An Invitation for Criticism...

I know I'm probably throwing myself under the bus here, but I'm going to go ahead and admit that my 13 month old daughter watches videos. I try to avoid tv whenever possible, don't even have it on in the background too often, but I do let her watch her favorite videos: Classical Baby.

Wowie Kazowie, have these DVDs changed our life. My daughter was a fussy newborn-mostly the result of that pesky rule about back sleeping- and this was one of the only things that would soothe her.

People have bought us Baby Einstein, Sesame Street, and more, and nothing holds a candle to this series, at least in our daughter's eyes. It's basically cartoons with classical music playing in the background. To me, this is the best part because you don't have the distraction of annoying cartoon characters voices. All you hear is classical tunes.

And that's *ahem*- music to my ears ;)

No More Experimenting! Perfect Pie Crust Recipe:)

I've only been playing around with pie recipes for a couple of years now, but I think I've found one I'm sticking with. It comes from an apple pie recipe, but you could substitute any filling. It comes courtesy of John Michael Lerma, a cook I've seen compete in many pie competitions on the Food Network. If you go to his site, you'll see that he's a very easy-going guy, which sets me at ease in a part of cooking that I'm not always comfortable- baking from scratch. He's also very talented, as you'll see if you try this recipe:

Grandma's Secret Apple Pie
Prep Time: 15 min Inactive Prep Time: -- Cook Time: 40 min Level:
Intermediate
Serves:
1 pie
Ingredients
Crust:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher or Hawaiian salt, crushed (I just use reg. salt)
1/2 cup butter flavored all-vegetable shortening, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter, chilled and cut into small pieces
1/2 cup cold water
Cooking spray
1 egg yolk plus 1 teaspoon water, beaten, for egg wash (I skip this step entirely-seems trivial)
Filling:
4 large or 6 medium Granny Smith apples, about 2 pounds (to make 6 cups sliced apples)
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1 large egg
1 1/2 tablespoons good quality bourbon (I skip again, because we never have bourbon around)2 tablespoons butter

Vanilla sugar, for sprinkling, optional (skip- you have to like, order it online or make it ahead of time, way too much forethought for me- lol)
Crust Preparation:
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.


Combine all the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add shortening and butter. Using a pastry blender, cut in the shortening and butter until the mixture resembles course meal. Drop by drop, add the cold water. Mix in with the fingertips, not hands, as the palms will warm the dough. Continue mixing water in until the dough begins to hold together without being sticky but not crumbly. Divide dough into 2 pieces and place 1 piece of dough in plastic warp. Press down to form a disk. This will make rolling out easier after chilling. Lightly spray a deep 9-inch pie pan with cooking spray. Roll out second piece of dough and place in pie plate, allowing the excess pastry to hang over the edge. Lightly brush sides and bottom of crust with egg wash. Chill in refrigerator for 10 minutes before filling. Makes pastry for 9-inch double-crust pie.

Couple notes- I never use a pastry blender, just my fingertips, works way better for me. I add the water a little faster than drop by drop, otherwise I'd be there all day! Also, I roll the dough out onto a Silpat, and then the flip the Silpat over onto the dish (and then later, the top onto the pie). Makes it waaaay easier to move the fragile dough.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. (Earlier it said to start with 400 degrees F, I don't know why pastry chefs ease up to the correct temp, I just start with 425 degrees. Also, at this point, I put both the top & bottom of the pie crust in the fridge to chill while I make the filling. Put saran wrap on pie-covered dish, top of dough will already be wrapped in plastic wrap from before.)

Filling Preparation:
Peel, quarter, and core apples; cut into 1/4-inch slices (should have 6 cups). (this has made my life sooo much easier: Back to Basics Apple Corer & Peeler)Toss with the lemon juice in a bowl. In a separate bowl combine sugars, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice, pour over the apples and toss to coat. Whisk together egg and bourbon. Fold into apple mixture. Spoon apple filling into the chilled pastry shell; cut butter into very small pieces and sprinkle over the apples. Roll out remaining pastry. Cut slits in pastry to allow steam to escape. Lightly brush egg wash around edge of pie. Cover pie and trim overhang. Turn edges under flush with the rim; crimp all around to make a stand-up edge. Bake pie at 425 degrees F for 40 minutes, or until top is golden brown and juices are bubbling up. Remove from oven and sprinkle with vanilla sugar, if desired. Cool on wire rack.

(One final tip- the edges of my pie crusts start to get dark about halway through baking time. Lay a piece of aluminum foil over the top for the remainder of the baking time & the crust won't get any darker!)

Enjoy! And feel free to change up the filling:)

I'm not sure I understand baby sign language

My daughter is almost a month past being one year old. She says Momma & Daddy, though shows no sign of knowing what these sounds mean. My husband committed to teaching her to wave "bye-bye", which has worked, sort of. Everybody around her has to do the hand motion for a solid minute before she even reacts. Most of the time, she does the gesture with the hand that is behind the back of the person holding her. Sly, right? It's kinda like, "I know how to do this, but I'll be damned if I'm going to prove it to you." Sigh.

So we've been working on the sign language, and just like a boy & potty training, she shows utterly no interest. I know she's bright enough to learn it, based on the other skills she has, like the ability to outsmart her parents on a daily basis; but for some reason, this communication thing is not her priority. She is waaay too busy finding new electrical cords to identify the cat with a hand gesture.

Hey, maybe we have it all wrong. Maybe the sign for cat is actually balling up one's fist to mimic the ripping out of large chunks of hair. She certainly does that a lot when she's near the cats: "Silly adults. Maybe if I do it over and over again, they'll finally catch on."

After all, it's all about consistent repetition.

Favorite Cleaning Products, Bar None

We also use more chemically-enhanced cleaners for icky places like the toilet bowl or raw food on the counter, but in general, these eco-friendly cleaners do it for our family. They are cheaper than cleaners you buy in the store (DIY mixing), smell awesome, and are made of ingredients you have around the house, ie, vinegar & baking soda. Plus the micro-fiber cloths that come with the kits put paper towels to shame. They have many kits online- www.eco-me.com - and I'm thinking about trying the baby kit.

Miraculous Mommy Tools- Space Saver High Chair

Obviously, Daddy's can use these too...
why did it take this long for someone to realize that getting a high chair doesn't have to mean adding another piece of furniture to your house? Plus, it's easy to transport if you need to.

Can I meet the person who invented the Space Saver High Chair? And can I hug them?

The Guilt Gremlin

So I finish feeding the baby in the morning, put her in her bouncy seat, and head over to the computer to munch on cereal and read emails...wait! Should she be in my lap? Should I be staring at her as I eat? *panic*

Next, I lay on the ground to play with her. I offer her a toy and she shoves it in her mouth. I offer her another toy with repeat results...wait! Should I be reading to her? Showing her flashcards? Teaching her baby sign language? Agggghhhhh!

Does anyone else experience this? I call this the guilt gremlin, that little voice in your head that convinces you that no matter what you do, you could be doing that SAHM thing a bit better. When the baby was 3 months old, I asked my mom if there was anything in particular that I was supposed to be doing with her. "Worried that you're slacking?" she asked. Um, yeah! Being at home all the time, it feels like it's my job to attend to the home & baby every hour of the day. And the guilt starts to creep up on me anytime I: 1) let her play alone, 2)flick on Sesame Street, or 3) play with her in such a way that she isn't learning a darn thing.

I know at her age, everything is a learning experience, but that thought doesn't do anything to drown out that pesky gremlin. As I said, I feel like I can never do this job to my/its satisfaction.

So what do YOU do? Do you hear this nasty creature? Do think that naming characters in your head is bizarre and I need to chill? Let's hear it.

Shouldn't I Have This Figured Out By Now??

So my husband and I had baby names picked out before I was even pregnant. We finalized the first and middle names when we found out that she was going to be a girl. HOWEVER, now that she's seven months old, I'm having serious issues with what to call her.

Her first name is like, #12 on the list of baby names, very popular. Her middle name is nowhere to be found on the list. It's not my maiden name or anything, just something a bit more unique. So I look at her everyday and wonder, should I call her name 1 or name 2? More familIar or more unique? Call her name 1 and call it a day, or decide to go with her middle name and forever condemn to a life of, "yeah, it's actually my middle name, but everyone calls me that."

So you may be asking, what do you call her now? Sweet-ums, Munchkin, Missy, etc etc... my husband thinks we don't even need to settle on a name until she gets to pre-school. But hell, do I really want to be stuck in this state of indecision for 3 more years?? Ugh.

Anyone else go through this??