M. Sullivan Photography » Cooking

So Totally Random

msullivanphotography — Fri, 25 May 2012 20:14:25 +0000

I found a few photos that I took during the past couple of weeks. They don’t individually create the need to produce a post on our blog. Together, they barely culminate the need, but I figured, “What the heck, it’s Friday”.

Here’s a picture I took early one morning just before work. I grabbed my company’s Canon point-and-shoot to get a photo of a pair of geese walking along the boardwalk next to the William A. Irvin in Canal Park. Unfortunately, the geese didn’t make the cut as I liked this photo better.

Reflection

A month ago my brother was at our house inspecting our garden and trees in the backyard, offering some tips and advice. We heard a number of different birds singing. He said, “Did you hear that? That was a cardinal”. First off, I’m not sure why he knows what a cardinal sounds like and secondly, we don’t have nesting cardinals in Duluth. Well, at least I didn’t think we did…until Sebastian and I saw this guy last week.

Mr. Cardinal

Mr. Cardinal II

I have to admit, it was pretty cool to see him in the sea of green grass on my lawn. We have spotted him four times now and we also saw his lady friend. We are fairly certain he and the Mrs. have a little family somewhere in our trees (or our neighbor’s). I would love to see the kids, but so far we haven’t located the nest.

Guess who was back in the garden? Seriously?

The Return Of Peter Rabbit

Too bad we spoiled his fun by planting the garden and putting up a fence around it last Saturday. I’m hopeful that he’s too lazy to dig underneath. There are plenty of other delicious things growing in the yard and in my flower bed to go through all that work.

I baked bread last Sunday. Not like my Mom’s awesome bread that you want to slather with butter and homemade jam, but a more European loaf that is good with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and fresh cracked pepper. I made it to pair up with homemade broccoli cheese soup. Too bad my timing was off and the bread came out of the oven an hour after we finished eating the soup.

Crusty Homemade Bread

I am looking forward to the long Memorial weekend. I’m not so much looking forward to all of the rain in the forecast. We already received 4 1/2 inches this week. Baseball was canceled…twice. Our backyard is like a big soggy sponge. Keep your fingers crossed that the weatherman is wrong like he often is.

Filed under: Animals, Birds, Cooking, Family, Garden, Photos, Weather Tagged: Cardinal, gardening, Homemade Bread, Nest, Photography, Rabbit

Date Night

msullivanphotography — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 17:16:24 +0000

The kids have been in the Twin Cities with their grandparents since Sunday evening. They have had a couple of fun-filled days with trips to the movies, the Mall of America, amusement park rides and going out to eat. Mike and I haven’t been quite as adventurous. We have spent the past few days at work and one of our two full evenings alone, Mike was at board meeting for three hours. We planned to have a date night last. A night on the town – dinner, drinks, conversation. After being gone all weekend and long days at work and in meetings, we decided to have our date night at home. We never get quiet evenings without the kids. Dinners are usually rushed and the meal is not always as appreciated by the kids. We decided to open a bottle of wine, cook some good food and enjoy the music of our choosing. Best of all, we were able to enjoy the evening in comfy clothes and it was much less expensive than going out. We made the right choice. Here’s what was on the menu.

Appetizer

French Bread w/Homemade Basil Pesto, Mozzarella & Tomato

Salad

Spring Greens, Pear, Candied Pecans & Poppyseed Dressing

Entrée

Risotto w/Italian Sausage, Spinach & Peppers

We were both so stuffed that I’m glad we didn’t bother making a special dessert. We did raid the fridge at around 9pm and Mike found a piece of cheesecake that we brought home from Easter dinner and I nibbled on a sugar cookie bunny with white chocolate icing. A nice way to end a great evening!

Filed under: Cooking, Family Tagged: Date Night, Family, Photography

Project 52 ~ Week 46

msullivanphotography — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 01:30:52 +0000

Week 46 Theme ~ Over The Top

Banana muffin goodness bursting over the top of the muffin pan.

Banana Chocolate Chip Nut Muffins

Banana muffins are a favorite around our house. To make them extra special I often add chocolate chips in the batter or in this case, sprinkled on top. I also added nuts to one of the pans today. I’m the only one in the family who likes them this way. I also made a dozen with only chocolate chips so that I wouldn’t hear complaints.

As a bonus, here’s the recipe I use for Banana Muffin perfection.

Banana Muffins

Makes 18 Muffins

1/2 cup Butter
1 cup Sugar
2 Eggs
3 Ripe Bananas, Mashed
2 cups Flour, Sifted
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 cup Sour Cream (low-fat or fat-free)
1/2 cup Chocolate Chips (optional)
1/2 cup Chopped Nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat butter, sugar and eggs in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Stir in mashed bananas. Sift flour, baking soda and salt together. Add flour mixture gradually, stirring after each addition. Do not overmix. Add sour cream and stir until mixed. Pour into muffin tins prepared with cooking spray. Baked at 375 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until light brown around the edges and the center is set.

I’m guessing on the baking time as I never set a timer. Mike always questions this, but somehow everything always turns out just fine.

Ready For The Oven

Enjoy!

Filed under: Cooking, Family, MCP Project 52, Photos Tagged: Baking, Banana Muffins, Family, Photography, Project 52

From Grapes To Jelly

msullivanphotography — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 01:32:06 +0000

We harvested the grapes before the raccoons and birds got to them this year. After picking two buckets full of grapes, washing them and having the kids clean them, we had enough to make two batches (8 pints) of grape jelly.

Almost Ready To Be Picked

Child Labor

Pausing For A Photo

Full Bowl

Grape Jelly

The kids are now set with enough grape jelly to get them through the rest of the school year with PB & J sandwiches in their lunch boxes.

Filed under: Cooking, Family, Photos Tagged: Canning, Family, Grape Jelly, Photography