Snowy, Blowy Ice Cream!

Summer and I recently discovered a deeply darling children's book called "Snowy Blowy Winter" by Bob Raczka (don't ask us to pronounce his unfortunate last name). Together we unite in our promotion of this story book, not only for its catchy rhymes and reasons, but because of the ice cream recipe on the last page, which calls for...wait for it...FRESH SNOW! I know! Any of my readers living in Northern Utah had a heightened awareness of Mother Nature today, as we received several inches of the fluffy stuff. Summer and I excitedly brought a heaping bowl of snow into our bright kitchen and in three minutes, we enjoyed a dish of delicious, frosty, freezy ice cream! Its frothy texture resembled a soft and creamy snow cone. Summer had the pure inspiration from the snowy heavens above to add a generous smattering of milk chocolate chips to the concoction. Joy was ours. So ambrosial was this frozen confection, that it would be impressive enough to serve to guests. In fact, I recommend it because how else could one say at a dinner party: "This evening's dessert was brought to you in part by our current precipitation!" The recipe is as follows:

SNOWY, BLOWY, ICE CREAM

4 cups fresh, clean snow

1/2 cup whole milk (or half & half)

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

~ Gather four cups of fresh snow and and put it in a mixing bowl. It's best to do this during or right after a snow storm, so you know the snow is clean. Then, in a glass measuring cup, mix milk, sugar, and vanilla extract until the sugar has dissolved. Pour the milk mixture over the snow and mix well with a spoon--about two minutes. Serve in bowls. Add your favorite toppings (we used milk chocolate chips). Makes two heaping, delicious servings. Let it snow!

Chocolate Silk Pie!

This chocolate silk pie is the most satiny, silky, plush, velvety pie you'll ever have the pleasure of devouring! Actually, didn't that sound like I was describing fabric? Anyway, I made this confectionery ambrosia for our Thanksgiving Extravaganza last month and I have since received some requests for the recipe, so here it is! My only addition to the original recipe was to add the garnish of chopped candy bars for dramatic effect. Any pie or cake without a garish type of garnish makes me want to weep out of boredom and despair. So, try making this chocolate silk pie during the holiday season. I guarantee that loved ones will be so spiritually touched and moved by your culinary creation, that you'll receive more Christmas gifts than usual! Plus, it just tastes monumentally delicious...

Chocolate Silk Pie

1 cup sugar

3/4 cup butter

3 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate - melted

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 eggs

1 baked 9" pie shell

Sweetened whipped cream and candy bars!

~Beat sugar with butter for exactly 15 minutes with electric beaters or a mixer, scraping sides of bowl often. You must beat the mixture for that long so as to ensure a smooth pie. No one wants a gritty filling. That's just wrong. Know, however, that after 15 minutes, it will still feel a bit gritty (Rest assured, it will smooth out with the addition of the rest of the ingredients and refrigeration). Then add the melted chocolate and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Spread into a baked 9" pie shell and chill for at least two hours or over night. As it chills, it will continue to dissolve the sugar and "silken" up. Before serving, garnish with sweetened whipped cream. I like to form dollops around the edge and place a bite-sized candy bar in each one. Chop up your favorite candy bars, such as Heath, Snickers, etc., and litter it all over the top. Admire your work, present it to others and demand that THEY admire your work, then immediately devour with fierceness and fervor.

November Novelty

What made the whole month of November glow with happiness was the return of my parents from their church assignment in Palmyra, New York. Summer is crazy about them both, and as this picture shows, they're pretty nuts about her too.

Also, this month Jerald performed a fabulous concert for the Yamaha/Clavinova Festival. I felt so proud of him! He was so gracious with everyone who lined up to receive his autograph after the concert. He just about made this young girl's life when he signed a copy of one of his books for her.

As a sidenote, check out Summer's hot balloon poses!

Jerald's parents splurged on all of their kids and grandkids and bought tickets to the Disney Princesses on Ice show. It was so beautiful! The only sad part was that Jerald couldn't come because he was asked to judge a piano competition that day. We filled him in on all of the details, though!

Here skate Cinderella and her prince. Don't fall!

Here is Cinderella in her carriage on her way to the ball! Unfortunately, the roads were a bit "icy" that night. Haha!

Summer adores Mickey and Minnie! When she saw them skating across the ice, she exclaimed, "I need Mickey right now!" Then she proceeded to move with surprising speed across the isle, and if we hadn't stopped her, she would have climbed over that rail and onto the ice so she could hug him!

Summer and her favorite cousin, Annika, have enjoyed many play dates this month. Their favorite thing to do is to dress up as the charming princesses they already are, and perform enchanting and entrancing dances together!

The Thanksgiving holiday made us give MANY thanks this time around because it was the first Thanksgiving we'd all had with my parents in three years! Here are some family shots. Try to ignore Summer's menacing glare in the shot just below :)






My mother and I spent several days cooking and baking for our Thanksgiving Extravaganza. Here's a shot of the chocolate silk pie I made! Any dessert is 177 times better with candy bars on top...

Quotable Quote

"If it wasn't for the optimist, the pessimist would never know how happy he wasn't."

~Anonymous

Dedicated to our daughter, Summer...

...whose razzle, dazzle, and downright sparkly representation of all things shimmery...

...makes her the most twinkly little optimist we know.

Halloween Ha Ha

"Ha ha" is right! How many times did I erupt into spasms of laughter at seeing my once hot man of a husband transform into an old hag of a woman? Either that or "ahhh-ing" at my pretty princess of a daughter dressed as the Snow White she already is. Of course, giggles ensued every time I caught my reflection of MY new self - a stodgy orthodox Jewish man...

Here was the color-coordinated sunset on the eve of Halloween - an ominous black and orange - specifically dyed for the holiday!

Here we view the man/woman himself...or herself? Complete with garish rouge upon his stubbly cheeks, smeared lipstick, mascara, gaudy jewelry, mismatched knee highs, and a wig. Don't forget the pillow and the rolled up tube socks for strategic stuffing! Every time I leaned in to kiss him/her, a mysteriously odd feeling came over me :)

I had never felt so profoundly devout, fervent, soulful, earnest, or goodly. Shalom!

A praise-worthy Snow White!

May this old dame with her saintly orthodox Jewish husband take this opportunity to extend the wish that you all had as happy a Halloween as we did!

Summer Here, Summer Not

Well, we could have titled this post "A Summery Summary Part 2", with it being a continuation of our previous post of summertime festivities, but I felt so emotionally captivated by the title "Summer Here, Summer Not". Quite a ring, right? One of our favorite things we did in August was to attend the Davis County Fair. They had a darling petting zoo, free pony rides, and raucous rides to ride. We can't wait to go again next year!


Here is Summer admiring the fowl display. She adored meeting all of the animals and they, in turn, tried to look their best and even flirted with her a little. Cute!

Summer had them eating out of her hand! Here she is, hand-feeding the babies a culinary delight of supremely luscious and flavorsome straw. Summer loved feeding and petting the animals, and squealed in delight!

Holy Cow! Summer was chosen by the farmer to milk the cow! She felt so excited and proud.

Let us take a moment to admire this curious animal's caramel colored highlights, tousled bangs, well-placed horns, and enigmatic pose for the camera. So deeply dramatic...

...and this handsome creature posed for our camera, providing an excellent view of his captivating profile, which he knew only served to emphasise his sweeping eyelashes, stately horns, and platinum goatee. Not to mention, his stylish number badge and thoughtful, somewhat pensive expression. Haha!

I walked beside Summer, protectively holding her waist as she rode her pony so she'd be safe. I tried not to giggle, though, as she repeatedly swatted and batted my hands away, saying, "No Mommy - don't hold me!"

She loved the rides and wasn't a bit scared!

"Yes, and as I ride this flying contraption, I am prepared to patiently pose for the insistent and demanding papparazzi, who choose to follow my every move. It's the price I pay for being a famous sought-after star... or at least a darling toddler."

We, on the other hand, have no papparazzi tracking us, so we are therefore forced to take photos of ourselves.

A Summery Summary

Fall has fallen! I always feel excited for each new season that is upon us, while remembering the happy memories of the previous one. Here are some highlights of our fanatic fun this last summer!

Sugary hugs mixed with cotton candy at the Fruit Heights Founders Day Celebration...

Cookies and flowers! We bake cookies at LEAST twice a week at our house and I love Summer's help in the kitchen. This was a snickerdoodle batch!

The beauty and the bewitchery of our Summer in the summer!

The Relief Society Fiesta! Jerald and I dressed up in Mexican garb for the occasion. The extra length of Jerald's sideburns and the "chin thing" were the artistic results of my eyeliner pencil! That night, he and I performed a dance number for the ladies that included a mixture of samba, paso doble, cha-cha-cha, salsa, and mambo! ¡Tiempos buenos!


This is my cute friend Wendy Orme. The night of the fiesta, I MADE her strike a theatrical pose for this picture. She'll desire my violent death for posting this, but we're hot shots in this hot shot!

Mi familia feliz!

The 24th of July! We attended the Pioneer Day parade in Ogden with Jerald's family. In the below shot, Summer looks understandably concerned about this green-haired, clownish, irregular, yet decidedly cheerful man-character.

That evening, we all went to the Ogden Pioneer Days Rodeo. I LOVE rodeos! The excitement, the energy, the crowds, the blasting country music, and the amazing talent of the cowboys and girls. Summer had the merriest time too!

Jerald used the color swapping feature on our camera for this picture. It just signifies that Summer is a bright, blazing, lustrous flame of illuminated color in a world of gray...

Here is Summer with her adoring Aunt Becca. I love this shot!

Oh, I have so many more memories with pictures to post, and I'll do that in the coming days. What a happy summer we had! And I hope you did too!