tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77903153911304893912024-03-05T09:58:09.315-08:00Dylan + Dana VaughnA blog about dinners, Streak and other stuff in Dylan and Dana's life.dylanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16861133133453534799noreply@blogger.comBlogger161125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790315391130489391.post-57819722276932320832009-05-10T18:50:00.001-07:002009-05-10T18:57:34.337-07:00My First Mother's Day<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/SgeFoHBUCoI/AAAAAAAAFPw/fxZ7bileXNk/s1600-h/IMG_4149.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/SgeFoHBUCoI/AAAAAAAAFPw/fxZ7bileXNk/s320/IMG_4149.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334379207769459330" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/SgeFoDbRvoI/AAAAAAAAFP4/h0U8JwqQH3w/s1600-h/IMG_4150.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/SgeFoDbRvoI/AAAAAAAAFP4/h0U8JwqQH3w/s320/IMG_4150.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334379206804618882" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/SgeEmw9WQ0I/AAAAAAAAFPY/mMpHJw5HbDU/s1600-h/IMG_4180.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/SgeEmw9WQ0I/AAAAAAAAFPY/mMpHJw5HbDU/s320/IMG_4180.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334378085155750722" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/SgeEmzhnjKI/AAAAAAAAFPQ/u1H10UWYMkE/s1600-h/IMG_4167.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/SgeEmzhnjKI/AAAAAAAAFPQ/u1H10UWYMkE/s320/IMG_4167.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334378085844749474" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/SgeEmuYvPYI/AAAAAAAAFPI/6L-sMwgBCbU/s1600-h/IMG_4164.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/SgeEmuYvPYI/AAAAAAAAFPI/6L-sMwgBCbU/s320/IMG_4164.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334378084465327490" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/SgeEczAAEBI/AAAAAAAAFO4/zIcJ-93FSmw/s1600-h/IMG_4157.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/SgeEczAAEBI/AAAAAAAAFO4/zIcJ-93FSmw/s320/IMG_4157.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334377913905057810" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/SgeEmQX1mYI/AAAAAAAAFPA/SetKZ8vmi6w/s1600-h/IMG_4162.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/SgeEmQX1mYI/AAAAAAAAFPA/SetKZ8vmi6w/s320/IMG_4162.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334378076408486274" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/SgeEnC5cqNI/AAAAAAAAFPg/3dy7n5uIA9E/s1600-h/IMG_4189.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/SgeEnC5cqNI/AAAAAAAAFPg/3dy7n5uIA9E/s320/IMG_4189.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334378089971230930" border="0" /></a>danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12510802414603346790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790315391130489391.post-55238354863219327312009-05-09T16:02:00.000-07:002009-05-09T16:20:35.017-07:00Great Grandma and Connor Dancing at the Bar<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz_lBQdi3_jJbqI6Yy0IW_xfD9YZH72RSq_Cog4OXZUHQySI9v1iVG3guMq12eAWZacQepBFJWvKjswUAEmlA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12510802414603346790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790315391130489391.post-39499546291809920432009-05-06T11:44:00.000-07:002009-05-06T13:39:13.039-07:00Shaking the RattleHere is a video of Connor learning to play with his rainbow rattle:<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxilmLb92w-4Jm33BJf_g2EmnHEUUlymdu7hkpxF8D-ahcG175S_vAkZEEVnfUEziLzMawDZdNFPyyqR0BR' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12510802414603346790noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790315391130489391.post-82763718454320576132009-05-06T11:41:00.000-07:002009-05-06T11:41:49.225-07:00Shaking the Rattle<div style="text-align:center;margin:0px auto 10px;">Connor is figuring out how some of his toys work:</div><div style="text-align:center;margin:0px auto 10px;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLJ0DH1TgqJNavZJucKUABI9p9RawKl4ghusqYDqDuSc7EEJofet1XttTn0mzYZROEdTL_DTfivdw5tff4cu6GG-2QP33d4c57fp6tD1t4_DjUZM5PNcAtLMp6byMDrhpR-CdCi3mQVMI/s1600-h/MVI_3833.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLJ0DH1TgqJNavZJucKUABI9p9RawKl4ghusqYDqDuSc7EEJofet1XttTn0mzYZROEdTL_DTfivdw5tff4cu6GG-2QP33d4c57fp6tD1t4_DjUZM5PNcAtLMp6byMDrhpR-CdCi3mQVMI/s320/MVI_3833.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a> </div><br /><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The tough part is when you accidentally bang yourself in the head with your toy!</div><div style='clear:both; text-align:CENTER'><a href='http://picasa.google.com/blogger/' target='ext'><img src='http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif' alt='Posted by Picasa' style='border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;' align='middle' border='0' /></a></div>dylanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16861133133453534799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790315391130489391.post-73205677480717153402009-04-04T22:21:00.001-07:002009-04-04T22:29:33.036-07:00More Connor PicturesDana has been uploading some of pics of Connor to Picasa. The albums should be public so you can see them here:<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/danacvaughn/ConnorGrahamVaughnFirst10Days">http://picasaweb.google.com/danacvaughn/ConnorGrahamVaughnFirst10Days</a><br /><br />and<br /><br /><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/danacvaughn/Connor4409#">http://picasaweb.google.com/danacvaughn/Connor4409</a><br /><br />This is my favorite picture - definitely frame-worthy in my opinion:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivCcJhI_VL8mFYNLVWlQFqoIkwVvhh3ez7_okA9wKLnNBhOK0N38k9hMNOjc611tNEPd-lDOncAJzOcQ9MisntRvUWUd5B8_uP0alRszOAP15qjMKfBi8h8xmpw7DbkpLVLJHjOwQ6SkM/s1600-h/connor_changing_table.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivCcJhI_VL8mFYNLVWlQFqoIkwVvhh3ez7_okA9wKLnNBhOK0N38k9hMNOjc611tNEPd-lDOncAJzOcQ9MisntRvUWUd5B8_uP0alRszOAP15qjMKfBi8h8xmpw7DbkpLVLJHjOwQ6SkM/s320/connor_changing_table.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321074746658253458" border="0" /></a><br />I wish there was an easy way to include other Picasa pictures on this blog - I thought it would be all integrated since Blogger and Picasa are both operated by Google...but no - bad experience.dylanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16861133133453534799noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790315391130489391.post-36095336380424761992009-03-28T17:52:00.001-07:002009-03-28T17:52:54.966-07:00OMG so cute<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidKVIZB8c87n1mJeT7RexTMHD6zdD0wLgAflRs4T-mj3em6v3dprXxZKRFyVAk2iEvW6Wa9ZeKOzgPmCVR7kxrQvYtHZwJpzJgC406aHKKjbHSNOG4e5xbqEUq2UOopOy027hAN9yjp-Q/s1600-h/sleepy.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidKVIZB8c87n1mJeT7RexTMHD6zdD0wLgAflRs4T-mj3em6v3dprXxZKRFyVAk2iEvW6Wa9ZeKOzgPmCVR7kxrQvYtHZwJpzJgC406aHKKjbHSNOG4e5xbqEUq2UOopOy027hAN9yjp-Q/s320/sleepy.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318406296817993538" /></a>dylanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16861133133453534799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790315391130489391.post-80076698952058677062009-03-28T15:20:00.000-07:002009-03-28T15:26:39.245-07:00First BathThis morning we gave Connor his first real tub bath. His umbilical cord fell off last night, so up until then, we had just been sponging him off. We were a little nervous, as we had heard mixed reviews of how babies feel about the first real bath. I would say it was a success! This time around it definitely took two of us to hold him up and get him clean. He seemed to really relax in the water, then was mad for a quick minute when he got out, and happy again as he was bundled into a cozy hooded towel. Some pics:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/Sc6jaY1r19I/AAAAAAAAEgI/cxY5_8qF7NI/s1600-h/IMG_3158.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/Sc6jaY1r19I/AAAAAAAAEgI/cxY5_8qF7NI/s320/IMG_3158.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318367883710683090" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/Sc6jdxs9-sI/AAAAAAAAEgQ/NMFBlN0KTH0/s1600-h/IMG_3159.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/Sc6jdxs9-sI/AAAAAAAAEgQ/NMFBlN0KTH0/s320/IMG_3159.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318367941924616898" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/Sc6jhE5vqpI/AAAAAAAAEgY/KIGVKvRtt_g/s1600-h/IMG_3160.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/Sc6jhE5vqpI/AAAAAAAAEgY/KIGVKvRtt_g/s320/IMG_3160.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318367998618086034" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/Sc6jkFLVVjI/AAAAAAAAEgg/zcLJWEN1cF4/s1600-h/IMG_3164.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/Sc6jkFLVVjI/AAAAAAAAEgg/zcLJWEN1cF4/s320/IMG_3164.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318368050231465522" border="0" /></a>danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12510802414603346790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790315391130489391.post-63628697313092402482009-03-28T15:08:00.000-07:002009-03-28T15:19:41.651-07:00Connor Graham Vaughn!We had our kid!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEoEjT4hDhY5Vgf71D2_vE-59S9QXJ-XOhZd4c67yXS-n_4uHKAJ-QmDertT64iVxIcqwmKifsyA39cCgsBoOQAVJx5ixeDUQ_KaLEOFOBgSF2ZyQ3kq2IivxFDPHpmTB3OBP70NQtddQ/s1600-h/close_up_2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEoEjT4hDhY5Vgf71D2_vE-59S9QXJ-XOhZd4c67yXS-n_4uHKAJ-QmDertT64iVxIcqwmKifsyA39cCgsBoOQAVJx5ixeDUQ_KaLEOFOBgSF2ZyQ3kq2IivxFDPHpmTB3OBP70NQtddQ/s320/close_up_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318364743510784642" border="0" /></a><br />We haven't really talked too much about Dana's pregnancy on this blog, but it came to an end last Friday, March 20th at 3:37 am, after a 26-hour labor - Dana is a rock star! Here is a pic of early labor when we were still at home. Our doula took some pictures of the labor at the hospital but we haven't gotten those from her yet. When we do I really doubt they will end up on this blog!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjze9pUfp-PnGtl_PfmjlyWLckWg3m8GwMozxZrskDgQ3UThjApOoigpEVawk9uIy5roDddOUQMAe9WRLq-dRIUXEVGcAVI_PsWkxlBDnK_42AFgT_rLMJriSqqDmKyBMsGbxWySea5-Ac/s1600-h/IMG_2951.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjze9pUfp-PnGtl_PfmjlyWLckWg3m8GwMozxZrskDgQ3UThjApOoigpEVawk9uIy5roDddOUQMAe9WRLq-dRIUXEVGcAVI_PsWkxlBDnK_42AFgT_rLMJriSqqDmKyBMsGbxWySea5-Ac/s320/IMG_2951.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318366460805133570" border="0" /></a><br />Connor came out weighing 8 lbs 4 ozs and 20 inches long.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwGQwXICnX1eVpfBF3CkVTIUNfDHJa92EO9Rn_22MKmKsjZE5JOEZ5sKMnTIzFYVjCtYe2PoTW1M1-2oOjCDTT4j9rbpuizPyKyrtNdSS15SxCLhLLPdUY5YcMONzXY5t0TDkqTQ6gx6k/s1600-h/dylan_and_connor.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwGQwXICnX1eVpfBF3CkVTIUNfDHJa92EO9Rn_22MKmKsjZE5JOEZ5sKMnTIzFYVjCtYe2PoTW1M1-2oOjCDTT4j9rbpuizPyKyrtNdSS15SxCLhLLPdUY5YcMONzXY5t0TDkqTQ6gx6k/s320/dylan_and_connor.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318364750729457362" border="0" /></a>We've been home with him since Monday, and are finally starting to feel like we've adjusted to the new routines that come with a first child.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKPcXi-yaJwMgFYHEu_QS6aMLnT5Reg2oLFuKfYpk7TFHGRybq0kWoqr8EH4AyrLTDU9s5mkCjCEMkp0NqvKUugYXr3pwastBJg4qtm3XcA8tQ_2flAXEWuIk-wQKdfik_cqZ6U4vZVl0/s1600-h/in_the_carseat.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKPcXi-yaJwMgFYHEu_QS6aMLnT5Reg2oLFuKfYpk7TFHGRybq0kWoqr8EH4AyrLTDU9s5mkCjCEMkp0NqvKUugYXr3pwastBJg4qtm3XcA8tQ_2flAXEWuIk-wQKdfik_cqZ6U4vZVl0/s320/in_the_carseat.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318364748161041730" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEv8r6-rysA61giSpp8nuY_tmERFpvp4sMT6dZEmwQoUYqdjX6HDyNWTrcwBsmGNgCv_AOxAA0nG7Yd_vTuJ1QAfRz1GxJMm2BXLrLwvL2v4j8aaUAPe4qwNoN8Zd7KnPNUX_M7SSLlqU/s1600-h/dana_and_connor_relaxing.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEv8r6-rysA61giSpp8nuY_tmERFpvp4sMT6dZEmwQoUYqdjX6HDyNWTrcwBsmGNgCv_AOxAA0nG7Yd_vTuJ1QAfRz1GxJMm2BXLrLwvL2v4j8aaUAPe4qwNoN8Zd7KnPNUX_M7SSLlqU/s320/dana_and_connor_relaxing.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318364751315789762" border="0" /></a> Expect to see a lot more of him here!dylanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16861133133453534799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790315391130489391.post-2764206141339063562009-03-15T13:17:00.000-07:002009-03-15T14:31:58.250-07:00The ZooWe spent yesterday afternoon at the zoo with Tom and his parents. Dylan caught some great video of a rolling baby orangutan and some wrestling baby gorillas:<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dykyJsqib1nxZBZqLDSkDHqW6w2Fo-TCpjlTy8ODTa1OyduGU8ZK93hDStzM6-BHs-sQKkY276Ci8-vqUR1Qg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxlw8ViHZgFeY--NNYggm3gvjDo4SDvRR2d9SAMyTdNiWtSFlfzSCaFbYeco6GfHMLdCDeiphdxfe7G5R_m1g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe>danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12510802414603346790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790315391130489391.post-41427289732818529512009-02-25T07:58:00.000-08:002009-02-25T08:28:55.368-08:00Pizza PerfectedI think we have finally come close to perfecting the art of pizza-making. We've been practicing for a few months, trying out different techniques, and finally last night the pizza was perfect. The things that I think made the difference for us:<br /><br />1. A good pizza stone - it gets really hot in the oven and helps the pizza to form a crispy crust.<br /><br />2. Very high oven temp - we can only go to 550 on ours, but it does a pretty good job. Our book recommends going up to 800 if you can.<br /><br />3. Dylan's delicious homemade pizza dough.<br /><br />4. We have an unusual technique for getting the pizza from the counter to the pizza stone. After a bunch of trial and error, we've found that it works best to form the pizza dough into a circle, flour all sides of it, then fold the circle into quarters. This is all while preheating the pizza stone in the oven. Then we pull the stone out of the oven, transfer the folded pizza dough to the corner of the stone, and carefully unfold it. We actually assemble the pizza right then and there, very quickly, while the dough is sitting on the sizzling hot stone. I think that because the stone is so hot, while we are assembling the pizza, the dough is getting cooked and crisped on the bottom. Then we throw the pizza in the oven for about 6 minutes. The technique helps us to avoid the messy business of transferring an assembled pizza from the counter to the stone. It works really well!<br /><br />5. Extended cooking time - we have found that there is a point at which you may think the pizza is done, but if you wait another 30 seconds, something magical happens. The trick is pulling it out just before it starts to burn. There is a definite sweet spot when the pizza is just right, and usually it's later than we think.<br /><br />Behold our beautiful pizza:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/SaVwX6w0K_I/AAAAAAAAEeo/k1uoMwuVzc4/s1600-h/pizza.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/SaVwX6w0K_I/AAAAAAAAEeo/k1uoMwuVzc4/s320/pizza.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306771292139301874" border="0" /></a><br />I was telling Dylan, it looked way more delectable in person. If I had a talent for photography, I may have been able to capture it. But there is no way that I could have captured the heavenly smell in the kitchen at the moment that the pizza came out of the oven!danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12510802414603346790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790315391130489391.post-31952958698507979782009-02-22T20:14:00.000-08:002009-02-22T20:29:27.867-08:00Dinner: Eggs, Spinach and ToastToday we decided to make an easy dinner. I baked bread today, a large ciabatta loaf using my Bread Maker's Apprentice recipe, but baking it in the dutch oven as <a href="http://dylancvaughn.blogspot.com/2008/12/holiday-leftovers-no-knead-bread-molten.html">I have tried once before with the 'No Knead Bread'</a> - this loaf came out nicely...there weren't the large airholes that the last loaf had, but the taste was better:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjINk4D9tjGAQd8eBAjFgBY887g94bNhhK8mYb1aW170E50ZeRHvRi7tpxrKs2B4gWaWyJobiFvgNrJcsy_o2UPuiHOrpoCXM9PXXcb0lINA5jIhJF6biTxUkvCbkHhA5nNxnIQNDftPB8/s1600-h/ciabatta_in_dutch_oven.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjINk4D9tjGAQd8eBAjFgBY887g94bNhhK8mYb1aW170E50ZeRHvRi7tpxrKs2B4gWaWyJobiFvgNrJcsy_o2UPuiHOrpoCXM9PXXcb0lINA5jIhJF6biTxUkvCbkHhA5nNxnIQNDftPB8/s320/ciabatta_in_dutch_oven.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305844344787186338" /></a><br />We also had some eggs from last week left over and some new jam that we had bought, so this simple meal was created:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLngVjQNtyBPi3ziRGD-guK6QK7-EAZWB_wdRi0YcI5eQISsdgrfIB55Iqs4izU2PHEZ9-tUjOK1l1-fmMTBpXuXCdZUv4mdfxwC91TnFSQghmpo7PSrFpBAkFRSdHCBDz0N2tj5mPstI/s1600-h/dinner_eggs.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLngVjQNtyBPi3ziRGD-guK6QK7-EAZWB_wdRi0YcI5eQISsdgrfIB55Iqs4izU2PHEZ9-tUjOK1l1-fmMTBpXuXCdZUv4mdfxwC91TnFSQghmpo7PSrFpBAkFRSdHCBDz0N2tj5mPstI/s320/dinner_eggs.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305844346915137666" /></a>dylanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16861133133453534799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790315391130489391.post-83570364815673448222009-02-22T18:26:00.000-08:002009-02-22T18:31:02.778-08:00Garden: Goodbye Wong Bok!Recently the wong bok in our square foot garden has <a href="http://dylancvaughn.blogspot.com/2009/01/garden-flowering-wong-bok.html">gone a little wild</a>. After that impressive flowering display, a somewhat large storm rolled through San Diego and pretty much uprooted the plant. I decided to rip it out:<div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFUlnccHC6nt1b6FdRcxSHZfP5IVC5T5h1u_gVzPQ3NrRUcGheIFVUVXEWE1xvwe_VLA1NhAAhzIT7o56ZqD95pxhF8t1jg4okmGZSqtob-ssCpjk-FU6ihJBEikUkr2EEv6Qg-6ib0sg/s320/pulling_won_bock.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305814209527200450" /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Please excuse my outfit - I had just gotten back from spin class and Dana thought this was worthy of a picture. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I am planning on transplanting some of the brussel sprout seedlings from the front yard to the new open spot. The wong bok ended up in the compost pile.</div>dylanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16861133133453534799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790315391130489391.post-60012284618434297392009-02-22T18:18:00.001-08:002009-02-22T18:25:41.213-08:00Dinner: Steak, Potatoes, and Brussel SproutsJust loaded some pictures off of the camera, so get ready for some quick short posts :). Below is a dinner from about a week ago. Dana got some nice looking steaks at Trader Joe's and I grilled them up. Dana also made her excellent twice-baked potatoes and we roasted some brussel sprouts. Lately we've been roasting our sprouts, either halved or whole, with some olive oil and salt and pepper. They are excellent that way and very easy. Also, the outer leaves of the sprouts tend to fall off and get very crispy and are a great little pre-dinner snack for as soon as you take the sprouts out of the oven. These 'brussel sprout chips' are so good that I am planning on experimenting with making just the chips....stay tuned for that.<div><br /></div><div>The dinner:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO8N5lfUwJ3RekM4SPDj1ZHQ24Qtf06VaEH944agSr5aan_pT8NFBBg-2AN9F4a5CVaT7OJbRPP1caS465zpVqxdJgDJl7RKtGDQhh_6Scag8kJHLRSjLbMSjrMiaAnX8_PbPRvrObJLo/s1600-h/steak_dinner.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO8N5lfUwJ3RekM4SPDj1ZHQ24Qtf06VaEH944agSr5aan_pT8NFBBg-2AN9F4a5CVaT7OJbRPP1caS465zpVqxdJgDJl7RKtGDQhh_6Scag8kJHLRSjLbMSjrMiaAnX8_PbPRvrObJLo/s320/steak_dinner.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5305812026502228178" /></a><br /></div>dylanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16861133133453534799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790315391130489391.post-29154968388991550922009-01-31T12:18:00.000-08:002009-01-31T12:22:51.822-08:00Garden: Flowering Wong BokWe recently pulled up some of our first generation of plants from our SFG and planted some more leafy veggies. We left the Wong Bok, Chard, and Basil. The Wong Bok has been going through a pretty interesting transition the last week or so. It has grown about three feet straight up in that time and is flowering - pretty cool!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjakEs-ef5PSSMMjOxVnceruwouAtR0rHUN80zk8tuOskg3-Pu3txGke6jTFjEnROtyMaph5bXxcw8rGe57QVCqcyfmrGAAs_MZi-8C1UKP3MCi6Um3oPwSBR9TH9eZnZW3J0_MgLtOepE/s1600-h/wong_bok_1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjakEs-ef5PSSMMjOxVnceruwouAtR0rHUN80zk8tuOskg3-Pu3txGke6jTFjEnROtyMaph5bXxcw8rGe57QVCqcyfmrGAAs_MZi-8C1UKP3MCi6Um3oPwSBR9TH9eZnZW3J0_MgLtOepE/s320/wong_bok_1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297555278794816098" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAv_dmVwviIYm7KDCGJGlG6TvMpJFJmi_NaEIEJJrqM0QlCp81D55njMj73yuQ2oK9DN6TzaX6ngSzC4Nv-Urudrh-om_7-MfRBcmab81GiFLg_IpqipYXC6TDdxuhFsZFWsG4LQIjLvQ/s1600-h/wong_bok_2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAv_dmVwviIYm7KDCGJGlG6TvMpJFJmi_NaEIEJJrqM0QlCp81D55njMj73yuQ2oK9DN6TzaX6ngSzC4Nv-Urudrh-om_7-MfRBcmab81GiFLg_IpqipYXC6TDdxuhFsZFWsG4LQIjLvQ/s320/wong_bok_2.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297555283350285986" /></a>dylanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16861133133453534799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790315391130489391.post-69258385285969886362009-01-27T20:04:00.000-08:002009-01-27T20:17:25.033-08:00Dinner: Steaks, Sweet Potato Fries, Collard GreensSo we read in one of our pregnancy books that in the last few months it is good to get some cholesterol in your diet - I don't remember why exactly but I didn't press it. Trying to meet that goal we decided to have some steaks. This was also to be our return to grilling outside since our propane had been out for a few months and we actually motivated to get it filled - more on that to come however...<br /><br />I made some <a href="http://sarahscucinabella.com/2008/01/22/oven-baked-sweet-potato-fries/">sweet potato fries</a> - we've been having this quite a bit recently. This time I think I made too many and they didn't get as crispy as normal :(.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvz_nK155tjDAew2KaPtKJvVba7m0vX2Y7vj0kty5yzQAnHjeNvKcwqk03axeAtQ3EQnQTL1cF35Wm3fLbRGRjbv7RvNZNFHudF45HyaORg6sBN0Af6Gy2R2AbmGeOD3xluBhyRvGOxE0/s1600-h/fries.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvz_nK155tjDAew2KaPtKJvVba7m0vX2Y7vj0kty5yzQAnHjeNvKcwqk03axeAtQ3EQnQTL1cF35Wm3fLbRGRjbv7RvNZNFHudF45HyaORg6sBN0Af6Gy2R2AbmGeOD3xluBhyRvGOxE0/s320/fries.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296191051644208418" border="0" /></a>We also had some collard greens from the farmers market:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPWjSyLbmcDc-g7Arjo-Tie-LJ05HvOpAmTffL76kbcbPx21CccEp1K5LghCLllfgeL3_19S_c24Rnm6MdhNoGL2k-F5UGjM6Y-z_NX1W7IYgI11I5-oDJG8uLYDa9U8lgo_dn0L30xO8/s1600-h/greens.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPWjSyLbmcDc-g7Arjo-Tie-LJ05HvOpAmTffL76kbcbPx21CccEp1K5LghCLllfgeL3_19S_c24Rnm6MdhNoGL2k-F5UGjM6Y-z_NX1W7IYgI11I5-oDJG8uLYDa9U8lgo_dn0L30xO8/s320/greens.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296191057247123890" border="0" /></a>The steaks had been marinating in olive oil and seasonings overnight:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXyV-H-0n7Q8MFTWUmGuGSpmTmNrYItjMS24e5vBNtgzgQqcxjRCtFW2gVO-l-XtuvuaGRmVC_-0FDalPnES-JhLyj_r8FIuR24cYbgZ51bH2BY_6WhetL1VO-wUUTl4Kcm9kDtfgzEJg/s1600-h/steaks.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXyV-H-0n7Q8MFTWUmGuGSpmTmNrYItjMS24e5vBNtgzgQqcxjRCtFW2gVO-l-XtuvuaGRmVC_-0FDalPnES-JhLyj_r8FIuR24cYbgZ51bH2BY_6WhetL1VO-wUUTl4Kcm9kDtfgzEJg/s320/steaks.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296191061795870498" border="0" /></a>The plan was to throw them on the grill outside. HOWEVER, after I started the grill I discovered that even tho the propane tank was now full, the flame was very weak and tiny. I think something is screwed up with our grill, probably due to the fact that I never cover it after using it and it had been exposed to the elements for a few years now. Anyways, we had to abort on the outside grill and come up with a new plan. I decided to try to sear them a little on the stove-top in butter and then bake them in the oven to finish them off:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4xU3RYowlqo_Cwc0sMipNDY2ITPhR6HlIzyVgUoyt3HlrTuumYs2gTtq0i5RpUUWqD1QhgrYhr2gKenS8-B7HSt2X53tdw2bPYy0X8JAmGZUZuD05klYpzbAeJPE4UuS-dVVYCSmUKUc/s1600-h/steaks_cooking.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4xU3RYowlqo_Cwc0sMipNDY2ITPhR6HlIzyVgUoyt3HlrTuumYs2gTtq0i5RpUUWqD1QhgrYhr2gKenS8-B7HSt2X53tdw2bPYy0X8JAmGZUZuD05klYpzbAeJPE4UuS-dVVYCSmUKUc/s320/steaks_cooking.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296192580065964706" border="0" /></a>It worked out pretty well - the steak was tender and well-cooked.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmDvnkceaOZUBtGQZR8FwTUcT0XffWcZbqFcDwAyix9Rrkv8dZLXXG4SScv-pZYGQkin_pQVy05c2UsOoa8NuNz_qp9OEBnOIh-2OaLZGsggV-CyPkVSOFEtwL550yGhdxJzW2qI7LOiU/s1600-h/dinner.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmDvnkceaOZUBtGQZR8FwTUcT0XffWcZbqFcDwAyix9Rrkv8dZLXXG4SScv-pZYGQkin_pQVy05c2UsOoa8NuNz_qp9OEBnOIh-2OaLZGsggV-CyPkVSOFEtwL550yGhdxJzW2qI7LOiU/s320/dinner.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296191064136122114" border="0" /></a>dylanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16861133133453534799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790315391130489391.post-74103577679902846192009-01-27T19:57:00.001-08:002009-01-27T20:04:31.867-08:00Baking: Layered Lemon CakeSo recently Dana and I went to dinner at a friend's house. We were charged with providing dessert. We had been looking for an excuse to make this great layered lemon cake that we had made last year for a birthday, so jumped at the chance. We started with making the frosting and the lemon curd:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCENI5ZIBuWaeBYhtag7kghU_AsmUE8a39tpqstVyglaB638AAuynKiWfR5MPu2KD1OoQUxG9zFIZvV0CDB1F4dU7b4T_4pK6W4g8tsWEIK5PjhYOVpS0pD-td4tfH1Nart4RnIBIzb8I/s1600-h/cake1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCENI5ZIBuWaeBYhtag7kghU_AsmUE8a39tpqstVyglaB638AAuynKiWfR5MPu2KD1OoQUxG9zFIZvV0CDB1F4dU7b4T_4pK6W4g8tsWEIK5PjhYOVpS0pD-td4tfH1Nart4RnIBIzb8I/s320/cake1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296189215459996242" border="0" /></a>We then baked a couple of pretty standard yellow cakes and cut them in half horizontally - layering them on top of each other alternating curd and frosting:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSkwwrKJBkXBiWOmdROKcsQb0M6bFw9m7t3FFV3B4FAuzcQKUKjQsyTSHq6kNjWW7kHyNFrdeEclG6MqsuHKUA2UAAL4e02-6l0ApxFF7V60eFL2t7q8dqz63zygxQQ1dmsW3EDj63ijs/s1600-h/cake2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSkwwrKJBkXBiWOmdROKcsQb0M6bFw9m7t3FFV3B4FAuzcQKUKjQsyTSHq6kNjWW7kHyNFrdeEclG6MqsuHKUA2UAAL4e02-6l0ApxFF7V60eFL2t7q8dqz63zygxQQ1dmsW3EDj63ijs/s320/cake2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296189202968856210" border="0" /></a><br />After assembly, cover the cake with frosting...:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdX6lj3Tr_6ZapQ2oUgwwHvpESM4GT8Iop3nhOvUL0o7Xa83nRY15uO-7QINzMCfLR4cOOtAYOvhnoz8M-G9iKIz6iIRzToG6W6Eada7rogF1HodjsH8fEsDfK7XAuujIpn9UVqA6qs3k/s1600-h/cake3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdX6lj3Tr_6ZapQ2oUgwwHvpESM4GT8Iop3nhOvUL0o7Xa83nRY15uO-7QINzMCfLR4cOOtAYOvhnoz8M-G9iKIz6iIRzToG6W6Eada7rogF1HodjsH8fEsDfK7XAuujIpn9UVqA6qs3k/s320/cake3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296189210433503330" border="0" /></a><br />And then decorate!:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXgXRKPj425NLr4Y_Qw401nb0AeLmCjuJRfW0_IShdYP-_Kr6Luo6PCNG7JBnKbL_jsFJceTUQfAj1yAyE58pT8oxmgOFlNGJSSPISDbLgGe0i3YCObpVpTdWpTdv_ZN2mK2e3eX8a26U/s1600-h/cake4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXgXRKPj425NLr4Y_Qw401nb0AeLmCjuJRfW0_IShdYP-_Kr6Luo6PCNG7JBnKbL_jsFJceTUQfAj1yAyE58pT8oxmgOFlNGJSSPISDbLgGe0i3YCObpVpTdWpTdv_ZN2mK2e3eX8a26U/s320/cake4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296189198951047842" border="0" /></a>The end result? Very tasty. We had half the cake at dinner and were able to convince the guests to all take a little home. We love baking but aren't that into the leftovers - do you want to be our friends? ;)dylanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16861133133453534799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790315391130489391.post-91823125778281524472009-01-27T19:49:00.000-08:002009-01-27T19:55:36.873-08:00Knitting: Cabled Baby HatSo I think I mentioned a while ago that I have taking up <a href="http://dylancvaughn.blogspot.com/2008/08/new-hobby-out-with-cube-in-with-needles.html">knitting in hopes of curing my Rubik's Cube addition</a>. With mixed emotions I have to report that I am still working on the cube. However, I have also been knitting. I made a scarf for a Christmas gift and I have made a few simple baby hats. Here is my latest attempt - my first time doing cabling!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAwdLHXXWqbmagCnj-vXaqjFLH8KOlvJP2KA0bXRCRx5sM4o4_26Hyjqpcdcc5ZqnwIVssTDYAbrJrykUOLU85Z9RuqPrG8niXwCIgxocgJ1nnvMjitToxO0g765_0ccpcKT9ZSVI95lU/s1600-h/cable_hat.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAwdLHXXWqbmagCnj-vXaqjFLH8KOlvJP2KA0bXRCRx5sM4o4_26Hyjqpcdcc5ZqnwIVssTDYAbrJrykUOLU85Z9RuqPrG8niXwCIgxocgJ1nnvMjitToxO0g765_0ccpcKT9ZSVI95lU/s320/cable_hat.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296187735752412770" border="0" /></a>It is currently being worn by a grapefruit.<br /><br />This was practice, but I did go to the yarn store last weekend to get some 'real' yarn which is more boy colored (Merino wool - very soft). Does anyone want this hat? It's newborn size...dylanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16861133133453534799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790315391130489391.post-36748516302428874832009-01-06T21:07:00.000-08:002009-01-06T21:18:31.620-08:00Mustard Mahi Mahi and Spicy Peanut TofuDylan has been the master chef of a few yummy dinners recently. I had a bad cold last week, so was not very much help in the kitchen. It was kind of fun to not be a part of the prep, but to get to enjoy the meal - I think I got spoiled. First was Mustard Mahi Mahi, a delicious broiled mahi topped with a mustardy cream sauce that I think contained Dijon mustard and creme fraiche, maybe some lemon. It was really excellent, and only took a few minutes to prep:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/SWQ5n75i-mI/AAAAAAAAEb8/MY0yxApTQ8I/s1600-h/mustard_mahi.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/SWQ5n75i-mI/AAAAAAAAEb8/MY0yxApTQ8I/s320/mustard_mahi.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288415220696545890" border="0" /></a><br />A few nights later was pan-fried tofu with spicy peanut chili sauce. The tofu was nice and crisp on the outside, soft on the inside and the sauce was very spicy. Knocked that cold right out of me, I think! The sweet potato fries were fun as a side dish, based a <a href="http://www.instructables.com/id/Perfect_Oven_Sweet_Potato_Fries/">great recipe we found on the web</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/SWQ6nQNli4I/AAAAAAAAEcE/LnQZmw_S9C4/s1600-h/tofu.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/SWQ6nQNli4I/AAAAAAAAEcE/LnQZmw_S9C4/s320/tofu.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288416308481067906" border="0" /></a><br />It looks like the only veggie we eat is broccoli! That's not true - we have some killer bok choy in the crisper drawer of our fridge, ready to be devoured tomorrow night.danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12510802414603346790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790315391130489391.post-19242058744951438962009-01-06T20:21:00.001-08:002009-01-06T21:03:24.954-08:00Streak at WorkStreak has been helping Dylan with a very important work project on his laptop...<br /><br />Really, I think it was the warmest place in the house on a recent cold morning. She almost IM'd me with her chin!<br /><br />Update: Dylan has just found a bunch of junk files on his desktop, created by Streak.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/SWQud84B_JI/AAAAAAAAEb0/3I33GS04oeQ/s1600-h/streak_at_work.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/SWQud84B_JI/AAAAAAAAEb0/3I33GS04oeQ/s320/streak_at_work.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5288402954532027538" border="0" /></a>danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12510802414603346790noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790315391130489391.post-67887916066327020382008-12-28T21:21:00.001-08:002008-12-28T21:28:40.298-08:00Holiday Leftovers : No Knead Bread & Molten Chocolate CakesTonight we ate leftovers from the holidays. A couple of notable items were the <a href="http://www.amateurgourmet.com/2008/12/the_noknead_bre.html">No Knead Bread</a>:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinBUF5tSHgA4ATUeGuTKj9YCoCSLdnXW6OqWoJ2vPfo4bf-a3TPY8g3WJ8Ep6L2ulcu651TbNxJ7XAWogYTULkxGLauyMixZn5_Pn8stmTVzVXcRIyU-Z6DGt5aek9hfXOEmqG1K_loh0/s1600-h/no_knead.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinBUF5tSHgA4ATUeGuTKj9YCoCSLdnXW6OqWoJ2vPfo4bf-a3TPY8g3WJ8Ep6L2ulcu651TbNxJ7XAWogYTULkxGLauyMixZn5_Pn8stmTVzVXcRIyU-Z6DGt5aek9hfXOEmqG1K_loh0/s320/no_knead.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285078095770565890" border="0" /></a>This bread turned out really nice - my only complaint was that the inside was a little doughy - I could have let it bake for another 5 or 10 minutes. But it was really easy and didn't require the attention that my normal bread demands. Definitely nice for a change.<br /><br />And the Molten Chocolate Cakes - we made six of these but only ate four over the holidays so had the last two tonight. Behold:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjUH4iGjtqV1x-qytLsr7ZxQbKTToZGSqdOlVIVL3MHf5nylkIEYtNCsuzWkJ-sjFMTiTb6kFBKlNoRlJHqYHfGq_0n2-vKdJJISwRw9Cdeddv7StK0hdPUQmdOGE05wdVTomd3Zrgtfg/s1600-h/cake_1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjUH4iGjtqV1x-qytLsr7ZxQbKTToZGSqdOlVIVL3MHf5nylkIEYtNCsuzWkJ-sjFMTiTb6kFBKlNoRlJHqYHfGq_0n2-vKdJJISwRw9Cdeddv7StK0hdPUQmdOGE05wdVTomd3Zrgtfg/s320/cake_1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285078103975404866" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKoS0kWpIpv9AldUtjZLxG6cJDpxIPU5wJVVJlcfX_AndhwsbcDTCguQuEnBM7eW54dmuxG7MS3ZI8j31zQIwWIq-aKFJ1ZqUu0etiGZByRR529g811tfGGtMYkwFXA2C9LnxIx9bY2dY/s1600-h/cake_2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKoS0kWpIpv9AldUtjZLxG6cJDpxIPU5wJVVJlcfX_AndhwsbcDTCguQuEnBM7eW54dmuxG7MS3ZI8j31zQIwWIq-aKFJ1ZqUu0etiGZByRR529g811tfGGtMYkwFXA2C9LnxIx9bY2dY/s320/cake_2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285078109091654994" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHugmq-n6P05XH3vhVeVDf9wY7r1IbMfBTcLv7YCAUllvIicSalHj32xfEKz_Us2IUnKjGyZFE1DFQCQPTEpo9K2YFQG1Y0FrJfDmcXJr_btkYn1GTQuCYqePaScgd2LmChcaczU506bs/s1600-h/cake_3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHugmq-n6P05XH3vhVeVDf9wY7r1IbMfBTcLv7YCAUllvIicSalHj32xfEKz_Us2IUnKjGyZFE1DFQCQPTEpo9K2YFQG1Y0FrJfDmcXJr_btkYn1GTQuCYqePaScgd2LmChcaczU506bs/s320/cake_3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285078109282590178" border="0" /></a>So good. That's a scoop of French Vanilla ice cream on the top. The ramekins we used were a little too big so it was a challenge to finish one but I did it!dylanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16861133133453534799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790315391130489391.post-64180298580899289972008-12-14T19:37:00.000-08:002008-12-14T19:47:33.557-08:00Rutabaga & Leek ChowderTonight we made another soup from the <a href="http://dylancvaughn.blogspot.com/2008/12/tomato-quinoa-soup.html">cookbook that Chelsea recently sent us</a>. This one was a rutabaga and leek chowder with crisp, smoky croutons. I had almost forgotten about rutabagas until we had them at my dad's over Thanksgiving, and then I remembered how great they are. The soup recipe was pretty simple - just leeks, rutabagas, thyme, a small potato, stock, salt, pepper, a bay leaf and a bit of butter. The ingredients simmered for about 25 minutes until tender, then we pureed them using our immersion blender (one of my favorite kitchen tools). Earlier in the day we had picked up a loaf of Italian bread from Girard St. Gourmet, so we used that to make the croutons in a skillet with Spanish smoked paprika and garlic. The crunchy/spicy croutons were perfect with the smooth creaminess of the soup. Another winner from this awesome cookbook!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/SUXTNkEaE3I/AAAAAAAAEbs/xchPfNs_mMM/s1600-h/rutabaga_leek_chowder.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/SUXTNkEaE3I/AAAAAAAAEbs/xchPfNs_mMM/s320/rutabaga_leek_chowder.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279858368135697266" border="0" /></a>danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12510802414603346790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790315391130489391.post-33957832904437536842008-12-08T19:00:00.000-08:002008-12-08T19:19:11.795-08:00Tomato Quinoa SoupRecently <a href="http://okchelsea.wordpress.com/">Chelsea</a> sent us a great cookbook, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Vegetable-Soups-Deborah-Madisons-Kitchen/dp/076791628X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228792311&sr=8-3">Vegetable Soups by Deborah Madison</a>. We made our first recipe last night - Roasted Fall Tomato Soup with Saffron Quinoa. Luckily here in San Diego there are still tons of tomatoes at the farmer's market each week, so we were able to get our 3 lbs of ripe late-summer tomatoes without an issue. We used Romas, although I think any variety would work. The recipe called for roasting the tomatoes with onions, garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper and a bit of brown sugar for an hour. Meanwhile we cooked quinoa over the stove with a pinch of saffron - a new and delicious way to do quinoa that I had never tried before. We used chicken broth instead of water. Once the tomatoes were done, we pureed them, skipping the step of passing them through a sieve because neither of us is bothered by the seeds. We almost always skip that step! Then we added a bit of curry powder, ladled the tomato mixture into bowls, and spooned some quinoa on top. We topped the soup with a swirl of Greek yogurt. This was an awesome recipe! We took the leftovers for lunch today. Thanks Chelsea!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/ST3jRyfZFSI/AAAAAAAADWI/rMeYx_azrto/s1600-h/tomato_soup1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/ST3jRyfZFSI/AAAAAAAADWI/rMeYx_azrto/s320/tomato_soup1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277624233098810658" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/ST3iykYZBRI/AAAAAAAADWA/YcP2oeHrJk0/s1600-h/tomato_soup2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_5OWoUQDgxF4/ST3iykYZBRI/AAAAAAAADWA/YcP2oeHrJk0/s320/tomato_soup2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5277623696735405330" border="0" /></a>danahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12510802414603346790noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790315391130489391.post-90964175250131240632008-12-06T13:26:00.000-08:002008-12-06T13:58:16.976-08:00Making Toffee : A step-by-step photo guideLast year around the holidays Dana and I made a couple batches of chocolate and pecan covered toffee to give to people as little events came up. It was such a fun process that we decided to do it again last night! We went a little crazy with the pictures so bear with me.<br /><br />The prep - after toasting two cups of pecans (for about 8 minutes at 350 degrees) you chop them up roughly and then chop up half of them fine.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOvEoQBAIg5f0_IBP872bZz1JI8QY3l2kRcyH-GI05rDkIcp6PawqJSFWWyTgiFlXZN5fCDgp4TP5yPGm0fojdnGc2PHC-6OoXoTsTaR7EEvvLbCjX9TkAB-H0ya7UFb_FEi498B9eq9I/s1600-h/toffee1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOvEoQBAIg5f0_IBP872bZz1JI8QY3l2kRcyH-GI05rDkIcp6PawqJSFWWyTgiFlXZN5fCDgp4TP5yPGm0fojdnGc2PHC-6OoXoTsTaR7EEvvLbCjX9TkAB-H0ya7UFb_FEi498B9eq9I/s320/toffee1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276792488359822562" border="0" /></a><br />In a pot goes 3 1/2 cups butter, 1 1/2 cups sugar, a teaspoon salt and 3/4 cups water. Heat and stir until reaches 310 degrees on a candy thermometer (I can't believe we own a candy thermometer!). This takes about 20 minutes - the toffee will darken as it cooks.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Yk78vkzfDD8RbWEx6vfZZqxObk1YaIu8VCROzASHPDwc5ihzgGFz69K5PBQ9hPICW4jFIP7zt05M3tYZ2_6L39ymuHN5YUvqkpM_SYLMuJXkyB6HqsoOu7S2pg2pdgGPoBA-YlO_-Hk/s1600-h/toffee2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Yk78vkzfDD8RbWEx6vfZZqxObk1YaIu8VCROzASHPDwc5ihzgGFz69K5PBQ9hPICW4jFIP7zt05M3tYZ2_6L39ymuHN5YUvqkpM_SYLMuJXkyB6HqsoOu7S2pg2pdgGPoBA-YlO_-Hk/s320/toffee2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276792494103036162" border="0" /></a>Getting closer...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS-o9LIbb6VjznUycPIbfKX-a8uJlWMFNFk2gh7CfobwRSeQj42xce922eE2wig5Pl1C490fWkTAFUAWopfNSEUVm55qPO4POltVPUL71NU33HaNLFCIg42yTBlHJCpT-v0X4V_woY_As/s1600-h/toffee3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS-o9LIbb6VjznUycPIbfKX-a8uJlWMFNFk2gh7CfobwRSeQj42xce922eE2wig5Pl1C490fWkTAFUAWopfNSEUVm55qPO4POltVPUL71NU33HaNLFCIg42yTBlHJCpT-v0X4V_woY_As/s320/toffee3.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276792499058681730" border="0" /></a><br />Almost there!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0UJsMIhqmhng4O6TO4TRjcQvPIBfBYIGvuipHHrt42Vo3A13AVN9tVMrA1yyzzQJA41NTVAu-zdNQkM6YoHDHyWUEPwAQo3tUYLX8a21OnSTgJaUykPUPKPq5a5NuuY4VVFAeeoAIzs4/s1600-h/toffee4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0UJsMIhqmhng4O6TO4TRjcQvPIBfBYIGvuipHHrt42Vo3A13AVN9tVMrA1yyzzQJA41NTVAu-zdNQkM6YoHDHyWUEPwAQo3tUYLX8a21OnSTgJaUykPUPKPq5a5NuuY4VVFAeeoAIzs4/s320/toffee4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276792496355091282" border="0" /></a>After you hit 310, turn off the heat and add a tablespoon of vanilla extract - the toffee may bubble up at this point so be careful! We haven't had any toffee accidents yet but I think it would be very painful.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsszMwu0wWE336rJxYGBb_a7nnpKyQ0jNZuJ0biEg5ebOqJ2D7tvvcsgUW_2sEdNj2vLRt_tEZx0sa-BL2HOt-1-RIQtVp3SFcAdzH9SUaqekQ8nMPFTPl1vc3jiAMvzehf7kqw7o1CqU/s1600-h/toffee5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsszMwu0wWE336rJxYGBb_a7nnpKyQ0jNZuJ0biEg5ebOqJ2D7tvvcsgUW_2sEdNj2vLRt_tEZx0sa-BL2HOt-1-RIQtVp3SFcAdzH9SUaqekQ8nMPFTPl1vc3jiAMvzehf7kqw7o1CqU/s320/toffee5.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276792503115373074" border="0" /></a><br />Mix in the finely chopped nuts as well and pour the toffee into a 10 x 15 baking sheet to cool for 30 minutes:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhShZMIi7EYXCkntanerbkYAFKee3rIahFNTcKKRB4R437BA93eHGVdjhsuwBe29BPGRtuNoCM9tzz3i4c2gzY8Ozo6djD6EOlwyLdMq2BEmciU42S2jl2_Z2vwWj_4GLxcz3QBxau9b4k/s1600-h/toffee6.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhShZMIi7EYXCkntanerbkYAFKee3rIahFNTcKKRB4R437BA93eHGVdjhsuwBe29BPGRtuNoCM9tzz3i4c2gzY8Ozo6djD6EOlwyLdMq2BEmciU42S2jl2_Z2vwWj_4GLxcz3QBxau9b4k/s320/toffee6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276792097576864530" border="0" /></a><br />After a few minutes of cooling you can try to 'score' the toffee so that is easier to break up later. We've found that while this works a little, you have to be ready for it to just break however it wants.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghAfyMCIOUUb57vsETpidZDAEWfLOZuGNokUf5GNPitvy-l2YYJGBXPaZE7wMLyO7MdQ337wPuh51mNX7JBbkArxE2N_zMgrO2A2p2twsPpxBZ6UAhm4ag3qv9mcOYKUolGAlWTAJTAqI/s1600-h/toffee7.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghAfyMCIOUUb57vsETpidZDAEWfLOZuGNokUf5GNPitvy-l2YYJGBXPaZE7wMLyO7MdQ337wPuh51mNX7JBbkArxE2N_zMgrO2A2p2twsPpxBZ6UAhm4ag3qv9mcOYKUolGAlWTAJTAqI/s320/toffee7.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276792100244227538" border="0" /></a>Cut up and melt 12 oz of bittersweet chocolate in a double boiler and pour over the toffee - spread evenly:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmy3XmK8PzL7hsIN9tQiqmQD-rWwOGH1TfMqmnW9FNTB2v7a6Ugs04K_9WHBrdrnSBzDbcUfXL2VPZ02semDdKw3341fLKbnlf1tLVCobxRWvMrOyVJw7xya7SArg3WSJgF0k1bTQks7E/s1600-h/toffee8.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmy3XmK8PzL7hsIN9tQiqmQD-rWwOGH1TfMqmnW9FNTB2v7a6Ugs04K_9WHBrdrnSBzDbcUfXL2VPZ02semDdKw3341fLKbnlf1tLVCobxRWvMrOyVJw7xya7SArg3WSJgF0k1bTQks7E/s320/toffee8.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276792103214320770" border="0" /></a><br />Put the last half of the pecans on top...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlT221x57zCtsE_zFgQRpLKprEPKHYEAGZYbX-hRVAVBqwlknCRE-RcYwSUYEuquW8WuxHHVCbFsx1A4mPKDsfzJf_h0yMxXSWeH4L0fb4VHl56v8YB1Tlk1qq1g_xVbIHR3ZOczvlfi4/s1600-h/toffee9.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlT221x57zCtsE_zFgQRpLKprEPKHYEAGZYbX-hRVAVBqwlknCRE-RcYwSUYEuquW8WuxHHVCbFsx1A4mPKDsfzJf_h0yMxXSWeH4L0fb4VHl56v8YB1Tlk1qq1g_xVbIHR3ZOczvlfi4/s320/toffee9.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276792100909459010" border="0" /></a><br />Wait for a few minutes and then sprinkle on coarse sea salt to taste...and you're done! Put in the fridge for at least an hour to set.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyD3fCZ-3CzlNt1lmBcDZnjx2VKxAQS2z5EIMScT_XXWOvoJE_tbn_p2ZAYbd6sOwyHAZOJkqCA2aWX5j9wWObeOUZnuv7S9SX7zLHG9XqO_ffp2eDmVccTm_1-kuduqn2dyMVH81lTVc/s1600-h/toffee10.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyD3fCZ-3CzlNt1lmBcDZnjx2VKxAQS2z5EIMScT_XXWOvoJE_tbn_p2ZAYbd6sOwyHAZOJkqCA2aWX5j9wWObeOUZnuv7S9SX7zLHG9XqO_ffp2eDmVccTm_1-kuduqn2dyMVH81lTVc/s320/toffee10.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276792104247674146" border="0" /></a>Voila!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTjXbpMar2HWyjN_Ea9N_5fxPQ4J8APLelt92ER9kdqnSaNspBq_rgnj2i-CpP3iAFJXCBiG4KQf4o3MJBWtJajfGFOth2AaDyTwdpOvZcZFRD_VFMraU5aqZYz1xpKXMc4CmEgZr6MV8/s1600-h/toffee12.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTjXbpMar2HWyjN_Ea9N_5fxPQ4J8APLelt92ER9kdqnSaNspBq_rgnj2i-CpP3iAFJXCBiG4KQf4o3MJBWtJajfGFOth2AaDyTwdpOvZcZFRD_VFMraU5aqZYz1xpKXMc4CmEgZr6MV8/s320/toffee12.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276791870102763266" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR6gaG-EkbDrTJ5gjNijmU7kM9jg3LICr0Sy0YGc1s1K1BJMTt5hnwEYbfz8UYDChyfYdFTaSkCBILuzrk4YEcyffpxXbZjtbx1JnxMj3dNSxW1e9ICLn07-eR4tVaavdAzsd02Q3NnmU/s1600-h/toffee.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR6gaG-EkbDrTJ5gjNijmU7kM9jg3LICr0Sy0YGc1s1K1BJMTt5hnwEYbfz8UYDChyfYdFTaSkCBILuzrk4YEcyffpxXbZjtbx1JnxMj3dNSxW1e9ICLn07-eR4tVaavdAzsd02Q3NnmU/s320/toffee.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276799737192822658" border="0" /></a>dylanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16861133133453534799noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790315391130489391.post-88304935505974391042008-12-06T12:53:00.000-08:002008-12-06T13:08:38.412-08:00Dinner : Homemade PizzaFor a while now we have been buying pizza dough and sauce from <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/trader-joes-pacific-beach-san-diego">Trader Joe's</a> and making pizzas at home. They always come out OK, but not great. The crust doesn't get really crispy and is a little mushy in the middle. A couple of weekends ago I made some pizza dough from scratch, in hopes that it would produce a better pie. The recipe made four chunks of pizza dough, which we put in plastic bags and tossed in the freezer. The first two attempts with the new dough was better than the store-bought dough, but not by that much. The issue was really how to get the shaped and topped pizza from the counter to the hot pizza stone that was in the oven. We tried making the pizza on the back of a jelly roll with lots of cornmeal to let it slide around, but once the toppings went on it didn't want to slide around anymore and was very hard to move. Once we did move it the crust didn't get crispy.<br /><br />For this time, we shaped the pizza dough while the stone was heating in the oven. Then when the oven was preheated (to 550), we took the stone out and put the shaped dough on it. Dana then quickly put on the sauce and the toppings and we put the stone back into the oven. We could tell that even before going into the oven the dough was starting to cook on the stone. The result was a nice crispy crust - a killer pizza! This particular one is topped with <a href="http://dylancvaughn.blogspot.com/2008/11/elaines-pesto.html">homemade pesto from Dana's aunt Elaine</a> (Thanks Elaine!), tomato sauce, onions, bacon and fresh mozzarella.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvXbPWSA3wrD8pq-UhtNUUJt29z6UHtHFJ8tObm37AAAH45SRxG1PoCDF_WSmQkeYuQ87rlJ9vAT93Xo_OZ9uQSoxPQI_wCeVotBPAU-vDUQ4Knqc1oeqwhkDqznZyTYlbwEuCje4OX24/s1600-h/pizza1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvXbPWSA3wrD8pq-UhtNUUJt29z6UHtHFJ8tObm37AAAH45SRxG1PoCDF_WSmQkeYuQ87rlJ9vAT93Xo_OZ9uQSoxPQI_wCeVotBPAU-vDUQ4Knqc1oeqwhkDqznZyTYlbwEuCje4OX24/s320/pizza1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276785236532155090" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwq8Hm1af76u-y-Po3dBX1UIAx0335ICjkeg_tA3nC0mX4cGjyoNp4bgThdl3BDx2ohQwJxF7JGhu43cckVpiSwtTGXZQa6ROIm25vWQbK-KDUC5WeQ6JZ4cjT1J0IHofEQQm4DiKJ-c0/s1600-h/pizza2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwq8Hm1af76u-y-Po3dBX1UIAx0335ICjkeg_tA3nC0mX4cGjyoNp4bgThdl3BDx2ohQwJxF7JGhu43cckVpiSwtTGXZQa6ROIm25vWQbK-KDUC5WeQ6JZ4cjT1J0IHofEQQm4DiKJ-c0/s320/pizza2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276785236504971858" border="0" /></a><br /><br />We also had a salad:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSoLyCwBU5BTv2V5WlryAPWB8KXMwOOBux1ANINAazPn9K6HiVacWyAEiQBxqwc68eyAPTRitcQwhrKKaCLKlbF5C8YqmaWoib8cSGMN43TRN8SiCMqrOEdKJImmLihtNqv-gIiukl_ZM/s1600-h/dinner2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSoLyCwBU5BTv2V5WlryAPWB8KXMwOOBux1ANINAazPn9K6HiVacWyAEiQBxqwc68eyAPTRitcQwhrKKaCLKlbF5C8YqmaWoib8cSGMN43TRN8SiCMqrOEdKJImmLihtNqv-gIiukl_ZM/s320/dinner2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276785232974773874" border="0" /></a>dylanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16861133133453534799noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7790315391130489391.post-4367050648866290332008-12-06T12:46:00.000-08:002008-12-06T12:53:01.832-08:00Dinner : BurgersQuick post - here is a recent dinner - burgers. We have been out of propane for the grill outside for a few months now (we lugged the tank to the gas station last week only to find out they had just run out of propane - not meant to be!), so have been broiling all our meats. These burgers went under the broiler for 10 minutes. So easy! Also served was bok choy and a mango and raspberry side.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrm1Zf00mMvZez4aubGWfNTVePhEE4yhXqk1J3QJwNLaMElVWzX2dDQJnNFgwJoSq5WURXzsWwQ-jDUaGynV59DibaM7dmhB56PnIk6yqLg_BY2RJD-WtvK0QKG_gVKepTJe9VOrsQeS0/s1600-h/dinner1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrm1Zf00mMvZez4aubGWfNTVePhEE4yhXqk1J3QJwNLaMElVWzX2dDQJnNFgwJoSq5WURXzsWwQ-jDUaGynV59DibaM7dmhB56PnIk6yqLg_BY2RJD-WtvK0QKG_gVKepTJe9VOrsQeS0/s320/dinner1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5276781652396090050" border="0" /></a>dylanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16861133133453534799noreply@blogger.com0