Fall playing and food

Things are going well around here for the most part. Ruby is growing every day and is very sweet, funny, curious, stubborn and a constant reminder of the depravity of man. It's daily that I think, "Wow, we really do need Christ." But I also often think about all the mysteries and miracles that God works and understands each day like how he creates life in the first place and how to grows babies into toddlers and gives them a wonderful thirst for learning and experiencing the world and joy.

I'm also growing (because Enzo is) and looking forward to the holidays. I've been doing a lot of baking and cooking lately and really enjoying entertaining friend. We had an informal cocktail type party last week and really enjoyed it. I love hosting, although I still have a hard time remaining calm and socializing, and plan to host more get-togethers as the weather cools. I have plans or pies (sweet and meat!), fudge, soups, spiced cider and other wonderful fall foods.

One of the dishes that I've been craving with the cooler weather is calico beans. I blogged about it already as it's my favorite food and have discovered recently that it's delightful with sauerkraut. I did quite a bit of reading about the health benefits of fermented foods and while I'm still in the early stages of experimenting I do like the sauerkraut that I made and we of course eat a lot of homemade yogurt.

One of the less healthy but wonderful foods that I've enjoyed lately are a variation of a recipe for "Cocoa Blocks" that I got from a friend. I made them for our party last week and they were a hit (as were the pumpkin muffs with mascarpone frosting but I'll post about those later). I've been wanting to add spice and more depth of flavor to everything lately so I decided I would add chili and cayenne to the recipe. I just added them "to taste" so don't have measurements to give you but here's the original recipe (based on a recipe by King Arthur Flour) if you'd like to give them a try. They're delightful melted in a cup of coffee as well!

Cocoa Blocks

½ cup heavy cream 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk (1 1/4 cups) 2 cups milk chocolate (chopped chocolate bars or chips) 1 cup semi sweet chocolate (chopped chocolate bars or chips) 3/4 cup unsweetened baking chocolate (about 2 1/2 blocks) wooden sticks or toothpicks Directions 1) Line an 8" x 8" pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil. 2) Heat the cream and condensed milk over low heat until steaming. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate; allow it to gently melt. 3) After about 10 minutes, return the chocolate mixture to low heat to completely melt the chocolate. Whisk vigorously until the mixture is thick and shiny. Add a few drops of flavoring oil if you like; hazelnut, coffee, or vanilla are popular flavors. 4) Pour the chocolate mixture into the pan; shake the pan gently to level. Sprinkle with cocoa, if desired. Set aside overnight to slowly set up. 5) Run a knife around the edge of the pan and turn out onto a clean cutting surface. 6) Slice into 1 ¼" cubes. Heat a knife in hot water and wipe dry before each cut, for smoothest cuts. 7) Stick a wooden stick into the center of each block. 8) Roll in cocoa or crushed peppermint candy, if desired. 9) Wrap in waxed paper, parchment, or plastic wrap to store. Yield: about 3 dozen blocks.

Recipe summary Hands-on time: 20-45 mins. Total time: 12-12 hrs 45 mins. Yield: 3 dozen blocks

Finally - proof that my midsection is expanding

I suppose it's about time I posted a shot of my expanding midsection. This one isn't great but at least it's something! I so rarely get my picture taken (as everyone is taking shots of Ruby) so I snapped a quick one yesterday. Ruby and I are staying with Grammi (Chuck's mom) while he's away on business. You can check out his blog to read about his trip. He is in Chicago right now and will be back home tonight. Yay!
I'm about 25-26 weeks and everything is going great! I'm just starting to feel big and noticing that I can't move normally. For example, bending over to tie my shoes is becoming more and more difficult.
Hope your week went well and you're looking forward to the weekend - I know I am!

Cracker Phone

Ruby and I took Chuck to the airport yesterday after a nice morning together. Ruby slept on the ride up but then at 1pm when she normally would have been napping she felt she needed to be eating crackers. This was ok since I had packed some just in case. When we were just a few blocks from home she noticed by cell phone (I think I checked the weather at a stop-light) and wanted to see it. She is very interested in my cell phone these days. I told her my phone was not for playing but that she could have another cracker. After I drove a few more blocks I peeked at her to check on the cracker eating to find her talking on the cracker like a phone. Genius. Here she is pushing the buttons and telling Daddy all about everything. She won't talk to Daddy on my phone but she will on her cracker phone. Nice.