Watching a Little Angelina "Moobie"

This is cup #3--am I alone in thinking coffee is the nectar of the gods? that it will flow in the rivers and streams in Heaven? that Stumptown (Portland area roaster) is the absolute BEST?!

Ava made this hat this morning. She was going to to give it to a friend but decided she like to "keep some of my handicrafts"

A Beautiful Color Cocophone--Who Can Guess What's Going On Here?!?!

We think she makes a cute Rasta Princess

Beethoven's Oral Report

Jonah's class on Book Report Day! Can you find Beethoven?

Someone has to be Beethoven for a class project!

Ranch Dressing & Some Fried Chicken, Too

OK, confession time: I got this recipe from Smitten Kitchen. I love Deb and her quirky stories and how she takes beeeeeeeeeauuuutiful photos of everything she makes. But, in the absence of (a)An expensive camera and (b)A lot of time to edit/retake/learn about how to take great pictures, you will have to live with these sorry ones. But maybe her chicken recipe will make it up to you? And if you decide to click on her link above, make sure you type "Devil's Chicken Thighs" into the search engine, make it for your family/friends, and prepare to receive lots of compliments, commendations, and requests for the recipe.
Panko Fried Chicken
Wash, dry, & pound your chicken until thin. Set out three shallow bowls or rimmed plates: one for flour, one for 2 beaten eggs, one for Panko Bread Crumbs--Seriously, the best bread crumbs for breading! Dredge your chicken in each, then either put them right into the hot oil or pile them up high on a cookie sheet and pop 'em in your fridge until you're ready to cook 'em. Make sure you make nice, neat rows, cuz it'll cook better. Just kidding--like I said, I pile it.

I like to use a little Grape Seed Oil to shallow-fry them in, it has a very high smoke point and EVOO is too heavy for this. These cook very fast (remember how you pounded them?), like 3 minutes or less per side.

Dig in--Jon and I pop them on a salad, that way we don't feel like we're going to have a heart attack right away after (We can only speak for tonight, folks). Speaking of salad...
This Ranch is yum. You'll want to eat it with a spoon...or ladle it out that way, at least.

E's Favorite Ranch

1 C Mayo (appx--I never measure this, so I'm just guessing)
4 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
1 Tbsp Honey
1/2 tsp dried Dill
1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
2 Minced Garlic Cloves
1/4-1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
1/2 tsp dried Oregano
1/2 tsp Garlic Salt
Salt and Pepper to taste
Whisk all ingredients in your bowl--if it's too thick, add a Tbsp or so more of vinegar. If it's too tart, add a tad of Buttermilk.
Enjoy!

Campin' Out on the Porch

 

 

Joe and Ava disappeared one day...when I found them they had made little beds on the porch (note the parasol). They wanted to camp out there (they come by that honestly) but maybe when they're a little older...

Well, I Try....

Oops, it seems I completely forgot to post something yesterday!
Well, here's to hoping that some of these funny things will completely make up for it and you all will be so smitten you will forgive me completely...
Funny Things Brynne Says:
-"That's funny, there's a CAR in that garage!"
-"I'm not BooBoo. I'm Brynne."
(in response to me saying "It doesn't matter what you look like, it matters how you act" Brynne said, "Yeah, and it Jesus pleases"
-Me:"How are you today Brynne?" Brynne: "Bantastic!!!"
-"I just looked in the mirror and it was ME!"

Day 3, er 4--A Little Vietnamese

I was craving a little Pho Van (the BEST Vietnamese in town) tonight, but instead of spending $80 for our family to eat out I dug in the fridge and went off a Martha Stewart Everyday Food recipe I have and we ate some yummy yummy food...but I didn't even think of taking a picture until I literally ate the last bite on my plate, so you'll just have to trust me when I say this is not only a delicious dinner but a beautiful one, too. :). The colors on your plate will make your evening happier. Believe it.
Here's the recipe:
Dressing/Marinade:
In a medium bowl combine:
4 thinly sliced scallion whites
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 C Soy Sauce
1/4 C Rice Vinegar (I was out so used 2Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar and a scant 1/4 C Sweet Rice Cooking Wine)
2 Tbsp honey
Juice from 1/2 a lime
1/2 Tsp fish sauce
Spicy option: add 1/2 Tsp Red Pepper Flakes
Take about half of this and save it to pour over your dinner.
Thinly slice 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs and pop them in the remaining marinade in a ziploc bag in the fridge for about 30 minutes or even up to overnight.

The Rest:
Rice Noodles (in the Asian aisle) and/or Rice
Get your skillet really hot, add a couple Tbsp EVOO then about half the chicken. Do not touch it! Let it get all nice and brown and happy. The sugar from the honey will caramelize and make it sooo happy. This will cook very quickly if you sliced it thinly. Stir it once and cook until done on both sides.
Earlier on I did this stuff:
Using your vegetable peeler, shred 2 carrots
Chiffonade 1 cucumber
Chop up extra scallions
Bowl of peanuts or cashews
Throw some fresh cilantro or basil or mint or all three in a bowl
Cooked the rice and rice noodles

Put it all on the table and let the kids go crazy creating their own "Pho Van". Ours had some very spicy "Rooster Sauce" on it and my, oh my...

It took me a while at 6am to figure out why I could sudden see clearly through the window. The screen was gone. A sincere Thank You to Ava!

NaBloPoMo

Well, I may be a day late (and a dollar short?) but here we go anyhow--It's National Blog Posting Month!!
Here's what's been the happs at the Brawley's of late:
-Jon found rot (gasp!) on the corner of the front porch, and has been redoing it as well as venting and improving the design of the pillars.
-Jonah is enjoying school, but maybe not so much the homework!
-Boo is a happy and rascally three year old and her personality reminds me of both Tom Kitten and Peter Rabbit as she is constantly fighting restraints and getting into mischief...hmmm...maybe we should ease up on the Beatrix Potter.
-Ava loves all her friends at school and is fitting right in. She adores her teacher and makes her little cards that say "I Love You Mrs. King!" every week. This makes me so happy!
-Abram is crawling and its so cute how he works so hard to go about three feet-can't wait till he figures out that walking is much easier!
-Jon celebrated a birthday last week (stay tuned for pictures!)
-I (elisabeth) have really been enjoying my gym membership and especially love the step class, although it took me about six visits to get the rhythm down....I have no idea where i get it. ;)
-Jon finished a 1400 page book on Systematic Theology--sheesh!
-The SF Giants (Jon's fav team) finally won the World Series! Some of you might not be as thrilled about that as we are!!
-Ava has been attending (well, missing) art class once a week. She has only been able to get to one of them between sickness and a Halloween Carnival they had at the community center.
-Brynne LOVES her ballet class!
-Jonah is all about Mario Kart Wii-he eats, dreams, pianos, iPods, and homeworks it.
-Jonah is still playing piano and does really well but I think some of the "novelty" has worn off and now it's all about learning how to stick with it.
Well, that's the short of it for each of us, and I guess it adds up to a longish list...if you want more please check back each day this month!
Love to all of you.

Froggy guy

Trik R Treating with the Storments

Jonah likes the iPad

More BooBoo Ballet. Sorry if it's getting old, but she's just so danged cute!!

Date Night With Daddy

Two separate dates, two undeniably adoring girls with one head-over-heels Daddy. Sweet, indeed.

Caught Red Handed

We are looking into treatment options (wink).

Playin with The Goo

Brynne and Abram have this funny game they play together, no explanation necessary. I love that they adore each other!

BooBoo Ballet

Brynne is enrolled in ballet this fall and she absolutely loves it! She is a riot and a half, let me tell you. She tries super hard to listen and do what Miss Erika says but when it comes down to it, it's just like the Terminator meets the Sugar Plum Princess. She is a sturdy aged three, after all. Enjoy the pictures!

Abram's Birthday

Abram's Turns One!

Abram had his first birthday and his first party! We did a BBQ at Blue Lake Park and had so much fun celebrating with everyone.

Daddy was the Grill Master

Abram loved the singing

I almost had them put "Happy Birthday Gooey-Guy" but opted not to...

Abram wasn't too sure what to do at first. I think that's Joshua's finger helping him out.

Once he got a taste he was face down!

Brynne isn't sure what to think of the cake...

Brynne with her second cousin Benz

Daddy with the Birthday Boy

Still Momma's boy