When I grow up...

...I wanna be a monster truck driver!

Asher has been working on a memory book at school that is full of his art work, hand and feet prints. On one of his pages, his teacher has written down that his favorite colors are green and blue and that when he grows up he wants to be a monster truck driver!

When I read that, I asked her if that is what he really told her. She said, "That's what he told me! And when I asked all the other kids, they told me things like bumble bees, and stuff like that."

It's official...

...as of today, Elie is on the move!

Big Brown Eyes

Choompie Loomp!

It's hard to capture Elie's cute little face expressions because as soon as he hears the camera sounds he stops what he's doing to check it out and when the flash goes off, the "deer in headlights" expression takes over. Finally I was able to capture some good smiles by trying really hard to keep him distracted.


About a week ago I noticed Elie waving back to me! You can sort of see him doing it in the picture above.

Giddy Up!

Elie got this adorable, cuddly rocking horse from Babi and Bampa for Chanukah. It gets him grinning from ear to ear and he loves squeezing the horse's ears.

Happy Eight Months Elie!

Yesterday, December 8th, marked Elie's 8-month birthday! He is such a love... still so easy going and happy, almost crawling (he scoots backwards and gets up on his hands and knees), and just this morning I saw he cut another tooth! It is just to the right of his bottom teeth.

Car Project

Uncle Danny got Asher a plaster car making kit where you pour the plaster into a car mold, and once dry, paint away. This was right up Asher's alley. He loves projects like this... especially if it involves vehicles!

Lighting the Candles

Making Sufganyot at playgroup

We made sufganyot, or jelly filled doughnuts, to celebrate Chanukah at playgroup today. This was my first time making them but I figured you really couldn't go wrong with a nutella filling and rolling them in powdered sugar. They were delicious! After the kids made and ate them, Asher, Michael and Drew wrestled on the couch. Ava, the only girl, decided to sit that one out!

Making sufganyot

I got this recipe off of Epicurious.com It turned out great and I will definitely use it again.

• 1 scant tablespoon (1 package) dry yeast
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 cup lukewarm milk or warm water*
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• Pinch of salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 eggs, separated
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, softened
• Apricot or strawberry preserves (or I prefer Nutella)
  
• Sugar rolling them in (I prefer powdered sugar)
  
• Vegetable oil for deep-frying

Preparation

Child: Mix together the yeast, 2 tablespoons of the sugar, and the milk. Let sit to make sure it bubbles.

Child: Sift the flour and mix it with the remaining sugar, salt, cinnamon, egg yolks, and the yeast mixture.

Adult with Child: Knead the dough until it forms a ball. Add the butter or margarine. Knead some more, until the butter is well absorbed. Cover with a towel and let rise overnight in the refrigerator.

Adult: Roll out the dough to a thickness of 1/8 inch.

Child: Cut out the dough into 24 rounds with a juice glass, or any object about 2 inches in diameter. Take 1/2 teaspoon of preserves and place in center of 12 rounds. Top with the other 12. Press down at edges, sealing with egg whites. Crimping with the thumb and second finger is best. Let rise for about 30 minutes.

Adult: Heat 2 inches of oil to about 375° (I prefer 350 and fry about 2 minutes per side). Drop the doughnuts into the hot oil, about 5 at a time. Turn to brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels.

Child: Roll the doughnuts in sugar.

Asher loved 'em!

Happy Chanukah!

Yummy latkes! I used the same recipe i used the last two years.
Asher eating latkes and applesauce.

I got the recipe for these cookies off of Elana's Pantry. They are yummy and happen to be gluten free and vegan.

2 ½ cups blanched almond flour
½ teaspoon celtic sea salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup coconut oil, melted
5 tablespoons agave nectar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1. In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon
2. In a smaller bowl, mix together coconut oil, agave and vanilla
3. Mix wet ingredients into dry, then chill dough in refrigerator for 1 hour
4. Place dough in between 2 large pieces of parchment paper and roll out until ¼ inch thick
5. Remove top piece of parchment paper and cut out cookies with a small star cutter
6. Using a metal spatula, place stars on a parchment lined baking sheet
7. Bake at 350° until lightly browned around the edges, 7-10 minutes
8. Cool completely prior to handling cookies

Asher sings the Dreidel Song

Grandpa and Jim and Grandma Dixie's visit

My dad and his wife Dixie arrived on Thanksgiving day and stayed until Sunday. We really enjoyed having them here.



Asher was excited to take Grandpa to the John Deere museum and play outside on all of his back-yard toys.

Thanksgiving Faves

This was my first year to host Thanksgiving (very exciting!) Just about all of my dishes were from my mom's traditional Thanksgiving recipes. My mom is an amazing cook and any of her recipes are always good. So anyway, every year she makes this delicious Turkey Mulligatawny soup with all the turkey leftovers. It is out of this world and a must-make!

• the carcass of a roast turkey, broken into large pieces
• about 4 1/2 quarts (18 cups) plus 1/3 cup water
• 4 garlic cloves
• three 1-inch cubes of peeled fresh gingerroot
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 4 tablespoons curry powder
  
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 granny smith apples, peeled and diced
  
• 4 cups chopped onion
• 3 carrots, sliced
• 1 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk (available at Asian markets, specialty foods shops, and some supermarkets)
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice, or to taste
• 1/3 cup finely chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) plus coriander sprigs for garnish

Preparation

In a large kettle or stockpot combine the carcass with 4 1/2 quarts of the water, or enough to cover it, and simmer the mixture, uncovered, for 3 hours. Strain the stock through a large sieve into a large bowl, return it to the kettle, and boil it until it is reduced to about 10 cups.

In a blender purée the garlic and the gingerroot with the remaining 1/3 cup water. In a heavy kettle heat the oil over moderately high heat until it is hot but not smoking and in it cook the purée, stirring, for 2 minutes, or until the liquid is evaporated. Add the apples, peeled and cut into cubes, the onion, the carrots, and 5 cups of the stock and simmer the mixture, covered, for 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are very soft. In the blender purée the mixture it batches until it is smooth, transfering it as it is puréed to another large kettle. Stir in the remaining stock, the coconut milk, the lime juice, and salt to taste, simmer the soup for 10 minutes, and stir in the chopped coriander. The soup may be made 2 days in advance, cooled completely, uncovered, and kept covered and chilled. The soup keeps, covered and frozen, for 2 months. Serve the soup garnished with coriander sprigs.

Horseradish Carrots

These horseradish carrots are one of my all-time favorite side dishes...one of those that gets all the oohs and ahhs, and really easy to make. I thought it would be fun to get the carrots with the stems and leave about a half inch on.

6 med. carrots - pared and sliced
1/2 c. mayonnaise
4 tbsp. horseradish
2 tbsp. finely chopped onion
1/2 tsp. salt and pepper
1/2 c. crushed saltine crackers
2 tbsp chopped parsley

Cook carrots until tender - drain and place in 1 quart baking dish. Combine mayonnaise, horseradish, onion, salt and pepper. Place on carrots, top with crumbs and parsley.

Bake about 20 minutes at 350°F.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Itsy Bitsy Spider Bob Dylan Style

Asher sings the Itsy Bitsy Spider a la Bob Dylan. Click here to view

Yosi and Karen 2010!

Last week we were in Cancun for Moises' cousin Yosi's wedding. We loved seeing all the family and friends. People traveled in from all over the world, mostly Israel, Europe and South America. The first half of the trip was action-packed with special events each night. **When you scroll to the bottom of the page, be sure to click on the "older posts" button to see posts of the wedding and reception**



At Yosi's Aufruf

Asher wanted to do everything Abie did




Elie falling asleep in Zeide's arms at the cocktail reception