Valentines

Happy day.

Happy Birthday to you!

I can't believe my nephew Neal is one! I took a few pics at the party and these were some favorites. What a handsome boy!

Honey Harvest Quinoa

1 1/3 cup quinoa
2 2/3 cup water
1 small Golden delicious apple cored and cut into chunks (I used a large pear & loved it!)
1/4 dried cranberries
1/2 cup pecans
1/2 low fat milk (plus more for serving)
2 tablespoons of honey (plus more for serving)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 teaspoons butter (I didn't add this and it was still tasty)

Rinse quinoa and put in saucepan with water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add apple/pear chunks and cranberries and continue to cook until the water is absorbed (about 10 minutes).

Meanwhile, toast the pecans in a dry skillets over med-high heat until fragrant (about 2 minutes). When quinoa is cooked add milk, honey and cinnamon. Cook until milk is heated through (about 1 minute). Serve with milk, honey, toasted pecans... and adding blueberries was delicious.

Sneek Peek

This is my sister-in-law Hailey (and her darling family). She is creative, organized, stunning, patient and kind. I love her. So happy to take pictures for her on this perfectly beautiful day.

Moon Cake

My mom made this when I was little and then I made it for my preschool class I taught in high school. I then I made it yesterday, for a space themed playgroup. I ate twice as much as all the kids combined. yes.

Ingredients

1 cup water
1/2 cup margarine
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 eggs
2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla or chocolate pudding mix
3 cups milk
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1/4 cup chocolate syrup (I did without)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and lightly grease a jelly roll pan.
2. In a large saucepan, bring water and margarine to a boil. Remove from heat, and mix in flour with electric mixer. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Spread evenly in prepared pan .
3. Bake at 400 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes. Set aside to cool completely
4. In large bowl, combine pudding mix, milk and cream cheese. Mix with electric mixer until smooth. Spread evenly over cooled crust. Top with whipped topping and drizzle with chocolate syrup. Chill in refrigerator and serve cold.

Stepping Stones

(from my personal archives September 2008)  

We made these babies at the reunion- and they were fun, easy and cheap.

Cement (10 bones) + craft store floral pebbles (two fity) + Costa Vida tin (twenty pennies) = less than 15 bucks (buy more tins and you'll have enough cement to make twenty. You could make one for every grandma, uncle and teacher for less than a buck a piece. The kids loved it and the parents had a memory to take home (okay, so they will probably just throw it in the dirt- but they liked it too).


(note: you take the foil off- this picture was taken while drying, but trust me, they turned out cute)

Sam and Kaori Part One

Sam and Kaori's wedding weekend was a blast... and it was especially fun to be their photographer (a first for me). It will most likely be sometime next week that I get to posting the reception photos. Congrats Kaori and Sam- you are a beautiful couple with beautiful families. What a beautiful day.