Pictures from the Marshalls

Camping with Grandma at Hawn Park

My new house?

Josh and I have found a house and have an accepted contract. We posted the pictures on Flickr.

More on Chinese buffets...

The NYT ran a story today about the midtown Manhattan lunch blog run by a guy called Zach Brooks. You can find the NYT story at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/03/dining/03lunch.html?_r=1&ref=style. I checked the site out today and found some really amusing posts.

With respect to his post on midtown's sole chinese AYCE, while there's nothing new about forming a gameplan for attacking a chinese buffet, but Mr. Brooks' thoughts on the inherent competition involved in visiting such an establishment amused me. "You vs. the Buffet. The price is really just a dare. A sign that says “All-U-Can-Eat for $14.50″, might as well just say “I dare you to eat more than $14.50 worth of food. Signed - The Buffet.”

http://midtownlunch.com/2007/03/07/the-ml-guide-to-all-you-can-eat-chinese-food-buffets/

Baby Day

Chilling out max and relaxing all Cooley

Here are some photos from our Memorial Day weekend camping trip at Pere Marquette State Park. We went hiking, rode bikes, went horseback riding, played games cooked out and relaxed. We brought Sawyer and Joyce and Jerry brought Charlie and Audrey. Bill and Denise came along also with Denise's mom and their cats.

Erica's First Cardinal Game

Otto

So we have a new puppy dog, another furry son to be a little brother to Rufus. His name is Otto and he's a mini wire hair dachshie. He's not a big fan of Rufus yet, but we're taking it slow. Feel free to ohh and ahh.

New Bad Joke

An old lady turns to her son at the old folks home: "Oh dear, she giggles, "I seem to have let out a silent fart. What should I do?"

"Well", says her son, "I'd get a new battery for your hearing aid."

Link to my pics

Hey everyone,

Here's some Punta Cana pics for you!

http://sarahandgualterspics.shutterfly.com

Having sisters really does make you happier!

Hmmm...no posts for a while! I thought I would share the news that according to a recent study, just having a sister makes people happier. Lucky me- I have two! Thanks for having girls, mom!

Grandma Margie Fell again

Hello all, Grandma Margie fell Wednesday at Lambert's in Sikeston. What a way to go hugh!
She broke her left wrist and left femur/hip. She had surgery Thursday afternoon to pin the hip and place an external positioner on her wrist. She will probably stay in the hospital until next week. Before surgery she was smiling and as your Dad said "acted like she was going on a cruise." She came through the surgery fine, I will check on her this evening. If you have time a phone call or card to St. Francis Hospital would be much appreciated, I'm sure. When I visited her Wednesday night she ask about each of you specifically. Love you all, be safe.

MOM

Pennsylvania Dutch Anise Drops

Here's the anise drop recipe Audrey gave me from the paper.

Ingredients

2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon anise extract
1 & 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt

Beat eggs. Add sugar and anise and beat mixture until fluffy and frothy. Add flour, baking powder and salt. Grease cookie sheet and drop by teaspoonfuls close together. (Dough is stiff) Let set uncovered for 8 to 10 hours. Bake in 350 degree F. oven for 5 to 6 minutes. Cool. Batch may be doubled. This forms its own topping. 1/2 teaspoon lemon flavoring instead of the anise is also good.

Stumble Upon

This site's just cool, if you have some time to kill...

http://www.stumbleupon.com/

Rice Puddin

I've been making some killer stovetop rice pudding lately...I make it with arborio rice and a vanilla bean (you can get them at Costco, 10 for $15!) I do it in an old non-stick K-mart Martha Stewart 2-quart saucepan, and stir during commercial breaks. If you're doing it in a vessel that's not non-stick, stir a little more frequently. As the Brits would say, it's dead easy, and absolutely fantastic if you like rice pudding. Rufus and I ate the last batch before I could take a picture, but here's the recipe...

Stovetop Rice Pudding (from Cook's Illustrated)

We prefer pudding made from medium-grain rice, but long-grain is perfectly acceptable if that’s what you happen to have on hand.

Ingredients
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 cup medium-grain rice (white), or long grain white rice
2 1/2 cups whole milk
2 1/2 cups half-and-half
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract (if you're using a bean, add it with the milk and omit the extract)

Instructions

1. Bring 2 cups water to boil in large, heavy-bottomed pot (at least 3 quarts) or small soup kettle (4 to 5 quarts). Stir in salt and rice; cover and simmer over low heat, stirring once or twice until water is almost fully absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes.

2. Add milk, half-and-half and sugar. Increase heat to medium-high to bring to simmer, then reduce heat to maintain simmer. Cook uncovered, stirring frequently, until mixture starts to thicken, about 30 minutes. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook, stirring every couple of minutes to prevent sticking and scorching, until a spoon is just able to stand up in the pudding, about 15 minutes longer.

3. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Cool and serve at room temperature or chilled. (Can be covered with plastic wrap on surface of pudding and then refrigerated up to 2 days.)

Chocolate Angel Food Cake

I attempted making an angel food cake from scratch for the first time yesterday. Things turned out pretty well, except I had a little trouble getting the cake out of the pan. I let it cool an hour before I tried to remove it, but perhaps that wasn't long enough.

I used liquid egg whites instead of separating 12 eggs, because I had no idea what to do with 12 egg yolks. The egg substitute replaced 8 eggs, and then I added 4 more "real" ones. I think I could have gotten away with just adding two more, but whatever.

Thanks to mom for the awesome angel food cake pan!

Here's the recipe:

• 3/4 cup cake flour (spooned and leveled)
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 12 large egg whites, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 cube bittersweet chocolate for drizzling on top
  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place flour and salt in a sieve set over a bowl; sift into bowl, and set aside. With a mixer, beat egg whites on medium high until foamy, about 1 minute. Add cream of tartar; beat until soft peaks form. Continue to beat, gradually adding sugar; beat until stiff peaks form (see below), about 2 minutes. Add vanilla; beat to combine.

Gently transfer eggwhite mixture to a large, wide bowl. In four batches, using the sieve again, sift flour mixture over egg-white mixture. While turning the bowl, use a rubber spatula to fold in the mixture by cutting down the center and coming up the sides.

Gently spoon batter into an ungreased angel-food cake pan with a removable bottom; smooth top. Cut a knife or small spatula through batter to release air bubbles. Bake until cake is golden and springs back when lightly pressed, 35 to 40 minutes. Invert pan; let cool in pan, 1 hour. Run a knife around the inside of the pan and around the tube to release cake, and unmold. Use knife to release cake from bottom of pan, and remove. Melt bittersweet baking chocolate and drizzle on top.

If you want to make a regular angel food cake, use 1 cup of flour instead of 3/4 cup, 2 tbsp of vanilla, omit cocoa and bittersweet baking chocolate.

Nutritional Info per serving:
213 calories
.2 g of fat
6.9 g protein
45.3 carbs
.3 g fiber

Awesome Satellite Photos of Earth

During the last ice age, Canada's Akimiski Island was buried under several thousand meters of ice, but since its retreat, the island has rebounded (risen in elevation) and new beach areas have emerged, streams and lakes have formed, and trees and other vegetation have colonized the new territory. This image of Akimiski Island was captured by the Landsat 7 satellite on August 9, 2000. (NASA/Jesse Allen, Landsat,University of Maryland's Global Land Cover Facility) #

"The Earth Observatory is a website run by NASA's Earth Observing System Project Science Office (EOSPSO). Bringing together imagery from many different satellites and astronaut missions, the website publishes fantastic images with highly detailed descriptions, feature articles and more. Gathered here are some standout photographs from the collections in the Earth Observatory over the past several years. For more images and information, please visit the Earth Observatory site itself."

Anniversary Weekend