practice makes pie

I must admit that although I have baked many a turkey for Thanksgiving I have never in my life made a pumpkin pie. I know it's not difficult. This is America after all and all I have to do is go buy a ready made crust and a can of pie mush. Okay, I could make a crust and buy the can of mush but my previous experiences with homemade pie crust were not so great. My solution...just avoid making pie. I do love me some pumpkin pie so I would eat it if someone else made it...I just wasn't making it. I make other delicious treats for the holiday season, so believe me, we are not deprived of yummy treats. And now, in our state of gluten free living I have the perfect out when it comes to making pie....or so I thought. Recently, two things have happened. First, we went for our annual fall fun day at the pumpkin patch with our friends. The girls got to choose cute little pumpkins and paint them then they were off to play and climb and jump. Oh, it was a fun day...see?

But then, once again we had two little pumpkins whose paint came right off when it rained. Sure we could have painted them again, but why? They were just going to sit there and rot. Hmmm, I bet those would make a great, fresh, pumpkin pie. Oh, but the crust is an issue. But wait!...and here's the second thing...I found a gluten free pie crust mix made by Gluten Free Pantry. I've been pleased with many of their products so maybe I should give their crust a try. It is called "perfect" pie crust mix...so it must be good, right? Well, I took those little pumpkins (after building up the excitement of having pumpkin pie long before Thanksgiving) and baked them in the oven just like an acorn squash. I scooped it all out and gave it a whirl with my mixer to make it smooth and I tell you...perfect.

And yes, I bought the crust mix. It was a quick and easy mix. It smelled like regular crust. It felt like regular crust. It even rolled like regular crust. Our hopes were high for a delicious tasting crust and a delicious tasting freshly made pumpkin pie. The aroma of freshly baked pumpkin pie filled the house. It came out beautiful. Just look at it. Hungry?

Thankfully I made it during the day so by the time we were ready for dessert after dinner the pie was ready to be devoured. The girls could hardly contain their excitement. Okay, I was excited, too. How could I not be? It was all working out just perfectly...like I had made a billion pumpkin pies before. Then I sliced it and ....

we couldn't eat it fast enough! It turned out so good. The crust was a little thick for some...I like it that way though...but it was flaky and buttery and oh so yummy. My first pumpkin pie. Delicious!

Oh, and just the other day in all of the bleakness as the trees shed their leaves, my azalea wanted to show off a little more before it got too cold. The brightness of the one purple bloom amongst the dark, dried up leaves was beautiful. Too beautiful to leave outside. The bloom was quickly rescued and brought into the house for a drink of water.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner so remember to give thanks. Today as the cold rain comes down and extra layers are worn I am thankful for my little house in the city. It's warm and cozy and we are all in good health. Happy Thursday. xo ANG

Don't forget to go here to enter my giveaway.

time for soup

We just had a long week of winter temperatures. It hasn't snowed yet and I don't think it will any time soon. However, my body is in shock. One day it was nearly 80 degrees, we were wearing short sleeves and flip-flops, then suddenly it's cold, rainy, and overcast for days on end. The heat has been turned on. The summer clothes have been banished to the attic and the fall/winter clothes have been washed and layered upon us. Sock feet skating across the floor has been revived. And another blanket has been added to the beds. So what does all of this mean? Well, besides the fact that we may have a long winter this year, it means that it's time for soup. I came across a recipe the other day in the Sunday paper coupons. There was no particular product being advertised...it was just a soup recipe, a chicken soup recipe. Perfect! I had just baked a whole chicken for dinner and picked the bones clean to make chicken salad with the rest. But with the cold weather it seemed like soup was the best way to go. Here's the recipe...It was called
Mom's Chicken Soup Ingredients :: 4 cups chicken broth :: 1 cup shredded cooked chicken :: 1/2 cup uncooked extra wide egg noodles :: 1 stalk celery, slice :: 1 medium carrot, sliced :: ground black pepper to taste. Directions :: Heat broth, black pepper, carrot, and celery in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Add noodles and chicken, stir. Reduce heat to medium. Cook 10 minutes or until noodles are tender. Stir often.
I used Progesso chicken broth, the best one I've ever used. Next time I'll have a go at making my own broth. I had almost 2 cups of chicken left from the bird so I used it all. I didn't use egg noodles...I used Schar gluten free fusilli noodles. I couldn't find their tagliatelle pasta or I would have used that. Anyway, Schar makes the absolute best gluten free pasta. It has the perfect taste and texture of fresh pasta, it's not pasty or weird in texture like some other gluten free pastas that I have tried. So if you want to go gluten free with your pasta, I definitely recommend Schar. Oh, and one cup of uncooked pasta didn't seem like enough, so I added two cups. Also I cooked the carrots and celery until they were soft then added the chicken and pasta at the end. Gluten free pasta cannot be overcooked or it will be ruined so I set the timer at the end so that the noodles would be perfect. Now, this recipe made enough for my small family of four with just one serving left over. When I make it again I will double it so we can enjoy some leftovers. The girls loved it! Tim love it! I loved it! It was so good. Definitely a keeper.

(Here's a little something new I'm learning...it's good for cold weather, too!)

So what's on your menu when it's cold outside? Any good soup recipes you want to share? Any homemade broth tips? Stay warm. xo ANG

calories, coconut, and cookies....oh my!

Remember those cookies I raved about? Well, it has been requested that I share the recipe. I am more than happy to share the coconut-y goodness with you but I cannot be held accountable for your inability to eat only one. They are delicious and will test your willpower, taunt your taste buds, and tempt your inner cookie-loving-sweet-tooth self. I have no calculations of grams of fat or sugar, nor do I have the number of calories they contain...but go! Go bravely into your kitchen and whip up a batch of these beauties.*

Coconut Macaroons

3/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut

2 large egg whites

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

pinch of salt

• Preheat oven to 325 F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper


• In a large bowl, combine sugar, coconut, egg whites, vanilla, and salt.


• Dampen hands with cold water. Use 1 1/2 Tbs. to form mounds then place on baking sheet. Space them about 1" apart.


• Bake until golden brown, 16 to 17 minutes, rotating halfway through. Let cool on wire rack.

Martha Stewart's new book, Cookies, is where I found this irresistible, gluten-free recipe.

*I highly recommend making the cookies smaller than instructed...then it's easier to justify eating two instead of one! Also, I couldn't find unsweetened coconut so I used sweetened, shredded coconut and reduced the amount of sugar added to 1/3 cup.

enough with the screaming monkey already!

Yep, I actually said that. It's the first time and almost certainly the last time that I will say such a funny exclamatory sentence. But in the spirit of doing, saying, cooking, building, or sewing something for the the first time let me take a moment to entertain you with a list of firsts so far in this new year...with a little explanation, of course.

First, the title of this post...words that I never knew would fly out of my mouth in such a ridiculous combination, yet they did. Which, by the way, made everyone in the house stop what they were doing and look at me with surprise. The reason...Miss E got a new toy, a little learning laptop, which is fabulous and fun and educational. However the character that she interacts with is a monkey that says and does silly things to keep it interesting. What she quickly learned, after finding the volume control, was that if you continually push the mouse buttons the monkey will "scream" over and over and over and over. You see, I'm not crazy, and I usually have a very high tolerance for noise producing toys, especially educational ones, but coupled with the volume set on ear-drum-bursting loud...I had heard enough. Hence the "enough with the screaming monkey already" statement.

Second, after looking through this fabulous list I have already printed 5 tutorials, made and gifted one, cut out the material for 6 of these, and am eager to schlep up to the attic (on a much warmer day so I don't freeze up there) and retrieve some of my most favorite fabrics that I have horded and used very sparingly since I bought them when we lived on Molokai. I tell you what, living in Hawaii really lends itself to acquiring some fabulous, colorful, local fabrics. Anyway, cutting, planning, sewing, and especially a willingness to use some of my Hawaiian fabrics this early in the year with excited anticipation...definitely firsts for me.

Third, I love to try new recipes. Using a recipe from this book I made the most wonderful coconut macaroons that I have ever had. Mind you, I made them for Tim really because they are gluten free and there aren't many treats that are gluten free, affordable, and delicious. Seriously people, they taste just like coconut cream pie. Just.Like.It. Very difficult to resist, have no idea how many calories and fat are in them, but I made them small so we, I mean he, can enjoy them. Also, I made a stew called Winter Squash and White Bean Stew from this book and it just didn't work out for me. My in-laws ate it and said it was good. Tim ate it and said it was good...he even said he'd eat it again because he like that it was different. I ate it and my taste buds were confused. I love me some butternut squash. I also loved everything else that was in it. The problem? It had cinnamon in it. The smell was throwing me off. I was expecting something quite savory but the cinnamon was weirding me out. It wasn't a bad stew, in fact we ate it all, but the smell confused my senses. I don't like to be confused...especially when I'm eating.
Oh, there are a few other firsts that I have probably forgotten, but I'm pleased with my start to the year and I hope that you are pleased with yours as well.

it's good...and good for you

So, have you ever had a hankerin' for something sweet but didn't want something totally unhealthy that's loaded with fat and calories? Yeah, I thought so. Although, don't get me wrong, fat and calories are mighty tasty sometimes. Anyway I made some quick and easy smoothies the other day (and today as well) that really hit the spot.

Triple Berry Yogurt Smoothie
1 1/2 C. low fat vanilla yogurt
1 C. frozen berries (I didn't really measure the berries)
1/4 to 1/2 C. milk

All I did was blend it until it was smooth. I adjusted the amount of milk added in so that it was easier for the girls to drink it with a straw, because heaven knows that purple smoothies will certainly stain the clothes if spilled. The whole batch had maybe 6g of fat. And it made enough for all of us to have some. It made a great snack one day...and one night after dinner it was dessert. It is also tasty (and a little more unhealthy) with a scoop or two of vanilla ice cream









added to the mix...Mmmmm! All in all, everyone enjoyed it...and it's gluten free!

giveaway, good food, and gifts

Oh man! Adrienne over at Some of a Kind is celebrating her 200th post with a giveaway. She's got some serious sewing talent and is always making something fabulous. She is going to make an apron for the winner! Fingers crossed! Okay, okay, if you want a chance to win an apron go ahead over to her blog and enter, but if you win I'll fight you for it... so put up your dukes!
Oops, wrong Dukes...I couldn't resist! hehehe!

I was brave this week. I made enchiladas again. I know, I didn't think I would be ready so soon, but we've had a hankerin' for them ever since the last disastrous attempt. Now remember, the putrid, rancid, most disgusting enchiladas I made before...it was not my fault! It was the sauce. Walmart didn't have my brand so I got an obviously inferior, possibly even deadly brand. One that I.will.never.buy.again. So back to being brave...I know cooking doesn't necessarily equate with bravery, but once again Walmart didn't have the brand of enchilada sauce that I prefer so I tried another brand. You just never know...but this time the sauce was good and the enchiladas turned out great! Now if I just had some fried ice cream for dessert...Mmmmmmmmmm.

My sewing machine has been getting a good workout this week. There are two birthdays coming up and I've been busy. I can't show you what's in the works or tell you about it...that would ruin the surprise. What I can do is give you a sneak peek! (this is stuff for 2 separate gifts)So if your birthday is coming up...you know who you are...then close your eyes!

the good, the bad,....

...and the disgusting!

Oh, let's start with the good!
+THIS IS MY 100th BLOG POST!!!! Can you believe it?! Who knew I had so much to say? Well, my husband knew because evidently I talk a lot. You don't mind my yammering on and on do you? I mean, that is what blogs are for, right? As we head back into the swing of things with homeschool this year there will more "meat" in my writing. I must say, I have enjoyed blogging so far. And there are some really great, talented, wonderfully nice bloggers out there that I have "met". Woohoo! 100 posts!
+The girls have really been enjoying their swimming lessons. So they're not as comfortable in the water as I would like them to be, but they have certainly come a long way. And...tomorrow is family day so I get to join them in the pool-yippee! I may help them a little with overcoming that fear of being submerged :o) They'll never be able to race me in the pool if they don't relax a little and learn.
+My friend Kim was sneaky the other day while we were at the pool. She got a picture of me and E trying to convince O to go under the water. I promise, I'm not making a mean face. It's my 'come on you can do it, just give it a try' face. Funny that E is making the same face while adding in her 2 cents to the pep talk....she wouldn't put her head under the water either. Little stinkers!! So as I was saying...the picture is great, then Kim added some nice details...thanks Kim!
+My blog friend Zoe gave me an award! It's a blog award. Pretty exciting really...it's my first one! She's so sweet! You should really go check out her blog. She's always got some kind of sewing or craft project in the works. Thanks so much Zoe...I promise I'll follow the rules...soon!
+Finally the beads are dry! We got to string them yesterday. The girls really enjoyed choosing which beads they wanted to use. Of course they whined and bickered over a few of them, but after all was said and done, they were happy with the results. Oh, and by the way, play-doh beads are a lot heavier than polymer clay beads.

Now, onto the bad.
-Is it just me or is there a lot more whining going on these days? There really is no excuse, it's just sin nature...but I loathe seeing it in my own children. Don't get me wrong, my girls are really well behaved the majority of the time. But every once in a while it's like the floodgates are opened and I have to remind them of what it means to obey, refocus their hearts, and realize that they aren't perfect..and neither am I.
-Okay, this is more annoying that bad, but our Walmart is in the midst of remodeling. I can't find anything! When I do find the general area of the items I need they are usually out of stock (or the stockers can't find where anything goes so they just don't restock the shelves) Either way, it resulted in a really disastrous meal!

I can't think of anything else bad (yippee) so now we're on to the disgusting.
~It has been a really long time since I have made a meal that is bad enough to throw away. It has probably been 6 or 7 years really. I'll admit, right here and now, that I am not the greatest cook in the world. Quite frankly, I used to be a really bad cook. I'm not sure why....I just was. I've never been one to whip up a meal without some type of recipe or framework to follow. I'm a recipe follower, I can't help it. After I make something once, completely by the book, the next time I make it I might tweak it a little, but never on the first go round. So last night I made chicken enchiladas. A recipe that I have used many times always with delicious results. Oh so yummy! It's a staple on my menu. We hadn't had it for a few weeks so it was time. We were all craving it. Oh wait, let me back up a little. When I went grocery shopping there was no enchilada sauce left...the kind that I like anyway. I bought a different brand thinking...it's enchilada sauce, they should all be kinda the same. But, oh I was sooooooo wrong!!! Okay, so I make a big pan of enchiladas, all the while thinking the sauce smelled different, a little funny. But it was a different brand, so no big deal. Whilst that was baking and getting the cheese all melty I made something new. I made polenta. Polenta? yeah. It's a corn meal side dish that was supposed to be good...oh man, I was wrong again! So I get the enchiladas out of the oven and the sauce looks like tomato paste. Weird, the other brand never looked like that. Okay, so now I have to taste it...it's weird, gross, indescribable. Maybe I'm just paranoid. So now I taste the polenta that has cooled and...eewww, that's pretty bad, too. What is up? I followed the recipe. Okay so maybe the enchiladas are salvageable. We wait for Tim to get home and taste them...not even he can hide his dislike, distain, disgust. Believe me, after almost 14 years he has gotten good at pretending that something "isn't really that bad". But not last night. The time in the kitchen...wasted. The food that I purchased and baked...wasted. The money spent on ingredients for a normally anticipated dish....wasted. Ughhh. It was really, really, really DISGUSTING! Into the garbage it went. So what did we eat? Tim had leftovers from a much more successful meal, the girls enjoyed a delicious sunbutter & banana sandwich, and I had a delightful bowl of raisin bran. Let's hope tonight's dinner is more edible successful!

pizza, playdate, & poor little birds

Can you smell that? It's pizza...Mmmmm! Pizza is such a normal thing for us to eat, and it's something that we take for granted every time we eat it. I mean, when you want pizza the biggest concern you have is which toppings to get. Am I right? Well, Tim has been on a gluten-free diet for about six months. So, not only has he had to live without buttermilk biscuit ( it pains me just to think about it), but he's also managed to survive without one single slice of pizza. Amazing! Okay, so he has been know to steal the toppings off of any unguarded slice he sees...but it's just not the same. Well, oh happy day...I found gluten-free pizza crust mix and made Tim a pizza. We all had a little slice but the rest was for him. He devoured it. Really it was quite good. It ain't pretty, as you can see by the picture, but for a first try at making pizza with this incredibly sticky dough, it turned out alright. Next time I'll make two pizzas so that the crust will be thinner, and per his request, there will be more cheese! Thank goodness for Bob's Red Mill!

Yesterday we had a play date. Our friends came over and brought their 18 inch dolls so that I could make them some cute dresses...while the girls watched. The goal was to see how interested the girls were in the sewing process. I think they really enjoy it. Although the most fun part was probably choosing just the right fabric :o) I made a couple of dresses for Miss O and Miss E's dolls last week... they got to help with the sewing while I was in charge of the pedal. I wish I had taken pictures, but sewing and taking pictures at the same time that a 5 year old and 3 year old are helping me sew is just a little much. I did, however get pictures from the play date. It helps having another mom around...thanks Heather! Okay, so while I finished up the doll dresses the girls had lots of fun playing dress-up. I didn't have a doll pattern so I just drew a picture of what I wanted the dress to look like...a wrap-around dress...then I measured the dolls and made a pattern on some of our school paper. It seemed to work pretty well. I'd do it again :o)

Okay, now for the sad part. Last night we had a pretty bad storm. Lots of wind and heavy downpours. Although the storm didn't last too long, while it was happening, it was pretty rough. This morning when I got up, and like every other morning, I made my way to every room and opened the blinds. When I got to the kitchen window and opened the blinds I peeked down into the bush to check on our cute little birdies...the nest was gone, or at least most of it...and there were no little birds in sight. I opened the window a crack to see if I could hear them, thinking maybe they were deeper in the bush or on the ground. The only sound I heard was the mama bird squawking angrily from the power line. I watched her for a while and she finally flew down to the ground by the bush. When she finally flew away I opened the window again and raised the screen so I could look down on the ground. Sure enough, one little broken bird. So sad. I didn't see or hear the other two birds, so I am assuming they survived. I never got the perfect shot of the three little birds in the nest, but I did get a few more while I was making dinner yesterday before the storm.



This last picture is my favorite because although this little birdie is sleepy, he is obviously still hungry so he's keeping one eye open so he can be the first to see the mom coming back with the food!

do you like the lime light?

Not me, but I do like Light Lime, vinaigrette, that is. I found this fabulous salad dressing at a locally owned grocery store. I've been on a lime kick lately. It all started with the chili-lime tortilla chips from Target, then the chili-lime marinade(yummy but didn't agree with Miss E), then the Brazilian Lemonade. So I saw this dressing, had to try it. I used it as a marinade for chicken last night...so yummy...even the girls like it. Okay, it's good on salad, too. It's also good with a little fresh cilantro added in. I do love cilantro...oh yeah, I forgot about cilantro lime salsa, that's good too. All of that to say, if you like limes, you'll love this dressing. Also, if you like the lime light, you may enjoy light lime, too. I'm sure it will be really, really good on some freshly picked and sliced tomatoes. Speaking of tomatoes...check out these babies. To-may-to, to-mah-to, 'maters, whatever you call them, they're yummy and we'll be knee-deep in them really soon!

Now, you know I can't finish a post without including a picture of my girls. So here you go.

hold on to your hats, people....

...this is going to be a doozy!
Let's start here...remember that lady? Well, she has calmed down a bit, but is still baffled. The monstrous big pile of brush has long since been removed from my yard and the street in front of my house, but check it out now!

This was Thursday morning...yes, right before a long holiday weekend.

This was Saturday morning...more stuff in the pile.

What can you do? This time it was all placed on the road not in my yard, so technically I have no right to complain because I don't own the road. But come on! Why not pile it in front of your own house...that would be the right thing, the good neighborly thing, the normal, the nice thing to do. As I write, the pile remains...and it's raining.it's been raining.all.night.long. I just have to laugh about it now, because getting fumed about it doesn't make the pile disappear, neither does crossing my arms and blinking at it like her!

On to happier things...our garden is growing like crazy! We harvested our first eggplants. Only two to start with, and they are Ichiban (Japanese) Eggplants, not those really big ones. But they were yummy. I found a recipe for Eggplant Parmesan that was gluten-free! It was really good. I'll be making it again when the other eggplants ripen. If you want to try the super-yummy, super-easy recipe, just click here. We also have some cherry tomatoes turning red! Ooohhhhh I can hardly wait!

Oh, remember these little sunflowers that we planted? Well, one of them has bloomed! We had a pretty big storm a week or so ago and the next morning when I went outside the very tall sunflowers were leaning over. OhNo! I tied them to the fence to hold them up and tamped on the dirt to push the exposed roots down. I think it helped, but one did bloom early, so it's not as mammoth as I had anticipated. It is very beautiful though. The other sunflower is still growing and hasn't bloomed yet. Here are a few pictures.

One more thing, yesterday was my birthday. Now I'm 35 years old. I've never really cared about getting older. I don't feel older. The only thing I notice is that my girls are getting bigger. They are growing so fast. For the most part my birthday was really nice. I am fighting some sort of cough so my voice is deep and raspy...not so pretty. Then Miss E wakes up in the night screaming because she has scooted down under her covers too far and can't get out...then as soon as I lay back down it begins to lightning and thunder...keeping me and her awake. Finally I drift off only to hear Miss O calling for me. *you may want to skip the next part* She puked in her bed. Ugh! She sleeps on the top bunk. Daddy to the rescue...he took the sheets and everything off the bed while I pumped up her readybed. I am so thankful we have readybeds for the girls. She was fine five minutes later. I think she had too much birthday fun and she was all sweaty from being way under her covers too. What's up with that?! Anyway, since the girls share a room we were all awake for 30 or 40 minutes in the middle of the night. Finally we were all back in bed. We needed to sleep. I didn't hear a peep from the girls for the rest of the night, I, however, had several coughing fits...I feel a little better today and the girls seem to have gotten enough sleep. There hasn't been any major whining. Oh I just remembered, last year on my birthday I had to take Miss E to the ER because she was having a bad allergic reaction to peanuts. Scary, yes, but a reminder of how diligent I must be. I hope this doesn't turn into a birthday trend for me.

Anyway, now I'm off to wash all the yucky stuff and all of the regular laundry. The sun just came out so I should be able to use my clothesline not the dryer.

new GF recipe

Okay, so now that our meals (for dinner) are gluten free, it's not easy to just throw something together. Don't get me wrong, it doesn't take lots of planning time, I just have to have a menu and all of the ingredients handy. So, as a side note, if I don't purchase ingredients with gluten then cooking becomes easier and less worrisome. After all, I don't want to make Tim sick. Anyway, the other day the girls and I had a busy day of playing and I lost track of time and forgot to thaw the meat I planned on using so I got creative and made up my own dish....believe it or not, it turned out really good. So good in fact that I already made it again. It's quick, easy, inexpensive, and delicious!

Ingredients:

3 gluten-free chicken spinach asiago cheese sausages (got those at Sam's Club-so yummy!)
1 bag of frozen pepper&onion stir fry (fresh peppers and onion would be even better if you've got them)

2 Tbs oil (I used canola because I was out of EVOO)

1 monstrous big heaping Tbs of minced garlic (I never really measure garlic)

dash of sea salt

1 cup of Jasmine rice cooked according to package directions

So here's what I did:

1. Put rice on to cook while fixing remainder of dish. (watch that rice, it'll boil over as soon as you look away)

2. Heat oil in large pan or wok...throw in the garlic and sea salt. Saute until garlic is nice and aromatic and browned a little

3. Add peppers and onions..saute until they are tender-crisp (or however you like 'em)

Meanwhile slice sausages into half-moons.

4. Add sausage to veggies and cook until sausages are lightly browned.

5. Finally, add perfectly cooked rice to the wok, stir and cook a few more minutes, then serve piping hot!

One dish meal... meat, veggies, rice. Add a little heat with crushed red peppers or hot sauce. Tim really enjoyed this and so did I. All gluten free and it was done in less than 20 minutes. I don't have a name for it, but I will definitely be making this again. Maybe next time I will make it with a different type of sausage. Although I do enjoy the chicken spinach asiago sausage. So there you have it, my own creation. Sorry there are no finished product pictures...we ate it all up, maybe next time :o) Any recipe name suggestions are welcome!

oh man, this was good!

Okay, so I am not the best cook in the world. I am trying though and last night's dinner proves it. My husband really loves Chinese food so I found a fabulous gluten-free recipe for Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry on RecipeZaar.com. I know, it doesn't sound that complicated, but I wanted it to be as close to the real deal as possible. It actually tasted pretty good....even Little Miss O and Little Miss E liked it....of course using chopsticks made it a little more fun!









Can you smell that? Yummy!



Meanwhile, while I was cooking these little monkeys were hangin' around!!!