Goodbye 2010!

Here's one last shot of 2010...Robbie taking pictures with my iPhone. While I was trying to get a decent shot of Cub for the holiday cards (the boy just doesn't sit still long!), I gave Robbie my phone and he took a few images in the small park near our house. So, I guess you could call this our holiday card outtake for the year. I was quick to delete some "bad" images right off the camera because my card space was low. I realized later I probably deleted a couple of true outtakes that were pretty funny.
Happy New Year, all! Be safe out there. All the best in 2011.

Done!

I finished my ornaments before the 25th this year. That would have been fine if we were in California. But we were not, so they were mailed late. Living here, I know I shouldn’t be against sending large gift packages, but for some reason I don’t want to. I like to make small, handmade, non-breakable gifts that fit in small envelopes. I don’t want to have to stand in line for postage and I can drop them into a blue, street-side post office box with a lot of stamps. Another bonus? While the cut-off for guaranteed large package delivery from Hawai’i to the Mainland usually falls between the 15th and the 20th, in years past I’ve mailed things as late as the 21st and 22nd and items were received on the West Coast. Nice!
Beaded and quilted items do the trick, and luckily, that’s what I like to do. This year I made gingerbread quilt blocks. All the materials (except for the ribbon used to make bows – and that only cost me $2.00) were already on hand, purchased years ago for other projects and just waiting to be used up. The gingerbread are made of brown ultrasuede, hand-stitched around the sides with DMC embroidery floss. All other fabrics are standard cotton quilt fabrics in reds and greens, of which I have plenty! I had fun breaking out my sewing machine again and loved diving into my fabric stash (the only downside is that I did irritate Noel one too many times when he came home from work and found the ironing board set up in the kitchen). Sorry friends and family, I think you’ll be seeing a lot of these in the holiday seasons to come. Beaded ornaments just might be on the backburner for a while.

12 Days of Christmas: After-Christmas sale SCORE

Noel and I dropped the boys off with the grandparents yesterday and went to the mall for an evening movie. Although Noel suspects it, I did not know their was a Hallmark store right next door to the ticket window. (I *did* know their was one at the mall and that's partly why I chose that location for the movie, but we were late so I thought my chance was gone.) We had five minutes before the store closed and I ran in. Sweet! They had the Polar Express ornament the other store had sold out of. And 50% off! I was going to get only one, but Noel encouraged me to get two. The boys, playing with their Santa ornament deliveries as toys, had already broken a few. So Noel thought a spare would be a good idea. Oh, no no no. These babies aren't going to be seen by the boys, at least not this year. I'm sticking them in the Xmas garage box today, maybe Santa will deliver them next year! Or maybe the boys will have one each in the very far future when they have their own trees.

12 Days of Christmas: Inspiring gifts

Merry Christmas to all! Here's to family, friends, and good health. Hope everyone is enjoying all today. This lovely beaded table runner was a gift for me. Beautiful and inspiring...oh, the things I can make next year.

12 Days of Christmas: Christmas lights!

After dinner with the boys last night, I made Noel drive through a Kapolei neighborhood that goes all out with light displays. It's the same neighborhood with the Heineken tree -and yes, it's still there. They didn't disappoint with the display this year. I think the boys liked it a lot, maybe because there's even a train that circles under the Heineken tree. We might go by once more in the next few days and get out and walk around a bit - last night we were kind of in a hurry to get to the store for the one more thing I needed for my ornaments.

12 Days of Christmas: Almost homemade cookies

I wanted to bring some sweets to a Christmas party last Friday, but didn’t think I’d have the time to do iced sugar cookies or gingerbread like I wanted to. I found Betty Crocker Pumpkin Spice cookie mix in the grocery store (placed right where they wanted me to see – and buy - on the end of the aisle) and picked up a package. I don’t even know if I’ve had pumpkin spice cookies before, but I love pumpkin bread and I love pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks, so I tried them. Yum! If you love the seasonal latte like I do, you are going to like this cookie. I followed package directions except for the baking times. I needed an extra 3-4 minutes and a few still turned out a little gooey. The packaging also says to use Betty Crocker Cream Cheese frosting (of course), but I mixed up my own quick frosting of powdered sugar, melted butter, milk, and a drop of vanilla. I drizzled on the frosting, let it set for a bit, then plated them and headed to the party. Sorry, no time for even a cell phone picture.
I really want to make my own now. I checked out the ingredients and other than the typical cookie ingredients, they had a couple of different flours, “pumpkin flakes,” and a number of spices they wouldn’t list. I think I’ll try to tweak a basic sugar cookie recipe by adding a little wheat flour, brown sugar, pumpkin puree, and pumpkin pie spices. That will have to be after Christmas…I’m close to finishing my ornaments, but I think I’m throwing in the towel to have them finished, mailed, and delivered on time.

12 Days of Christmas: Santa Claus Station postmark

I received the 2010 postmarked item from Santa Claus, Indiana. I think it's kind of fun, but I know not everyone is into stamps and all. It's not too late to get something with the special cancellation, but it is too late to get it back to you by the 24th. This from a third-party site:
If you want to have the Santa Claus Post Office add a picture postmark and then send your holiday mail onwards to your recipients, package all your cards and letters -with postage stamps affixed-in a sturdy envelope or box, and mail to:
Santa Claus Postmark
Postmaster
Santa Claus Station
Santa Claus, IN 47579-9998
Be sure to send your box or envelopes early. The post office should receive them no later than December 15 to ensure Christmas delivery.

Soup of the Day

Here's one of my favorite things to make with a big bag of baby carrots from Costco: Carrot soup. Shockingly not local for me, but inexpensive, filling, and good for days I wake up and vow to eat less sugar.
Starting in a large soup pot, I sauté 1.5 - 2 white or yellow onions with 1-2 tablespoons of minced garlic in a generous amount of olive oil. I add a ton of coarsely chopped carrots, let cook for a minute, season with a hearty dash of black pepper, then add chicken or vegetable stock to cover the carrots by an inch or two. This time I used two entire boxes of stock, and needed more liquid, so I added 2 cups water. Let it boil and/or simmer for at least 25 minutes, then purée with an immersion blender. Serve immediately or store in glass jars in the fridge. I'd guess that is anywhere from 4-8 servings. I filled four glass pasta sauce jars.
Today is a good day for soup (but truth be told, even on the hottest summer days here I make soup - one of the quirks I picked up living in St. Lucia). We're expecting a lot of rain to pass through starting as early as tomorrow. That means cooler temps, yet nothing you need a jacket or long sleeves for. It's humid so we'll probably have the AC on for a few minutes per our usual.
An interesting note about baby carrots - they're just a typical variety carrot processed through large machines to look that way. First they're sent through a peeler and then a cutter to shape smaller carrots and round the corners. (I assume any bits leftover from this process are used for shredded carrots used in packaged salads, and what remains after that, probably goes to making something like commercial stocks. ?) I must have been watching The Food Network or some cooking segment somewhere to learn this, don't quite recall now. I rarely buy unpeeled carrots these days. Just because it's less work, I take the shortcuts.

12 Days of Christmas: Gingerbread sandwiches

To get Robbie to eat something at some point last year, I offered to cut the bread with a cookie cutter and he could pick the shape. He opted for a gingerbread man and continued to ask for it throughout the year. It was humorous in June, but now, finally, it's appropriate! Sometimes Cub will eat the sides that are left, but it's usually me who takes care of them so they don't go to waste. I just have to plan ahead so I don't eat multiple sandwiches all by myself.

12 Days of Christmas: Santa's workshop

The boys start Winter Break on Friday. I've spent a good chunk of time yesterday and today shopping and assembling the holiday goodie bags for their classmates. I'm happy to say I'm done and I got it all finished while the boys were at school so they didn't see a thing. And they couldn't get their hands on anything. :) I bought a bunch of PlayDoh supplies, from the small tubs of multiple colors to a big pack with lots of shape cutters, and split all of it up into smaller, individually wrapped gifts, plus tossed in a few pieces of chocolate. Hurray! One more thing checked off the to-do list.

12 Days of Christmas: Our Charlie Brown tree

Back in December 1999, I was working my first technical writing job in the Bay Area. During Christmas, someone set up a type of pre-lit tree on a small table near the break room. I'd never seen something like it before; it was a fiber optic tree. The "bulbs" were fiber optic fingers and multiple colors flashed or "transitioned" as a unit in the base rotated. It was cheerful and cheesy and borderline tacky and I wanted one. Off to Target I went and bought one of my own. I brought it home and my parents laughed but allowed such a sight amongst Mom's standard classy holiday decor anyway.
I still have that same tree after two major moves, but it is beginning to show its age. It's probably 100 in artificial tree years, yet it still makes me smile. The lights no longer change colors but it otherwise works (the rotating base stopped rotating after we moved to Hawaii). It was stuck on purple a few years ago yet this year the color was mostly white upon the first lighting. Each day since that we've plugged it in a little more purple comes out. It looks a little less cheesy this way. Long live our little tree.

12 days of Christmas: Stocking stuffers

When I mentioned in yesterday's post I wouldn't be spending any money on gifts this year, it wasn't 100% accurate. I won't be spending a lot, but we will get the boys a few things. I've already picked out the items Santa will leave for them on Christmas morning. A few Hallmark ornaments (I couldn't let a holiday season go by without getting a fix for my addiction), one holiday Thomas character train engine each, and some candies. I am going to try to start a tradition that the boys get at least one ornament to hang on the tree Christmas day. Boys being boys, I'm not sure if they will be crazy about this plan, but I like it.
Speaking of Hallmark ornaments, when I saw this year's offerings some time back, I planned to buy one representing the Polar Express movie. It's a ticket, train engine, and gold bell all in one. I waited too long. According to the store associate this past Monday, they had been sold out of that one "for three or four months." Wow! That was quick. I haven't called around to see if other stores had it in stock. Following in the vein of keeping Christmas simple, I'm not going to get too worked up about it. The Lionel train ornaments that I bought instead are perfect.

12 Days of Christmas: I have a lot of work to do

School is officially over for me. Sort of. Today I had my last day of on-campus classes, and all that is left is an online final due next week. I'm feeling great with the semester behind me, but it's no time to rest. I started my annual holiday gifts after Thanksgiving but I didn't get very far.
Unlike recent years, this year there will be no beaded snowflakes and little to no beading at all on my ornaments. I wanted to challenge myself to do something with all the craft materials already in my craft closet, and that challenge included not buying any new beads. That's right, spending no money on gifts this year! Lucky for my recipients, I bought a lot of nice stuff in years past that I never used and I'll get by just fine. :) While we lived in Maryland I started quilting, and although I haven't done much since Robbie was born, I have a fantastic fabric stash that still calls out to me on a regular basis. Time to stop blogging and get sewing.

12 Days of Christmas: Gingerbread Iolani Palace

We were in Waikiki last night for dinner. Before we left the house, I told Robbie that we could go see the holiday gingerbread display and train at the Princess Kaiulani Hotel after we ate. As we made our way to the restaurant in the car, we passed the hotel. Robbie remembered the location from last year and pointed it out. That memory is going to get us in lots of trouble.
For the first time, pastry chefs have created the Iolani Palace (the only royal palace in the United States) in gingerbread, chocolate, and icing. According to the signs next to the display, the palace, "with its 88 columns, took over six weeks to build." It looked amazing. Hopefully it will be a fixture in future displays.

Happy Birthday to my mother-in-law!

This is the cake I baked for her last year. Is it sad that I remember I took a picture last year that I never posted, or simply sad that I remembered I took a picture at all?
It was a beauty! Chocolate cake and frosting from scratch, using a recipe I found on the Hershey's website. Sooo yummy! And my mother-in-law? Sooo worth it! The heart sprinkles were all I had at the time, leftovers from Valentine's Day cookies. I think I laughed out loud when I was making the frosting and thought to myself, "This is just chocolate-flavored butter." I liked it so much I made it all over again for Robbie's birthday in March. This year? We've expanded our tastes. He now requests red velvet cake.

12 Days of Christmas: It's that time again

It doesn't feel like it here in Hawaii, but it's December, and Christmas is a mere 25 days away. This picture is an archive from the Camera Roll - a close-up of holiday tree set up with local flair at the Outrigger Hotel in Waikiki. I heard over the weekend that the large, gingerbread winter wonderland scene has been set up for the season. The boys LOVED the train last year and were upset when we could no longer go. It's calling us now.

Apples? Really?

That was my reaction when this came home in the backpack the day before Thanksgiving. I don't know what was discussed earlier in the day to plant this seed, but our kindergartner claimed - and now has recorded for all time - he was thankful for apples. This is how the conversation went after I read this:
Me: Robbie, what does this say?
Robbie: It says, "I am thankful for apples."
M: Do you like apples?
R: Yes.
M: I have apples in the fridge right now. Would you like one?
R: No.
I had apples because in addition to pumpkin pie, I was going to make an apple crisp. It's one of Noel's favorite treats and it just sounded yummy. My version? Not so good as those restaurant versions he orders and I finish off. I tweaked a good part of the recipe on a whim and among other things, was a little heavy-handed with the spices. Too much cinnamon is NOT a good thing, especially when combined with too much nutmeg and ginger. Next time I'm Googling "apple crisp restaurant knock-off" and going with what pops up. No more audibles!

Farmer's Market find: Negi

Today I am cooking one of my favorite "what to do with leftovers" dishes: Onion, leek, and potato soup. I like it because if you have extra mashed potatoes (and unless you're lucky enough to unload them on guests on the way out the door, then you do!), it's really simple. Slice onions, leeks, and garlic very thin. Sauté in oil until caramelized, pour in stock, bring to a boil, and then add mashed potatoes and stir. Let boil and/or simmer as you wish and that's it.
I didn't buy leeks earlier in the week, but this morning I was lucky to find negi, a long (long!) Japanese green onion-like vegetable. The white parts you see in the picture were about 10-12 inches long and there were an additional 12-18+ inches of the green parts. Carrying them away from the vendor's table, I felt like I was carrying spears. The guy who sold them to me said not to use the green parts, so I didn't.
It wasn't a leek, but close enough, and local from the farmer's market, so I had to give it a try in the soup. It's still simmering on the stove, and so far it looks and tastes good. I didn't have low-sodium stock so it's bordering on too salty. Other than that, I have high hopes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you are sharing the holiday with good food and loved ones today. Here's some kindergarten artwork that came home in the backpack this week. I think I've spotted a trend...preschoolers have full-sized paper plate art, kindergartners use pupu plates.
Enjoy the day!

Countdown to turkey...maybe not

Cranberry sauce chilling, pumpkin pie baked and ready for the big day...tonight I'll chop some veggies and then call it a day. Lots to do, but tonight I'm beat after a couple late nights/early mornings in a row. Here's the menu I've been working on for a week. (Cub wanted to help "highlight" items for me.) A few things have been cut from the starting line-up, including the turkey (gasp!). I couldn't find one small enough. Just three turkey eaters at the table tomorrow, so a big bird would just be a waste. Another year I don't cook a turkey...and another year I don't mind at all. :)