July 29, 2009

A Delicious Recipe


Although I have always enjoyed baking and cooking, the last couple of days I have been on a little bit of a kick. On Sunday morning I made homemade blueberry muffins that were just delicious! Yesterday I decided that the two bananas I had left (that were close to going bad) needed to be used in some type of dessert fashion. Below is a recipe for an easy, but wonderful "summer" pie (I call it a summer pie because you don't have to bake anything except the crust. This is VERY important when you live in Texas and you want to avoid having the oven on!).
We had another doctor's appointment yesterday. Everything is moving forward. I am almost 3 cm. dilated and the contractions are continuing to get stronger. My doctor told me to take it a little easy though. I was pretty fatigued yesterday at the appointment, but the Doc says something as easy as making a pie can really take the energy out. Prescription for lack of energy--more protein in the diet. Jason and I thought that was pretty funny considering how much we both love high protein foods (red meat and fish). We are both trying to keep our selves distracted on this last leg. Thanks for all the good wishes!

Black Bottom Banana Cream Pie


Crust:

Use 36 vanilla wafers in the food processor. Add the finely grated wafers to a bowl with 6 Tbl. of melted butter and stir together. Press down evenly in a 9in. pie dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely.

Pie:

3 Tbl. cornstarch, divided
2 Tbl. sugar
2 Tbl. unsweetened cocoa
Dash of salt
1 1/3 cup 1% low-fat milk, divided
1 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1 Tbl. butter
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 oz. fat-free cream cheese, softened
2 cups sliced bananas (about 2 large bananas)
1 1/2 cups of fat-free whipped topping (I just make my own whipped topping. Some whipping cream and a little sugar in the mixer til it forms stiff peaks)
Dash of cocoa powder

1. Combine 1 Tbl. cornstarch, 2 Tbl. sugar, coca, and dash of salt in a small, heavy saucepan; gradually add 1/3 cup milk, stirring with a whisk. Cook 2 minutes over medium-low heat. Stir in chopped chocolate; bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let cool. Spread chocolate mixture into the bottom of the cooled prepared vanilla wafer crust.
*** It is very important to make sure your crust and your melted chocolate are cooled completely.

2. Combine remaining 2 Tbl. cornstarch, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp. salt, eggs, butter, and remaining 1 cup milk in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk (I use the same pan that I used for the chocolate, just rinse it out. Less dishes in the end!). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and cook 30 seconds or until thick. Remove from heat (This stage is very time sensitive, you don't want to over cook your custard). Add vanilla. Beat cream cheese at medium speed in a mixer until light (about 30 seconds). Add 1/4 cup hot custard to cream cheese, and beat just until blended. Stir in remaining custard.

3. Arrange sliced bananas on top of the chocolate layer in crust; spoon custard over the bananas. Press plastic wrap onto surface of custard; chill 4 hours. Remove plastic wrap and spread whipped topping evenly over custard. Garnish with cocoa powder. Chill until ready to serve.
***We like to put the pie in the freezer and then take it out about 30 minutes before serving.

I got this recipe from a "Cooking Light" cook book. I love their cook books because they offer great meals and desserts with low-fat, fat-free substitutes. Hope you enjoy if you try it out!

July 24, 2009

Birth Blogging

Hello esteemed readers of Julia's blog,

Usually my lovely wife is the one that makes posts for our family blog, but today it is my pleasure to share with you our plan to bring the birth of our child to your PC.

A few weeks ago I got an iPhone for work. I was a little embarrassed at first because I have always thought Apples to be Blue State Yuppie contraptions, but the phone has some amazing features. I can quickly upload pictures and videos to our blog, which enables us to bring the birth to the blog.

Don't worry these will be G rated (I myself am afraid of the R-rated aspects of birth and intend to spend as much time as possible "up top" helping Julia). I will have to put the camera down during the heavy pushing and the birth itself, but i intend to update the blog as much as possible. Obviously, Julia's safety and temperament our my number one priority so if the pictures become annoying or I am needed in other capacity (a human stress ball) the blog will have to wait.

At the very least there will be pictures and updates on mom before the birth and pictures and updates on Baby and Mom after the birth. We hope to call as many of you as possible before and during the birth to give updates, but the blog is your best bet to follow the progress of the labor in real time.

Sincerely,

An extremely excited Jason

July 21, 2009

37 Weeks...Full Term!

Yesterday we had our 37 week and 2 days appointment. Everything is continuing to progress normally and it seems like our little girl is getting very close to coming into this world. Since last week our baby is still in the same position with her head down and her foot jabbing me right in the ribs (the doctor said she wont move from this position; lucky me!). Also, mom is now 2 centimeters dilated! We asked the doctor how far along does a mother usually dilate before labor starts. Of course, the doctors can never give you an exact answer to anything because every labor and delivery is different for every woman. She said usually they wont dilate past 3 centimeters. So, we will see, but this little girl might come out a little before her due date.
I'm trying to keep busy and not get to focused on wondering when she is going to arrive. I'm starting to have contractions now, but they differ in strength, length, and frequency every time. As we approach the big day we are getting more and more excited. Sometimes I feel like this pregnancy has gone by so fast and then again, it's hard to remember what it's like to not be pregnant.

Waiting at the doctor's office



Jason goofing around in the doctor's office.

July 14, 2009

Update on Baby at 36 weeks


Today we had our 36 week (and 2 days) appointment. This was an exciting appointment because we were getting another ultrasound. Our doctor's office only administers two ultrasounds in normal pregnancies, one at 20 weeks and one at 36 weeks.
This ultrasound was much different from our first one. In the first one the doctor was checking every inch of babies body for development and growth. At this ultrasound the doctor was determining the size/weight and positioning of the baby. They also tried to get a good image of her face with the 4-d ultrasound.
Baby is positioned with her head already down (and ready to come out!). Because of the position of her head, the technician couldn't get the best shot of her face. However, if you look our darling baby girl is sticking her tongue out at us. She's going to be a little trouble maker, just like her parents!
The doctor also determined that the baby is already 7 pounds! I guess for anyone thinking I was having a small baby, you're wrong. Although she is already 7lbs., the doctor said she doesn't think she'll go much past 8 lbs.
Everything is looking great with baby and with mom :). I'm 1 centimeter dilated, so I guess my body is getting prepared for the hard work ahead! We are both getting very excited....it's getting close.

July 10, 2009

Repopulating The Flock

It has been a little over a week now since the loss of other chickens. However, we couldn't leave poor Toula and Satine alone in such a big coop. Last Thursday we were able to purchase 4 more chickens and bring our McCluckski's family back together.

When deciding to get new chickens we both decided the hassle of raising them from 5 days old was not worth it (especially with our own newborn coming soon). We ended up finding some postings on Craigslist about older chickens for sale. We ended up heading out to the H and J Ranch to pick up two 8 week old chickens (the same age as the one's we have). If anyone is ever interested in purchasing older chickens or having some wonderful fresh farm eggs (of course we bought a dozen and made deviled eggs for the 4th of July--delicious!!), we both would highly recommend this ranch. The head rancher's name is Henry and he will help you with picking out some great chickens and answering all your questions (512-926-1773). We purchased one Buff Orpington and named her Nala and one Barred Plymouth Rock and named her Latika (we are still sticking to the theme of female movie characters...can you guess the movie?).

Latika free ranging in the yard


We were still down two chickens and ended up finding the breed that we were searching for originally when we embarked on this chicken adventure. The breed of chicken is called Silkies. We both think these chickens are so cute and interesting looking. The only hiccup when it came to purchasing the Silkies was the fact that they were only 4 weeks old. However, we couldn't pass up the chance to get this breed. We purchased two chicks, and named them Buttercup and Ariel.

The babies...


Nala and Latika had to be separated from Toula and Satine in the coop for about 3 days. This is recommended when introducing new chickens to a flock so the chickens can get use to each other without a fight breaking out (they need to establish their pecking order). Now the four chickens are getting along great and have transitioned into a flock without any problems. The babies (that's what I like to call them-- I wonder if I'm ready for my baby to be here??) are still in the garage, but will move out to the sectioned off area of the coop this weekend. They will stay sectioned off for longer because of their small size.

Latika and Nala sectioned off from Toula and Satine


It's great to have the flock back. However, we still miss our old guys. We have both learned some good lessons about having backyard chickens. We now keep Bella inside when we let the older ones have free range time in the yard. It's working out great and there is no worry of Bella making a run for them. Hopefully the transition of the babies to the flock will go smoothly and all will be back to normal. Then we can start to look forward to some eggs---that's the reason we got these guys, right?!?

The last family pic of the old McCluckski's, a new will be on it's way...

July 5, 2009

Has It Already Been A Year??


Today marks our 1st anniversary and I can't believe how fast this past year has gone. I remember a year ago at this time I was waking up in my bed thinking, "I'm going to get married today!". Now a year later I couldn't be happier with my life and the exciting things that have happened.
Jason took me out on Friday to celebrate our anniversary. As many of you probably know, the two of us love to eat, cook, go to wonderful restaurants, etc. So we decided to make our first year anniversary gift to one another food, instead of paper (who makes up these rules anyway??). Jason booked a reservation at the Driskill Hotel Restaurant, which is consistently named one of the best restaurants in Austin (neither one of us had ever been there).

The night was amazing and we both had a great time. It was fun getting dressed up (even though I hardly had any dresses I could squeeze into since I refuse to buy a lot of maternity clothes), going out downtown, and being together. The food, the service, and the ambiance at the Driskill was all top notch and we both would recommend it to anyone celebrating a special occasion. When Jason made the reservation he let them know it was our first anniversary. This got us a secluded, more romantic table, a congratulations printed on our menus, and at the end of the night a dessert with "Happy Anniversary" spelled out in chocolate. The little touches made it that much more special.
I want to thank my husband for an amazing first year of marriage. You have been my best friend through all the adventures we have had together. I can't imagine not having you by my side as I travel through life. I love you and hope you enjoyed our anniversary celebration as much as I did (it will be our first and last anniversary alone!).

Playing around before dinner downtown...



Our Menus at the Driskill...

Enjoying our meal...

Our delicious dessert...

July 1, 2009

Rest In Peace...


Last night was a night full of lessons learned for both Jason and me. In the past week we have been letting the chickens free range more and more. For the most part we were staying outside with them to keep an eye on our dog Bella. Although a few times we would go inside for 20 minutes at a time. It seemed that Bella was completely used to the chickens and for the most part would get bored of watching them and just leave them alone.


Well...here is where the lessons are learned. Yesterday when I got home from my doctor's appointment around 5pm I let the chickens out. This was the first time I had been home alone with the chickens free ranging and Bella coming in and out of the backyard as she pleases. I spent the first hour I was home outside because yesterday was the first day in a month that it wasn't over 100 degrees. After being outside for an hour and nothing occurring between the chickens and Bella, I decided to go inside for a while.


As you can probably guess, everything wasn't completely good between the chickens and Bella. About 30 minutes later I peeked outside to check on everything and found that Bella had tapped into her natural hunting instincts.
In the end, two of our chickens survived the attack: Toula (not a surprise, she is the same chicken that made the great escape at a young age) and Satine.
Obviously it's not an option to let the chickens free range and have Bella in the backyard. We are also going to try and set more boundaries between Bella and the chickens in general (not letting her sit in front of the coop staring at them).

Lucy, Apollonia, Clementine, and Angelica were all wonderful chickens and provided us with lots of entertainment. Unfortunately they didn't get to live a full life, but we both believe that the life they did live was a happy one.