Sugar Cookies

Yummmmm...chewy, sweet, with just a hint of crispness at the edges. I love these sugar cookies. We made a batch today while watching the Olympics- Munch is absolutely hooked. She stayed up for the entire Opening Ceremony, reading off all the names of the countries and commenting on their outfits and population statistics as I fought off yawns. I think she'd park herself on the couch munching these sookies for the next several days if I'd let her!

Sugar Cookies
2 1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 1/4 c. sugar, plus 1/3 c.
2 oz. cream cheese, room temp.
6 tbs. unsalted butter, melted
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 egg
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tbs. milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.Whisk together the dry ingredients in a small bowl. In a mixer, beat the cream cheese, sugar, and melted butter at medium-low speed until smooth. Add the vegetable oil, egg, vanilla, and milk and beat to combine. Add the dry ingredients a few spoonfuls at a time, scraping down the bowl occasionally.
Scoop heaping tablespoons of dough and roll gently into balls. Roll dough balls into additional 1/3 c. sugar and place on parchment-lined baking sheet. Using the bottom of a glass, press dough balls gently to flatten slightly. Sprinkle with additional sugar and bake until edges start to tan but cookies are still pale and puffy, about 9-10 minutes. Cool on a rack. Makes about 3 dozen.

Judging

Opening day of the county fair finally arrived and Munch's Dairy Day category was among the first to be presented and judged. We wrapped Munch's cheesecake up really well for transport. She chose a deep blue platter which gave the cheesecake a really nice red, white, and blue presentation. Having never participated in something like this before, we didn't know what to expect. As it turned out, there was a LOT of waiting. That was easily remedied with an ice cream topped funnel cake!

More waiting, and finally all the entries, 18 in the junior cheesecake division, were in place-

The judges reviewed the entries, tasted, and deliberated-

Participants were given ribbons for entering, but Munch's name was not called. Turns out she placed 6th in her category!

Her "prize-winning" cheesecake-

And the prize check that later arrived in the mail-

SF MOMA

Now that we are living much closer to San Francisco, I've been trying to get Munch into the city more often. We recently visited the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. The ticket booth was not yet open, so we stopped into Peet's for a latte and a cup of hot chocolate, as it was a typical gray, rainy San Francisco summer morning-

It was fun sitting at a cafe table on the corner and watching, hearing, and feeling all the busy-ness around us.

Once inside the museum (kids 12 years and under are free when accompanied by an adult!), we enjoyed the twinkling lights that hung over the entry. As we ascended the stairs, we could see that the lights actually formed a sort of video screen. One gallery had a lounge area with an interactive presentation where Munch could explore artists and styles, create her own artwork, and even email it so someone. The presentation, based on artist Roy de Forest's Country Dog Gentlemen, is also on the museum's website-

To prepare Munch for our visit, we had talked briefly during the drive over about modern art, the variety of media she would see, and I had her bring a notepad. Munch paused in several galleries to make little sketches of things she saw, but this portrait of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera inspired her to stop and draw for a long time-

The museum actually has a great education center, which we didn't come to until after exploring most of the second floor. However, I'd recommend that families stop in there first to pick up a few Family Guides or a MOMA treasure hunt, which contain fun activities to help keep kids focused and thinking about the artwork during their visit. There are even activities to keep adults entertained during their museum visit, many which have been designed by other guests (such as photograph the strangest item to be checked in to the coat check). Munch also chose to try an art hunt in which she donned a mask and adopted the persona of another character to try to find artwork in the galleries that might appeal to that imaginary character.

Before leaving, we sat and enjoyed this beauty, probably our favorite of the day, Collection by Robert Rauschenberg-

How Does Your Garden Grow? Update

Our mid-summer garden. I am amazed at how happy the tomatoes are and never expected to grow as tall as me! My carrots and beets did not do so well, but I might try for a fall crop when the intense heat of summer has passed. Lettuces never turned up either, so we'll try a fall planting of those too. The corn is starting to set and we are getting a zucchini ever couple of days. The blueberries seem to be finishing up- we got a nice big harvest of those. So, for a first time vegetable garden, I'm pretty pleased and at least have a better sense now of what grows well and where and what our summers will be like for future planning!

Hello Summer

A gorgeous day in the Bay Area, so we headed out to the Bay Area Discovery Museum with Munch's cousin. At 6 and 7, they are closer to the older side of the kids that visit, but both still had so much fun building, creating, and exploring. When we got home, there was more playtime and bouncing on the trampoline before a delicious dinner of white chicken chili, cornbread, and for dessert, S'mores bars!

S'mores bars- super easy to make!
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
12 oz. chocolate chips (the recipe calls for milk chocolate for authentic s'more flavor, but I prefer bittersweet!
4 cups mini marshmallows

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, salt, and melted butter. Mix well and reserve 1 cup of the crumb mixture for the topping. Press the remaining crumbs into a lightly greased 13x9 baking pan. Bake the crust for 10-12 minutes, or until golden. Sprinkle the top of the crust evenly with the chocolate chips, then return the pan to the oven for 2 minutes. Remove the pan and turn on the broiler. While the broiler heats, spread the chocolate into an even layer over the crust. Sprinkle the marshmallows over the chocolate, pressing them lightly, and then top with the reserved crumb mixture. Broil about 2 inches from the heat for 30 seconds to 1 minute, watching closely, until the marshmallows are puffed and golden. Cool completely before cutting into squares.