Scott, Brittany and Melanie

We had a great trip to Iowa and Chicago with Scott, Brittany and Melanie. Picture of the family next to lake Michigan, and Melanie having fun with mommy in the car.

couple more pictures

Melanie loves the new mower that Mom and Dad got for her. As you can see, she has a lot of work left to do. Also, here is a link to a quick video of her. She really didn't like the placement of this street sign.

future baller

The picture is a bit out of focus, but we think it is pretty funny.

Brandon's Wedding, Landon's haircut

Here are some pictures from Dustin's brother's wedding. The last is of Landon's new big-boy hair cut. It was taken with a phone, so the quality isn't too great...but you get the idea.

Kathy's new dog

Sorry, in the last post I posted the pictures too big, so second try. Garfield is a nice dog, it seems. He follows her around like Annie did. He does seem to have one bad habit. The bed is his, but he is willing to share.

Chocolate Raspberry Tart

This dessert is totally delicious! To be honest, the next time I make it I'll probably just buy the chocolate graham cracker crust, even if it is less healthy (eg., buttery). That part was the most work, and I think the recipe doesn't call for quite enough graham crackers, although I couldn't really tell because I only had the graham cracker sticks instead of sheets, so I just kept adding them. :) The rest of the dish makes up for a store-bought crust because there's almost nothing bad in it at all. Just so you know, I used frozen raspberries, which worked great, but be sure to thaw and strain them.

Chocolate Raspberry Tart with White Chocolate Cream

This make-ahead dessert features a creamy white chocolate filling, a decadent dark chocolate crust, and a crown of glazed raspberries. For the prettiest presentation, add the raspberry topping within an hour of serving. Do not remove the bottom of the springform pan; simply place it on your serving plate.
Crust:
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa
6 chocolate graham cracker sheets (add 1-2 extra)
1 ounce bittersweet chocolate, chopped
Dash of salt
1 large egg white
Cooking spray

Filling:
1 cup fat-free milk
2 tablespoons sugar
2 large egg yolks
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
3 ounces premium white baking chocolate, chopped
1 cup frozen reduced-calorie whipped topping (such as Light Cool Whip), thawed

Topping:
4 cups fresh raspberries (about 1 1/2 pints)
1/2 cup apple jelly
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Chocolate curls (optional)
Mint leaves (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°.
To prepare crust, place first 5 ingredients in a food processor; process until fine crumbs form.
Place 1 egg white in a small bowl; beat with a fork until frothy. Add 3 tablespoons of the beaten egg white through food chute with food processor on; process just until combined. Discard any remaining egg white. [I added the whole egg white.] Press the crumb mixture into a 9-inch round removable-bottom tart pan or a 9-inch springform pan coated with cooking spray [I just used a pie pan]. Bake at 350° for 7 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

To prepare the filling, combine milk, 2 tablespoons sugar, and egg yolks in a small saucepan. Sprinkle gelatin evenly over milk mixture. Let stand 5 minutes. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until gelatin dissolves and mixture begins to thicken, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; add white chocolate, stirring until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Scrape white chocolate mixture into a medium bowl. Place bowl in a larger ice-filled bowl until mixture cools and thickens (about 4 minutes), stirring constantly (do not allow gelatin mixture to set). Gently stir 1/4 cup whipped topping into white chocolate mixture; gently fold in remaining 3/4 cup whipped topping. Scrape into prepared crust using a rubber spatula; spread evenly to edge of crust. Cover pan with plastic wrap; chill at least 1 hour.

To prepare topping, place raspberries in a large bowl. Remove plastic wrap from tart pan; remove sides of tart pan. Heat jelly in a small saucepan until melted, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in juice. Drizzle jelly mixture over raspberries; toss gently to coat. Spoon raspberry mixture evenly over filling. Refrigerate, uncovered, 15 minutes. Garnish with chocolate curls and mint leaves, if desired.

Yield: 12 servings (serving size: 1 wedge)

CALORIES 184 (29% from fat); FAT 6g (sat 3.1g,mono 0.6g,poly 0.3g); PROTEIN 3.6g; CHOLESTEROL 36mg; CALCIUM 60mg; SODIUM 90mg; FIBER 3.1g; IRON 0.5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 30.5g

Cooking Light, MAY 2007

And here is a cool Cooking Light article on plating techniques: I found it very interesting.

http://www.cookinglight.com/cooking/mp/entertaining/article/0,13803,349320,00.html.

Kathy's new dog, Garfield

Garfield seem like a good dog. He likes Kathy, but he does have one bad habit. Either we break it, or get a bigger bed.

TRIBUTE TO ANNIE July 10, 1998--October 9, 2007

Annie was loved by everyone that knew her. She only had happy thoughts and she showed that by the non-stop wagging. She loved her family and was always so excited when someone came home to visit. She was completely loyal to me and I will miss her (so will Dad).

Ruby Mountains Conference Sunday

It has snowed here a couple of times. This was what the Ruby's looked like this afternoon.

Melanie bouncing

Guys, I was going to upload a video here, but it is just too big for Blogger, so I uploaded it to Youtube. Melanie likes standing on things (like her train) and bouncing, especially when the music is good. Here is the link.