Snowy Walk in the Forest

We have a rule in this house, totally self-inflicted, that our kids are only allowed one class/activity at a time. It stems, primarily, from our own inherent laziness. It does, however, also make sense that little kids don't need a million activities to grow and learn. We got the play thing down, school is a great for social interaction, and all their good and bad lessons are rooted in time with family and friends.

Now that I've said that, I'm going to contradict myself. The Monster is in skiing lessons right now (which she adores - her word) and an art class. She had the choice of dance, gymnastics, singing, karate, or anything else. She asked for art. That's my girl!

Because I am notoriously late at registering her for things and am often left with little choice I wasn't optimistic when faced with our art class choices. Luck/karma was on my side though. She got into everyone's first choice - Anatomy. Have a mentioned her obsession with human anatomy before? She spends a lot of time with the med school anatomy text book my brother loaned her.

Needless to say, I was quite keen to see what came out of her when she started her class. Last week was all about skeletons and they got to play with actual molding clay. This picture is from her first class. I'm not sure what the goal was, but she tells us it is a picture of her walking through a snowy forest. Uh, okay, if you say so.

I'm not sharing this here to brag about my gifted child (you should see her sad excuse for a t-rex skeleton), rather, to share this awesome design. It reminds me of the one I did here, but just enough different. There is definitely a quilt in this...

Friction and Brisket

As I've told you before our dinner conversation is quite often nothing by Daddy and I constantly reminded the girls to stop singing/talking/playing with the forks and start eating. Tonight, however, was different.

The Monster started skiing lessons this morning. We were a bit worried because she has a tendency to be uber frustrated when she can't do something perfectly the first time she tries. Skiing is apparently another story. She loves it so much it wore out her entire body, as she told us.

Dinner conversation tonight was minimal until she'd scarfed down her brisket, broccoli, and last minute request of beets and blood oranges. (Yes, dinner was brought to us by the Letter B.) While we waited for her sister to finish the conversation turned to friction. Some days it's fart jokes, some days it is University level physics.

Hubby and The Monster are discussing friction and how it allows for movement. He launches into a lesson on the difference between static and dynamic friction. And she totally gets it. Scary. At the end of dinner she starts pulling on his arm and this conversation happens:

Hubby: You can't pull me because I have a higher coefficient of static friction.

The Monster: Oh yeah? Well I have superhero friction.

Hubby: What's that?

The Monster: Superhero friction lets me push off and fly.

That's when I served the brownies.

Slow Cooked Maple Cider Brisket

This recipe is adapted from the Edible cookbook. The meat itself was a gorgeous cut from Hoven Farms, but not quite as big as the recipe called for, so I played with it a bit. To be honest, I've never cooked a brisket before. I will be adding it to the regular repertoire from now on. Fantastic! Fork tender, with this almost sweet and sour sauce, this brisket was perfect for this cold, snowy day and a table full of hungry bellies. It served all of us and there is enough left for another family dinner.

1 large red onion

1 tbsp bacon drippings

5 cloves garlic

2 1/2 pound beef brisket

1 tbsp kosher salt

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

1/4 tsp chili powder

1 tbsp tomato sauce

1 cup strong brewed tea (original recipe called for coffee, but I had none)

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/4 water or chicken broth

1 tbsp dijon mustard

1. Slice the onion in half then cut into crosswise strips. Heat the bacon drippings in an oven proof pan with a tight fitting lid. Cook the onion for 5-6 minutes until soft and lightly golden.

2. While the onions are cooking, finely chop 3 cloves of garlic and thinly slice the remaining two cloves. With a sharp knife cut slits all over the brisket. Poke the garlic slices into the slits. Set the brisket aside for the time being.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

4. When the onions are soft and golden stir in the garlic, salt, oregano, pepper, and chili powder. Cook for 1 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, tea/coffee, vinegar, maple syrup, water/stock, and mustard. Bring to a boil.

5. Place the brisket in the sauce, cover with the lid of the pan and place in the oven. Braise for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 300 degrees F and continue for braise for 3-4 hours.

6. Let the meat rest 15-30 minutes before slicing. Serve with sauce.

Ornamental Organic

You've seen snippets of this quilt before. It was my all organic quilt challenge based on Daisy Janie's Geo Grand fabrics.

Well, Fat Quarterly picked it up and the pattern is in the latest issue. Go here to buy your own copy. The pattern includes a discussion on my challenge in making this all organic. Here's a hint - I almost made it. This is a easy pattern - no curved piecing. The colour possibilities are endless!

And, if you are so inspired, make sure you share any projects you make with the pattern with me and on the Fat Quarterly Flickr page. I'd love to see what you can make.

Thank-you to Amy for sharing the prize draw for me, Jan for her gorgeous fabric, and everyone at Fat Quarterly, especially Tacha.

Nutella is Evil

Don't let that fake mom on the commercial fool you - Nutella is evil.

I don't care if you tell me there is a cup of skim milk in an entire jar. Turns out I'm not spreading an entire jar on toast. In reality I'm eating it by the spoonful and keeping the children from even knowing Nutella exists.

Let me make it clear that I've got nothing against treats for my kids. We bake at least once a week, they love their honey sticks, and sugar is not a bad word in this house. But Nutella is like crack. Highly addictive and good for giving you a rush. That rush does not belong on toast - that sounds disgusting - because no kid needs to get used to the idea of a chocolate filling for breakfast.

We are considered strict parents among our family and friends. I've got no problem saying no when my kids ask for something repeatedly. But if they knew Nutella existed a whole new world of begging would emerge. Seeing as I don't have the will power to keep a teaspoon out of the jar then I expect a distinct challenge in the same for my children. They also know how to climb on the counters. Keeping Nutella in the house is simply too dangerous.

Then again, I might ask my husband to hide a jar just so I can make these brownies periodically. Rich and fudgy and the recipe makes the perfect amount to satisfy the craving without leaving you with a pound of baking laying around.

That Abby Dodge is a genius when it comes to the easy dessert. She gave me the permission to share this recipe to you. You may have seen it a million times over already since Desserts 4 Today came out. Maybe not. Either way, you should dig out your own jar of Nutella and scrape out what you've managed to leave behind after your midnight snack.

Nutella Brownies

Makes 12 mini brownies

1/2 cup Nutella

1 egg

5 tbsp flour

1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a mini muffin tin with 12 papers or liners. (Or spray with non-stick spray.)

2. Whisk the Nutella and egg together in a medium bowl. Whisk in the flour until smooth.

3. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins. Top with chopped nuts.

4. Bake for 11-12 minutes. Remove from oven and set on a rack to cool completely.