The Very Versatile Wonton!

Did you know....there are a million ways to use wonton wrappers?  Well...maybe not a million...but quite a few!

On our cooking with Stacy and Tatum day we started off making Wonton Soup...

Stacy shared a great recipe from one of her favorite cook books...

Our girlies got right to it and made the filling for the wontons...

Here's the recipe if you want to follow along:

• 6 oz pork, not too lean and roughly chopped
• 2 oz peeled prawns finely chopped (we left this out because my girlies have a possible shrimp allergy - that's a story for another day...we added a bit more pork)
• 1 t light brown sugar
• 1 T Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
• 1 T soy sauce
• 1 t finely chopped scallions - the recipe calls them 'spring onions' - much prettier huh?
• 1 t finely chopped fresh root ginger
• 24 ready-made wonton wrappers
• 3 Cups stock 
• 1 T soy sauce
• Finely chopped spring onions 

 A couple great things about this soup...1.)you can double the ingredients for the wontons, freeze the extras and have them in the freezer for another day...2.)once you get the wontons done all you have to do is heat your broth and throw them in...3.)  Ok three is more than a couple! ...you can add other things to the soup if you want - like those funny mini corns that Tom Hanks ate in Big...

or thinly sliced carrots...or those little dancing mushrooms from Disney's Fantasia...

 After watching this you may not want to eat these darling things...but if you do make sure you let them dance around your plate like I do at the Chinese restaurant - it drives my girlies crazy!

...add what ever you would like!

So mix up the first seven ingredients and let that stand for 25 - 30 minutes.

You will notice as you are preparing this that your kitchen will begin to smell much like a Chinese kitchen might...fresh ginger...soy sauce...everything blends so nicely and just smells yummy.

While the girlies were working...Stacy and I were drinking tea and thinking....

We never miss an opportunity to share a cup of tea....

What else could we do with those wonton wrappers???  Hmmmm....

So we whipped up a bowl of crab filling and had the girlies fill and fry some of the wontons - for an appetizer of course!

They were delicious, here's what we did...

Mix together -

1 can crab meat
2 T mayonnaise
2 T Parmesan cheese
2 t garlic (freshly chopped or in the jar from the store)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Then just put a dollop in each wonton wrapper, fold it up and fry in hot oil til slightly browned.

Here are Tatum and Lane hard at work making the crab wontons.

Now that the pork mixture has set a bit and all it's wonderful flavors have mixed - you are ready to make those wontons.

Forming the wontons isn't hard - I have some pictures below where me made yet another form of wontons...dessert wontons!

After you have formed all of your wontons put the broth in a large pot and add any other ingredients that you want to include.  Bring the broth to a boil, add the wontons and cook for 10 - 15 minutes.  Don't cook this too hard or the wontons will open up - just sayin'.  Season with the remaining soy sauce and spring onions (I feel so fancy saying 'spring onions').

Get out some pretty bowls and you are ready to enjoy your Wonton Soup...

This was just the yummiest, most soothing soup... perfect for an overcast winter day!

We sat right down and ate it up!  We did save a bowl for Papa and some for Brian!

It was really this good!!!!!!!!!

The next day still on a wonton high we decided to make a dessert wonton.

So simple....a little dab of Nutella in the middle of your wonton wrapper...

then wet the edges and fold it into a triangle...

wet the opposite corners and curl them around and press...

the two corners overlap and Voila!  a dessert wonton!

Don't be nervous because the wonton package has the directions also.

We fried them up and dusted them (well liberally sprinkled them) with powdered sugar...

not quite a restaurant presentation, but we were anxious to try them...scrumptious!

I think you could just keep going from here...you could easily make a vegetarian wonton and use vegetable broth for the soup...what about cream cheese and pepper jelly in a fried wonton...or maybe blueberry filling for a dessert wonton...and then you could dip them in things....the possibilities are endless........

So, get out to the store and pick up some wonton wrappers and have at it...just let me know what new things you come up with!

xoxo     Elizabeth

PS  There is some question about the proper spelling of wonton...and since I used the word so liberally here I thought it might warrant some looking into...

Dictionary.com says it can be spelled either way  won ton or wonton, the spell check on this blog wants it to be spelled won ton and the cook book above and the wrapper package both say wonton...

As they say...."To each his own."

A year..............

This day marks one year that we have lived in this world without my mother - Barbara Allen.



It has been a difficult year of firsts...

Lane’s pointe shoes
Birthdays
Holidays
Starting my blog
Starting etsy
Nutcracker
Arnold
Dominique’s graduation
Big Band
Making new friends
Another Habitat House

...and as it draws to an end I realize that the seconds, thirds, fourths and even fifths will be hard also.

There is just so much to miss about my mom...

Here she is happy to show off one of her many dance costumes...

Beautiful in high school....

All dressed up at the Senior Ball.

She was a daughter,

a wife,

a mom,

a grammy,

a friend to so many...

and she did it all so well.


Mom loved the Ballet...
She loved grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup...
She loved meeting new people and keeping in touch with old friends...
She loved being a grammy...
She loved making quilts (and she loved giving them to people)...
She loved talking on the phone...
She loved cooking (and we loved eating what she cooked!)...
She loved water skiing, ice skating, and when she was younger horse back riding...




And, she loved all of us...and she did that well also...

My dad, Lyle, said this at the Party we threw for her...

 "Barbara knew instinctively what relationships needed to be nurtured, and how important it was to have them kept alive and growing over the years."

   
I have realized that when someone loves you well, even when they are gone you feel that love...and that love gives you the courage to move ahead and do your best to live your best life.

Mom could be silly...

she could be elegant...

She knew how to have fun...

 She was loving and nurturing...

She showed us by example...or, sometimes when she felt we needed a bit more reinforcement, with a talking to...how to go about living our best lives.

Thank you Mom...I will think of you and do my best...

xoxo     Elizabeth

PS...


I want to share a little story with you...shortly after my mom passed away I discovered a blog...

Enjoying The Small Things...

It is a beautiful blog by a young (in years - older in spirit) mom.  When I first started reading this blog it was just after she had her second child.  For several reasons this child settled into my heart...

the main one being that she was born just two days after my mom passed away...

I connected immediately to her -  feeling that this special little one had a connection with my mom.  I read Kelle Hampton's blog of coming to terms with the fact that this baby, Nella Cordelia, has Down Syndrome.  She did not know that the baby she was carrying had this extra chromosome and her blog was so honest and loving that it struck a chord around the world.

These are photos from Kelle's blog - you should take a look because she is an amazing photographer

With Nella Cordelia's first birthday approaching (January 22) Kelle is attempting to raise money for the NDSS (National Down Syndrome Society) as a special way to celebrate.  The response has been amazing and she has surpassed her first modest goal of $15,000 and is quickly approaching $75,000!!!

Because of this connection I feel between Nella and my mom I donated a small amount in my mom's name. 

http://ndss.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=461377&supid=318966917

Another note on this connected feeling...when my grandfather passed away many years ago I was working at a fruit stand in Emeryville.

The man I worked for had a daughter who was pregnant - on the day that I learned that my grandfather has passed away during the night I went in to work and my boss told me that his daughter had given birth the night before...it was a very difficult birth and Mother and baby were in danger for some time...but miraculously both had survived and were doing well.  So my grandfather has passed, but these two were doing well...I couldn't help but think that his spirit had something to do with the miracle that had occurred....and I felt the same connection that I do to little Nella Cordelia.

City Meets Country......

This is where we spent last weekend...gorgeous huh?  Thanks to the Avalos family - Stacy, Dave, Tristan and Tatum we got to do a lot of fun stuff.  Oh, and eat a lot of good great fabulous food!

When we arrived Dave had already started the fire - and we needed it, it was cold, cold, cold outside!  Now this fire is going to be a main feature of our adventure so pay attention to it...

Can you see the fresh little grass growing on the log and the fire surrounding it!?

The Avalos homestead is like a little piece of Heaven...the amazing view I showed you...and many wonderful touches that a loving Dad has crafted...

the Tree House...

decks and porches, vegetable gardens and pathways...(that is our Lena enjoying some country freedom!)

Just look at this!!!!  Peacock feathers...just lying around!!!  I immediately asked Stacy if I could take some home - she rounded up some scissors and I filled a little bag!  (Always looking to add to my stuff!)

Our first activity was some trap shooting!  Here is my ruggedly handsome hubby cradling his borrowed gun!

And...shooting it!  He hit the first or second clay pigeon he aimed at and then the beginner's luck was over.

Now these next pictures some of you may think have been photo-shopped...but no...they are a record of what actually happened!

Stacy showed me how the gun works and what to do......

and...I...actually shot the gun!

There was definitely a bit of a kick...and next time I may even shoot it twice!  This time once was just perfect.  I didn't want to get home and be sorry that I hadn't tried it!

Look at this sweet baby, Porter, she is just a love.

Now, the fire in the fire pit was still going and getting stronger and warmer...but Dave also started another fire and cooked us some of the best tri-tip I have ever had!

Barrel cooked tri-tip - yum.........

Is your mouth watering?

Lena continued to play and make friends - this is Annie - a chocolate lab.  Lena actually wore her out...I think it's the Walker Hound in her!

Back to the fire...and the main event....Christmas Tree Burning!!!!!!!  The fire has gotten nice and hot - so hot that I didn't really need the two coats, hat, two scarves, and huge sweater that I brought!

Here go the Christmas trees!  When you see these burn you know why you never want your tree to go up inside the house......they go up fast in just a matter of seconds.........

Dave burned about 5 or 6 trees and each one was just as exciting as the first...the flames were probably about 15 feet or so and just gorgeous - from the right distance of course!

and the embers that went up into the sky were beautiful also...

Can you see the tree house all lit up in the back!?

Everyone enjoyed sitting by the warm, warm fire...

even after the trees had all gone up it stayed very toasty.

We even found some ornaments in one of the trees!!!!!!

The night got warmer and the fire was inviting and we all hesitated to go inside...but that fresh country air tuckered us cityfolks out and we knew morning would bring Pioneer Woman cinnamon rolls!!!!

Stacy treated us to so much wonderful home cooked food...from her mouth watering dinner (or breakfast or lunch...) rolls to roasted asparagus, creamy mashed potatoes and chocolate cake... and then in the morning these beauties...

These cinnamon rolls are from The Pioneer Woman's website - Stacy and I love her recipes and her stories.  Click above and go see for yourself!

So us city slickers had lots of fun in the country...I can see why Stacy is willing to do all the driving she does coming in to town.  But, I do have to say that with the tales of packs of coyotes,  hungry mountain lions, rattle snakes as big as your arm and scorpions in your pajammies...I'm not sure I have what it takes to actually live there!

Stacy, Dave, Tristan and Tatum we can't thank you enough for such a wonderful weekend!  You made us feel right at home and I think I even invited myself back without waiting to be asked - my manners escaped me for a minute there!

xoxo    Elizabeth