Notre Petit Nid: mars 2013

dimanche 24 mars 2013

Fete d'anniversaire: 5 ans!

Table de coloriage des dessins de singes

Coloring table with pictures of monkeys

Cadeaux pour les invites avec une peluche singe pour chacun

Favor bags with a stuffed monkey and monkey food (dried bananas)

Poster d'anniversaire a completer avec feutres et autocollants

Birthday poster to be completed with stickers and markers

Lancer de balloons

Thrawing the ball at Curious George

Gateau Curious George

Curious George cake

Birthday boy

Benjamin & Clayton

Dan, Ella & Benjamin

Andi

Charlie, Dan, Ella & Benjamin

Benjamin a officiellement 5 ans aujourd'hui! Pour commencer la journee, une petite chasse au tresor avec la carte d'anniversaire au bout. Le soir, cupcakes et fruits trempes dans le chocolat ainsi que les cadeaux de Mamy et Papy, Grandma, Audrey et Charlie

Benjamin is officially 5 years old today! To start the day, a treasure hunt with the treasure being the birthday card. At night, cupcakes and chocolate covered fruits as well as the presents from Papy, Mamy, Grandma, Audrey and Charlie.

mercredi 20 mars 2013

Saint Patrick

Le matin de la Saint Patrick, j'ai prepare une chasse au tresor a travers la maison pour trouver le "pot rempli d'or". Benjamin a tellement aime qu'il a fallu refaire la chasse au tresor deux fois (avec les memes messages caches au meme endroit).

On Saint Patrick Day, the leprechaun left messages around the house for a treasure hunt to find the pot of gold. Benjamin liked it so much that we had to do the hunt a total of three times.

Apres la parade de la Saint patrick, nous sommes alles au bowling, une premiere pour Mister B

After the Saint Patrick's day parade, we went for Benjamin's first bowling.

samedi 16 mars 2013

Brioche a la pate d'amandes

Almond filled brioche
adapted from two wonderful books: How to Bake and Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day

Brioche:
500g all purpose flour
½ teaspoon table salt
½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
10g dried yeast
140 ml whole milk, warm
5 medium/large eggs
250g unsalted butter, very soft

Filling:
4 tablespoons (56g) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ cup almond paste – I used homemade, recipe below
¼ cup (35g) all purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 egg
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon almond extract (optional)
¼ teaspoon orange flower water (optional)

Put the flour into the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the salt and sugar to one side of the bowl and the yeast to the other. Add the milk and eggs and mix on a slow speed for 2 minutes, then on a medium speed for a further 6–8 minutes, until you have a soft, glossy, elastic dough. Add the softened butter and continue to mix for a further 4–5 minutes, scraping down the bowl periodically to ensure that the butter is thoroughly incorporated. The dough should be very soft.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or for at least 7 hours, until it is firm and you are able to shape it.
In the meantime, make the filling: place the butter, almond paste, flour, sugar, egg, vanilla, almond extract and orange flower water in a food processor and process until smooth (if the butter is soft enough, you can just mix everything in a bowl).

Butter a 20x30cm (8x12in) baking pan.
Take your brioche dough from the fridge and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Knead 3-4 four times, then roll it out onto a 35x20cm (14x8in) rectangle. Spread the almond filling evenly on top of the dough, then roll it like a cylinder, beginning with the longer side. Cut into 9 slices then arrange them about 2.5cm (1in) apart onto the prepared pan. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and leave to prove for about 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F.
When the brioche is proved, bake for 20-25 minutes or until brioche is golden brown. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Homemade almond paste
from the beautiful Home Baking: The Artful Mix of Flour and Traditions from Around the World

1 cup (100g) ground almonds
1/3 cup (46g) confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg white, lightly whisked
½ teaspoon almond or vanilla extract (optional)

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth (if the butter is soft enough, this can be just mixed in a bowl with a spoon). Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Let paste come to room temperature before using it.

Makes ¾ cup dense, smooth paste.

Avant cuisson / Before baking

A table!

Laumeier Park

mardi 5 mars 2013

Birdcam in March

Charlie m'a offert une BirdCam, qui prend des photos automatiquement des oiseux dans notre jardin. Voici les premiers resultats avec les noms des oiseaux que je pense etre capable d'identifier.

Charlie got me a BirdCam to automatically take pictures of our backyard birds. Here are the first shots with the names of the birds I think am able to identify