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He so desperately wanted to be in the photo and with those big brown eyes and dirty nose, we'll I couldn't resist. He quietly wedged himself behind those pops. It makes me laugh still. We are getting ready for Easter- new baskets were purchased yesterday (handle broke off the old stand-by…balls!) and oreo pops were made this afternoon. Tomorrow, we are making peeps and dying eggs. It's my second attempt at peeps. The ones on Saturday failed miserably. I think I didn't quite let the marshmallow syrup get to the soft-ball stage. They were so sticky that they couldn't be cut.

I used the same marshmallow recipe that I used when I made my Christmas mallows. You can click here for a pdf of the recipe. Henry's Easter pants are 1/2 leg away from being completed and Kate's dress should be ready soon enough (well before Sunday at least). 

So life is getting crazy and hectic here and I imagine it will be for the next bit. I've decided to turn the comments off on the blog for the next while. I always feel so badly when I'm unable to respond and this will help me to spend less time at the computer. But if there's something you need or have a question, please feel free to e-mail me. There were some of you wanting the truffle recipe and I'll get that posted soon. Hope you are having a good week!

we are grateful for sunshine & watercolors,

strawberries mid-afternoon on the patio and


for yellow tulips that papa brought home last night.

Welcome, April. We are so so glad you are here.

On an unrelated  side note, my camera has officially bit the dust.
The future of this blog hangs in the balance.
Canon: Please tell me you can fix our camera.
And please don't charge me an arm & a leg.

While all salts are technically kosher, they are not all KOSHER salt!  What is the difference between table salt and kosher salt?

All salt is sodium chloride. 
The difference between the salt options we have in the store starts
with where they were mined/harvested and ends with the refining process.

Diamond
Crystal is my favorite kind of kosher salt.  The sodium chloride is
blown into a stainless steel box and permitted to dry and form
crystals.  These crystals are scraped off the box, and the process is
finished.  Giving you lovely large salt crystals with no additional
ingredients.  (Some kosher salts, like Morton’s, add sodium
ferrocyanide to help the salt not clump.  I notice a flavor difference
in my food – and only use Diamond Crystal. )

Table salt is
highly refined and contains ingredients like iodine and some sort of
free-flow agent, like the sodium ferrocyanide in Morton’s kosher salt. 
This results in a salt that consists of singular grains and doesn’t
clump.  Perfect, I suppose, for a saltshaker.  (I don’t own a
saltshaker!)

Pure salt is a flavor enhancer.   Added just the
right amount, you will be able to taste all the flavors in your food,
without tasting salt.  This, clearly, is the goal.  Table salt doesn’t
allow you to achieve this goal.  The iodine flavor is bitter and
strong, and will dominate the flavor profile of your meal.

I do
a simple experiment in my cooking classes to demonstrate this.  I boil
1 carrot, ½ onion and 1 celery stalk in 1 quart of water for 45 minutes
to an hour.  I then strain it, and add 1 pinch of salt to the first
serving, 2 pinches to the second, 3 pinches to the third…  people find
it hard to believe the only difference in the three broths is the
amount of kosher salt.  Then I do the same with the table salt.  You
never achieve the same flavor.  You end up with salty, flavorless broth.

If
you use kosher salt with your baking, keep in mind that 1 t. of table
salt and 1 t. of kosher salt will not yield the same amount of salt. 
Kosher salt contains more air due to the unrefined crystal structure. 
Baking is chemistry, and you have to have enough of ‘A’ and ‘B’ to get
a proper ‘C’.  Most boxes will tell you the volume difference between
kosher and table salt.  Ideally, however, you could simply weigh your
ingredients – as the volume doesn’t change the weight.

Some
chefs/bakers don’t like to use kosher salt in their baking items
because it doesn’t always fully dissolve because of its unique shape. 
If your recipe has limited amounts of liquid, you might want to stick
with table salt.  I simply make sure I brake up the salt with my hands
when I add it.  I haven’t experienced a problem.  Just play with it,
and you’ll know what is best for your cooking/baking habits.

Have
you ever been to a high-end restaurant that offers you a saltshaker on
the table?  No!  The chef wants you to taste the food as they have
prepared it.  Then, if you want salt, and you can ask for it, they
bring you a small bowl of kosher salt.  The bottom line is that salt
can either enhance or ruin the flavor of your food.

So, toss that saltshaker, get a finger bowl – and start enhancing the flavor of your food!

 because we were here. We spent the day in Santa Monica at the beach. The weather was perfect, we got sand in our pants, relaxed,  ran around, threw sand at each other, buried Henry, all the beach day essentials. Luckily, both kids love the beach especially running their legs and toes through the sand. I'd like to call this the beginnings of a sand angel:


Yes, most definitely a sand angel.

It was so fun to read all the entries for the contest. Who knew there were so many new and expecting mamas? Congratulations to all of you!  The random number generator has chosen commenter Allie as the winner of the Keiki Kover!

Spring has arrived! We have bunches and bunches of daffodils all around the house. I told Chris, after bringing me lillys on Valentines, that we really must try to have fresh flowers in the house at all times. This is our 2nd week of daffodils, and I am in love.

Vintage sheets, ready to be cut and made into summer beach quilts. I have been itching to make these since last summer. I need to make two for gifts, and one for myself, of course. I have a few other projects I need to get finished before starting these, but am keeping my fingers crossed they'll be next weekends project.  I got so burned out from Christmas sewing, that I've hardly had my sewing machine out since. But I'm ready to brush off the dust and get going again. Besides, Easter is right around the corner, and Kate most definitely will be needing an Easter dress.

Happy Spring!

Today was my uncle Bodo's funeral. In honor of him, Henry wore his lederhosen. My aunt and uncle brought them back for Henry on a trip they had made to Germany. My uncle was German. He married my aunt and they moved to California when he was in his twenties. Henry loved Bodo very much. They played trains together and did puzzles. Bodo even taught Henry how to lay on the floor on his side with his arm propped, holding up his head. At bedtime tonight I asked Henry if he had a good time at Ellen & Bodo's today. He said 'no'. I asked him why and he said it was because Uncle Bodo wasn't there and then he promptly laid on his side and said, "see….just like Bodo taught me." Death is a hard thing to explain to a near 4-year old. He asked me today if you can only die if you live in Germany. My uncle was there visiting family when he became ill and passed away in the same town where he was born just 57 years earlier . My cousin brought back some "kinder schokolade" for Henry, which he was over the moon about and now requests.  My brave aunt has been so courageous these last 2 1/2 months. We love her so much.
Little Miss Kate turned 10 months today. I have absolutely no idea where she inherited those legs. Here she is with my brother, Matt. The husband is out of town on a shoot for the weekend and I've been so lucky to have Matt here. My sister and Dustin are staying here, too. We are a happy family! Kate made her first sign this week for "milk." What I thought were only 2 teeth coming in on top were actually 4. So that's 6 with 2 more breaking through. Oy.  Thank you Dustin for the photo's!

i'm hoping to be back in this space more regularly next week.

xo