Apple Cake

Whenever Kevin leaves for a work trip I like to stock up on all the necessities before he leaves so that I won't have to do any major shopping while he's gone. This leaves me plenty of time to care for the kids who inevitably get sick anytime their favorite parent leaves the country.

This time around Kevin was super helpful and picked up a bunch of necessities for me, while I at the same time in the same store unknowingly picked up the same necessities. We may have had a bit of a breakdown in communication somewhere there..

Anyway, more food is always better in my book, and when we came home with a thousand apples I knew that the kids and I had some baking in our future.

On a rainy Sunday the kids and I washed peeled and sampled all the apples needed for my mom's Jewish Apple Cake.

We mixed, measured, and baked, then both kids got sick and stopped eating for a few days, so naturally I ate all the cake. Sorry pants.


Here's the recipe for Jewish Apple Cake in case anyone else has apples on their mind.

Ingredients:
6 apples peeled and sliced
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
4 eggs
1/4 cup orange juice
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup of sugar/cinnamon mix

Directions:

1. Mix flour, sugar, oil, eggs,orange juice, vanilla, and baking powder
2. Grease and flour a tube pan
3. Spread half the batter into the pan
4. Cover with half the sliced apples
5. Top the apples with half the cinnamon/sugar mix
6. Pour the remaining batter on top
7. Top with apples and the rest of the cinnamon/sugar mix

Bake at 350 for 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 hours

Bon appétit!

First Weeks of School

 

We're back at it! School is in full swing and we've gotten off to a good start. Of course the first few weeks have had a few bumps but I've been super impressed with Quinn and Anna this year, they are SO resilient. If there is one thing that living abroad has taught all of us, it's to keep pushing through even when things are difficult, uncomfortable, and sometimes scary!

Last year, the start of school was tough, new faces, new ways of doing things, and most of all a new language made for some rocky days in the beginning. This year both kids are at the same school and also have the opportunity to share a classroom, it's awesome! Quinn seems to have settled in quickly, he has the same teachers as last year and most of his classmates have returned as well. I'm not sure if its a personality thing or something having to do with birth order, but Anna seems to be settling in quite well. Although we did have a few exciting days in the beginning...

Every morning the kids are picked by the school van and other than a slight bout of carsickness on the first day, it has been a huge life saver, and they love their bus friends.

The full school day has been a bit of an adjustment for Anna and a few days during the first weeks she fell asleep in class! The teachers are very nice, and set up a little mat for her. The first day she fell asleep the English teacher told me that she hit the sack right at the lunch table!

Fortunately, she seems to have adjusted and for the past two weeks has been staying awake at school.

My favorite time of the day is picking them up. They both have a lot to say on the bus ride home and I always enjoy hearing about what they ate for lunch.

Look at Quinn, he's totally too cool for school here!

A Day in the Alps

One sunny Sunday last month we woke up early and caught the train to the Jungfrau region in the Bernese Oberland. It was a beautiful sunny day in the Alps and the perfect day for a family "hike".

We began our day in the valley in the little village of Lauterbrunnen where we admired the huge waterfall Staubbach Falls just outside the town before hopping onboard a local train that took us partway up the mountain where we were stunned by the gorgeous views of the Mountains and valley below.We spent the morning hiking around on the paths that connect the tiny mountain hamlets and enjoying the beautiful views.

All the little houses have beautiful gardens that were in their prime on this sunny day, the kids loved meeting the animals and all the beautiful flowers made me wish that I had a yard!

We wandered into a field for a picnic lunch and were surprised to see that we were directly below one of the mountain trams, excellent lunch time entertainment!

By far the highlight of the day was stumbling upon a small town parade. Growing up in a small town myself, I remember my mom always saying the our town parade was the best (and longest) because everyone could march in it no matter what. I'm happy to say that this small town mentality must be worldwide because this was the longest (and best) parade ever. They even invited the cows to join in!

Of course these fancy ladies were leading the way...

Then there were these guys and their giant bells...

And bands...so many bands....

 This guy was a real crowd pleaser, it looks like it was a good harvest this year.

Possibly the best part of the parade were the carts with pots of bubbling hot fondue, where people were dipping potatoes and bread and handing the cheesy Swiss delicacy out to the crowd! WHAT??? Sorry no picture, I was too busy with my snack.

This parade was such a treat to find, it will be one of those memories that will for sure go down in our collective family memory. I'm so happy we saw it!

This was such a such a memorable day trip, the weather was perfect and the fresh mountain air was just what we needed! Here's a few more pictures of our day in the Alps.

Keepers

For the past week or so, the question of what to make for dinner has been a bit of a problem. I don't know if its the start of school craziness or me not wanting to let summer afternoons by the pool go just yet, but lately when dinnertime rolls around I haven't been very creative. Easy pasta has been on our table more days than I care to count, so last night I decided to change all that and make a real dinner!

Since it was Friday night, I would have really loved to have ordered take-out, but I found a way to curb my craving for the easy way out with a quick and easy pad thai recipe. Everyone loved it, and that's a win in my book!

While we were eating, Kevin did what he always does during a good meal and told me that we HAVE to keep this recipe, it's a keeper he said. As usual, I nodded my head and said yes, total keeper. Then as usual, I completely wiped the memory of the recipe from my consciousness. Almost as if he knew what was happening in my head, Kevin came up with the idea to start putting the "keepers" on the blog. Hopefully this way we can all get a little dinner inspiration when we need it!

Here's the recipe for Pad Thai-

I couldn't find a few of the ingredients so, maybe this isn't exactly pad thai, but it's close enough for us!

Sauce-
1/4 Cup Soy Sauce (you could also use fish sauce here)
1/4 Cup Lime Juice (I used 2 limes)
3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar

1 Package of Rice Noodles
1 Pound ground pork (we used less)
1 Onion (diced)
1-2 Cloves Garlic (diced)
3 Eggs
2 Carrots (julienned)
1 Red Bell Pepper (julienned)
1 Bunch of Cilantro (chopped)
1 Cup of chopped peanuts
Extra limes for garnish

Directions-
1. Boil noodles until just al dente (a few minutes). Drain and set aside.
2. Mix, soy sauce, lime juice, and brown sugar for the sauce. Set aside.
3. Cook onion and garlic in a large skillet until soft
4. Cook pork with a few spoonfuls of sauce, and set aside.
5. Stir fry carrots, and peppers with a few spoonfuls of sauce. Add eggs to one side of the pan and scramble.
6. Add pork and noodles into the pan with the rest of the sauce and stir fry.
7 Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and peanuts. Add quartered limes for garnish.

Bon Appétit!

Super Anna!

All summer long Anna's favorite game to play is "Super Anna". She made a super hero mask and arm bands and has been known to sport a pink cape, or sometimes just a large cloth napkin to help her fly through the air. But she is always at her super hero best when we're at the swimming pool. She loves to swim and after a few lessons she now has a new found love for jumping in the pool. She'd do it all day if we let her. It's the best expression of pure three year old joy that I've ever seen.

So here's a little video to brighten your weekend, Happy Friday everybody!!

PS- Sorry about the super grainy video... ekkk.