Happy 7th Birthday Duke!

Look who's turned 7 today!  Our little boy Duke, or Sir Reginald Marmaduke as he's know around town!  For his birthday we bought him a box of Greenie's, his most favorite snack in the entire world!  When we talk about them we refer to them a "G's" otherwise he runs to his bed to wait for one!

We're so happy to have this little bundle of energy in our lives!  We can't imagine the house without him.  He's made us laugh so many times it's unbelievable.   Like the time he came downstairs covered in white feathers - yup, he'd had a pillow fight and he come down to tell us he'd lost!  Needless to say, our king size bed was covered in feathers!

Happy 7th Birthday Duke! XOXO!!!

Dom's Recipe Challenge & Sunflower Rice

From Williams-Somoma Kids Cooking ~ Scrumptious Recipes for Cooks Ages 9 - 13!  Dom at Belleau's Kitchen is having a recipe challenge, click here for details!  The challenge calls for taking cookbook # 18 off your shelf, turn to a page and cook a recipe.  First I had to select the shelf, I have a serious amount of cookbooks.  Next, from my Williams-Somoma shelf I counted to number 18, and low and behold this is the book, "Kids Cooking."  I laughed until I was beside myself and said "why not, it will be fun."

Then I randomly selected a recipe, and it was Sunflower Rice, how appropriate for Spring!  It was delicious, the sunflower seeds gave the rice a really nice and unexpected nuttiness.  If you wanted to jazz it up some more try adding dried cranberries, carrots, and some green pepper.  I didn't add anything extra, I followed the directions!

This dish went well with the grilled steak and veggies that I served for dinner that evening.  It would also go well with chicken or fish, I thought it was a pretty versatile side-dish!

Below is the recipe as typed from the kid's cookbook!

Ingredients

2-4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup brown rice

2 2/3 cups chicken broth

3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup sunflower seed kernels

Salt

1. Put 2 tablespoons of the butter in the medium saucepan.  Set the pan on a burner of your stove, turn the heat on to medium and melt the butter.  Add the rice to the melted butter and stir with the wooden spoon until each grain of rice glistens with butter.  Pour the chicken broth over the rice, stir once. Let the mixture come to a boil.

2. As soon as the mixture starts boiling, turn the heat down to very low.  Put the lid on the saucepan and simmer until the rice is tender and has absorbed all of the broth, about 50 minutes. (To make sure the rice doesn’t burn, start checking after 40 minutes.  Be sure to lift the lid away from you, as the steam inside the pan can burn you.)

3. Turn the heat off.  Remove the saucepan from the stove.  Carefully remove the lid from the pan.  Add the Parmesan cheese and sunflower seeds and stir lightly.

4. Taste the mixture.  If you want a richer dish, add up to 2 tablespoons more butter.  Add enough salt to make the rice taste great to you.  Serve immediately.

One last thing, if you don't Follow Dom at Belleau Kitchen I highly suggest you do!  Not only is he a fabulous cook, he has a fantastic sense of humor!  

Sweet...Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies with Sunflower Seeds

It's officially Spring! What a lovely weekend we had in New England!  Please join me,  Susan, From Beyond My Kitchen Window and Kary from My Farmhouse Kitchen in another Sarabeth bake-off!  Kary just e-mailed me to let me know that her post will be late because of flooding in California.  They woke up at 3:00 a.m. to a flooded dining room!

Hubby and I went to Maine for the weekend and had a wonderful time.  When we returned home to Massachusetts I had to scurry to bake my Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies with Sunflower Seeds.

I can honestly tell you these are THE BEST oatmeal cookies I've ever tasted.  Once again I followed a recipe from my Sarabeth's Bakery cookbook, and while the Quaker Oats oatmeal cookies are good, these are divine!  The extra effort in the recipe is worth the work!  I hope you enjoy them!

This recipe gets a delicious nuttiness from the sunflower seeds - an ingredient that you don't find in many cookies but which is a perfect complement for the oatmeal.

Ingredients
2/3 Cup super fine sugar
2/3 Cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned (rolled) oats
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature, beaten
1 1/2 cups seedless raisins
1/2 cup hulled sunflower seeds

Directions

1. Position racks in the center and top third of the oven and preheat to 350F. Line two half-sheet pans with parchment paper.

2. Rub the superfine sugar and brown sugar together through a coarse-mesh sieve into medium bowl. Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt into another bowl, then add the oats and stir well to combine.

3. Beat the butter in the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Gradually add the sugar mixture, then the vanilla. Beat, occasionally scrapping the bottom and sides of the bowl, until the mixture is pale yellow and very light-textured, about 3 minutes. Gradually beat in the eggs. Reduce the mixer speed to low. In thirds, beat the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture, beating just until each addition is incorporated. Mix in the raisins and sunflower seeds. Do not over mix.

4. Using a 2-inch-diameter ice-cream scoop, portion the batter onto the prepared pans, placing the cookies about 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake, switching the position of the pans from top to bottom and front to back about halfway through baking, until the cookies are light golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool completely on the pans. (The cookies can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 5 days.)*

This is the cookbook, and I highly recommend it!

Notes:

* I used a 1 1/2-inch scoop and reduced the baking time by several minutes.  

Blueberry Sour Cream Scones for St. Paddy's day

It's St. Patrick's Day and we thought we'd celebrate by taking a ride on this glorious warm (60F) and sunny day to Maine and stay at the cottage for a few days!  Spring has finally arrived - unofficially!  We've been walking, shopping and having a great escape for ourselves!

So I thought I'd bake some blueberry sour cream scones for St. Patrick's Day to have with our tea, we love our tea!  Well, I was running short of time and I decided to try the semi-homemade method.  They are still made from scratch, I scratched my head before I read the directions!  LOL!!!

Most of you know King Arthur has the best flours for any type of baking, so I knew it had to be good (check out the link on my side bar).  I was amazed at the size of the blueberries in this mix.  All I had to do was cut 6 tablespoons of butter into the mix, and then beat one egg into 1/3 cup of milk and add to the dry ingredients.  

Shape into an 8 inch round on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper.

Cut into 8 wedges and separate slightly.

15 minutes at 400 degrees F.

They are melt in your mouth delicious!

Would you like one with your tea?

My Idea of Coastal Living

Welcome

These are photos of an ocean side home we toured in Scarborough, Maine a few years ago.  The proceeds went to Habitat for Humanity and Guatemalan Children's Relief Fund, both worthy causes.  

This is my idea of coastal living (not really, it's too big), can you tell I'm yearning for the foot of snow in my yard to melt and anxiously awaiting Spring!  This lovely home which was featured in Coastal Living magazine can be yours for a mere million +, I think it's still available!  Enjoy!

Family room

Kitchen

Another view of the kitchen

A closer look at the cabinets

Sun porch

Let's go upstairs

The master bedroom

The master closet

The master bath

Guest quarters

Roof deck

Another guest room

Out door room

Out door seating

The grounds

Let's walk around the house

There were more rooms, but I think I selected my best photos to show you!  I hope you enjoyed the tour, we certainly did!

Spring garden . . .

I've been inspired by all the Spring posts that I've seen this week, and I thought I'd post my Spring garden from last season since it's never been seen by any of my blog friends.  Today it was frigid outside and I have cabin fever!  So humor me while I dream of Spring, and please meander through my garden, we love visitors and gardening tips are always welcome.  Please enjoy the garden tour!

My white daisy!

Need to protect the wildlife!

Echinacea 

Hydrangea

Garden along the front of the family room

Garden along the side road, this will be widened
 and lengthened this year.

A peek at my kitchen garden.

Here's a poem I learned in kindergarten, we won't discuss how many years ago!  I hope it brings a smile to your face, it still brings a smile to mine whenever I think of it!  Enjoy!

A Little Frog

I'm a little frog, just a pollywog

I live in a pool underneath a log

Just because its Spring, Spring, Spring, Spring

I just want to sing, sing, sing, sing.

Technology & Eggs

What do you think our founding fathers would think of "social networking?" I'm very interested in technology, I have worked as a technology teacher and I have just completed certification to be a library media specialist. I love exploring new software applications and teaching people how to use them.

When I came across this article on Boston.com I hatched (hence the word eggs in my title) an idea that maybe my blog friends would be interested in it also. I was naturally drawn to it because of my interest in technology and I thought I'd post this slide show as an article. I'd love to hear your thoughts on technology and social networking.

Now that you've had a moment to process this information, how do you think our founding fathers would react to today's technology?

1. The social venter

This person never misses an opportunity to document a bad work or personal situation on a social networking site. Facebook, Twitter, and personal blogs are littered with job-related groans and negative gripes.
The solution: Look on the bright side. Keep the information that you post positive. Sticky or unpleasant situations are best discussed offline and in private.

2. The noise polluter

This person and their phone seem to lack a silent mode or off button. Your peaceful work day is interrupted by this person who noisily and freely makes calls without any regard for their colleagues. Their phone rings noisily and their conversations become impersonal and loud interruptions.
The solution: Keep office noise at a minimum. Set your phone to silent mode at the office and hold personal conversations in private.

3. The cryptic communicator

This person relies on shorthand texting, but doesn't limit it to just texting. Odd or informal abbreviations, poor punctuation, and spelling and grammatical goofs leave people shaking their heads and make the messages harder to decipher and understand.
The solution: Improve your communication skills, at least by taking it easy on the abbreviations. Spending just a little more time on your communications makes them easier to decipher.

4. The pop-up artist

This persona manages to interrupt your work without having to be within a short, physical distance. This chat fanatic insists on sending you instant messages constantly throughout the day, sometimes without work in mind.
The solution: Don't go overboard. IMs are fine for quick conversations but most people prefer e-mail.

5. The conference call con

This is the person who pretends to pay attention in teleconferences but multitasks to the point where he has no clue about what's being discussed. Sadly, this is not an unusual problem: 45 percent of executives confessed to frequently doing other things while in these meetings, according to a Robert Half survey.
The solution: Pay attention. While a little multitasking is all right from time to time, pay attention to relevant conversations. Being invested in the conversation can keep you from being distracted.

6. The selfish networker

The concept of "reciprocation" is lost on this person, who only visits professional networking sites when it benefits their own needs. This corporate climber solicits recommendations and introductions on LinkedIn, but never returns the favor or says thanks.
The solution: Be a good friend or colleague. Follow the etiquette of social networking sites like LinkedIn so that your requests don't fall on deaf ears.

7. The friend counter

This person is all about the quantity, not the quality, when it comes to Facebook friend requests. They will send friend requests out to anyone and everyone – even people they barely know – in order to have the most friends.
The solution: Be more selective. Social networking is not about how many friends or followers you have, but the quality of those you are connected with. You'll find your contacts to be more worthwhile in the end.

8. The trivial Twitterer

Social networking sites for professionals are more about sharing the most important information than sharing all information. This person uses social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook to post mundane facts about their life and work, such as what they had for lunch. Their contacts therefore get bombarded with these annoying little updates.
The solution: Be more insightful. Strategic Twitter and Facebook users, who use it for professional reasons, spotlight their expertise by offering valuable information such as industry news and articles. Weed out the unimportant comments to save everyone the time.

9. The computer crasher

Without warning, this infamous inbox clogger sends mega-sized attachments that take forever to download or, worse, cause others' computers to crash and shut down.
The solution: Be polite. For both the sender and the recipient, make sure the attached file is under the size limit and if it isn't, consider zipping the file or using a file transfer service.

10. The interview interrupter

This is the person who never makes it into the workplace without screwing up the interview with constant texting. Addicts are so attached to their phones that they can't put them away to answer a few questions and therefore, have typed their way out of a job.
The solution: It's obvious: Put away your phone. For interviews or other important meetings, make sure to put your phone in silent mode or to turn it off completely. The person on the other end can wait a few minutes while you get your life in order.