Emersyn's first birthday

Well, I'm practically not a blogger anymore, ha.  But one of these days perhaps I'll start up again on a more consistent basis.  For now ... a little recap of our sweet little girl's first birthday.  It's hard to believe how fast time has gone by and how big she has gotten.

I wanted to keep things simple while using up some of my garden bounty so I made a few appetizers inspired from Pinterest.

First up, caprese kabobs featuring cherry tomatoes sliced and topped with basil and mozzarella cheese sitting in some olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Next, toast bites which consisted of petite toasts topped with spreadable cream cheese, arugala, chives, salt, pepper and drizzle of olive oil.

Next up, I utilized some of my many zucchini by slicing it up and topping it with sun dried tomatoes, green onion, feta cheese, salt, pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.  Along with that, I had some hummus and pita chips, chocolate chip cookies and of course … cake!

All were very tasty!





Next up ... the infamous smash cake! She didn't love solids for awhile so I wasn't sure how she would take to her "smash cake" but it turns out it was a big hit! I used a recipe inspired from here which had no added sugar sweetened with bananas and apple sauce.  The frosting simple consisted of cream cheese and apple juice concentrate.

Like I said ... Emy loved it, lol.

It was a very blessed day for sure! Happy 1st birthday, Emy!!

Easter 2014

Easter 2014

8 Months

8 months

My little girl is 8 months!! We love you, sweet Emy

Eight Months 

Eating: Besides our normal nursing, you've begun to actually "chew" on solids and maybe even like them. So far your favorites are mushed up ground beef or chicken, yogurt, and sometimes banana.

Sleeping: Uh, yeah, last month still complete it applies :p

Sleeping this month hasn't been your forte, ha. Nighttime is pretty hit and miss these days. You're waking up on average three times a night and haven't had more than a 5 hour spurt at all this month. You're still napping about twice a day for 45 mins to an hour. Your favorite place to nap is still on mom but you have napped in the stroller and car seat a little now too.

Clothes: Pretty much all 12 months with some lingering 9 months left. Mom has had a very hard time staying away from cute summer clothes. Hello, cute baby girl rompers!

Favorite Activities: Grabbing ahold of anything and everything Mom is holding onto

Least Favorite Activities: This month, sleeping "good"

Big moments/firsts:

- You had a modeling gig at Hallmark and got to go with mom to a live cooking segment. At Hallmark you were an awesome model and everyone on set of KC Live loved you!

- Babies first Easter

On Mother's Day

As I sit here nursing my baby girl this morning I can't help but think back to two years ago, Mother's Day shortly after our miscarriage. To the sweet life just 8 weeks growing who made me mommy that I would never get to cuddle or meet on this earth. It was a hard day with tears and sadness. And today I pause for a moment to remember my first baby who someday I believe I will get to meet.

But joy does come in the morning. This year, I'm so thankful to cuddle and snuggle Emersyn, this sweet baby girl who I get the opportunity and privilege to raise and teach and love. Words can't express how much I love her and how blessed I am to be called her mommy! 

So Happy Mother's Day to all, especially to those struggling to become a mommy and those that have experienced a loss. Special grace and peace to you.

And to Emersyn: 

I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, as long as I'm living my baby you'll be.

il Lazzarone: What to expect

 

Now that the restaurant announcement has been made, here’s some things you can expect from an authentic Neapolitan pizzeria and more specifically, what to expect from il Lazzarone!

Oven
At il Lazzarone, our wood fired oven is an Acunto Mario, made on the main street of Naples, Italy by a fifth generation oven builder. Why this oven? For true Neapolitan pizza you must have a wood fired oven capable of achieving over 800 degrees constant temperatures. The mouth of the oven and the oven dome height must all be constructed within specific ratios to achieve a true pizza Napoletana. Our oven is constructed of all hand laid brick made from the soils of the Campania region of Italy. In our opinion, there is absolutely no oven in the world capable of producing a better product. We are very lucky to have received the first one imported into America.

Size
Neapolitan pies are traditionally 11 inches round. For an average appetite, you'll likely want one pie per person.

Cook Time
Due to the extreme temperatures and the craftsmanship of the oven, the pizza will cook between 50-90 seconds.

Ingredients
Less is more. A good Neapolitan pie is minimally topped with the freshest natural ingredients to strike the perfect ratio of flavor.

• Dough: the dough is made simply of water, flour, yeast and salt with no added preservatives or additives
• Sauce: San Marzano tomatoes are a very rare tomato native to Italy. At il Lazzarone, we use only DOP certified San Marzano tomatoes which insures the tomatoes have been grown in a specific historical region outside of Naples. The magic of the San Marzano comes from the soil which they are grown in. These specific tomatoes are considered the richest and sweetest in the world and are grown around the base of Mt. Vesuvius in a soil extremely rich in minerals. This very soil is where the material for the oven is harvested and made into bricks for our oven’s hearth and dome, creating a symbiotic relationship between ingredient and oven.
• Flour: Our flour is a 00 flour which holds an 11.2% protein ratio. This 00 flour refers to the size of the mill. 00 is the finest mill on earth and creates a soft silky crust. 00 grade flour is also a requirement for true Neapolitan pizza.
• Cheese: For our cheese, we hold true to Neapolitan standards as well using only fior de late (fresh mozzarella) or mozzarella de bufala. All of or cheese hold true to the artisan roots of old and are completely hormone free.

 

Charring
Also due to the high temperature cook time, the crust has a slight charring on bottom and edges characteristic to Neapolitan pizza giving it another depth of flavor and texture.

  

Wet or Soupy
Unlike typical American pizza, a delicious pool of flavor forms in the middle of a Neapolitan pie during its short time in the oven making it  what one might call wet or "soupy".

Knife and Fork
As to not disrupt the "soupy" middle (thereby making the crust soggy on the way to the table) these pies are meant to be served whole, uncut, and eaten with a knife and fork.

Organic/All Natural
At il Lazzarone, we're passionate about authentic real food therefore our ingredients are organic and all natural incorporating both local ingredients with special authentic Italian imported items. Our cheese is always rBgh free and our meats are antibiotic and hormone free.

Moist carrot cake with cream cheese frosting

Til the Easter season!
I haven’t found my way to The Purple Carrot in far too long and after making this carrot cake a few days ago, I knew it was the perfect thing to share. We found it to be extremely moist and delicious! I’ve been doing a lot of juicing lately as well and I never know what to do with all that pulp. 
Enter: a great way to use up pulp from juicing carrots!

Moist carrot cake with cream cheese frosting (makes one 9x13 inch pan or two 9 inch cake pans)
*adapted from All Recipes
Ingredients:

• Carrot cake
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups melted coconut oil
• 1/3 cup milk
• 2 cups cane sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspooons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 3 cups grated carrots (I used the pulp from juicing carrots, works great!)
• Cream Cheese frosting
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 8 ounce cream cheese softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon almond extract (or vanilla – I ended up using almond because I was out of vanilla and ended up loving the flavor with this cake)

Instructions:
Cake

1. Preheat oven at 350 degrees and grease two 9 inch cake pans or one 9x13 inch pan
2. In large mixing bowl, beat together eggs, coconut oil, sugar, vanilla and milk
3. Mix in flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon
4. Stir in carrots
5. Bake for about 45 minutes or until toothpick in center comes out clean

Frosting

1. Combine all ingredients and beat until mixture is smooth and creamy.

Nom, nom, nom!
Happy Easter, all