Something New to Learn

This fall, Mason will be a freshman... how can this be possible?!  As a family, we have decided to send him to public high school.  We have even decided to join the marching band!  Mason has met with the band director and several of the members (including the drum major, who happens to be our dear friends' daughter), and he has decided to play the tenor saxophone.  In order to get a head start and not be a beginner at summer band camp, we have rented a saxophone for him and hired an instructor.  His lessons will start later this week.  The instrument is almost as big as he is, but I think he looks real smart holding it!  What do you think?

Cheesecake

We have a tradition in the Force house that on Sunday evening, we enjoy a home cooked dessert after dinner.  We take turns choosing what that dessert will be, and I've had some wonderful requests over the last several months.  Consequently, I have learned how to make many things I have never attempted before:  key lime pie, bread pudding, coconut cream pie - just to name a few.   But it's always a night that we look forward to simply because it's the only night we're allowed to have dessert!  (okay, so we don't always stick to that rule, but we try).

I thought it would be fun to start sharing our dessert nights with all of you!  Tonight is Mason's choice, and he selected one of his favorites - CHEESECAKE!

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New York Cheesecake

 

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Crust:       2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs         3 Tbsp. butter, melted

                 2 Tbsp. sugar

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray 2 small spring form pans with cooking spray.  Mix above ingredients and press firmly into bottom and ¾ up sides of pans.  Bake for 6 minutes.  Set aside.

Filling:     8 oz. cream cheese, room temp.       ½ tsp. grated lemon rind

                 1/4 cup sugar                                     1 Tbsp. cornstarch

                 1 egg                                                  ½ cup sour cream

                 1 tsp. vanilla

In large bowl, beat together cream cheese & sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in the egg, vanilla, lemon rind & cornstarch until thoroughly mixed.  Stir in sour cream until well blended.  Pour into prepared crust (marble with 2 pureed strawberries, if desired) and bake on cookie sheet 25-30 minutes.  Allow to cool in the oven with door slightly ajar for 45 minutes.  Cool on rack and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

A New Family Treasure

Remember that totally awesome Lego picture Mason made for me at Christmas?  Well, I now have it framed and placed upon our wall...

Up close, it looks rather weird, but step back, and it comes to life!  I just love it!!

Snowy Day in the Mountains

It's just another snowy day here in the mountains!  Today, we're seeing big FAT snowflakes - such a lovely sight, really.  Looking out our windows makes us feel as though we're in a snowglobe... it is so beautiful and peaceful.  Here's a shot from our front porch - notice we still have our Scottish flag flying!  At present, it's the only color we see outside besides brown and white.

One wonderful new development... Mason can now plow!  And that comes in handy when Dad is out for the day!  Mason plowed this morning, and then I plowed again at mid-day.  The reward?  A nice, hot mug of hot chocolate.  Yum.

While it is plenty cold outside, we are hard at work inside.  The boys are diligently working on school, and I'm about to bake a loaf of bread... Life is good.

Playdate

One of my friends asked if I could watch her little girl today... to which I said, "sure!"  I always enjoy having a little girl in the house!  And this is one of the cutest little girls I know...

As you can see, she and Maddox get along swimmingly.  :)  Just look at the adoration in her eyes!

Ice Skating

One of the things I love the most about Evergreen is our beautiful lake.   In the summer, we spend a lot of time either on it in a paddle boat, or walking around it.  In the winter, we spend an equal amount of time ice skating on it!  Today was one such day... the sun was shining, the sky was a deep blue, so we took advantage of the beautiful day and strapped on our skates.

Maddox is a super star with his new ice walker!  He just goes and goes and goes...

The big boys and Dad were playing hockey, when along comes Maddox with his walker - which he discovered doubles as a really cool hockey stick!  They played and played...

 ...until this one was plum wore out.  :)

Homemade Pasta!

Many of you know I love to make things from scratch... bread, soap, etc.  Well, here's my newest passion - PASTA!  For Christmas, I got a couple of attachments for my Kitchen Aid mixer to help... and oh, how easy they make it!

Just in case any of you are game to give it a try, here is a step-by-step tutorial!  It's super easy, I promise!

Start by putting 1 1/2 cups of flour in a bowl, make a well in the middle and add 2 eggs (the ratio is 3/4 cup of flour to each egg in case you need to make more or less).

Begin mixing the eggs with a fork, gradually adding in the flour.

Continue mixing until most of the flour is incorporated.

When it gets to the point where you really can't stir it any more, turn it out onto a bread board (or clean counter).  Continue mixing - a pastry scraper helps.

I usually add a couple teaspoons of water as it's a bit dry here in the mountains.

Eventually, you'll incorporate all of the flour.  Keep in mind that this dough is quite a bit more stiff than a bread dough.

 Knead the dough for 2 or 3 minutes, and you'll end up with a nice ball like this.  It shouldn't be sticky or dry.

 Wrap the dough ball in floured plastic wrap and let it rest for about 20-30 minutes.

After it has rested, cut it into pieces about the size of your palm using the pastry scraper.

Gently flatten one piece just a little bit, and then run it through the pasta rollers, set on the widest setting (1).
 

 Fold the flattened strip into thirds, and run it through again.  *NOTE* Folded dough should only be run through at the widest setting... and I sometimes skip this part if the dough looks a bit dry or doesn't come through the first press nicely.

Narrow the rollers to the next setting (2) and run the dough through again (withOUT folding!).  Continue to narrow the rollers and run the dough through until you've run it through on setting 5.  As it gets thinner, sprinkle a little flour on it to prevent it from sticking to the rollers. If you find that the rollers are getting messy, then your dough is too wet.  Your rollers should look clean when you are finished (which is a good thing, because these attachments are not intended to be washed!)

 The dough strips get very long, so you may want to cut them in half or thirds as you go.  Here they are all laid out to dry for a couple minutes before cutting.
  

Place the cutter attachment of your choice into the mixer (I'm using the fettuccine cutter) and run the strips through.  Voila!

Place the cut noodles on a tray and toss with some flour to prevent them from sticking.  

 Here is the whole batch, all cut and ready to cook!  You can cover them with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge until you are ready to cook them.  I usually make the noodles in the morning and prepare that evening, but I've heard you can even do them the night before.  Be careful, though - you don't want them to dry out!

To cook, place them in boiling water with a little salt for about 4 minutes (2 minutes for spaghetti noodles).  Drain, and ENJOY!