dig into comfort

Now, the big news here should be the weather. Its not summer, so I should be complaining right?-wrong. This weather, fall weather, is perfect-it is my element. Cool days, sunny skies, colors abound around in the foliage and yes, comfort food is back full swing. Frannie is cozy in her blankets reading books, creating projects and playing with her toys...Gabe is bundled full of smiles as he watches dancing leaves blow in the wind and fall to the ground...Murf is tickled by the anticipated pheasant hunting...Lou is sharing the space we created together and call home since the looming threat of forest fires has been called off and is also preparing to go hunting and be away some more...and me, my mind is full of comfort knowing that this is the time we take in all that we can from Montana before we are locked in, not by choice, by the winter ahead.

'BOO'

Gabe's 1st pumpkin

Autumn hiking with baby

Diva is doing her own hair-she said that it is beautiful like this.



Autumn comfort story time with dad



Happy 6th Birthday Murf!!



Murf out and about



Fall colors over Helena

Hair today, gone tomorrow

It finally has happened-it has been 3 months since I had Gabe. And...like clockwork my hair all fell out. Well, let me rephrase that, it mostly all fell out. It was a ton of hair and now I have hair envy for my three year old. Its crazy how my body knows that it is time to get rid of all the hair I held on to during my pregnancy. Or maybe, it just knew that my hormones were mostly normal and that it was time to start a new. All I can say is that I have reached a new point in my recovery and hopefully, it stops here.

Gabe is a happy little three month old able to grab and hold things, roll around and sit up and take in his new world. He still hasn't moved on from  his ceiling fan stage or started sucking his thumb or a pacifier. He is eating and growing strong.

Francesca is super obsessing about horses but loving all animals these days. I think it was spurred on by Adam and Sallies national geographic animal encyclopedia for kids. She told me that she and cubbie will be veterinarians and not doctors. She is busy scheming her Halloween costume (which I am not looking forward to making) and will probably have some hand in the design. All I can say is that I am scared...

 I put these pictures in b/c I always like to see how the two kids are different or the same. Its hard to see their faces, but you can tell the difference. I think at times they look really similar-Gabe will make a face or do something and I will have flashbacks to when frannie was 3 months old.

For October I have signed the October Unprocessed pledge. I started a little late, but think that I have been relatively unprocessed so far. It is excited to me to see that there are ways to do little things to simplify your life (in the kitchen) and bring your family to a healthier existence. We cooked up some tasty items this weekend (bread, ratatouille, frannie made a cake) and plan to cook up more recipes. We are ready to dig into comfort foods, cooler days and more time spent together. October is a wonderful month in Montana and we hope you are enjoying the fall colors, sunshine and cool spectacular days wherever you are this month.

Here are two new recipes I am considering (the tart for much later due to the dairy content but thought to share it since I was so excited about its ease and seasonal element).

My Gingersnaps

From the book Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich

Yield

56 cookies

Culinate editor’s note: Over the past couple of years, these cookies have become our go-to gingersnaps. They’re fast, easy, and delicious, but what puts them over the top is their combination of three kinds of ginger (ground, fresh, and crystallized) and their crunchy sugar coating. We call ‘em Triple Gingersnaps.

Introduction

With crunchy edges and a chewy center, beautifully crackled on top, spicy, and loaded with diced crystallized ginger, this is my favorite spice cookie. When no one is around, I dip these into a carton of quark for a grand, if inelegant, snack — the contrast of tangy cheese with spicy ginger reminds me of gingerbread with sour cream.

Ingredients

	2	cups (9 ounces) all-purpose flour
	2	tsp. baking soda
	2	tsp. ground ginger
	1½	tsp. ground cinnamon
	½	tsp. ground allspice
	¼	tsp. salt
	8	Tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and just warm
	¼	cup unsulphured mild or full-flavored molasses
	½	cup sugar
	⅓	cup (2.3 ounces) firmly packed brown sugar or light muscovado sugar
	2	Tbsp. finely minced or grated fresh ginger root
	1	large egg
	¾	cup (4 ounces) ginger chips or crystallized ginger, cut into ¼-inch dice
	~	About ½ cup demerara or turbinado or ¼ cup granulated sugar, for rolling

Steps

1. Position the oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and salt, and mix thoroughly with a whisk. Set aside.
3. Combine the warm butter, molasses, both sugars, fresh ginger, and the egg in a large bowl, and mix thoroughly. Add the flour mixture and ginger chips and stir until incorporated. The dough will be soft.
4. Form the dough into 1-inch balls (½ ounce of dough for each). Roll the balls in the demerara sugar and place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheets.
5. Bake, rotating the sheets from back to front and top to bottom about halfway through the baking, for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they puff up and crack on the surface and then begin to deflate in the oven. (For chewier cookies, remove them from the oven when at least half or more of the cookies have begun to deflate; for crunchier edges with chewy centers, bake a minute or so longer.)
6. Slide the parchment sheets of cookies onto cooling racks or use an offset spatula to transfer the cookies, and cool completely.

Notes

Stored in an airtight container, these gingersnaps keep for several days.

Puff Pastry Tart with Roasted Vegetables

 

This simple technique for creating a tart shell and delicious onion base serves as a wonderful starting point for any number of toppings. In the late winter and early spring, sauté hearty greens.  As soon as you see zucchini or summer squash - slice and toss them in olive oil before placing them on the tart raw. In late summer 6 or 8 thick slices of fresh tomato are perfect. Any time of year use your good sense and taste to make a tart that will impress any dinner guest!
Check out Grand Central Bakery Co-owner & cookbook author Piper Davis' video for step-by-step instructions.

Makes one 12 x 8-inch tart. Serves 4 as a main dish, 6-8 as a starter.

1 12 x 8-inch rectangle Grand Central U-Bake Classic Puff Pastry
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium-sized onions, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons kosher salt
¼ cup (2 ounces) cream
1 egg
¼ cup (1 ounce) grated parmesan cheese
8-10 ounces of prepped vegetables
Fresh herbs (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Prepare to bake
Defrost puff pastry overnight in the refrigerator or on the counter for about 1 ½ hours. Unroll sheet and cut a 12 x 8 inch rectangle. Refrigerate rectangle while you prepare filling and return remaining pastry to freezer for future use. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat.

Prepare filling
Heat olive oil in a large, heavy sauté pan or skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the onions and sprinkle in salt. Cook onions until they release some liquid and begin to develop a few dark spots, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat and continue cooking until onions are soft and toasty brown, 35-45 minutes. Do not stir too often during the caramelizing process. Instead, give the pan a good shake about every 5 minutes to redistribute contents. Allow onions to cool. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if necessary. Whisk the cream and egg together and fold in cool onion mixture and parmesan cheese. Prep your vegetables and set aside.

Ready the puff pastry
Pull puff pastry from the refrigerator and place on lined baking sheet. Use a paring knife to trace a smaller rectangle on the puff pastry, leaving a 1-inch border. Be careful not to cut all the way through the dough. The 1-inch border will puff up and be the edge of the tart. Use a fork to dock, or poke small holes in, the center rectangle.

Fill and chill tart
Spread onion filling in center of tart on top of the docked dough and arrange tomato slices decoratively on top of filling. Chill tart for 20 minutes.

Bake
While tart is chilling, preheat oven to 400F. Bake tart for 15-20 minutes. Turn oven down to 350F and bake another 10-20 minutes or until pastry is rich golden brown. Garnish with fresh basil after baking. Serve warm from the oven or at room temperature.

ENJOY!!!

Share the Love

It seems that big sister has taken a strong liking to her new role. She takes every opportunity to mimic what I do to Gabe and how I talk to him. She is a little mommy sponge. When we woke him up from nap, she asked to hold him...then she proceeded to tell him the the story of the owl babies (just like I read it to her). All I can say is that we all love having the little guy in our arms and he has been such a dreamy little baby.



We went away to Seattle to visit my family and Lou went to Kodiak, AK to do some fishing with his dad. We had a great time and Lou took the camera. I am waiting for friends and my mom to send us photos to post for y'all. We all enjoyed the time away from Montana and were happy to come home and see each other and Murf again. Lou brought us home salmon and stories and we hope to take Frannie and Gabe to AK so they can see it for themselves.

First attempt at the jumper

 

Gabe's #1 source of entertainment




watching the ceiling fan



Thank you for the amazing 12 weeks!!

 This week I start being at work full time and figuring out a new normal and seeing how far I can stretch my energy. Gabe and Frannie are both with great care providers and I can relax knowing they are doing well, but its not the same. My lovely 12 weeks at home with my kiddos living the dream life has come to an end and I will never forget all the great moments we shared. Its hard to believe that Lou and I have come so far and made our goals a reality. Thank you everyone for sharing in this wonderful time with us and supporting us as we move along.

Quick - Quick

Just an update:

The last two weeks have flown by since the last post. I am back at work now and hope to find time to get more updates out to you all.

Lou was on a fire assignment for 8 days and then his mom and dad came to visit us. Frannie and I took care of Gabe and tried to not miss daddy too much. It was purely a week of existing. Frannie did master pumping on the swing this week and couldn't be happier with herself! Way to go Frannie, I am so proud of you!!



pumping away

Gloria and Ju-Ju Bee are still trying to find their coop harmony and will hopefully be more peaceful before the first snow falls...

Nonna Joann and Papa Lou drove out from NY with our new car pulling a trailer and bringing Lou's treasures from his childhood. We took Frannie and Gabe to a pumpkin patch to get their pumpkins-it was 90 degrees that day!!



Thank you Nona Joann & Papa Lou for coming to visit us!! We will miss you-



picking her pumpkin

a pumpkin of her own

Gabe is now two months old and lifting his head up and growing stronger every day. He can now roll from front to back and is 13 pounds! He is meeting new friends as we speak at daycare and getting settled into his new normal now that mom is going back to work. I miss you Cubbie!!


hold your head high




trying to roll




bright eyes at two months




Cubbie attack!!!




friends forever?




Family of Four



Gloria-ous

This week has passed by like a blur with the growing baby and end of August heat. I realized last week, when my computer battery was running out of steam, that I didn't post pictures from the Wild West Festival. We took Frannie last year, and she drug us again this year. She remembered the horse rides and the big red barn. Two things that make her very excited. We were hot post camping and went anyways. Gabe didn't much out of it but maybe next year he'll get to go on a horse ride too.

The bigger the better- Frannie loved these draft horses and really scared us all as we watched her give them a hug



Frannie and Chips


Gabe and Frannie are enjoying simple days in the heat and we have been enjoying watching them grow and change. Gabe is getting better at holding his head up and spending time on his tummy. He is still dealing with the baby acne and I cant wait for it to be gone. My poor little baby looks awful, but I cant really complain because everything else is going so well.

 

Sleepy time



We got a new chicken for ju-ju bee from a coworker that was downsizing his flock. I was a little nervous about the introduction and how our little black chicken might feel. The girls were friendly to each other and now we have a full sized egg layer in our little coop. Ju-ju bee might make it through the winter now.



Welcome Gloria to the family



Sorry for the short post. I'll be taking more pictures and typing more soon. Enjoy the Summer!

And the beat goes on...

We have turned the corner on the one month arrival of Gabriele and things are starting to feel good. We have our own little family of four groove going on and the only one that seems to mind is Murf (sorry Murf, I only have so much time to be everyones best friend that you might only get a few fleeting moments from me but you are still the best Griffon in town).  Gabriele has escaped his time with a clogged tear duct to enter into a new sentence with baby acne (it isnt as cute as it sounds). Gabe has gone camping and been a real champ. Firsts abound around our house these days...those sweet sweet 'firsts'-awww.

Battery is about to die, so here are a few caption free photos from us lately-enjoy!

One Month

Yes, I am so bad. It has been one month since my last post. But listen-I have a good reason...I had a baby!! The last month has breezed by full of wonderful memories and yes, we have been getting some sleep. It seems that my little boy has been just what we hoped for-the perfect new member of our family. Frannie has been enjoying being the big sis and we are all adjusting to the new normal (i.e. no time for blogging). It seems that the changes in our lives this summer have been something that we will always remember. No time to catch-up, but here are a few highlights of the past month:

7/11/2011- Gabriele Luciano Volpe is born 9 lb 2 oz. Mom and Dad had an adventure in getting him here and were pleased with how perfect and healthy he is-Welcome to the Family Little Man!

just what I always wanted-two Lou's!!

happy big sister

first day and I am in love!!

Frannie continues to monitor her peas and other goodies growing this summer and enjoys taking care of her chicken. Murf is hanging in there too now that he is really the low man on the totem pole.



our juicy currants




reaping her rewards


Frannie is thrilled to be at the Fair and Rodeo this year although we did skip the rodeo due to the new baby. She didnt mind b/c she got to see all the animals and hang out with them for a few days.

visiting with fred-she is fearless when it comes to animals



future rodeo queen?




even the goats get a visit

Gabe and Frannie share his first bath in the big tub. Frannie could'nt be happier to have a little brother to help take care of and share her life with.

Baby grows and grows. Gabe is learning how to stretch his legs and hold his head up like a champ. Here are a few pictures of the bear cub this last week.



to be or not to be blue?...that is the question



morning glory-he is always the most alert when the sun rises

so cute I couldn't help mtself

Buddha or baby?

observing the world

starting to use daddy's cradle

I hope to keep posting more regularly now that life is sorting it self out for our family. Enjoy the summer and keep in touch