Just A Little Unwell

Announcing another first here in the Darling household. Our sweet baby is finishing the tail end of her first cold. 

And it was so sad. 

And she was such a champ.

Man, I love this little girl!

And, for part three in the series:

At the reunion, this was made by none other than the infamous host with the most, Grandpa Serge, with assistance from Mr Darling.

Creamed Corn

Adapted from a Recipe by Jean Holman

• • 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen corn kernels, thawed
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  •  freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • pinch of cayenne pepper
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup freshly grated cheese of your choice (I usually skip this part)
  • 
    

  Melt butter in saucepot. Add the flour. Whisk together to form a roux. Add cream, milk, corn, sugar, peppers in the same saucepot over medium-high heat. Stir to combine. Raise mixture to a low boil. Transfer to bowl, top with cheese and place under the broiler until cheese is browned. Serve.

If You're Happy And You Know It

Well, my little sponge of a darling daughter has been learning many many new things. I have a whole post to go over what she has learned in the last month, but haven't gotten around to actually writing it all down. So, as a teaser, here is one of Abigail's new "tricks". Just like our puppy! Yay!

Here she is with her Uncle Casey. I love watching Abby learn from other people, not just me.

And here is an 'action' shot of Abby and her new game. She claps for herself all the time. When she crawls up a few stairs, when she finds the dog dish, when she finds me or an open dishwasher. She is just so happy to clap. All you have to do is sing her silly "clap your little hands" song that Weston made up for her.

More to come later, but for now, Number 2 in the series:

Artichoke Salad

1 bag of romaine or spinach salad leaves

1 can of olives

1 8 oz can of artichoke hearts, chopped

8-10 oz of chopped mozzarella cheese cubes

8-10 oz of chopped cheddar cheese cubes

Dressing:

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 sprig of fresh rosemary

1/2 t dried thyme

1/4 c asiago cheese

3/4 c extra virgin olive oil

1/4 c red wine vinegar

1/4 c balsamic vinegar

1/4 t salt

1/8 t fresh ground pepper

Combine dressing ingredients in a blender and blend well. GENTLY toss salad mixture with salad dressing and chill. Serve to soon to be delighted guests.

serves 8-10ish people.

The More We Get Together

Family Reunion 2010

These last several days were spent at Fish Haven Lodge near Bear Lake. 

Many Many family members were able to come.

(This is *MOST* of the group)

And this is Mr Darling's own little family.

And would you believe that I VOLUNTEERED to do the food? Really? What was I thinking?

First I planned, and lists of meals, ingredients, and to-dos were scattered around my house.

Next, I shopped. And oh, my did I shop. There was food EVERYWHERE in my house. I wish I had taken a picture. But, perhaps you can tell by the amount that overflowed into my living room how much I had to buy to feed so many people.

Of course, Abby helped me get ready by unpacking the boxes as I packed them up.

Then, into the car and off to Bear Lake!

Where, for four days, we set out enormous amounts of food and watched them disappear.

(Yes, that is fresh, Utah Sweet corn and yummy watermelon-Delish!)

In between, we hiked all the way through the marsh and down to the lake,

Ate a lot of apricots that Cherri and I had picked from a neighbor before we left,

And sampled the famous raspberry milkshakes of Bear Lake.

All in all, I believe the reunion was a success. We learned a lot about how to prepare and serve large meals, entertain 60 people of all ages, and participated in a wonderful testimony meeting where we shared our love for our Saviour with our family.

I have been asked to share some of the recipes I used at the reunion. The first in a series, today I am posting a fairly common recipe for:

Green Goddess Salad Dressing

Ranking: tdf

Recipe yields one quart jar full of dressing

1/2 Cup of Mayo

1/2 Cup of Sour Cream

2 T Buttermilk

1 T Rice Wine Vinegar

1 T Worcestershire Sauce

4 Green Onions chopped (green and white)

2 T fresh cilantro chopped 

2 T fresh parsley chopped

1 t white sugar (brown doesn't work)

1 t sea salt

1/2 t of ground pepper (fresh makes a big difference)

dash of cayenne pepper

Mix ingredients in a blender and puree. This recipe should yield a greenish tinted mayonnaise based dressing

I served this over a Cobb Salad with a Spinach Base, crumbled bacon, hard boiled eggs, home-made guacamole, pico de gallo, black beans, and a very pretty yellow pepper salsa. 

Bombs Away

Sweet, dear Mr Darling found a new website, Thisisphotobomb.com. We went on a family reunion where many, many pictures were taken.

Mr. Darling wanted to test out his newfound skill. Here are a few shots from just one of the dozens of cameras that are guaranteed to hold images that are, perhaps, not how the photographer intended for them to turn out.

Can you find the photobomb?

And, because I know you only look at this website to see adorable baby pictures that make you want to run out and kiss the nearest chubby cherub, here is a picture of Abby from the reunion. I have, surely, the world's most beautiful little girl. And I am allowed to say that. Cuz I'm her mama.

Thanks for the pics, Kimber!