Moose Quesadillas...

..these were roadkill moose quesadillas, to be exact.  We were really excited to get the call that a moose had been hit by a train. Our friend Brian helped Cannon skin the big beast and then they brought it home.  I have no idea what to do with a freshly skinned beast but they gave me the backstrap, which is apparently the filet mignon of moose.  I washed it off, chopped it up, and used a little for quesadillas.  Boy were they good!

...It was a pretty big beast and I am proud of Cannon for skinnin' the thing.  It is really weird to walk into the garage and see raw meat hanging... I offered some moose quesadillas to Cannon, he refused, saying that it will take him a couple days to get over the smell and sight of moose guts.  Can't say that I blame him.  Just leaves more dang quesadillas for me...mmmm!

Did you know that moose meat is actually leaner than chicken?  It does not have any sort of a gamy flavor either.  We're grilling some steaks up tomorrow and y'all are invited.

Kid Logic

Caleb thinks that if he walks backwards out of his bedroom and down the hall, we don't know he's sneaking out of his room when he's really supposed to be going night-night.  He's also tried going down the hallway on his hands and feet...thinking we won't figure out that he's escaped the bedroom.  

He gets a happy grin on his face when we "discover" him but quickly the smile fades as he tries to writhe out of our arms, spitting and hollering as we walk him back to bed.

Cannon is currently holding the door closed as Caleb dramatically wails for freedom...

Corn Flake Fruit Pizza Recipe

(see photo in prior post, below)

4 c. corn flakes, crushed to make 1 cup

2 Tb. sugar

2 Tb. butter

2 Tb. light corn syrup

2 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened

1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow creme

Fresh Fruit--whatever you've got. I used kiwis, mandarin oranges, strawberries & blueberries

Preheat oven to 350. Combine crushed flakes, butter, sugar and syrup.  Press evenly and firmly onto pan.  

Bake 5 minutes.  

Let cool completely.

Whip cream cheese and marshmallow.

Spread over crust.

Decorate with fruit.

Chill 1 hour before serving.

Of course, like any good cook, I used the recipe as a guide (wink, wink). I used 8 c. of corn flakes and added 2 Tb. brown sugar, an extra 2 Tb. butter and syrup.  For the crust I mixed everything but butter, then melted the butter and blended the mixture.  Because the pizza stone is pretty big, I drizzled extra syrup crisscross over the pressed crust, just to make sure it would bind when heated.

The creamy topping portion was just perfect.  It spread nicely over the crust and was the perfect thickness.  I would imagine my pizza stone is 16" diameter.

It does not take a lot of fruit to decorate. I only used 3 strawberries, 2 handfuls of blueberries, and 2 kiwis...with a few mandarin oranges.  So it's not an overly expensive or complicated dessert.

If you can't chill it for an hour, as long as the crust is cool before spreading the mixture, you're a-okay.

I'll take this pizza over a supreme any day of the week and twice on Sunday!  Enjoy!

 

Corn Flake Fruit Pizza

The pizza turned out. If anyone wants the recipe, let me know. 

Fruit Pizza Tonight

I have a cooking group tonight and the focus is pizza.  Just to make things interesting, I'm bringing a fruit pizza.  This picture came up in Google images and it is my pattern.  Hopefully my pizza will look like this one.  Isn't it pretty?

I'm going to add some chocolate drizzle over the top, just to make it look gourmet. (I got that idea from Paula Deen).

Road Trip Ends...

...And what a memorable trip it was.  We came into Anchorage and found that the honeysuckle trees are in full bloom.  The leaves are almost full size too.  It looks like summer!

Half of the fun of a road trip is well, being on the road.  Driving through Denali National Park is just spectacular.  Road trips in Alaska are like no other road trips in the world.  There is beauty everywhere and it's only going to get prettier.  We haven't even hit the wildflower season.  

On the leg up, we converted the back of the wagon to a mass of pillows and blankets.  We slept in the car the first night (little cramped but we survived), rolled into Fairbanks and stayed at a hotel right off the river.  Most of our time was spent driving Cannon to/from Fort Wainwright (a major pain since you have to get clearance each time you drive onto the base) and playing at the marvelous Pioneer Park!  We played hard, ate well (too much), hardly slept and can't wait to go back for more.  On the trip home we spent one night at Chena Hot Springs. Caleb enjoyed the warm water as much as we did.  

The fun of being on a road trip was having the DVD battery run out of juice.  Seriously! With 2 1/2 hours to go and an alert Buster I pulled every song with actions out of my memory that I could think of.  It was so fun to sing songs, watch Caleb try and mimic the actions and watch the scenery go by...I was glad the DVD batteries ran out.  We got some awesome play time/bonding time that wouldn't have happened if we were watching a movie.

As I type, Cannon is in Glenallen.  Caleb and I kept busy taking a bike ride, eating strawberry shortcake for dinner on the patio, swatting mosquitoes and watering the flowers.

I did take a moment to think about my wonderful relatives who have passed.  We come from "good stock", a great heritage.  I am proud to be a Hillam/Stoddard and now a Mix.  Also, we have offered gratitude in our prayers for those who have given their lives to preserve our freedom and liberty in this great nation and asked the Lord to protect our troops.  We are truly blessed.

Pipeline

The Alyeska Pipeline is really cool.  It was so amazing to see an engineering masterpiece up close.  We made it out to the site of the El Dorado gold mine but figured that Caleb might be real bored riding a train, touring with a bunch of blue hairs...maybe in 50 years me and Cannon will be on the train to El Dorado, seeking our fortune in gold.

Fairbanks...

...it's the type of city I wish Anchorage were like.  Anchorage has grown too fast so it doesn't really feel like an Alaskan city.  We will be in Fairbanks this week and in Glenallen over Memorial Day.  We hope you have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

p.s. We see bald eagles flying overhead on occasion.  They are more numerous in other parts of Alaska and it's awesome to see them here when they glide through our skies.

Rainy Friday Brings...

...A call at 6:30a.m. from parents of the baby girl we tend, letting us know they'll be over in 10 minutes.  Scrambled eggs on toast.  "Cars" right after breakfast...

...A greener backyard. We are hunting for the perfect swing set or trampoline.  Our birch trees are not big and hearty so a zip line, tree house and catwalk are out of the question.  We'll be lucky to manage a swing out of one of these trees.  And the root system dominates the entire yard so it will be amazing to get anything that yields fruit or vegetables to flourish. But I love our forest.

...Speed Scrapping. I'm NOT a scrap booker however, last night a few gals got together and we learned about quick design elements to get our pictures organized in albums.  Basically, there are two tips I'll pass along that made my life so much sweeter: 1) Get all pages set up before adding pictures and keep it simple! You can add pictures and embellishments later! That first tip was sooo wonderful to me! 2) Check your visual weight.  Dark colors at top make it top heavy...at the bottom draw the eye down. When pages are open, both should draw the eye to the center, so make borders that draw the eye in (think of pictures that are matted and framed--they are balanced, visually appealing and they draw the eye inward).  It's all about keeping it simple.  That way the photos are the "main event."

...I've also made a dent in the laundry.  It's only 8:30a.m.  I know I'll run out of juice in about 5 minutes...Caleb got shots yesterday at his check up and he was miserable last night. So I slept with half of my body hanging off the bed as Caleb slept (snoring LOUDLY) spread eagle, in our bed.  Cannon can sleep through all of it, bless his heart.  What does your Friday morning bring?

For those of you who know me, you know that I love art, love to create, love to study art, artists, cultures, the historical, social and psychological influences...can't get enough of the decadent, crazy behaviors and lifestyles of most artists...speaking of decadent, I stumbled upon a supposedly authentic Renaissance treat from this website. Who knows when I'll get around to making this masterpiece...If any of you make it, let me know and post pics! I'm sure it will bring out your inner Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo or Raphael.

Apple and Pear Renaissance Pie Recipe

Tourte aux Pommes et aux Poires… This classic renaissance dessert is most likely what led to our contemporary version of an apple pie! A warm, sumptuous after dinner treat!

Preparation Time: 25 minutes (+ 10 minutes if making your own crust)
Cooking Time: about 40 minutes 

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. Apples
1/2 lb. Pears
2 oz. Butter 
4 tbsp. Granulated Sugar
2 tbsp. Rose Water (if you can't find rose water, use white wine)
Additional Butter for baking dish

2 Pie Crusts (see recipe below or use a good pre-made crust)

How to Make It:

Preheat oven to 375°F
1. Put crust in refrigerator. Peel apples and Pears and cut into medium-thick slices.
2. Sauté fruit in the butter over a medium flame until tender. Stir in 2 tbsp. sugar. Then, take off heat and let cool off completely.
3. Butter baking dish. Take crusts out of refrigerator and roll out one crust so that it is about 2 inches larger than the pie dish. Fit crust into dish, so that edges are evenly overhanging. Fill with cooled apples and pears. Roll out second crust and cover the fruit. Fold over the edges and pinch to form a "crown". Put in oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.
4. Mix rose water and 2 tbsp. sugar. Take pie out of oven and cover top with rose water mixture. Put back in oven for a few minutes, until the top shimmers!
Voilà!

Variations:

If you would like, you can sprinkle the bottom of the pie with a couple of tablespoons of ground almond powder. A favorite ingredient of renaissance desserts and often used in pies and tartes.

You can also make this same recipe by substituting the pears with peaches.

Last but not least, you can also soak 1/4 cup raisins in rose water for 30 minutes and then add the fruits right after stirring in the sugar. 

Serving Ideas:
Ice cream was invented during the renaissance by Italian chefs… so feel free to serve alongside this luscious pie!

Crust Recipe for Apple Pear Pie

Ingredients for Crust:
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Refrigeration Time: 30 minutes

2 2/3 cup Flour
4 Eggs
8 oz. Butter (chilled!)
2 tbsp. Granulated Sugar
2 tbsp. Ground Almond Powder (optional) Pinch of Salt

How to Make Crust:

1. Mix salt, sugar, and flour.
2. Cut chilled butter into small pieces and mix into flour with finger tips. Stop working batter once it looks like "sand".
3. Make a well and pour in eggs. Incorporate into flour using your fingers and a spatula.
4. Once homogenous, form a ball, place on a floured surface and knead for 10 seconds. Divide in half, form two separate balls. Wrap each one in plastic, or put in separate plastic bags. Refrigerate for 30 minutes or more.
Voilà!