A Fun Evening...

Last night we had a couple of dinner guests...Father Don, Jim's cousin, and Dabi and Brooks. We had a fantastic dinner of homemade marinara sauce with low-fat ground chicken meatballs, salad (romaine, strawberries, pine nuts, red onion) and homemade italian bread...mmm. mmmm.

We had DVR'd the UConn BB game so that we could enjoy dinner and then watch the game. It was an exciting game and Jim and Donald were absorbed in the game...Mom, Brooks and I were too, but not until the last 10 minutes...in the meantime, the three of us giggled through a picture taking session!

Music Junkie, Part 2

I would have purchased 2 more songs today that I really wanted, but unfortunately (or fortunately for my music budget) they are not available for download until tomorrow. If you are a fan of American Idol, you know that Adam Lambert and Anoop Desai rocked last night when they sang Tracks of my Tears and Ooo Baby Baby respectively. Jim and I got chills listening to them..they were unbelievable. Can't wait to download the songs from iTunes in the morning!

Here are the rest of my top 10 favorite songs (#6-#10) that I have recently downloaded to my iPod...(at least they are my favorite today) I have lots of songs in my music library now...some purchased, lots Taylor has shared with me, some from CD's I have or borrowed.

#6...One of my favorite all time songs, no matter the artist, is Amazing Grace. I love almost every rendition of it. But a couple of years ago, I heard Ruben Studdard (yes, another Am Idol winner who is in fact singing on American Idol this very moment...) sing my favorite song. Well, after listening to numerous other people singing this gospel ballad, I kept coming back to Ruben, and it was his version that I downloaded.

So #6 is Ruben Studdard singingAmazing Grace

#7.....KT Tunstall singingBlack Horse and the Cherry Tree
an infectious, have-to-get-up-and-dance tune; it rocks.

#8...Plain White T's singingHey There Delilah
a beautiful, melodic, hypnotic song.

9.....Beyonce singing
If I Were a Boy
(and Single Ladies I love too)

10......
Yael Naim singingNew Soul
This song blew me away from the get-go.

Hope you enjoyed my double posts on music...it's my new obsession!!

I am officially a junkie..

Not that I needed another excuse to be online...but have one I do. Last week Taylor bought and received a new iPod from Amazon to replace her old one which was full. She graciously handed down her old one to me and it has transformed me from someone who occasionally listened to music to an iTunes junkie. I do have an iPod Shuffle, but the Shuffle's inability to let you "see" what is playing is a real handicap...and it holds a very limited amt of music. Once I got the iPod Nano from Taylor I downloaded all of my favorite CD's, created an iTunes music library on my new laptop, and established an account at the iTunes store. I have already spent $9 in the last couple of days buying some of the songs on my long wishlist..it's just too too easy to buy songs, don't you think?

Here are the some of the songs I bought...and just can't listen to them enough...

1.Anoop Desai (from American Idol) singing
Always on My Mind

He sung this on the show last week....and I fell in love with his voice.
Anoop, you are always on my mind!


2. Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
singingSomewhere Over the Rainbow

If you have never listened to this man singing this classic...you have missed the best rendition of this song...yes, even better than Judy Garland.
Check it out on YouTube!

3.& 4. Two songs from an artist that Taylor recommended to me.....by the name of
Jason Mrazsinging
Lucky and I'm Yours
They are both awesome...he has an addictive melody to his voice.


5. A classic that needs no introduction.....Louis Armstrong
singing
What a Wonderful World

Part 2 of my new songs tomorrow!

It's flown by;

this week that Joe has been home...it's been so nice having him here...even though his room looks a little different with clothes all over the place :)

It is unusual to have a week go by without us having homemade pizza, and this week was no exception..Joe decided to make supper on Pizza Night, and even helped me make the dough. It was awesome pizza...and we made it pesto green in honor of St. Patrick's Day!

He heads back to school tomorrow...for the final 6 weeks of his freshman year...then home for 4 months this summer...can't wait.
I miss him lots.

A Granola Tutorial

One of the most popular food items in our house is my homemade granola. If a day or two goes by without it...mayhem ensues! Joe came home from college with a terrible case of granola withdrawal as he had finished the bag I had sent him a week earlier. Jim and Joe begged me to make another batch, so yesterday I decided to teach him the fine (and fun) art of GRANOLA making.


Begin with about 9 cups of old fashioned oats..not quick oats...not steel cut oats.

Add 2 teaspoons of cinnamon....

Add 1 cup of ground flaxseed.....
.

Add 1 cup of wheat germ....
(this looks a little bit weird cuz of the lighting..and it's raw wheat germ...but any kind is fine)

(Optional ingredients at this point....1 cup of unsweetened coconut; 1/2 cup sesame seeds)

Now for the nuts....add 1-2 cups of walnuts...

About 1/2 to 3/4 cup of pignoli (pine nuts)...

About 1 cup of unsalted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)...

Add 1-2 cups of unsalted or lightly salted whole or sliced almonds ....

Add 1 cup of sunflower seeds.....

And stir and stir to mix all the dry ingredients.....

Now the traditional liquid mix to pour over the dry ingredients is a mixture of oil and a sweetner. Typically that is canola oil and honey. For this amt of dry ingredients you would need at least a cup of oil and a cup of honey...but to make it much lower in fat I substitute applesauce for 1 cup of this liquid...so I add:

1 cup of applesauce
+
1/2 cup canola oil
+
1/2 cup of honey
+
2 teaspoons of vanilla for flavoring

Mix together in a heatproof bowl or large glass measuring cup and heat in microwave until bubbly...usually about 2 min on high.

Pour over oat+nut mixture.....

And find a strong armed son to stir the liquid into the dry
ingredients...mix until very well blended.

Pour onto cookie sheets in a thin layer.

Bake at 300 until golden...this usually takes about 15-2o minutes or so...check every 5 min....you may need to stir the mixture once or twice while baking.

Remove from oven when golden brown!

Immediately add the dried fruit of your choice on top of the granola while it is hot...we like dried blueberries, Craisins and raisins. As much or as little as you want.

Cool completely and then seal into a glass jar or
ziploc bags....can store long term in freezer.

Enjoy in a bowl with fresh fruit....mixed with yogurt....or just snack on it dry.
Everyone in the family is much happier when our jar of granola is full!

My new addition....

is this new Dell laptop...I love it!

Yeasty Goodness

Since I received my Kitchenaid Mixer (for free!) a couple of months ago, I have been experimenting with yeast breads....so far our favorite has to be the rustic loaf of French Bread that I make quite often. We hosted our Saturday Night Supper Club this past weekend, and I made a loaf for dinner..with the leftovers, I made some delicious Winter Bruchetta.

SO good for a light Sunday supper.

Mixed some plum tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, garlic, dried basil (I would rather use fresh, but won't pay grocery store prices) and onion. Toasted the leftover bread slices (brushed with olive oil) first in the broiler, then spread the tomatoey goodness on, sprinkled some shredded mozzarella, and then popped it back under the broiler for a few minutes...to die for.

Served with a green salad...it made a healthy, delicious, quick supper.

Even Taylor and Joe, who are not overly fond of tomatoes, loved this recipe.

Can't wait to try it this summer with tomatoes right off the vine and fresh basil.

Also made some rye bread this morning since we were out of sandwich....this is our second favorite bread, and today I tried out a new recipe.. and it smells delicious!

Agony of Defeat/

The EHS girls did an awesome job against their opponent yesterday, but ultimately they did lose in the semi-finals of the State Tournament. It was a wonderfully exciting season...and we are all sorry to see it end..now on to watching the UConn women and men in the NCAA tournament this week! Go Huskies!

On a happier note...2 signs Spring is very near...

Tulips are for sale in the grocery store at a price that the average consumer can afford....so my very favorite flower takes it's place on the kitchen table after a very loooong winter absence.

And Joe has taken up residence in the house again, taking his familiar spot on the computer (and on his cell phone) in the Kid's Room. Other than a few minor spats between he and Taylor about who has first dibs to the car this week...it's been wonderful to have him home for a few days.

Hard to believe his freshman year in college is just about over.