In the Kitchen: Grandma Scott's Potato Soup

Eating potato soup at Grandma's is something I will remember fondly from my childhood because I love potatoes and love my Grandma! When I was old enough to learn how to cook, Grandma Scott showed me how to make some great dishes. Unfortunately she does not always follow a recipe (a sign of a good cook!). So this is  my first and meager attempt at writing a recipe!

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter or margarine (divided)
1 cup chopped carrots
2 stalks of celery chopped (approximately 3/4 cup)
1 medium onion chopped
1 clove of garlic minced
4 tablespoons of cornstarch
9 cups of milk (divided)
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp pepper
2 bay leaves
5-6 medium potatoes
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese

Add 1/4 cup of butter, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic to a large stock pot over low to medium heat. Saute until the onions and celery start to become translucent, about 5-7 minutes.

In the mean time, chop the potatoes (Make sure to clean them first. You may also peel the potatoes, I prefer to leave the skins on). I cut mine into 1 inch cubes, you could also cut them into smaller cubes, or shred the potatoes, depending on your preference.

Combine 1 cup of milk and 4 tablespoons of cornstarch until smooth. Add the salt and pepper, remaining butter, and milk/cornstarch mixture. Bring soup to a boil slowly, stirring frequently to prevent the soup from burning. About 5 minutes until the soup begins to boil and thicken.

Add the remaining milk and potatoes to the soup and return to a boil, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. When soup is at a low boil add the 2 cups of shredded cheese and bay leaves. Reduce the heat to a low and cover the soup. Simmer the soup for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the desired thickness of soup* is reached and the potatoes are cooked thoroughly.

Serve soup with additional shredded cheese and bacon on top. Enjoy!

*If soup is not thick enough, combine more milk and cornstarch and add to the soup, until the desired thickness is reached. 

DIY: Snowflake Crayons

The snow in Livermore does not fall as abundently as it does in Illinois. If snow comes it usually sticks to the tops of the hills (1,000-2,000 feet up). To make up for my desire for snow at Christmas time, I decided to make snowflakes! I used old, broken crayons that were headed for the garbage, and turned them into some lovely Christmas gifts for the little ones in our family!

Here are the simple steps:

1. Collect old crayons and remove the paper. Greg and I used exacto knives to slice the paper and peel it off. It was difficult to peel the paper off of the really old crayons, so we just tossed those in the garbage. I would recommend using and old cutting board or mat as your work surface.

2. Sort the crayons into muffin tins or small containers by color.

3. Use an exacto knife and old cutting board to break the crayons in 1/2 inch pieces. The smaller and more uniform the crayon bits are, the better they will melt in the oven. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees during this step.

Add the crayon bits to a silicone baking mold. I found mine in the dollar section at Target. You could also use a regular or mini muffin tin to make circular crayons.

You can add bits of crayon that are all the same color to create a solid color crayon, or vary the colors to create a swirl crayon. I liked the way the light green and dark green crayon pieces mixed to created a swirl crayon.

4. Place the mold on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes (200 degrees). The crayon bits should be completly melted when finished. Let cool on a cooling rack for several hours, or let the tray cool for 10 minutes and then place in the freezer for 30 minutes. When you peel the mold back you will get these beautiful crayons!

I had inspiration to make these from this blog post here. I have also read about similar ideas online that suggested using only Crayola crayons, due to the high quality of wax.

I know some little ones that will love these snowflake crayons! Here is what I did to package the crayons as gifts.

I used composition books to create personalized coloring books to wrap with the crayons!





We Are Thankful

It has been awhile since I have posted! We have been busy teaching the Alpha Course with the youth group at church and traveling to Illinois for Thanksgiving!
Since we often reflect on "Giving Thanks" during November I am listing some things that Greg and I are thankful for.

We are thankful for.....our church community and the opportunity to serve the youth group.

Greg is wearing the "Armor of God" that the youth group

made to illustrate Ephesians 6:10-19.

We are thankful for... job opportunities God has provided and the relationships formed as a result of those jobs. 

Staff members from Gymboree at the Pumpkin Patch Party. We are dressed as "Crayola Crayons", I of course choose pink!

Posing for a picture, with a student from my class, during the Pumpkin Patch Party.

I am passing out "bubble catcher" castanets and blowing the famous Gymboree "Bubble Oodles" to the 3 year olds' in my Level 6 class.

This is the view I have most days at Our Saviour Lutheran School when

the kids play on the playground after homework club :)

We are thankful for...family.

Our nephew Jaymes(18 mos.) enjoying his Cheerios.

 

Greg and Grandma Fortino

Dad, Greg, Jessica, and I enjoying delicious coffee and bagels

at The Java Hut in Danville!

Yes, we are wearing Tie-dyed Turkey T-shirts on Thanksgiving :)

(Jessica, Mom, Grandma, Leslie, Aunt Matilda)

We are thankful....for friends.

Greg outside our apartment at 5:30 a.m. as we wait for our dear friends to take us to the train station. (Thanks Ken and Cathleen!)

 

I am not as happy to be on the train so early in the morning...

but still very happy that we had good friends to take us!

Dinner with Bryan at the Italian Village in Chicago. 

We are thankful...for good food!

Enjoying a wonderful Thanksgiving meal at Mom and Dad Schebler's.

(Julie, Jaymes, Jamie)

Couldn't resist the Chicago style stuffed pizza.

We order a bit much, but it was sooo good!

BOGO Free Holiday Starbucks, while waiting on our

baggage at O'Hare, love it!

I had to get a Chicago style hot dog before we flew back to

California, I am clearly enjoying it!

The grandparents even tried a Livermore wine with Thanksgiving dinner.

These are just a few things Greg and I are thankful for this year! As we move into Advent and look forward to Christmas, we will to continue to be thankful for our abundance of blessings.

Happy Birthday Jessica!

We were so happy to celebrate your 29th birthday

(not 84th as the candles indicate) with you this year!

A New Type of Fall

We are enjoying a new season of "Fall" in California. It is not a season of Fall like we love in Illinois. I am going to take you through some of the things I love about  fall in the Midwest and how they are the same and different in our area of California.

Joan's Farm & Pumpkin Patch in Livermore- Outside of the Corn Maze

Same: There is corn in Illinois and in California.

Different: Corn in Illinois is harvested for feed and what not; there are fields and fields of it along I-74 (I heart that :) ). Corn grown around Livermore is used for "entertainment" purposes in the form of a corn maze. In fact an irrigation system is required for the corn to grow tall enough since it rarely rains in the summer in Livermore.

Greg measuring his height at the pumpkin patch.

Same: Greg's height at the pumpkin patch.

Different: Wearing shorts and a T-shirt in California and wearing jeans and a sweatshirt in Illinois. As I write this it is 80 degrees and sunny outside today. This does not feel like "Fall" weather to me! I brought out our "Winter" clothes from storage in hopes that it will cool down soon!

I am sporting my block I hat at the pumpkin patch as I use my had as a reference point for what size pumpkin we want to pick. I love having a husband that is an engineer, he comes up with great ideas!

 Same: We support the ILLINI no matter what time zone we are in!

Different: We don't have the option of watching all of their losses since we are in a different time zone. It saves a little heart ache....

 Greg and our friend Adam with the pumpkins  we bought at the pumpkin patch

Same: There are trees with leaves in Illinois and California.

Different: The leaves on the trees in the Midwst are a gorgeous array of red, yellow, and orange. They stay on the trees and fall throughout the season, making for lots of raking. The leaves on the trees in Northern California can rarely be seen in beautiful Fall colors. By looking at the trees in this picture you can see that they are still very green in Mid-October. Often times they will turn yellow and fall immediately from the tree, with other green leaves still on the tree. This beautiful part of the season is something I miss dearly!

 Greg and our friend April assisting with the pumpkin carving contest at Youth Group.

Same: Pumpkin carving in October.

Different: I have great memories carving pumpkins with my Dad and sister on the floor in the kitchen a few weeks before Halloween. We would then light the Jack-O-Latterns every night until Halloween. We carved pumpkins with the Youth Group on Thursday night and hope that they don't rot on our front porch before Monday night! Again, why is it consistently 80 degrees or more outside?!?



 In progress to becoming the winning pumpkin in the carving contest.

 Jack-O-Lantern Pizza from Papa Murphy's

Same: Jack-O-Lantern pizza, we love this! We enjoyed a great time catching up with friends and having this pizza just like in college for only $7!

 The fall tray on our dinning room table, along with a bowl of Candy Corn for Greg :)

Same: Fall decorations.

Different: No pumpkin potpourri to be found. I love going to the Covered Bridge festival in the Fall with Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, and Jess. I always wanted the little bags of cinnamon smelling pumpkins for myself. I have looked and looked with no avail. Thanks Grandma S. and Dad for sending some to me and making Fall in Livermore a little more like Fall in Illinois!

 Wine tasting at Cedar Mountain Winery in Livermore.

Same: An abundance of Halloween candy. (Greg really likes this!)

Difference: In Illinois we usually just eat the Halloween candy and love it. In Livermore Halloween candy is taken one step further and paired with a wine flight, so of course we had to try this! Surprisingly some of the candy tasted great with the wine.



Greg tasting the Scarlet Syrah wine through a Twizzler "straw," it really enhances the strawberry undertones...

So here is to new and old understandings of the season of Fall!

-Love you all, Leslie



Visitors

Last weekend Jacob and Kelly came to visit! We really enjoyed spending quality time with our good friends from college. There was sightseeing in San Fransisco, exploring Mt. Diablo, and even a few games of Settlers.

 Golden Gate Bridge

This is a great view of the East side of the bridge. We were able to find a parking lot for Fort Mason (Battery East), and walk to the first tower of the bridge. We even saw a few dolphins on the bay side of the bridge as we walked across.

There is "The Rock".

The lighthouse on Alcatraz.

The "Agave Trail" was open during our visit. We were able to walk along the trail on the edge of the island for a close up view of the water. I am standing in front of the warning sign that can be seen by boaters approaching the island.

Jacob and Kelly on the Agave Trail.

Greg and I walking along the trail, look how close the water is!!

We headed to Pier 39 for dinner and shopping. Greg became part of the performers show unexpectidlley, but willingly. He held the stick with the rope and helped catch the spiner to toss to the person below.

Sea Lions at Pier 39. It was quite entertainig to watch them fight for a good spot. They often lay on top of one another or push each other into the water.

Making sourdough bread at Boudin Bakery.

We enjoyed delicious ice cream sundaes at Ghiradelli Square!

Check out the sign as we approach the "crookedest" street in
the world, also known as Lombard St.

Here are some views as we drove down Lombard St.

On the second day of their visit, Greg convinced everyone to head to Mt. Diablo State Park. We did some hiking and climbing in "Rock City", drove to the summit, and had a pinic lunch. It was a great way to enjoy some of the beautiful things God created! Here are some of our favorite pictures.