CuteKittyPunk

What do these three things have in common: basketball, Oreo Blizzards, and the BK Whopper? Answer: My grandmother Dorothy Shea. She passed away a few years ago, but this week we will be celebrating her birthday as a way to remember her - and as a way for the kids to learn about her. She played high school basketball in Logan, Utah... something I never learned about her until after her passing. I think I was aware that she liked watching baseball on t.v. Recently, my girls have been getting into baseball. So, we've watched different movies on t.v . or Netflix, rather - to teach them the sport. So, I'm going to do the same thing with basketball. We have two movies in the queue - ready to go to show them how basketball is cool. One is called The Pistol: The Birth of a Legend.  I watched it a few months ago and remembered that this kid could spin the basketball on his finger for a very long time... they are looking forward to seeing that. We also have queued - a girls ...

Two days ago - and a long time ago - my grandfather William Marion York was born. He passed away more than 10 years ago but I shall never forget him. Every year on his birthday I try to make one of his favorite meals. Well, I recreate one of his favorite meals and make it my own. This year I learned that one of his favorite desserts was Lemon Meringue Pie. We have vlaai in the Netherlands and I didn't see how I could order any in the Lemon Meringue variety this time of year so I set out to make my own. After a quick Google search I decided to make Lemon Meringue bars - and I came across a nice looking recipe from Martha Stewart. But the amount of butter had me changing the recipe in no time at all. I recently baked some Lemon-poppy seed crackle cookies from one of my favorite vegan cook books - Eat, Drink and Be Vegan... and decided to make that batter minus the poppy seeds for the bottom of the tart. Then I just reduced sugar through out for the rest of the recipe. Here ...

This is one of the recipes from my grandmother. It comes from her Santa Monica Relief Society Cook Book p. 90. And it was a long time ago that she lived in Santa Monica, California. Probably from the 1960's. So, someone has been making this recipe for quite a while. It's good. I remember the first time having it. Oh yum. Cheesy, spicy, good. Yes, it's good, I know I'm repeating myself a bit, but it's good and easy to put together.  I had a friend from Mexico that liven in my area that would go to Utrecht sometimes to this Spanish-imports market and she got me a can of green chile poblanos. I had that can for two years, saving it for the day I'd make these stuffed green chiles. I was hoping to have a nice Mexican feast - maybe do it for Christmas or something. But that day never came so I just decided to bake them for myself one day and then I ate the leftovers over the course of a week.  I love this recipe but I live in a house full o picky eaters. So, I ...

Something that I've been trying to do for the last few years is celebrate my grandparents' birthdays to honor and remember them. Grandma Betty York would have celebrated her 90th birthday today if she were still with us. But that's okay, we celebrated it in style. Grandma used to always bake pineapple upside-down cake... this was my first go at it so I used a tried and trusted recipe from Betty Crocker - plus they share the same first name so I thought - it can't go wrong!  It was really easy to make - simple, clear instructions - must be why it's a favorite... and the taste: wow! It turned out splendid - very, very sweet - I was loving the crusty edges and just classic blend of flavors. I would definitely make it again... perhaps - next year on the 7th day of July! Funny thing is - when I was a kid, I didn't really like it that much... I guess as I've matured, so have my tastebuds :) I added chopped pecans as seen in this Quick Pineap...

So, I've been going through this little cook book I got from the baby clinic - the book is made by Kinderen - it's a monthly magazine for mothers and expecting mothers - and it's a great little book. see bol.com Here are just a few of the recipes I've tried: Pippi's pannenkoekentaart That was good - I gave it a 4 star **** - easy to make and everyone enjoyed it. Dessert for dinner is good anytime :) I put sliced apples in almost every pancake - which is why it leans so much. It was very filling - and very yummy. Up next: Een echt indiaantje Good 4 stars **** - another easy meal, presented in such a way that the kids got excited... Kailea, my 5 year old, is normally very picky about green food - she ate it up :) We served it with simple gravy. Ella - liked the patty, but tossed the sugar snaps aside - oh well, can't please everyone - but I try. Kailea poses for me. Dad's angry man... even big kids play with their food ! And.....

Have you noticed how a lot of bloggers are trying to be the next food blogging star? How they are trying really hard to get followers by doing give-aways and stuff like that? It's real easy to fall in that trap. I was in that trap for like a few weeks. I was like, I gotta post at least two times every week if people are gonna "follow me" and I gotta take really good photos so that my photos don't get rejected on foodgawker and tastespotting... And I gotta do give-aways. How do I do that? Do I gotta buy stuff myself for that? How do I get someone to sponsor that? And then, I just sort of wondered why I was doing that - why I got caught up in that snare? Because for me it is a snare. It was taking me away from my family and my personal goals. So, you know how I cured myself of this idol worship? I stopped following so many other food bloggers. And I started on a personal project. I've been reading this book called Fascination Womanhood - it's really inter...

So, there is this blog that I follow, you can find the link in bloggy love - listed in the side column - "Lady in the skirt" and in Tara's most recent post she writes what she is thankful for and I was thinking, I should do that, too. So... Dear Heavenly Father, I'm so thankful for you (thee, thou) you know what I mean! I'm thankful for my husband who provides for our family so I can be a stay at home mom to our three beautiful daughters. Mark is my very best friend and I love him so much. And yes, I'm so thankful for the girls. They really keep me on my toes - they can be very demanding at times, but I love them dearly. I'm grateful for my calling to teach the youth in Sunday School. It's very scary that the Bishop wants me to teach in Dutch. I think I can do it but my stubborn pride keeps getting in the way and I my natural laziness just wants to teach in English... please help me to understand the Bible words in Dutch! I'm very grateful fo...

This is no April Fool's joke... this is the real thing... a suitcase filled with all kinds of Dutch sweets and Belgian chocolates... Yes, I take good care of my family and friends - this is a preview of treats for you... just a few more weeks till I get there :)

So, I just had a baby not more than 3 months ago... and I really need to SLOW DOWN. Like Ferris Beuller says: Life moves pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. And I was wondering, how did I get distracted so easily? What matters most? My faith, my family, my friends. This baking thing - is really last of all. But for a moment there, it caught hold of me - I got caught up in "following" all these cooking and baking blogs - and in posting on foodie websites like foodieblogroll, ptitchef and foodbuzz - and for what? For my pride.... ewwww. I fell for it. And I know that it was Satan all along trying to lead me astray. He is so evil - and tricky - how he takes something virtuous and good and turns it into a vice. So, I was listening to a couple talks from this last General Conference. And I took notes and it really helped me reflect on what matters most. President Uchtdorf is so funny - he has a nice way of teaching - I lov...

So, good news - my brother who had spent the last year or so in Afganistan away from his wife and little girls - and a few years before that in Iraq... made Sergeant and I am so happy for him - he deserves it and also because that means - he gets a bigger paycheck! With good news like that I felt like making some cookies - specifically his cookies. My brother was always baking these cookies growing up - almost every Sunday night and we couldn't stop eating them... which is why they always seemed to disappear. He actually calls them: Vanishing Oatmeal *Chocolate Chip* Cookies. One time I ate so many of them... well, maybe that isn't the right story to tell... the point is that these are addicting - because they are so SO so good. Here is Sergeant York's cookies - in his own words he says “This is the recipe I use for oatmeal cookies. It actually calls for raisins, but I use chocolate chips instead, cause I'm not a big fan of raisins, and chocolate is always good...