fun links

the spring time is prime bird/squirrel watching season at our house.  leko just loves sitting on the back screen porch and intently watching what goes on in our yard.  he likes to know what is going on in his kingdom at all times.  :-)

happy friday!  here are a few fun links that i found around the internet recently:

my kind of smoothie!

this braided bun hairstyle looks awesome.  i can't wait to try it.

i need to remind myself of this.

this pencil drawing by a sixteen year old is mind blowing.

i absolutely love this print.  it's my life motto.

i'm super excited for this collaboration!

have a great weekend!

love, laurie

seven hundred posts!

when i logged onto my blogger dashboard, i realized that today's post is my 700th blog post.  seven hundred!  that's nuts.  whether you have been around for all 700 posts, or just a few, i appreciate that you are here reading our virtual scrapbook.  i love looking back at our pictures, re-reading our stories, and remembering our adventures that we have documented here in our little corner of the internet.  this blog is so special to me.

here's to seven hundred more!

love, laurie

chocolate pancakes

growing up, on occasion my mom would make chocolate waffles.  they were always such a special treat.  my mom had a tiny little square waffle cookbook that was filled with the most delicious waffle recipes.  the pages were well worn and had bits of waffle batter splattered on them from years of love.  on a weekend morning, we would gather around the kitchen counter to make the chocolate waffle batter, still half asleep, and then watch as the waffles cooked in her trusty heart-shaped waffle iron.  when the waffles were done, the waffle iron would let out the loudest beeping noise.  we would try to quiet it any way that we could so that it didn't wake my dad who was still asleep upstairs.  let me tell you, that heart-shaped waffle iron sure got a workout over the years.  i miss that waffle maker, and i miss those weekend mornings.

so, moral of the story . . . if chocolate waffles are mom approved, why not chocolate pancakes?

chocolate for breakfast?!  i know what you're thinking, but listen, this recipe is essentially just a basic pancake recipe with 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder added to it.  it's amazing what 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder can do to pancakes.  the chocolate flavor is subtle, yet gives these pancakes a wonderful depth.  such a nice twist on traditional pancakes.  so, go ahead and have yourself some chocolate for breakfast!

chocolate pancakes
prep time: 5 minutes
cooking time: 5 minutes
yields: 2 servings

ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 tablespoon salted butter, melted

directions:
in a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder, and sugar.  in a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, vanilla, egg, and melted butter.  add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until no lumps remain.

heat a lightly buttered griddle or frying pan on medium heat.  pour 3 tablespoons of batter onto the griddle for medium pancakes.  cook for 3 minutes, until small bubbles begin to form.  flip the pancakes when they start to bubble, then cook for 2 minutes, until they are cooked throughout.

once cooked, transfer the pancakes to a baking sheet and place in a preheated 200 degree F oven to keep warm while you cook the remaining pancake batter.  serve warm with maple syrup.

enjoy!

love, laurie

kitchen basics: how to make brown sugar

next in our kitchen basics series, we're taking a look at brown sugar.  brown sugar is a staple in our kitchen.  it has a sweet bitterness and it adds such depth to recipes.  there are two types of brown sugar sold in grocery stores: light brown sugar and dark brown sugar.  brown sugar is nothing more than white granulated sugar and molasses.  it's easy to make your own brown sugar at home.  you only need two ingredients: white granulated sugar and molasses.

to make light brown sugar, mix 1 cup of white granulated sugar with 1 tablespoon of unsulfured molasses.  stir the mixture with a fork until it is light and fluffy.

to make dark brown sugar, mix 1 cup of white granulated sugar with 2 tablespoons of unsulfured molasses.  stir the mixture with a fork until it is light and fluffy.

. . .

are there any kitchen tips/tricks that you would like to learn?  leave a comment or send me an email to let me know what you would like to see next in the kitchen basics series.

happy cooking!

love, laurie

5 minute 5 ingredient vegetarian tacos

happy cinco de mayo!  in honor of cinco de mayo today, i thought i'd share a recipe for quick and easy vegetarian tacos.

the other day, we were pressed for time and we needed to quickly throw together something to eat for dinner.  we grabbed a few ingredients that we had on hand and made vegetarian tacos in less than 5 minutes.  even though there were only a few simple ingredients in them, we could not get over how good they were!

soft flour tortillas, sour cream, salsa, cheese, and black beans.  super simple and super delicious!

5 ingredients + 5 minutes = yummy tacos.  i like that kind of math :-)

honestly, this can hardly be called a recipe.  all you have to do is just throw a few things together and you have yummy tacos in less than 5 minutes.

so convenient if you are on the run or need to whip up a quick dinner or snack.

by the way did you notice that the date today is 5/5 and we are making tacos in 5 minutes with 5 ingredients?  that's a lot of 5s.  maybe someone should play 5 today on the lottery!

speaking of tacos . . . make your own taco seasoning and crock pot chicken tacos.

5 minute 5 ingredient vegetarian tacos
total time: 5 minutes
yields: 8 tacos

ingredients:
8 6-inch soft flour tortillas
8 teaspoons sour cream
1 (16 oz.) jar organic salsa
1 cup shredded mexican cheese (we used a combination of cheddar, monterey jack, and asadero)
1 (16 oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed

directions:
place the tortillas in a pan or on a griddle over medium-low heat.  allow the tortillas to warm (about 1 minute for each side).  lay the tortillas on a plate.  spread approximately 1 teaspoon of sour cream and approximately 1 tablespoon of salsa evenly on each tortilla.  arrange the shredded cheese in a line down the center of each tortilla.  put the black beans in a bowl and microwave them for 1 minute.  evenly distribute the beans between each tortilla, arranging them on top of the cheese.  

enjoy!

love, laurie

little letters

dear ryan,
aka mr. fix it.  last night after one trip to lowe's and one trip to home depot, you fixed two broken water pipes like a champ.  your plumbing skills amaze me.

dear mom and dad,
the hanging basket of purple flowers that you gave me is absolutely beautiful.  it is so full and colorful.  thank you so much.  we have been enjoying it on our back porch, and we can't wait to move it outside when it gets a bit warmer.

dear leko,
it's cute how much you love to sit on the back screen porch to watch the squirrels and the birds in the yard.  i'm glad that the weather is finally starting to warm up a bit so that you can enjoy the porch.

dear flowers in our yard,
i'm so grateful to see you starting to pop up around the yard.  ryan thought i killed you for sure last fall when i trimmed you back at the end of the season.  thanks for proving him wrong.

dear ryan,
ha!  i told you i didn't kill the plants!  :-)

love, laurie

goodbye, april. hello, may!

goodbye, april showers.  hello, may flowers.

goodbye, easter.  hello, mother's day.

goodbye, crazy theatre rehearsal schedule.  hello, extra free time.

goodbye, students.  hello, no teaching for the summer.

goodbye, shoes.  hello, sandals.

goodbye, exhaustion.  hello, vacation.

goodbye, april.  hello, may.

love, laurie

leko and the disco ball

this week we have been cleaning up various things from our twisted theatre show.  one of the props that we used in the show last weekend was ryan's disco ball.

when we brought the disco ball back home after the show, leko discovered it for the first time.  (although we have had the disco ball for years, leko has never seen it before because we store it hanging from the ceiling in our basement.)

ryan was able to grab a couple of pictures on his phone of leko with the disco ball.  we thought it was so cute to see him with the disco ball, especially since we named him leko!

love, laurie

lemon poppy seed crepes with lemon blueberry cream cheese filling

crepes are one of my favorite things to have for breakfast.  i especially love crepes stuffed with fresh strawberries.  i love how crepes are lighter than pancakes.  they just seem so delicate.

recently we made lemon poppy seed crepes.  fresh lemon gave the crepes a wonderful bright flavor, and the poppy seeds gave them a great crunch.

instead of stuffing our crepes with slices of fresh fruit like we usually do, we make a lemon blueberry cream cheese filling to spread inside the crepes.  let me tell you, this filling might just be my new favorite thing (and i'm not even a fan of blueberries normally).  i want to spread it on everything!  it is so delicious and it has the most beautiful purple color too.

you could easily swap out the blueberries in the filling for strawberries or raspberries instead.  either would be super yummy!

lemon poppy seed crepes with lemon blueberry cream cheese filling
prep time: 5-10 minutes
cooking time: 5 minutes per crepe
yields: 6 crepes
adapted from say yes

crepe ingredients:
1 large egg
2/3 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
1/3 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1 teaspoon granulated sugar

filling ingredients:
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup fresh blueberries

directions:
to make the crepes, combine the egg, milk, vanilla, lemon juice, lemon zest, and poppy seeds in a large bowl.  whisk until combined.  add the flour and sugar, then whisk until smooth and no lumps remain.  the batter will be very thin.  heat a small 8 inch non-stick frying pan over low heat.  grease the pan with butter and pour 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan.  allow the batter to cook until the edges begin to curl away from the sides of the pan (about 2-3 minutes).  flip the crepe over and allow the other side to cook (about 1-2 minutes).  be careful to not let the crepe burn.  remove the crepe from the pan and place it on a plate.  repeat with remaining batter.

to make the filling, combine the softened cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla.  beat with an electric hand mixer until smooth, then add the blueberries and smash the berries with a fork.  mix the berries thoroughly into the filling.

spread the filling on each of the crepes.  either roll or fold the crepes.  dust with powdered sugar, and top with additional berries and lemon zest.

enjoy!

love, laurie

twisted theatre

wheph, this weekend was a whirlwind!  on thursday, friday, and saturday, we had the performances of "twisted theatre" which is the show that we have been working on for the past few weeks.  then on sunday, we had to strike the show.  needless to say it was a power-packed weekend.

we had such a blast working on this show.  the show was a black-box style show that was a broadway musical review with a bit of a twist . . . the cast reversed roles.  men sang songs originally written for women, and women sang songs originally written for men.

the production was a fundraiser for the broadway cares / equity fights aids organization.  admission was free, but all proceeds from raffle tickets and donations went to benefit broadway cares.  in total, the production raised $705 for broadway cares!

the show went great!  it was really well received by the audiences each night, and the cast/crew all worked so hard.  we can hardly believe that it is over already.  we're so sad to see it go, but we will be happy to get a little time to rest now!

in addition to directing the show, i also had the opportunity to design the set.  two weeks ago, i shared a few pictures from when we were in the process of building the set for the show.  now that the show is over, i wanted to share a picture of the finished product.  the concept for the scenic design was a silhouette of the new york city skyline set against a colorful sunset.  the set was 20 feet wide, so we built it in 5 sections that were 4 feet wide each.  we built the set in our garage at home, and then transported it to the theatre where we put it all together.  here's what it looked like.  (trust me when i say it looked even better under the theatre lights!)

love, laurie