Chef Levonne's (magic) Strawberry Jello

After high school I started working as a behavioral therapist for a little girl with Autism. Her name was Marisa and she was 4 years old. It didn't take long for her to steal my heart and get me hooked on trying to help this captivating little girl figure out how to make her way in a world that wasn't very welcoming for her.

For the next 2 years I pretty much just followed her around. I went to kindergarten with her as an instructional assistant for the classroom and then went home with her and tried to make our therapy goals match what she would need to know at school. (Usually, it was a whole lot less of the academic stuff and a whole lot more of trying to help her understand what people want when they walk up and throw a bunch of words at you.) My primary job was to help Marisa "fit in" so to speak, in a typical kindergarten classroom. I worked with all the kids, but I was sort of Marisa's "person" and pretty much served as her interpreter. Marisa and I knew each other in that sort of way where we really didn't need words to communicate most of the time, but in the "real world" people need words.

 

Most of the time Marisa loved school. She knew darn well she was a Princess in a Fairy Tale, and now she had all these other kids to play with and sing and dance with. Recess was heaven. And because she'd been in therapy since she was 2, the academics of kindergarten were a breeze. But as the year went on, more and more was expected of all the children. Marisa wasn't the only one falling behind. She knew everything any teacher ever asked her ... colors, numbers, letter sounds ... but bridging that communication gap (without me) was pretty tough. The other kids were always very accepting of Marisa. She was a really cute little girl and everyone loved her. But while Ring Around The Rosie is totally fun at the beginning of Kindergarten, after a while it's a little more fun to experiment with some games that have a few more rules ... hide and seek, freeze tag, red light/green light ... Marisa just couldn't keep up. And when she got frustrated in the classroom she screamed. Maybe I should write that differently ... she SCREAMED. That girl had some lungs on her and could hit notes that would make your hair stand on end. As the social stuff got harder and harder for Marisa to understand, it became more and more clear to everyone that Marisa just didn't "fit in."

For first grade we started a new adventure. Marisa would attend a school called Guiding Hands. I had never even heard of a school like it before. The premise was that typical children and children with just about any disability (from autism to spina bifida to cerebral palsy to childhood schizophrenia) would all learn together in the same classroom. Marisa wouldn't need me at this school. The entire staff there was familiar with working with children with autism. The public school I'd been working at loved me and wanted me to stay. But, Marisa's mom, Shirley, was terrified to send her baby to school almost an hour away without anyone there who knew her. She convinced me to apply for a job there. Even though I wouldn't be in Marisa's classroom, I would be in the same building, and if anything happened Marisa would have "family" there. It was a cut in pay, but it seemed like a really interesting opportunity to work in such a pioneering school, and I had to take it.

I worked mostly in the pre-kindergarten classroom with 4 and 5 year olds and in the preschool classroom with 2 and 3 year olds, but I also ventured down the hall to help with math in the 5th grade classroom for children up to 16 years old. There weren't many more than 100 students in the whole school, so you really got to know everyone. I think I was really fortunate to have that experience. I learned a lot. I only spent one school year there before heading off to college, but it's definitely one of those times in your life that you never forget, and you always wonder what became of those kids that snatched your heart.

Partway into the school year we got a new cafeteria lady. Not just any cafeteria lady, a real chef. She'd never been a cafeteria lady before, she was a caterer. But she came to our school with this incredible attitude. She was SO excited to get to be a part of all this. She talked to EVERYONE for ideas. She SO wanted to make nutritious meals the kids would enjoy. There was nothing "cafeteria" about her style. She made these kids food. Real food that she put a lot of thought into. It was incredible. She was magic. Overnight, lunchtime became magic.

One day she made this jello that I loved. I'm not exactly a jello sort of gal, so the fact that I loved this recipe is saying a lot. A whole lot. The funny thing is that this is not exactly an easy recipe. In fact, I've never actually made it. Whenever I pull the recipe out it just always seems like a little more work than what I had in mind at that moment. Which makes me respect Chef Levonne even more. She made trays and trays of this beautiful dessert for 100+ kids and every one of us that worked there. And it wasn't anything special. It was just a regular lunch day.



Chef Levonne's (magic) Strawberry Jello

2 6oz. Boxes of Strawberry Jello

1 Large Container Frozen Strawberries

1 Small Container Frozen Strawberries

10 Bananas

2 Cans Crushed Pineapple

1 Large Container Sour Cream

2 Cups Cold Water

2 Cups Boiling Water

Dissolve Strawberry Jello in 2 cups boiling water.

Add 2 cups cold water.

In a large bowl mash the bananas and add 2 cans of pineapple with juice.

Add both packages of strawberries (thawed).

Add Jello mixture.

Fill Pyrex dish 1/2 full.

Chill until firm.

Spread sour cream over firm jello and fill with remaining Jello mixture.

Set overnight in the refrigerator. (Must be made the day before it is needed.)

Sienipiirakka (Mushroom Pie)

During the 7 1/2 months I spent at the end of my mission serving in Franklin, North Carolina, I was fortunate enough to meet someone I will always consider one of my very best friends. Denise Kolousek.

If I could have invented a person that embodied what I wanted to be when I grew up, that was Denise. The Kolouseks were this cool sort of new-age hippie Mormon family with the cutest, neatest, smartest kids you ever met. It was rumored that their family was vegetarian, but it turned out they just ate more vegetables than most southerners were used to.

Denise bought cage-free eggs from the Winn-Dixie even though she was probably the only one in town that did because every time she got to the check out line either the clerk or another customer would wonder out loud why anyone on earth would spend $3 on a carton of eggs.

She knew about politics, the Gospel, world cultures, child development, history, and how to make bread from scratch. She home-schooled her kids and the North Carolina department of health sent her nasty letters on a regular basis because they didn't like her kids' lack of vaccinations.

She's got an amazing sense of humor - the whole family does, and when we went to their house we felt like we were at home. We could joke about the idiosyncrasies of southern culture, we could unload our frustrations of trying to help people change their lives and trying to figure out how the heck the Lord was trying to use us. They fed us GIANT, loaded baked potatoes just about every Sunday that came from their local CSA, and they were out of this world.

They lived in this old barnhouse that Matt had renovated. It was pine everywhere and their living room and kitchen were on the second story with an amazing view of those trees and hills that are Appalachia. Somehow Nora Jones was always playing in the background during dinner, and her music still reminds me of the time we got to spend with them. Denise was always positive and funny and could make someone she just met feel like they'd been friends for ages.

Denise was just the coolest.

She invited us to their family's Christmas party and she made this dish. I've only made it a few times, but it's delicious and totally worth every bit of effort it takes to make it. My boys do love mushrooms ... it may be time to make this again soon ...

Sienipiirakka (Mushroom Pie)

Filling:

2 1/2 cups chopped onions

3 Tablespoons butter

8 cups chopped mushrooms

1 teaspoon salt

lots of freshly ground pepper

8 ounces cream cheese

Crust:

2 1/2 cups unbleached white flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter

1 cup sour cream

flour for coating the dough and

board for rolling

Glaze:

1 egg

1 tablespoon milk

To make the filling, saute the onions in the butter in a large skillet. When the onions are soft and translucent, add the mushrooms and thyme and saute for a few more minutes until the mushrooms release their juices. Add the seasonings. Cut the cream cheese into small pieces and then stir it into the mushrooms until it melts. Remove from the heat and set aside until the crust is ready.

Preheat the oven to 400.

For the crust, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Using a mixer or by hand, cut in the butter just enough to achieve an evenly textured crumbly mix. Stir in the sour cream to form a soft dough. Generously dust the dough with flour and form it into a ball.

On a heavily floured board, roll out 2/3 of the dough to fit a 10" pie plate. Trim the edges. Fill with the mushroom mixture. Roll our the remaining dough about 1/4" thick and cut into 1" strips. Weave the lattice over the filling. (or use cut out shapes for top crust.)

For the glaze, beat the egg and milk. Thoroughly brush the crust, give leftover glaze to the dog.

Bake pie for 25 to 35 minutes, until crust is puffy and golden.

Yields 8 big servings. 

Way Too Easy Lemon Cheesecake

Remember how I said I fell in love with Lemon Pie on my mission? When I came across this recipe today, I remembered whose fault that was.



Lana Garfield. She was a member in Danville, VA. She was gorgeous, had beautiful house, a handsome husband, and 3 beautiful daughters between about 10 and 16, if I remember right. The Garfields were from Utah and they'd moved to Danville for Brother Garfield's job. Virginia was quite an adventure for that little family! Brian had come out first and Lana and the girls came out later. I remember laughing SO hard when Lana told me the story of how Bryan picked her up at the airport and was excited to show her around. As they were driving he said,

"See? Don't you like it?"

And Lana, in the sweetest voice with the most bewildered look on her face said,
"Nooo ... Not even a little bit."

(Maybe that's one of those stories she has to tell to be funny. ;)

Since the culture-shock was so great for her and her girls, Lana took it upon herself to be a mom to every missionary that was ever sent to Danville. She told me once something like, "I can just imagine these boys' sweet mothers back home ... they have no idea what their babies have gotten into!"

Lana was an AMAZING cook. Her kids only ever had home-made bread. (They would actually beg her for crappy white store-bought bread for a treat!) That poor woman! Eating at her house was such a treat. Not just because the food was fantastic, but because The Garfields were so great. Even though Sister Garfield was incredibly gorgeous and there was no way you could imagine her in any way being old enough to be your mom, she just ooozed motherhood and made you feel like she would take care of you.

For my birthday she took my companion, Sister Mitchell, and I to this totally girly little restaurant attached to a store that sold things like candles and potpourri and greeting cards. After lunch she convinced me to try a slice of their White Chocolate Lemon Cheesecake. It was definitely not what I would have picked on my own, but she told me I would love it.

Holy Moly, understatement of the decade. It was PERFECT.

Fast-forward to my next area. I made another great friend in a new mom from Utah, Jen Wilkinson. She had a beautiful little family and just happened to be a great cook, too. (Guess they know how to grow 'em in Utah.)

One day when I mentioned that amazing lemon cheesecake, she said, "Oh, I think I have a recipe you might like!" She was right. I did like it. It's really not some fabulous gourmet recipe. BUT, it's just easy enough that a Sister Missionary can make it on her P-Day. And sometimes that's really all that matters. Thanks, Jen! :)

Way Too Easy Lemon Cheesecake

12 oz. Cream Cheese

1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk

1/3 cup Lemon Juice

1 Pre-made Graham Cracker Pie Crust

Mix cream cheese and milk until smooth. Slowly mix in lemon. Pour into crust. Chill overnight.

German Pancakes & Buttermilk Syrup

Thank goodness Annelie was here to help for that first week or two after Jonas was born. Nothing like new mommy hormones and the irresistible desire to sit and stare at your new little bundle of deliciousness to make you lose track of time and let every normal household routine go down the tube. Not that that's a bad thing, I'm just really thankful I had someone to think about all the things I never would have in a million years ... like breakfast. Seriously, without Annelie breakfast would have been a fend for yourself event. There's bananas in the fruit basket, cereal on the shelf, and milk in the fridge - we're all good, right? But Annelie brought some rhythm to our day by making breakfast so yummy that everyone actually voluntarily came to the table for it.

My FAVORITE thing she made was German Pancakes with that indescribably heavenly Buttermilk Syrup. I finally realized that the reason it's so perfect is that it tastes like liquid cookie dough. (Ok, I think I just made it sound gross without meaning to.) But it's totally not. It's unbelievable. And whenever I make it I immediately remember sitting on the front porch at our table in the coolish summer mornings with the sunshine warming things up, and my sweet little baby either on my lap or in his little bassinet on the porch right beside me.

Heaven.

German Pancakes

1 cup milk

4 eggs

1 cup flour

a little salt

1/2 stick butter



Lower oven rack. Melt butter in casserole dish. (I have one of those old round deep Pyrex ones that works great.) Combine in order: milk, eggs, flour, salt. Mix on high for 3 minutes in blender, food processor, or hand mixer. Pour batter into hot butter and bake at 425 20-30 minutes or until fluffy in the middle, a tad crispy around the edges, and golden brown.



Buttermilk Syrup

1 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup buttermilk

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp vanilla

Melt butter in a large saucepan. (You need a big pan because it bubbles up a lot.) Add sugar and buttermilk. Bring to boil, stirring often enough that it doesn't burn or scald. Remove from heat when full boil is reached. Stir in vanilla and baking soda and pour on just about anything to serve. Leftovers can be refrigerated and reheated in microwave. 

Blackberry Crisp

Remember that recipe for Sweet Potato Pie? Well, the topping recipe has become one of my most useful tidbits of kitchen-knowledge. It is SO great to jazz up SO many recipes! I've used it as a topping for pumpkin pie, apple pie, and my personal favorite go-to dessert: Blackberry Crisp. It's super easy, and as far as desserts go, pretty darn healthy. My mom's property is surrounded by blackberry bushes, and for about 2 weeks in July we do our best to pick as many as we can and freeze them.

Since we never know how sweet they are, sometimes I add in some peaches to this recipe, or just douse those blackberries in agave nectar. Basically the recipe is to fill the bottom of a casserole dish with fruit and agave nectar (if needed) and sprinkle it with that magic Appalachian topping.

1 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/2 stick of butter

1 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts)

(I'm pretty sure I usually double those amounts.)

 

Bake at 400 8-10 minutes, then at 350 until no longer runny. Adding real whipped cream when serving is HIGHLY recommended. 

We recently had a chili cook off and cobbler contest at church and I was going to make my blackberry crisp but then realized it wasn't technically a cobbler, so I decided to use the official North Carolina Mission Home Peach Cobbler recipe. It was crap. I totally should have made this instead.

Oh, also, if you just cook this topping recipe in a skillet until it's crispy - it makes a GREAT ice cream topping!

Appalachian Sweet Potato Pie ... except not gross

Some missionaries have dinner appointments and have to worry about eating things like fish eye balls and fetal ducklings and monkey brains. You would think going to North Carolina you wouldn't have to worry about the food, especially since I'm not a picky eater. I think the only thing I really can't swallow is canned peas. The thing I didn't realize, though, is that the western-most regions of North Carolina are truly Appalachia. Remember the Darlings from The Andy Griffith Show? Yeah, that was my mission. (Seriously, Mayberry was in my mission boundaries.) I was a little surprised by the accent when I got there. I was expecting more of the usual southern drawl you think of, but really, most people that had been there for generations had that very stereotypical sort of accent that Hollywood uses for Hillbillies. They actually got that right! And, really, the real mountain folk don't consider hillbilly an offensive term at all (unless you're trying to be offensive.) I had no idea when I got my mission call to North Carolina that I would one day be eating fried squirrel, and I was totally bummed to find out that RIGHT after I went home, my companion got to eat bear.

 

The things that most people thought were really scary to eat (like squirrels and chitlins) I was totally fine with. It was some of the more run of the mill southern food that I had to work up the courage for. Case in point: here is part of a letter dated 26 June 2003, when I was serving in Danville, VA. One of our investigators, an 81 year old man, and his 56 year old girlfriend surprised us with a home made dinner at one of our teaching appointments.



"... at our next appointment Lawrence made us spaghetti, salad, garlic bread, and celery with cream cheese on it. (We had JUST eaten!) And y'all know how southern folks are about forcing you to eat. Southern spaghetti is like spaghetti-soup, so that wasn't a surprise, but Lawrence's stuff was BAD, bless his heart. They're not dirty people but they have this cat, Spooky, that I don't know what's wrong with it, but it's all like greasy and scabby and it's always on the table, so the table was pretty dirty with the stuff that falls off Spooky. The spaghetti was made with giant hunks of chuck roast (that wasn't all the way cooked) and italian sausage and country sausage. The salad was made with vegetables from his garden, so that was really nice, but he's old and can't see that well, and in the big salad bowl there was a bug crawlin' around.
It was one of those times where Sister Scanlan and I could NOT look at each other because we were holding in laughing the WHOLE time. Lawrence made such a big deal out of his cream cheese celery appetizers. He was SO excited for us to try them. They had brown stuff on them that looked like dirt, and I kept imagining it was stuff that fell off Spooky! Sister Scanlan took the smallest one which was ok with me because I got the one with the least brown stuff on it. Lawrence and Nancy were watching us as we took our first bite. We both bit into it at the same time, and that was it - we were stuck. We couldn't tear the bite off! The celery was so old it was like hard rubber! So now we've got this celery stickin' out of our mouths and we can't stop laughing!"

I'll take bear, squirrel, or even opossum, any day over that!



One thing that I forgot I wasn't too fond of before arriving in North Carolina was sweet potatoes. They were something I only ever had at Thanksgiving, I would always try a little, remember I didn't like them, and then not think about them again for a year. But in North Carolina sweet potatoes are a year-round dish, and one that everyone has a signature recipe for that they are very proud to serve you. (Invariably these recipes involve LOTS of brown sugar, and very often pineapple and pecans.) Instead of old fashioned boring sweet potato pie, usually they would call their sugar-filled sweet potato dishes, "Sweet Potato Fluff," and they all assumed we'd never had anything as yummy as their version of Sweet Potato Fluff.

I got used to them enough that I could eat them without having to concentrate on what my facial expressions were doing, but I never did have a Sweet Potato Fluff that was as yummy as it was reported to be.

Thanksgiving, 2005, James and I flew out to Utah to spend a few days with his newly relocated parents and brother and sister in law. Annelie happened to be in Utah visiting her sister and neices, so she stopped by for bit on Thanksgiving, too. She brought Sweet Potato Fluff. I couldn't believe it, I know I busted up laughing. But she didn't bring it as a joke, she said this was the only version she actually liked on her mission and she got the recipe from a lady in Stuart, VA. I was skeptical. I figured it would be edible, but certainly not yummy. I was wrong. It was great. The FIRST sweet potato fluff that lived up to its reputation.

I actually call it a pie because when I make it I put it in a pie shell. Usually sweet potato fluffs are crustless. I've also made some changes to the recipe that I'll note that make it not so sweet. I have NO idea why we think we need to take the sweetest vegetable ever and then add a bunch of sugar to it! If you use the full amount of sugar it's like a dessert that you'll only want a small amount of, if you reduce the sugar it has a little more street cred to make its way onto your Thanksgiving plate with all the other stuff.

Appalachian Sweet Potato Pie ... except not gross

Filling:

2 cups mashed sweet potatoes (change #1: I discovered when Sam was a baby that there are orange sweet potatoes and white sweet potatoes. The white ones are less sweet, and in my opinion MUCH tastier. I actually MAKE sweet potatoes now, something I never thought would happen!)

1 stick of butter (softenened)

2 egg yolks (reserve the whites to use in this recipe later)

1 cup brown sugar (change #2: You really don't need that much. It's good that way, but I like it better with a little less sugar.)

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/2 cup milk

2 egg whites beaten stiff with 1/4 cup sugar (again, your call on the amount of sugar.)

Mix first six ingredients, add milk, then fold in beaten egg white mixture. Pour into a greased 9x13 casserole dish (for fluff) or a pie crust (for pie.)

Topping:

1 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup flour

1/2 stick of butter

1 cup chopped pecans

Mix together and sprinkle over the top.

Bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes, then at 350 until firm about 40+ minutes.

Breakfast Cookies

You know that theory about how what you eat when you're pregnant and breastfeeding affects your baby's tastes and what they'll want to eat when they have the choice. Yeah, I think that's true. (Unfortunately.)

When I was pregnant with Sam, food tasted SO wonderful. I would go to a taco cart and think, these are the BEST tacos I've ever had! I would go to McDonald's and think, Did they change their chicken nuggets? These are AMAZING! That was one of my favorite parts about being pregnant.

Then I got little Jonas. I kept waiting for those pregnancy taste buds to kick in, and I was so disappointed when they never did! With Sam I had very definite cravings. I think my biggest was milk. It HAD to be Sunnyside whole milk, and it HAD to be ice cold. (Like poured in a glass full of ice or it wasn't cold enough.) With Jonas, I definitely did have cravings, but they changed alot. I remember craving really cooked zucchini, like cooked to almost mushy. Fried zucchini was heavenly. I also almost never wanted meat. Jonas doesn't eat much meat now, either. If he does, he mostly just chews it into a big wad and then spits it out after holding it in his mouth about 20 minutes. While Sam has always been a great eater, Jonas has had a definite sweet tooth from the very beginning. It's totally my fault. He eats exactly the way I would (and sometimes do) when I don't guilt-trip myself into eating good.

One morning he came into the kitchen and said in the sweetest little voice ...

"Please have cookie, Mommee???"

"You want a cookie for breakfast?"

"Yep."

"Well ... what kind of cookie did you have in mind?"

"Big, giant cookie."

Yep, he's definitely my son.

While instant oatmeal isn't the most nutritious breakfast ever, it's acceptable enough to me. My kids aren't spending 6 hours a day at school so they don't need a few oats doused in sugar to sustain their brains and bodies that long, so I'm ok with it for now. That's why this recipe is so great to me. It's cookies. For breakfast. And since that packaged instant oatmeal already has plenty of sugar in it, they're not eating anything worse than a bowl of oatmeal. They do turn out just a tad rubbery, I'm not sure how to improve that yet. But they've never complained about them, they're convinced they're cookies, and I'm not opposed to eating them either.

Breakfast Cookies

 2 pkgs. Instant Oatmeal (any flavor - we usually use apple cinnamon)
2 Tbsp. Flour
4 Tbsp. Applesauce
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/4 tsp. Vanilla
I usually sprinkle in a little extra cinnamon if we're using apple cinnamon oatmeal
Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

Chicken Corn Rivel Soup

When I graduated high school, my Gramma gave me the choice of taking a trip to Hawaii for a week, or taking the summer to travel around the United States in their RV. I think I surprised her when I picked traveling across the country and that she was actually hoping I'd pick Hawaii!

One of the places I loved was Pennsylvania Amish Country. So much of me wants to be Amish! (You know - pick and choose the good parts: living simply, having a close knit community, etc.) One of the things I was a little surprised by was how much I LOVED Amish food. I couldn't believe it. I was so interested in their quilting and furniture making and farming that I never even thought about their food. It was amazing. It was like everything I ate somehow tasted familiar, like I'd had it years ago and couldn't quite place it. Yet a dish that seemed completely normal that I was sure I'd had a million times in my life was suddenly the best version I'd EVER had.

My Grandpa was in culinary heaven, too. As a child of Illinois/Wisconsin farmers descended from German immigrants, THIS was HIS food.

 I immediately started buying Amish cook books. I HAD to figure out their secret. THIS is how I wanted to cook. Unfortunately, it didn't take me too long to realize their ham was the best ham ever because it didn't come from the grocery store. Their vegetables were so flavorful because they were heirloom varieties they grew themselves and hadn't been shipped across the country.

Shoot. I was hoping for a secret ingredient. Can't you just sell me some "Amish Spice" or something?

This recipe for Corn Rivel Soup is my attempt at recreating the world's most perfect soup I had while I was there. It's now my go-to recipe whenever anyone is sick, and my number one craving during those yucky weeks of morning sickness.

(I apologize for my lack of decisiveness in the amounts. I just put in enough until it "looks right.")

Chicken Corn Rivel Soup

Chicken – I don’t know how much. You can use a whole chicken, but really it’s easiest to use boneless pieces because you don’t have to take the bones out after it cooks, and white meat tastes better in this soup than dark meat.

Carrots, and Celery – as much as looks right to you! Maybe 6 carrots and 4 celery???

1 can of Corn – pour in the whole can – juice and all – it will make your broth sweeter

1 onion chopped really small (minced?)

Seasoning: Garlic, Salt, Pepper, and a little bit of Chili Powder

Water and some chicken broth or bouillon if you have it – if not water’s fine

Pour everything in a big pot with plenty of liquid over it to cover everything. If you cook it with the lid on it will cook faster and you’ll lose less water. If you used chicken with bones in it, you’ll need to pull the chicken out with tongs and get the bones out once it’s cooked. Shred the chicken with a fork and return it to the pot.

Once the chicken is cooked through and the carrots are as soft as you like, your soup is done and you can add the rivels.

Rivels (Amish Dumplings)

1 cup flour

1 egg

¼ cup milk

(I usually double this recipe)

Combine flour and egg. Add milk. (I use a fork to mix it all up.) It makes a sticky dough. Get your soup boiling good and drop little balls of the dough (the smaller the better) into it. The dough is so sticky they won’t be pretty round balls, they’ll be all sorts of weird looking shapes! They only take about 2 minutes to cook and then you can eat your soup.

Baby Cakes

First Birthday Parties are weird.

 

You spend your baby's first year trying to give them the best start with the best nutrition. You're supposed to brush their little gums before their teeth even pop out, and you wouldn't even think of giving them candy, for goodness sakes. You've successfully protected them from the dangers of honey, dairy, egg whites, gobs of peanut butter, grapes, hot dogs, and popcorn.

But then on that magical day that they turn 12 months old, all of a sudden you're supposed to surround them with a bunch of strangers who all want to gather around and stare at them, or even scarier, pick them up and make funny noises at them! We expect them to be pleased about all this because this whole shin-digg is FOR THEM, after all. And just in case they make it through an hour or so of all that excitement without any meltdowns, you're also expected to let your pure, undefiled baby dive into a gob of butter, sugar, eggs, shortening, and dyes (along with who-knows-what they put in those store bought cakes) because if you don't you are an over-protective neurotic mother who needs to cut those apron strings and let that poor kid have a little fun. (We'll all have gone home by the time your little one has that sugar crash anyway, so that won't be a problem.)

No need to fear. We can fool all those grown ups and still give our babies the joy of diving into something sweet. Solution #1 ...

Yes, I do realize this may be the ugliest cake ever. Had I not had to transport it an hour away in a Honda Civic, had all of about 5 minutes to try and decorate it, AND ran out of my pre-made frosting, it MAY have turned out better. But, it's completely junk-free and still yummy, and someone with a tad bit of cake decorating skills could work magic with this recipe.

Sam's 1st Birthday Cake

Beat 1 1/3 cup Mashed Banana with 1 cup Softened Butter.

Beat in 1 1/2 cup Apple Juice.

Beat 6 eggs until foamy, then add to mixture.

Blend in: 4 cups unbleached flour (you could even use whole wheat if you want to be an over-achiever), 4 tsp. Baking Powder, 2 tsp. Baking Soda, and 2 tsp. Cinnamon (optional)

Grease (with butter or olive oil) and flour 2 cake pans (I had a TON leftover I used as a base for muffins.)

Bake at 350 for 20+ minutes.

Frosting:

Puree Bananas in the food processor to get close to the amount of frosting you would want on the cake. Then start adding Rice Cereal; this will give it the consistency you'll need for it to hold up like frosting. As it sits it will get harder and harder. After traveling in the car for an hour it was completely un-spreadable so I put it back in the food processor and added apple juice to get the right consistency. Oh, I also forgot to mention that that rice cereal is going to turn those bananas to a very artistic color of GRAY. So ... if you're against food coloring, get out the beet juice because you're gonna need to add some color.

Option #2 ...

Sam's Second 1st Birthday Cake

Sam actually got 2 first birthday parties. The first was at my dad's house and the second was at home. For our party at home I took a different tactic. I was blessed with a little boy who loves to eat. One of his favorite foods has always been mashed potatoes. I figured, he has no idea a cake is supposed to be sweet, so I baked corn bread in 2 cake pans and frosted it with mashed potatoes that I added green food coloring to. Then I added a couple of his farm animal toys on the top. It was SO totally cute, I can't believe I didn't get a picture of it!

Option #3 (For the second baby)

Jonas's 1st Birthday Cake

Poor second babies. We're never quite as diligent with them, are we? I was so busy planning clever decorations and food that I totally forgot to put some effort into the baby's cake. Besides, he had an older brother that already introduced him to the wonderful world of sugar, so he wasn't quite as protected as Sam had been!

Honestly, for the cake part, I copped out and just used a Butter Yellow Cake Mix. BUT, if you wanted to be just as easy and a tad healthier, you can mix any flavor cake mix with a can of pumpkin.

 

For the "frosting" I used pureed bananas and rice cereal with a generous helping of jarred baby food sweet potatoes to get that orangey color. (I was going for a goldfish, can you tell?) And since my mother in law and I decorated it with fruit on top, he actually just spent a long time eating all the fruit off!

See? He got just as messy as any other baby and had just as much fun 

(except without the sugar-crash tantrums.)

Waiting For Jonas Pie

The summer of 2009, I swore I would plan ALL future pregnancies so that I would never again have to spend the summer pregnant!

In June, we moved to Paradise, CA, and I spent the summer trying to get unpacked, occasionally tending a last-minute garden, and trying to keep a baby cooking.

(Nope, I wasn't in labor. Apparently that's the face I made when trying to get up after weeding.)

My best friend, Annelie, came about a week before Jonas arrived to help with all the things you need help with when a baby comes. (Thank you, Jesus.) Annelie got here just as the apples on our tree became ripe and then promptly starting dropping off the tree. Annelie refused to let them go to waste and immediately started dehydrating them and making applesauce. She asked if I had a good recipe for apple pie and I said, "If you're making it, I'll find one!"

We made a few changes to a recipe we found for Sour Cream Apple Pie and Annelie made 2. For the next few days I ate that pie for breakfast, dessert, and occasionally for a snack. (Hello ... Apples! It was FULL of good nutrition for growing a baby!)

Just after midnight August 17, 2009 I went into labor. I'd gone to bed at 10:00, and since I was having an extremely difficult time getting comfortable those days, I hadn't yet gotten any REAL sleep. If I was having a baby in the morning I was gonna need my rest, so I did my best to sleep in between contractions. At 2:00 I decided to get up and do my hair and makeup and pack up any last minute things for the hospital. (Don't laugh - I had taken a shower right before bed, and I have naturally curly/crazy hair! I couldn't go to the hospital like that!) It turned out I pretty much scrapped the idea of making myself presentable, because it didn't take long once I got out of bed that those contractions started picking up and it took enough of  my energy and concentration that flat-ironing my hair didn't seem quite as necessary as it had before.

By 2:30 I decided I'd better wake James and Annelie up so they could get ready, too. James was not too excited about getting up at 2:30 in the morning so he decided to time my contractions before getting ready. (I think he was hoping to able to go back to bed.) When he saw they were 1 minute apart, he was suddenly wide awake.

Just before leaving the house, guess what I had the privilege of throwing up? Yep, that pie was the last thing I'd eaten before bed. You'd think that would make me never want to eat it again, right? But as soon as it was time to go home from the hospital, my first question was, "Is there any of that pie left?" It's just that good.

Waiting For Jonas Pie

Filling:

1 Egg

1 cup Sour Cream

2 Tbsp. Flour

1/4 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Vanilla

3 cups (1 1/4 pounds) peeled sliced Tart Apples

1 9" Unbaked Pie Shell (Frozen or Chilled in Freezer for 30 minutes.)

Topping:

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1/3 cup Flour

1/4 cup Butter (room temp)

1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

Beat together sour cream, sugar, flour, salt, vanilla, and egg.

Add apples, mixing carefully to coat well.

Put filling in pie shell and Bake at 400 for 25 minutes.

Mix topping ingredients until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

After 25 minutes, remove pie from oven and sprinkle with topping.

Bake for 20 more minutes.

Let cool for 1 hour before serving.

Sunshine Soup

I've ALWAYS wanted to be a mom. Always. I know lots of young women grow up dreaming of having everything ... a gorgeous house, a challenging career, the perfect family. But I never had any illusions of being able to do it all. I know my limits. There's always been lots of things I wanted to do in my life, but I knew when the time came, all I wanted to do was be a mom.

Fast forward to the summer of 2006. James and I had been married a little over a year, we were 25, and realized that our routine of full-time work sprinkled with a few evening classes was making for pretty slow progress. We'd reached the point that it seemed like we needed to make the leap for James to quit work and start going to school full-time. We also realized that if we continued to put off having children until he was done with school, it was going to be a LOOOONG time.

We weren't exactly sure HOW people manage to have families and go to school at the same time, but we knew that BYU Married Student Housing (AKA The Rabbit Hutches) were full of examples of families that were managing to pull it off. So we took the leap. Unfortunately that financial aid that we thought was going to fill in the gaps was pretty much non-existent. The cruel trick is that financial aid goes off of your PREVIOUS YEAR'S taxes. (Back when we were both working full-time.) Not helpful. So now we were living on HALF of our previous income with the clock ticking of when this baby would come and we would have NO income in sight. Congratulations!

This time that I had always looked forward to was finally here, but instead of it being a happy time looking forward to welcoming a baby into our family, it became a pretty scary time not having any idea how we were going to make our dream work. It was never in my plans to leave my baby and return to work, but as reality was setting in, I began preparing for the heartwrenching day when I would have to drop my baby off somewhere and spend the day at work. For now the plan was to work and save as much as we possibly could (on HALF our income) until March when the baby would come, and then HOPEFULLY something would fall into place.



Imagine our surprise when we woke up one morning in JANUARY and 3 hours later had a son.

Being forced to leave my baby in a box at the hospital over and over gave me the conviction REAL quick that there was NO WAY I was leaving my baby ever again. We would live in a tent if we had to, we would sell everything we owned if we needed to, but I would be home to raise my son.



I can't say that first year or two was EASY, but it definitely wasn't impossible, and it wasn't nearly as hard as it seemed it would be. Our first time applying for financial aid (which was while I was pregnant) we pretty much got nothing. Our previous year's taxes showed we were a married couple who both had full-time jobs, so no financial aid needed, right? Our next year's taxes showed a few months of both of us working full time and the rest of the year me working full time, so we got enough financial aid to cover school costs, but nothing to live on. Not too long after Sam was born, my super-hero husband got a part-time job. (Enter: the era of having a totally awesome husband that I pretty much only saw while sleeping.)



We were fortunate to have family and friends who were very generous in supplying us with everything a baby could ever want. (We also learned pretty quickly that for quite a while babies really don't need much more than a person to hold them. Preferably one with boobies.)



I returned things we didn't need to get store credit for the things we did, and sold things on ebay. (Preemie clothes fetch a pretty good price!) I made some slings and returned the play pen. I can't even begin to calculate the money we saved on not having to buy formula, Praise Jesus! We had a garden that wasn't super successful, but we did have all the cucumbers and zuccinni we could ever want. (Coming up with creative uses for it was pretty interesting!) We saved a TON of money on food (and a million other things) just by me being home. When you're not working full-time you have time to look for things on sale, and you can spend the time it takes to make things from scratch. Besides the priceless benefits of being able to BE with your baby, it just made good financial-sense for me to stay home. With the amount of money I made working and the expenses that my working would entail (gas money ... quicker, easier food ... vehicle maintenence) I would literally be handing my check over to a babysitter and probably be losing more money than I made. Who knew?



Since James had to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner away from home (and usually while driving to school or work) I made a lot of sandwiches. Bread was expensive so I started making it every other day.

We ate A LOT of beans. and rice. and fish my uncle had caught. Soups were the best way to stretch meat, and I could use a few really cheap ham hocks to make a HUGE pot of soup. Sometimes my made-up concoctions using whatever I had on hand or whatever I could find super-cheap didn't turn out all that great, but we ate them anyway. Sometimes they did turn out great, like this one potato soup I made with dill and sausage. BUT ... after eating it every day for several days, the sausage and dill flavors were a little much, and it didn't taste as great anymore! Thank goodness I married the least picky eater ever. That sure came in handy during those days!

This soup is my favorite from that era. This recipe is just a rough outline, I've made it lots of times adding lots of different things to it. It's got that nourishing, comfort food quality to it, and it has the distinction of being the first of many foods I spilled on my baby's face while nursing.



Sunshine Soup

(I found this on a faded little square of scratch paper, so it's not exactly a detailed recipe.)

1 pound Yellow Split Peas

4 cups chopped Carrots (about 8)

2 cups chopped Celery (about 4)

4-6 cups Chicken Broth

1 Onion (sauteed)

2 tsp Chili Powder

2 tsp Garlic Powder

1 tsp Pepper

1 tsp Salt

1 can Evaporated Milk (add at the end)

I made it stretch even more by using it as a sauce to pour over rice. I've added Cream of Celery soup to it, and once an antique package of powdered Cream of Asparagus Soup, Curry powder is great in it, as are ham hocks or bacon. It's just a really basic, really yummy and versatile soup base that you can do a million things with. I still love it.

Annelie's Deep Dark Chocolate Cheesecake



11 days after Jonas was born, I turned 29. (For the first time.) The day before my birthday Annelie took Sam with her to drive James to school, and then they never came home. I was sure they must've been having a good time; maybe they just stopped at the park or something. I knew she was just being nice and giving me a break to melt over my new little baby, but it had been HOURS, and I was ... not so much getting worried ... but just missing my little Sam. They came back without much explanation of where they'd been, but everyone was happy, so I didn't think too much about it.

The next day (my birthday) I found out where they'd been. She was taking Sam all over Chico gathering birthday presents for me! First they went to one of my favorite stores, World Market, and bought me a knife. Sam picked me out an orange one, that to this day he is still so proud of. She bought me a Wendell Berry book, "On Farming and Food," a hand-made candle, and an ice cream scoop. (She knows me well.) My FAVORITE present was a pair of earrings that Sam picked out for me. They're these delicate sterling silver filligree gypsy-style earrings that are just small enough I can wear them just about every day. (And you better believe I do.)

Can you see them in this picture?

Is there any way to melt a Mommy's heart quicker than a sweet gift from her little boy that he picked out all by himself??? And the fact that they were earrings I actually loved made it even more special. His second choice was a pair of Halloween mummy earrings. I'm sure I would have loved those too, but I'm not quite as sure I would want to wear them everyday! :)

The great thing about having your best friend around for your birthday is that they KNOW your weakness. Annelie knew the most sinful, indulgent thing I could have in my lactating hormonal state was chocolate cheesecake. What better way to get back to my girlish figure, right?

In all seriousness, this cheesecake should come with a warning label. If you're thinking, "Oooh, cheesecake with a little chocolate sounds fun," then this is NOT the cheesecake for you. This stuff is NO JOKE. Even the toughest chocoholics will only want a SMALL piece of this. 

Annelie's Deep Dark Chocolate Cheesecake

Crust:

24 Chocolate Wafer Cookies (from one 9oz. pkg.) ***Annelie actually used chocolate graham crackers. I think crushed oreo crumbs would be great, too. "chocolate wafer cookies" just seem a little too weak-sauce for this recipe.***

1 Tbsp. Sugar. (or a little more)

1/4 cup melted butter (may need a little more to get the consistency right.)

Filling:

1 (9.7oz.) Bar of 70% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate (chopped)

4 (8oz.) Cream Cheese packages

1 1/4 cups + 2 Tbsp. Sugar

1/4 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

4 Large Eggs

Topping:

3/4 cup Heavy Whipping Cream

6 oz. 70% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate (chopped)

1 Tbsp. Sugar

Annelie's Notes:

I used a 9 inch springform pan and had leftover that I put in muffin tins.

Crust: I just used chocolate graham crackers mashed up in a baggie and made a regular graham cracker crust, but the recipe using wafer cookies is as follows:

Blend cookies in food processor until finely ground. Blend in sugar, add melted butter, and process until well blended. Pressin bottom of pan and cook until set. (about 5 min.) Let cool while making the filling.

Filling: Melt chopped chocolate in double boiler, cool until luke warm but still pourable. Blend cream cheese, sugar, cocoa powder in processor (I used a hand mixer) until smooth. Blend in eggs one at a time. Mix in luke warm chocolate, pour in pan, and smooth top. Bake until center appears dry. (About 1 hour, maybe longer. Don't worry about cracking, it's alright.) Cool 5 minutes, then run knife around sides. Chill overnight. (or not - I baked it in the early morning and chilled it 'till that night.)

Topping: Stir cream, 6 oz. chocolate, and sugar in medium saucepan over low heat until smooth. Cool slightly. Pour over center of cheesecake. Spread within 1 inch of edge, filling in cracks. Chill until top is set. (about 1 hour.)

Release sides and transfer to platter. Let stand 2 hours at room temp. Make sure I am home and then eat. If I'm out of state, call me when you start to chill it to give me time to get there.

Banana Puddin'

I probably would have gone my whole life without ever trying Banana Pudding had I not been a missionary in North Carolina. If North Carolina had an official state dessert, this would be it. I first ate it just to be polite, but I was pleasantly surprised at how yummy it is. (Ok, kinda shocked, actually.) I never would've guessed it! I ended up having A LOT of banana pudding (excuse me, banana puddin' ) in the 21 months I was there. Some were definitely better than others, but I can't say I ever had one that was bad. The BEST recipes had this slight tanginess to them ... I was never sure whether it was cream cheese or sour cream. Somehow I never managed to pick up a recipe while I was there. A while back I wrote Sister Smith, my first Mission President's wife, and she sent me this recipe that seems just about perfect. It came from a lady in Charlotte, Pat Brashaw, and was the recipe Sister Smith used for Mission Home dinners.

North Carolina Charlotte Mission

Banana Puddin' 2000-2003

2 small packages of instant pudding (banana cream flavor)

1 small package of instant pudding (vanilla)

5 cups milk

1 (16 oz.) carton Cool Whip

1 8 oz. carton sour cream (1 cup)

8-12 bananas (or more as desired)

1 box Vanilla Wafers

*Mix puddings and milk.

*Fold in sour cream and 3/4 of the Cool Whip (12 oz.) Save the rest for the top.

*In 8x12 (or larger) glass dish, layer wafers, bananas, and pudding mixture until all are used.

*Top with remaining Cool Whip (Drop by spoonful and swirl into pudding showing white and yellow contrast.)

*Cover with plastic wrap and store in refrigerator.

*This make a large amount and will keep quite a while.

(I haven't made this yet, and even though it would be going against southern tradition, I think when I do, I'll have to ditch the Cool Whip and use REAL whipping cream!)

Lemon Grammy Squares



My Gramma loves Lemon Pie. But it's something she only ever has at restaurants because she's the only one in the family that thinks lemon has any business gettin' itself in dessert. She raised two die-hard chocolate-lovin' daughters who can't help but make gagging noises when someone mentions lemon and pie in the same sentence (or pretty much any fruit other than apple.)

But then I came along. The Golden Child. I think my first slice of Lemon Pie came from Sizzler. (Gramma and I used to have a blast at The Sizzler Buffet!) Lemon Pie was A-OK with me, no gagging noises necessary.

North Carolina is sprinkled with Buffet Restaurants called Ryan's. If you've been to Golden Corral you've pretty much been to Ryan's. (I think they must be owned by the same company because their food is exactly the same as far as I can remember, and you never have them both in the same town.) They both have these INCREDIBLE yeast rolls with melted butter on top that, mark my words, SOME DAY I will master the art of making, and they both have a lemon pie that I fell in love with while I was there.

The kind-hearted folks in Virginia and North Carolina took us missionaries to Ryan's a lot. I totally get it now. Sometimes you just don't have time to make your house presentable or make a dinner you think someone that's not legally married to you will want to eat. (I also always served in areas immediately after Elders had been there for years, so I think people got wise to the fact that it's a whole lot easier to fill up hard-working 19-21 year old boys on the few dollars it costs for a buffet than for the amount you would normally spend on groceries for that large of a meal.)

Plus, if it's a treat for your family to go out to eat, it's gotta be a treat for the missionaries, too, right? The problem was everybody had that same idea. You don't notice that ALL of a buffet's food tastes the same until you eat there a few times a week.

But the aforementioned Rolls From Heaven, and those little triangles of refreshing Lemon Meringue Pie all lined up on those big steel trays and sitting on little white paper doilies made up for any other food-crimes buffets inherently commit. I could force myself to eat just enough other stuff so that stories wouldn't circulate about that red-headed sister missionary that only eats rolls and pie.

My attempts at recreating the perfect lemon pie have come to no avail. I don't like the corn starchy recipes. They remind me of gravy. (Lemon + Gravy = Involuntary Gagging Noises.) But any lemon pie recipe that calls for Jello is just plain wrong. (I may be a lazy cook, but I'd like to think I'm better than Jello for goodness sakes.) After we moved to Paradise I noticed 2 of our grocery stores carry personal sized pies from a restaurant up in Washington. They make a Sour Cream Lemon Pie that is everything I could ever want from a pie you don't have to make yourself. mmmmm... My mouth is watering just thinking about it. But at $2.99 each, it is reserved for special-occasions only. Someday I'll attempt a Sour Cream Lemon Pie recipe, but that day has not yet arrived.

Until then I've found the perfect solution in this recipe. I was so excited to make some for Gramma when she came up to visit. I KNEW she would appreciate them, and she did. I saw her melt a little with her first bite. Mission accomplished.

And since these are WAYYY easier to make than any pie, it's a little hard to convince myself to experiment with a recipe I might hate. Does it seem weird to anyone else to give away a pie with a missing piece?

"Here, I made this pie and I hated it, but you might like it." (???)

Not sure how to sell that one yet.

For now I'll stick with these ...

Lemon Grammy Squares

Filling:

1 can (14 oz.) Sweetened Condensed Milk

1/2 cup Lemon Juice (using fresh really does make a difference, but either way is great.)

 Combine above (filling) and set aside

Crust and Topping:

1 1/2 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs (about 24 Squares)

3/4 cup Flour

1/3 cup Packed Brown Sugar

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1 pinch Salt

1/2 cup melted Butter

Press half of (above) crumb mixture in 9" square baking dish.

Pour in lemon mixture.

Sprinkle with the rest of the crumbs.

Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes.