french toast

lately we are on a french toast kick. 

my Mother made this & it was heaven.

stuffed with a blackberry-mascarpone cream, with a crunchy outside 

& a blackberry sauced drizzled on top.

so, so heavenly.

i'd share the recipe, but i don't wanna. i want to keep this all to myself. 

sorry! 

but maybe someday i'll cook it for you!

strawberry lemonade

the sun is out! hooray!

after a tiring swim in the pool, C wanted to make strawberry lemonade!

He helped squeeze the lemons & the strawberries.

ahh, the life. loungin' in the cool of the shade sippin' a summertime drink.

these kids of mine, crack me up!

C's concoction

sis opted for just berries.

big chunks of berries! yum

later we had to go check on the chipmunkies {as sis calls them}

i found a buggie!

the essential summer outfit, a cute flowery dress paired with rubber boots!

getting his trail of goods all set up!

chipmunks

last week, before the sun decided to come out & stay out {for consecutive days!}

we managed to get outside to play in between down pours.

nestled in the overgrown strawberry plants of my parents garden

are a family of chipmunks. the kids love to go out and feed them.

sissy squeals with excitement every time. C leaves them a trail

of goods to find. 

C, "sissy! you're stepping on my trail!"

there are a few baby ones & they are just about the cutest things ever. i want to pick one up & hold it!

it's about the size of my palm!

once they are fed & the kids lose interest, its off to dig in the dirt!

hooray for the country side!

poolside

we lounged poolside today!

my children are true Oregonians. 

it was only 70-something when they were swimming.

much too cold for swimming in my opinion!

ice scream!

yesterday in the heat of the day, we  really enjoyed some ice cream outside!

hello, summer. we're glad you're finally here!

FIFA!!!

we are super stocked for the 2010 World Cup to start!!!

we were in spain & france last time the world cup was going on in germany. the energy of the games poured in to the streets & it was amazing to see. we even picked up some uni's over there. 

& now the sister loves to sport around in the España jersey!  

a homemade pie

lately the hubs & i have been on this gourmet pie kick. & by pie i don't mean the dessert kind. i mean pizza. after numerous date nights to some great pie places around town. like here & here. 

{we haven't been here yet, but am dying to go.} i felt i needed to try making my own. store-bought dough wasn't cutting it anymore. it wasn't giving me the results i craved.

so with this new found love i decided to tackle making my own pizza dough {yikes! scary!}, & sauce with a little help from another new found love, Cooking Light magazine. desperately trying to replicate my fav's.

armed with this recipe, mission-pie began! 

i made the dough the day before. it needed 24hrs to chill out in the fridge. sorry folks, didn't take photos of that. too much dough-kneading & sticky fingers to hold a camera!

the sauce: 

• 2  tablespoons  extra-virgin olive oil
• 5  garlic cloves, minced
• 1  (28-ounce) can San Marzano tomatoes
• 1/2  teaspoon  kosher salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  dried oregano

***so notice that i only have 1 14oz can of tomatoes? i didn't until i made the entire sauce! doh!

so i added another can and let it simmer a little longer! oops!***

heat up some the olive oil and cook minced garlic for 1 minute stirring constantly. 

don't just stand there fiddling with the settings on your camera while doing this part. 

burnt garlic is no good for anyone. 

i got it together in time! whew.

separate the tomatoes from the juice & crush tomatoes

add in crushed tomatoes, the tomato juice  & 1/2 tsp dried oregano to the garlic

1/2 tsp salt {i use kosher}

bring to a boil, then turn down heat & simmer for 30mins. 

meanwhile bring the dough to room temperature. so let it sit out for about an hour.

my dough is not in a pretty little ball. whatever. it still turned out great!

my fav pie has fennel sausage. so that's what i am replicating here.

slice the bulb of the fennel

& chop some of the fennel fronds.

saute the chicken sausage & chopped fennel

{i used a spicy chicken ground sausage, you could use lamb or pork or none at all if you prefer the veggies!}

once the dough is ready, punch it down and roll it out

sprinkle 1-tablespoon  of corn meal {i used yellow} & 1/4 tsp salt on dough

pinch a half inch border

i picked up some wonderful fresh mozzarella to slice for the top

top the dough with all the fixin's you prefer.

spread evenly the tomato sauce, leaving a border for crust

layer sliced mozzarella, sausage, kalamata olives & sprinkle fresh rosemary

*if you have a pizza stone, you'll heat your oven differently. see recipe

i don't, so heat oven to 450F  & bake pie on a baking sheet for 25min

look at my cute sous chef!

voilà!

oh, yum. 

heaven.

so after all, pizza dough isn't as scary as i thought & now this might have to make an appearance every week! {insert grunts & man-calls from my hubs here} 


what's your favorite toppings on a pie?

little photog assistant

i think i may have traumatized my children by constantly having a camera shoved in their faces.

this is what i get now when trying to take the sister's photo:

oh, the torture!

see, i told you she was a professional pouter. would'ya just look at that lip!

a bird could come along and poop on it!

{my grandpa always told me that when i was pouting}

she'd much rather be behind the lens.

"i take a picture! i take a picture!"

hmmm, i may have a little photographer on my hands! its a good thing i had children to be my assistants  in my photog biz   to fill my heart with such joy in everything they do!

professional pouter

at the ripe age of 2, she has mastered the art of pouting. 

& she's not afraid to bust out her skills at any time. 

more scones!

this dreary weather we had today was perfect for baking! 

this time i made blueberry lemon drop scones via this recipe. 

these turned out so fluffy & delicious!

•  2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup lemon yogurt **{i used 0% fat greek yogurt & juice of 1 lemon instead}
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries **{i used fresh}

i'm looking forward to these joining me for breakfast alongside with my coffee & fresh whipped cream {that i also made today!}