Rock To Wind A String Around

Growing up, Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras, was faschnacht day.  My dad isn’t a fan of breakfast for dinner, so pancakes were scuttled, but my mom often made doughnuts, or faschnachts as a nod to our inherent Germanic-ness.  My own tots are lucky enough to live with a mother who tolerates adores breakfast for dinner, and on Shrove Tuesday, I like to make them a festive affair.  While I usually make my pancakes from scratch (gingerbread pancakes are my speciality, Gromit),  I want fancy-pants pancakes on the big day.  Years ago, I found a recipe for lemon-ricotta pancakes in a Williams Sonoma catalog.  The separately whipped egg white makes them light and fluffy. We made them for Shrove Tuesday when Elliott was 5 and  Elliott promptly christened them cloud cakes.   The name has stuck and so has the recipe.

Cloud Cakes with raspberry sauce:

Ingredients:

Directions:

In a large bowl, whisk together the ricotta, milk, egg yolks, sugar, lemon zest and juice until smooth. Sift together the flour, baking powder and 1/8 tsp. of the salt over the ricotta mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined.

In another large bowl, using a whisk, beat the egg whites until frothy. Add the remaining 1/8 tsp. salt and continue beating until soft peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, fold one-third of the egg whites into the ricotta mixture, then gently fold in the remaining whites.

Preheat a griddle over medium heat. Spray the griddle with nonstick cooking spray. Ladle 1/3 cup batter onto the griddle for each pancake. Cook until bubbles form on top and the pancakes are golden underneath, 1 to 2 minutes. Flip the pancakes and cook for 1 minute more. Transfer to a warmed plate. Repeat with the remaining batter. Makes 12 to 14 pancakes.

Raspberry sauce

4 cups frozen raspberries in light syrup (2 bags,
each 10 oz.)

4 tsp. arrowroot

1 Tbs. sugar or 1 Tbs. orange-flavored liqueur,
such as Cointreau or Grand Marnier (I use the 1T of sugar and also add 1 T of orange juice)

Put the raspberries in a sieve set over a bowl. Let thaw at room temperature until the juices are liquid but the berries are still partially frozen. Reserve 1 cup of the juice and transfer the berries to another bowl.

Put the arrowroot in a small cup and slowly stir in about 1 Tbs. of the raspberry juice until smooth. Pour the remaining juice into a small saucepan and stir in the arrowroot mixture and sugar (if using the liqueur, do not add it now). Heat over medium heat, stirring, until the syrup comes to a boil. Immediately remove from the heat; do not let it boil for more than 15 or 20 seconds. Add the liqueur. Pour the syrup over the berries and stir to combine.

Transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor and pulse to puree. Strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a stainless-steel bowl.

Cover the sauce and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours or up to 2 days. Makes about 2 cups.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Collection Series, Ice Cream, by Mary Goodbody (Simon & Schuster, 2003).

I’ve had luck merely pulsing the frozen raspberries in the food processor with some sugar and orange juice, straining after to remove most of the seeds.  It’s much faster that way, but Williams Sonoma’s version is tastier.

Sorry for my absentee status.  While the drive home on Friday felt like the longest in the history of the universe, it wasn’t 4 days worth of travel.

Saturday plunged us back into real life–laundry, taxes, grocery shopping, cabinet reorganization–all of the thrills that accompany a jet-setting lifestyle like mine.  By 5:00 we were smug and self-righteous about the number of things crossed off our “to-do” list, so we took the kids to the OSU men’s gymnastics meet.  It’s such a  great family activity.  We all like to watch the mans fip again and again, Elliott loves the snacks, Astrid Meklit likes the pep band, and Albert & I enjoy watching others cross things off their “to-do’” lists.  Elliott caught a lobbed t-shirt early in the meet, which made his life complete.

Sunday was an eerie repeat of Saturday, right down to the grocery shopping.  We exchanged the gymnastics event for Family Night with the ethiohio group at Abyssinia, and while there was no pep band or free t-shirts, we all had a terrific time.  Our ethiohio group is growing so quickly, there are new families at each event.  I met with the Enqutatash steering committee yesterday and we agreed that the bench is deep–plenty of talent to help put together a great New Year celebration which will be a welcome contrast to last year’s celebration.

We ended our committee meeting early yesterday so I could go pick up my “Mother of the Year” award.  As soon as everyone left, I hustled my tots into shoes and coats, packed up the diaper bag and patted myself on the back twice as I pulled into the rec center parking lot at 3:59.  As is customary on cold days, I dropped Elliott at the door and reminded him to walk right into his class, pick you up in the vestibule in an hour, love you, go, go you’re going to be late, etc.  Standard fare at the rec center.  AM and I watched him walk in and left to run some of our errands.  We stopped at the paint store first–I needed to match the paint to the main bath’s vanity.  My touch up job two weeks ago was done in the wrong color so I stood in line, eager to pay 22.00 a quart for the best paint match Benjamin Moore could muster.  Horrified as I pulled my credit card from my wallet, my horror evaporated (and was quickly replaced) when my cell phone rang.  My sweet boy didn’t have class until 5:00 and he had to ask the registration desk for my cell #–he doesn’t know it.  Astrid Meklit and I grabbed the paint and flew back to the rec center.  Elliott said he was fine, but I felt terrible.  I always feel a little guilty dropping him at the door, but I know better than to do it for the initial class.  Times change, classes get canceled, mothers neglect to look at the class start (and end time).  If the enticing playground wasn’t visible from inside the center, we’d go in with him everyday, but i just wasn’t up for a fight with Madame Two about the relative merits (or lack thereof) of playing outside when it’s 22 degrees and windy.

Today my sweet boy has homeschool choir–same class, same time, same room all year long.  I think I’ll walk him in just in case.  No need to wrest the award away from someone else 2 days in a row.

I’m posting rather than deal with the puzzle that = luggage + cargo hold of subaru + every new stupid thing that we bought.  We’re headed home today, and as much as I hate to end this glorious little bubble of family leisure, I’m thrilled that Albert will be with us both to share the driving and to enjoy the ride.  We thought we’d be on the road several hours ago, but as always, there’s something else for Albert to do at the office before he’s off the grid for 8 hours.

Elliott’s already clamoring for a return trip (scheduled conveniently for the week of April 5th-12th), Astrid Meklit is clamoring for a bed near our TBee at our house (not in a million years, girlie!) and I’m clamoring for a lifetime of weeks like these–not the ones filled with museums and train rides and take out, but ones filled with family dinners, family walks and cosleeping.   I don’t know how we’ll achieve it, but it’s my goal and Allbert’s too.

See you on the flip side of our eastern US journey!

Several friends have discovered the joy of the NEEDS meme.  You google your name and needs to see what it is you need.    I’m as needy as the next gal, so i tried it.  Here is my top 10 list.

Paige needs touchdown (sure, I’ll buy one for a dollar)

Paige needs our prayers (as a not particularly religious person, I welcome the prayers to the higher deity of your choice.  never say never–that’s my motto)

Paige needs to step up soon (the story of my life, it seems…)

Paige needs a vacation (Portugal has been calling my name for a while now. Hmmm)

Paige needs to deal with the fact that she’s from the future (my personal favorite–maybe now I’ll stop calling the fridge the icebox?  how forward thinking of me!)

Paige needs  a cosleeper.  (I have one, his name is Albert, he is available for cosleeping from Thursday to Sunday.  Maybe the list knows of my desire for one on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday too?)

Paige needs your help (I can’t think of anything specific I need assistance with, but you know, if you’ve got the secret to thinner thighs in 30 minutes or something like that, I’m all ears).

Paige needs foodstuffs (pretty full at the mo, but if you have any radishes handy, I’ll be right over).

Paige needs to shut up with all the bullsh$t (wow, even the internets knows how often I brag about my fabulous self.  I’ll  behave…)

Paige needs your designer’s eye (in a pinch, I’d take the whole designer).

Further down the list, I found that Paige needs to consume 4,000 additional calories per day, followed immediately by Paige needs a big chair for her 80 inch booty.  Go figure!

Paige needs to remove her daughter from the bath now–prayers, foodstuffs and help for this venture entirely optional…

A brief (yet meaningful) articulated list of the events, 13 February  to 16 February…

Friday the 13th:  We drive and drive and drive from  cowtown to DC.  I curse Natalie Babbitt for her lack of foresight–a disco interlude around page 45 would have really jazzed up the three hours of Tuck Everlasting.   Additional cursing is awarded to:  traffic, overwhelming exhaustion around 2:00, the Cowtown Metropolitan library for sending us a beleagured copy of The Moffatts, Wendy’s restaurants that have gone missing, and wonky directions from the Garmin.  My handsome husband is a welcome sight after 9 hours of driving.  He waited for us with flowers and dinner ready in the suite.  Rice pasta and sauce never tasted so good.

Saturday the 14th:  Romantic Valentine’s Day starts with a 10k  George Washington’s birthday run for Albert.  He runs goodly, and is rewarded with a nifty polar fleece hat embellished with a photo of our A #1 founding father.  The children writhe with jealousy until they too are the proud owners of presidential head gear.  I continue to writhe, unlucky as I am not to own a presidential chapeau, t shirt or petticoat (here’s hoping for next year…).   We zip into the city for family day at the Air & Space Museum–nothing says Valentine’s Day like rockets, and Tuskegee Airmen.  We have a great time–Bessie Coleman is there on behalf of the Discovery Theatre, Astrid Meklit gets to hug Jupiter, and Elliott gets his pilot’s license en francais.  We opt out of the busy restaurant scene and instead do Thai takeout after AM slips off to bed.  A Munchkin show down completes this busy Valentine’s Day.  By the time I hop in and out of the shower, Albert is snoring beside Elliott, I leave Astrid Meklit’s crib in the bedroom and we sleep girls in one room, boys in the other.  Ooh la la–so romantic!

Sunday the 15th:  Our Happy Family Day!!!!  We met Elliott 10 years ago today and have celebrated every year since.  This year, we visit the Anacostia Community Museum.  We check out the great exhibits about African American celebrations, Idlewild, and mostly importantly, about Negro League baseball.  Elliott and I just finished reading We Are the Ship about the Negro Leagues so it was great fun to see uniforms, memorabilia and lots of photos from the leagues.    Sadly, Elliott is in charge of the itinerary for the day.  He insists that we go to IKEA after the museum.  What could we do?  Our hands were tied, so off to IKEA we went.  Proud owners of new bibs, hangers, and a bagful of other IKEA wonderment, we run off to Red Robin to celebrate both Family  Day and IKEA plunder.  Our usual Family Day dinner of hoagies and curly fries is usurped–we are all too full of onion rings to mind.    Our Family Day ends with baths for all–clean knees for each member of the family–the true gift of February 15th.

Monday the 16th:  Happy President’s Day!  DO NOT BE JEALOUS!  We attended The President’s Day Parade–you know, the one with the drums and the clowns, and the HORSES!    In keeping with my decision to only attend parades with a two year old Astrid Meklit in tow,  we had front row seats for the biggest President’s Day parade  in the country.  Super fun!  We also met some other lovely Ethiopians at a cafe and they were quick to point us to good Ethiopian food outside the district, which made the day that much better.

Lots more going on, but these are the highlights.  No fellow blogger sightings yet, but I’ll keep you posted.

Tell me internets, am I crazy?   Tomorrow, I embark on a 8 hour drive with people I don’t particularly like.  Oy wait, I normally like these people a great deal, I just find them tiresome today.  Really though, the tots and I are off to visit DC (and my funny valentine) for a week.  We’ve packed road food, road books, and tomorrow we’ll hit the road.

Wish me luck–I need it!

Please run to Autumn’s blog and add your voices to the cacophony.  Today she and Dan learned of their successful court date.  In just a few short weeks, they’ll be off to meet their darling daughter, Mezmur.

The other reason you should run over there is to check out Autumn’s lovely ETSY shop.  Autumn makes the cutest banners and the most darling dolls ever.  We’ve been selling the lovely dolls through the EOR webstore Autumn has been so generous with her beautiful work–we receive a generous amount for every doll sold.  I imagine Autumn has a lot more on her mind than dolls right now, but know that if you do order one, you’ll find it as darling as her sweet baby Mezmur.

Congratulations Dan, Autumn & Rhett.  I’m so glad you’re now a family of four!!!