SNOW!!!!

The first snow of the season!

LEGO Mania!

"Look Mom, I made a horse!"

Back in October we made a trip to Grandma and Grandpa's home in Happy Camp.  Visiting and playing with the toys at Grandma and Grandpa's is always exciting but the one thing the boys spent hours playing was LEGOS.  At the end of our stay Grandma let the boys bring home the bucket of the building bricks and they've been a favorite ever since.  Initially Ben would have an idea for something to build but would ask for help when he couldn't quite figure it out.  After less than two months, Ben is creating some really great things.  Brian and I both loved playing with LEGOS as kids and often find ourselves completely swept up in building projects with the boys. 

A trip to Target in Reno last week yielded two more small sets of the basic building sets for the boys for Christmas.  Unfortunately, with the way the boys are creating and playing it seems like the 400 new pieces won't go very far.  I guess it's time to hit eBay and Craigslist and see what else we can find.

Ben's herd of horses.

The wild animals....hippo, elephant and giraffe.

A puppy and a kitty.

Sam's carwash...built by Mommy, accessorized by Sam.

Ben's firestation complete with vehicles - some assistance from Mom and Dad but completely Ben's idea.

Do You Know the Muffin Man?

Ben holding his own muffin tin.

This morning when Ben woke up he requested that we make pumpkin muffins for breakfast.  With Sam still sleeping I figured I could get at least one batch made and in the oven with little trouble.  Of course, I thought that if I was going to make one batch, I should just double it and have some muffins to put in the freezer for our next refreshment day at church.  Bad idea.....what normally takes less than 30 mintues from start to finish ended up being more than an hour! 

But the end result was worth it (except for the sinkful of muffin tins).  Here are a few of our Pumpkin Muffins with Hazelnut Streusel topping. 

Wine, Chocolate and Roses

After hearing for the past four years what an amazing event the Tahoe Women's Services puts on with their Wine and Chocolate Festival I decided this was the year to check it out.  It also happens to be the first year since moving here that I haven't been pregnant or breastfeeding during the festival and could thus DRINK WINE! 

It also helps that through my community volunteering I have come to know some of the people involved in the two organizations collaborating on this year's festival, Project MANA and Tahoe Women's Services, and wanted to show my support not only to the organization but to my friends.  When I first mentioned to Brian that I was interested in attending the event he had a rather luke warm response....he's not a wine drinker and usually doesn't divulge in sweets so the entire premise of the event wasn't all that appealing to him.  I then made a couple of emails and my good friend, Steph, took me up on the offer of a girl's night out and offered to be my designated driver as she is pregnant and due in May 2010. 

Steph arrived in the late afternoon and we had some time to visit and get all dressed up before heading out, leaving the boys with Daddy for bedtime.  I was happy to be able to squeeze into a cocktail dress I hadn't worn in 5 years!  Yes, a dress from my pre-kid days!

We got to the event shortly after it started and were immediately confused with the set-up of the venue.  I had never been to the North Lake Tahoe Convention Center in Kings Beach before so I wasn't familiar with the layout of the building and the arrangement of the chocolate and wine vendors and the appetizers was not easy to see with the crowds of people milling around.  It appeared that there were several nice silent auction items but both Steph and I agreed that there wasn't anything we couldn't live without.  We enjoyed the various chocolates offered by ten different chocolatiers and I tried just a few wines.  My personal favorite of the chocolate items I tried was made by the chef at a restaurant here in Incilne called Frederick's.  It was a warm chocolate sourdough waffle with chocolate sauce, whipped cream and apple-cinnamon caviar.....unbelievable!  Overall, I didn't really see why people have made such a huge deal about this event - unless they are all about getting wasted on wine and gorging themselves on rich chocolates.  At first that sounded good to me too but it was annoying that there wasn't even anywhere to sit down and relax and visit while enjoying the wine and chocolate - especially for my pregnant friend!

The band that was playing only added to the chaos by making it even harder to converse with people.  I saw many people that I knew and realized that this is basically a huge social networking event more than anything else.  The event was scheduled to run from seven o'clock to ten o'clock but by nine Steph and I were happy to retrieve our things from the coat check and enjoy the rest of the evening at home in our jammies.  On our way out the door, a very sweet elderly gentleman handed each of us a rose bud and thanked us for coming. 

Brian was surprised to see us home so early and I immediately told him that rather than going again in future years we'll use that money to go to something more to our liking.  The best thing about the evening was getting to spend time with Steph and having her here in the morning to hang out some more before going home.  The boys loved playing with Auntie Steph and were sad to see her go but Ben is very excited that soon there will be a new baby and Julianna will be a big sister!

A Slice of Heaven

After making this for a gathering of several friends I was encouraged to share the recipe.  It's a little more labor intensive than I usually like but well worth it!


Chocolate Nut Torte with Chocolate Ganache and Mocha Whipped Cream

*Make the whipped topping first and let it cool while making the cake.

Mocha Whipped Cream:
1/3 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup strong coffee
1 ounce dark or semisweet baking chocolate
1 Tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup whipping cream, whipped

In a saucepan, mix sugar and cornstarch and gradually stir in coffee and chocolate.  Cook, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and boils.  Boil one minute.  Blend in butter and vanilla.  When thoroughly cool, fold in the whipped cream.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

Chocolate Nut Torte:
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup finely ground walnuts
1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs

Grease 2 (9-inch) cake pans.  Line with wax paper and grease.
Beat eggs and sugar with electric mixer until thick and pale.  Add flour, cocoa, and baking powder and beat again until smooth.  Mix nuts with bread crumbs then add to egg mixture - mix gently.  Spoon batter into prepared cake pans - divide evenly.  Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees until a slight imprint remains.  Cool in pans 10 minutes then invert onto rack, peel off paper and cool completely.

Chocolate Ganache:

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

6 ounces semi-sweet or dark chocolate, chopped

Heat cream in a small saucepan just until boiling, remove from heat and stir in chocolate until smooth.  Let cool 15 minutes then frost the bottom layer of the torte, place top layer on bottom, and frost the top (you may leave sides unfrosted).

Refrigerate torte until ganache hardens slightly, slice, then serve with a dollop of mocha cream on top.

Serves 10-16.