Kasvispiirakka

Yes, we managed to cook something for dinner tonight that I can't pronounce. Kasvispiirakka is Finnish for vegetarian pie. Another possible English translation: scrumptious.

For this dish you start by mixing a pie crust with lots of butter and sour cream. While the crust is chilling you shred 6 cups of winter vegetables. We used leeks, carrots, turnips, cabbage and parsnips. (I don't know that I would attempt this much shredding without a food processor.)

Then you cook the vegetables in more butter on very high heat. You mix in cooked rice and cheese and then assemble the pie and weave a lattice top. Brush the whole assembled pie with an egg wash and that pie dough will puff and flake like crazy.

Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes and you have the perfect winter comfort food. Clearly the Finns have experience with this sort of thing.

Want to make it? I'm too lazy to write the whole recipe out but I think this link will take you to the recipe.

Hyvää ruokahalua!

Homemade popcorn

The other night I convinced dear husband to make popcorn in a cast iron pan. From my nest of wool blankets in the family room, I could hear the first kernels popping and then the pan shaking over the stove.

Once I heard the popping stop, I shuffled downstairs and found my usual bowl.

I like popcorn with all kinds of different things, particularly m and m candies and sea salt. However, if you want a real gourmet combination try adding melted butter, sea salt, herbes de provence, and shaved Parmesan cheese.

Yum.

365

Some people celebrate 100 posts, or the anniversary of starting a blog, but I haven't ever really kept track of that sort of things. There are some months when I am bursting with things to write about, and whole seasons when life gets in the way. However, I just noticed though that this post is post number 365. Woohoo! Happy "as many blogs as there are days in the year" to me!

I'm a bit slow it seems, as my 365 posts are spread over the course of three years. The blogs that I like to read on a daily basis are updated frequently, Pioneer Woman seems to have new photos up every day. Smitten Kitchen tries out several new recipes each week.

There is an interesting article on Slate.com about Mormon mommy bloggers and why so many non-Mormons (including myself) like to read them. Indeed, several of the blogs I read regularly--Nienie Diaries and Reagan's Blob, are Mormon, but really also enjoy two Catholic authors--Sister Mary Martha and By Sun and Candlelight. Two of my very favorite blogs, littlebrownpen and The Wednesday Chef, espouse no religion at all. Some of the above blogs are super popular, others have a smaller readership, but all have a strong narrative voice that opens a window into another life. They keep me coming back. Which I hope you'll continue to do here as well.

Makes me wonder

I have been taking advantage of the long weekend to get my home life in order. That means I picked up the clutter, washed the clothes, cleaned the house and baked the bread.

Anyone who has children will know that toys have an tendency to creep out of their allotted containers and drawers and spread themselves around like butter on toast. In other words, everywhere.

I have been trying to convince Miss Bee to explain to me why I found her winter hat filled with her alphabet puzzle hidden in the corner of her room, but she won't talk.

For one brief shining day (tomorrow) my house will be the way I like it. Once we start back to work, the school papers and mail and shoes and coats will overwhelm the entry way; the laundry pile will grow perilously tall; and the dust bunnies will dance all over my parquet.

The best part

about being married is that my husband spoils me.

He knows that I hate to walk the dog when it's cold outside so he does it without complaint.

Since he is painfully aware that I am not a morning person so he leaps out of bed when Cheeks wakes up and changes the first diaper of the day.

He makes me popcorn in his beloved cast iron pan and pancakes on the weekend.

He encourages my hobbies, from baking bread to teaching Sunday school.

And when life gets a little too crazy, he knows how to calm it all down.

Zulily.com

It's a good thing I have a forgiving husband. One of the little pleasures of my day is receiving an email from zulily.com. It's a daily sale with deeply discounted children's clothes, shoes and toys. They also occasionally sell art for children's rooms, stationery, car seats, and strollers. Usually I take a quick look and then hit delete. But not yesterday . . .

I wanted a new stroller when Cheeks McGoo was born. I really did. I wanted a certain Quinny Buzz 4 stroller. But it was too expensive. Plus, I already had a stroller--a Quinny Speedi. I bought it before Bee was born and can you believe that I practiced pushing it around my apartment? (Note to future parents, you don't need to practice pushing the stroller, it generally comes naturally). That same stroller has lasted for 4 years, three countries and it still works fine, just a bit battered from being gate checked before numerous transatlantic flights.

So, The Speedi is great, but it's built like a tank. I tried commuting to work with Cheeks in it exactly once and immediately realized it's too big for the metro, especially with the crowds. It's built for navigating the wild streets of Eastern Europe. I have been carrying Cheeks in the Ergo, but we would both like a little personal space when we are feeling grumpy on the evening metro ride home. So I need to start taking her in a stroller again.

Well, would you believe that yesterday the exact stroller that I wanted was on sale on zulily.com at 50% off? It was still way too expensive, but only half as expensive as a full price one. Is that a good argument? Probably not. Like I said, it's a good thing my husband is understanding.

Regardless, I think I might have exhausted all my impulse buying credits for 2011. I cannot wait to to bundle up Cheeks and take her for a ride, though.

And a Happy New Year

Ohhh Christmas is over. So is my vacation. All the decorations have been put away except for my Lladro creche (which I would leave out year round if I didn't fear it would meet with a toddler/preschooler mishap). There are a few stray candy canes and a freezer full of Christmas chocolates.

I have been thinking a lot about this time last year, when I had a new baby who nursed constantly, and endured wild hourly hormone swings (my poor dear husband).

Last January sleep was elusive, Miss Bee was far less self sufficient than she is now, and I felt strongly that sweatpants were the perfect wardrobe choice. Now the kids go to bed at the same time each night (sweet miracle of miracles), Miss Bee can write her letters, and I have even more wonderful pairs of sweatpants. Unfortunately they aren't really de rigueur at my workplace and so I forced to wear skirts and suit pants.

This year, I haven't made any resolutions. I don't have any wild ambitions. All I want is for my family to stay healthy and for Cheeks to stop waking up at 4 am every blessed morning. I officially declare 2011 the year of the homebody.