Today's Happenings

David, Frank, and Roshan rode their bikes from our house to Anza. We were going to meet up with them there so they won't have to ride back. So the kids and I decided to checkout the town's library and swap meet. Anza's one of those place we drive by all the time, but never stop.

Had some blood oranges with breakfast. Abby loves fruit, but didn't want any of these since they are "blood" oranges. I told her they are made out of blood. She grossed out and wouldn't touch them. She's eaten them before, but in her head they're not oranges. Funny how their minds work.
Entering forbidden land...the Indian reservation... Emi had spent the night at Mallory's.


Mallory's dad built a teepee/sweat lodge on his land. Pretty cool.

There were some wild cows hangin' out on the side of the road. They just stopped what they were doing and walked over to the car and just stared at us. We were cracking up.
Driving into Anza.






The kids have a fascination with tumbleweeds. They wanted me to take a picture of this one in a huge puddle. Look, a tumbleweed's swimming! They just thought it was the funniest thing.



The Anza swap meet. Pretty small, but better than nothing. It's been years since I've been to one. The kids have grown to enjoy garage/yard sales (I wonder where they got that from?), and I told them it's like a bunch of garage sales all in one place! So they brought their money, hoping to score some great deals. Sage found himself some cool sports stuff.
Went to a park to wait for the phone call from David...

Emi scored herself a pair of roller skates for a dollar. Good thing, since Santa didn't bring her one.
I'm flying!
After picking the guys up, they were hungry so we went to get some Mexican food. Plan A was pizza, but unfortunately they were closed till 4pm. Only in a small town...



David and his buddies. Frank looks like he was hungry.
Plate lickin' good, Sage?
I wonder what they were talking about...
Got home, made a batch of mochi. I've been gettin' good use out of that mochi maker.

Also made some blondies. David thought I shouldn't make them, after a long day, but since I had already pulled out the butter and egg, I whipped up a batch real quick. He had wanted me to make plain blondies, so we'd know what they taste like, and figure out how to made additions. Quite good, and took less than 15 minutes to mix together. Sometimes, plain and simple is best.

Recipe by Lauren Chattman (Mom's Big Book of Baking)

Pantry Blondies

1 c. flour

1 t. baking powder

1/4 t. salt

1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 c. firmly packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1 t. vanilla

3/4 c. chopped walnuts (omitted for Emi)

1. Preheat the oven to 350*F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil, making sure that the foil is tucked into all the corners and that there is at least 1-inch overhanging the top of the pan on all sides.

2. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small mixing bowl.

3. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Remove it from the heat. With a wooden spoon, stir in the brown sugar until it is dissolved. Quickly whisk in the egg and vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture until just incorporated. Stir in the walnuts.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake the blondies until they are just set in the center, 25 to 30 minutes. Let them cool completely on a wire rack.

5. Grasping the overhanding foil on either side of the pan, lift out the blondies and place them on a cutting board. Cut them into 16 squares.

Pantry Blondies will keep at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

I found it interesting that the butter got melted and the sugar getting dissolved in it. I wonder if that somehow improves the taste.