Born. To. Run.

I’ve always loved running. Forever and ever, amen.

Unfortunately, my body doesn't agree with this notion. For example, here is my body's response to my most recent jaunt, “Sprint? Go for it. You run your little heart out! I’ll support you 110%! Wait, what? You want to run more?! … like, more than three miles ... AGAIN!? WTF, crazy-lady!”

{Insert IT Band and Hip Flexor bis-natches.}

What’s more frustrating than knowing you can do something, having the motivation to do it, and having a body that won’t cooperate?

N.O.T.H.I.N.G.

{Insert me reading Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall in three days. Followed by two afternoons of highlighting the text, re-reading, and bouncing around my house with hopeful glee.}

I have off and on trusted my instincts when it comes to my knees and running. And over the years, I've made teeny bits of progress. I always thought there was something to running without super-cushioned shoes.

Running with shoes = IT Band being a bitch.

Running with no shoes = IT Band pain non-existent, ankle soreness prevalent, with a side of left foot metatarsal pain.

But, I never trusted myself enough to follow through for very long. I always assumed I was doing more damage than good. And every PT, doctor, or ortho made me feel like that was the truth. They pushed orthotics, better shoes, more physical therapy, blah, blah, blah ...

I now have hope that previously I was simply doing too much, too soon—that barefoot, or cushion-less really IS my solution. I just need to put more time into my training. I need to step back and understand that it’s not about the shoes. It’s about form, stride, and how those cushioned shoes force me to run. In my case—not how I should.

So, as I said, I’m hopeful. I’m scared it won’t work, too. But, it’s either this, or I continue on my already-begun journey of finding something that both physically and emotionally makes me feel the way running does. And that’s no easy feat … pun intended.

Everyone cross your fingers (and your barefoot toes) for me!

thursday. books.

thank goodness for my elementary school librarian auntie. i ran into quite a predicament in the last month or so. taylor, being the little reader she is, is excelling in the reading and comprehension department ... good thing, right?

kinda-sorta. while she may be ready for more challenging reading material, the content of these more challenging materials are most definitely not appropriate for a 7-year old. at least not mine!

'ahem ... dork diaries, anyone?'

so, for those of you with a need for more challenging reading, minus the middle school drama, here are a few pretty good places to start. just click each title to view the book and author information on amazon:

the penderwicks

betsy-tacy

the moffats

caddie woodlawn

ginger pye

the saturdays

ruby lu, brave and true

misty of chincoteague

harriet the spy

mrs. piggle-wiggle

pippi longstocking

there are so many great books out there for every age, and it's unfortunate that so many schools aren't paying attention to WHAT the kids are reading, and simply looking at their reading level. that being said, there are hundreds of amazing books at every level—we just have to help our kids find them!

thursday. how to have a good day.

what makes the perfect day for a pregnant lady? one or more of the following items ... bonus points if you get more than one, and a freaking GREAT day if you get all of them on the same day. please realize, i love being pregnant. i love that this baby is growing by the second. and most of all, i love that he'll be here in three months. the following are simply things that have the potential to make those "blah" days, better.

• no one tells you your boobs look bigger than your baby bump (see image above).

• no victoria's secret catalogs in the mail. and if one happens to make it, your husband rips it in half and throws it away before you even see it.

• when getting ready for work, the first items out of the closet fit AND look good ... no digging in the dirty clothes to find the ONE pair of pants that are comfortable and work-suitable required.

• no one tells you how huge you've become in a matter of weeks. why do people think this makes anyone feel good—growing baby or not.

• zero water retention for a whole day.

• hair and makeup cooperate and foundation does not end up on the belly of the shirt that actually fits you and looks cute.

• the sun comes out for a whole day and you don't have to work. or, you wake up and decide that work isn't going to happen.

• the brewing baby shares a few big flips and sticks his toes out the side of your belly.

• no tying shoes, painting your own toenails, or lying on your belly to get someone's favorite toy from under the refrigerator is required.

thursday. surf's up.

i've been contemplating maternity photos this time around. it's our last baby, and the last time i'll be sporting the belly bump. but, after searching and searching for maternity shoot inspiration, i came up empty and a bit disheartened. if i do a shoot, i don't want it to be the same as everyone else's.

i want something that says exactly how i feel at this point in time. it's summer. i'm pregnant. and there's so much to be happy about. and then i ran across these photos. this is exactly the inspiration i needed.

now, i realize i don't live in a place with water this blue, or sand this white. *tear. but, we live at the beach during the summer. literally, live in the lake. and these pictures are what i've been searching for. colors, textures, and style. the black-and-white shot above is possibly the coolest maternity photo i've ever seen.

i'm thinking, beach day at the lake with the kiddos, sunshine, beach hair, sunscreened-up kids, SUP board, kayak maybe?, belly out-and-about in full force, and my favorite photographer if she'll put up with me for yet another shoot.


these pictures make me sad that i sit at a computer all day for work ...

thursday. yogurt-making.

making yogurt is so flipping easy! not only that, but it's so flipping good for you. how easy is it you ask? well, if you ask me, anything that only requires one ingredient is pretty darn easy.

milk. real milk. most importantly, non-homogenized. well, and a cup or two of your last batch of yogurt to mix in to get the cultures going. that's it!

1. bring one gallon of milk to 160-180 degrees in a big pot on the stove. this will make a LOT of yogurt. don't let it boil! you'll have to start over. take it off the heat as soon as you get to the right temp (160 is perfect).
   
2. let the milk cool to between 110-120 degrees (shoot for somewhere in the middle).
3. take out 2 cups of milk and add to a medium-sized bowl, and mix in your 1-2 cups of yogurt starter—or dannon plain yogurt if you don't have a start already! mix. feel free to add probiotics from your health food store or super supplements type place.
   
4. add the mixture back into your warm milk pot, and mix well.
5. pour the contents into the inner bowl of your crock pot, put the lid on, wrap it in a couple towels and set it in your oven—no heat on! just turn on the light in your oven.
6. let it sit for 8-12 hours depending on how tart and thick you like it.
7. if you want to make greek-style yogurt, take your final product and strain through cheesecloth or a t-shirt to your desired consistency—I usually strain mine for about 3 hours, making it a sour cream-like texture. see my post on greek yogurt for more info!
   
8. flavor however you like and store in mason jars or tupperware in the fridge for 2+ weeks! try fruit, honey, maple syrup, or a spoonful of homemade blackberry jam does the trick for me!

p.s. if you save the whey (the watery stuff that strains out through the cloth, you can use it for lots of things! i.e. add to your vegetable stock, pour over your dog's dinner for extra nutrients, feed it to your flower bulbs, use in place of water when baking ... don't throw it out!

thursday. milk.

mother's day came early for me this year!

i had the lovely experience of taking a class on saturday with one of the owners of spokane family farm (local dairy farm)! topic of the class? how to make greek yogurt and fresh mozzarella! see my next post for more information about THAT part of it! i've known about the local dairy farm for about a year now, it's a great place to take the kids—baby calves, fresh ice cream, milk and cookies, chickens, donkeys, goats, the works! an awesome place to visit on a weekend.

but, aside from being a super-fun place to visit, it's the only place to get 'real' good-for-you milk in spokane. literally. i won't go TOO much into the science behind it (there's a lot). but, i will say, with access to this farm, my family will not be drinking store-bought milk. and for any of you that live in the spokane area—look into it.

as i mentioned, i won't detail you to death. but, here's a bulleted list of reasons i will no longer buy store-bought—bullets don't really count as reading, you can just skim, ha ha—lame pun, totally intended:

• it tastes amazing. and i control the fat content by how much or how little cream i leave on top and shake back in.

• spokane's family farm milk goes from happy cows to your cup in less than 72 hours. this is total time from cow to you buying it in the store. i buy mine from the farm (it's cheaper!), and cuts that time by a LOT.
  

• my kids love it, and it still comes in a regular milk jug just like all milk does, so my kids don't question it with 'how come it looks funny?'

• regular commercial pasteurization includes heating milk past the boiling point, we're talking like in the 245 degree range ... this kills ALL bacteria to extend shelf life, and removing any bacteria, vitamins, or minerals that were good for you.

• because the 'good stuff' was ruined during the process, they add fortified vitamins and other nutrients back in with not-natural ingredients.
  

• spokane's family farm pasteurizes to make your milk safe, but does so at the lowest FDA temperature, 145 degrees—because their milk doesn't need a several-month shelf-life. this lower temperature keeps all the good stuff intact. safe and healthy ... works for me!
  

• i can skim the cream off the top and make things like butter.

• homogenization forces the milk through a series of screens at high pressure to keep the cream from separating and coming to the top. when you drink the processed homogenized milk, your body cannot digest the cream in this unnatural state and the fat in the cream gets absorbed by your stomach lining and passes straight into your blood stream which deposits itself in your arteries.

• the homogenization process physically changes the fat molecules from round to long and sharp. extremely not cool when 'long and sharp' means the fat is more likely to enter your bloodstream and adhere to your arteries causing all kinds of issues.
  

• when you drink non-homogenized milk, ( when the cream is left in its natural state) your body can digest the cream and use the fat that is in the cream for energy and nutrients that your body needs.

• i can make yogurt, cream cheese, mozzarella, and so many other things that you CANNOT make with store-bought milk.
  

and the number one reason i will buy milk from the farm? hearing from an extremely reliable source that the local dairy farmers of a VERY well-known dairy company won't allow their own families to drink the milk that comes out of their cows.

that's a good enough reason for me. it's no wonder people have dairy issues these days.

let me end this post with a disclaimer. i am in no way a scientist. i do not know all. my information comes from research, first-hand sources, experience, and more research. i am not legally stating any of this. it is all my own opinion, and you have every right to yours.

thursday. grapefruit.

pregnant or not, grapefruit happens to be one of my absolute favorite fruits in the whole wide world. and i truly think it could be one of your favorites, too—if you knew how to eat one!

i spent years saying, 'no way' to the mistakenly named 'bitter' fruit. the truth is, the fruit itself is anything but. it's sweet, tart, juicy, and wonderful. it's the rind and the 'membranes' separating each segment that give it that icky flavor. so here's the solution ... don't eat that part!

1. yes, i do, in fact realize i'm dedicating an entire post to how to eat a grapefruit. it's ok, you'll thank me when you try it.
2. watch the video ... it will weird you out, make you think the guy's a total creeper, make you laugh (if you're anything like me), and teach you how to properly eat a grapefruit—for reals.
3. you will probably have the urge to go buy one immediately and try it out. i'm grabbing my keys as i type.
4. if you think this entire post is ridiculous, it's ok. you can still go watch the video and have grapefruit slicing knowledge under your belt for the next time someone asks.
   
5. enjoy .. and humor me. Click here!
   

thursday. spring fever.

gosh, on the bright side, me not writing a single post since november means that it's now february ... and spring is just around the corner. forgive me.

with the end of winter, comes garden-planning, 7-year old girly birthday parties, and the hope that my yard won't look the way it currently does for very much longer ... however, it needs to snow at LEAST one more time so i can get my winter family pictures taken ... and then it can be summer.

that being said, several spring ideas are on the horizon. with a charged camera battery, and a list of things to do, there will be more posts than recently. heck, there already are with a total of just one!

these will be included in my first project for this weekend ... arancello.

thursday. the cove.

the husband and i watch a ton of documentaries. i guess that's what happens when you only get channel 2 on tv and the instant queue on netflix runs amuck.

most of what we watch is decent ... we try to keep our viewings to things rated at LEAST three stars ... we do have standards, you know!

the cove, however, yup ... FIVE stars! and totally worth watching. and not just because it's about dolphins ... which it is. but, really, it's about so much more than that. i wouldn't even begin to call myself an environmentalist, but that doesn't mean i don't care about the environment and what goes on within it. and there are some things that are just. plain. wrong.

here's the synopsis:

'academy award winner for best documentary of 2009, THE COVE follows an elite team of activists, filmmakers and freedivers as they embark on a covert mission to penetrate a remote and hidden cove in Taiji, Japan, shining a light on a dark and deadly secret. utilizing state-of-the-art techniques, including hidden microphones and cameras in fake rocks, the team uncovers how this small seaside village serves as a horrifying microcosm of massive ecological crimes happening worldwide. the result is a provocative mix of investigative journalism, eco-adventure and arresting imagery, adding up to an unforgettable story that has inspired audiences worldwide to action.'

i'm guessing most people, like myself, had no idea that this kind of thing existed. you won't regret watching it. if you don't believe me, just watch the promo video on the website.

wednesday. someday.

upon my little girl having a raging fever the last two days, i got to spend some quality time just her and i ... without the monster. she started feeling a smidge better yesterday afternoon, so we took a quick trip to the library down the street.

so, i made a quick trip to the knitting section and grabbed a bunch of 'how-to' books ... i'm determined to make a go of it! and we wandered to the kid's section, taylor grabbed a stack, we checked out and read on the couch for a few hours. h-e-a-v-e-n!

by far, my favorite book from t's loot was someday, by eileen spinelli ...

i ask taylor (6 yrs.) what she wants to be when she grows up, and inevitably, every time, her answer is, 'a writer.'

why, i ask? 'you get to tell stories.' sometimes it's hard for kids to think past tomorrow, or the next five minutes! and this book is brilliant in promoting the imagination and doing just that.

someday opens up a whole new world when it comes to thinking about the future. she turns mundane everyday stuff into whimsical, elaborate, lovely ideas about what she wants to be when she grows up.

plus, the illustrations are inspiring me to buy some new fabric!

p.s. it makes me want to start over and pick a new career for myself! ... maybe an astronaut? although, i think i'd settle for full-time apron-seamstress/business owner.

thursday. mellow monkey & 5K.

It's gearing up to the end of summer ... *tear. But, with the end of summer comes some fun things going on in our neck of the woods!

Millwood's 2nd Annual 5K Run is August 21st. And what's even cooler? For all entrants, Mellow Monkey Yoga (if you haven't been to a class with them, GO!) will be offering free yoga for runners after the race to stretch out those muscles at their studio (the race is only a block away from the studio). There will be drawings with prizes, including a GRAND PRIZE drawing of a 1-year membership at BOTH The Mellow Monkey Yoga Studio AND Anytime Fitness!

Count me in! And you should go, too!

thursday. donut gallery.

more biscuit donuts ... mmmmm ... see previous post for recipe(s).

brennan enjoying cinnamon-y and sugar-y donut holes ...


someone took away the donut holes ...


up close and personal ...

thursday. jam & mashed tater pancakes.

so this last weekend proved to be quite productive, both inside and out. and by productive, i mean, we played outside in the yard and garden all weekend and ate good food. that's my kind of weekend.

mmmmmm ... strawberry huckleberry jam ...


i'd been receiving complaints the last couple weeks from the peanut gallery that there wasn't any strawberry freezer jam left and that the store stuff doesn't taste as good. so, i mustered up the strength this weekend to make a batch. if you've never made freezer jam, it's about the easiest thing to make ... other than the pb & j sandwich you put it on (or in my case, the spoon i shovel it onto).

i like to put it in glass jelly jars because they're cute and fun to give away, but plastic ones work, too. all in all, it takes about an hour to make enough jam to last your family the whole year. sure-jell pectin recipe is the best—the one right off the box. i added huckleberries to this years' and then couldn't find my food processor blade (i put it somewhere i WOULDN'T lose it) to puree them in, so it's chunkier than normal, but still good! i highly recommend it (they have no sugar added recipes too)!

the highlight of my weekend, however, was my mashed potato pancakes. they sure don't look like much, but there's not much that tops em'. my dad makes em' best, but i did my best to compete! remember when i said they don't look like much? they really don't. it's hard to take a decent picture of a flat pancake ... i did my darndest and it just didn't quite work. but still, you get the idea.


homemade mashed tater pancakes.

ingredients.
10-12 yukon gold potatoes
1/2 C sour cream with ranch dressing packet mixed in
butter—as much or as little as you'd like
salt & pepper to taste
1 egg
2-3 tbs flour

how-to for mashed tater pancakes ...

1. Boil a big ol' pot of water with some salt thrown in (you can add garlic cloves to the water, too, if you like). Toss the potatoes in the boiling water and let them boil until tender enough to mash—check with a fork after 10-15 minutes.
2. Drain water, leaving just the taters, and mash. Add sour cream, butter, salt & pepper, and mix with electric mixer.
3. taste. adjust flavors as needed, and then refrigerate overnight (or make a double batch, eat some for dinner and save the rest for the next day for pancakes!)
4. add egg and flour and mix well.
   
5. xcoop small pancake-size dollops onto a hot oiled griddle or skillet. let cook for 1-2 minutes (until brown) and flip to the other side.
6. once flipped, add a slice of cheese to melt.
7. if you're not hungry yet, you shouldn't be reading this blog. this is the epitome of comfort food!
   

mashed potatoes take on a whole new meaning ...

thursday. bavarian cream donuts.

this might be the easiest 'fancy' recipe you'll ever meet. prepare yourself. 30 minutes and you, too, can have warm, soft, squishy, gooey, chocolate-y, rich bavarian cream-filled donuts. one of my favorite girlfriends mentioned that she makes donuts from canned biscuits (yeah, like, the $0.38 for 8 ones!) and uses cinnamon, sugar, frosting, and/or sprinkles on top for her three girls. BRILLIANT!


with that idea in mind, i went on the hunt for a custard filled, chocolate-topped recipe. i took the one i found, and took out all the non-fat, fat-free ingredients that were holding it back from being perfectly delectable—this is what came of it! try it out, they're yummy!

Easiest Donuts EVER.

ingredients.

2 cans jumbo buttermilk biscuits (no flaky biscuits or you'll just end up with oil-soaked garbage can liners!)
canola oil (enough to fill your skillet with about 1/2" worth)
1 small box instant vanilla pudding
1 1/2 C milk
8 oz. cool whip
1 can milk chocolate frosting (unless you're feeling fancy. then you can make your own frosting.)

make the filling.

1. mix pudding mix and milk together in a large bowl, whisk. add cool whip and mix until combined.
   
2. keep filling in the fridge until you're ready to use it.

get those donuts going.

1. pour oil into your skillet, to about half an inch. turn the heat on medium, and let heat for about five minutes.
   
2. put your super-fancy pants, $0.38 jumbo buttermilk biscuits into the oil and let them brown on one side (about a minute). flip the babies over, and let the other side fry to golden perfection. if the oil doesn't bubble around the biscuits when they're plunged into the hot oil ... it's not hot enough. turn up the heat!
3. once they look all lovely and done, take them out (don't burn yourself!) and put them on a plate lined with paper towels ... you know, to make them healthy(er?).
   

fill em' up.

1. two ways to do this part: use a cake decorating bag with a wide-tip on it. or, if you're like me, and don't have those nifty tools, cut the corner off of a zip-loc™ bag and fill er' up!
2. poke holes in the side of each donut. for this, i have a handy-dandy tool that works perfectly ... it's called a finger (just make sure hands are clean)! If that's not sanitary enough for you, a vegetable skewer works rather well.
3. put the pudding-filling tool into the donut and squeeze until each donut puffs up and you know it's cram-packed and will make a mess when you eat it.

final touch.

1. a donut isn't a donut without some kind of frosting. scoop the can of frosting into a bowl and heat it in the microwave for 30 seconds.
2. swirl the tops of each donut with the frosting.

now, whenever you have breakfast guests, you can show off and make fresh, warm donuts ... just don't tell em' your secret!

P.S. there are about a million ways to make biscuit donuts. make holes in them and coat them with cinnamon and sugar, frosting, powdered sugar, jelly-filled ... the possibilities are endless!

thursday. monkey bread.

many of us have little monkeys running around. and more often than not, those monkeys are hungry ... and whining about being hungry ... and wanting to help make something to make them not hungry.

monkey bread is the solution. and unless you're like me, who honest-to-goodness thought the easiest way to make it was to actually make the dough from scratch—yes, I'm brilliant, I know. NOT. it's REALLY easy to make. and the monkeys can help out without driving you batty!

monkey bread.

ingredients.

• 3 (12 oz) tubes refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (ummm, yeah, instead of making dough from SCRATCH!)
• 1 C sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 C butter
• 1 C packed brown sugar
• 1/2 C huckleberries (or any other yummy berry you think you'd like to try—huckleberries rock, though.)

how to.

1. preheat oven to 350 and grease one 9 inch tube pan.
2. mix sugar and cinnamon in a large ziploc bag. kiddos love doing this part. just make sure the bag is zipped, or you'll be cleaning sugary cinnamon from every surface from here to timbuktu.
3. cut biscuits into quarters. shake 6 to 8 biscuit pieces in the sugar cinnamon mix. again, this is a perfect job for the starved, whiney kiddos.
4. arrange pieces in the bottom of the prepared pan and alternate sprinkling huckleberries between layers. but, try to keep the berries towards the middle and away from actually touching the pan, they'll taste better that way. continue until all biscuits are sugar-fied (is that even a word?) and placed in the pan.
5. in a small saucepan, melt the butter with the brown sugar over medium heat until it turns into caramelly goodness. boil for one minute. pour over the biscuits.
6. bake at 350 for 35 minutes—now is a great time to send monkeys outside to make mudpies, play tag, or whatever else those little whipper-snappers might have in mind. p.s. warn them that if they whine before the bread is ready, they don't get any. it makes for a quiet house. promise.
7. let the yummy goodness cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate—if you don't grease the pan well enough ... this part will not end well. lucky for you, your monkeys are probably so hungry by now that they don't care if it's not a perfect tube shape.
8. let the monkeys have at it.

here's a closer-up shot ... mmmmmmm.

thursday. oh my, boston cream pie.

my budding 6-year-old photographer took this ever so flattering picture, proving that i have zero ability to put together a decent outfit. please ignore this fact.

until the other night, i had never even tasted boston cream pie. i can tell you now from experience, i've missed out on years of bliss. while it was a tad time consuming, it was worth every bite.

boston cream pie.

ingredients.
6 tbs butter, softened
2 tbs all-purpose flour
1 1/2 C cake flour (regular non-fancy flour works just as well)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 C white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 C milk
1/2 C light cream
1/2 C milk
1/4 C white sugar
1 pinch salt
4 tsp cornstarch
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 (1 oz) squares semisweet chocolate
2 tbs butter
1/4 C cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 C powdered sugar


cake how-to.

1. preheat oven to 375. grease and flour two 9 inch round cake pans. sift the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside.
2. in a large bowl, cream 6 tbs of the butter with 3/4 C sugar until light and fluffy. beat in the 2 eggs, one at a time, then beat in the 1 tsp vanilla extract. add the flour mixture alternately with the 1/2 C of the milk in 3 additions, beating the batter smooth after each addition. divide the batter between the 2 prepared pans.
3. bake at 375 for 15 min or until cakes begin to shrink away from the sides of the pans and centers spring back when lightly touched. turn the cakes onto wire racks to cool.
   

filling how-to.

1. combine the 1/2 C cream with 1/4 C of the milk and cook over medium heat until bubbles begin to form around the edge of the pan. immediately add 1/4 C of the sugar and the salt, stirring until dissolved. remove the pan from the heat.
2. In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup of the milk with the cornstarch and whisk to remove lumps. Whisk in the 2 eggs. Add the hot cream mixture in a thin stream, whisking constantly. Return to the mixture to the saucepan, bring to a boil, and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens and is smooth (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in the 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and allow to cool to room temperature.

frosting how-to.

1. in a heavy saucepan over low heat, stir the chocolate pieces and 2 tbs butter until they are completely melted. remove from the heat and, stirring constantly, add the 1/4 C cream in a thin steady stream. when mixture is smooth, stir in the powdered sugar and beat the crap out of it. stir in the 1/2 tsp vanilla.

putting it all together.

1. layer the cooled filling over one the cooled cakes and place the second cake on top. don't eat too much of the filling or you won't have enough. pour the chocolate frosting evenly over the top allowing it to spill down the sides in an amazing and appetizing fashion.
2. eat. or if you're like me, take pictures prior to devouring half of it, way too quickly.
   

thursday. turkey piccata.

since our family tends to get most of our meat through our big, strong, hunter-men, i'm always looking for new recipes. and it's turkey season! the last year or so, we've pretty much canned every bit of turkey we have. it's amazing. my dad is genius for coming up with the recipe.

but, i ran across this little lovely talking to another hunter-man at work. try it out. feed it to your kids. share with the dogs. you'll all love it.

turkey piccata.

step one.
slice turkey breast about 3/8 inch thick, lengthwise, to make the biggest pieces possible—like a big pancake. you will end up with several slices. for kid-friendly sizing, slice the strips super-thin.

step two.
take each slice and pound out to about 1/2 original thickness. a ridged or multi-pointed pounder works best.

flour mixture (mix below ingredients):

60% flour
40% fresh grated parmesan cheese
minced garlic (the more the better, right?)
salt & pepper (to taste)

step three.
dump the flour mixture into a large ziploc™ bag and coat the turkey pieces heavily.

step four.
fry in a fairly hot skillet of 1/4 Cup olive oil for about ten minutes per side. let sit on several paper towels to de-grease!

step five.
cut into serving pieces and serve.

REALLY yummy with mashed taters and a salad!

p.s. i don't have pictures for this yet ... but the one above looks pretty darn close to how it ends up!

thursday. madeline james photography. LOCAL.

since i've been a bit (or a lot) of a slacker this last week in the blog post department, i'm making up for it with two posts today ... and this particular post is a double-whammy.

as the second part of my email to title nine (see blog post below for ramblings), i explained how much i would love to grace the pages of their gloriously uber-fantasta-riffic catalog and neato-bandito website. once again, they do not accept attachments, and this blog is my path to weaseling my face in front of their awesome hiring crew.

the photos posted below also happen to be from the bestest photographers in spokane ... but i'm not biased or anything. the ladies over at madelinejamesphotography.com are so many things:

lovely.
nice.
stylish.
funny.
amazing.
happy doing what they do.



julie & arah's (yes, they're sisters!) use of natural light and angles, combined with an amazing sense of style ... it's the formula for magic, i tell you! and even better, they're local! get to em' before they get all fantastically famous!

thursday. huckleberry streusel coffee cake.

the husband is a ginormous fan of coffee cake. the oldest daughter is a massive huckleberry devour-er. the baby is a sugar-aholic like his mommy.

this recipe was meant to be.

thank you farm chicks and martha stewart—for making the only cookbooks i look at, literally, every. single. day. this recipe is loosely based on martha's version. it was gone in less than a day.

huckleberry streusel coffee cake. yum.

cake ingredients.

1 stick unsalted butter (room temp)

2 C. flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 C. sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla (the good stuff)

1 C. sour cream (no non-fat!)

1 C. huckleberries (or whatever kind of berries you want!)

1 C. streusel topping (see recipe down yonder)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch tube pan; set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the sour cream and beginning and ending with the flour. Beat until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
3. Spoon about half the batter into the prepared pan. Arrange the cherries in a single layer on top of the batter; avoid placing any cherries against the pan's edge, as they may stick or burn if not fully encased in batter. Top with the remaining batter, making sure it is evenly distributed, and smooth with an offset spatula. Sprinkle streusel evenly over the top of the batter.
4. Bake until cake is golden brown and springs back when touched, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and let cake cool 10 to 15 minutes. Invert cake onto rack, then re-invert (so streusel side is up), and let cool completely. Spoon glaze over the cake, letting it drip down sides. Let cake sit until glaze is set, about 5 minutes, before serving. Cake can be kept at room temperature, wrapped well in plastic, for up to 4 days.

streusel ingredients.

2 1/4 C. flour

3/4 C. packed brown sugar

2 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. salt

3/4 C. unsalted butter (room temp.)

1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt; cut in butter using a pastry blender, until large, moist clumps form. Streusel can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

milk glaze ingredients.

1 C. powdered sugar

2 tbs. milk

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar and milk until completely smooth. Immediately drizzle glaze over cake.

oh. yum.