annie blog

February 24, 2005
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You know, one great thing about having a ton of freckles is that when you nearly wack your finger off with a chef’s knife and blood spatters everywhere — it just blends in on your skin. Thankfully, it stopped bleeding. I didn’t even really care about my finger, but the thought of losing my time by sitting in an ER was really making me mad. Of course, I was mad at myself for being so dumb by cutting myself. That reminds me — I think that I need a new (really good) chef’s knife. It is like the Murphy’s Law of parenting that when you really injure yourself — there is no help to be found. My helpful 6 year old was at the neighbor’s apartment, my baby wanted down NOW from the high chair, and my 8 year old was having a meltdown over the dvd control and the game that he was trying to do and dear Jon was in the basement on the phone with a client. Crazy.

You know, one great thing about having a ton of freckles is that when you nearly wack your finger off with a chef’s knife and blood spatters everywhere — it just blends in on your skin. Thankfully, it stopped bleeding. … Continue reading →

February 24, 2005
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1 Comment

You know, one great thing about having a ton of freckles is that when you nearly wack your finger off with a chef’s knife and blood spatters everywhere — it just blends in on your skin. Thankfully, it stopped bleeding. I didn’t even really care about my finger, but the thought of losing my time by sitting in an ER was really making me mad. Of course, I was mad at myself for being so dumb by cutting myself. That reminds me — I think that I need a new (really good) chef’s knife. It is like the Murphy’s Law of parenting that when you really injure yourself — there is no help to be found. My helpful 6 year old was at the neighbor’s apartment, my baby wanted down NOW from the high chair, and my 8 year old was having a meltdown over the dvd control and the game that he was trying to do and dear Jon was in the basement on the phone with a client. Crazy.

You know, one great thing about having a ton of freckles is that when you nearly wack your finger off with a chef’s knife and blood spatters everywhere — it just blends in on your skin. Thankfully, it stopped bleeding. … Continue reading →

February 24, 2005
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1 Comment

You know, one great thing about having a ton of freckles is that when you nearly wack your finger off with a chef’s knife and blood spatters everywhere — it just blends in on your skin. Thankfully, it stopped bleeding. … Continue reading →

February 24, 2005
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4 Comments

As you blog readers know, I don’t have any girl children. 4 boys. So I can’t really make any general comparisons between the two. What I can say is that I have a love/hate attitude about the physical-ness of boys. I don’t know if girls are like this, but my boys are just so physical. It sort of wears me out. And I don’t understand it. Like how they love to wrestle and roll down hills while scrapping with each other, etc. Even now, my baby tries to push me out of the way and push himself out of my arms. They know that they are doing it, sometimes, but I think that it is just their nature, too, and something that you have to find an outlet for. I use it to my advantage, on occasion. Like yesterday. I was really tired, and I was waiting for part of the dinner to get done. The baby wanted me to continually hold him while I was trying to do stuff. So, what did I do? I decided to lie down on the floor. I got a little rest while my delighted baby crawled all over me. He totally loved it. So we both got what we wanted for 5 minutes. I think I’ll be doing this again. Only next time I’m going to tuck my hair in my shirt. Last night I found out that hair is slippery — and if your baby slips on your hair you are probably going to get kneed in the eye or nose or mouth. Still, an activity worth repeating.

As you blog readers know, I don’t have any girl children. 4 boys. So I can’t really make any general comparisons between the two. What I can say is that I have a love/hate attitude about the physical-ness of boys. … Continue reading →

February 24, 2005
by
4 Comments

As you blog readers know, I don’t have any girl children. 4 boys. So I can’t really make any general comparisons between the two. What I can say is that I have a love/hate attitude about the physical-ness of boys. I don’t know if girls are like this, but my boys are just so physical. It sort of wears me out. And I don’t understand it. Like how they love to wrestle and roll down hills while scrapping with each other, etc. Even now, my baby tries to push me out of the way and push himself out of my arms. They know that they are doing it, sometimes, but I think that it is just their nature, too, and something that you have to find an outlet for. I use it to my advantage, on occasion. Like yesterday. I was really tired, and I was waiting for part of the dinner to get done. The baby wanted me to continually hold him while I was trying to do stuff. So, what did I do? I decided to lie down on the floor. I got a little rest while my delighted baby crawled all over me. He totally loved it. So we both got what we wanted for 5 minutes. I think I’ll be doing this again. Only next time I’m going to tuck my hair in my shirt. Last night I found out that hair is slippery — and if your baby slips on your hair you are probably going to get kneed in the eye or nose or mouth. Still, an activity worth repeating.

As you blog readers know, I don’t have any girl children. 4 boys. So I can’t really make any general comparisons between the two. What I can say is that I have a love/hate attitude about the physical-ness of boys. … Continue reading →

February 24, 2005
by
4 Comments

As you blog readers know, I don’t have any girl children. 4 boys. So I can’t really make any general comparisons between the two. What I can say is that I have a love/hate attitude about the physical-ness of boys. … Continue reading →

February 23, 2005
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2 Comments

Here is my recipe for lasagna. I got it from America’s Test Kitchen. Simple Lasagna with Hearty Tomato-Meat Sauce tomato meat sauce 1 T olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped fine (about 1 cup) 6 med. garlic cloves, minced or pressed (about 2 T) 1/2 pound ground beef and 1/2 pound Italian sausage 1/2 t salt 1/2 t ground black pepper 1/4 cup heavy cream 1 (28 oz.) can pureed tomatoes 1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained ricottta, mozzarella, and pasta layers 15 oz. whole milk or part-skim ricotta cheese (1 3/4 cups) 1 1/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves 1 large egg, lightly beaten 1/2 t. salt 1/2 t. ground black pepper 12 no-boil lasagna noodles (the kind in the 8 or 9 oz. package) 16 oz. whole-milk (if you can find it) mozzarella cheese, shredded 1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375. 2. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering, about 2 minutes; add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and add ground meats, salt,and pepper; cook, breaking meat into small pieces with spoon, until meat loses its raw color but has not browned, about 4 minutes. Add cream and simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid evaporates and only fat remains, about 4 minutes. Add pureed and drained diced tomatoes and bring to simmer; reduce heat to low and simmer slowly until flavors are blended, about 3 minutes; set sauce aside. (Sauce can be cooled, covered, and refrigerated for 2 days/ reheat before assembling lasagna.) 3. Mix ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan, basil, egg, salt and pepper in medium bowl with fork until creamy; set aside. 4. Smear entire bottom of 13×9 baking dish with 1/4 cup meat sauce (avoiding large chunks of meat). Place 3 noodles in baking dish to create first layer. Drop 3 tablespoons ricotta mixture down ceter of each noodle and level domed mounds by pressing with back side of spoon. Sprinkle layer evenly with 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce evenly over cheese. Repeat layering of noodles, ricotta, mozzarella, and sauce two more times. Place 3 remaining noodles on top of sauce, spread remaining sauce over noodles, sprinkle with remaining 1 cup mozzarella, then with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan. Lightly spray a large sheet of foil with nonstick cookin gspray and cover lasagna. 5. Bake 15 minutes, then remove foil. Return lasagna to oven and continue to bake until cheese is spotty grown and sauce is bubbling, about 25 minutes longer. Cool lasagna about 10 minutes; cut into pieces and serve. If you want to make it ahead of time, the unbaked lasagna can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and then in foil and frozen for up to 2 months. Defrost it in the refrigerator for a day or two and bake as directed, extending the baking time by about 5 minutes.

Here is my recipe for lasagna. I got it from America’s Test Kitchen. Simple Lasagna with Hearty Tomato-Meat Sauce tomato meat sauce 1 T olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped fine (about 1 cup) 6 med. garlic cloves, minced or … Continue reading →

February 23, 2005
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2 Comments

Here is my recipe for lasagna. I got it from America’s Test Kitchen. Simple Lasagna with Hearty Tomato-Meat Sauce tomato meat sauce 1 T olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped fine (about 1 cup) 6 med. garlic cloves, minced or pressed (about 2 T) 1/2 pound ground beef and 1/2 pound Italian sausage 1/2 t salt 1/2 t ground black pepper 1/4 cup heavy cream 1 (28 oz.) can pureed tomatoes 1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes, drained ricottta, mozzarella, and pasta layers 15 oz. whole milk or part-skim ricotta cheese (1 3/4 cups) 1 1/4 cups grated Parmesan cheese 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves 1 large egg, lightly beaten 1/2 t. salt 1/2 t. ground black pepper 12 no-boil lasagna noodles (the kind in the 8 or 9 oz. package) 16 oz. whole-milk (if you can find it) mozzarella cheese, shredded 1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375. 2. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering, about 2 minutes; add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened but not browned, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Increase heat to medium-high and add ground meats, salt,and pepper; cook, breaking meat into small pieces with spoon, until meat loses its raw color but has not browned, about 4 minutes. Add cream and simmer, stirring occasionally, until liquid evaporates and only fat remains, about 4 minutes. Add pureed and drained diced tomatoes and bring to simmer; reduce heat to low and simmer slowly until flavors are blended, about 3 minutes; set sauce aside. (Sauce can be cooled, covered, and refrigerated for 2 days/ reheat before assembling lasagna.) 3. Mix ricotta, 1 cup Parmesan, basil, egg, salt and pepper in medium bowl with fork until creamy; set aside. 4. Smear entire bottom of 13×9 baking dish with 1/4 cup meat sauce (avoiding large chunks of meat). Place 3 noodles in baking dish to create first layer. Drop 3 tablespoons ricotta mixture down ceter of each noodle and level domed mounds by pressing with back side of spoon. Sprinkle layer evenly with 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce evenly over cheese. Repeat layering of noodles, ricotta, mozzarella, and sauce two more times. Place 3 remaining noodles on top of sauce, spread remaining sauce over noodles, sprinkle with remaining 1 cup mozzarella, then with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan. Lightly spray a large sheet of foil with nonstick cookin gspray and cover lasagna. 5. Bake 15 minutes, then remove foil. Return lasagna to oven and continue to bake until cheese is spotty grown and sauce is bubbling, about 25 minutes longer. Cool lasagna about 10 minutes; cut into pieces and serve. If you want to make it ahead of time, the unbaked lasagna can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and then in foil and frozen for up to 2 months. Defrost it in the refrigerator for a day or two and bake as directed, extending the baking time by about 5 minutes.

Here is my recipe for lasagna. I got it from America’s Test Kitchen. Simple Lasagna with Hearty Tomato-Meat Sauce tomato meat sauce 1 T olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped fine (about 1 cup) 6 med. garlic cloves, minced or … Continue reading →

February 23, 2005
by
2 Comments

Here is my recipe for lasagna. I got it from America’s Test Kitchen. Simple Lasagna with Hearty Tomato-Meat Sauce tomato meat sauce 1 T olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped fine (about 1 cup) 6 med. garlic cloves, minced or … Continue reading →

February 23, 2005
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9 Comments

What is your favorite cookie? Do you have the recipe? I need to try baking some wonderful cookies. Any direction you could give me to a fabulous cookie recipe would be most appreciated. I might even send you some — you never know. :)

What is your favorite cookie? Do you have the recipe? I need to try baking some wonderful cookies. Any direction you could give me to a fabulous cookie recipe would be most appreciated. I might even send you some — … Continue reading →