Tea for twos, and twos for tea

Our much-anticipated tea party was this afternoon. I had wanted to have a Christmas tea, but Christmas came and went, so we had a mother-daughter tea and egg hunt instead. I had found these great (and cheap) demitasse cups at the Crate and Barrel outlet that were perfect for little "tea" drinkers. We had apple juice for the girls and real tea for the moms along with some tea cakes and other munchies. After getting the girls all "sugared" up, we headed to the front yard to hunt for eggs. Fortunately, after drizzling nearly all weekend it was beautiful outside. The girls ran around the yard collecting eggs, blew some bubbles, and drew some chalk art on the driveway. Emily preferred to sit on the stoop assessing her take from the egg hunt and managed to find and eat all the candy.

My new favorite cookie recipe is this old family tea cake recipe. It makes the cutest little round cookies that taste a lot like the frosted ones from the grocery store bakery:

Tea Cakes

mix together:

2 eggs

2/3 cup oil

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

then add:

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Roll into 1 inch balls. Smoosh with a buttered glass dipped in colored sugar or sprinkles.

Bake at 375 for 8 minutes, makes about 3 dozen.

Rollin', rollin', rollin'

Well, despite my best efforts we were unable to secure e-tickets to the White House Easter Egg Roll (or "eggroll tickets" as they've become known in our house). I won't dwell on the fact that on-line tickets seemed like a good idea, how it beats getting up before dawn to stand in the rain for hours, or how it seems like we as a society should have figured out how to run an effective ticketing website that doesn't crash repeatedly. Maybe next year.

So, we headed out to Great Country Farms after soccer today for their Marshmallow Harvest and Easter Egg Hunt. I thought the marshmallow harvest idea seemed kind of hokey until I roasted a freshly "picked" marshmallow, bringing back memories of ooey gooey tasty goodness. Emily seemed to enjoy "harvesting" the peeps growing on nearby bushes and "cooking" them over the campfire. She was especially thrilled to eat what she called "candy" before lunch.

After lunch, we met the Easter Bunny and "hunted" for eggs. Ah, preschool egg hunts--more like egg pick-ups. I think the parents were more interested in filling the baskets than the kids were. We probably all have something to learn from these kids, stopping at each egg to examine its color and give it a shake before putting it in the basket. No one even seemed to notice it had been raining all day.

My Funny Valentine

Our family Valentine adventure started with chocolates at 8 am. (Andy and I both got each other Godiva truffles this year -- further proof that great minds think alike.) We then headed for McDonald's for breakfast on our way to the Metro. Our quick train ride down town was arguably Emily's favorite part of the day. Our destination? Disney on Ice. It was a perfect storm of sorts for Andy -- ice skating meets dance numbers meets cheesy script meets hordes of other people's children. He was a trooper, though, and Emily had a blast. We hadn't really taken her to a show before except for the short ones in Disney theme parks. She was well-behaved, getting restless only toward the end when Mickey Mouse wasn't coming out fast enough for her liking.

After the show, we headed to Nando's peri-peri chicken for lunch. Andy and I last ate there in London while I was pregnant with Emily. I had seen Nando's in three countries but there were none in the States at that point. Now there is one in Washington, DC. We had fond memories of their spicey chicken and very tasty spiced nuts. It did not disappoint. I dare say, though, I liked Emily's meal better than my own. Her barbecue chicken wings were sweet and smokey, her corn on the cob had just the right char. After lunch, it was back to the metro and home for a much-needed nap.

Even the dog knows Christmas is over

I like to take my Christmas tree down on around the 6th of January. I like to leave it up until Epiphany, and this year I had hoped also to throw a party while the house was still "dressed." Anyway, the 6th came and went, party invitations never were sent, and Bailey, the dog, thought she'd take things into her own paws.

All I want for Christmas . . .

Presents opened, check.
Meal eatened, check
Family entertained, check.
Conference call with distant relatives, check.
Dishes washed, check.
Nap taken, check.

Looks like Christmas was a success.

In some ways that really sums up our day. It is so easy for Christmas to seem like just the end of a very long holiday marathon. We rush through the day with the same fervor we rush through stores on Black Friday. I think, though, that since we did only breakfast instead of a late meal this year our rushing was done (and company had left) by noon, leaving us the whole rest of the day to . . . rest, and play, and enJOY each other. (We also got a few things done around the house.)

I made two recipes I got from my sister for Christmas breakfast this year. Both are very easy and very yummy. I served them with a simple fruit salad and orange juice with a dash of bubbly.

Eva's Breakfast Casserole

8 oz crescent rolls
1 lb bulk sausage
2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese
4 eggs
3/4 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

Cook sausage and drain
Spray 9x13 pan
Line pan with crescent rolls
Beat eggs, milk, salt and pepper
Layer sausage and cheese in the pan
Pour the egg mixture on top
Bake at 425 for about 20 minutes until egg is set. Serves 6.

Cinnamon Pull-Apart (aka Monkey) Bread

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 Tbl cinnamon

3 cans (7.5 oz each) refrigerated buttermilk biscuits

1/2 cup butter, melted

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1-2 Tbl milk

Bread: Mix granulated sugar and cinnamon in bowl or plastic baggie; set aside. Cut each biscuit in quarters. Roll in cinnamon-sugar. Place half of the biscuits in a greased fluted tube (bundt) pan. Drizzle half the butter over the biscuits. Place the remaining biscuits in the pan and drizzle with remaining butter and cinnamon-sugar. Bake 40-45 minutes until golden brown. Cool in pan for 5 minutes and invert onto serving plate.

Frosting: beat cream cheese and powdered sugar in small
bowl on medium speed until well blended. Add 1 Tbl milk; beat until well-blended. Beat in enough of the remaining milk until the glaze is the desired consistency. Drizzle over warm bread. Serve warm. Serves 6-8.

Coffee, Santa?

I'm trying to keep Christmas simple this year. We spent this afternoon reading Christmas stories, watching movies, and enjoying treats from friends. Before bedtime, I let Emily choose some cookies to leave out for Santa. I shouldn't have left them at doggy eye-level. When I asked her what Santa might like to drink with his cookies, she replied, "Santa want coffee?" Of course, reluctant to actually brew a pot of coffee for Santa, I suggested that chocolate milk might be a good choice as well. She agreed. I guess she figures men drink coffee or maybe he's got a long night ahead.

Deck the halls

Well, it took several days longer than usual but I'm almost done putting up Christmas decorations. No, I didn't go all National Lampoon this year I just worked an hour at a time. I did wreaths, garland, and a few household Santas on Monday, Andy and I assembled the tree and put on lights Tuesday, and Emily and I put the ornaments on the tree tonight. I still need to tackle wrapping presents (that won't take long if I don't also do more shopping) and I'd like to string a few lights in the yard. It has been fun to watch Emily's reaction to each stage of the decorating since most of it has been done while she's been away.

I've never been one for theme trees. I remember one year my mom tried an all plastic- apple tree. It didn't go over well, but I suppose it was a very 80s thing to do. So, we go for the hodgepodge of ornaments collected over some 30 years of class projects, gifts from friends, purchases on vacations and at museum gift shops. Every year I seem to forget how many ornaments in my collection symbolize someone or someplace special in my life. There's an aloha Santa, a See Rock City barn, two cats, a dog, and several angels including a gift from a college friend who died the next year.

Emily was really cute putting the decorations on the tree this year. She was very careful to place each one on the tree even though I didn't tell her where to put them. When she was done, she pointed to each one, telling me which ornaments she put on the tree and which ones I had hung. I had originally planned to rearrange them when she went to bed to correct some of the assymetry, but I think I'll just enjoy it.

giving thanks

Thanksgiving seemed like a good time to start a blog to chronicle the things we do (rather than complain about the myriad that don't get done), but alas some kind of non-edible cookies got in the way. So, here I am a day later on a new computer--a happy coincidence--beginning my journey.

I've been thinking a lot about traditions lately, maybe because Emily, now 2, has many daily traditions--such as choosing a pull-up with three princesses on it. So, even though I was the only woman over age two at Thanksgiving this year, I tried to set a pretty table, make some old-standby dishes, and tried a new recipe. This may very well be the beginning of a tradition, I've decided. The old standby this year was my aunt's refrigerator mashed potatoes and the new (to me) recipe was my dear grandmother's green bean casserole topped with corn flakes.

I don't think I ever tried the green bean casserole as a child, but I do remember there was always quite a hullabaloo around the table any time my mother or grandmother made it. Something about green beans and corn flakes always made me a bit squeamish. This year, I decided to make it my new dish. I'm glad that I finally had the maturity to not turn up my nose and run. My grandmother would have been pleased to see a green vegetable on my plate, too.

Mama Elaine's Green Bean Casserole

2 cans green beans (I used 4 cups of frozen cut green beans, cooked and cooled)
parmesan cheese (she used the kind in the green can, I used grated fresh)
3 Tbl onion
2 pieces of celery
2 Tbl butter
1 Tbl flour
salt
pepper
1 tsp sugar
8 oz sour cream
2 cups corn flakes (measure 2 cups, then smoosh to 1 cup)
1 Tbl butter

Butter casserole dish (I used a 2 quart round), sprinkle with parmesan. Add green beans. In a skillet or the microwave, saute 2 Tbl butter, onion, and celery. Add 1 Tbl flour, salt, pepper, 1 tsp sugar and stir. Add sour cream. Pour over beans. Sprinkle with more parmesan. In a bowl, mix corn flakes and 1 Tbl melted butter. Spread over beans. Cook at 350 about 30 minutes until hot in the middle.