Liz & Alan

On Wednesday Alan and I went to our friend Kate’s (same Kate who hosted my birthday party) for an early Thanksgiving.  It was lots of fun.  We finished the pie, and finally looked at the clock, shocked that four hours had passed.  I figure that’s a sign of a good party.

Thursday we went to my Aunt Debbie’s for Thanksgiving proper.

Our pre-dinner entertainment consisted of my 1st cousin once removed (my cousin’s daughter) Emma.  Emma’s going to be a big sister.  My cousin’s wife, Tara, is a beautiful pregnant lady.

Emma squirmed and dangled…

…and made toy sandwiches with my mom.

Which turned into wearing bologna hats.

Also in attendance were my grandma, my aunt & uncle, my parents,

my lovely sister,

me & Alan,

and Otto, the dog.

The table was set beautifully.

The food was exquisite.

And right before dinner, my camera battery died.  Suffice it to say, the plates of food were wonderful, and tasted even better than they looked.

I have a lot to be thankful for this year: the end of graduate school for both me and Alan, passing the Bar exam, a next step (DC!), two cuddly cats, a warm home, a great church and good friends, and a hard-working husband who supports me.

What were you thankful for in 2012?

Quality sister time with Katie: pedicures!

Pre-Thanksgiving sandwich

Ptoley loves laundry baskets, even if they’re perched diagonally.

Alan’s breakfast, including a homemade mocha frappuccino.

Giving GAP Talk tonight

Perched

On Friday we helped our friends and Small Group leaders pack their stuff up in a truck so they can move to Delaware.  We only joined their small group six months or so ago, and became fast friends.  They’re moving on to bigger and better things, but it’s sad to see them go.
 

Fan, waiting 
 

Hmmm, what next?
 

Mattress in; bringing in boxspring
 

Mattress and box spring are in
 

Will the bikes fit? (Nope.  They ended up on the bike rack on that red car)
 

Looking out the window; passing lightweight things out the window
 

Pizza’s here!
 

Jordan & his dad
 

Jordan’s aunt & uncle
 

Susan & Stacie
 

Carrie
 

Nick & Jay
 

Jordan & his mom
  

Friends, Family, Pizza
 

all pictures were taken on my Olympus Pen E-PM1, most with the pinhole filter

Alan likes his coffee two ways: hot and black, or in a frappuccino.  I like coffee one half of one way: a pinch of espresso in a chocolate cake.  A few months ago I read this post on iced coffee, and realized that my failed attempts to make frappuccinos resulted from the fact that I was using regular-strength cold brewed coffee.  I decided to experiment with a small amount of instant espresso powder in some warm water, and it totally worked!

• 1 heaping Tbsp. instant espresso
• about 2 Tbsp. warm water
• 1 Tbsp. flavoring: flavored creamer, chocolate syrup OR simple syrup
• ice
• milk
• whipped cream

I make the frappuccinos in a regular-mouth pint jar.  The advantage is that they screw perfectly into my blender—a standard Hamilton Beach model.  You could use a Magic Bullet blender, using the same process.  I imagine a Blendtec or Vitamix would be just fine, but you’d have to make it in the blender and decant it into a glass later.

Measure out one heaping tablespoon of instant espresso, and put it in the jar

Run some warm water from the faucet, and add a bit to the jar as well.  I usually eyeball it—just enough to dissolve the espresso.  

Now add one tablespoon of flavoring.  Chocolate syrup makes a mocha frappuccino.  Simple syrup (1 c. white sugar and 1 c. water heated just until the sugar dissolves) makes a coffee frappuccino.  For other flavors, I bought some Bailey’s coffee creamers.  I chose them because they are made with milk, not non-dairy hydrogenated oils.  I have French Vanilla (shown here), Hazelnut, and Irish Cream.

Then fill the jar almost to the top with ice.  Leave some space for the blade.

Next, pour milk in, again almost to the top.

Now, take the base of the blender and separate the two parts.

Place the blade part, blade-down, over the jar’s mouth.

Then screw the other part on to the jar, making sure it’s tight.

Now, invert the jar, and put the whole thing on the blender.

Blend on the highest setting—mine is called “icy drink” for about five seconds, or until the ice is very finely ground.

Unscrew the apron and remove the blade.  Top with whipped cream.

Serve with a wide plastic straw.

Alan says the frappuccinos are as good as Starbucks.  Once you get the hang of it, it’s really easy to whip one up in a few minutes, and they’re certainly cheaper!  

Cook noodles.  Heat chicken stock.  Mix all together.  Yum.

Early morning snuggles

First round submission for my Masters Project is today. Don’t ask how little sleep I got last night…

Thanks to my veteran. Happy Veterans Day.

Gluten-Free  |  Grain-Free  |  Soy-Free  |  Dairy-Free Adaptable

I’ve tried bunches of Paleo/grain-free crisps and crumbles, and they were never quite “right” to me.  So I made this one up, and it is everything I want in a crumble: sweet, tender-yet-crispy, delicious.  I usually make it with sour cherries and almond extract.  This is the apple-cinnamon version.

For the filling:

• Five large granny smith apples
• 1/4 c. white sugar
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 Tbsp. arrowroot powder
• pinch of salt
• 1 tsp. lemon juice

For the topping:

• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 3/4 c. almond flour
• 1/4 c. slivered almonds
• 2 oz. salted butter + 1 tsp. to grease the pan (substitute coconut oil for dairy free)
• 2 tsp. cinnamon

…and slice into sixteen slices each.  I first use this nifty corer/slicer…

…and then cut each eighth in half.  



I also trim any pieces of core that didn’t get caught by the corer/slicer.

Put all the apple slices in the bowl.  Add 1/4 c. white sugar, 2 Tbsp. arrowroot powder, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. lemon juice, a pinch of salt.

Mix until the apples are evenly covered.  Set aside.

In a slightly smaller bowl, add 1/4 c. brown sugar, 1/4 c. sliced almonds, 3/4 c. almond flour, 2 oz. butter (or coconut oil), and 2 tsp. cinnamon

Mix until well combined.  You can use a pastry cutter for this, or your fingers.  The resulting mixture will be quite “wet” from the butter: it should hold itself together when you pinch some of it.

Generously grease a pie pan, casserole, or gratin pan (shown here).  This helps prevent the apples from sticking, and makes the filling richer.

Pile the apples in the pan.

Evenly sprinkle topping over the apples.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes, or until apples are tender and the topping is slightly darker brown.  There is so much cinnamon in the topping that it’s hard to tell, but it is a little browner.

Eat with vanilla ice cream!

All photos were taken with my Olympus E-PM1, no filter

Champagne, via my Ladies Night ladies, to celebrate me passing the Bar. I have such great friends!