All posts by NerdMom

Wordless Wednesday: Blosson Cupcakes

These are the cupcakes that I made for NerdPid’s 2nd birthday. Since we still have plenty of Castle Cake from the NerdPie’s 3 days earlier I wanted to keep it simple and just did enough for the one meal. All I did was frost the chocolate cupcakes with light purple frosting. Then I cute a big marshmallow into 4 pieces. That is just a jelly bean in the middle.

I will warn you, don’t cheap out on the marshmallows. The cheaper ones are stickier and harder to put down on the cupcakes.

Next Food Network Star (6/21)

Will Teddy’s being a jerk to Melissa last week bite him in the tush? Will he be the next to go? I am interested in what this week has to offer!

So we start by the contestants meeting Tyler Florence at the grocery star. They have to shop on a budget. They have $60 for a 12 person dinner party. They have to also stop by to do a 30 second tip piece for shopping on a budget. Teddy finds the budget thing a challenge. When he came to film his tip Tyler told him that he was cartoonish. Melissa thinks she will do the best with a budget since she feeds her family every night. We will see how it will actually pan out. Jamika kept blinking and she told people to reuse marinades so she is going down. Katie started with a bad tip but she ended up really doing a good job. It was shocking how well she did. Jeffrey was $12 under budget, I think that may have been to much cutting. Jeffrey won the tip challenge.

Elimination Challenge:
Now they have to cook the 12 person dinner using what they bought for the elimination challenge. So they head out to the Hampton’s to cook. Of course they are delivered to Ina Garten’s house. They have to make dinner for Ina, her friends and the celection committee. Then they are told that they will be in teams of 2. Jeffrey got to pick his own teammate as a reward for winning the tip challenge. They have to make a appetizer, entree and dessert. Each team member was responsible for 1 course and then they were to collaborate on the last. They are cooking 2 teams at a time. They have an hour to cook and 2 minutes to present.

First up at Debby and Teddy along with Eddie and Melissa. Debby is wary of Teddy since he threw Melissa under the bus last week and Eddie is afraid that Melissa doesn’t have the cooking chops. Things seem to start well with Debby and Teddy because they are working well together. But Teddy didn’t have a plan for the dessert. 5 minutes until they are supposed to be done and Teddy is just throwing his dessert together. Melissa and Eddie are really working separately. But when they work together Eddie isn’t being very nice. Eddie seemed a little short in his presentation and a bit dismissive to Melissa. Melissa’s chicken was bland but Eddie’s salad was totally overpowered by onion. Debby presented calmly and it seemed to mellow Teddy out more than usual. I think Teddy may get slammed for his dish just being an assembly. The judges liked the appetizer and the meatloaf but the dessert tasted store bought.

Teddy & Debby: (D)Vegetable Linguine with an Asian Marinara, (C)Meatloaf with a Peach and Apricot Sauce, (T)Strawberry Shortcake Trifle
Eddie & Melissa: (E)Sweet Onions and Watermelon Salad, (M)Lemon Thyme Chicken, (C)Bananas Foster Nutella Quesadilla

Then it was the next 2 teams turn. Jamika is using a store bought marinade so she added a few things. She says that she doesn’t have enough salmon to keep tasting it. Jeffrey thinks the soup isn’t spicy enough so he added some of the Red Chili seeds back into it. Michael cuts himself and just feels off. Jeffrey did well with his presentation and then helped Michael with his. Michael seemed off. The judges liked the soup but it still seemed a little mild. The judges also liked Michael’s main but I didn’t hear anything one way or the other about Jeffrey’s crepes. Jamika seemed smooth in her presentation and Katie still did a bit of education but did better. The judges thought that the dishes didn’t go together at all.

Katie & Jamika: (J)Salmon w/Seaweed and Pepper Slaw, (K)Whole Wheat Pasta with Chicken Sausage and Broccolini, (C)Fruit Salad with Grilled Pineapple
Jeffrey & Michael: (C)Roasted Tomato and Red Chili Soup, (M)Pesto Rubbed Grilled Chicken and Broccoli Rabe, (J)Chocolate Filled Crepe

Judging:
They dinged Jamika and Katie for not having their food more cohesive. They really liked Jamika’s dish but Katie’s was just ok. They told Katie to stop educating again. They thought that Jeffrey and Michael’s plate looked great. The soup was to mild. They also didn’t like that they heard the same story about Jeffrey and his daughter with the crepes. They liked Michael’s food but his presentation seemed lost. They thought that it was clear that Melissa and Eddie weren’t working together. Melissa said that there was tension. Bobby said that he saw the tape of them cooking together and saw Eddie rolling his eyes. Bobby told him that a little chivalry goes a long way in the kitchen. They thought the chicken looked good but could use some more flavor. Then they turned to Eddie’s salad. Bobby said that the onion was over powering and it seemed to be something Eddie had done before. Eddie then said he got it out of a Paula Deen cookbook. Whoa! It is one thing to base something off a recipe you have heard but to put your twist on it but… They are looking for something original. They liked Debby’s presentation and the food. They thought that Teddy’s dessert was a disaster. Then Teddy claimed the meatloaf as his dish. He did it again!!! Debby made the sauce and flavored the meatloaf. Bobby doesn’t like the way things are going with Teddy’s lack of responsibility. I think this has to make Melissa feel a little better because it wasn’t her.

Jeffrey and Michael won. That wasn’t shocking at all. The bottom 2 were Teddy and Eddie. Eddie said he should stay because of integrity and Teddy said he has the cooking chops. I think who ever doesn’t go this week will go next week. Eddie was in the bottom last week too. Eddie was the finalist sent home. I think Teddy will go next week because he proved that he has a lack of integrity.

While I think I know who will be kicked out next week. But I have no idea who will exceed. See you next week to see if I am at least right about Teddy getting kicked off!

Meal Plan Monday

I have something going every night so dinner is going to have to be pretty easy!

Monday: Family: Chicken Pasta Bake (out of the freezer)
Mom: Women’s Ministry dinner
Tuesday: Cube Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli
Thursday: Family: Chicken Kiev, Broccoli
Mom: Bible study potluck and I need to take a kosher/Middle East dish
Friday: Family: NerdDad will probably do leftovers
Mom: Taking Pasta Bake to MOPs retreat

Real Life

One of the arguements that I hear often is that homeschooling doesn’t prepare your kids for “real life” because they are isolated. I always disagree. I think that being around real people, volunteering and apprenticing lead to a good picture of real life. We now have proof that the education system doesn’t care about real life.

There is a person who has been given advanced medical training in the military. But now that she wants her degree, the school won’t recognize the training or the experience. So maybe it is the ivory tower that shields your kids from “real life”?

Fingerprint Friday: My Girls

My Girls. They just had birthdays last week, yes both of them. NerdPie turned 6 and NerdPud turned 2. I started thinking about having girls. See, I always wanted 4 kids but I thought it would be safer to have 4 boys. I mean I am a tomboy (still) and well, moms and daughters. Need I really say more? My mom did quite a job on me and I was petrified how I would screw up my girls. My mom and I always had this weird co-dependent relationship where she defined all I was and all I was worth. I remember when I was pregnant with NerdPie going to the Women’s Retreat. Donna Partow was talking about the difference between first and second generation Christians and just over all being a Christian woman. I had a good cry but then this piece came over me about having my first girl.
Then NerdPie was born. Both my girls have been absolutely beautiful since birth. They both have joy but NerdPie has always had this lightness and joy about her. My first stepfather (mom’s 2nd husband) has always said how much she reminds him of me when I was little. Well, that really hit me one day.

See by the time I was 6 I was on my 3rd dad and he wasn’t all that keen on me. I didn’t grow up knowing my birth father and by the time I was in 3rd grade my first stepfather was out of my life. So I always wondered what was wrong with me that not one of my fathers either loved me or loved me enough to be around. Add to that my mother has choosen to be out of my life since I have become an adult. I always have had this cloud weigh over me wondering how bad of a person I must be that my own mother doesn’t even love/like me. I figured I walked out of my childhood, teen years and even college without parental love because that must be my punishment becuase I was bad and not worthy of love. Logically I knew that the chaos in my life wasn’t all about me but that didn’t heal my heart. I knew God loved me but I didn’t emotionally understand why or how other than because He said. And that God keeps His end of the bargain. So I felt loved by God as almost an obligation.
So one day when she was probably 2(ish) I was looking at my sweet NerdPie dancing around a room. I saw all her innocence and beauty. What I saw most was her joy. A carefree joy I don’t ever remember having. I saw her giggling and reaching for me. And it hit me. God (in my heart) asked what she could do to make me turn my back and heart on her. Of course we say no but then I really thought about it. Is there anything she could ever do that would make me turn away? How about when she is an adult and crying for me? Could I walk away? My answer was of course no, never. So what ever has gone on in these other adults that enable them to walk away from me couldn’t have had anything to do with that joyful little girl that I was. Then God took it a step further, that is how He still sees me. As a sweet child who is headstrong at times but His, so of course He loves me. No matter how I stomp my foot at Him or no matter how many times He has to discipline me.
And my girls? They have given me a huge piece of myself that I lost so young due to life. The joy to dance, the joy to both want to paint my toenails and dig my toes in the dirt. They also have given me a value. The value of how God sees me, a child who is loved. A child who was treated poorly but didn’t deserve it.
A footnote: My first stepfather and I reunited after my first child was born. He had been kicked out of my life when I was a kid but now we have a relationship of sorts. When NerdPie was about 6 months old my birth father found me. And then right before NerdPud’s birth we finally saw each other for the first time since I was 2. We now talk once every week or 2 and are well on our way to a pretty decent relationship. My mother still doesn’t want into my life because I bring her to much pain. Only time will tell what God will choose to do in that relationship. But my heart still misses her but I don’t need her in order to feel whole. God meets that need.
Go over to Pampering Beki to see some more Fingerprints.

So Who Do the Unions Work For?

We know that the teacher’s unions don’t work for the parents. We also know they don’t work for the students. That is perfectly illustrated by the teacher who got her job back after getting her class to vote a boy out who has Asperger’s.

But now it appears that they don’t work for the teachers either. The teacher’s union in Detroit is trying to get 70 teacher’s fired because they didn’t pay their dues. I just it just confirms what some of us already knew. The teachers unions are entities that only work to dupport the union itself. It is evidenced by their politics and now this.

Top Chef Masters (6/17)

Here we meet again for a nifty culinary showdown. While I don’t care for our host, I think this is a decent show. It looks as if we are going to have a vending machine challenge. Let us see if this week’s chefs will be as calm as last week’s.

Our chefs this week are… Graham Elliot Bowles, Elizabeth Falkner (former judge), Suzanne Tracht, and Wylie Dufresne (former judge). I know who Elizabeth and Wylie are from Top Chef and from various Food Network shows. The other 2 are mysteries to me. Graham is the youngest competitor. I always love Wylie because he really is a science dork!
Quickfire Challenge:
They get to create an amuse bouche using vending machine ingredients! This is classic Top Chef. The 3 judges for the quickfire are Elan, Betty and Michael from the season that received this challenge (and that Wylie judged). They got 30 minutes. Wylie was not happy at all with what he did. He kept cussing as it went out and while they were eating it. So Wylie got 3 stars, Elizabeth got 3 1/2 stars, Graham got 4 1/2 stars, and Suzanne got 5 stars.
Elimination Challenge:
This week’s challenge is that they have to cook dinner for creators and writers of LOST. They have to cook ingredients that would be on the island, no Top Chef pantry. They can only use canned and preserved things on a list. They did get a budget of $200 so that ain’t half bad.
This group does seem pretty friendly with each other at least. Wylie and Graham are good friends so they have a rapport as Suzanne termed it, “a kind of Mutt and Jeff thing”. Wylie was running around like a crazy man. Suzanne’s menu seems to be the most interesting because it has a little more protein variety. I have to say that I am dissapointed in Wylie’s menu. Roast chicken? That just seems a bit pedestrian given all you have to work with. Yes, he is using an immersion circulator but really? That seems cutting edge now a days? To me it just means you have more money for toys so you don’t have to work hard to regulate your water temp.
Graham Elliot Bowles: Maki Roll with Tuna and Dehydrated Pineapple, Tuna Nicoise, Tuna a la Plancha
Wylie Dufresne: Roasted Chicken with Poached Egg, Beets with Dried Corn, Plantain Puree
Elizabeth Falkner: Ancho-Beer Braised Boar Loin, Coffee Scented Poached Boar Loin, Yam Papaya Pudding
Suzanne Tracht: Rissoto with Uni, Clams and Prawns, Wild Boar Strip with Oyster Beer Sauce, Mango Corn Salad
Service:
Elizabeth’s puree wasn’t a big hit. Graham’s food seemed to go over very well. Wylie’s plate didn’t look all that yummy. One of the judges didn’t get chicken on his plate (and another got 2). Wylie’s poached egg went over fairly well and his chicken was good. Suzanne sold her plate as a holiday meal and it was a big hit!
Judges Table:
They all liked the poached egg from Wylie and his chicken. They loved Graham’s tunas. They liked Elizabeth’s braised boar but it needed the braising liquid as a sauce. They thought her puree was really sweet and like baby food. They thought Suzanne’s boar was good and has a nice crust. They had thought Suzanne’s plate was going to be to much but it all worked well together. The judges are so much nicer here than on Top Chef. While they were waiting in the stew room all the chefs walked over to the kitchen and made chocolate chip cookies. How fun!
Elizabeth: 16 1/2 stars
Wylie: 20 stars
Graham: 20 1/2 stars
Suzanne: 22 1/2 stars
Suzanne wins! But how would her and Hubert Keller match up? We shall see….
It looks like next week we are have Rick Bayliss and someone else who looks familiar but I can’t place. I have to say that the quality of chef does make up for our lack luster host. Next week should continue that quality! See you next week.