tammy circeo: telling life stories

My Christmas Man Friday

I have no colossal news to post tonight.

So you're probably wondering why I'm showing up, huh?

Oh! Wait!! I do have colossal news! My son kicked the winning goal for our soccer team's win tonight!! Woo Hoo!! That's colossal given that he is a Sweeper! His goal scored on PKs and if you don't know what that is … it's kind of like kick-offs after the overtime. Whoever scores first after the first five tries, wins. That was MY kid … and he was 8^th .

On to other non-colossal news …

My college roommate neighbor (that means that she wasn't my roommate, but she was my neighbor with another roommate … does that make sense?!), Missy (who is so formally called "Melissa" on FB), posted on facebook today,

"Only Robinson Crusoe had everything done by Friday."

I heard angels singing and saw clouds parting when I read that! Heavens to Betsy … Hope is in sight! Not everything has to be accomplished by today OR by ME! I breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I need a Man Friday!"

[CAN you hire a "Man Friday"? I think that is a great name for Handi-Man business. His tag-line could be "I'm your Man Friday. I can get it all done BEFORE Friday!"]

If only.

All of Friday aside, I've spent many hours this week designing Christmas cards for a couple of photo clients and I thought I might share some.

• If you don't like them, please be kind and don't say anything.
• If you like them, just say, "Nice work".

{I can't show you the one I designed for my own family until after it's sent because you just might receive it snail mail. And if you don't receive it snail mail, you'll see it here wishing the best that this season has to offer!)

All of these cards are designed 'par moi' and available in reds, greens, black/white, and brown/blue. The papers I used are from My Lil Creations, a fabulous resource for commercial use products.

This design is called "Christmas Greetings".

This one is called "Spectacular Holiday" and the squares on the sides can also host photos.

This one is "Our Gift".

The "Merry Christmas" font in the last one might need to be changed. I'm still checking on the 'usage terms'. Sadly, it's all so sticky.

These are all "RED" because the mom belonging to the kids in this photo wants a "RED" card. I did some mock-ups in green and even in blues&browns and they were beautiful as well. I can also tailor any font you wish!

My personal card is all Baroque and black + white … a touch of red … un petit peu francais.

I can't wait to see it in real life!

Oktoberfest 2009

Every fall, we celebrate our own Oktoberfest at home with Grilled Bratwursts. It's not a raucous beer-guzzling event with sausages flying, girls in native costume, and dancing traditional dances, but it is usually a rather sedate, peaceful meal shared with friends. Not at all what you would expect from a typical Oktoberfest gala! Since we moved into this neighborhood, we have invited Glenn and Lori over to share the meal with us. I told you about last year's celebration in this ever-so-wordy post and even shared the recipe there, too!

This year, October seemed to fill up really quickly for us and I have felt like I've been running to keep up with everything that is going on. I purchased the Brats for the meal, but ended up putting them in the freezer before I could get them grilled up! So the day after Halloween, this past Sunday, even though it was no longer October, I thought that would be a cozy meal to make. And if I invited Glenn and Lori over, I knew she would be grateful since she had hosted the unofficial Neighborhood Halloween Party the night before.

Boy, do they go all out for that party! They even do a Haunted House in their upstairs hallway for the kids to go through. And they have food galore, homemade root beer and costumes, and movies in the playhouse for the kids. So much fun!

The recipe I use for Brats and Sauerkraut comes from one I watched Emeril make a few years ago. Frankly, I don't really like watching him, but this recipe is fantastic! My German mother-in-law even loved the kraut when I made it once when they were visiting. You'll need red AND yellow onions and apples. Apples may not seem like a normal ingredient in kraut, but trust me, you'll be happy you used them in this one!

You'll also need juniper berries. Terribly strange ingredient. You can usually find them in the spice aisle, but I buy them in the bulk section of my grocery store, so be sure to check there. If you absolutely can't find them, I'm sure you could leave them out without sacrificing too much flavor. One ingredient you CAN'T do without is the beer! DARK beer.

This IS a German dish after all. Germans + beer = synonymous. If you have wheat allergies or gluten intolerances, you can even find gluten-free beer so that you can still enjoy this dish with all the flavor that is intended. It's about the flavor!

The brats get simmered in the beer and red onions first, and grilled later.

The kraut gets rinsed, put in a pot with apples and onions and spices.

It all simmers for a while, getting all happy in the pot, then you should serve it up German-style with plenty of bread and mustard to go around.

I was right … Lori was grateful to have dinner cooked for her the night after the Halloween party! We all enjoyed the meal, even the little people. We were especially happy that even though it was a spontaneous invitation and quite a casual meal, it was still cozy, filling, and satisfying. The company helps, too!

Please enjoy these brats any time of year … doesn't have to Oktober!

And this year? Well, this year, there's a downloadable recipe for you!

Download Bratwurst Cooked in Beer

New Friend

Hashimoto has moved in and set up camp. To my knowledge, I didn't invite him. But that's OK. After all, I wrote just yesterday about enjoying spontaneous guests, didn't I? So he is here and I am employing various techniques to make his stay a bit more enjoyable for myself. There's no way I would make his stay more enjoyable for HIM! Frankly, the things I feel when he's around make me wish he'd never shown up, but I'm sure we can work this out in the end.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, Hashimoto's Disease is a malfunction of the thyroid, commonly referred to as hypothyroidism, but more amusingly named after some Japanese something, apparently. It's a situation of the pituitary gland sending a message to the thyroid gland to perform a function that it is no longer capable of performing as it once did in the days of its Prima Donna status. In which case, the thyroid gland kindly and softly puts on the brakes, which makes the pituitary gland accelerate even more, demand even more, and ultimately, make the thyroid irritated to the point of not functioning properly. All of this unusual activity makes one gain weight (check), feel extremely fatigued (check), taxes one's adrenal system as well (check), and overall makes one feel like crap (check, check, check, check, check!). [Excuse my language.] When you spend most days doing the equivalent of swimming through mud and forcing your mind, emotions, body, and will to act otherwise, you sometimes end up wanting to say far worse words than 'crap'. So 'crap' it is, folks.

I had my follow-up appointment with my doctor today and I only have one regret about it. And that is that I don't have a photo of her or of her fabulous office. Besides, there isn't any way to encapsulate on film the care that she provides her patients. If you are her patient, you feel that you are her only one. She gives her time and attention solely to you for as long as you demand it. Truly. She doesn't stick by the unwritten 7-minute rule imposed by insurance companies. I sometimes just want to keep talking and talking and talking … just to spend more time with her. If she wasn't my doctor, she would be a good friend, I'm sure of it. Her practice has grown to include other doctors and I'm SO grateful that I found her before so many other people did … that means she is MINE!

So where do Hashimoto and I go from here? I certainly don't want him getting TOO comfortable around these parts!

The great news is that Hashimoto cannot debilitate me even though some days I feel TOTALLY debilitated! The better news is that with thyroid medication, vitamin supplements, and better stress management (hmm … that could be a tough act to perform), I can achieve a better quality of life than what Hashimoto has been telling me I can have. I'm kicking him to the curb! And plan to fully enjoy more and more of life. Are you with me?! Please be my cheerleader!!

Apple Party

One of my favorite things to do is to spontaneously invite people over. I've done it the last two weekends so I'm seeing a trend happening here! We were visiting with friends one afternoon when the conversation turned to the game Apples to Apples and before I knew it, not only did we plan to play that evening, but I was also committing to making Apple Cider Doughnuts for a crowd of about twelve! Unawares to me, I signed up to host an Apple Party!

I first heard about Apple Cider Doughnuts on a trip to New York State to visit my friend. It was in the fall so we loaded up the kiddos and headed out to the apple orchard to pick apples. The little farm store had hot apple cider and matching doughnuts that were a welcome and tasty treat after trudging through the orchard. Shelli and I talked about recreating them by using a cake doughnut recipe and substituting apple cider for the liquid called for. I don't remember that I ever did try it and I'm not sure whether she did or not. This recipe calls for reducing the apple cider before using it in the recipe. It was almost like a syrup by the time I put it in the batter! So yummy.

I hadn't found a recipe since my NY trip many years ago, but one popped up in my Reader a few days ago and I knew that I wanted to try it. (Her recipe is adapted from the Hearth Restaurant and I didn't do much different to it except use a deep fat fryer as opposed to using a pot on the stove.)

I rarely eat doughnuts –never buy them, in fact—but if you give me a recipe, I'll probably be tempted to make them, especially if they are tied to a good memory. My mom always made homemade doughnuts and cinnamon rolls and I think it's one of the coziest things you can make homemade!

I so rarely make them that I couldn't even find my doughnut cutter! So I called Lori, my neighbor who rescues me from my lack of planning all the time, and of course, she had one I could borrow. Right at her fingertips. Well, 'right at her fingertips' after she rummaged through her cookie cutter drawer …

I was so puzzled over why I couldn't find mine that I made a huge search for it after I got the dough chilling. I figured if Lori found hers hanging with her cookie cutters, perhaps mine had the same idea. Sure enough! There it was!! Doughnuts are really just 'glorified cookies' anyway, right?!

Lori's made fatter doughnuts and smaller holes and mine made skinny doughnuts and fatter holes. I like the idea of skinny doughnuts. Fewer calories, you know! ;)

Don't worry if you don't have a doughnut cutter … just use a regular glass for the doughnut and maybe a shot glass (for whiskey OR espresso shots!) for the hole. In fact, in the end, I almost wished that I had just made the holes and no doughnuts!

After they are cut from the dough, you should let the dough refrigerate for a bit. I wondered why, but realized by the time I got to the end of the bunch of them and they were getting warmer, that the dough is really sticky if it isn't refrigerated. Sticky dough is much harder to drop into hot oil and you risk burned fingers! It does take quite a bit of oil for the frying, but don't fret much about that either. If you use vegetable shortening instead of oil, the dough becomes crispier and absorbs less. And if you drain the doughnuts on paper towels, there'll be less oil as well. It's really not that bad of a deal for a one-time-a-year experience.

We dipped the tops in Cinnamon Sugar and stacked them up, but that stack quickly disappeared!

They were declared fabulous!

AND cozy.

Download Apple Cider Doughnuts

Le Weekend - 500

I should be editing photos from a recent photo shoot, but I'm finding it more appealing at the moment to sit here with you, my internet friends. For one, I haven't posted a "Le Weekend" Post in a few weeks, and for another, it seems appropriate that my 500^th post should be a "Le Weekend" one. Something kind of relaxing, momentous, and celebratory all at the same time about posting on a weekend.

Our last two weekends have been quite full of hanging with fabulous friends and neighbors and that is just the way we like them. Weekends are a great opportunity to catch up with people you care about and that's another reason why I am here with you this afternoon … I'll just take a small moment to thank you for hanging out with me here in cyber-space, for reading my posts, for commenting, for trying my recipes, and for being a part of my life. Many of you I know on a personal level, but many of you I have never met and yet you feel like good friends!

Here's to another 500 posts and many more friends!

(I'm off to get some photos done now … and finish up our Brats and Kraut dinner to share with neighbors!)

Trick-or-Treat?

"…Smell my feet … Gimme something good to eat!"

Come on by, kids! The candy is waiting for you!

Decorating and Dedication

Ben's room has always been the easiest one in my home to decorate …

Why? Because he cares only about baseball! So if baseball is the decorating theme, the kid is happy.

His interests have widened over the years (to include girls!), but in his world, BASEBALL ROCKS 'N RULES! In fact, the first piece of 'art' I bought for his room when he was about a year old was a vintage-style baseball print. I love vintage and am happy that it still hangs over his bed, three houses later. He also has signed photos of old baseball players, old postage stamp baseball figures, trophies, signed professional baseballs in cases, his own game balls in cases … We need to get a bat rack now because he has a couple of signed baseball bats that could be very well displayed that way. And I'm sure he will collect more.

Yeah, baseball is a way of life as far as our Ben is concerned. I know I've mentioned it before, but my sister-in-law gave me a plaque that says, "We interrupt this family for baseball season." I would only change it to say, "We interrupt this family for baseball. PERIOD. NO QUESTIONS ASKED. Get real."

Get it?

Got it!

Good! Because that's that way it is.

Ben's dreams for his future have baseball as the focal point, framing them, and pretty much consuming the whole of them. He spent this past weekend with the coaching staff of Arizona State University, training and skill refining. After the first day, he was thrilled to have been a part of it, but after the second day, came home totally motivated for hitting. He is a good hitter, knows how to read the ball out of the pitcher's hand, and yet, still learned MORE from the hitting coach from ASU. It's wonderful to know that there is more to learn!

You might not be able to see the title on this page, but it reads, "Arizona State University/Hitter's Creed/Trust the Plan". It then outlines 20 things that a good hitter must be cognizant and confident of every time he approaches the plate.

Furthermore, you might not be able to see that Ben used dirty, spent athletic tape to secure it crookedly to the wall. (It makes me giggle to think that this is the same tape that was on his wrist or ankle just earlier. He's a frugal kid, too!) AND you can't tell (because of the buttery, blurry, bokeh background that I'm so thankful for at the moment!) that Ben's bed is unmade! I love buttery, blurry backgrounds. They hide a multitude of sins. [It is a sin in our house to not make your bed in the morning! It could cost you a privilege. Ben has a 'multitude of sins' at the moment. He'll probably be losing a multitude of privileges. And now it's on the .www! … ("but love covers a multitude of sins" will be his argument! ;)]

What I love about the fact that he hung this 'Creed' just inside his bedroom door is that *I* didn't hang it. I had nothing to do with it. He didn't even ask me whether he could hang it or not. He came home from the ASU Camp and hung it in an extremely visible place because it is meaningful to him, it motivates him, and he wants to achieve goals.

Decorating aside, this is something adorning Ben's space that is all about him, about his passion, about what he wants to remember, about a weekend he spent with people from whom he learned a ton, about his dedication…

Having a 'Creed" means you are committing to something outside of yourself, and "trusting the plan" shows that there are steps to take to achieve a goal. Posting that "creed" and that "plan" means that you are passionate and committed to seeing results. Dedication is your modus operandi.

May God grant me the wisdom to respond to my child's dedication (and to not care about the soiled, crooked way he taped the Creed on his wall!)

… and may God further grant me the 'love to cover his multitude of *measly* sins'!

Eat to Live … ?

I don't know where I first heard about the French Laundry, an upscale restaurant in Napa Valley, California. But ever since I did, I've had a dream of going there. I'm sure it is possible that I could go since Napa Valley is on my list of places to visit, however, with the price of the meal being what it is, I'm not sure I could justify eating there! The experience itself would be amazing, to be sure.

So what makes it so special, you might wonder … Even a quick look around the website is inviting, especially since one of the first things you see is a photo of a gorgeous blue door that makes you want to walk right in. I love pretty doors! The website is clean, white, fresh, beautiful … just like the name of the restaurant. The photographs are spectacular, challenging me to be more creative in my own. The descriptions of the food vendors used show passion for one's work causing me to re-examine where my own passions truly lie. And the dedication on the part of the chef & owner, Thomas Keller, to provide top-quality food, prepared in a top-quality manner, in a top-quality location spurs me to excellence. Furthermore, the cookbook by the same name as the restaurant is nothing short of fabulous … it's huge, filled with photographs and careful instructions for beautiful recipes that most of us home cooks would never attempt, but has been on my Wish List for awhile.

[Photo from Jessica's Biscuit]

As of today, I've also added his book Ad Hoc at Home (I thought it was releasing next week, but apparently it is already available), a cookbook named after a more casual restaurant of his, but with more approachable recipes.

[Photo from Jessica's Biscuit]

I wouldn't even have gone to the French Laundry website had it not been for the little nudge from the Gluten-free Girl at the end of her blog post today to read an article written about the chef & owner and his relationship with his dad. The title of the article is "What the Last Meal Taught Him" and is about the journey that Thomas Keller has been on in his career and personal relationships, specifically the one with his father. He didn't grow up with his father and only got to know him later in life, and ended up being his primary caregiver in the last years. As he cooked simple meals for his father, and in the last year, hand-fed him each one because his father had become a quadriplegic, he learned that his life and career were not all about him. He learned to give unselfishly to his dad, but also to his career, writing more books to share his knowledge and leave a tangible legacy. He learned that striving for perfection is necessary, but shouldn't supersede relationships in his life.

This article was thought-provoking for me because I was a bit surprised to read that someone as ensconced in the food world as Thomas Keller didn't seem to embrace what seemed so natural to me: the connections between food and memories, food and relationships, food and living. Seeing those connections and being passionate about documenting our life is what prompted me to start writing this blog a couple of years ago. I love stories of family and love, kids' antics, holiday celebrations, a mother's devotion … and it seems that many of my childhood memories and subsequently my adult memories are connected in some way to food. Perhaps it was the traditional fondue dinner that Mom made each Christmas Eve, or often smelling her homemade Pound Cake as I fell asleep at night, or having super-strong coffee with the Mesdames in the back room of their clothing shop in a small village in Belgium, German Pancakes at Mom and Dad C's on Sunday evenings, or watching the fish fly in Pike Place Market, then bringing one home to grill. I could go on and on because I find a pleasure in eating, smelling, and sharing moments with people I love, foods, and fragrances. Food can bridge the gap in relationships, supporting them by creating experiences to remember. For Thomas Keller, it took living through certain situations to show him these connections and at that point, he fully embraced them.

That leads me to the conflict I feel between the phrases "live to eat" or "eat to live". For me, it is kind of like the question of the chicken or the egg coming first. It seems to go round and round. Does there really have to be a choice? It is a common misconception that those who "live to eat" don't eat healthfully, make poor food choices, and over-consume. I suggest, however, that those who "live to eat" enjoy a more balanced approach to food and experiences and consequently "eat to live … well". A twist on the phrase seems appropriate as it encapsulates food, relationships, and memory-making.

Things of beauty … French Laundry, cooking for others, eating together, creating memories, living well … agreed?

Enjoy the French Laundry website and read the article about Thomas Keller and his dad!

It’s the “Wind’s Day” – Ranch Chili

Pooh is famous for saying "It's the Wind's Day" and truly, brisk, windy days create an appetite for a warm soup, stew, or chili. There's no better time than late October for such days and food so a few days ago, I pulled out an old standard from the Notebook and got it simmering. This recipe is one that you get started, then go about your afternoon while smelling the most divine promise of a hearty dinner and salivating the entire time! It's great for a weekend, or after a cold Friday night football game, for Super Bowl Sunday or Halloween night … Or any night when you feel like having a bit of warming food. It's your choice!

I first found this recipe in a Sunset Magazine and give them all the credit for the many times that I've made it since then. I change it up a little, but pretty much stick to the perfection that was the original recipe. I'm sure that the original creator of this recipe intended it for ranchers or cowboys … or football players … or at least people who really like beef! If you don't like meat, you should probably not waste another second reading this post. It is nothing you would enjoy.

In fact, if you don't like LOTS of meat, it most certainly isn't for you.

As if four pounds of beef chuck isn't enough, we also add in ¾ pound of peppered bacon, of the best quality, of course.

This is not your mother's chili recipe … In fact, there's not even any chili powder in it. However, there are these fabulous dried chiles …

… that are reconstituted with warm beef broth and whirled in the food processor.

There's also garlic and onions …

… that help deglaze the pan after browning the meats.

… and only two spices: oregano and cumin. Two of my favorites!

A bit of dark beer and more beef broth round off the chili and everything cozies up together in the pot for awhile. You can choose to cozy up with a blanket and good book 'long about now because the chili will simmer for 2-2 ½ hours!

(If you don't want to use the beer, you will end up with a different flavor, but I'm sure it will still be tasty enough. You could try using some strong coffee instead! Just make sure you have enough liquid.)

Finish it off with broiled poblano chiles about 30 minutes before serving. Top each bowl with cilantro and offer choices of avocado, crumbled Mexican cheese, and sour cream. Toast up some flour tortillas to eat alongside and you'll enjoy the best chili you've ever eaten on a cold Autumn or Winter's Day.

Why don't you whip up a pot of this for Halloween this year? Just to spice things up a bit!

(PS—Disclosure: you might think this would be quite a spicy dish, but it really isn't. It has really great flavor and there is a hint of hot, but certainly nothing intolerable. You can always heat it up a bit more by adding extra chilis or peppers, perhaps topping your own serving with chopped jalapenos or something.)

Enjoy!

Download Ranch Chili

Simply Living – The 15-minute Trick

A conversation with my sister-in-law last week about the horrors of keeping up with the housework triggered the memory of this 15-minute trick that I learned many years ago. I don't always practice it, but I should! Because when I DO, I am less frustrated with getting things done.

It's really very simple and truly only takes 15 minutes. Here's how it works …

You know the way that desk in the kitchen gets piled up with the mail, cookbooks, and papers the kids bring home from school?

[Now you know my deep and dirty secret! Yeah, the one that is really deep and dirty, but not so secret anymore …]

Set the timer for 15 minutes and go to town clearing it and putting things away. When 15 minutes are done, it should look like this!

In fact, it might just happen that it won't even take 15 minutes. I was done in E-I-G-H-T minutes! Really, I was! I have an extra seven minutes to put somewhere!

Or it might happen that it will take longer and you'll have to decide to just be done with it, or agree with yourself not to get upset because the task is taking longer than 15 minutes and go ahead and finish it up.

(And I'm drawing the line at showing you all the areas of my house that need 15 minutes worth of attention!)

You might be surprised at how much you can do in such a short period of time. Do you know that a load of clothes can be folded in 15 minutes? Or did you know that it usually takes LESS THAN 15 minutes to load the dishwasher after a meal, or dust the living room furniture, or sweep the kitchen? It's even possible to power clean a bathroom in 15 minutes! We tend to think that it takes longer than that because we get distracted with all the other things that also need to be done. Maintaining a focus on a single task will allow you to accomplish more than you thought possible.

Decide on a 15-minute task to do each day and you'll be pleased at the decline in clutter and dust in your home! Now, hand the broom to your husband, and set the timer for him!! Ha.

What areas besides housework could this trick be applied to? What about that book you want to read? What if you allowed yourself to read for 15 minutes a day? What about a 15-minute walk in the neighborhood? What about a handwritten note to a friend?

Can you spare 15 minutes a day to make a change in your life?

I'm off to power clean my bathroom! Ready? Set? GO!