Caleb Quote O' The Day

Caleb: "I'm a vegetarian."

Jen: "Why do you think you're a vegetarian?"

Caleb: "Cause I am."

The Mini Theologian

I thought that Christmas would be an appropriate time to post some of Caleb's recent theological musings. We really have to stay on our toes to answer his questions. Here are a few of his recent questions...

1. When is Jesus coming out of the clouds?
2. Can God make me into a cow?
3. Can I be a guy church when I grow up?
4. Is Jesus coming to church tonight?
5. Can God turn me into Santa Claus?
6. Why was Jesus born in the manger?
7. If Jesus takes us to heaven, then our neighbors will miss us.

Breakfast with Santa

Well, today we had breakfast with Santa, round two. The first round (last year) resulted in a child who was terrified of Santa and refused to have his picture made with the guy. Also, Santa looked rather young, disinterested, and slightly drugged last year.

Anyway, Caleb assured me that he was "a big boy now" and that he wasn't afraid of Santa. Nonetheless, after we arrived at the hotel, had the requisite breakfast (a highlight for Caleb was partaking of three different types of jam), and neared the moment of truth, Caleb's fear took hold. However, we had something that tipped the scales in our favor this year... Santa was handing out candy canes. When Caleb realized that the only way to get a candy cane was to look fear in the face, he stoically posed for a picture. Fortunately, we ran into Matt's professor who snapped a quick shot for us. Of course, Madi is howling and Caleb looks like he's just seen a ghost. Oh, the things we do for fun!

Caleb Quote O' The Day

"When I grow up, one day, can I marry Mommy?"

Caleb Loses His First Job

The other day was one of highs and lows for Caleb. He was promoted to Chef's Apprentice. He put on his little red apron and assisted in assembling the ingredients for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread. He was doing well for a while, but as it will in most first jobs, the monotony started to get to him. He started scooping ingredients out of our mixture and dumping them on the table. After a warning failed to improve his performance, he was fired. I do hope another apprenticeship opens for him soon.

And the muffins turned out yummy. Here's the recipe. My only note is that I think that a whole bag of chocolate chips is way too many (even though I do love chocolate). Maybe 1 cup of chocolate chips would be good. Anyway, enjoy!...

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

3

Mini Loafs

Submitted by chickybang
June 13, 2005

2 C Flour
2 Tsp bake powder
1 Tsp bake soda
1 Tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 Tsp cloves
1/2 Tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 Tsp ground ginger
1/4 Tsp salt
1 stick butter
3/4 C sugar
1/4 C honey
2 Lg eggs
1 C pumpkin puree
1/2 C plain yogurt
1 Bag chocolate chip morsels
(preferably mini chips)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease loaf pan(s) Combine all ingredients except the chocolate chips into the processor and mix until well combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake until center comes out clean (approx 1 hour) Let bread cool 15 minutes.

Healthyish Pumpkin Pie

Is it an unwritten rule in the blogging world that you must include recipes? At least most of the blogs I look at have recipes. So, I thought I'd include one here (although I didn't abide by the other unwritten rule of including a picture).

Caleb has been persistently asking for pumpkin pie for a long time. I guess since we got our pumpkins for Halloween, he assumed that we would use them to make pumpkin pie. I confess that I did not use said pumpkins for the pie, but used the infinitely easier canned pumpkin. Maybe one day I'll be brave enough to attempt conquering the actual pumpkin. Anyway, here's the recipe:

Crust:
2 C nuts (I used a mix of walnuts and pecans)
1/2 C dates
Process nuts in food processor until crumbly. Add dates and process until blended. Press mixture into pie pan

Filling:
1.5 C pumpkin puree
.5 C pure maple syrup
1 C heavy cream
.5 C milk
4 eggs
2 TBS flour
.25 tsp nutmeg
.25 tsp ground giner
1 tsp cinnamon

Heat pumpkin puree in a pan. Stir frequently.
Add milk and cream, heating gently. Stir until smooth. Keep hot but not boiling.
In a heatproof bowl, whisk the eggs until smooth. Add in dry spices, flour, then syrup.
Add the pumpkin mixture to the egg mixture (whisking the egg mixture while pouring).
Pour mixture into pie crust.
Bake at 400 until outside edge of the filling is firm and slightly puffed and center is jiggly. (I baked it for 20 min. and this was a bit too long)
Cool gently
Yummy!

Generosity Misguided

I was trying to explain the concept of Operation Christmas Child to Caleb so that he could help me choose some toys to fill our shoe box. I told him that we were going to buy toys for a little boy that didn't have any toys. Caleb enthusiastically embraced the idea, saying, "Maybe we can fill that box with toys and give it to Isaiah!" Good thought Caleb, but I don't exactly think Isaiah is the target demographic of Operation Christmas Child!