Claire earns her letter jacket at districts

Claire swam in districts this weekend. She was ranked 13th in the 50 freestyle swam a personal best to make it to the finals (top 8), however was disqualified for moving on the blocks prior to the start. Pretty heartbreaking. She came in 9th in the 100 freestyle,with another personal best 101.14. On Saturday when she arrived at the meet to watch her friends she was told one of the finalist was injured so that moved her into the finals. She finished 8th with a 100.43,another personal best. Way to go Claire!

Pasta with Mushrooms and Pumpkin-Gorganzola Sauce

Here is another recipe to try. I will leave up the other quiz, so you can still vote on the black bean soup also.


Ingredients
1 pound uncooked pennette (small penne)
1 tbsp olive oil
5 cups thinly sliced shiitake mushroom caps (about ¾ pound whole mushrooms)
4 cups vertically sliced onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp chopped fresh sage
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
1½ tbsp cornstarch
1½ tbsp cold water
½ cup (2 oz) crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
½ cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
⅛ tsp grated whole nutmeg
Fresh sage sprigs (optional)

View full recipeInstructions
Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Keep warm.
Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, onion, and garlic; cover and cook 3 minutes. Uncover; cook 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally.
Combine chopped sage and milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer. Combine cornstarch and water, stirring with a whisk. Add cornstarch mixture and cheese to milk mixture, stirring with a whisk. Cook 2 minutes or until thick and smooth, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in pumpkin, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
Add pasta and pumpkin mixture to mushroom mixture; toss well to combine. Garnish with fresh sage sprigs, if desired.

Save the date!

We are planning John's 50th birthday party. Even though the March 13th is actually Marie's birthday we decided we could celebrate both on the 13th. I will keep you posted!

Claire 's swimming update

Last weekend Claire swan in two different meets. She was able to better her time in the 50 free, 100 free and 200 free. Most notably she swam a 50 free in under 28 seconds, a 27.71. This had been a goal of hers. She will swim in the high school district meet on Friday Jan 29th. A side note, at the UT meet we got to see a 14 year old Missy Freidman from Colorado. She was by far the fastest female in the pool and the UT womens team was competing in this meet. She almost broke a couple of UT swim center records!

Katherine will be shriven on Saturday

Dear All, Now I have blog mania--I hope someone reads this. Any way, Katherine will have her first confession tomorrow and hopefully we will have some pictures to share. Since she is clearly a great sinner for such a little one, the change should be obvious to all. So, remember your granddaughter/cousin/niece tomorrow as she will be shriven of all her culpae.

Jim

Our long blogsphere nightmare is finally over

After many long hours of fiddling with this blog, finally, I say "finally", I have figured out how to post a post. Unfortunately, I have nothing particularly relevant to say. 24 was great and John wants to buy an electric guitar. Other than that, all is well in Hilltopia

Jim

Voting on TasteBook Recipes

I am hoping to have some new recipes for the TasteBook printed this Spring. There are already several recipes that have been added to the website. My father, however, suggested that some of the recipes should be vetted before being allowed in the cookbook. He also suggested that we do this by voting on the recipes through an online survey.

Below is the first of the recipes and the survey. Every week I will post one of the recipes in question and a survey with it. Please participate by trying the recipe and then voting. I will leave the surveys up for one month.

Black Bean-Tomato Soup with Cilantro Lime Cream

Ingredients

2 bacon slices, chopped

½ cup onion, chopped

¼ cup celery, chopped

1 tsp ground cumin, divided

½ tsp chipotle chile powder

1 garlic clove, minced

¼ tsp black pepper

1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed & drained

1 (14.5 oz) can no salt added diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (14 oz) can fat free, less sodium chicken broth

¼ cup reduced fat sour cream

1 tbsp fresh cilantro, minced

½ tsp grated lime rind

1 tbsp fresh lime juice

avocado slices (optional garnish)

View full recipeInstructions

Cook bacon in a large stock pot over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon, reserving 1 tsp dripping in pan; set bacon aside. Add onion & celery to pan; cook 5 minutes or until celery is tender. Stir in ¾ tsp cumin, chile powder, & garlic; cook 1 minute. Stir in bacon, pepper, beans, tomatoes, & broth; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, & simmer 10 minutes. Place half of bean mixture in blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in lid (to avoid splatter). Blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining bean mixture; process until smooth.

Combine sour cream, remaining ¼ tsp cumin, cilantro, lime rind & juice in a small bowl. Drizzle cream over soup.

The recipe is supposed to serve 4 but it doesn't make a lot. If you want it to be the main course for more than 3 people, I suggest doubling the recipe. Instead of a traditional blender, you can use a submersion blender to make this part easier.

Laura arrives safely

Laura sent me a text that she arrived safely at her housing. This weekend will be here orientation. She is hoping to watch the new season of Lost via Skype.

Laura's off to Rome

Just got an text from Laura, She is finaly on the plane. A day late but she is on her way. We all wish her luck. If you want to skype with her, her skype name is uptake88.

Have Fun Laura!!!

Can someone put Laura's address on the blog?