You've Been Wondering...

Today is a lazy day.  After not seeing David for two days, no thanks to school, we decided to sleep in this morning.  Unfortunately, that meant I would miss the Market Square Farmer's Market for the first time.  I promised David I'd make a peach pie, so I'll have to make a special trip to Whole Foods this weekend.  The peach season is quickly coming to a close here in the South, so I need to get my apron on and cook it up before they're gone.

I've been slacking a little on the blog.  I felt guilty and ashamed for skipping the top tens because of my inadequacy as a stay-at-home-mom.  But, now I'm back and courage and ferocity!  As for my Top Ten Favorite Recipes,  I'm not going to list the actual recipes, because they are not my own.  All you have to know is that I love them.

Top Ten Favorite Recipes

Chicken and Dumpling Soup  In my opinion, there is nothing better.  I ask my mother for this every year for my birthday.  So filling and mouth-watering.  (I'm drooling just thinking about it.)

French Silk Pie  I tried making this once and it didn't turn out so well.  I prefer to be lazy and just order it from Perkins.  I'm a sell-out, I know.

My mom's Raspberry Cream Pie.   Particularly with her  Pretzel Pie Crust.  I love anything that combines crunchy, salty, creamy and sweet.

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches  I.  LOVE.  CHEESE.  I learned to master this one at a very young age.

Marinara Pasta Sauce  So easy, so tasty.  I love pasta sauce from fresh tomatoes.  I'll never eat canned tomato sauce again.  Plus, the bigger the mess you make, the better it tastes.

Pumpkin Bread  I've made this for every family gathering for several years.  I try a different combo every time, the only one I didn't like had molasses in it.

Megan's Borscht  I requested this specifically at my pot-luck wedding.

Iced Mochas  This combines three of my favorite things, chocolate, milk and coffee.  Plus, this is usually a safe bet at any coffee shop.  It's pretty hard to screw up.

Double-Dipped French Toast  I got this idea from Emily at The Front Burner Blog.  You just fry your french toast, dip it and fry it again.  Double-dipped and twice as tasty.

Café Miel  It's a latté with honey and cinnamon.  It's basically a hug in a cup.


Speaking of Iced Mochas, I've been trying to make them at home, using my Italian Moka pot.  It's pretty close, but a little weaker than the real thing.  I can't have my coffee straight any more because it tastes like burnt rubber from leaving it on the stove too long, too many times.

Enough about me.  I know you've all been wondering what the heck is up with the Little. 

She's getting very strong.  She has been holding her head up on her own very well.  She gets a great workout from all her fussing.  When we go out for walks, she loves to look around at the leaves and the lights, and she always makes people's heads turn when they see her big round blue eyes  She still loves to talk, and she comes up with new sounds all the time.  I've even caught her giggling once or twice.  

Unfortunately, the poor little precious has outgrown her baby-zantac, so her acid reflux has come back with a vengeance.  She tells me about it every day.

 We have been primarily been using the Baby Bjørn to carry her, but lately I've started using the Moby d Wrap.  I didn't realize how much more comfortable this was until after weeks of using the other carrier.  Unfortunately, it is also a lot warmer and since the temperature has been near ninety all week, I haven't been able to really use it.

 Now I'm off with the peanut head to see her daddy.  He promised me we'd have family painting night.  I really need to make something to fill our condo.  As David said,  it's looking a little too institutional.

Top Ten Ways to Spend Too Much Money

Yesterday I did a silly thing.  I thought, "since babysitting yesterday was so easy, I'll go shopping today!"  Bad idea.  I attempted to run to the grocery store a mile away for dipes between feedings, but ended up getting home late.  I had to practically run home before the kids had a fit, and it was up hill the whole way.  So that combined with trying to tote around a baby that's twice the size that I'm used to has me completely worn out today.  Not to mention that it's hotter than sin in Alexandria today.  I'm going to start a rule that I don't leave the house if it's hotter than 85 degrees out.  I need something to rebel against anyway. 

Now, for day two in the best of the Top Ten series.  Today's is a mix of Minnesotan and Virginian, since we haven't been out much lately.

Top Ten Restaurants


Luna Rossa Trattoria, Stillwater MN:  I may be a little biased, since I worked there for three years, but seriously, I've never had better Italian food in my life.  I had some variation of the Penne Villagio almost every day that I worked there.  I just could not get enough of that goat cheese!  Plus I must have had and entire loaf of homemade bread a day, besides the stuff I brought home with me.   I dearly miss all the fresh Italian cooking and the oodles of gelato samples I had when I ran the Espresso Bar.  Those are sweet memories indeed.

Kopplin's Coffee, St Paul, MN  Okay, so it's not technically a restaurant but the coffee is seriously the stuff of daydreams.  Mr.  Kopplin  roasts his beans on site, has won roasting and barista competitions, and has a beautiful list of single origin coffees and espressos that look like a tablet written from God himself.  All sac-religiousness aside,  if you drink coffee, you really need to stop here.  You will believe you'd died and gone to heaven.

The Tea House, St Paul, MN  I was born a picky eater and have been trying to coax myself out of it for years.  I swore I hated Chinese food for a long time, and I think this place truly converted me.  The meals are served family style, so even though the food's not cheap,  You can split the bill with as many people as you decide to invite.  I love their beef broccoli stir-fry.  yummmmm

The King Street Cafe, Alexandria, VA  There are a lot of expensive places here, but none seem to be worth the hype in my experience.  This place is probably the cheapest place in town, and it has amazing wrap sandwiches.  I've had their California Wrap, cool and refreshing and just a little spicy.  Their smoothies are good too, but pretty overpriced.

Random Irish bar on King St, Alexandria, VA  I know, I should know the name but I don't.  They have a cheap Sunday Champagne Brunch for $9 that comes with a lot of food and a glass of champagne.  I got french toast that was probably the best I've had, and I'm picky about french toast.  Not so wild about the potatoes I got though.

Perkins Restaurant, Old Hudson Road, St Paul, MN  Delightfully bad service, open at all hours, conveniently located.  David and I usually split the Fantastic 12.

Al's Breakfast, Dinkytown, Minneapolis, MN  It's only open for breakfast, and it's not for the claustrophobic.  It's built into an alleyway and you have to stand against the wall to wait for a seat at the bar.  The servers are full of BS (that's short for banana splits, Mom) but the food is great.  Great no-frills diner with horrible coffee.

Denny's Restaurant, Hudson, WI  I used to go here with my friend Anna during my rebellious days.  (I mean DAYS, literally.)  They were open 24 hours for the drunk kids and they had a smoking section for my chain-smoking friends.  I, of course, was the mature, sober person.

The Nova, Hudson, WI  This is a fairly recent addition to Cassanova's Liquor store.  They have good appetizers and a huge wine selection.  It's also the classiest place in Hudson (by default, of course; there's not much competition in that category.)

Selma's Ice Cream, Afton, MN (RIP)  After a long day at the beach, I always stopped by here for my Zanzibar ice cream.  I even convinced some of my crazy friends to bike there from Hudson with me.  I will miss you dearly, Selma's.