Quick weekend baking

I had some leftover ricotta cheese and decided to try out a "cheesecake" recipe from Martha Stewart to use it up. It is a very simple recipe and took no time at all. You know, one of those recipes you can practically throw together by the time the oven is done preheating.

The result? Very delicious, although it's better with embellishment. We used fresh strawberries. There's no crust, but you coat the pan with sugar after the butter, so the outside is a little sweeter and almost crust-like.

Here's an abridged version of the recipe, taken from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook:

Preheat oven to 375. Generously butter & sugar a 9-inch springform pan.

Whisk together in a large bowl: 1.5 pounds ricotta, 6 egg yolks, 1/4 cup flour, 6 T sugar, zest of 2 lemons and 1/4t salt. (it says to puree ricotta in food processor and I totally forgot this step. I think it would enhance the texture of the cake, but you can probaby skip it if you're in a hurry).

Beat 6 egg whites with 6 T sugar until stiff & glossy, then fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the ricotta mixture. Gently fold in the remainder of the egg whites and pour into your pan.

Bake for about 1 hour, until center is firm and top is golden brown. Let cool and enjoy!

~Susan

Eventful Friday

Yes, it's one of those things that we will inevitably look back on and laugh, but poor Larson did not find it so funny yesterday :(

Most of the time, when a kid is really sick or hurt, it's pretty obvious. Or even if it's not at the outset, it's still pretty easy to determine with a little probing. When a curious, energetic three-year-old refuses to open his eyes, despite all kinds of enticements, you know something's up. Especially when that something was preceded by a poke in the eye by another 3-year-old finger.

Took him in to the clinic (yea! avoided yet another ED visit!) where a fluorescein exam confirmed that he had a whopping corneal abrasion on his right eye (that's a scratch on the cornea, in layman's terms). That exam produced a lot of kicking and screaming. A lot. Whew, was I glad when it was over. Then in the car on the way home, after several minutes of silence, I heard: "I didn't want to open my eyes for the doctor," in a quiet, calm voice. Good thing my adrenaline was still pumping, or I probably would have starting blubbering right then and there. I mean, I just had to help hold him down so someone could pry open his painful eye and now he was basically apologizing for getting all worked up about it. Kids never cease to amaze me. He even let us put the antibiotic ointment in his eye without objection so that it would "get better really fast."

At home, Larson asked if he could watch a movie. So, we put on the only feature-length DVD we own ("Monster's Inc") and he "listened" to it on the couch and devoured at least half a box of goldfish crackers. I thought I should probably relax the rules a little after all the trauma of the afternoon...

The amazing thing about the eye is that the cornea can regenerate itself literally overnight. So this morning, when Larson woke up and still wouldn't open his eyes, I was a little worried at first. After a while, though, we realized that he was probably just scared, because gradually Brett saw him trying to peek out and then when he was brave enough to open them all the way and realize it didn't hurt anymore, he was sooooo excited!!!

Ah, the journey of parenthood. You never know what is around the next bend. Here I thought I was going to have a quiet Friday afternoon studying for my epidemiology final. Fell a little short in that department, but I did get all the Easter candy purchased while waiting at the pharmacy, holding Larson with eyes closed shut the whole time, completely oblivious to all that chocolate and sugar...

Teeth

Quite by surprise, we noticed that Cora had sprouted her two bottom teeth on Saturday! The only clue that something had been afoot was that she woke up on the early side most of the days last week. Drool and chewing on toys seem to be a constant so that didn't really get us suspicious. Sorry you can't see them in the picture, but they're just popping through, so I think it will be a bit before they show up in a photo. Notice also how well she is sitting all by herself!

***Update: Make that 4 teeth! Saw the top two peeking through this morning as well. Whew, that's a lotta teeth at once.

A Niece!!!

Larson and Cora are pleased to announce the arrival of their cousin,

Claire Josephine Pacyna!

~

Our newest cutie was born 2/24/08 and is doing great. You can see pictures of her on the Pacyna blog. We can't wait to meet you, baby Claire!

Congratulations to Kate, Mark and new big brother Wyatt.

Signs of spring

Took a walk around the 'hood with the camera to capture signs that spring is around the corner. I just love that brief period when everything looks like it's waking up. Tiny shoots poking through the dirt - "Yes, we're still here! We made it through the winter!" Plump buds on branches just waiting for longer and warmer days to unfurl their flowery, leafy goodness. If we had more snow to melt here, I would be inhaling that earthy mud smell that breaks the crispness of cold, cold days.

I think it's just so cool to plant bulbs in the fall, on faith that some kind of action will take place down in the earth by spring. Then one day in March/April, just when you've practially forgotten that you even did all that digging back in October, voila!, the tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, etc, pop up almost overnight to herald spring with their friendly colors. It's just what I need to get me excited to plan and plant my garden.

Check out these cuties!

Remember this?

Ok, totally random, I know. But. Brett and I were having a little "date-night" type of thing and were trying to find something fun to watch on our computer from Netflix. So browsing through the TV shows they had for viewing, we found "Family Ties, Season 1". It was such a trip! The first season was from 1982. The pop culture references, fashion, etc: all so much fun to watch & remember. And the other thing was to notice how different the "sitcom" was then compared to now (wait, do we actually have them anymore, at least any that anybody watches?). It was almost like watching a play with a laughtrack. I think it seemed that way because we watch SO much reality TV these days (you know, Project Runway, Top Chef, Amazing Race and -- dare I mention it -- The Hills & The City?) that I've almost forgotten what it's like to watch actual acting. You know, when you think about it, all the drama in those shows I just named comes from the editing, not what's being said by the characters. Watching FT made me realize that once upon a time the actors were responsible for bringing you the laughs, the drama, etc all on their own. Kind of refreshing, really. I think I'll be back for more...