We're Back! Plus more clowns and rhubarb recipes

Aaahhh - fresh from a relaxing to trip to Florida! My parents spoiled us all so now I'm suffering from having to go back doing the cooking, kid watching, cleaning and shopping by myself! We loved swimming everyday (most of the time, first thing in the morning and before breakfast!) so we can avoid the thuderstorms and rain. THe kids even let Grandma paint their faces and dress them up like clowns! (OK, so am still trying to decide if I'll ever posts full-on photos of us on this blog...as my philosophy has always been "want to me rich and not famous" LOL! However, I'm so proud of my kids and think they are beautiful and adorable so you may eventually see what they look like in future postings! DH says to go ahead and sees nothing wrong with it). They were also spoiled with lots of treats that we don't have in OUR house (like potato chips, real ice cream and Dunkin' Donuts - we need one of these on the West Coast!!!).

Both kids cried as we took off on the airplane - as they were already missing their grandparents and were wishing all morning that our trip home would be cancelled because of the storms. Grant kept telling me that he wished that all his relatives lived on the same street and that there would be tunnels that connected them so all he had to do was go down the tunnels to visit his grandparents. Makes you long for the days when everyone lived within close proximity to each other. Now we all live on different coasts. We'll see where the next job takes us!

Here's a photo of the strawberry-rhubarb crisp I made for my parents. We used FROZEN rhubarb and it turned out fine! For the recipe, click HERE. We also made rhubarb bread. It was delicious!! Here is the recipe (ok to use frozen too if you can't find fresh):



RHUBARB BREAD

Combine
1 1/2 c. (12 oz) brown sugar
2/3 c. vegetable oil
1 c. low-fat buttermilk
1 lg. egg (or egg substitute)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

In a separate bowl, combine
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour (10 oz)
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
- add dry mixture to the buttermilk mixture and combine just until incorporated

Stir in
1 1/2 c. finely chopped fresh (or frozen) rhubarb
1/2 c. toasted, chopped nuts (optional)

Pour into greased/floured 2 loaf pans 8x4x2".

Sprinkle some sugar over the tops, about 1 Tablespoon.

Bake at 350 degree oven, 1 hr, or until golden brown on top (for glass pan, 325 degrees).

Tomorrow, will post the photo of Blog GIVEAWAY!!