Minnesota Moments

Our original 2020 vacation was across the pond. As we're not welcome there right now, we had to think again. So, we packed up our inflatable kayaks and our dog and headed north. A few days in Grand Marais, and a few days in Duluth. It was quite pleasant. I especially loved our time in Grand Marais. 

We are the people who let our dog sit at the table with us. He's such a good guy to have around. He rarely embarrasses us. Now that we're back home, he's disappointed that he no longer gets to sit around the table with us. 

We didn't kayak as much as we thought we would, but we did get out on Two Islands Lake, and it was lovely! A really pleasant time.

We got multiple great hikes. This one was inland, and the mosquitoes were THICK. We came away with very few bites, but we were just wiping them off our necks as they settled. 

We had a couple of rainy days. On one of them, we still got out for some hikes, and Leo was less than thrilled with that particular adventure.

My favorite spot in all of Grand Marais is Artist's Point. It's beautiful and peaceful and takes some intention to get out there. I really enjoyed the scramble over the rocks to get there.

Our hotel was right on the beach of Lake Superior. The water was cold, but it still made for a lovely setting. And of course Sophia got in it.

Something I didn't know that I wanted to do was swim under a waterfall. True that this isn't the biggest waterfall we saw by a long stretch, but it made for such a nice natural freshwater swimming hole that we really enjoyed swimming here even though we had a pool back at the hotel in Duluth.

This was in Duluth on our last night of vacation. The whole trip was as relaxed as I think we're capable of being right now. Masks in public places. Washing hands and not eating inside, etc. It was much needed in terms of a change of scenery and a restart to our routine. Hoping now we have the steam to make it to the start of (online) school. 

Homemade Pizza

Every time we make pizza at home, I think of my grandma. It was one of her favorite meals, but my grandpa wasn't that into it, so she always used us kids as an excuse to break it out. Just like with all her favorites in the kitchen, she loved to experiment with it and see how she could improve. Just because we loved it already didn't mean we couldn't love it more.

In our house, Erick is the pizza experimenter. He also prides himself on finding the perfect recipes and techniques to bring deliciousness to life. Our quarantined life has made it possible for him to make pizzas even during the week. It's definitely one of our silver linings.

Here is one of his doughs rising.

Sometimes he mixes up some ground beef with Italian spices to go on top. That's yummy.

This pizza got a lovely brown on top, and the crust was delicious.

Last night, he cooked our pizzas on the grill. They started out on foil so the crust could firm up. Then he'd move it to indirect heat to finish up and get a little char on the bottom. These pizzas were the best. Crunchy and full of flavor. Mmmm.

He was pretty proud of the product even before we had tasted it.

I know better than to get attached to exactly that because perfection does not mean the end of experimentation. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Yellow Cake Chocolate Frosting

We made this cake a couple of weeks ago. It was delicious. We're trying to do a little better for our bodes and not spend so much time baking and eating. So, I'll just relive it here and imagine the way it tasted. Not too sweet. Just perfect.

The recipe, which I won't put here for this one, called for buttermilk, and we happened to have some! I buy buttermilk because Sophia makes some really delicious buttermilk biscuits occasionally. Anyway, the buttermilk contributed to the less sweet taste of the cake, I think. It was dense and moist.

Our favorite icing to cake combo is yellow cake and chocolate frosting. We used the same chocolate frosting recipe that we used on Sophia's half birthday. That frosting is amazing. So creamy. Not at all difficult to spread. I just love that stuff. I should really just make some and keep it on hand! We know why that's a bad idea, but it would be oh, so wonderful.

Here is our completed cake. It stayed together so much better than the chocolate cake did, too.

Perfect little layers of yellow cake goodness. We are trying to make good choices, but seeing this cake again definitely makes it harder.

Hope you're enjoying some quarantined deliciousness of your own! 

Socially Distanced Photo Shoots

During the first week of quarantine, which was also Sophia's Spring Break, Sophia and I walked into the woods to do a little photo shoot. It was a reason to get showered and dressed and out of the house. We decided it was something we would do occasionally as this went on. Yesterday was our second effort. Lots of fun to do this together. Sophia's enjoying being in front of and behind the camera. I'm just enjoying the silliness of the moments.

For this particular day's photos, we went up the hill to Concordia Seminary - a place with great architecture and plants to choose from as backgrounds.

Here is an over-the-shoulder smile that I'm proud of.

The squat and look up at me shot. A few shadows on the face, but overall a great picture of a beautiful girl.

This one I love because I caught the real giggle. I can't take credit for the giggle, though, she was cracking herself up.

Not sure what this is, but it was fun anyhow.

Her instructions here were, "Look confident." We can only hope that this is not actually how I look when I feel confident. Otherwise, I should definitely feel that less often.

Classic Senior picture moment. Super cute, though.

She thinks this is hilarious. She was being silly on purpose but has no idea what's meant to be happening with her hand.

Here is a photo from the jumping series.

Here's a selection from the running series.

Here is my Senior picture section. She did a great job, and I'm actually really pleased with these! Next professional headshot, probably!

 And, finally, here is our togetherness shot. Happily hanging out in the Spring sunshine. There are plenty of odd and uncomfortable moments in all of this, but I am so grateful to have Erick and this lovely girl to share every day with.

Recipe for Homemade Granola

Like everyone else, we've obviously been doing a lot in the kitchen while we're on Stay-at-Home orders. Not sure which term I like best for this state of being. 'Shelter in Place' is a good one. 'Quarantining' doesn't apply if you're not sick, right? Even 'self-quarantine' is something that requires symptoms. 'Social distancing' only applies when you're outside. Whatever you call it, we're all at home if we're able to do so, and we're all spending lots of time in the kitchen.

Today, Sophia made her very delicious homemade granola. I decided to share her recipe here in case anyone needed to make some of their own. This is a recipe from cookieandkate.com that Sophia makes every so often, and she has made a few of her own tweaks over time. So, it's tried and true and quite delicious all on its own or on yogurt with a little ripe fruit.

HOMEMADE GRANOLA
INGREDIENTS

• 4 Cups rolled oats
• 1 1/2 cups raw nuts or seeds (she uses 1 cup pecans, heaping 1/2 cup of almonds)
• 1 tsp sea salt (if table salt 3/4 tsp)
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 tsp vanilla

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 and cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper
2. Put the nuts into individual baggies and crumble them with a rolling pin or tenderizer or something. Pecans don't take much, but the almonds are much more difficult to break down.
3. In a large bowl, combine oats, nuts, salt & cinnamon
4. Pour in oil, honey and vanilla. Mix well until each oat and nut has a covering of sticky
5. Pour mixture onto your prepared sheet and use spatula to spread it in a pressed, even layer
6. Bake until lightly golden, about 21 to 24 minutes, stirring halfway and pressing again
7. Let the granola cool completely, undisturbed for an hour. Break with your hands for extra clumpy or stir with a spoon for smaller crunches.

Mixing the granola goodness

Pressing to maintain its crunchiness

Before the bake

Deliciousness after the bake.

School's Out! Only not at all, really...

When Sophia's school was on spring break, they let us know that it would be online at least through April 22nd. Last week, they let us know that the kids won't be entering the buildings again this year. Then the governor made that official for everyone, so at least there's that. 

For the first couple of weeks of online school, Sophia has been at the dining room table. It's roomy and bright and the chairs are comfortable. It worked. However, once it was officially going to be the full quarter, we decided she needed some more permanence and privacy. So, I set her up in our third bedroom/back room this morning. Now she has a designated study and classroom space and can focus without interruptions from me or Erick. From me, it's puttering, cooking, walking in and out. From Erick, it's conference calls and wandering through. So, we're hoping for the best. School has not been easy so far, but I know everyone is just doing the best they can. Seventh grade has gotten pretty weird, but I know Sophia will get through it. I just keep wondering what all of this is going to mean for these kids. What an interesting and memorable way to spend a spring.

Half Birthday - Full Chocolate

Friday was Sophia's half birthday. We don't normally celebrate those kinds of things, but pretty sure everyone could use an excuse to make cake right now.

We made my grandma's chocolate cake recipe. It was delicious. Since it was a half birthday, we layered the two round pans into four half layers. It was momentarily beautiful. As soon as we cut into it, the cake fell apart. But that did not affect its texture or taste or ability to lift us up. Really good cake is what I'm saying.

No half birthday letter, but let's just say that we are looking for the next reason to celebrate!