while very late, i’d be remiss if i didn’t highlight officially the very thoughtful father’s day give i received from bryn’s dad, bill (aka “pop”).

about a month ago, bryn, leslie (bryn’s mom), bill (bryn’s dad), ellie and i took a trip to yosemite. the trip itself had some ups and downs, but the highlights were still captured on film, one of which bill took some liberties with.

like any photographer, amateur or otherwise, i sought *the* image of the weekend for the entire weekend. it alluded me until the very last day when we made our way to the o’shaughnessy dam. it was there that (after numerous attempts) i captured that image.

as you can see, bill blew up that picture and matted it. we grabbed a nice frame on sale at aaron brothers and voilà! an awesome wall-hanger.

it wasn’t the only thoughtful gift on that day (hot sauce!), but as you can tell, i’m pretty happy with it :)

thanks, bill!

of late, we’ve gotten into a dinner routine. we’ve identified four or five things that we are happy to make consistently and without complaint. most of them are easy to make (tacos, some form of red meat, chicken, etc.) but it’s getting tired. each night we find ourselves wanting more. so the other day, when i received some new cookbooks for father’s day (thanks auntie loretta!) we decided to start mixing it up a little.

our first choice was the “ultimate chicken burger”.

the only problem with the ultimate chicken burger was that it wasn’t very flavorful. that was mostly the recipe’s fault, but i should have caught it. don’t get me wrong, it was really good, and juicy, too, but it only called for some basic ingredients. Most of those didn’t include anything with much flavor, as you can see from the recipe. i’d recommend included something in the garlic salt or all seasoning area if you try this.

the first step in the process was to flatten the breasts with a meat mallet. basically get violent with the chicken for a few minutes. after that you coat them with the corn starch + egg white.

after the initial coating, you need to let them chiiiiiill … for 30 minutes. after that you give them a nice coating of flour + beaten egg + bread crumbs and you’re ready to grill.

and the end product.

serves 4:

• 4 large chicken breast fillets, skinned
• 1 large egg white
• 1 tbsp cornstartch
• 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 cup fresh white bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp corn oil
• 2 beefsteak tomatoes, sliced

to serve:

• hamburger buns
• lettuce
• mayonnaise

ellie’s been a dancer for quite a while now, but it’s rare that she busts a move like you see here. i was finally able to get it on video because now she doesn’t want to eat the camera every time i pick it up. that’s ernie and bert singing in the background, or “nernie” and “berr,” as she calls them.

the pajamas are a nice touch. now all she needs is a partner.

this was posted on facebook and flickr, but not here, so i figured i’d throw it up. we only hope that she can be entertained so easily for the rest of her life. ;)

this past weekend i was on somewhat of a mission to cook/bake something new, something i’d thought about but never attempted. i flipped through some cook books, but found nothing, then went to the internet. as always, i found something that both sounded good (it was delicious!) and had good reviews. i wish i could take full credit for it, but i can’t. i’ll leave that to “big daddy,” wherever he may be.

here’s what i started with:

after i (and mom!) peeled those apples, i diced them. i chose to dice them a little chunkier than what i interpret as the definition of “diced” from the recipe because … well, because i wanted to. that’s one of the nice things about cooking: making the executive decisions of what to include, exclude, or add more of.

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when ellie was born, bryn’s friend daniel came to the hospital to meet the baby. with him he brought her a small beanie baby, a bear to be exact. his name is baby bear and he’s the only thing ellie has truly become attached to. she’s never been a pacifier user or a thumbsucker, a blanket holder or other stuffed animal lover. but once baby bear was introduced it was love at first sight.

he’s become her favorite bedtime companion and an all-around good friend. he even let’s her chew on his ears, face, and tail.

we never thought anything of it until the discoloration started. no worries, right? just wash him! um, yeah, that’s called a temporary fix. after a wash he looks and smells almost brand new, but it takes all of two nights for him to turn brown again.

you might be wondering why we don’t just buy a new one. unfortunately for ellie, she fell in love with an older man who was headed for retirement. that’s resulted in our formerly $6.95 friend becoming our $47.95 friend. yes, you read that correctly. the man is now retired and a very expensive date. but hey, he looks great for his age.

i feel terrible for her, but i fear this may be her first encounter with heartbreak because there’s no way i’m spending that kind of money on a new one and, at this rate, he’s going to disintegrate.

ok, so what it’s april? who cares? if you’re like me and love anything pumpkin, it doesn’t matter what time of year it is, it’s always pumpkin time. with that in mind, i took advantage of some time to myself the other day and spent some of it in the kitchen. yes, i like to bake. i do a little cooking, too, but nothing fancy.

last fall i bought a bunch of pumpkin purée (no, i don’t do it from a real pumpkin) because it goes quick that time of year. turns out that i never got around to making anything with it, so i had a lot in reserve. since most breads are often very simple, yet very good, i decided that would be the way to go. so i did.

here’s the recipe i used. it turned out pretty well. i’d definitely recommend it for anyone looking for a quick loaf of deliciousness.

ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup pumpkin purée
1/2 cup olive oil
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

directions
1. preheat oven to 350°f. sift together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda.

2. mix the pumpkin, oil, eggs, 1/4 cup of water, and spices together, then combine with the dry ingredients, but do not mix too thoroughly. stir in the nuts, if desired.

3. pour into a well-buttered 9x5x3 inch loaf pan. bake 50-60 minutes (I doubled the recipe to make two loaves and it took about 65 minutes) until a butter knife or toothpick poked in the center of the loaf comes out clean. turn out of the pan and let cool on a rack.