Saturday we went to a pick your own blueberry farm in East Texas. Located in Edom, it is about 1 1/2 hours from us and we have been going since I was pregnant with Matthew.

Matt will be 17 on July 11. In other words we have been going a very long time.  Now, you can’t just go blueberry picking, there is a ceremony that must be carried out.
Blueberries for Sal must be read aloud the night before. You must get up while it is still dark and eat breakfast in the car on your way there…and at least one teenager …read more

Remember this by the Beatles?
I’d like to be under the sea
In an octopus’ garden in the shade
He’d let us in, knows where we’ve been
In his octopus’ garden in the shade
This is a very kid friendly dish. I saw it somewhere on the internet and I don’t know where, so if I swiped this great idea from you please let me know and I will giveyou due credit and blog linkage.

How cute are these octopi?  And it really does not get easier.  Ramen noodles, spinach, and hot dogs.  That’s it.  A quick and super simple lunch or dinner…or even after …read more

I love banana splits and root beer floats.  Yes, I am that childish.  I think that it is an art to take these simple desserts from childhood and run with them.
The other night Marc was out of town with our 10 year old Sean.  Sean is involved with the JBQ (Junior Bible Quiz) group at church and they had regionals in Longview Texas.  Our kids won, by the way, and will be at Nationals in Rockford, Illinois.  Anyway, when someone is out of town the rest of us try to do something different as well.
Now, I admit..I am a weird …read more

I don’t know if you remember that Chef Kyrie and I had been cooking out of the Ratatouille cookbook..I think April may have been the last time we did though. I have felt bad about not making more from HER cookbooks so I promised her she could choose a recipe and we would make it.
She chose escargot.

 
Have I mentioned lately how much I love my kids? How proud I am of them? I see other kids all the time and I am amazed at how much older (and settled) my kids seem to be than they are.
I am really not sure why.  Maybe it has to do with being raised in a big family and having lots of responsibility.  Maybe it has to do with the fact that, although I am easy going Marc and I have very high standards for our kids. I don’t know, I really don’t. 

As I mentioned last week Kyrie had a blast on her birthday. The child seriously knows how to party.
We usually only give the kids one gift on their birthdays. Finances have always been a consideration but we part of what we are trying to build in them is a lack of desire for stuff. I think we are succeeding with that.

Not too long after Chris walked in the door last Friday he indicated his desire to buy and cook us some steaks on the grill.
How can you turn down an offer like that?  He bought some incredible steaks and marinated them in a rub for three hours.  Then he grilled them to absolute perfection.  In the image above he is being carefully supervised by Nick as he puts the rub on the steaks.
Alot of people have asked me how I end up with kids that not only cook, but cook well.

Images: (c)2006-2008 Marye Audet, Apron Strings & Simmering Things
Content: (c)2008 Marye Audet, Baking Delights
Chef Kyrie and I found ourselves at the store yesterday and as we were engaging in our second favorite activity (cooking being first, book browsing being second) we came upon a book. A cookbook to be exact.
Now, my favorite movie, personally is Mostly Martha, the German version with subtitles. It is a movie, appropriately about a chef. A rather cranky chef. Chef Kyrie’s favorite movie is Ratatouille. It, too, is about a chef. A rat chef. In fact, …read more

 
There are a lot of different types of Easter baking I love to do.  Adorable duckling, chick, and lamb cookies…Easter Bonnet cakes, special breads and rolls, the list goes on and on.  But before I share those recipes with you this week I want to share this one, because it is the most special of all.
Resurrection cookies are a fun project for parents and kids to do together

First of all, I know the color looks a little weird in this picture. I had to play around with it quite a bit. I took the picture of these cookies at night (I dared not wait for day, because we have ..you know, some sort of leprechauns or pixies or something that eats them during the night) and we use the spiral, eco friendly bulbs. Now, they may be eco friendly for sure but image friendly they are not, and you come out with very yellow pictures. I played around with them and ended up …read more