2 years ago
Friday, January 4, 2008
The Many Meanings of Waving
Annabelle understands waving to mean the following things: Bye-bye, Night Night, Hello and I Love You. This evening, I started nursing Annabelle and her Daddy put the CD in the CD player and turned on the noise maker (our usual routine). After he finished with his part of the routine, he leaned down to tell Annabelle goodnight and give her a kiss. I told her, "Say we love you, Daddy." She didn't even turn her head as she was too busy nursing, but she lifted her little hand in the air towards him, and she waved to him as if to say "I love you" by waving. We both just laughed, and her Daddy said, "I'm a little busy, Dad!" (as if to imitate what she was saying). I am constantly amazed at how much she understands!
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Pressure Cooker Roast and Gravy
My parents bought me a pressure cooker for Christmas! I was very excited to get one, and I was also very anxious to start using it. My mom has used one for years to make some of my favorite meals including pole beans cooked with potatoes, onions and squash. And, she makes her collard greens or turnip greens in them for New Year's Day. I kind of like her collard greens now, but I could not stand them until I acquired a taste for them since we've been married.
Of course, I needed my mom to show me how to use it (like I cannot read directions or something, but she's always insisted to show me how to use a pressure cooker before I tried to use it on my own because I think she's afraid I'll burn myself or something), so she showed me on New Year's Day (as she made butter beans for dinner). It works great, and I have already made sweet potatoes, roast and carrots in it, and I thought everything turned out great.
I cooked a Beef Round Bottom Round Roast as follows in the pressure cooker:
Rinsed roast and then floured on all sides.
Browned all sides of roast in pressure cooker pot in 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Poured 2 cups of water into pressure cooker with roast and remaining olive oil.
Cooked roast in pressure cooker on the high setting (setting 2) for 40 minutes after the pressure cooker started steaming and after the stove temperature was reduced from high to medium.
After the 40 minutes is up, pull the pressure cooker off of the stove and let the steam reduce itself naturally. With meat, you typically do not run cold water over the top of the pressure cooker to reduce the pressure.
This cooked the roast to be well done, so if you like it a little pink, you will want to reduce the cooking time a little bit.
As for the gravy to go with the roast, I made this after the roast was finished (per directions from my mom). The flavor of the gravy was very good (probably a little salty), but the consistency wasn't the best (especially after it sat for just a few minutes). Directions are as follows for the roast gravy (brown gravy).
Pour juice remaining in pressure cooker after roast is removed into separate saucepan. I used my non-stick pan, and it seemed to work pretty well as the gravy did not burn.
Boil juice until water is completely boiled out and only the goody (grease) remains.
Add 2 tablespoons of flour to grease and continue to boil.
I continued to boil and tried to get rid of the lumps of flour (that would not go away) until I finally had my husband call my mom to find out which part of the directions I had not followed correctly. Apparently, I forgot to add 2 cups of water to the mixture after adding the 2 tbs of flour. So, add 2 cups of water next. I still don't understand why you add 2 cups of water to the mixture after you've waited for all of the water to boil out originally.
And, I forgot to add 1 tsp of salt. My mom said to add between 1-2 tsp of salt, but I think that the 1 tsp was already too much, so next time I think I'd cut that back to 1/2 tsp of salt. As a side note, I just learned from a comment from my mom to my blog that it was supposed to be 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp of salt. So, I was on the high end of the salt measurement, so this is why it tasted a little salty! Sounds like it was lost in translation from my mom to my husband over the phone and then to me as I cooked it.
And, finally, boil, boil and boil until the mixture is thick like gravy and a darker brown.
The floured lumps in my gravy never disappeared, so I think maybe next time I will sift the flour before mixing with the "goody." Well, is it true that good gravy is supposed to have lumps just like good homemade mashed potatoes? Which, by the way, we also had for dinner with the roast, gravy and carrots. I should note that the gravy probably took me about 30 minutes to make. Is that normal?!?! I started cooking dinner around 5:00 p.m., and we didn't eat until closer to 7:30 p.m. Hopefully next time I cook this I'll be able to speed up the process a little bit, and I won't have to worry with feeding a 15 month old dinner in between slicing the potatoes.
My husband and I both actually liked the roast better cooked in the pressure cooker versus our normal cooking option of the slow cooker. Also, my husband tasted the gravy with his fork, and he said, "That doesn't taste bad," and he does not normally like brown gravy for some reason. He loves the white gravy that you serve over biscuits, but he has never liked brown gravy. He claims to be born and raised in the South too! Blasphemy!
Of course, I needed my mom to show me how to use it (like I cannot read directions or something, but she's always insisted to show me how to use a pressure cooker before I tried to use it on my own because I think she's afraid I'll burn myself or something), so she showed me on New Year's Day (as she made butter beans for dinner). It works great, and I have already made sweet potatoes, roast and carrots in it, and I thought everything turned out great.
I cooked a Beef Round Bottom Round Roast as follows in the pressure cooker:
Rinsed roast and then floured on all sides.
Browned all sides of roast in pressure cooker pot in 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Poured 2 cups of water into pressure cooker with roast and remaining olive oil.
Cooked roast in pressure cooker on the high setting (setting 2) for 40 minutes after the pressure cooker started steaming and after the stove temperature was reduced from high to medium.
After the 40 minutes is up, pull the pressure cooker off of the stove and let the steam reduce itself naturally. With meat, you typically do not run cold water over the top of the pressure cooker to reduce the pressure.
This cooked the roast to be well done, so if you like it a little pink, you will want to reduce the cooking time a little bit.
As for the gravy to go with the roast, I made this after the roast was finished (per directions from my mom). The flavor of the gravy was very good (probably a little salty), but the consistency wasn't the best (especially after it sat for just a few minutes). Directions are as follows for the roast gravy (brown gravy).
Pour juice remaining in pressure cooker after roast is removed into separate saucepan. I used my non-stick pan, and it seemed to work pretty well as the gravy did not burn.
Boil juice until water is completely boiled out and only the goody (grease) remains.
Add 2 tablespoons of flour to grease and continue to boil.
I continued to boil and tried to get rid of the lumps of flour (that would not go away) until I finally had my husband call my mom to find out which part of the directions I had not followed correctly. Apparently, I forgot to add 2 cups of water to the mixture after adding the 2 tbs of flour. So, add 2 cups of water next. I still don't understand why you add 2 cups of water to the mixture after you've waited for all of the water to boil out originally.
And, I forgot to add 1 tsp of salt. My mom said to add between 1-2 tsp of salt, but I think that the 1 tsp was already too much, so next time I think I'd cut that back to 1/2 tsp of salt. As a side note, I just learned from a comment from my mom to my blog that it was supposed to be 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp of salt. So, I was on the high end of the salt measurement, so this is why it tasted a little salty! Sounds like it was lost in translation from my mom to my husband over the phone and then to me as I cooked it.
And, finally, boil, boil and boil until the mixture is thick like gravy and a darker brown.
The floured lumps in my gravy never disappeared, so I think maybe next time I will sift the flour before mixing with the "goody." Well, is it true that good gravy is supposed to have lumps just like good homemade mashed potatoes? Which, by the way, we also had for dinner with the roast, gravy and carrots. I should note that the gravy probably took me about 30 minutes to make. Is that normal?!?! I started cooking dinner around 5:00 p.m., and we didn't eat until closer to 7:30 p.m. Hopefully next time I cook this I'll be able to speed up the process a little bit, and I won't have to worry with feeding a 15 month old dinner in between slicing the potatoes.
My husband and I both actually liked the roast better cooked in the pressure cooker versus our normal cooking option of the slow cooker. Also, my husband tasted the gravy with his fork, and he said, "That doesn't taste bad," and he does not normally like brown gravy for some reason. He loves the white gravy that you serve over biscuits, but he has never liked brown gravy. He claims to be born and raised in the South too! Blasphemy!
Pea Soup
I LOVE the pea soup that my mom used to make for us when we were younger, and she treated me to pea soup again since Annabelle has been born. I decided for lunch today that I wanted to treat Annabelle to the infamous pea soup as well. I thought maybe this would help her eat her veggies a little better. And, it did! She seemed to like it, and she ate about 2-3 tablespoons full. Here is the recipe. I need to write it down before I forget how to make it. Every time I want to make something that my mom used to fix, I call her up for the recipe over the phone (this is assuming I cannot already find it in the massive cookbook she gave to me when my husband and I got married). I wonder how many recipes are lost because generations failed to record and pass down those much loved favorite recipes.
Pea Soup
15 oz can Le Sueur Brand Early Peas (I normally will venture into name brands for groceries, but I have personally found that nothing beats the Le Sueur Brand).
15 oz can of Milk (Use the Le Sueur can after you empty the peas and juice into a separate bowl to measure your milk. This is normal cow's milk, not canned milk).
2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of flour (I used all-purpose White Lily flour).
Salt and pepper to taste
Saltine crackers
According to my mom, you can up the amount of butter and flour you use as needed, but these two should be equivalent.
Melt the 2 tbs of butter in a saucepan and then add the flour and mix with the butter. After these two are mixed together, pour the 15 oz of milk into the saucepan. Be sure to stir constantly to keep the flour from sticking and burning to the saucepan. Boil the mixture of milk, butter and flour until the mixture is thick and soup like. Once the mixture comes to a nice thick consistency, pour the Le Sueur early peas into the saucepan. The juice from the early peas is only needed if you get your mixture too thick. Otherwise, you can toss it. Add salt and pepper to taste, and if you have the Saltines on hand, crumble a few into the mixture and stir.
That is it! It is very easy, and very yummy, and even my almost 15 month old enjoyed it!
Pea Soup
15 oz can Le Sueur Brand Early Peas (I normally will venture into name brands for groceries, but I have personally found that nothing beats the Le Sueur Brand).
15 oz can of Milk (Use the Le Sueur can after you empty the peas and juice into a separate bowl to measure your milk. This is normal cow's milk, not canned milk).
2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of flour (I used all-purpose White Lily flour).
Salt and pepper to taste
Saltine crackers
According to my mom, you can up the amount of butter and flour you use as needed, but these two should be equivalent.
Melt the 2 tbs of butter in a saucepan and then add the flour and mix with the butter. After these two are mixed together, pour the 15 oz of milk into the saucepan. Be sure to stir constantly to keep the flour from sticking and burning to the saucepan. Boil the mixture of milk, butter and flour until the mixture is thick and soup like. Once the mixture comes to a nice thick consistency, pour the Le Sueur early peas into the saucepan. The juice from the early peas is only needed if you get your mixture too thick. Otherwise, you can toss it. Add salt and pepper to taste, and if you have the Saltines on hand, crumble a few into the mixture and stir.
That is it! It is very easy, and very yummy, and even my almost 15 month old enjoyed it!
Spin, Spin, Spin
I just noticed today that Annabelle has started to spin in circles. She spinned around several times before she made herself dizzy and tumbled to the ground. Then, she stood up and tried it again. Her Daddy witnessed it this evening as well. She's a mess!
She's a Flirt!
So, on Monday, December 31st, Annabelle and I visited the Dollar Tree so I could find a cute notebook to use as a Housekeeping and To-Do Journal. Thanks to Annabelle's Mommy for the suggestion. Instead of posting my daily top 2 to-do's on my blog as "Daily Goals," I have decided to start this journal to track my to-do's, grocery lists, etc., that is small enough to throw into Annabelle's diaper bag (my purse is too small for much of anything).
Well, Annabelle can be a bit shy sometimes, and whenever adults say hello to her, she just stares them down. She knows how to wave hello and goodbye, but she chooses when she is going to say hello and goodbye (and night night for that matter).
So, we are at the Dollar Tree, and Annabelle spots a little boy that is probably between 2 1/2 - 3 years of age, probably closer to 3 years. She instantly shoots him a smile, and at the same time, she waves to him. It cracked me up!
We walked away from where he was sitting in his stroller, and she continued to smile, and then she waved to him again once we were already at the other end of the aisle away from him.
So, my daughter is a flirt, and she is only 14 months (going on 20 years) old! Too bad for her that the little boy never waved back! Of course, I think she can do much better than him, but I guess she's going to be the one to choose her own husband one day. I just wish I could have more to say about it!
Well, Annabelle can be a bit shy sometimes, and whenever adults say hello to her, she just stares them down. She knows how to wave hello and goodbye, but she chooses when she is going to say hello and goodbye (and night night for that matter).
So, we are at the Dollar Tree, and Annabelle spots a little boy that is probably between 2 1/2 - 3 years of age, probably closer to 3 years. She instantly shoots him a smile, and at the same time, she waves to him. It cracked me up!
We walked away from where he was sitting in his stroller, and she continued to smile, and then she waved to him again once we were already at the other end of the aisle away from him.
So, my daughter is a flirt, and she is only 14 months (going on 20 years) old! Too bad for her that the little boy never waved back! Of course, I think she can do much better than him, but I guess she's going to be the one to choose her own husband one day. I just wish I could have more to say about it!
The Little Tikes Shopping Cart
Annabelle received the Little Tikes Shopping Cart from her Uncle, Aunt and Cousins on her Daddy's side of the family for Christmas this year. I thought maybe we would put it away in the shed and bring it back out in a few months since she got so much for Christmas already, and I thought she'd enjoy something new in a few months. It is a shame her birthday and Christmas fall so close together as all of her new toys arrive within the same time frame. Maybe next time we should plan for a May, June or July baby!
So, anyhow, I changed my mind because I knew how much Annabelle would really enjoy playing with the Little Tikes Shopping Cart because she loves to put small toys into baskets and small containers, so on Monday, December 31st (I believe), I had my husband open the box and put together the Little Tikes Shopping Cart.
Well, it was instantly a hit! I thought it would be nice to have Annabelle clean up around the house by placing her toys (that are everywhere) into the Shopping Cart and then rolling them to her bedroom to put them away. I even showed her how to place "Teddy" in the front of the shopping cart. However, she didn't like that too much. She seemed to think that "Teddy" needed to ride in the basket part of the shopping cart with his face down towards the ground. Poor Teddy! I tried to tell her that she needed to place Teddy in the front just like Mommy lets her ride up front when we go grocery shopping, but she didn't seem to care.
So, anyhow, I get her started cleaning up and "shopping" with her shopping cart, and I then head off to the kitchen to clean up a little bit. Well, she is not far behind me with the shopping cart being pulled behind her. No big deal, right? Sure, no big deal until she starts pushing and pulling the shopping cart into my kitchen cabinets and stainless steel appliances! These aren't just ordinary kitchen cabinets either. Back in 2005 (pre-Annabelle), my husband and I took a lot of time and energy and need I say, money, designing our "dream kitchen." And, it is just that, my dream kitchen! I love my kitchen, and I am very protective of my kitchen cabinets. And, if I can help it, I won't have a Little Tikes Shopping Cart scratching them all up.
Needless to say, this is inevitably out of my hands! Despite my love for my cabinets, I love my daughter so much more, and if she did happen to scratch and scar for life my kitchen cabinets and stainless steel appliances, I would refrain from yelling, screaming or crying and instead direct her into a different direction. Of course, I would probably be cringing inside, but, what are you going to do?
Well, you thought I was finished with that story, didn't you? Nope, I have to mention that Annabelle pretty much only likes to play with her Little Tikes Shopping Cart in the kitchen. This afternoon, the Shopping Cart was in the living room, and Annabelle and I were both in the living room, but she decided that she needed to pull the Shopping Cart into the kitchen. She got to the threshold between the kitchen and dining room, and just as she did, I pulled her and the Shopping Cart back into the dining room and closed the door going to the kitchen. She was NOT happy! She just pitched a little fit right then and there. I picked her up and held her, and she just cried. She wanted to play in the kitchen with her Shopping Cart. It didn't matter that I was not in the kitchen. The Shopping Cart, for some reason, is supposed to be played with in the kitchen. I think she likes the way it sounds as it bumps over the slate floors.
And, here is the cute part of the story of the Little Tikes Shopping Cart. Annabelle had found my checkbook earlier today, and she was walking around with the checkbook in the living room. I watched her to make sure that she wasn't going to rip out any checks, and she didn't. Apparently though, she found the checkbook again when I wasn't looking, and she dropped the checkbook into her Little Tikes Shopping Cart. She was going shopping! Not that I ever take a checkbook with me when I go shopping, but it was too cute to find that checkbook in her Shopping Cart. This evening, her Daddy discovered the checkbook in the Shopping Cart too, and he just laughed and said that "Annabelle really was going shopping" as he picked up the checkbook from the Shopping Cart.
So, anyhow, I changed my mind because I knew how much Annabelle would really enjoy playing with the Little Tikes Shopping Cart because she loves to put small toys into baskets and small containers, so on Monday, December 31st (I believe), I had my husband open the box and put together the Little Tikes Shopping Cart.
Well, it was instantly a hit! I thought it would be nice to have Annabelle clean up around the house by placing her toys (that are everywhere) into the Shopping Cart and then rolling them to her bedroom to put them away. I even showed her how to place "Teddy" in the front of the shopping cart. However, she didn't like that too much. She seemed to think that "Teddy" needed to ride in the basket part of the shopping cart with his face down towards the ground. Poor Teddy! I tried to tell her that she needed to place Teddy in the front just like Mommy lets her ride up front when we go grocery shopping, but she didn't seem to care.
So, anyhow, I get her started cleaning up and "shopping" with her shopping cart, and I then head off to the kitchen to clean up a little bit. Well, she is not far behind me with the shopping cart being pulled behind her. No big deal, right? Sure, no big deal until she starts pushing and pulling the shopping cart into my kitchen cabinets and stainless steel appliances! These aren't just ordinary kitchen cabinets either. Back in 2005 (pre-Annabelle), my husband and I took a lot of time and energy and need I say, money, designing our "dream kitchen." And, it is just that, my dream kitchen! I love my kitchen, and I am very protective of my kitchen cabinets. And, if I can help it, I won't have a Little Tikes Shopping Cart scratching them all up.
Needless to say, this is inevitably out of my hands! Despite my love for my cabinets, I love my daughter so much more, and if she did happen to scratch and scar for life my kitchen cabinets and stainless steel appliances, I would refrain from yelling, screaming or crying and instead direct her into a different direction. Of course, I would probably be cringing inside, but, what are you going to do?
Well, you thought I was finished with that story, didn't you? Nope, I have to mention that Annabelle pretty much only likes to play with her Little Tikes Shopping Cart in the kitchen. This afternoon, the Shopping Cart was in the living room, and Annabelle and I were both in the living room, but she decided that she needed to pull the Shopping Cart into the kitchen. She got to the threshold between the kitchen and dining room, and just as she did, I pulled her and the Shopping Cart back into the dining room and closed the door going to the kitchen. She was NOT happy! She just pitched a little fit right then and there. I picked her up and held her, and she just cried. She wanted to play in the kitchen with her Shopping Cart. It didn't matter that I was not in the kitchen. The Shopping Cart, for some reason, is supposed to be played with in the kitchen. I think she likes the way it sounds as it bumps over the slate floors.
And, here is the cute part of the story of the Little Tikes Shopping Cart. Annabelle had found my checkbook earlier today, and she was walking around with the checkbook in the living room. I watched her to make sure that she wasn't going to rip out any checks, and she didn't. Apparently though, she found the checkbook again when I wasn't looking, and she dropped the checkbook into her Little Tikes Shopping Cart. She was going shopping! Not that I ever take a checkbook with me when I go shopping, but it was too cute to find that checkbook in her Shopping Cart. This evening, her Daddy discovered the checkbook in the Shopping Cart too, and he just laughed and said that "Annabelle really was going shopping" as he picked up the checkbook from the Shopping Cart.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
New Toothers
Wow! It's been so long that I almost forgot my password to login again! Sorry for the sabbatical from blogging, but the Christmas festivities got the best of ALL of my blog time. And, I was actually ahead of the game this year too. But, somehow, we were still rushing last minute on Christmas Eve to wrap last minute gifts and clean up before Santa arrived.
And as for the title of my blog entry, does anyone else call their baby's teeth "toothers?" We typically try to stay away from all of the baby talk (besides the typical change in voice for an infant and toddler), but somehow, the word "toothers" has entered our vocabulary for "teeth." And, I am sure that "toothers" is not in the Websters Dictionary!
So, tooth #7 began protruding on Thursday, December 13th. Grandmama actually noticed it. Tooth #7 was Annabelle's bottom far left tooth from the original first bottom two (if that makes any sense). If you are looking at Annabelle, this would be the far right tooth from the original first bottom two (from her Mommy's eye of view). It didn't take long for this little tooth to make its grand appearance either as it shot up in plain view in no time.
Then, I noticed today that tooth #8 is started to protrude as well! This would explain the horrible night we had on Friday, December 28 while we were on "vacation" at Vogel State Park. Annabelle woke up shortly after we had gone down for the evening (around 1:00 a.m.), so she woke up around 2:00 a.m., and she would have nothing to do with me laying her back down in her Pack-n-Play. I even tried to get her Daddy to rock her to sleep, but she literally screamed bloody murder as soon as I handed her off to her Daddy. I couldn't take the screaming, as it was breaking my heart to hear her scream like that, so I rescued her, and I finally brought her into the bed with us to let her sleep between the two of us. She was fine as long as she was right up next to me.
And, you think that nursing her would have helped alleviate the pain long enough to lay her back down in the Pack-n-Play, but it didn't. She still screamed, and she really didn't want anything to do with nursing either. She just wanted her Mommy to hold her. And, apparently, she didn't always want that either!
I swore up and down (to my husband) that she had spotted a ghost in the cabin! Last time we stayed in that same cabin back in 2005 (and also another one we stayed at last year at Vogel State Park), my husband decided to scare me by talking about ghosts in the cabin.
I am afraid that she's becoming a "Mommy's girl" again. Today was a long day for me, so I asked my husband to rock her to sleep after I had nursed her, but once again, she screamed bloody murder as soon as I handed her off to him. I had to rescue her again as she was once again breaking my heart with that awful cry!
Maybe it is a good thing that she's becoming a "Mommy's girl" again as my husband is thinking he is going to be traveling a lot between now and March. It sounds like Annabelle and I will be spending many weeks alone between now and then. Bummer!
And as for the title of my blog entry, does anyone else call their baby's teeth "toothers?" We typically try to stay away from all of the baby talk (besides the typical change in voice for an infant and toddler), but somehow, the word "toothers" has entered our vocabulary for "teeth." And, I am sure that "toothers" is not in the Websters Dictionary!
So, tooth #7 began protruding on Thursday, December 13th. Grandmama actually noticed it. Tooth #7 was Annabelle's bottom far left tooth from the original first bottom two (if that makes any sense). If you are looking at Annabelle, this would be the far right tooth from the original first bottom two (from her Mommy's eye of view). It didn't take long for this little tooth to make its grand appearance either as it shot up in plain view in no time.
Then, I noticed today that tooth #8 is started to protrude as well! This would explain the horrible night we had on Friday, December 28 while we were on "vacation" at Vogel State Park. Annabelle woke up shortly after we had gone down for the evening (around 1:00 a.m.), so she woke up around 2:00 a.m., and she would have nothing to do with me laying her back down in her Pack-n-Play. I even tried to get her Daddy to rock her to sleep, but she literally screamed bloody murder as soon as I handed her off to her Daddy. I couldn't take the screaming, as it was breaking my heart to hear her scream like that, so I rescued her, and I finally brought her into the bed with us to let her sleep between the two of us. She was fine as long as she was right up next to me.
And, you think that nursing her would have helped alleviate the pain long enough to lay her back down in the Pack-n-Play, but it didn't. She still screamed, and she really didn't want anything to do with nursing either. She just wanted her Mommy to hold her. And, apparently, she didn't always want that either!
I swore up and down (to my husband) that she had spotted a ghost in the cabin! Last time we stayed in that same cabin back in 2005 (and also another one we stayed at last year at Vogel State Park), my husband decided to scare me by talking about ghosts in the cabin.
I am afraid that she's becoming a "Mommy's girl" again. Today was a long day for me, so I asked my husband to rock her to sleep after I had nursed her, but once again, she screamed bloody murder as soon as I handed her off to him. I had to rescue her again as she was once again breaking my heart with that awful cry!
Maybe it is a good thing that she's becoming a "Mommy's girl" again as my husband is thinking he is going to be traveling a lot between now and March. It sounds like Annabelle and I will be spending many weeks alone between now and then. Bummer!
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