Scenes From A Family Bike Ride

Yesterday, we went on yet another "family" bike ride from Parkton, MD to New Freedom, PA. It's been a couple of weeks since the last ride and everyone was feeling it during the 10 mile, uphill ride to New Freedom. It was hot, everyone's legs hurt, the little ones were tired, blah, blah, blah.

At least there were pretty things to see along the trail...like this abandoned shed surrounded by wild flowers.

Our favorite place to eat in New Freedom (okay, it's the only place to eat) is Paesano's Pizza. They have the best pizza I have ever eaten. They also have potato chips that are bigger than Kellen's ears!

We passed Acres of Hope Rescue on our trip. This little miniature horse was too cute. She acted like she was a dog. If you whisted at her, she would come to the fence and stick her head between the rails.

Ammy and I spent about 10 minutes petting her.

Which is how we managed to miss Allie taking a header over a barricade on her bike. Thankfully, she only has a bruise on the back of her leg...

and scratches and cuts on both arms.

What can I say, it wouldn't be a family bike ride without at least one wipe out.

Tyler Florence Is The Man!

I made the BEST dinner tonight...Tyler Florence's Pan-Roasted Sirloin with Salad of Arugula, Sweet Peppers and Olives.

Salad:
2 red bell peppers
Extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 cup mixed whole black and green olives such as Kalamata and Picholine
1 bunch baby arugula, trimmed
Juice of 1/2 lemon
4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled

Steak:
2 New York strip steaks, 8 to 10 ounces each, about 1 1/2 inches thick
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
4 fresh thyme sprigs
1/2 cup dry red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon
1/2 teaspoon sugar

Start by preparing the peppers. Preheat the broiler. Pull out their cores, then halve the peppers lengthwise, and remove the ribs and seeds. Toss the peppers with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Place them on a cookie sheet, skin side up, and broil for 10 minutes to loosen the skins.

Switch the oven from broil to bake and set the temperature to 350 degrees. Season both sides of the steaks with sea salt and a generous amount of coarsely ground pepper, about 1 Tablespoon of pepper per steak. Place a cast-iron (or regular ovenproof) skillet over medium-high heat. Coat the bottom of the pan with a 20-count drizzle of olive oil and get it smoking hot. Add the steaks and sear for 4 minutes on each side. Throw in the thyme, then transfer the skillet to the hot oven and roast the steaks fro 5 minutes for a nice medium-rare (120 to 125 degrees internal temperature).

While that's going on, pull the loosened skins off the peppers; cut the peppers into nice fat strips and toss them with the olives. Set aside. Remove the steaks to a cutting board and let them rest for a few minutes before slicing.

Make a quick vinaigrette using the flavors left in the bottom of the skillet. Pour out some of the beef fat (I poured out half) and return the pan to the stove. Add the red wine and boil over medium heat while scraping with a wooden spoon to pull the flavors up. Let the wine reduce to 1/4 cup; this will intensify the flavor. Add the sugar and a 1-count of olive oil to balance it out.

Put it all together. Cut the steaks on an angle into slices. Gently toss the peppers and olives with the arugula. Drizzle the salad with a little more olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juice, salt and pepper. Toss lightly again and place on a platter. Arrange the steak slices on top of the salad and garnish with the crumbled blue cheese; then drizzle the pan vinaigrette over the steak salad and serve.

* I used four steaks and doubled the sauce at the end to serve my family of 7.

Survey says:

Good enough for company!

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

Did you know that September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month?

Did you know that September 12th is Childhood Cancer Awareness Day?

As many of you know, I have worked with kids with cancer for the past 6 years. I follow many kids and their battles with cancer online and one of my favorite sites, Not Quite What I Had Planned, started as the journey of Kristie's daughter, Kendrie's battle with leukemia (Kristie's husband also has cancer). Kristie has a post up today about childhood cancer and here are some of the statistics that she posted.

1. In the Citizen's Briefing book presented to President Obama upon his inauguration, childhood cancer was voted by the American people as the #5 Health Care issue. See Page 16 http://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/Citizens_Briefing_Book_Final

2. Cancer is the #1 cause of death by disease for children, killing more than asthma, diabetes, pediatric AIDS, congenital anomoalies, and cystic fibrosis combined.

3. 46 children are diagnosed with cancer every day in the US.

4. Each year, 3000 children die of cancer in the US. 1 in 5 Children with cancer will die.

5. Every year, 35-40,000 children are in treatment for cancer.

6. September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. Most people have never heard of this.

7. Less than 3% of all cancer research money goes to childhood cancer.

Now guess what? Kristie's daughter, Kendrie, turned 10 yesterday! She is one of the lucky ones who beat childhood cancer.
20% of the kids won't.

Please donate today to help fund research for childhood cancers. Help Cure Childhood Cancer by donating $10 ($1 for each year) in honor of Kendrie (and these other children who are fighting cancer or who have beat cancer):

http://www.caringbridge.org/fl/sydneysims/
http://www.maxeyweb.com/
http://www.caringbridge.org/canada/julianna/
http://www.caringbridge.org/tx/samantha/
http://www.caringbridge.org/oh/finnrooney/

and in memory of those who have lost their battles:

http://www.superryan.blogspot.com/
http://www.caringbridge.org/fl/jacob/
http://www.caringbridge.org/ga/catie/
http://www.caringbridge.org/ga/keithskorner/
http://www.caringbridge.org/la/jakeowen/
http://www.caringbridge.org/fl/taylor/
http://www.caringbridge.org/md/taliapleasant/
http://www.caringbridge.org/ne/gageedwards/
http://www.caringbridge.org/southamerica/alexia/

Peace and Quiet

They are all back in school! I can hardly contain myself!

This Is What Back To School Shopping Looks Like In My House

School supplies for three kids...I order the twins supplies through a Scholastic Books fundraiser that their school offers. Love it. All you do is order and pay online. Then on the first day of school all of their stuff is in a box and they just pick it up and off they go. The big kids' school does not offer such a program so we spent quite some time in Office Depot.

Uniforms. Love the sea of khaki pants and skorts. The search for the perfect skort about did me in this summer, but we finally found some that fit the way she wanted them to.

Shoes. The shoes kill me. 2 pairs of dress shoes, 3 pairs of tennis shoes and 4 pairs of cleats.

Text books. These are only books for two kids. I don't have to buy Allie's until next year when she is in high school and the twins books are on the tax payers.

We are ready, let the madness begin.