Friday, January 30, 2009
For my mother
Who didn't believe me when I told her Evelyn likes to stand up next to the ottoman and play with her toys. She can't roll over, or sit unaided, or do tummy time, but she can stand and play with her toys. It is soooo cute. She will either hold on to the side of the ottoman or rest her elbows on it, depending on how much she wants to use her hands. I swear, this baby is going to be walking before she can crawl.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
New
The most recent obsession I don't have time for: Amigurumi. It is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small stuffed creatures. Here are some sea creatures that are awesome.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Red Velvet Cake
Last night I took out the trash and realized we had more in our recycling bin than in our trash bin. Awesome!
Yesterday I made a red velvet cake for the first time. I've never eaten red velvet cake before so I'm not sure how it is supposed to taste, but Jon assures me it is what it is supposed to be. It tastes like cake, sure, but something about the bright redness of it makes me think it should have a stronger flavor. It is very mild, slightly sweet, hint of chocolate, but mostly a pretty vehicle for the yummy cream cheese frosting! I would make it again, though, because it is so lovely to look at.
I modified the recipe by adding slightly more sugar and cocoa powder, adding corn starch to make the flour more like cake flour, by halving the oil and replacing with applesauce, using two pans instead of three, and modifying the directions to get the chemical reaction between the baking soda and vinegar. The original directions were all wrong. They had you mixing the flour and sugar together, not creaming the sugar with the wet ingredients! Madness. The "at room temperature" part of this recipe is important, particularly the buttermilk. It needs to be at room temperature to work its magic.
Red Velvet Cake Recipe
(Adapted from the Southern Red Velvet cake by Sara Moulton on AllRecipes.com)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons corn starch
1 teaspoon salt
1 heaping tablespoon cocoa powder
1 3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cups vegetable oil
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce, at room temperature
2 large eggs, slightly beaten, at room temperature
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons red food coloring (1 ounce)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe follows
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil and flour 2 (9 by 1 1/2-inch round) cake pans.
In a large bowl, mix or sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and cocoa powder. In another large bowl (not white or plastic...it will stain), cream together the oil, applesauce, and sugar until well combined and smooth. Add the buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, and vanilla. Put the baking soda in a pile on top of the wet mixture and pour the vinegar on top of it. Allow to foam for a few seconds and mix together into wet ingredients.
Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined and a smooth batter is formed. (There will be a few bubbles from the foaming reaction of the baking soda and vinegar.)
Divide the cake batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Place the pans in the oven evenly spaced apart. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through the cooking, until the cake pulls away from the side of the pans, and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Remove the cakes from the oven and run a knife around the edges to loosen them from the sides of the pans. One at a time, invert the cakes onto a plate and then re-invert them onto a cooling rack, rounded-sides up. Let cool completely.
Frost the cake, using some of the frosting between the two layers. Garnish with crushed pecans, if desired.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 8 oz. container regular of low-fat (not NOT non-fat) cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. orange zest or orange juice
3 cups powdered sugar
Beat the cream cheese, vanilla and orange together until fluffy. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined and silky. Try not to eat it right out of the bowl.
This made enough to cover my two cakes and the layer inbetween, but just barely. You could make a lot more of this and just spread it on your face or eat it out of the bowl, it is so good.
Yesterday I made a red velvet cake for the first time. I've never eaten red velvet cake before so I'm not sure how it is supposed to taste, but Jon assures me it is what it is supposed to be. It tastes like cake, sure, but something about the bright redness of it makes me think it should have a stronger flavor. It is very mild, slightly sweet, hint of chocolate, but mostly a pretty vehicle for the yummy cream cheese frosting! I would make it again, though, because it is so lovely to look at.
I modified the recipe by adding slightly more sugar and cocoa powder, adding corn starch to make the flour more like cake flour, by halving the oil and replacing with applesauce, using two pans instead of three, and modifying the directions to get the chemical reaction between the baking soda and vinegar. The original directions were all wrong. They had you mixing the flour and sugar together, not creaming the sugar with the wet ingredients! Madness. The "at room temperature" part of this recipe is important, particularly the buttermilk. It needs to be at room temperature to work its magic.
Red Velvet Cake Recipe
(Adapted from the Southern Red Velvet cake by Sara Moulton on AllRecipes.com)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons corn starch
1 teaspoon salt
1 heaping tablespoon cocoa powder
1 3/4 cups sugar
3/4 cups vegetable oil
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce, at room temperature
2 large eggs, slightly beaten, at room temperature
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons red food coloring (1 ounce)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
Cream Cheese Frosting, recipe follows
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil and flour 2 (9 by 1 1/2-inch round) cake pans.
In a large bowl, mix or sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt, and cocoa powder. In another large bowl (not white or plastic...it will stain), cream together the oil, applesauce, and sugar until well combined and smooth. Add the buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, and vanilla. Put the baking soda in a pile on top of the wet mixture and pour the vinegar on top of it. Allow to foam for a few seconds and mix together into wet ingredients.
Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined and a smooth batter is formed. (There will be a few bubbles from the foaming reaction of the baking soda and vinegar.)
Divide the cake batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Place the pans in the oven evenly spaced apart. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through the cooking, until the cake pulls away from the side of the pans, and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Remove the cakes from the oven and run a knife around the edges to loosen them from the sides of the pans. One at a time, invert the cakes onto a plate and then re-invert them onto a cooling rack, rounded-sides up. Let cool completely.
Frost the cake, using some of the frosting between the two layers. Garnish with crushed pecans, if desired.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 8 oz. container regular of low-fat (not NOT non-fat) cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. orange zest or orange juice
3 cups powdered sugar
Beat the cream cheese, vanilla and orange together until fluffy. Add the cream cheese and beat until combined and silky. Try not to eat it right out of the bowl.
This made enough to cover my two cakes and the layer inbetween, but just barely. You could make a lot more of this and just spread it on your face or eat it out of the bowl, it is so good.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Better picture
Here is a better picture from yesterday. Look at Evelyn's gorgeous blue eyes. They are a little greyer than when she was born but still super super blue. I know babies' eyes can change anywhere up to two years old, but how crazy would it be if her eyes stay blue?
And a picture of me as a baby. See how enormous I am? I'm not sure of my age in this pic, but Evelyn is certainly taking after her mother... She looks a lot more like Jon as a baby, though. Her head shape, profile, brow, nose -- all Jon. My fair skin and hair and chin. She is so cute!
And a picture of me as a baby. See how enormous I am? I'm not sure of my age in this pic, but Evelyn is certainly taking after her mother... She looks a lot more like Jon as a baby, though. Her head shape, profile, brow, nose -- all Jon. My fair skin and hair and chin. She is so cute!This morning Evelyn was in the best mood ever. I'm working from home, hunkered down avoiding some very slick roads. I am in the back bedroom trying to stay out of the way and focus, but I could hear Evelyn giggling all over the house. Jon walked into my room and Evie just burst into giggles. It is hilarious! It is by far the greatest sound I have ever heard.
I have started knitting Jon a Valentine's day gift. We're not doing expensive gifts or dinners out this year, but a little homemade something seems appropriate. I'm making this very cute owl! At least one, maybe two. I hope mine turns out as cute as this one!
Monday, January 26, 2009
Gung Hay Fat Choi
Happy Chinese New Year! Tonight I will celebrate by giving kisses to my two favorite Chinese people and eating my two favorite Chinese foods. 
I do not have a picture of the latter, my two favorite chinese foods. But really any chinese food is good as far as I'm concerned. I'll probably eat the oh-so-authentic crab cheese wontons and perhaps some chow fun. Yay!
Here is a picture of the former. The quality isn't the best, but I think you can see Evelyn's adorable little outfit, given to us by a friend of Jon's.
I do not have a picture of the latter, my two favorite chinese foods. But really any chinese food is good as far as I'm concerned. I'll probably eat the oh-so-authentic crab cheese wontons and perhaps some chow fun. Yay!Sunday, January 25, 2009
Exersaucers R Us
Before Evelyn was born I had a lot of ideas about child raising that were total crap. One of them went like this: "When I have a baby, I won't buy those huge monstrous toys that overstimulate my baby and take up a ton of room. Babies don't need anything but love..." Something to that effect. Hahaha. Babies need love, but they also need attention. 100% of the time. And your hands. 100% of the time.
Therefore, we bought a huge, monstrous, eye-exploding, toxin-filled plastic exersaucer. We bought it from a consignment store (which is totally the way to go!) and Evelyn seems to love it.
Therefore, we bought a huge, monstrous, eye-exploding, toxin-filled plastic exersaucer. We bought it from a consignment store (which is totally the way to go!) and Evelyn seems to love it.
Friday, January 23, 2009
The other option
The other option for high chairs is the hook-on style. Less plastic, because you are not using a big tray or lots of supports. Considerably less expensive as well. I'm not sure what the pros and cons are of using a stand-alone high chair vs. a hook-on high chair. It seems like it would be easier to have a baby facing you when you are trying to feed them rather than trying to do it at an angle while they face the center of the table. Maybe I'll ask some mom friends. Or anyone with insight please feel free to leave a comment!
Leslie noted that she really didn't start to use a high chair until 7 or 8 months. Until then she just propped her little one on her lap and leaned against a wall or the couch. There isn't any rush on getting this chair, I guess. But I am still thinking about it.
A couple of options:
Zooper
Chair price: $49.99
The materials are a mystery right now (I'll have to do a little more digging), but it has a 4-point safety harness and says it complies with all ASTM and European safety standards. Some reviewers have commented that the long under-table arm thing sometimes won't fit all tables.
Me Too Portable Hook On Chair
Price: $49.99
Made of nylon and aluminum. More portable than the last if I wanted to take it to a restaurant or something. Can't really see myself doing that, though. I don't like how it clips onto the table. Does it seem sturdy enough? It has gotten really good reviews on Target.com and a few other sites.
Leslie noted that she really didn't start to use a high chair until 7 or 8 months. Until then she just propped her little one on her lap and leaned against a wall or the couch. There isn't any rush on getting this chair, I guess. But I am still thinking about it.
A couple of options:
Zooper
Chair price: $49.99
The materials are a mystery right now (I'll have to do a little more digging), but it has a 4-point safety harness and says it complies with all ASTM and European safety standards. Some reviewers have commented that the long under-table arm thing sometimes won't fit all tables.
Me Too Portable Hook On Chair
Price: $49.99
Made of nylon and aluminum. More portable than the last if I wanted to take it to a restaurant or something. Can't really see myself doing that, though. I don't like how it clips onto the table. Does it seem sturdy enough? It has gotten really good reviews on Target.com and a few other sites.
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