When Leftovers Become Magic

I was feeling ambitious yesterday and thought I would make a homemade dessert. 

My first thought was apple crisp, because I was making meatloaf for dinner and if I plan it right, I can make the topping for the crisp in the food processor before I use the food processor to make the slurry of grossness for the meatloaf (you know what I mean--the nasty mixture of eggs, onions, garlic, and breadcrumbs that gets mixed with the meat) AND the crisp can bake at the same time as the meatloaf. 

I just love kitchen efficiency.

But then I remembered the four egg yolks left over from when the MiL made the chiffon cake for her sister's birthday. So I decided to make chocolate pudding.

I used this recipe from Martha Stewart, mostly because it was the first one that came up when I typed "chocolate pudding four egg yolks" into Google. I have also in the past made the Tyler Florence recipe that is the second recipe that comes up when you type that combination of words into Google. I liked the Tyler Florence one better because it was more chocolate-y, but everyone else preferred the Martha Stewart one.

I used half milk and half cream instead of all milk, because I had the cream and why not, right? I also omitted the straining step, because it was too thick when I took it off the heat to strain through the very fine-mesh strainer I had. Didn't make a difference. I alsoalso used salted butter instead of unsalted, because it was all I had. Again, didn't make a difference. Oh, and I alsoalsoalso did not use plastic wrap pressed into the top to prevent the skin from forming, because I didn't care.

So, with all the changes, can I call it MY chocolate pudding recipe, then? Sure. Anyway, it's the one I'm going to use from here on out. Or at least whenever I have leftover egg yolks.

And the Nobel Prize for Science Goes To . . .

Charlie exited the bathroom this morning announcing, "I have a great observation: When you have tons of pee, it makes lots of bubbles." This was followed by, "This is how I know I'm going to be a great scientist when I'm a grown up."

American Medical Journal, take note: "The Male Urinary Stream and Its Effect on Toilet Effervescence," by Charlie is coming your way in 30 years or so.

Oh, Just a Thursday

School for Cubby and Charlie today (hooray!); Mommy School for Jack*; dressing children, changing diapers, cooking, dusting, exercising, and all the other minutia that makes up a day for me.

We do get to bring a pretty impressive chiffon cake to Cubby's school today. It's the MiL's sister's birthday today. She happens to be the founder and still principal at Cubby's school, so the MiL made a chiffon cake last night and is sending it in for her sister via her grandson. Or rather, via her daughter-in-law, since I wouldn't trust Cubby to get a cake anywhere in one piece. That boy does love his desserts.

I can guarantee you that Charlie is going to be unhappy that Cubby is bringing a WHOLE, ENTIRE CAKE to school today and Charlie gets . . . stone soup. They make vegetable soup at his preschool every Thursday. Every kid brings in a vegetable and they all help cut them up and add them to the pot (like the story "Stone Soup", get it?). Charlie is not such a fan of soup to begin with, and to be honest, this soup is pretty bland, so I think the jealousy of cake vs. soup will be strong.

This is why I've been hoarding a couple of cookies, in anticipation of this very day. So Cubby gets cake, Charlie gets a cookie, and Jack gets . . . well, maybe if he's lucky he'll get some apple/pear sauce. Sucks being a baby sometimes.

Happy Thursday, my lovelies! What are you up to today?

* This is what I told Cubby and Charlie that Jack does while they're at their schools. In Mommy School, Jack learns how to eat from a spoon, walk, talk, and build with blocks. This is about the only school I feel I am equipped to teach. Beyond this, I leave it to the professionals.

All Different, But All the Same

Jack may be notably different than his big brothers in some ways (a notably better crawler, for one thing--go, Speed Crawler, go!), but there are some universals when it comes to babies.

To wit:

This is the cabinet they have all raided when I lock them in the kitchen with me so I can make dinner.

Yes, I know what you're doing, Jack. Not that I care, as long as you're occupied while I'm cooking.

Don't bother fleeing the scene of the destruction, Speed Crawler. I know it was you. It's cool. It's a tradition. See below.

Same pots and pans, same cabinet, different baby (that's baby Charlie).

A Day of Rest (HA) and Indulgence

It's Sunday morning! That means a full shower with hair washing* AND the opportunity to trim my nails. WHEE!

Let's hear it for weekend pampering, of the most pathetic sort.

* After completing my first day of Level Two in the 30-Day Shred which is . . . ow. Yeah, "ow" about sums it up.