Happy Birthday/Thanksgiving/Anniversary (and that's about enough, don't you think?)

First of all, take a look at that turkey!  Isn't that the prettiest turkey you've ever seen?  My very talented brother-in-law cooked up that beauty on the grill.  You should have been there.  It tasted even better than it looks.

Okay, on the the people shots.  I celebrated my birthday this week.  Last year was a "milestone" birthday.  I had visions of The Melting Pot.  Instead, I had a different kind of melting pot: a church potluck, and an all-night drive to Chicago.  This year, Jonathan made a very nice to-do about the date, and boy was it fun. 

It involved a lot of chocolate cake, so what was not to enjoy?

Jonathan and my friend Anne made a really nice surprise birthday lunch for me last week. Anne made the richest, most decadent chocolate cake I've ever had.  It smelled like cocoa.  I think I ate about a quarter of it, along with some vanilla ice cream.  Yummy!

I also took full advantage of the free cakes at restaurants, the most memorable of which was this mud pie cupcake.  More yummy!

For the holiday (Thanksgiving, not my birthday), we went to Chicagoland to visit Jonathan's family.  The girls got to be memorialized on Opa's door jam, a much tidier version of my grandma's door.

Looks fun, huh?

Hannah and Cousin Brady had a real blast together.  Check out the "Magic Ball" bouncing competition.  This went on for about an hour.  (Don't tell Uncle Wally, whose deathly afraid that something will go through his TV.)

 Meanwhile, Lydia participated in a rousing game of Pass The Baby.

And edged out by the football game, while the grown-ups were engaged in tryptophan comas, the kids settled down in the abandoned dining room to watch Toy Story.

And as for the wedding anniversary that wasn't?  Even though Thanksgiving was a good time to get married, it's a bad time to have an anniversary.  So that's postponed for later...

Tiny Pies and a Big Girl Sous Chef

Hannah and I made some mini pies to take to a Thanksgiving celebration.  More on those later, but bear with me while I wax sentimental for a few minutes.  Baking together has been something that we Hannah and I have enjoyed since she could stand on a chair at the kitchen counter.

Her participation has evolved from banging together her own mini utensils, to actually participating in the making of things.

Of course, licking the beater has always been part of the bargain.  (I'm going to have to buy another stand mixer when Lydia is big enough to help.  Whoever made those with only one beater must have been an only child.)

But yesterday, I realized that Hannah was really helping.  She knows how to level the top of the measuring cup with her finger.  Although, because her finger is so tiny, using her whole hand works better...

She can stir things, using a full-sized spoon.  And most of the time, most of the ingredients stay in the bowl.

When I was chopping the apples, Hannah helped.  Look at her dice: not too shabby for a three-year-old, huh? 

Well, all of this, as I said, was to make some mini pies.  We made pumpkin and apple.  I looked at many recipes online for pies in muffin tins, and finally used the pumpkin pie recipe on the can of Libby's pumpkin, and my favorite crumb-topped apple pie recipe.  I baked them according to the temperatures and time listed in the recipes, and even though they're miniaturized, they came out just right.  One hint I picked up from reading other's experience is to liberally grease the muffin tins: a big help in getting the little guys out.

I also used pre-made crust - pie crust is not my forte.  With that confession out of the way, I will say that this is the first time I can remember using canned pumpkin.  I am in the habit of roasting and pureeing my own pumpkin, then keeping it in the freezer to use throughout the year.  But last year's pumpkin is gone, and as you can see, this year's pumpkin is still adorning the kitchen counter.

The little pies look lovely, and Hannah and are very excited to share them with our friends this afternoon.