Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Gardening Love

The gardening love just keeps spreading on Oakmont. JoAnn, a sweet friend from teaching, and her husband Dewayne put in our garden using recycled materials from their gardens as a house warming present - the best present - three years ago, and since, we've planted (and enjoyed) tomatoes, broccoli, kale, squash, cucumbers, spinach, arugula, garlic, onions, basil, cilantro, rosemary, okra and so much more. They also dropped off a rain barrel, so that we could water our garden with that earthy goodness. And oh man, there's not much better than rain-watered, garden-fresh veggies.

Gardening love spread quickly at our house. Stan was in love at first dig and has eagerly helped plant all our seasonal fare. Just point to the ground and he'll dig you the perfect hole. Good dog! And this fall Charlie jumped into the action. We picked up veggies for our winter garden at the Natural Gardener with our friends who were prepping their first winter garden (more gardening love!) and sat outside on a drizzly October day delightfully planting away. And this week our garden love grew a little more when our garden somehow got even cooler with a central composter. Dewayne - the Organic Green Doctor - blogged about creating a key-hole garden, and I was immediately in love. Dewayne, without hesitation, offered to make us a central composter and install it in our garden, once again using recycled materials from his garden. Now that's real garden love! Because of Dewayne's generosity, not only will we be wasting less, but that rich, nutritious compost will constantly flow out into our garden. Genius. Pure gardening genius.



Friday, January 18, 2013

Cookie Monster's Confession

Since Charlie popped into our world, I've developed a bit a sweet tooth or maybe it's sweet teeth. Okay, so really it's a raging sweet mouth that is best quieted by chocolate chip cookies. Or chocolate chip cookie cake...but who's really differentiating? I'm no chocolate chip cookie snob. Tollhouse-pop-in-the-oven cookies? Sure. Tiff's Treats? Absolutely! Central Market's Chocolate Chunk pre-made variety? The best store-bought cookie I've had. But I've also been on a bit of a quest. A homemade cookie quest, if you will.

And I think I did it. Officially finding (and baking) the BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES IN THE WORLD! Now I have to tell you this recipe is a bit of a pain in the 'ol neck. It requires pastry and bread flour and a minimum 24 hour dough chilling. WHAT?! And getting to the actual taste-testing of the cookies was a bit rough, but I now know...

1. Parchment paper and wax paper cannot be used interchangeably.
2. Throwing cookies, on wax paper, in the oven and jumping in the shower is not a great idea.
3. I can exit the shower, shampoo in hair and all, to rip down the fire alarm in approx. 1.3 seconds.
4. Fire alarms and a napping baby do not mix.
5. Tania will always be a more knowledgeable and therefore better baker than me. Recipes should be sent directly to her before I attempt.

With all this knowledge under my belt and warm cookies cooling on the countertop, I couldn't wait to give one a go, and a fellow cookie monster, my father-in-law, Fred, was happy to oblige in accompanying me in a taste test. Needless to say, they passed! They're as delicious as advertised, but hey, how could you go wrong with a NY Times published chocolate chip cookie recipe? You can't. So try it. Like now.



World’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookies - Adapted from Jacques Torres

Time:45 minutes (for 1 6-cookie batch), plus at least 24 hours’ chilling

2cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
12/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
11/4 teaspoons baking soda
11/2 teaspoons baking powder
11/2 teaspoons coarse salt
21/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
11/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2large eggs
2teaspoons natural vanilla extract
11/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content.
Seasalt 

1.Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2.Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

3.When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4.Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with seasalt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated,for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.

Yield:1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies.



Tuesday, January 15, 2013

It's a Celebration

Sunday was a big day around the Wahlers' house. John ran his first road race, other than the Trot, in almost a year (and killed it!), and Charlie was baptized at All Saints Episcopal church surrounded by family and friends. Truly a beautiful day. A day of welcoming.


Growing up I understood baptism as the cleansing of sins, an absolutely necessary sacrament if you ever intended on going to heaven. But as an adult, that description was a harder pill to swallow. I don't believe that if Father Mike hadn't poured water over Charlie's head on Sunday that he'd be destined for hell. And I certainly can't wrap my head around this sweet, little bundle needing to be cleansed of sins. But a few years ago at my nephew's baptism I finally understood. My dad's close family friend, Father Angelo Gambatese, baptized my two youngest nephews, and it was his words that resonated with me. He described baptism as an official welcoming into a community. A day for all of us to celebrate this new life and commit to supporting him throughout his journey. A commitment to guide him morally and support him lovingly. And this made sense. It was just like the day John and I stood up in front of our family and friends and vowed to love and support each other. We knew we'd do this without the official ceremony, but there was something about that day. Something about standing up in front of everyone and taking those vows and seeing all our family and friends out there vowing right along with us to love, support and guide us in the future. I wanted that for Charlie. I know he'll have no recollection of this day, but the symbolism of it is powerful.

Charlie's baptism was certainly a welcoming. Surrounded by family and friends, we all vowed to love, support and guide Charlie. We took time to reflect and, of course, celebrate. And goodness this kid is worth a celebration. What an angel he is. He sat quietly through church, intently listening to the sermon, and didn't bat an eye when Father Mike poured the water over his head, and naturally, he revelled in the fanfare...a whole church clapping for him. What could be better? Sunday was a celebration of life. Charlie's life and the unbelievable community that embraces him.


 

Thursday, January 3, 2013

8 Months!

Charlie. Chuck. Chuckster. Charles. Charleen. C-murder. Stinky Stew. Carlos. Monster mash. Justin Bieber. Char. Doodle. Stanley (happens at least once a day). Bug. Chucky. Charles Lee. Chucky Cheese. Bop. Sweet boy. Boss man. Ding dong. Chuckles. Beetle bug. And I'm certain there's way too many more. Charlie's nickname list grows every day, but against all odds, I think he actually realizes his name when we're trying to get his attention. What a freakin' smarty.


This last month has been crazy, crazy, crazy good. It started off a little rough - weird naps, bouts of frustration with everyday things (diaper changes have suddenly become numero uno on Chuck's DO NOT DO list), boredom with toys, and a sleep pattern shift, but about mid-month, everything went dreamy. Charlie's new-found frustrations haven't changed, but as with every new stage, we've adapted. We become wildly entertaining during diaper changes, sing our asses off while we dress him, and added some new toys (what a Christmas this kid had!). And then Charlie is still this sweet, contented little dreamboat of a kiddo most of the time. So like I said, dreamy.


Two words define this month - talking and standing. Charlie is still talking all. the. time. Still mostly "aaaaaaaaaahhh" and "baaaaaaaaaa" at alternating volumes, but he's worked in a host of new inflections (his meal time "ah!" is just too awesome) and is pretty into a "ay ya ya ya ya", especially when we're driving. My favorite might be his LOUD "aaaaaaaahhhhh" that he seems to save exclusively for grocery store banter. He works really hard at getting peoples' attention lately. God forbid Madi or Jackson stopped fanning the Chuckster's ego for one second during Christmas, a grunt and an immediate smile were soon to pull them right back in. What a flirt. And standing. Oh my. Standing is definitely the new sitting up. I'm not sure this kid will ev-er crawl because all he wants to do is pull up and stand and bounce and walk around while you hold his little hands. Is this what skipping crawling looks like? Honestly, I'm dying for him to start motoring around here. I know. I know. Be careful what you wish for, but he's so frustrated with his lack of mobility. We're still doing lots of tummy time, and he's circling all around and moving backwards, but man, he just cannot get his knees underneath that big ol' booty and move those arms at the same time! It's hard work being a chunk. I know he'll figure it out one of these days, and I'll probably want just one more day of plopping him down and not worrying about him jetting off, but I really can't wait to watch him in full-blown mobile action.



Charlie's also working on some serious teeth in the last week, and I think we'll finally see one of the top ones break through any day now. Admittedly I'm nervous about these teeth making their debut, but I'm certain once they're in Charlie will find a way to be kind with his new chompers (he will, right?! ). And it's a good thing he's adding to his pearly whites because man, can this kid EAT! He loves (and devours) almost everything we set in front of him. I can't even list all the new foods he's tried this month. It's crazy to watch him eat and even crazier to watch his interest when we start eating. He just so desperately wants a bite! I'm considering starting a "Feed Charlie" fund immediately because I think we're going to need some serious help keeping enough food in the house for this big boy. Anyone have some good buffet suggestions?! I'm grateful for his ever-evolving palate, and his willingness to try new things. And I can't wait to see what new foods next month brings. Side note: we don't go back to the doctor until next month, but this kid weighs ~64 lbs, I think. Just a guess. He's got a lean little torso - he's getting longer and longer every day - but oh gosh, those chunky legs. What a physique.


[For the mom's that want it...He's sleeping from 7:00 - 7:00 (with teeth coming in this last week he's been waking at 5:00am and needing his pacifier to get back to sleep). He's taking two naps a day - going down about 9:00am and sleeping for an hour to an hour and a half and then going back down at 1:00pm for an hour and a half or two. I'm breastfeeding him five times a day, and he's eating three "meals" of solids - a breakfast, lunch and dinner (3 - 4 oz. each). So yes, he basically eats his way through the day... ;)]

I know this next month holds loads of new kinds of fun with sweet Charlie, and I can't wait to see what the new year brings us, but for some reason four months until he turns one seems CRA-ZY! Happy 8 months, sweet boy.

Monthly pic is getting a little more difficult...