A Date

Aidan wanted to go on a date with Mommy!

And I thought that would be great.  We settled on IHOP, so we could get some of our favorite breakfast foods.  Especially since Papa will never darken the door of an ihop himself.  Or a Denny's. Or Applebee's.  Or Sweet Tomatoes.  So we have to go get our "nasty food" fix when he's not around. =)

 I just love it when I take the time to focus on their sweet faces.

Especially when they are so earnestly telling me a story.

 The days can get too busy;

I can be distracted all the time...

So it feels really good to take a time out, and really soak up the wonder of these little people growing up.  It is humbling to see how great they are.  And I see a little bit better why God loves little children so much.

How To Safely Cook Onions

No Tears

Yummy Treats

Don't yummy treats taste better in pretty vessels?

Parfaits are a popular choice around here, and these are all very excitingly green and healthy, since everything is organic.  I just started ordering from Azure Standard, a co-op that my mom has been ordering from for years.  Now it's in my neighborhood and I can order from them, too!  They are all about organics and labels that can be understood.  And they are a pretty reasonable option for those that want to purchase healthy on a limited budget.

Still loving my LPO box, although the farm has changed its name to Skarsgard Farms.  Delish, organic,  mostly local and tasty!  Did I mention yummy? I get my weekly box, sized medium, and I can swap out  for items I might want more than others.

We have been bingeing lately on bad foods; time to whip the menu into shape! =)

Mmmmm!  Happy kids love granola, blueberries and honey yoghurt.

and very recently... harmonicas!

Salad and Salmon

 Tonight we needed something delicious and wildly healthy.

Just look at those toasted pecans! the tomatoes and feta! the peas and avocado!

We dressed it with toasted sesame oil, salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon.

And the butter-bathed salmon, with sliced lemons and "Mural of Spices" from Penzey's Spices.

We stuffed ourselves until the merest sliver of salmon was left, and the salad was no more.

All the salad but the pecans came from our organic local farm.

Mmmmm! Delicious!

The kids had yesterday's cornbread but Shane and I didn't need a carb. =)

Nutmeg Pie, with a little Peach

 The mood for pie struck!

There was supper to make, but supper could wait.

Julia was my little helper, getting ingredients and supervising the peaches.

I swiftly realized that I had no more white flour in the house, only whole wheat.  Well, there was no denying the craving, so total whole wheat, here I come!

Gina's pie recipe in hand, we adapted it to fit our needs.  Her recipe is supreme, and although I have a black thumb or the kitchen equivalent when it come to crusts, I can manage this one.  It is:

Old Fashioned Pie Crust

(top and bottom for 2 pies)

4 C. flour

1 T sugar

2 t salt

Combine.

Cut in

1 3/4 C butter

Whisk together

T vinegar

1 egg

1/2 C ice water

Pour into flour and toss until a ball forms.

Note: I learned from Carleen to keep a block of butter in the freezer and grate frozen butter into the flour.

We improvised on the filling, I cooked up some frozen peaches to help them thaw and soften and put in some brown sugar, tapioca beads, flour, and then I asked Julia to tap in some nutmeg.

She emptied the container.

The idea for cookie cutter shapes on top came from my sister's husband's sister's husband.  =) Truly! Thank-you, Jonathan!!

The pie lasted that evening through lunch the next day.  Shane informed me that he liked the crust best, as he ate the crust off the top.  It was really nutmeggy!  Yes, nutmeggy.  The rest of us enjoyed the entire pie.  But next time it will have white flour and no nutmeg.

Summer Delights

Mmmmmm!

Watermelon ranks high on my summertime list of loves.

Vegetarian Cooking and a Salmon Soapbox

Happy May! We got snow on May Day, how's that for a temperamental spring?  It's been so lovely, that I planted my garden weeks ago. =)  But my garden is so small, that it will be a simple thing to replant.  Life does, indeed, go on!

So I'm on the prowl, and I need some guidance and most of all, IDEAS!!!  The latest bee in my bonnet is looking into some vegetarian cooking.  Maybe someday we'll move entirely to vegetarian, but for now, my goal is to make vegetables the centerpiece at meals.  We have June's lovely Red Beans and Rice recipe that we can leave the meat out of and enjoy as vegetarian, and that's a start.  I'm looking at chickpeas, maybe in salads for protein and maybe even dabbling in tofu.  I haven't had much experience with either, but I hear tofu needs to be paired with something flavor-rich, or marinated since it's so bland on it's own.

From what I can see, the top plant protein performers are:
beans and rice
chickpeas
quinoa
tofu

Anyone know of more powerhouse veggies in the protein department?

We don't really have to stress, since we will only be eating a vegetarian meal once a week.  However, I'd really like to get to know my "stuff" on vegetarian eating and do it right.  A Mom must always remember about those little ones learning by example! =)

I am not interested in going Vegan, just to be clear.  I embrace eggs and dairy. =)  I embrace meat, too, but I'd like to learn to be less dependent on it, and go for a heartier portion of veggies as life goes on.

I think fish, salmon especially, is a meat we do want on the table with some regularity.  But we only buy the salmon from the heavily regulated fisheries, not farm raised, or wild-caught that are overfished.  And we found out that there's going to be oil drilling right smack dab in the middle of where our fish are responsibly fished in Alaska.  So as soon as dependable old human error comes into play, and another leak or spill occurs in that location, we won't be able to get salmon anymore.  Because we won't support farms or fisheries that overfish wild salmon.  It is frustrating that it would even be allowed when the fish situation is already precarious, but I only have one option.  Do the little I can do, then take deep breaths and try not scream.  And one "little" I can do is spend my money supporting things that are right.  As you all know, wild alaskan salmon is not cheap.  $30 for a 3lb bag.  Farm raised is much cheaper.  But I'm letting my money talk, even though I'm just one person.  Can I afford to support safe fishing or can I afford not to?  May I always do right or do without!

Shane said that if a person wants to be right, then it would be a good idea to get used to being wrong a LOT!  I love it.  He was talking about himself, in case that would ever be unclear.  But it's so true.  Right isn't getting people to believe my opinion, which could easily be wrong.  Right is that constant search for truth, coming a little at a time and only as I'm honest and willing to be wrong.

The Cookbook Scoop

When my sister, Susan, went into the Marines, we inherited a few things.

One of them was her cookbook "How to Cook Everything" by Mark Bittman. I had to reluctantly give it back to her once she got married, but my sweet husband bought it for me for my birthday. My mother also gave me his international cookbook and it's wonderful, too. These cookbooks are interesting. For one thing, they're huge. Take a gander.

And for another, they have not ONE SIGLE SOLITARY picture of food in them. There are diagrams and illustrations drawn in black ink, but those are for things like carving a turkey, etc. The text is black on white and crammed together. But it is a cookbook to sink your soul into, let alone your teeth.

Bittman makes the case for homemade chicken broth, or veggie broth and now I'm a believer. It's so EASY, it's so HEALTHY! His point is to cook whatever it is in the best possible way, but it turns out that means fresh, whole foods and simple combinations. Nothing is overdone or extra fancy, but he does admonish the use of the proper ingredients, not milk when cream is called for! Anyway, I'm in love and it feels so goooood!

One of my old favorites is a cookbook that my Grandma Paddon gave us for a wedding present. She gave us THREE cookbooks, actually, all from Taste of Home. And I'm sure many of you are familiar with the magazines and cookbooks they have. My favorite is the Taste of Home Guide to Country Cooking. I discovered that you can actually try a recipe for the first time and it WILL turn out right! (You do have to follow the recipe, of course.) Grandma also gave us the cookbook collection for our year, 2001:

and another cookbook that is wire-bound and split into three sections; top, middle, bottom:

The top section is main dishes, middle is sides and last section is DESERT! Anyway, you can open the cookbook to all three recipes of your choice and they are printed all on one page. Easy Peasy.

And Taste of Home is VERY VERY good about the most gorgeous photos. You can always whet your appetite by flipping through a cookbook of theirs.

Another cookbook I don't use super often, but often enough to get it's own small paragraph is Nourishing Traditions.

This is THE super healthy cookbook. It is filled with label advice educating you on those mysterious ingredients on most things you buy at the store. They have recipes for raw meat eaters, vegetarians, fermentation for healthier digestion, you name it! I've barely scratched the surface. But there's plenty of things to fall in love with, even if you don't like your meat walking about the kitchen. Salad dressings and bavarian cream are two instant winners in my experience.

The rest of the recipes I love are old fav's handed down from my side or Shane's side of the family, or a random gem I found in a cookbook that I mostly don't use, or a recipe that I stole from someone when I died (and went to heaven) after eating it. Two come to mind right away; Darla's Pumpkin Desert and Pecan Chicken Salad. Can't resist 'em!

So there's a few cookbook introductions! Wish I could share my own recipe inventions, but I don't have any. I have such wonderful luck browsing through the work of others that...well, what's the point?! I'll just share my own borrowed collection giving credit where it is so amply due.

Donuts for Dinner

After having donuts on the mind for a week or so, we decided to just jump in and make a batch. No matter that the kitchen was a mess(still is) because donuts are a messy project anyway. So we made a batch of cake donuts because they are quick and don't require resting the dough or rising the donuts before frying. They aren't as good, light and fluffy as the yeast dough (usually with a cup of mashed potatoes), but they were good enough! And I won't post a recipe because anything off the net will do. When we make the yeast recipe, I'll post that one. =)

I must confess, donuts were our dinner. I wasn't allowed any more calories after helping myself, and the kids could barely finish their two donuts that they decorated. Except for Lucas. He had some leftover tamale pie and then another donut hole. =) Hollow leg!

Aidan and Julia helped me with the ingredients, Lucas showed up later on...

Mixing the wet ingredients...

This part went REALLY quick! I had to be fast to get a picture. These donuts spent about 20-30 seconds in boiling oil, then they were done. I got a splash of oil on Lucas, oops, poor guy!

This is why Lucas got splashed, though. He had to be front and center with his nose in the pot!

Shane tossed most of the donuts with cinnamon and sugar, showing me the way they did it as kids: put them in a container with the lid on and shake! =) But I saved six for the kids to decorate with chocolate frosting and sprinkles. Their art work:

Aidan chose blue sprinkles with touches of green...

Lucas chose red, white and blue with touches of Aidan's blue and green...

Julia, smart child, chose a six-pack of sprinkles to give herself the widest variety... =)

Shane healthily chose an apple, having been starved without them for a week. He used to eat apples when we'd talk on the phone back in the dating day. And the crunch of an apple bite is still exciting to this day. ;)

Time to take a bite!!!

Mmmmm, yummy! They were pretty good, and are going to contribute to the donut around my middle. But I don't care. What is life without a little yummy fun?

Have a fun fall weekend!

Painting and Pickles

The past couple days have been interesting. As proof, I present to you this picture:

Do you know what these are? My children invented pickle popsicles. And they even included a bit of pickle juice with the water they put the pickle in. They were shocked to discover that they weren't very tasty...

All three of the kids did eat theirs, grimace and all. I think we should stick to carrots, strawberries and apples, eh?

And then the painting fun of yesterday. So I finished my school room. The red paint did go on eventually, five coats later and it does look great. BUT. I peeled the tape off the edges... and the paint came off the yellow walls with the tape and the red latex paint RIPPED off the walls. In some places, I cut it from the edge of the tape and smoothed it back down. Pathetic! Aggravation! Painting stinks! I'll prove it:

I'm not sure what words of comfort could possibly cheer me up, but I do have a sister coming to visit, and maybe SHE can fix this! Here's a backed up shot...

And maybe I'll post a video if I decide to fix the wall. Otherwise, I shall leave it looking horrible until it's learned it's lesson. And that could take it awhile.

Yesterday, I was making the Pioneer Woman's evil and deadly chocolate texas sheet cake, which can be found here. And I took a quick break as the cake was baking to peel the tape off the walls. When I came back from that frustrating quickie, I opened a new can of cocoa powder. Now, at almost 7,000 feet, you have to be careful how you open things that are sealed at much lower altitudes. So, not being an idiot or uninformed, I carefully, oh, so gently peeled back the sealed foil. Just as it opened the teeniest hole, WHOOSH!!! Cocoa powder everywhere. See the cabinet behind me? It went up on that, and up on the wall behind it almost to the ceiling. And we have 10ft ceilings in the living/dining area. There were chocolatey brown footprints all over, and if you want to know about wrinkles around your eyes and neck, just choose cocoa powder. The upside? When I went to wash my hair, it smelled like chocolate. =) For real! In fact, I didn't even know why at first and went sniffing around for the wonderful smell.
The other upside to the last few days was this:

And this:

I love to watch them out my kitchen window while I make dinner and see their smiles and hear their laughter. Makes a Mom so happy!

And then there were the helpers. Any job that involves a spray bottle is everyone's favorite chore. The kids got no reward for this, nor were they forced into it. The spray bottle is reward in and of itself.

Julia and Aidan cleaned the window for about half an hour and I can't say that the window improved in it's clarity, but I think it is less dirty and dusty!

And to finish, here's a couple pictures of my kitchen which, along with the living room, was my first and easiest painting project. So these rooms were the first to get a face lift. It seems to get worse each room we do...

So there you have the last few days here... A goodbye party for Marian tomorrow, a weekend and then we'll see about starting school. =) Woohoo!