Carrot Butter Paté

I ate at an excellent vegetarian restaurant in Salt Lake with my mom and Kristi called Sages Cafe. Anyway my brother and his wife told us to try the carrot butter pate. It was so yummy! So I asked for the recipe and the guy just rattled off the ingredients but no quantities so I searched the internet and found it. It is on the sweeter side so I think eating it with a dense, nutty bread would really help balance it. I even thought I would try thinning it out with some of the carrot cooking liquid to use as a sauce for macadamia crusted chicken.

1 lb. carrots, peeled
enough water to cover carrots an inch
2/3 cup macadamias
1/3 cup safflower or canola oil
1 1/2 Tbsp. real maple syrup
1/2 tsp. vanilla
salt to taste (if using salted nuts you probably won't need any)

1) Chop the carrots into small pieces and boil until soft

2) Purée the macadamia nuts and oil to velvet smooth, add boiled carrots, maple syrup, vanilla and salt until velvet smooth

3) Serve with bread or crackers and enjoy!

Winter Sunbather

He circles around a few times and makes himself nice and comfy on this rug right in the middle of the room. He's completely oblivious to what is going on around him (an ability I wish I had)...




...until I start taking all sorts of pictures of him, gets fed up and leaves.

Hmmm...

...these little speakers look really nice to chew on!

He loves digging through things...

I have issues...

...cutting onions. Yes, I actually do wear these beauties every time I cut onions, shallots or even leeks. And yes, they really do work (the only thing that works)!

The Eilembergs

Mommy and Me

Asher and Dad having their morning coffee/milk together

My wonderful husband...

...brought home these gorgeous red roses the other night! I think I'll keep him!

Grand Finale!

Here is the 8th and final night of Chanukah! We lit four menorahs this year; it looked so nice with all 36 candles flickering simultaneously.

Our Winter Wonderland

Kind of makes you feel like hibernating doesn't it? Moises took the video clip of our backyard coincidentally while I was trying to get into our driveway. Listen closely and you may be able to hear the burnt rubber spinning!

Latkes (potato pancakes)

I made latkes, or potato pancakes, for the first time this year during Chanukah. They were pretty tasty! I think they are one of those things that are even better as leftovers the next day warmed up in the oven! I got the recipe from Saveur magazine.

Latkes are traditionally eaten during Chanukah because the oil for cooking the latkes is symbolic of the olive oil from that kept the Second Temple miraculously lit for eight days when it was only enough oil for one day.

SERVES 6

These are great served with either a dollop of sour cream or apple sauce. Alternating between onion and potatoes when grating keeps the potatoes from darkening.

1 medium yellow onion
3 large yukon gold potatoes (about 2 1⁄2
lbs.), peeled
Kosher salt, to taste
6 tbsp. finely chopped chives
3 tbsp. plain matzo meal
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Freshly ground white pepper, to taste
Canola oil for frying
Sour cream or applesauce

1. Working over a bowl, grate some of the onion, followed by some of the potatoes, on the large-hole side of a box grater. Repeat until all the vegetables are used up.

2. Sprinkle mixture with salt and transfer it to a sieve set over a bowl. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible from mixture, allowing it to collect in bottom of bowl. Transfer mixture to another bowl and cover surface with plastic wrap; set aside. Set reserved potato liquid aside to let the milky white starch settle. Pour off liquid from starch. Transfer starch to mixture along with the chives, matzo, eggs, and salt and pepper. Gently mix.

3. Pour enough oil into a skillet that it reaches a depth of 1⁄4"; heat over medium-high heat. Working in small batches, form mixture into balls, using about 1⁄4 cup of the mixture for each, and place them in the oil. Flatten each ball gently with a spatula to form 3"–4" pancakes. Fry, turning once, until golden brown, crisp, and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Transfer the pancakes to a paper towel–lined plate to drain. Serve the potato pancakes with sour cream or applesauce.

Litttle Climber

Now that Asher has figured out how to pull himself up, this has become his new obsession. He surveys whatever room he is in to find all the things he can possibly pull himself up on.

Asher's first Chanukah!

Chanukah presents from Babi!
I think Asher has a knack for opening presents.

Wow! Some really fun books in Spanish!

Babi and Bumpa come to town (only for a day)!

My mom and step-dad decided to make the rounds and visit all of us kids in a week. Yeah, that means three states (Iowa, Tennessee, New York) all in a week. They were with us for a day and two nights. We tried to convince them to stay an extra day or two but maybe the -3 degree weather 20 mile an hour winds scared them away.