C is for Christmas

Every year Katie's family gets together during Christmastime to make cookies.

 

There's about a dozen members of the family who get together every year. They each bring some cookie dough and frosting and spend a few hours just shooting the breeze and making cookies.

I'm not sure how many cookies they make at one of these get-togethers, but I'd venture they make about 160 pounds of cookie.

See what I mean?

It's a fun little tradition which usually involves everyone standing around and chatting while three people actually MAKE the cookies.
 

I demand cookies. Now.

It also lets us hang out with some family members that we don't see every day. Like this little one.

"Hmmm... I think I need more fuzzy balls on my sweater."

Once the cookies are baked then everyone starts to decorate them.

Megan is a firm believer in the "superglue" theory of cookie decoration.

It's a tradition that mostly involves the women-folk and --- as usual --- I was the only gentleman to partake.

Multi-colored frosting is a must, and everyone has their own thoughts on what makes a quality cookie.

I first considered the "Jackson Pollock" approach to decorating...

But in the end settled for Winnie the Cookie, although some at the party said it was actually an L.A. Lakers bear

*GEOFF'S NOTE:  THIS IS WRONG.

Others opted to make  UO Duck Santa Ghost...thing.

Needless to say, I have about 80 pounds of cookie sitting on my counter if anyone wants to come over and savor some frosting and sugar cookie.

Come on, don't they look delicious?

Geoff's Kinda Crappy Videos #5: Football Edition

It's time for another edition of Geoff's Kinda Crappy Videos. These are short documentaries that my newspaper The Times has started doing over the last few months.

This one is about Aloha High School football. The team went on to win the state championships this year, but back when we made this they had just made the playoffs.

For those not content with the piss poor quality of this upload, go here. Otherwise, enjoy:

VIDEO: Zoo Lights 2010

A couple of weeks ago Katie and I went to Zoo Lights at the Oregon Zoo. A bunch of zoos across the country do something similar, but essentially they put a gazillion Christmas lights up around the zoo and you wander around after hours and enjoy.

It's something my family has always made a habit of going to every year, and Katie was always forced to sing Christmas carols at Zoo Lights in high school.

This year it was Katie's niece who was singing and we went and watched her perform. It was a fun time and I've managed over the last few weeks to string together enough time to make this: It's a short video I threw together of the performance and some lights.

Just to be clear, I didn't shoot this using my normal Nikon D60, I used this:

Also, this was taken with our super sweet new 35mm lens, but more on that later...

It's an old Canon Powershoot A710. They don't make these anymore, so the video quality isn't exactly going to be in HD, nor is the sound.

But I had fun, so suck it.

Oh, and Merry Christmas.

 

In the still of the chill of the night

This may sound counter-intuitive but there’s something really nice about being at work really, unreasonably, early.

"...and that is why Ace of Cakes is the greatest show on television today. The End."

For those of you who don’t know what I do for a living (like --- for example --- stalkers or our friends in the Russian Federation) I work for a small town newspaper just outside of Portland. Once a week on production day I get to work early. I mean E A R L Y to finish up my stories and get started putting the newspaper together.

By early I mean "I didn't even know that time existed" early. I'm talking "Holy Crap What the Heck are you THINKING!?!" early.

This week I was at my desk at 3:30 in the a.m. and didn't get home until about 5 or 6 in the nighttime.

And you know what? It’s really nice.

Yes, you read that clock right. It's 4 a.m

Now, I don’t consider myself much of a “morning person” but I have to say that there is something incredibly relaxing about being up when the rest of the world is asleep.

Everything is so quiet. You feel like you're the only person in the entire world.

Plus my 45-minute-long drive to work is also shorted to about 17 minutes, which is REALLY nice

I’m used to early mornings, having had them most of my childhood, but I’ve never really embraced them. Most of the time I’m too groggily choking down caffeine and sweating bullets to get my stories finished to realize it, but today I really enjoyed myself.

The newsroom has a tendency to get a little crazy during the day. People spend their days running around, making calls, shouting across the cubicles at each other, driving back and forth and everything else that has to do with making deadlines.

But at 3:30 in the morning, when you’re sitting in the office in the dark, all alone. When there’s nobody around but you and your thoughts and Pandora turned up as loud as you want it’s actually quite relaxing.

And hey, I.T.-guy from work, if you're reading this: Yes. I use Pandora. At work. And don't care if it takes away bandwidth from everybody else in the building. It's 4 a.m. and I'm at work. I'm gonna listen to whatever the heck I like. Deal with it.

Of course, I'm write this after having worked a 14-hour day yesterday, so I might just be a little sleep deprived.

I'm gonna go to bed now.

Speaking of Pandora, everyone should listen to Seasick Steve. You shan't be disappointed.

Death By Chocolate.....

By popular demand I decided to change things up a bit and do a different kind of blog post. You're welcome.

It all started last year. I've always wanted to make a cheesecake and had decided that Thanksgiving (2009) was the perfect time to do so.  That first one (or should I say second one since I technically dropped the first one all over my oven door) was a big hit and from then on I was tasked with job of bringing the cheesecake to the family gatherings.

We've done a few different types. Without further ado I give you the recipe that received rave reviews......

Katie's Double Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake

(Technically this is a lie though, it is more quadruple chocolate then anything)

Everything you're looking at is made of chocolate. Everything.

Serves: 12 (but really more then that)

Active: 45min/ Total: 2 1/2 hrs (plus 1 hr cooling in oven and at least 4 1/2 hrs chilling)

Planning Tip: Cake can be completed up to 1 week ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

Crust:
1 1/2 cups purchased chocolate cookie crumbs (I used Newman's Own Chocolate Alphabet Cookies)
1/2 stick (4 Tbsp) butter, melted

Filling:
3 bricks (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup (6 oz) milk-chocolate chips, melted and cooled
1 cup canned 100% pure pumpkin
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 cup (6 oz) semisweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled

Chocolate Glaze:
3 oz bittersweet baking chocolate
2 Tbsp stick butter
1 Tbsp light corn syrup

Katie's tip: If you let the cream cheese sit on the counter to soften while you make the crust it will be easier to make the cream cheese filling, which will give you a better over-all cheesecake because it won't crack in the center.

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8-in springform pan with nonstick spray. Have ready a roasting pan larger then the springform pan.

2. Crust: Put crumbs in a small bowl; stir in butter until evenly moistened. Press firmly over bottom of pan so that there are no holes in the layer. You can also push some of the crust up the side of the pan. Bake 8-10 minutes until set. Cool on rack. Wrap outside of pan with heavy-duty foil. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.

3. Filling: Beat cream cheese, sugar and cornstarch in a large bowl with mixer on medium speed until smooth, scraping sides of bowl several times with a rubber spatula. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, just until blended. Beat in the sour cream and vanilla to combine. Be careful not to over-beat. Only beat it till it is evenly blended and just slightly fluffy. Divide batter evenly between 3 medium bowls. Stir the melted milk chocolate into 1 of the bowls with the batter; pour into crust in an even layer. Whisk pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice into another bowl of the batter. Carefully spoon over chocolate layer to cover, then gently smooth into an even layer with an offset spatula (take care batters don't run together). Stir semisweet chocolate into the remaining batter in the third bowl. Carefully spoon over pumpkin layer; spread carefully as above.

4. Set springform pan in center of roasting pan. Place roasting pan in oven rack and add boiling water to come halfway up sides of springform pan.  Cook in the water bath.

5. Bake 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours until set, but center still jiggles slightly when shaken.

6. Turn off oven ( leave door closed); let cake cool in oven 1 hour (if cake hasn't pulled away from sides of pan, carefully run a thin knife around edge of pan to release cake). Remove foil. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack. Cover; refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

7. Chocolate Glaze: Stir ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat; cool slightly.

8. Remove pan sides; place cake on serving plate. Spread glaze over top to edge ( some may drip down side of cake). Refrigerate until glaze sets.

A word to the wise......cut the slices really small. It is SUPER rich!! It takes a while to make it, but it is worth it. Enjoy :)

A special thank you to Jenny for the recipe and inspiration!

One last look at perfection:

Awww yeah. You know you want some of this.

---Katie

Jordyn's 6th Birthday Party!

I'm sick today, so once I woke up from my self induced coma I decided to be a little better about updating on here. I've been a bad blogger :)

Last weekend Jordyn had her 6th birthday party. I can't believe she is that old already. I was in my freshman year of college and living with Scott and Jen when she was born. I remember waking up, getting ready for my class that day when Jen came home with contractions. I went to my hour class and by the time I was walking home she had already had baby Jordyn.

Now she's not a baby anymore.

And the craziness ensued.............

Then she was off...........

There are two things that always happen at a Minor party:

Watching football.

Sawyer and Bailey watching football, straight from their family photo shoot (ie: matching shirts)

And people having fun just hanging out and being silly, eating some good food :)

Yummy Raspberry Angel Food Cake

Sydney posing for us and being silly

She knows she's cute and she works it :D

We had brought the game "Just Dance 2" for the Wii with us, so everyone had fun taking part in it.

Aurora and Jenny dancing

Jordyn's birthday candle was Hannah Montana, in case you couldn't see that.

All in all, a pretty fun day. It's been fun watching Jordyn grow up. That child brings me more joy then she probably should, since most of the things that are so funny I probably should be mad about. haha.

--Katie

General Beauregard --- a eulogy.

Internet, I'd like you to meet my parent's dog, Beauregard.

Those of us who don't habla francais just call her Bowe.

For those of you who never knew Bowe back in her prime, you missed out. She was the master at deception and manipulation (she once convinced my parent's dog Bailey to EAT OUR COUCH --- seriously) and had figured out a way to open locked doors in order to get what she wanted. There was no candy bar she couldn't reach, no turkey dinner she couldn't steal. For a dog that was only 2 feet tall she was able to reach onto the kitchen counter, extend an anteater-like tongue and snag any morsel of food left unattended for more than 3 seconds.

She was, in short, a genius.

Those of us who knew Bowe can tell you about the brown and black Basset hound with a myriad of stories, almost all of them about her eating something that she really shouldn't stick in her mouth (an entire box of Nestle Crunch bars, an entire carton of Crayola Crayons, an entire garbage can full of coffee grounds, moldy bread and plastic wrappers... the list goes on)

When I think of Bowe --- really quintessential Beauregard --- I think of one specific story. It's summertime and my grandparents have come over. We're in our backyard and my grandmother (foolishly) sets down her purse on the deck while she takes a seat at our picnic table. The afternoon soldiers on and we talk amongst ourselves. Our other dog, Bailey, is chewing on a tennis ball in the yard and none of us are paying any attention to the stocky brown and black shadow that slowly creeps toward the purse.

I should note two things at this point: Firstly, my grandmother loves spearmint gum, and always keeps a pack of the green goodness in her purse. The second (and more important part of the story) is that the purse had a zipper and was zipped shut.

Bowe grabs the purse and begins to slllllooooowwwwwllllyyyyy pull it away from underneath my grandmother's seat. She drags it a few feet, then getting her teeth around the small clasp she UNZIPS THE PURSE and claims her prize.

Of course, none of us realize this until it was too late, when we hear the all to familiar OM NOM NOM sound coming from behind my grandmother and find our dog laying on the ground with a purse for a head, happily gnawing on several sticks of gum at once. The other non-food items in my grandmother's purse are strewn around her, and she continues to chew even as my father chases her around the deck and out onto the backyard.

When we finally do catch her and my dad retrieves the wad of several (still wrapped) pieces of gum from her mouth, she is banished back inside the house, where she promptly opens the cabinet under the sink (where the garbage is kept) and spreads coffee grounds all over the kitchen floor.

The next weekend, it all happens again. Exactly the same.

There are a bunch more stories I could tell you (like how she learned to eat whole peanuts and spit out the shells, how she sang at the top of her lungs when my brother would play his trumpet, or how she once ran away from home only to come right back because it was snowing and she hated to get cold) but this one has always been my favorite. It's just so Bowe.

She's a dog that puts the great "bad dogs" of the world to shame, but like so many other "bad" dogs she brought so much joy and happiness to our home growing up, and I can't imagine a childhood that doesn't include her.

If you were ever lucky enough to meet Bowe, whether it was in her rambunctious teen years, or later when she was the grumpy old curmudgeon, there is no denying that this was a dog that truly, without a doubt, had a soul.

She was a grump, but never had a mean bone in her body. She truly loved everyone and was always at her happiest sleeping on a big soft blanket with someone and chewing on her own ears like a baby sucking a thumb.

Beauregard. We all love you.

---Geoff

Geoff's Kinda Crappy Videos, #4: Brownie ME

My newspaper The Times has started doing little videos to accompany some of our stories. This is one of the better ones. It's about a Beaverton woman who makes and sells brownies at the local farmer's market.

For those not content with the piss poor quality of this upload, go here otherwise, enjoy:

Want more? Read the story: http://www.beavertonvalleytimes.com/news/story.php?story_id=128344812637634700

For all of our readers: Thanks! Спасибо! Obrigado! and 谢谢!

Who knew that us writing about our dog and what movies Geoff's watching would attract so much attention.

Checking out the readership breakdown by country (quick sidetrack: MAN blogspot is cool) it looks like we've got ourselves some readers from across the entire planet Earth.

Google predicted my search when I typed "Why am I..." it knows me so well.

So, whether you're from Russia, Turkey, the UK or Hong Kong, leave a comment and tell us where you're from and (most preferably) how the hell you found us. We were so careful.

Geoff's kinda crappy videos #3: Hatcher's Holiday

My newspaper The Times has started doing little videos to accompany some of our stories. This is one of the better ones. It's about a Tualatin woman who loves to decorate her house for Halloween.

Anybody know how to upload a better quality video? This resolution kinda sucks (a lot)

Go here for the better version.

Anyway, here's the crap resolution version:

Wanna read the story? Go here.