Will got Maggie to laugh for the first time!
http://photos.dspencer.net/Videos/Good-Clips/15250544_tgrqdd#!i=2195244577&k=CrBVWJs
Will is 4 and oh, so fun!
Will’s birthday request was to pick corn, so we celebrated his 4th birthday and the conclusion of harvest in Iowa City in mid-October. Brian even quit a little early the day before we arrived so Dave and Will would have a full day of picking. Will loves riding in the combine and tractor and takes pride in never falling asleep–even when they go out for a 10 hour day! Amelia also likes taking a turn in the combine, but she informed us it’s not really that exciting: “just back and forth, back and forth”. This season Will asked Brian why he always got to drive the combine. Brian had several reasons, such as seeing how the crops looked and knowing what the yield was. A few hours later, after Will had obviously been thinking more about this, he told Brian that he drove the combine because, “it is your combine and it’s special”. Brian couldn’t agree more! Coincidently, those are the reasons Will drives his toy combine, too. Needless to say, Will’s birthday weekend was just what he wanted.
Will is such a fun, thoughtful, and sweet little guy. He has informed me he doesn’t like the name William and I can only call him Will. When I asked why, he said “Will is spelled w-i-l-l and William and is spelled w-i-l-l and some other letters, including M, and I don’t like the letter M.”
He absolutely loves Maggie and is always, and I mean always, right there whenever she makes a noise or he feels it has been too many minutes since he’s showered her with kisses. Luckily Maggie is starting to find him pretty entertaining and smiles when he’s around.
Here are a few recent Will and Maggie stories:
- Will told me he just wanted to “fry her up and eat her” because he loved her so much. He must have been hungry.
- It never fails that when I’m trying to quietly put Maggie down for a nap, Will comes running into her room and starts singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” in what he considers a whisper and I consider normal volume. In true St. Louis manner he says “root, root, root for the Cardinals…” It is Will’s form of a lullaby and he refuses to leave the room until he’s done. If I try to get him out he just sings louder.
- Last night he was giving her a kiss before she went to bed and said “good night my little sweetheart”.
Happy 4th Birthday sweet Will! We love, love, love you.
http://photos.dspencer.net/2012/Fall-Harvest-And-Wills/26104453_PnsKdb#!i=2168895529&k=HLd76Wc&lb=1&s=A
Quick Butter Croisssants (From Sunset’s Food Processor Cookbook 1978)
5 cups all-purpose flour, unsifted
1 cup butter, chilled
1 package dry yeast
1 cup lukewarm water
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 egg beaten with 1 TBS water
Fit metal blade in food processor; add 4 cups of the flour. Cut butter in 1/2-inch squares and distribute over flour. Process, using on-off bursts, until butter particles range from size of peas to dried beans. Transfer to large mixing bowl.
Back in food processor, process yeast and water with 2 on-off bursts. Add milk, salt, sugar, egg, the remaining 1 cup flour, and melted butter, and process until batter is smooth. Pour over butter/flour mixture. With spatula, carefully turn mixture over just until all flour is moistened. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or up to 4 days.
Turn dough onto a floured board, press into a ball, and knead briefly to release air. Divide dough into 4 equal parts. Shape 1 part at a time, leaving remaining dough in refrigerator.
On floured board, roll 1 portion of dough into a 14-inch circle. With sharp knife, cut into 8 equal wedges. Loosely roll each wedge from wide end toward point. Curve into a crescent and place, point-side down, on an ungreased baking sheet. Repeat until all croissants are shaped and placed on baking sheet 1 1/2 apart all around. Cover lightly and let rise at room temperature. Do not speed rising by placing in warm spot.
When almost doubled (about 2 hours), brush with egg-water mixture. Bake at 325 for 35 minutes, or until lightly browned.
Cream of Spinach Soup (Gunflint Lodge Cookbook)
5 T butter
1 medium onion, chopped
5 T flour
4 1/2 cups chicken stock
10 oz. spinach, if frozen – thaw and squeeze to removed most of the moisture
1 cup half-and-half (or whatever milk you have on hand)
salt and pepper
In medium saucepan, cook onion in butter until translucent. Stir in flour. Cook slowly, stirring for 1 minute to cook the flour. Whisk in chicken stock. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and comes to a boil. Stir in spinach, remove from heat. Let stand for 10 minutes. Puree and add half-and-half. Season to taste with salt and pepper. You can add a little nutmeg if you’d like or garnish with parmesan cheese.