It turned out to work out well though because both the contract I shared with my mom, and the one Danny shared with his parents were just about to run out anyway.  So now Danny and I are both on our own family plan!  Yay for our little family

And…

We got iPhones with our new contracts!  I got a white one and Danny got a black one.

It took me a while to be ok with it. I’m NOT an apple product fan, and I was concerned with the large size of the iPhone, and not sure how I felt about being hooked up to the internet all the time.  It is still a little weird, but I am slowly getting used to it. 

We wanted to get cases with the phones, and we ended up each getting a “myFrogz” case.  You buy a code at the AT&T store, go online and choose the colors you want for your phone.  There are tons of colors to choose from, and you pick a top and a bottom color.  Fun!

Here is the case I made:

The top is actually a frosted, semi clear white.  The bottom is a teal color.  They have a really great texture on them.  I would highly recommend checking out iFrogz cases, or the myFrogz customizable case. 

I can’t wait to see what colors Danny chooses.  He is at volleyball practice right now (his coaching season started today!) so he will probably make his when he gets home.  I will post the picture of his.

It takes three days to ship…I can’t wait!!!

“Mrs. Farmer- I would like to thank you again for letting us do test corrections on our stoich test. It really took a load of stress off right before finals. I really appreciate it. You are one of the very few teachers that truly care and I notice it. Thanks again.”

My day is much better now  

Now…back to baking…

This is really hard to do this time of the year since the only fruit that is still decent are raspberries…so there are lots of raspberry desserts LOL.   Also, everything needs to be finger food-ish because there wont be places for everyone to actually sit down. 

So here is the final menu that I came up with:

1) Russian tea cakes

2) Spritz cookies with red sanding sugar

3) Heart shaped cinnamon-cardamom sugar cookies, some dipped in milk chocolate, some in dark chocolate, some in white chocolate, and some plain

4) Miniature cinnamon chocolate cheese cakes with white chocolate drizzle

5) Chocolate mouse parfaits with raspberry-chambord sauce, homemade whipped cream and fresh raspberries

6) Frozen raspberry meringue pie with chocolate crust

7) Dark Chocolate cupcakes with Italian raspberry buttercream frosting and fresh raspberries (full size and minuature)

8 ) Strawberry bruscetta with nutella (or raspberry if I cant find any decent strawberries)

9) Puff pastry tartlets with raspberry preserves (these are so simple, but soooo good!)

10)  Orange chocolate truffles

11) fresh grapes and assorted cheeses

12) random drinks

For anywhere between 56-101 people…yup…a very precise guest list LOL.  Even better since when I agreed to do the desserts I was told it would be no more than 30-40 people lol.

Man…do I have my work cut out for me!

I will post tons of pictures once it is over.  Wish me luck!

- A review packet that I made is getting passed around the school and people are calling it “the best review packet they have ever seen!”  The Principal even emailed me saying she thought it was great.

- I got nominated for an excellent in Student Teaching award!  Only 15 people get nominated

- My Principal did my second observation and did my follow up meeting.  It was amazing!  I am tempted to post the comments she wrote on my evaluation sheet.  She raved about me which was awesome   She said she was so glad they hired me, and all sorts of other awesome things about my teaching.

It is really nice to get some good feedback. 

Next year, I am hoping to get all 5 periods of chemistry, but if they don’t have enough sections then I may end up teaching an AVID class or a health class.  I am hoping I don’t have to teach a health class, but any way I can get full time is good!

Well…I am off to get some sleep now.  I will write more later this week hopefully!

Sorry I have dropped off the face of the planet.  I disappeared for a while because I got a teaching job!  I am teaching high school chemistry now.  It has been really fun, but a ton of work.  Now that I am getting into the swing of things and getting a routine down I should be able to post more often.  I am hoping to take some pictures of the classroom this week so hopefully I will get to post those soon!  I get my very own classroom!   I made my own free, class website which is pretty fun.  You can go check it out if you are bored! www.mrsfarmerschemistryclass.com  It will make teaching next year even easier because I will already have an outline of all the homework, PowerPoints, handouts, etc!  Too bad it isn’t already next year lol.

 Click on image below to view larger:

Here is what I made:

Greek salad with radicchio and Greek olives

Corn on the cob tossed with mint-feta-butter

Garlic-oregano pita bread

Roasted red bell pepper and walnut spread

Cumin scented beef kebabs

Lemon-blueberry ice cream sandwiches

Greek Style Salad

3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 tsp sugar

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced crosswise

1 head radicchio, halved lengthwise, then thinly sliced crosswise

1 head romaine, coarsely chopped

2 small cucumbers, thinly sliced

2/3 cup mixed Greek olives

- Whisk together lemon juice, sugar, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper until sugar and salt have dissolved

- Add oil and whisk until combined well

- Toss salad fixings with dressing

Corn on the cob with mint-feta butter

1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened

7 oz feta, finely crumbled

1/4 cup finely chopped mint

8 large ears of corn, shucked, each cut in half

- Stir together butter, feta, mint, and a rounded 1/2 tsp salt in a large bowl

- Cook corn in a large pot of boiling water until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes

- Transfer corn with tons to butter mixture and toss until well coated

Garlic-oregano grilled pita bread

5 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

2 Tbsp finely chopped oregano (I like half fresh, half dried personally…)

6 pocket less pita bread rounds (I use Naan instead, I like it better)

- Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat until it shimmers.

- Add garlic and cook until it just starts to color.  Be careful not to burn it!

- Grill pita on bbq, or just heat it in the oven until warm

- Brush pita with garlic-oregano oil

- Sprinkle with kosher salt, serve warm

Roasted Red Pepper and Walnut Spread

2 jars roasted red peppers, rinsed and drained

1 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs

1 cup walnuts, toasted

1 Tbsp red-wine vinegar

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (mine took a lot more than this to get the texture I liked, just add more until you like it)

- Puree roasted red peppers, bread crumbs, walnuts, vinegar, cumin, cayenne, and 1/4 tsp salt in a food processor until almost smooth

- With motor running, add oil in a slow stream, blending until incorporated.

- It should look similar to hummus…but bright red!

Cumin-scented beef kebabs

1/4 cup olive oil

2 Tbsp finely chopped oregano

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

2 lb top sirloin steak, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes

Kebab skewers (soak in water for 30 minutes if using wooden skewers)

- Stir together oil, oregano, garlic, spices and 1 tsp salt in a bowl, then toss with beef. Marinate, chilled, at least 2 hours

- Thread about 4 – 6 pieces of beef onto each skewer, leaving small spaces between pieces

- Grill, turning until browned but still pink inside, 4-5 minutes

Lemon ice cream sandwiches with blueberry swirl

For lemon ice cream:

2 pt premium vanilla ice cream

1 Tbsp grated lemon zest

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (I wanted mine more lemon tasting, so I added more lemon juice until I liked how it tasted)

For Blueberry Compote:

2 cups blueberries

1/4 cup sugar (I added a little more because my blueberries were not very sweet)

2 strips lemon zest (3 by 2 1/2 inches…or just zest one lemon)

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tsp cornstarch

For sandwich layers:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 square, 8 inch, baking pans, 2 inches deep

- Transfer ice cream into a microwave safe bowl and microwave at 30 percent power in 10 second bursts, stirring until softened

- Stir in lemon zest and juice. Spread ice cream thinly in a 13×9 inch baking dish and freeze while making compote and sandwich layers

- Cook blueberries, sugar, and zest in a 12 inch skillet over medium-high heat, thoroughly crushing blueberries with a potato masher, until juices are released and sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes (I transferred mine to my food processor because I didn’t have a potato masher.  I blended it REALLY well which made it have SUCH a nice, dark purple color).

- Stir together lemon juice and cornstarch, then stir into blueberry mixture. Boil, stiring, 1 mintue. Mixture will thicken

- Transfer blueberry compote to a bowl and chill until cold, about 1 hour. Discard lemon zest if you left in it big strips (I put mine in the food processor so it got blended up)

- Preheat oven to 375F with rack in middle. Butter baking pans, line with foil, leaving at least 1 inch of overhang on all sides, then butter the foil (I would use Pam’s baking spray, and make sure to REALLY spray the foil well!)

- Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

- Beat together butter and brown sugar in another bowl with a mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.

- On low speed, add flower mixture in 2 batches, mixing until just combined. Don’t over mix or cookie will get too tough!

- Divide batter between the two baking pans, spread into a thin, even layer with offset spatula. (Spray spatula with some Pam before doing this!)

- Bake until golden-brown but still soft, 10-12 minutes.  Cool completely in pans (important!!!).  Cookie will firm up when cooled.

- Dollop tablespoons of blueberry compote all over ice cream. Swirl into ice cream with a spoon.

- Spoon all of the ice cream onto one of the sandwich layers, while it is still in the baking pan.

- Invert a second sandwich layer over ice cream, pressing gently to form an even sandwich.

- Wrap baking pan in plastic wrap and freeze until firm. At least 2 hours.

- Transfer to cutting board using the over hanging foil. Trim edges if desired, then cut into 8 pieces

 Then this morning plumes of what looked like smoke started coming out of the AC vents into the car!

Needless to say, I turned off all the air, AC and normal vent included.  Which made it REALLY hot!  I called the dealership and was able to drop it off this morning.  Which is great, but I was kind of bummed because it is no longer under warranty and I was hoping to wait until my new job started because I knew it wasn’t going to be cheap.

 Turns out, some regulator piece in the engine shorted out.  This caused pressure to build up, which blew the compressor, which in turn destroyed the entire AC system…which caused FREON to come pouring out of the vents!!!  Yeah…I knew it was some kind of chemical fume and not smoke lol.  Needless to say, it is NOT a cheap repair.

 BUT!!!  That one regulator piece has an 8 year warrenty on it, and because that was the source of the compressor and AC failure the whole repair is FREE!

 Man, I love when things work out like that! It totally made my day (and my check book!) happy!