My Husband and Hero

Today is the feast of the Holy Family and like every Sunday, the three of us were at mass this morning. Due to our furnace breaking down on Christmas day we are staying at my parent's house until it can be fixed, so instead of going to our church, we decided to go to mass at St. Thomas Aquinas in Alpharetta, GA. It was a thin crowd this morning, and amazingly we were able to get a seat inside the sanctuary. Having an unpredictable 11 month old makes us always seek a seat in the back. We found the perfect seat and during the greeting a kind old lady turned around and whispered, "hello" to us. The mass started and as predicted, our little one started to fuss, so my husband Klaus took out in the narthex. They were out there for only five minutes when the kind lady that spoke to me earlier asked a man near by to help her with her husband who had passed out. Within thirty seconds all those around were trying to look in on what had happened and crowding the poor man. I quickly left and got my husband whom I believed knew how to handle this type of situation.  He cleared the crowd. Told a women on the phone with the police what to say. Organized the ushers on what he needed. He made the man smile when he commented on his Navy ring. Calmed the wife by telling her about our little daughter. Helped the EMS team get him to the hospital. Our daughter sat in her stroller the whole time quietly watching her daddy. When it was all over , and the man thankfully breathing on his own was on his way to the hospital, I said a prayer and thanked God for being married to a real life hero.

Gingerbread Coffee

I love coffee. The smell and the richness is intoxicating. And yes, I am one of those people addicted to Starbucks. When I left my job in order to have my daughter, my husband and I decided that we would make our Starbucks coffee at home using our espresso maker. Our favorite espresso bar drink is the Americano, which is simply espresso and water. For all of you iced coffee fans out there if you have never tried an Americano I encourage you to do so. It has a much smoother taste than iced coffee. This holiday season I found a great way to put jolly in my coffee. In my iced Americano I put a dash of cinnamon, a sprinkle of nutmeg and a dash of ginger. It was like sipping a gingerbread coffee, but without the sin.

Trick-or-treating in Dahlonega

Hello everyone. I hope you are all doing well and are looking forward to Thanksgiving. I know I am a couple of weeks late, but I thought I would do a little review on my family's trick-or-treating experience on the Dahlonega square. Trick-or-treating on the square was from 4:30-6:00 pm. To make things safe for everyone the city of Dahlonega blocked off the square. Families gathered in lines all over the square to get candy from the stores that were handing them out. Clearly, the two most popular stores for candy lovers were Paul Thomas Chocolates and the Fudge Factory. I unfortunately did not get to try their candy partly due to the crowds and the fact that my little munchkin was only 9 months old. Thirty minutes before the end of trick-or-treating there was a costume contest. Scarecrows, superheros, princesses, fairies and ghosts made their way to the gold museum so that their costume could be judged.  We were able to make the tale end of the event and saw that a butterfly princess won first prize. Congratulations to her.

Trick-or-treating in Dahlonega was a fun and crowded experience. Although the lines were long to get candy everyone was in a good and patient mood. The adults handing out candy were all dressed up and probably having more fun than the kids. Unless you just can not handle crowds, I recommend trying it one Halloween if you live close by. Please check out the pictures below.

Dahlonega trick-or-treating crowd

skeleton lanterns

Carter and Daddy ready for treats

Purple witch handing out candy

Damsel in Distress

A few weeks ago while driving home from Target with my 8 month old baby the dreaded check engine light came on and started flashing. Oh the horror! I could just imagine being stranded on the road waiting for the police to come and pick us up and take us home. Then I would have to worry about a tow truck and a rental car. Thankfully, my guardian angel was not going to let that happen.  I was able to safely drive my car to Herbert Automotive in Cumming. The mechanics there recognized a scared mom and sought to sooth my ruffled feathers. After taking my car into the garage, one of the mechanics, who was a daddy himself  drove me and my baby home. In case you are wondering, yes I had my car seat and base with me. Before he left me at my house, he helped me get my groceries and car seat out of the car.

Trouble with cars has always terrified me, maybe because I had an engine that blew on me on GA 400 in the middle of winter no less. With all of my car incidents over the years, my experience with Herbert Automotive was by far the most pleasant. All of the mechanics there were indeed gentleman that treated me like a lady.

Salted Caramel Apple Bread Disaster

A couple of weeks ago I posted a blog regarding my medieval garlic bread. I was so happy that my first attempt at baking bread turned out so well that I decided to mix it up a bit and make salted caramel apple bread. I used the same recipe only tweaked it a little. I put the flour, water and honey in a bowl and added pieces of apple, Werthers' soft caramel chews and sprinkled pink Himalayan salt in the mix thinking this would be magic. I put the dough on the counter and began to knead. Twas not a pretty sight. Apple and caramel pieces kept falling out of the dough. To keep it together I had to use an extra cup of white flour. After an hour of rising it was time to put it in the oven. I said a prayer over the dough in the pan before the baking. My prayers were not answered. Out of the oven came a slightly burned loaf that barely tasted like salted caramel apple bread. Instead it tasted like dry bread with flavorless fruit. Oh the disappointment as I took the bread and threw it in the trash.

Lesson-if you are new to baking bread don't get too fancy on your second try.

Medieval Garlic Bread

Medieval Garlic Bread

When I picture myself in the kitchen whipping up something yummy to eat, it usually involves baking Toll House cookies or Ghiridelli brownies. So why garlic bread? Up to a few weeks ago I would have never thought of it had it not been for my husband's apple bread pudding failure.  Klaus had this idea to make a sugar free apple bread pudding with only ingredients a  medieval person would have. The bread was divine, but the bread pudding was very bland and dry. To Klaus' surprise, I fell in love with the whole wheat bread and demanded he make it again the following week, which he did only this time he told me to bake with him and write the recipe down. I did just that and after going through the whole process I decided to venture out on my own and add garlic into the mix. They came out wonderfully with a rich garlic taste. 


Ingredients:
1 cup of flour
1/3 cup of tepid water
1 package of yeast
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of olive oil
pinch of sugar
1/4 teaspoon of honey

-add yeast and pinch of sugar to warm water, mix and allow to stand until foaming
-add flour to water mixture
-add in salt, olive oil, honey and mix
-knead the dough for 10 minutes
-place dough in a bowl that has been splashed with olive oil and cover for an hour or longer
-grease pan
-preheat oven to 450
- remove the dough and cut into pieces
-form dough into little rolls
-bake for 10 minutes, drop down to 350 for 5 minutes
- take out of the oven and enjoy

UT Girl

My little girl loving UT

School is officially in session and my 7 month little girl has already decided where she is going to college. I guess she has no room in her heart for UGA. 

Giant Butterflies

My husband and Carter

A week ago, my husband took a few days off and instead of going to the beach we decided to have a more economical stay-cation. Our big activity for the week was to go to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens, a trip that definitely did not disappoint. We were fortunate enough to go there during a major exhibit, Imaginary Worlds. As you can see from the picture, Imaginary Worlds consist of giant animals made from plants. Our favorite was the butterfly, but there were also gorillas, rabbits, cobras and a beautiful enchanting mother nature. I highly recommend seeing this exhibit before it leaves Atlanta.

Sorbet Cocktails

Ah, the love of frozen treats. I wish I could share most people's love and affection for ice cream, sherbets, klondike bars, ice cream cake, and all other forms of ice cream and, the sweet lady of frozen desserts, the sorbet. Alas, I can not. Part of it is due to a mild form of lactose intolerance that I inherited from my mother and the other part of it rests on the fact that most desserts that live in the freezer just aren't very good. Too many ingredients, flavors that should have long time been retired, and enough sugar to cause diabetes make up the majority of ice cream selections one finds in the supermarket frozen food aisle.

Years ago, my husband and I bought a Cuisinart ice cream maker that quickly became the best specialty kitchen item we have. Over the years we have made real vanilla bean ice cream, green tea ice cream, espresso ice cream, and Aztec-style spicy chocolate ice cream, all of them with the simple ingredients and half the sugar. Recently, I have gotten more into sorbet. I love the delicate taste of frozen fruit. For someone watching their weight, like me, this is delightful treat because a little goes a long way. With the birth of my daughter,  I have started experimenting with alcohol mixed in with the sorbet. Ooh la la, is it good. Ladies this is great for a special treat for mommy or a dessert that will impress your friends on that much needed girls night out.

My husband, who was born on the big island of Hawaii, had a birthday last Sunday, so this week I made pineapple sorbet with rum. It tasted vaguely like the pineapple drink Disney World sells in adventure land. Yummy!

I Lost My Bikini Top on Kealalekua Beach Pineapple Sorbet

Ingredients

- 1 can of pineapple chunks in pineapple juice (I like Dole, it has pineapple and pineapple juice with  no added sugar)

- 1/4 cup of rum (I like Bacardi white label rum)

Directions

-puree the contents of the can (pineapple chunks and juice) using a food processor

-pour the rum into the ice cream maker

-pour the pineapple puree into an ice cream maker

-start the ice cream maker; it should take about twenty minutes to freeze

You Can't Dig Up All Gold

gold mine shaft

Typically July 4th at my house consists of grilling a few steaks before heading over to the lake to watch the fireworks. Since we have a 5 month old we thought that waking a sleeping baby up so the we can "ooh and aah" at fireworks was probably not a good idea. This year we drove about 30 miles north to the old gold mining town of Dahlonega for some independence day fun. With the 88 degree sun beaming down on baby we were not able to do much on the square except listen to a few pickers play a couple of tunes and eat some lunch.

We chose to eat at the Smith House, famous for its family style Southern dining and more recently the gold shaft. The Smith House Historic Inn and Restaurant has quite a history. It was originally built as a home and office by Captain Frank Hall, a Dahlonega businessman 1895. Legend has it that while Captain Hall was building his home,  he struck gold. Over 100 years later  in 2006, while a worker was preparing a concrete floor, a hole was punched into a 20 ft mine shaft.

Leaving the dining room, people with full bellies make their way to the small dark alcove that houses the gold mine shaft. I did the same. With a child's delight, I looked down the shaft hoping to see a glimmer of gold. It is true that a vein of gold runs through town and under the square proving you can't dig up all gold.

Runoff Politics Down on the Farm

Me and my little girl

The way to a Southerner's heart as well as their attention always begins with the stomach, and I must say I am no exception to the rule. For it was my stomach as well as my curiosity that led me to a Sunday political gathering in northern Forsyth County. Beautiful Kinsey Family Farm where one can get a real Charlie Brown Christmas tree hosted a meet and greet of the runoff candidates for Forsyth County for local and state office as well as U.S. Senate. In typical American political fashion all who were there donned red white and blue stickers of candidates, babies and kids were given balloons.  Hundreds of  people showed up for this event. It is my guess that half were actually there to meet the candidates and the other half were there for a free Sunday lunch. When you advertise free barbeque in the South, they will come. I was expecting the, candidate B is bad for the job because - and fill in the blank speeches in the hot sun, but instead got pleasant greetings and loud music.

Dahlonega Farmer's Market

Riding for the Brand

Small, but growing community farmer's market

"What are we going to do today?" A question that is frequently asked on a Friday night or a Saturday morning at our house. I suggested Dahlonega, which is usually always a good idea. This particular trip ended up being a real treat. The town of Dahlonega was having their weekly farmer's market which is quite small with only about 10 vendors. My husband, Klaus and I were happy to learn that it has grown since last year. 

Klaus, our daughter Carter and I strolled along the sidewalk looking at homemade jellies, apple butter, seeds and herbs to plant and baked goods. I'm quite keen on supporting local businesses and rarely leave any type of farmer's market without purchasing something. I had decided to buy a jar of apple butter when Klaus found a vendor , Riding for the Brand. The proprietors were licensed candlers. My suburbanite self obviously had no idea what a candler was. Klaus being the grandson of farmers and the son of a chef of course knew the value of candlers. For all you omelet lovers out there, a licensed candler is a person who has the authority to assess the edibility of eggs. We were unprepared to buy eggs on this trip, so I bought beeswax hand salve instead. The hand salve is great with a honeysuckle scent which in my opinion is a bit of olfactory paradise.

HONEY - My First Love

Sterilizing my daughter's new Mam glow in the dark pacifier at my parent's house, my dad reminds me that he and my mother used to put honey on my paci. "Mama, Daddy I neeeed honey." That was my tune as a demanding toddler-epicure. I imagined the tons of honey my little body consumed. Oh the horror! I would never dream of doing that to my little girl. (FTM)

Honey was my second word after dada. The smell and the taste of it as a little slice of heaven, or perhaps proof of heaven. Think about it,  six-legged creatures with stingers create honey from raw flower nectar. I don't keep bees. The thought of grabbing a honeycomb with 50 to 100 bees swarming all around me is definitely the stuff of nightmares. (Perhaps I have seen Candyman one too many times.) I'll leave bee keeping to the pros or the unafraid bee enthusiasts, such as dear Aunt Seglinde.