MINT JULEP

 Just wanted to share the final page of the Mint Springs story from The 'Sip - recipes for Mint Julep!

14-MILER DONE!

 Alright. We got out there this morning and got that 14-miler DONE! And actually enjoyed ourselves. I'll admit that the last 2 miles were hard (sore joints, mostly, but also getting hungry), but it was a great run and I was really proud of us for holding a good pace the whole time (even with walk breaks to take our Gu's). We ran almost all the hills, even the big ones. They're getting easier every week. We actually finished these 14 miles faster than we ran our trail half last month, by about 5 minutes. Sweeeeet! And we look pretty awesome in our vests, eh? (I know, the picture is dark and hard to see. We started at 5:30am and took the photo about 6 miles into our run, so the sun wasn't fully up yet. It's fun running in the dark.)

We had excellent motivation to finish those miles too... Sophie Belgian Style Ale and homemade pumpkin chocolate chip cookies with maple frosting. Both were absolutely delicious. They went well with our post-run stretch session in the shade. And did I mention the weather was perfect today? A big storm went through Friday night - Saturday afternoon, so we bumped our run to this morning and enjoyed temps in the low 60s the entire time. SO GLAD fall is arriving here on schedule!

Here's the cookie recipe for anyone who wants to make them this holiday season (I'd link the original place I saw this, but I can't remember where it was!)

Cookie Ingredients:

1 cup Crisco

1 cup sugar

1 cup pumpkin

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips

(I combined regular and mini chips, just for fun)

Blend the first 5 ingredients together, then add the remaining ingredients, except for the chocolate chips. Lastly, fold in the chocolate chips. Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes. Frost cookies.

Frosting Ingredients:

3 TBSP butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 TBSP milk

powdered sugar to consistency

(I used somewhere between 1-2 cups. I think...)

Boil the first 3 ingredients for 2 minutes. (Careful not to burn the sugar! I did a low boil, not high.) Once everything is dissolved and bubbly, turn it down and start adding the sugar. I added it in 3 batches, and just kept dumping it in and stirring until the color and consistency resembled the maple frosting of donuts. To frost the cookies (once they're well cooled!), just hold them upside down and swirl the tops into the pan of frosting (use TONGS or your fingertips will melt off). Don't attempt to spread the frosting on with a knife... if the frosting cools at all, it won't stick to the cookies. I learned the hard way. Also, make sure the frosting is on LOW while you do all this because the sugar burns easily... really easily.

BOWLING AND MORE BEACH

On our last full day at the beach house we took family portraits, then went out for ice cream (which we used as bribery to get our kids to look at the camera and smile...), and then took Eli and Addy bowling for the first time.

After the portrait session, climbing the pelican statue out front of the beach house

My GIANT ice crream from ColdStone, demonstrating the fact that it was indeed bigger than Cora's head. I did not finish it, though James and I gave it a valiant effort!

Cora fell asleep in the car on the way to the bowling alley, so we rolled with it

She woke up 3 rounds in and was super happy to join in the fun once she noticed her cool shoes

PawPaw/Bampa helped the kiddos with every round. Such patience...

We had fun introducing our niece and nephew to root beer (their first soda ever). They approved!
(We let James and Cora have root beer on pizza Fridays and sometimes on Saturdays too. Sugar is fun!)

The kids' final scores. For the record, they all beat me...

James somehow scored himself a free pinball game

Back at the beach house, coloring in the new Do-A-Dot books that Grambot gave them.

Spinning around on the Spiderman toy that Robyn and Stephen brought to the beach

Ally helped her mama make some of the best dip we've ever tasted, recipe below. Jamie says it also goes well over chicken or fish, or even just served over rice. We thought it was amazing with tortilla chips!

Last kid standing with the coloring books. Our girl really loves seat work.

Addy snacked on shredded cheese while her parents made delicious tacos for everyone for dinner!

Then it was back to the beach for one last wave-chasing adventure

This piece of seaweed (kelp?) was covered in live worm-like things that were moving in and out of their shells. It was totally disgusting. And the kids, of course, were fascinated by it...

Tyson, Cora, and James in one last pose at the gorgeous beach at Roads End

Back to coloring, with her cousin Addy

Doing the marshmallow dance (she really did eat horribly throughout vacation...)

Our family reunion, with 19 of us under one roof, was pretty darn awesome. We got to spend time with my cousins, who I hadn't seen in 5.5 years, meet little Ally, and do some fun activities (despite the crummy weather). Wonder where we'll go next time...

SATURDAY NIGHT MOVIE

The kids napped late today. REALLY late. And long (12:45-3:45pm!), so I ended up napping too. By the time we woke up, it was already time to start dinner prep (Chicken Crescent Casserole, which I modify to use an entire rotisserie chicken, cut out the onion, but add minced garlic and onion powder). Luckily we did all the cleaning in the morning (we're about as allergen-free as we're gonna get in our 3-cat-household), so the kids just hung out playing with their Magneatos and Legos while I cooked and Jay studied. 

By the time we'd stuffed ourselves full of cheesy chicken casserole, the kids were ready to chill again, so we turned on 'A Bug's Life' and let them stay up late (until 9:00pm, an hour past their usual bedtime) to watch it. Today was definitely a good balance of productivity and relaxing - both very much needed!

This only lasted about 10 minutes, then they were right back up on the couches snuggling with their parents. And we wouldn't have it any other way - LOVE our little snuggle muffins!

A GOODBYE FEAST

Tonight was our last gathering of the Ethnic Supper Club as we know it. This month, our buddies Sara and Philip (and Marion) are moving to Santa Cruz (and we're trying hard not to be too jealous). To celebrate their departure from the south (not that we are happy to see them go, obviously, but happy for them in their opportunity to move home and start a new career), we held a Mississippi Feast!

The kids passed the prep time by coloring and "cooking" at the table.

When Cora got fussy, Sandy placated her with tamales (this girl will seriously eat anything!) because the way to Cora's heart is most definitely through her stomach!

The spread included tamales, fried catfish, hushpuppies, greens, black-eyed peas, creamed corn, coleslaw, and biscuits. You may drool now.

Somehow, we managed to save room for desert. And with 5 adults and 2 kids enjoying my red velvet cake with white chocolate cream cheese frosting (recipe posted at the bottom), we managed to go through over half the cake! We're dedicated like that.

After dinner, the kids ran off some energy (and sugar high), played nicely together, and read a book with "Aunt" Sandy. James is quite the fan of her. (He was pretending to eat the fish in his marine animals book...)

Ah, Hendrix family, we will miss you! Thank you for all the delicious meals and good conversation. Hopefully we'll meet again someday on the left coast.

Goodnight!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

24 paper liners for cupcake pans (or 2 8-9" round cake pans)
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain German chocolate cake mix
1 package (3.4 ounces) vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 24 cupcake cups with paper liners (or spray/grease the cake pans). Set the pans aside.

Place the cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, water, oil, food coloring, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides again if needed. The batter should look thick and well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Spoon batter into each lined cupcake cup, filling it three quarters of the way full. (You will get between 22 and 24 cupcakes; remove the empty liners, if any.) Place the pans in the oven.

Bake the cupcakes until they spring back when lightly pressed with your finger, 18 to 20 minutes (or 30 minutes for 9" cake pans). Remove the pans from the oven and place them on
wire racks to cool before frosting.

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

(I usually double this recipe because I like to have plenty of frosting)

7-8 ounces white chocolate chips
4 ounces (half an 8-ounce package) cream cheese, at room temperature
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, at room temperature
1 and 2/3 cups confectioners' sugar

Place the white chocolate in a small glass bowl in the microwave oven on high power for 1 minute. Remove the bowl from the oven and stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until it is smooth (or leave it a little chunky if you like - texture is fun). Set the chocolate aside to cool.

Place the cream cheese and butter in a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until well combined, 30 seconds. Stop the machine. Add the melted white chocolate and blend on low speed until just combined, 30 seconds. Add the confectioners' sugar and blend on low until the sugar is incorporated, 30 seconds more. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat until the frosting is fluffy, 1 minute more, adding up to 1/2 cup more sugar if needed to make a spreadable consistency.

Enjoy!
(Also, we now have a big space to fill at our Ethnic Supper Club table, so if your family would like to join us once every month or two to explore the cuisines of the world with us, please let us know!)

"D-LISH-US"

Pizza night is always a hit at our house. Cora has been joining in on the fun for the past few weeks, and even SHE says "Mmmm" when her slice is finally cool enough to hand over. (Another benefit of BLS... How many 10-month-olds do you know who can eat a slice of pizza with the family?) James usually says "Mmmm, good!" (like he does with all foods and drinks that he approves of), but last night he cracked us up by exclaiming "D-lish-us!" after his first bite. (Gamma, did you teach him that one?) He is SO cute!

For the record, pizza restaurants here in Vicksburg leave a lot to be desired. At least for us, what with me growing up with Michael's-turned-David's and Dante's and Jay growing up with Al's. Therefore, we generally make our own pizza at home. And a while back, we were given a great tip (thanks R&S!) for the crust. If you have never purchased Naan (Indian flat bread), you must (James is particularly fond of the garlic Naan and would eat it with every meal if we let him... too bad it makes him stink). And if you have used it, but have never tried it as a pizza crust, then please do. Just top it with sauce, cheese (use mozzarella at the minimum, but additional cheeses make it 'd-lish-us', because everything is better with cheese), and your favorite toppings, and either bake it (8-10 minutes at 400 degrees) or grill it (yes, you can GRILL it!) - you can make it as simple or as fancy as you like, and I guarantee you'll have a happy tummy.

GGMAMA'S BIRTHDAY CARD

This is the card we made for Jay's grandmother's birthday, which is today (Happy 94th Birthday Grandmother!):

At her request, and in honor of her birthday, I am sharing the BEST chocolate pound cake recipe (the credit goes to the mother of Ben, who is the boyfriend of Whitney, who is Gerald's daughter and Jay's cousin - did you catch all that?)

1 box Betty Crocker Supermoist Yellow Cake mix

1/2 cup sugar

1 (3.9oz) box instant chocolate pudding

3/4 cup vegetable oil

4 large eggs

3/4 cup water

1 (8oz) carton sour cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

powdered sugar

Combine cake mix, sugar, and pudding mix. Stir with wire whisk. Add oil, eggs, water, and sour cream. Stir until smooth. Add vanilla. Pour into greased and floured bundt pan (or pound cake pan). Bake 1 hour at 350, or until wooden toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes before removing. Let cool completely, then sprinkle with powdered sugar and enjoy!

UPDATED 09-28-09: I made the pound cake tonight and it is WONDERFUL!