Ethan's Baptism

 

 

 

 I'm a Godmother, again!  If I haven't said this before-  I love being an aunt.  I love having sisters who have babies.  It's really, really fun stuff.  And this weekend, I'm privileged to become my newest nephew, Ethan's, Godmother. 

And if I also haven't mentioned, our family is truly blessed with my Dad's cousin, Father David.  There's nothing like having a family member to really personalize our services, especially in light of the growing number of children!  We're always glad to come together for such a sweet occasion.

Molly, the little "mommy" herself, was in her glory on Sunday, with so many little ones to tend to.  Noah will gladly accept her hugs and kisses, and even Ethan was happy to see her.  We're just so excited for her to become a big sister.  Even now, shes asks about her baby brother or sister everyday.  And the best part- she really doesn't care either way- boy or girl.  "'How's my baby doing in there, mummy?'  Growing really big, Molly, and kicking away!  'That's good (pats my belly)- keep  growing, baby, until you're so big (sticking her belly way out) so you can come out! And I can hold you!'"   It's really fun, being her Mommy.

Blueberry Peach Rustic Tart

The blueberries are ready in Pennsylvania!   We spend hours picking, cleaning, tasting and baking these little beauties.  I've always been a fan of berry picking.  And baking.


I had a few ripe peaches and quarts of fresh blueberries, so after a few delicious pins, I decided to make a tart- basically a short cut pie, in my case.  I've seen it pinned as a galette, but I'm not really fancy enough for "galette".  Thus, it's a rustic tart.   A pie crust that's slapped onto a cookie sheet, filled with fruit, and edges folded over to partly cover the top.  Easy, peasy.

 

Blueberry Peach Rustic Tart

Recipe makes 2 small (8") tarts

1 1/3 cup flour

1 1/3 cup cornmeal

2 tblsp brown sugar

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 sticks salted butter, cold and cubed

6- 8 tblsp ice cold water 

3 peaches, sliced

4 cups blueberries

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

juice of 1 lemon

For the crust:

   Combine cornmeal and flour with sugar and nutmeg.  Using a pastry cutter, cut in cold butter cubes until flour mixture resembles small peas.  Slowly, 1 tblsp at a time, add cold water until a dough begins to form.  Shape dough into a disc.  Wrap with plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours (or overnight).

 When chilled, preheat oven to 400 F.  Roll out into circle, fill with fruit.

For the filling:

 Slice peaches (I left the skins on).  Toss peaches and blueberries with lemon juice, sugar, cinnamon.  Add filling to the center of the rolled dough, leaving at least a two inch border.  Gently fold the excess dough over the center of the filling as far as it will extend.  Brush crust with egg wash (1 egg, 2 tblsp whole milk), sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 400F for 35-40 minutes, until filling is bubbly and crust is golden brown.

Cool for 20 minutes.

Serve warm (with ice cream or whipped cream, if you're at my house!)

For a dose of reality, this is what the rest of my table looked like while I was taking these pictures:

Recipe from this site, I adjusted it (didn't have thyme) slightly.

Around Here

I'm passed the twenty week mark in this pregnancy, and so thankful for a wild little dancer in my belly who's constantly reminding me "I'm okay in here, Mummy".  I've  always wondered what little ones thought of their pregnant Mom's growing bellies- Molly has little interest at all!  I think that since it's been so gradual, it just doesn't phase her.  She will sometimes ask about the baby, but has yet to seem annoyed that I'm holding her differently, or wonder why I'm doing stretches to keep my back from bothering me.  Kids are so resilient, I tell you.

I've said it before, we're raising an animal lover.  I guess it's only natural, with her Dad working on his family's farm.  And I'm thankful, because I was raised around a dog, and a cat or two, but didn't have much experience with large animals.  Molly has been asking to ride horses for months.  So we took an afternoon during our staycation to take her on an hour long trail ride.  The girl loved it, she's fearless.  She asked why Daddy had to ride with her:  "I want to ride this horsey all by myself, Daddy".  No, Molly- this horse is really big, and you need Daddy to help you.  "No I don't, Daddy, I'm a big, big girl!"

She asks to go to the park every day.  I'm not joking.

The stubborn nap fighter.  I seriously don't get it.  But I keep reminding myself that I nursed her last year at this time- a perfect sedative.  So this year, the nap is such a battle.  I understand, too, that some kids just don't need a nap at nearly 3 years old.  But this kid does.  She's a delirious wild woman by 5pm without one!  Thankfully, this weekend we've had her cousin, Quinton, at our home- a four year old who LOVES his nap.  I snapped this picture with my phone after 20 minutes of laying beside her as she explained why she didn't need a nap.  Girl, if you only realized. ;)

Our family reunion, a Western theme!  I love that the number of kids multiply each year- it was just so much fun.  Long day, lots of playing, and little napping.  I think we all slept until 7am on Sunday morning!

The last iphone pic: the Tastee Freez, or the "ice cream store" as Molly affectionately refers.  We drove by after church, and both children asked for a treat for the rest of the day.  This is an 8pm sweet treat last night, and I couldn't get them to hold still long enough to show me what they chose.  "'Nella ice cream on a cone" for Molly, and a "choc-it milk shake" for Quinton.  Not a lick or sip left to share, either ;)

I'd love to keep summer around forever, but that would mean no November, and no due date!  Fortunately, I'm starting to feel better- so I'm not in as much of a hurry to get there.

Have a great week!