Stuart, Sally, and chocolate hazelnut buns

My little sister turned forty on Friday. The family met at my sister Jenny's new house for a party. My sister Sarah came from Washington, so the four of us were all together. Honestly, my sisters are my best friends (next to the farmer) and I am so grateful for them. We all get along really well, and I am also grateful that my parents insisted that we were kind to each other when we were growing up. Family gatherings are always tinged with sadness because I really feel the absence of my father. He loved just being together and playing games. The picture of Stuart is just because I find his little feet so adorable! He loves the old Popeye cartoons, and although he does not talk much, he does know how to say Popeye. He comes up to us and says "I Popeye?" over and over again until we put the disc in for him. The third picture is my new creation, chocolate hazelnut buns made from challah dough. I have been making challah bread all winter (from the book Artisan Bread in Just Five Minutes a Day) and I got the idea to roll out little balls of dough, flatten them, spread them with melted butter, and then chopped hazelnuts and chocolate. I then tucked the sides around the filling and put each one seam side down in my baking dish. I let it rest for 20 minutes, brushed the tops with an egg wash, and then baked at 400 degrees for 25 minutes. Pure breakfast delight. They were an excellent go together with my morning latte!