What's Cookin'?: January 2012

1.26.2012

Valentine nymph

I've caught a Valentine fairy peeking in our windows...

...and sneaking helter-skelter around the yard.

Valentine's Day must be around the corner.

1.25.2012

Time for formal catechesis?

In the car on the way to Mass:

Teresa: "Mommy, what is Jesus going to say today?"

Me: "Um, well, you mean what is the priest going to say today?" (sometimes Teresa gets Jesus and the priest confused, e.g., "Jesus is wearing green today!")

Teresa: "No, I mean what is Jesus going to say?"

Frankie: "Teresa," (chuckling at her little sister's simplicity) "Jesus isn't going to say anything. He's a statue!"

Whereupon I found myself knee-deep in the Incarnation, the Trinity, the Eucharist...and realizing I need to read a little about introducing a 4 year old to the basic tenets of the faith (Teresa interrupted my exhortation: "Mommy, I smell bubble gum.") Any recommendations on resources?

1.18.2012

Belated birthday post

We celebrated Dave's birthday a few days early knowing he'd be on a plane to Singapore on the real day. After mulling over the birthday cake options (Frankie: "Just don't make that cake with cheese in it this time"), Dave chose something a little surprising: red velvet cake.

I've always harbored a little bitterness toward red velvet cake, to be frank. The scarlet confection screams "I've got flavor" and doesn't deliver. I can't say my opinion improved as I ran down the ingredients list. Two and a half little bottles of red food coloring?!

I didn't have enough, and the cake perhaps did lean more toward pink than red, but the end result was adequate. We agreed the cream cheese frosting was the highlight. I'm expecting this cake will be a been-there, done-that thing on birthdays to come.