Pressure Canning Cannellini Beans

More projects with the pressure canner for our pantry. I love how easy it is to soak good quality organic beans, jar them up, and pressure can. I can control the spices and herbs. And get a best quality organic product for cents a jar.












This will come in handy for my homemade white bean spreads, soups, hummus concoctions and lots of other quick healthy prep meals.

Inheritance Cycle

I just finished reading the last book in the what I lovingly call the "dragon books". I got this for my birthday and it was my goal to finish this 840 page book before our little boy made his debut. I was introduced to the series by my brother, it's a young adult book which is a genre I enjoy reading, typically because they are easy to read and are clean. This book, while clean, is quite gory. I feel like this final book in the series is so much more graphic than the other three.

I can't say I'd recommend this series to others. The first book was very difficult to get into for me, but the second book had an overview of what had happened in the first book which I found very helpful and the story seemed to be more interesting in books 2 and 3. Book 4 though took so long to come out that I was a bit lost again even with the overview of the previous books at the beginning.

That said, it felt good to finish and put to rest the characters whose stories were so unresolved in the 3rd book. I'm also glad I read it so I know what age it would be appropriate for our son to read...which might be never, we'll see :)

Home Canned Meyer Lemon Curd

I like my practical side. Especially the practical things I ask for for Christmas and Birthdays. Plus I'm sort of a food snob, and really have a distinct palette and enjoy my recipe alterations and adjustments that I create at home. Plus, what's not to like about from scratch home food? Life's little luxury, not to mention economical.

I really like lemon curd. As a base for frosting, or as the layer in a quick lemon meringue pie or lemon bars. Fresh citrusy curd goes just about fantastic on anything. Including a slice of grilled baguette whit some ricotta, a smear of curd & some fresh chopped mint.



Zesting the meyer lemons and allowing the sugar to be scented with all the citrus oil.






Separating a plethora of organic eggs.



Lots of freshly squeezed meyer lemon juice






Incorporating the beaten yolks, scented sugar and fresh juice.









Double boiler going, as I whisk in the butter.






Cooking until thick and smooth.



Straining & prepping the curd for pressure canning.



The finished product. I broke out my first jar this past weekend and used the curd for a cream cheese-butter cream frosting for sugar cookies. Perfect lemony combination of soft & chewy sugar cookies, with the tang and richness of a citrus infused butter cream.

Seattle Snowmageddon Cinnamon rolls

When the snow arrives, and it frigid cold outside, nothing is better than tried & true comfort food. After a partial day in the office yesterday due to unexpected inclement weather for Seattle city, I came home and made a batch of cinnamon rolls for Holly & I to enjoy while we watched the snow and freezing rain ice pellets ravage the region.



Dan's Cinnamon Rolls

2 1/4 cups warm water
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk, sifted
2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 cup granulated sugar or honey
1 tablespoon salt
6-7 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar, or more as needed
2 teaspoons cinnamon, or more as needed
1/2 cup butter, melted or softened

Bloom yeast in warm water for 15 minutes. Add vegetable oil, eggs, vanilla, dry milk, sugar, salt and 3 cups of flower. Mix in mixer until sticky and combined. Continue to add flour until most is incorporated. Dough will be slightly sticky. Continue mixing and adding flour until it pulls away from side of mixer. Liberally coat in more oil and allow to raise in a warm place until triple in size.

With flour on your hands punch dough out and turn onto floured surface. Shape into a rectangle. Spread butter, then sugar than cinnamon. Roll up jelly roll style and cut. Place in liberally buttered baking dish and allow to proof until double in size. Bake 400 degrees for 15-18 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes, and add your favorite frosting or glaze.

Dan's Cinnamon Roll Glaze

1/4 C milk
Splash of fresh lemon juice
Zest of half a lemon
1 tsp vanilla
2+ C powdered sugar

Combine milk, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla. Slowly whisk in powdered sugar to desired constancy. Spread on warm cinnamon rolls. NOTE: The photo above is a half batch of the dough. A half batch will yield you 12-15 rolls depending on the size. And I use a buttered 11X17 pan for mine, not a cookie sheet.

Office Baby Shower

I feel very fortunate to have so many wonderful people in my life wanting to throw us a baby shower. The first shower we had for our growing family was given by my office friends. I've worked at HA for 14 years and am thankful for all the friends I've made there over the years...and yet this is really the first time I've done anything with most of them outside the office. It's kind of sad I know. Now I see what I was missing, it was a lot of fun to be in a non-work setting with these ladies.



We had a really great brunch, it was quite the spread!



And of course we played the dreaded games. I'd heard so many people talk about playing the diaper and candy bar game at showers, but I'd never experienced it myself. Lucky me we got to play!







We had an amazing cake that was so beautiful and opened presents.







It was a great time, now to find a place for all our loot :)

Traditions!

Well, it was better late than never this year. Dan and I usually go see the Bellevue Botanical Lights display every Christmas, this year it ended up being a New Years Eve activity. It was COLD, but fun as always to see the fun flowers, animals and insects created out of lights.







One of the upsides of doing this later this year is it really wasn't super crowded.







And bonus the weather may have been cold, but at least it wasn't raining!







I did have a bit of an episode using the restroom though, there were some pushy moms trying to get their little ones front in line but I wasn't going to have any of that! I had to "school" a few people on etiquette for waiting in line for 2 bathrooms. I'm pregnant, it's okay to be extra grouchy right?







The new two new cool things this year were the vertical lights in the trees simulating rain and then there was a dragon that had smoke coming out of its nostrils.



It's a fun tradition, one that I can't wait to take our son to.