Pizza Night!

I look forward to pizza night all WEEK! Usually Mike and I buy premade pizza dough from the store, but this time we got ambitious and made the dough from scratch! The recipe was actually pretty easy, and sooooo scrumptious. Only a few ingredients:

 1 package yeast

1 cup warm water

2 cups of flour

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons sugar
(These pictures are really dark because the light in my kitchen is terrible)

Dissolve the yeast in water for 10 minutes

Add the rest of the ingredients

Mix for 10-15 minutes

Let rise for a half hour

Pick toppings. We decided on...

fresh mozzarella

tomatoes

basil

Into the oven for 30 min at 350 degrees!

All done!!

And Trader Joe's chocolate bon-bons for dessert

So good.

Veggie Tales: Week 2

Yes, yes, I'm still at it! No meat pour moi! But, Mike did return to Boston with a 60 pack of bacon, which could prove to be problematic this weekend.
Last night, we made a recipe out of my veggie cookbook... Stuffed Zucchini!

Ingredients:

(I'm not very good at following recipe measurements, usually I just eyeball)

4 zucchini

white bread, cut in chunks

milk

1 egg yolk

Cheddar, ricotta, and parmesan cheese

oregano

thyme

s&p

Recipe:

-Soak the pieces of bread in milk

-Boil the zucchini for 5 min, cut in half, scoop out the insides

-Mix together zucchini and the rest of the ingredients

-Put the mixture in the hollowed-out zucchinis

-Bake at 375 degrees for 35 min or until golden brown

SO EASY!

Things that make me happy

Getting flowers!! I walked into my classroom today to find these waiting for me...

Hyacinths! I know very little about flowers, but I think they are going to bloom soon?!

I love how it brightens up the room :)

My cute little lunchbox...

Headbands...

My newest one from jcrew!

And finally, the fact that weather.com predicts it is going to be 42 degrees on Friday. Compared to recent temps, that's practically bathing suit weather!

Reason #58 why I love my job

 www.sea-monkeys.com

Our class pet, the Sea Monkey family. First things first, what ARE Sea Monkeys? According to wikipedia, they are a variant of brine shrimp or Artemia salina, a species which enters cryptobiosis, a natural state of suspended animation, allowing their cysts (dormant saclike embryos) to be sold as a dry powder. When the powder is poured into water, live shrimp appear within hours, and can grow up to an adult length of 2 centimeters within one year. Thus the novelty of "instant" life. Blah, blah, boring shmoring, but let's underline the main concept here... Sea Monkeys are born from POWDER. This is something the kids have a little trouble understanding, and probably isn't the best thing to be teaching them. I can just hear them telling their parents-- "Today we learned that animals are made from powder!" I apologize, future biology teachers of these children.
I digress. Three of our Sea Monkeys just so happen to be pregnant. This realization spurred a circle time discussion about Sea Monkey weddings. My class decided that our Sea Monkeys must have gotten married over winter break (hence why we missed the wedding) and yes, they wore dresses. The kids have also started talking to them because we have established that they have ears (questionable).
Please visit youtube for the magical Sea Monkey lover's dance. Here is my attempt to take a photo:

There are two Sea Monkey mates attached near the top of the photo. Ewwww

Though the Sea Monkeys were originally my idea, I think a new class pet may be more appropriate. Professor Blueberry, Volume 2 anyone?

!!!!

My biggest baking accomplishment thus far....I made bread. From SCRATCH! For those of you that don't know (because I certainly didn't), bread recipes are complicated! The yeast has to rise at a very specific temperature, there is a lot of waiting for the dough to rise, blah blah blah. But, thanks to my New Years rezzy of patience, I succeeded!

I had to improvise because I couldn't find a bowl large enough for the dough to rise in, but here is stage one:

After rising for an hour, stage two:

Into the pan!

Bake for 30 min...

This NEEDS a close up...

 

Helloooooo cheesy goodness!

 Here is the recipe!

A wonderful Bostonian day!

Ever have one of those days full of great people, great places, and great food? That was my day yesterday, and after a day of exploring I am starting to feel like a true Bostonian!
I started off the day with some shopping with my new roomie Fina! We went to j.crew, where we found a fantastic sale and I got a super cute new headband to add to my collection. Then we headed to the South End to walk around, shop, see the place where Fina works (jealous) and check out.....Flour!!

Flour is a super delish bakery/cafe that made it on to the Food Network for its amazing sticky buns (Throwdown with Bobby Flay- the Flour baker won!!). We started off with some quiche, but couldn't resist getting some sugary sweets to take home! I got a homemade oreo, a hazelnut chocolate chip cookie, and of course the famed sticky bun. We practiced some self-restraint and saved the sticky buns for this morning. And WOW, was it worth the wait!!

I had intended to only eat half and save the other half for Mike, but, oops, I ate the whole thing (sorry Mike!)

After a day of exploring with Fina, I had an equally delicious night with Mike and his parents. We went to dinner at Tamarind Bay in Washington Square, and it was my first good experience with Indian food! I got paneer in a cashew cream sauce, but unfortunately neglected to take a picture. After a quick stop at the Golden Temple for a photo op...

(quite the ice sculpture)

We rounded out the night at Athan's in Washington Square for gelato (despite the 17 degree weather) and coffee.

I got coconut and fig, Mike got pistachio and pomegranate.

I am starting to sense a pattern in my pictures...all FOOD!

Problem, solved!

I am happy to report that I have solved the problem I wrote about in my very first post, about the utensil holder that was just not working.

Problem:

Solution!

It's actually a flower pot from Crate&Barrel, but could it BE any cuter??

Reason #57 why I love my job

BIRTHDAYS!! On Friday one of our kids turn the big F-O-U-R. She pranced around the school in a birthday crown, shouted "I'm FOUR" at every opportunity, and told every single person she encountered it was her birthday. I don't know of many things better than turning 4 years old. Maybe turning 3.

We ended up only having 2 kids for the afternoon, so Ali and I jumped on the chance to take them on a little birthday field trip to BoYo. Mini marshmallows = most exciting thing ever.

We rounded out the day with a dance party to the Black Eyed Peas "I Gotta Feelin'". Maybe not entirely preschool appropriate, but hysterical nonetheless.

And I call this "work"??

Amazing

I came across this video on YouTube for the Starbucks Love Project and cried my little eyes out...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh7D2g5v-Sg

Then I went to the website and found TONS more videos, as well as the purpose behind the project:

The site is arranged by country, so you can click on a country and find all the videos people have submitted singing the chorus of "All You Need is Love"-- little kids, adults, choruses, or solo...they have it all!

What an amazing idea.

Banana Bread

I have a bad habit of buying a bunch of bananas but only eating 2 or 3 before they start to brown. Luckily, this means I usually have some extra-ripe bananas on hand for baking! Yesterday I made Martha Stewart's Banana Bread recipe, which, obviously, is SO delicious.

Step 1: Get a KitchenAid mixer for Christmas. Love said mixer with your whole heart and vow to use it everyday.

 (You don't actually need a KitchenAid for this recipe. But I am definitely slightly obsessed with mine.)

Step 2: Follow recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature, plus more for pan
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup mashed very ripe bananas
• 1/2 cup sour cream (I used yogurt because I didn't have any sour cream on hand, and it worked wonderfully!)
  
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan; set aside. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, and beat to incorporate.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture, and mix until just combined. Add bananas, sour cream, and vanilla; mix to combine. Stir in nuts, and pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Let rest in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool.

My sister, the budding photographer

I wanted to share the link to some of Emily's fab pics with her fab camera (that I am so jealous of)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/emily_martin/

Check it out!

Veggie Tales: Day 3

Day Three of semi-vegetarianism: so far, so good! Tonight I made a delicious veggie chili recipe from Moosewood Restaurant. Yum, yum, yum!

Here is the recipe:
1 cup bulghur
½ cup hot water
6 cups undrained canned tomatoes (2 28-ounce cans)

6 tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
6 cups chopped onions
6 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 generous teaspoons ground cumin
2 generous teaspoons chili powder
2 tablespoons Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce, or ½ teaspoon cayenne

4 green bell peppers, chopped
4 cups fresh or frozen cut corn
3 cups drained cooked black beans (2 14-ounce cans)
3 cups drained cooked red kidney beans (2 14-ounce cans)
salt to taste

grated cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese (optional)
chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Place the bulghur, hot water, and about a 2 cups of the juice from the canned tomatoes in a small saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil on high heat, then lower the heat and simmer gently.

While the bulghur cooks, heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Sauté the onions, garlic, cumin, chili powder, and Tabasco or cayenne. When the onions are soft, stir in the bell peppers and sauté for 3-4 minutes more. Chop the tomatoes right in the can and add them to the pan. Stir in the corn and beans, and heat thoroughly on low heat. Taste the bulghur. When it is cooked but still chewy, add it to the pan with its liquid. Cover and simmer for a few minutes for the flavors to meld. Add salt to taste.

Serve plain or topped with grated cheese and fresh cilantro, and possibly with warmed tortillas, or tortilla chips and crudités.

It makes a TON, so now I have dinner for the week!

Reasons #55 and #56 why I love my job

Reason #55: My class makes beautiful creations like this one.

Our homemade gingerbread house. Yes, it is about to fall down.

Reason #56: The kids adore some really ridiculous things. Today, one of them could not stop talking about her new kitty from Santa. I was picturing a fluffy, soft, stuffed animal. Instead, I found this:

It's hard to tell from the picture but its one of those cats you usually find at, let's say, a craft show. Or Grandma's house. It is permanently in this "sleepy kitty" shape and feels a little like a furry rock. As a "simulation cat" website puts it, these taxidermy like pieces make wonderful gifts or home furnishings.

...this is my job.

WELCOME NEW (old) ROOMIE!

Fina moved in today!!! Though I was sad to see Louise (my fellow 121er in Boston) go, I was (and am) super excited to live with Fina again...we have quite the history:

It all started freshmen year, in our (not so) beloved Balch Hall..

Sophomore year we lived in good old Campus Hill and apparently spent so much time with each other we started to dress alike...

Junior year we lived far, far away from each other (roughly .25 miles)

Senior year we lived even farther away from each other (~.3 miles)

And now we are finally reunited in Boston!!

Hurray!

Veggie Tales: Day 1

I apologize in advance for the poor quality of these photos (they're from my phone) but I just HAD to share these yummy easy recipes I tried out today (both courtesy of Everyday Food)!!

The first: adapted Pasta with Roasted Vegetables and Spinach (thanks Ellen for being my sous-chef!)

Ingredients:

grape tomatoes (we just used whatever we had left)
4 garlic cloves

3 shallots, cut into eighths

thyme

olive oil

salt & pepper

penne pasta

baby spinach

3 Easy-peasy steps:

1. Roast the tomatoes, shallots, garlic, olive oil, thyme, salt and pepper for 20 minutes at 425 degrees.

2. Boil the pasta.

3. Toss pasta and sauce with baby spinach, sprinkle with some parm, and enjoy!

And the second: Maple-Nut Granola

How I wish this photo was better! This might be the best granola I've ever ever had.

Ingredients:

3 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1/4 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup chopped almonds

5 tsp vegetable oil

5 tbsp maple syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Mix, bake at 325 degrees till golden (20-25 min), and cool. Delish.

"I don't eat things with a face"

Well, at least for this week. I'm going to give vegetarianism a try for a little while. I mean, why not? I'm either going to discover its a real pain and veto the idea after 7 days OR find out that its a lot easier (and healthier!) than I expected. Armed with my new cookbook:

And recent subscription to Everyday Food Magazine, this should be fun! I'll try to update with new recipes I've tried, but let me tell you, its tough to blog without a camera! 5 more days!

3 new calendars, one happy girl!

I have a thing with calendars...I just love them! I came back to Boston with two calendars in tow, and had a third waiting for me at my house.

The first is a wall calendar that I stumbled upon in the clearance section of Barnes and Noble:

www.charleyharperartstudio.com

This is the January print:

It's called B-r-r-r-r--rthday, how cute is THAT!

The artist, Charley Harper, also has a children's book, which I fully intend to buy for my class!!

The second calendar is a page-a-day from my favorite website, cuteoverload.com. Ripping off a page to find a new cute animal every day...adore.  (Shoutout to Professor Blueberry...photo courtesy of Emily)

And finally, I bought a french bulldog desk calendar at this cute little shop on Charles St. Its one step closer to having a real french bulldog in my life, right??

Happy New Year!

                                                     Photo from: zazzle.com

 Today is:

01-02-2010

a palindrome!

Sorry for being totally MIA the past few days! I have had a whirlwind three days of skiing, celebrating, packing, and traveling back to Boston! Now that I'm back and settled it's time for an update. Unfortunately I left my camera at Mike's house so I won't have pictures to share for about a week.

First things first...my New Year's resolution! I resolve to be more patient. You would think as a preschool teacher I would have some degree of patience. And with my kiddies, I usually do. But in general, in life, I am impatient to a fault. I'm the one who gets annoyed when someone is 30 seconds late. Or when I have to wait more than 2 minutes for the T. Or when Mike tells a really long story... you get the point. I figure this is the kind of resolution I can actually work on, compared to falling off the bandwagon of "losing 10 pounds" within a month or two. Feel free to remind me...patience is a virtue!!

For New Years eve, I went skiing with Mike's family. We went to Windham Mountain and did sunset skiing, 2-9PM. It was a lot of fun but I definitely struggled for awhile in the beginning. I have a really irrational fear of getting off the chair lift, which usually results in me forgetting to get off at the top and the operators having to stop the lift to get me down. This year I managed to get off the lift with only one minor incident, which I believe Josie took a picture of (photo to come). I also had a pretty intense wipeout that involved a high speed collision with a 4-year-old, tears, lost skis, and a sizeable goose egg on my head. But, we had a great time and by the end of the day I was skiing like a pro (or so I like to believe).

I headed up to Syracuse last night to hitch a ride back to Boston with Ellen and Dan (thanks, guys!) and we watched Julie and Julia, which of course inspired me to cook and blog even more!! I got a vegetarian cookbook so I'll be testing out recipes asap!!

Happy New Year everyone!