Apr 7, 2011

Doughnut or donut?

Remember Uncle Ben from the last post? Well I don't know about his rice skills, but he makes delicious baked goods. Several months ago he was going to make doughnuts/donuts (I just found out both are correct-wow I feel bad for being a doughnut snob) for us but we didn't have time or something and ever since I have wanted to make them.

After being spiritually fed by watching General Conference online, we decided that our physical bodies could also use some fattening up\. So after the little one was asleep we pulled out the recipe from Ben and made these:

We used the glaze recipes below, but my favorite was Ben's tip to just dip them in cinnamon sugar.






I think the recipe we used originally came from secretdonutrecipe.com. The written recipe is no where to be found on the site. Weird. However, it can be found all over the rest of the web. So here it is:

Donuts from secretdonutrecipe.com
Microwave 1 cup of milk so that it is warm (not hot) add the 5 teaspoons of yeast (2 packets) and a pinch of sugar and stir. Let stand for about 5 minutes.
Then, in a bowl combine:
2 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 cup of warm mashed potatoes (see the bottom of the page)
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup of sugar
Then in the bowl add:
The milk mixture (from above) and
2 Tablespoons of oil
Mix the dough well by hand or in a mixer with a dough hook for 3 minutes. Prepare your kneading surface by spreading a few tablespoons of flour on a smooth surface. Put the dough in the middle of the flour and sprinkle a little flour on top and on your hands. Knead the dough a few times. Once the dough has been kneaded, spread it out to be a half inch thick with your hands or with a rolling pin. Now it is time to cut out the donuts, you can use a donut cutter or just use something about the same size and then find something to make the hole with. Place the donuts on a floured pan to let rise as you get the oil ready. Let them rise for a total of ten minutes (it takes about five minutes for the oil to heat up). Pour about a half inch of oil (vegetable oil) into a cast iron pan. An electric fry pan works great also. The oil needs to be about 360 degrees which on my stove is about Medium to Medium High. If the oil starts to smoke it is way too hot. Test the oil with some of the scraps of dough and when it is ready cook the donuts until golden brown on each side. Allow the donuts to cool on a rack or on some paper so that the oil soaks off.
Vanilla Glaze
In a mug, microwave half of cup of milk with a teaspoon of butter (you'll use this later)
In a bowl mix:
1 cup of powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons of the milk mixture
1/4 teaspoon of lemon
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract
If you want a really thin glaze, just add a little more of the milk mixture.
Chocolate Glaze
Use the milk mixture from above.
In a bowl mix:
1 cup of powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons of Hershey Cocoa
3 Tablespoons of the milk mixture from above.
Put a slightly warm donut face down in the chocolate glaze, turn slightly and remove. Perfect!
Now you are ready to enjoy your dozen donuts.
Mashed Potatoes: the potato is the most important part of the recipe, take one medium sized potato and poke some holes in it with a fork. Put it in the microwave for a few minutes until it is done (soft when you squeeze it). Scoop out a half a cup of potatoes for the recipe.

First taste of spring

Seth welcomed in his first spring a few weeks ago in Georgia with his Grandma and Grandpa Haskin, Uncle Sam, Aunt Katie, and Great Grandma Haskin. Oh yeah, we were there too, but we're old news to these people. ;) Everyone had a ball holding and playing with Seth. Here's some photographic evidence. Notice how many outdoor pictures there are... ahhhh spring! Luckily the good weather has now made it's way north so I don't have to look at this pictures too longingly.

I am so cool, Grandma!

We brought Seth's bath thermometer and warmed up the hot tub to a baby safe temperature. And it was like 80 degress outside. Seth loved it!

He also loved going on a walk.

Ready to go swimmin'! Thank you to our good friend for giving us the hand-me down suit!

Smilin' at lunch with the ladies.

Katie and Heather watching BYU beat Wofford

The ladies' lunch (minus Katie who had to go home the day before)

Seth fell asleep on Great-Grandma's lap watching basketball.
Stephen and his dad, being computer nerds. Actually they were burning family movies to dvds and it seems like they finally got it to work. Yay!


Somehow I missed Sam in the previous nerd shot, but he definitely spent some time in there with them. Isn't it awesome that Seth has an Uncle Sam? He has an Uncle Ben too.

Thanks, everyone, for a really fun visit! It was so nice to do things I never get to do: take a nap nearly every day, eat delicious food (orange salad- thank you!) without fixing it, play piano, go out to eat (why isn't O'Charley's in DC- best rolls ever), watch BYU basketball, go outside without a coat on, and relax in the hot tub. Best of all we're glad we got to spend the weekend with some of our best friends.

Apr 4, 2011

4 months

Seth has been 4 months for almost 2 weeks now, so I'll just include what he's doing right now, although the weight and height are from his checkup 2 weeks ago.

  • 15 pounds 11 ounces (in the 80-something percentile. My mom said I weighed 17 pounds when I was 1! Where did this chunky boy come from?)

  • 26 inches long

  • Wears most 3-6 month clothing

  • Goes to bed around 7pm and usually wakes up once between 3-5 am, then again for the day at 6:30am

  • Takes four 30 minute naps (will NOT sleep longer than 30 minutes)

  • Grabs toys, chews them, hands them back and forth between hands 

  • LOVES to be sitting up- in his saucer, stroller, and bouncer and on our laps

  • Loves being "benchpressed" by daddy and sometimes even does a REAL laugh when dad says "boo" and other silly things

  • Smiles at mommy's singing and pulls her hair all the time

  • Enjoys looking at books and scratching the pages to feel/try to grab them

  • Finally likes tummy time 

  • Tries to roll over and can do it with help

  • Talks and squeals all day

  • Still eats every 2 hours, but is more willing to wait longer

  • Eats and loves single grain oatmeal 2 times a day!

  • Says "mmmm" when he takes a bite of cereal

  • Just started using the consonants /m/ and /n/ when he babbles

  • Sleeps in his very own crib in his very own room for naps and sleep

  • Loves his pacifier for sleep and sad times

  • Absolutely adores "This Little Piggy"- seriously, it will even calm him down from crying when holding him doesn't work


  • That's our happy boy!

    I love how his cheeks (jowls) look in this picture

    funny moment to catch a picture :)

    on the new rug in his room

    Stephen is so happy that Seth finally enjoys stuff like this and I love watching them play!

    In case you're wondering... I requested the matching baseball shirt day
    Yum! We still haven't decided on a high chair so he currently eats in his stroller, but hey, it works!