Still, I'd like to get back into the office. I'm beginning to get cabin fever.

Goodbye Old Friend - and Ode to My Crock Pot

The other night we had Bratwurst and Red Cabbage for dinner (I was going back to my roots for comfort food). I did it in my trusty oval Crock Pot, and noticed when we were washing up that it had a huge crack in the bottom. This is truly tragic and although I have another, smaller Crock Pot, the large oval pot was the one I used most often.

I fell in love with this method of cooking long ago when there was just the two of us, but since becoming parents and moving to the country, slow cooking has become an invaluable way of getting a meal in the table on hectic week nights. Wednesday nights are slow cooker nights because we have to pick up the girls from the day care, feed them and get to off to Brownies by 6:15.

These wonder pots are not just for chili. I use mine to caramelize onions, which then go on to become Pissaladiere in the summer, onion soup in the winter and into the cassoulet I make every November. I've made my own Duck Confit in my slow cooker and even done desserts (Pumpkin Bread Pudding with Bourbon Caramel Sauce comes to mind). Slow Cookers have the added attraction of filling your house with wonderful aromas that wrap you in a hug when you set foot in the door after the long winters commute.

Here's one of my favorite recipes:

Chick Pea and Chorizo Soup

1 lb. dried chick peas

4 cloves of garlic, minced

3 parsnips, peeled and diced

3 carrots, peeled and diced

2 celery stalks, diced

1 lb hot chorizo sausage, diced

6-8 cups chicken stock

A sprig of fresh rosemary

Put everything together in your slow cooker. Cook on High for 6-7 hours. When it's done, use a hand held blender to puree about half of the soup right in the pot. Serve with crusty bread.

The only up side to loosing my beloved pot is now I get to buy one of the new fangled ones with the built-in timer and warm setting. I can't wait.

Snow Day

We woke up to a snow storm today. That and the on-going transit strike was more than justification to call a snow day and work at home.

Murray took the office and I set myself up in the living room with a roaring fire and pot of tea.

The faithful dog on the hearth completed the picture. Ahhh...everyday at work should be this relaxing.

Thank You Santa

Well, Christmas is over, the tree is down and the ornaments stowed away until next year. The girls wrote their thank you notes, and I was gathering them up to mail when I spotted one for Santa. Being one of Santa's little helpers, I didn't think he'd mind my opening it.

New Year's Eve and a New Tradition is Born

We decided to do something different for New Year's Eve this year. Usually we make a four course dinner for ourselves after the girls go to bed, but this year Murray was too sick to stay up until midnight and so we did a cheese fondue with the girls. It was an unqualified success. We had it picnic style in the family room, and since the girls and I had spent the afternoon at the Natural History Museum, we watched Night at the Museum on DVD. It was a perfect way to spend New Year's Eve, snuggled up in front of the fire safe from the bitter cold outside. I think we'll have to do this every New Year's Eve from now on.

Tiny Pleasures

Grandma gave the girls an Easy Bake Oven for Christmas so Boxing Day was spent baking some tiny treats for a tea party. The oven comes with one little pathetic cake mix, but thanks to the wonders of the Internet, we found a recipe for a two layer pink Barbie cake and made that. I let the girls do everything themselves and just closed my eyes to the mess. Here they are with the final products.