Dad turns 85!!

we went out to lunch with him....

me, Dave, Dad, Sue, Sandy

Dave, Sue, me, Sandy

(ugh! not wearing that sweater again! I look 20 pounds heavier!)

this is all of us from 2 summers ago... (Adam wasn't there)

back: Sue and John, Eli, Mom and Dad, Sandy, Kate, Robby, Dave
front: Emmett, me, Charlie, Grace, Janey, Vicki, Jack

A reuben to remember....

I started thinking about a reuben about a week ago. Then, I started obsessing about having one. Having a really good one is just worth the time and effort to find all of the right ingredients. You need to have just the right... everything.. to make it really memorable. I don't eat them very often, but when I do, I want it to be a kick butt sandwich. Grilled just right, on good rye, with good homemade Thousand Island dressing, and tasty ingredients.

So, I set about it yesterday, and I must say, it hit the spot. At the deli, I got good corned beef, and some great tasting swiss cheese. I like it on well-made seedless rye with just enough sauerkraut.

I like to put swiss on both sides of the bread, spread one side with some dressing, then layer a few slices of corned beef, the sauerkraut and then another slice of swiss. Put the sandwich in a cast iron frying pan, and slowly cook it until the bread is just toasted, the cheese is melted and the meat is warm. Serve it with some extra dressing to dip, and yum! It is best with some warm potato salad. I didn't have the time to do that yesterday, so I guess I will be having another in a few days.

Reuben Sandwich

Ingredients:
2 slices rye bread (I use seedless)
butter
swiss cheese (sliced)
corned beef (sliced)
sauerkraut (drained)
Thousand Island dressing (see recipe below)

1. Lightly butter the bread.
2. Place the swiss cheese on one slice of bread. Spread some dressing on it, then lay some slices of corned beef on top of that. Follow this with some sauerkraut, another slice of swiss cheese, and the second slice of bread.
3. Grill the sandwich in a pan until the bread is golden brown and the cheese has melted.
4. Serve with additional dressing on the side.

Thousand Island dressing:
2 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 teaspoon horseradish
1 tsp relish
1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Swiss Easter Cake

in a shop window

at the Schweizerhof Hotel cafe in Lucerne

my easter cake

I want to make this fabulous easter cake again. I made it a few years ago when I got back from visiting friends in Switzerland. These 'cakes' (more like tarts) were ubiquitous and only available at Easter. I indulged in them several times in the week that I was there. Always a good experience. I made sure to get the recipe from my friend there.

Here is the recipe from her mom with measures in both metric and US

Swiss Easter Cake
Elsbeth's recipe book identifies the following under the title:
"Osterkuchen"-"Gâteau de Pâques"

SWEET DOUGH (like for fruit pies):
250 gr flour
100-150gr butter
to be blended by hand until smooth
add:

60 gr sugar
1 egg
1 pinch of salt
1-2 spoons of water
to be stored at cool temperature and rolled out to line the cake tin (mold)

FILLING:
60 gr semolina or 100 gr rice (1/4 c. semolina or 1/2 c. rice)
0.6 liters of milk ( 2 1/3 cups)
1 pinch of salt
to be cooked over low heat until soft, then to let cool down

prepare seperately:
50-80 gr butter (5 Tbsp)
70 gr sugar (1/3 cup)
1/2 peel of lemon
3 egg-yolks
to be beaten to become light and foamy, and then mixed with the cold semolina- or rice-mush

add to this mixture:
50 gr sultana(golden) raisins (1/3 cup)
50 gr minced or sliced almonds (1/3 cup)

add and mix-in:
3 egg-whites beaten until stiff

bake with good lower heat (325-ish) about 30 minutes to become golden-yellow.
After it has cooled, use powder-sugar to cover the top.
(and try powdering it with a cutout of a bunny on it, as is the custom!)

PS: 1 gr (gram) is equivalent to .035 ounces/ 1 liter is 1.057 quarts

busy during yoga

What happens when you bring a little one to your yoga class and you let him play quietly in the prop room while you take your class?......

he had with him some crayons, paper, my laptop with a movie in it, and my camera.
I heard something tumble down, then heard a little voice say "I'm okay". When I went to see what was up... I grabbed the camera, as he rebuilt what he had made and stood back up on the blocks.



Then I went back into the studio, while he kept taking photos of his creations.....
(can't seem to rotate this...) it's a robot:


a robot

Level 1...

I passed my Level 1 PSIA instructor exam.... yeah!!! what a great season this has been on so many levels. I went with 4 others from the class that we took and skied in every Tuesday night for the last 10 weeks. There were 10 people in the exam, and the four from our mountain, shined. It felt good. We knew our stuff, and skied well. I know my skiing improved tremendously this winter.

from the lodge at Mohawk Mountain

The two days of skiing were brilliantly sunny, although not warm at all. The ski area has definitely felt the effect of the rain and warmth lately, as you can see. I hadn't skied there before, but they had many trails that were long, smooth and good for working on skills with students.

The weather has turned warmer lately and rainy too. ugh. not good. The programs have all ended and I have chosen to make this the end of my ski season this year, thereby ending it on a really high note! Can't wait to start again next year. But this is good for my ADD and my need to switch to something else. Henna will be ramping up soon, and I may take another short term job in between.