The Beer Man

I won't pretend I know Keith's beer-making process, or that he'll actually have time to write a post about it. So, here it is, in photos, with some brief explanations. Because pictures are worth thousands of words anyway. Right?

Stage one was cooking all the ingredients (hops and such) together...

Stage two weeks later, it was time to bottle, using recycled bottles.

A drying rack Keith built for the bottles...

Transferring the beer so things that had settled to the bottom wouldn't get bottled...

Washing, washing, washing...

An iodine rinse for sanitizing...

Bottling,

Capping,

And a full case.

The beer finished fermenting in the bottles for a couple weeks, and since then Keith has been enjoying them and sharing them with friends, family, and neighbors. And talking about the next batch.

Cupcakes Deluxe

I realize I am a bit behind the curve on the cupcake fad. What can I say? I'm a traditionalist. To me, nothing says "celebrate" like a homemade layer cake (of any variety), imperfectly iced and deliciously moist. So birthdays or any occasion, I go for the cake.

But over the winter, my Mom-mom sent me this nifty little tool for taking the middles out of cupcakes and creating a filled cupcake. Since she and my Grandpop were coming up for the weekend, and my mom would be here as well, I thought it was high time I gave it a spin.

First, I searched around a bit for filled cupcakes ideas on the internet. After stumbling across this site I decided the chocolate-peanut butter combination was the way to go. Because really, you can't go wrong with it. A little more poking around and I came to this recipe on the Food Network website which explained the process a bit more clearly. Not having things like cake flour on hand (or much use for it beyond what the recipe called for), I opted to use the basic chocolate cake recipe out of my Better Homes & Gardens cookbook.

Once the cupcakes had cooled completely, I hollowed them out with my new little tool. I can't give you a good shot of that because I was flying solo on this baking endeavor and that makes in-the-moment photos difficult.

And then I had a bowl full of cupcake centers, begging to be eaten. I decided though to put them back on top after filling the cupcakes, so besides Bert getting one, devouring would have to wait.

Then I simply made peanut butter icing, adding a bit more milk so it was a little thinner, and spooned it into the cupcakes. This is about the time when I realized why I don't do cupcakes: it's just like baking a cake, but you have to do everything thirty times over. Pour batter thirty times, get out of pan thirty times, ice thirty times, and on and on.

Next up was the ganache for the top. I always thought ganache sounded super-fancy and difficult when I would hear it on cooking shows. Turns out, it's icing for slackers. Heavy cream, heated to near boiling, pull it off the heat, dump some chocolate in, let sit for five minutes, whisk until smooth, let cool for ten to fifteen minutes, spread on cake. That's it. Seriously. I may skip icing from now on.

Hmmm...thought there was a picture of it whisked smooth and all glossy. Oh well.

After I plopped the tops back on all the cupcakes, I dipped them in the ganache and sprinkled chopped peanuts on top, leaving me with these beauties.

I would recommend keeping them in the fridge until shortly before serving as the ganache can be pretty melty.

The cupcakes were delicious, but they took pretty much a whole morning, if you include cleaning up (and I do, because that's really the worst part of baking). So certainly worth it, but only when the VIPs are coming to visit.

Join the Club

Yep, we are officially parents. I mean, we have been for almost two years now, but the arrival of this huge hand-me-down makes it an official decree.

We have joined the ranks of people that will put anything in their yard for their child's amusement.

I got a call from a friend last week about this play set that her kids had outgrown (passed on from another friend whose kids had outgrown it), asking if Bert would get some use out of it. We said sure, we'd take it, and headed over Saturday morning to pick it up. It took a little wrangling to fit it into Keith's truck, with a few pieces in the trunk of my vehicle, but it all made it home and went together pretty easily.

Bert, as you might have guessed, is pretty much in love with his club house. I think the other kids called it a pirate ship because of the steering wheel and telescope on the one end and portholes in the middle. So a pirate club ship maybe?

It has a clock...

And a table with two little stools...

And a slide...

Hmm, that move might need some work.

And a chalkboard.

Yes, his chalk is in a tin beer mug. Actually, I think it had root beer at a lumberjack festival originally.

Hey baby, wanna come up to my place?

So far, he has stayed busy enough up there to afford me a little time to sit with a book. I'm hoping it is amusing enough through the summer that he can be outside without running off while I work in the garden. 

A big thanks to the families that passed this on to us!

Bedtime Stories

It's no secret that Bert loves his books. We read at least two each day before naptime and bedtime, and often throughout the course of the day. He is a huge Curious George fan, and I also try to bring a few different books home from the library every week or so. Right now, he has latched onto one called Bear Wants More by Karma Wilson and requests it at least twice a day. We have had it from the library for about a week and a half, and he pretty much has it memorized. Last night we took some video so you could see him "read" it to Keith. (You might have to turn your volume up to hear him.)

I am thrilled to have a little reader, and he certainly got that from me!

Growth

Finally, finally, finally, it feels like spring has arrived. Though it has still been chilly in the morning and breezy throughout the day, we have been spending more and more time outside working, playing, and relaxing. A bunch of seeds went in the ground a few weeks ago, and I am excited to see them begin to sprout. Especially since I was being my usual cheap self and planted some older seed.

The peas are up, despite the seed being two years old.

Radishes aplenty....

Spinach too...

Lettuce, carrots, and onions are also growing, though we are still waiting for the potatoes to poke through.

The rose bush started from a slip of my Grammy's is growing in leaps and bounds.

Our spring bulbs are actually nearing the end of their bright and cheerful life.

Poppies and other perennials are getting a good start along the side of the house.

Hands down, these are the leaves we were most excited to see this spring...

Little leaves on our little apple trees! All four trees have leaves and look very healthy. As Keith says, "I can't wait to eat our own apples in five years!"

So with the yard already mowed once, plants popping up all over and green everywhere we look, I would say spring has definitely arrived at the quarter-acre. (Even if we did have a little frost this morning.)

Snack Time

If Bert woke up from his nap right now and asked for a snack, I would tell him that it is too close to supper time to have a snack. Bert is not up from his nap yet, the coffee is still hot from making a pot for Uncle Travis (whose visit explains the late napping as well), and I am having a snack. Poor Bert; that's really unfair.

90 Years and Counting

Yesterday, my grandpop celebrated his 90th birthday. That's impressive under any circumstances, but when you consider that he survived World War II and the Battle of the Bulge, it becomes pretty incredible. I wish I could tell you how many grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren there are now, but honestly, I've lost count. (Any relatives reading this that can supply those numbers?)

On Saturday night, much of the family gathered at my parents' house for cake and ice cream for Grandpop. Four generations were well-represented, and it took two cakes and a couple gallons of homemade ice cream to feed us all.



We didn't try for 90 candles.

Nobody had to choose between chocolate and carrot cake; most of us had a small slice of each!

Susan on ice cream duty.

Bert approves of everything. Especially seconds.

Hugs all around.

It was a really nice evening, and I can't think of a better reason to gather or a greater person to celebrate.