tuesday. crema di arancello.

what happens when you're pregnant and one teeny little drink of something alcohol-related sounds just lovely? if you're me, you spend sunday afternoon mixing up a batch of this yummy drink, crema di arancello. basically, it's an orange creamsicle flavored alcohol that you keep in the freezer. the best part? it sits for several months to give it even more fruity flavor. which means, no one gets to drink it until i do!

ingredients.

10 blood oranges

2 vanilla beans

3 bottles (750 ml) 100-proof vodka or everclear (i had 105 proof everclear my boss made, hence the recycled whiskey bottle)

4 cups sugar

5 cups water

step one.
wash the oranges with a vegetable brush and hot water to remove any icky stuff; pat the lemons dry. in a large glass jar (1-gallon jar), add your alcohol. scrape two vanilla beans into the alcohol. it looks like dirt. it's not. it smells way better than dirt.

step two.

carefully zest the oranges with a zester or vegetable peeler so there's none of the white stuff on the peel. add the orange zest to the vodka as it is zested. make sure to use only the outer part of the rind. the pith, the white part underneath the rind, is too bitter and will make your cello not nearly as sweet, and really bitter.

step three.

cover the jar and let sit at room temperature for at least 10 days and up to 40 days in a cool dark place (the cupboard works great!). the longer it rests, the better the taste will be. shake or stir a little every few days if you like. as the arancello sits, the alcohol will slowly take on the flavor and rich orange color of the orange zest. when the color is no longer deepening and the rinds look whitish, it is definitely done.

step four (i haven't reached this part yet ... that's why the pictures stop here).

in a large saucepan, combine the sugar and water; cook until dissolved, or until thickened if you want a thicker, sweeter drink, approximately 5 to 7 minutes.

Let the syrup cool, then add it to the arancello mixture from above. add an additional bottle of alcohol. allow to rest for another 10 to 40 days.

step five.

after the rest period, strain the liquid through a cheese cloth or coffee filter and bottle: discard the orange zest. keep in the freezer until ready to serve.

the best part of having 10 zested blood oranges? fresh-squeezed OJ!

tuesday. funny.

whoever wrote this could become my friend very quickly ... not all pc, but funny and true nonetheless.

1. nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

2. map quest really needs to start their directions on #5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

3. obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

4. bad decisions make good stories.

5. "do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this—ever.

6. i hate when i just miss a call by the last ring (hello? hello? damn it!), but when i immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. what did you do after i didn't answer? drop the phone and run away?

7. i hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. what a waste.

8. i keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

9. i think the freezer deserves a light as well.

10. i disagree with kay jewelers. i would bet on any given friday or saturday night, more kisses begin with miller lite than kay.

11. sometimes, i'll watch a movie that i watched when i was younger and suddenly realize i had no idea what the heck was going on when i first saw it.

12. i would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

13. i have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

happy friday!

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.

monday. baby shower preview.

well, the breakfast at tiffany's themed shower for my little sister, steph, was a blast! everyone showed up in their little black dresses, complete with pearls and costume jewelry! awesome food, thanks to one of her girls, jolene; and mimosa's courtesy of amy! i have about 500 photos to sort through, but until then, these will have to tide you over ...
mama-to-be in all her glory ... steph and her 'girls' ... 'special' sisters ... lucky duck first-time grandma ...
veteran grandma jilly bean ...



my baby girl ... looking like she's 20 ...

monday. hot butter rum.

it's that time of year. cold, windy, the promise of that swirly, whirly white fluffy stuff. what better way to get warm than rum? i mean, really? is there any better drink this time of year than hot butter rum? nope. at least not for me!

p.s. this picture isn't what it actually looks like, but apple cider butter rum looked dang good, too! i was lazy and didn't take pictures this weekend. might have to post this recipe later this week!

the husband left on another hunting excursion friday, and i thought i'd make a batch to have ready for his homecoming! have the fire blazing in the living room, steaming hot butter rum, lights turned down ... and the two crazies building a fort right in the middle of it, squealing and running around like little loons. Who wouldn't want to come home to that?!

anyway, hot butter rum batter is way easy to make, and so good. buy extra rum ... this batch makes enough for 100 servings, but stores in the freezer quite nicely for up to six months (recipe from allrecipes.com)!

ingredients.

1 lb. butter
1 lb. brown sugar
1 lb. confectioners' sugar
1 qt. vanilla ice cream, softened
1 TBS ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg

how-to.

1. melt butter in a large pot over medium heat.
   
2. blend in brown sugar and confectioners' sugar. remove from heat, and whisk in the ice cream, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
   
3. pour mixture into a plastic container, seal, and freeze.
   

later in the day ...

1. measure 1 TBS Hot Buttered Rum Batter and 1 oz. of rum (or more depending on the day you've had) into your favorite mug.
   
2. fill your cup with boiling water, stir, and sprinkle top of drink with nutmeg and/or cinnamon.

friday. the long winter.

winter's on it's way. i even heard the 's' word on the weather this morning.

but, apparently, snow's been on my brain for a week now. i started reading, 'the long winter' ... yes, the little house on the prairie book. and i had forgotten how truly great it is. and no, i can't even blame me reading it on my daughter. i stayed up reading in bed last night until midnight ... all by my lonesome.

such a classic. no matter how many times i read those books, which, mind you has been several (thousand), it makes me realize i was born in the wrong era. granted, i don't think pioneer life was really for me, but definitely a time when things were so much less complicated in a different way than they are now.

bundling in for the winter and making do with what you had, spending the days with family, baking EVERYTHING from scratch, working hard for what you have, but also enjoying it just as much because of it. maybe i'm idealizing some of it. and yes, there are beauties to modern life, things i often feel i couldn't live without. and less of a lot of the hardships, but, so much of the things we have today seem to be just because "we can."

so, when i feel like things are just a little too complicated, i turn on my electric fireplace and cozy up after the kids go to bed, and read about laura ingalls wilder. somehow, it makes me feel a little bit better.

wednesday. knitting nell.

nell knits, like, a lot. you name it, she knits it. blankets for new babies, socks and hats and mittens for the children’s home, and scarves for everyone in her family.

i love this book and the fact that it introduces the idea of servicing others. it oozes generosity, and putting others before yourself. nell is super quiet which is a nice change from a lot of characters out there today ... especially when you have a little girl like i do that has a hard time branching out and meeting new friends sometimes.

super lovely illustrations and a super lovely story. only issue? taylor wants me to teach her to knit ... if only i knew more than one stitch!