I feel like crap. C was a complete nightmare in church this morning and I am so exhausted from our marathon of parties yesterday. It feels good to just sit here now and just write. I mean, my brain still hurts, but this is at least a cathartic pastime. Ahhh....the sound of Sunday. Quiet, serene, save for your husband snoring on the couch and the white noise of Little Bear playing in the background. Indeed.....peace at last. Amazing how your life pace can slow to a screeching halt overnight.
Just twenty-six hours ago, we were arriving at C's preschool Halloween festival, better known as Party #1. As evidenced by the photo above, C was a pirate this year. Again. Yes, he was a pirate last year, too, but at least this year he was a pirate of notoriety, Capt. Jack Sparrow. All the preschool families gathered 'round the oak trees, eating hot dogs, snapping shots of kiddos in costume on bales of hay bedeckled with bright orange pumpkins. They even had some face-painting--of which C wanted no part. No, instead he instantly homed in on his buddy S, who just happened to also be Jack Sparrow. It was like they planned it. Pretty soon, the third of the Three Amigos, little K dressed as Tinkerbell, flitted over to the boys.
They finished their hot dogs and juice boxes and ran around quite a bit before it was time to line up for the costume parade to the house next door.
By this time, DH's parents had arrived to take in the last few moments of the festivities. In the heat of the day, we sat under the shade of the trees cooling off until it was time to head over the Party #2: the church festival.........
Ama and Ampa followed us to the church, where we met up with my little sis, J, who was going to be doing some of the face-painting at one of the booths. Parched and nearly lifeless from the heat, I bought a cantaloupe juice from the Filipino booth while DH picked up some water bottles from the drink stand. Luckily, we were able to find a table in the shade. We took in the sights and sounds of the festival, which was pretty empty due to the heat. We strolled through the crafts Boutique and DH even picked up one of my chocolate chip cookies for the price of 2 food tickets. "I can't believe I actually had to buy one of your cookies", he said. I replied ever so innocently with, "At least it's for a good cause.....(wink)". I snapped a few shots of my sis painting faces and then decided to hit the road for the next big event.
Of course, we couldn't leave without C taking a spin on the Safari Jeeps and winning a stuffed animal ("Rocky", has he been dubbed).
Then we high-tailed it outta there off to Party #3: the Housewarming...........
We got to our friends' new house about 4 hours late, but no surprise, the party was still in full swing. Some of our old choir folks were jamming in the living room, busting out oldies and Tagalog songs like veteran crooners. The food was great, some Filipino dishes and some delish Hawaiian bbq. We got the tour of the place, which is really nice, especially the back yard which was really quite expansive. Presents were opened (it was a birthday / housewarming) and then someone busted out the RockBand2, I think it's called (I'm not even sure, I'm THAT old!!)--DH belted out a couple and I, of course, had to represent with a little Bon Jovi, "Livin' on a Prayer". Unfortunately, I didn't get around to taking any pics, but trust me when I say it was the highlight of our day, seeing friends and just hanging out.
So here I am, finishing typing. It's actually almost midnight even though I started this post earlier this afternoon. Just too much livin' going on, you know? No, life is good, though. And I'm trying to savor every delectable moment of it . . .
Tonight is the beginning of our church's Fall festival. We've been there about two months, now, and we really love it. Last month, as I was flipping through the church bulletin, something caught my eye in a way that no other blurb or announcement in a church bulletin has ever before caught my eye. It jumped out of the page, reeling me in with it's e'er so charming illustration. The question it posed spoke to the core of my being and my heart raced with anticipation as I read further:
Hallelujah!! A BAKING ministry?!?! Oh, heck, yeah! I could do this, I thought to myself! What better way to jump right into being an active parishoner than to provide food for the hungry! So, hastily I made my way to the hospitality table and signed myself right up.
For the next few weeks, I tossed around recipes that I could use, searching the web for recipes of the best "carrot cake", "chewy cookie", "moist banana bread", etc. I scoured Recipezaar , Epicurious, FoodTV, hit my favorite cooking blogs. As time was quickly running out, I finally settled on two of my go-to recipes and all-around palate pleasers: "Big, Chewy, Chocolate Chip Cookies" and "Very Moist Banana Bread". These have been in my arsenal for a couple of years now and they are the best of both that I have ever tried. I wanted to do a Fall-ish pumpkin spice bread, but it was going to be a new recipe for me, so I decided to stick with tried and true.
So I baked all last night, doubling both recipes and waiting for everything to cool off before wrapping up each individual cookie and each loaf of bread. They turned out great. The cookies were big and chewy and chocolate-y (I had to try one to make sure they were suitable for consumption, of course!). The banana bread was perfectly browned and dense but moist, just like I like it. Needless to say, I'm pretty exhausted, but it really is for a good cause. It's a wonderful feeling to volunteer and know that I'm helping out my parish. The Lord works in mysterious ways . . .
So without further ado, I present to you my baker's delights:
BIG, CHEWY CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
(from AllRecipes)
INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.
3. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted butter, brown sugar and white sugar until well blended.
5. Beat in the vanilla, egg, and egg yolk until light and creamy.
6. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended.
7. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon.
8. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
9. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted.
10. Cool on baking sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
* * * * * * * * * * *
VERY MOIST BANANA BREAD
(from Recipezaar)
INGREDIENTS
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/3 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 cup buttermilk (I use milk and a splash of vinegar)
1 cup chopped pecans
4-5 bananas (use completely black bananas, this is very important--I always have bananas overripe bananas in the freezer specifically for this bread. Just thaw them slightly before mashing and it adds the perfect banana flavor)
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350°. Grease or spray 2 loaf pans.2. In a large bowl, mash bananas with a masher or by well washed hands.3. Dissolve soda in buttermilk-- use a larger container as it will foam up quite a bit.4. Mix all ingredients by hand and add in 1 cup chopped nuts. 5. Bake at 350° for 1 hour, or until toothpick comes out ALMOST clean.6. Totally clean will mean a dryer loaf.7. Let cool 15 minutes after removing from oven and remove from pans.8. Or, let cool, cover with foil, slide into freezer bags and freeze.
So, for someone who likes to surround herself with a sense of stability and routine predictability--why all these little sudden changes? Why this blog? Why waxing philosophical? I didn't think I liked philosophical. Sigh. I have so much left to learn about my ever-evolving self. That's okay--it's kind of fun, actually. I'm starting to embrace the idea that change and the unexpected are what make life interesting, for better or worse. So, you see--my husband isn't the only one who can't figure me out. Turns out, he's in pretty good company.
So thus, I begin my blogging journey, to capture those sweet morsels of everyday life and share them all with you. I’ve never attempted to maintain a journal of this sort before, so I can’t say with any certainty that this will be the least bit interesting to read, but I hope it is. I will promise, however, to be true to the blissful (and crazy and hectic) existence that is my life.
Caboose and Co.
About Us
-
MOM: Full-time WOHM and photographer. Loves her family, singing, food, cooking, crafting, and just plain making things purty.
DAD: Full-time WOHD. Loves the finer things in life, fast cars, and his family. "Burberry makes the world a better place."
CABOOSE: Full-time 1st grader. Lover of all things Star Wars and collector of Legos. Future architect, scientist, musician....and the best thing that ever happened to us.
More About Me
- Rachelle @ Sweet Home Pasadena
- Wife, mom, daughter, granddaughter. Loves quiet weekend mornings when her boys are sound asleep, rainy days, wildflowers, traveling, food, singing, photography, baking, and her family.
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