(WoahoooWoah)
Please enjoy these 3 new Marlo videos on this cold Monday morning, and remember you only have to work 3 days this week. Spread them out, a video per day, if you must.
Sooorrrrry. I took a little unannounced blogcation. And this post does not necessarily mean I’m back. It just means I found 30 free minutes in my life today. This is a quick synopsis of the last 3 weeks.
1. We bought a house.
2. We reduced the insides to a pile of rubble.
3. Jeff had a birthday and Marlo liked watching him blow out the candles.
4. Halloween happened. Marlo dressed up as Marlo, so stop wondering.
5. My school work has controlled my life. What is this said school work? Well, you can read this NPR article and then know that what I’m trying to do is map out the theorized exact method your brain uses to create a sentence in half a second. Yeah it’s not rocket science but it might be. I’m not failing and I don’t know if that makes me smart or crazy.
6. Marlo got some new pants.
7. We bought an IKEA kitchen.
8. I prepared and consumed these oldies and goodies.
Dear President Obama,
If you haven’t noticed, we’re all fat.
This country is pretty lazy when it comes to taking care of ourselves. Too lazy to learn how to eat right. Too lazy to eat right after we’ve learned how to. Too lazy to change habits and ignore propaganda and not resist our addictions….to sugar. Too lazy to take that distant parking spot. Too lazy to take the stairs.
Speaking of stairs, I think it would be a wise and popular initiative if you were to replace all public staircases in this grand country with piano keys.
Maybe you could find an American company that makes the music pads, and hire some of those people that make up the 10% of the population that is unemployed to install them.
Better yet, if we could also follow in the Swedes example and have public health care (yeah I know, you’re working on it) and public child care, that would be saa-weet!
Thank you from your supporter,
Mrs. Anderson
I’ve thrown two parties in my life. My wedding and Marlo’s first birthday. I think spending a ton of money on decorations is stupid. My theory is that people would much rather have better food or free booze than a wilting flower in the middle of the table. Feel free to disagree with me.
For my wedding, I crafted dozens of giant paper magnolias from Paper Source. I calculated it cost about $8.00 a table, most of the cost deriving from the giant glass globe they were arranged in. But it took weeks of work and many hands. I had neither the time or help to prepare decorations of that caliber for Marlo’s party.
To be honest, I hadn’t thought about decorations for her party until the day before. I remembered seeing an idea for tissue paper pom poms in Martha Stewart Living a few years back. She suspended hers from the ceiling. I was way to lazy to even think about how I’d get that done, so I improvised and just made these half-globes and set them on the table. I think they looked pretty good and took very little time and money. Try them next time you need a quick and easy centerpiece.
1. You’ll need about 8-10 sheets of tissue paper stacked neatly. Feel free to mix up colors and get creative. You can cut the paper into smaller sizes for smaller pom poms, too.
2. Arrange the stack of paper so the length runs up and down. Make 1 1/2 inch accordion folds all the way through the pile, creasing firmly with each fold.
3. Secure a 6 inch piece of floral wire in the center of the folded tissue paper.
4. Using sharp scissors, trim the ends of the tissue paper into either a pointed or rounded edge.
5. Lay the folded tissue paper flat on your work surface, and proceed to gently separate and lift each sheet of tissue paper from the center.
6. Fluff as needed.
You’ll have a lot of tissue trimmings. I snipped them into small pieces and used them as table confetti.
What to do with all this loot….
What to do, what to do…
Well, I’ve never made an apple pie before. I guess I could do that. I really don’t feel like screwing with pie crust dough though.
I guess I could just cheat.
I have to peel, core and slice how many apples?
Gees.
What? This has to sit for 2 hours?! Well I guess I won’t be eating this pie today.
All these special steps better be worth it.
(They were.)
Classic Apple Pie
Adapted from Joy of Baking
2 1/2 pounds apples (about 6 large), peeled, cored, and sliced 1/4 inch thick (about 8 cups sliced)
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons Tapioca granules
Enough pie crust dough to line and cover a 9 inch pie pan.
Make filling:
In a large bowl combine the sliced apples, sugars, lemon juice, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Let the apples macerate at room temperature for about two hours. Then, place the apples and their juices in a strainer that is placed over a large bowl (to capture the juices). Let the apples drain for about 15-30 minutes or until you have at least 1/2 cup (120 ml) of juice. Spray a 4 cup (960 ml) heatproof measuring cup with a nonstick vegetable spray, and then pour in the collected juices and the 2 tablespoons (28 grams) of unsalted butter. Place in the microwave and boil the liquid, on high, 6 to 7 minutes or until the liquid has reduced to about 1/3 cup and is syrupy and lightly caramelized. (Alternatively, you could place the juices and butter in a small saucepan and boil over medium high heat on the stove.)
Make the pie:
Meanwhile, remove the top pastry crust from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes so it has time to soften and become pliable. Transfer the drained apples slices to a large bowl and mix them with the tapioca. Then pour the reduced syrup over the apples and toss to combine. Pour the apples and their syrup into the chilled pie crust. Moisten the edges of the pie shell with a little water and then place the top crust over the apples. Tuck any excess pastry under the bottom crust and then crimp the edges using your fingers or a fork. Using a sharp knife, make five 2-inch (5 cm) slits from the center of the pie out towards the edge of the pie to allow the steam to escape. Cover the pie with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill the pastry while you preheat the oven.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Place the oven rack at the lowest level and place a baking stone or baking sheet on the rack before preheating the oven. Place a piece of aluminum foil on the stone (or pan) to catch any apple juices.
Set the pie on the stone or pan and bake for about 45 to 55 minutes or until the juices start to bubble through the slits and the apples feel tender (not mushy) when a toothpick or sharp knife is inserted through one of the slits. Make sure to cover the edges of the pie with a foil ring to prevent over browning after about 30 minutes.
Remove the pie from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 3-4 hours before cutting. Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or softly whipped cream. Store at room temperature for 2 to 3 days.
Real conversation:
Marlo: Dad. Hi. Please don’t go to work today.
Marlo: Can we do something that involves leaving the house? Look I’m all dressed, and it’s sunny outside.
Marlo: Will you look up an apple orchard? Some of my friends went to one, and said it was the best time they ever had in their life. Okay?
Dad: Okay
Anderson’s Apple Orchard – a real American experience.
Drive in, grab a bag, pull the apples off the tree, put ‘em in the bag, pay an incredibly fair price, go on your merry way.
What’s nice is that you can actually try the apples before you commit. This results in a lot of half eaten apples on the ground. Jeff and I wondered how they kept the animals out at night. I imagined the place being like a Golden Corral, all you can eat buffet for all the nocturnal scavengers.
Jeff recommends the Cortland variety.
Marlo tried really hard to pull the apples off the tree, but ended up just getting frustrated and smacking them around like piñatas.
Even though she’s no Johnny Appleseed, Marlo really enjoyed herself. In fact, she may have had the best time of her life.
We had a pretty good time, too.
Another real conversation:
Mom & Dad: Hey Marlo, what was your favorite part?
Marlo: Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Remember my friend Pete?
He’s made another cool music video for the band Slow Club.
It was shot in Toronto.
It’s clever and fun. I like it. You probably will, too.
If you don’t, I probably don’t like you.
Just sayin’..
Hi.
You’ve reached Marlo’s answering machine. I can’t come to the phone right now. I’m busy.
Busy meeting baby puppies..
and busy reorganizing Grandpa’s CD cabinet…
and Grandma’s pantry…
and Grammie’s tupperware.
I’ve been busy getting ready for winter…
and especially busy being an elephant.
Particularly busy being an elephant that eats fiddlesticks…
and teases the cat with fiddlesticks…
Please leave a message after the beep. I’ll get back with you as soon as I’m done watching the neighbor’s dog.
Easy Italian Chicken & Pasta Casserole
Published September 22, 2009 Recipes , casserole , chicken , pasta Leave a Comment
What is it about casseroles? I mean, they’re awesome. They’re kind of fail-proof. They usually always taste great, at least relative to the effort it takes to make them which is minimal. They usually always involve at least one can of something and they definitely always involve a crunchy top.
Though I think my favorite thing about casseroles is the “put in the oven for 30 minutes” and walk away part. Then you’re life kind of turns into one of those Domino’s pizza commercials. You know, what can you do in 30 minutes?
Normally, for me these 30 minutes consists of cleaning up the kitchen and then making a side dish. But this still isn’t half bad. I don’t have the stress of having multiple dishes cooking up all at the same time, and when we’re done eating dinner, most of the clean-up is already done.
The one bad thing about casseroles refers back to that “can of something” point. Usually it’s a can of high sodium, high fat Campbell’s Cream of Whatever soup. I love these casseroles as much as the next mom from Ohio, but there’s gotta be something better. There is. Giada made a casserole.
I make this a lot. It’s easy and fresh and not too heavy. Give it a shot and tell me what you do in your 30 minutes.
Easy Italian Chicken and Pasta Casserole
Adapted from Food Network
1/2 box Farfalle Pastini (tiny bow ties)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts cubed (1-inch cubes)
1 small onion diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juice (I use the ones with Italian seasoning)
2 generous handfuls shredded Italian cheese blend (I use Sargento Italian 5 cheese blend)
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional)
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup bread crumbs (I use Italian seasoned)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta into a large mixing bowl.
Meanwhile, put the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the chicken, season with salt and pepper, and cook for 3 minutes. Add the onions and garlic, season a little more, stirring to combine, and cook until the onions are soft and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes more. Put the chicken mixture into the bowl with the cooked pasta. Add the canned tomatoes, shredded cheese, parsley, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine. Place the mixture in a buttered 2 or 3 quart baking dish. In a small bowl mix together the bread crumbs and the Parmesan cheese. Sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.
I’ve received a few complaints from my most loyal readers. Apparently I’ve not only been posting too infrequently, but I’ve also been writing too few postings featuring Marlo.
Let’s just pretend that my most loyal readers don’t all have the same last name and weren’t in the labor room when she was born.
It’s not that she hasn’t done anything absolutely adorable or brilliant lately. There’s actually been much of that. But these moments are a little less controlled than before, because she’s a little less controlled then before.
Where’s Marlo? I feel like I asked that question 3 times a minute now because she’s here, then she’s gone.
She’s a genius. Have I told you that before? Well, she is. A genius and an animal lover. She thoroughly adores her new roommates, now that we live with Grammie and Gramps and their three pets – the dachshunds Rosy, Sammy, and the cat – I should know that cat’s name, but I don’t.
She beats the cat with drumsticks. The cat’s declawed, so no need to worry about retaliation folks.
Dachshunds can be mean dogs, but not these dachshunds. Somehow my in-laws managed to find the nicest dachshunds on the planet and buy them. There aren’t any left folks so don’t go looking to have some yourself. They all live with Marlo.
Thank goodness because she’s constantly all up in their business. While it took them a few days to adjust to this, I think Sammy and Rosy have pretty much accepted this annoying munchkin following them around waving her hands in their faces.
This may have something to do with it:
Yeah. She’s become the treat girl. All dogs love the treat girl. So, Grammie thought it would probably be in everyone’s best interest if Marlo filled that role. Marlo takes it very seriously. Sometimes, she doesn’t think she does it as perfectly as she’s capable of, and she asks to do it again. The dogs love this. Not sure how the vet will feel about it though…
