Time Together

I haven't forgotten about the pantry-fermented sauerkraut, but it's been a crazy few weeks, so for now, let's talk about some family fun!

This past weekend we got a good solid chunk of much-needed family time.

On Saturday we started out by going to the farm supply store to visit with the little baby chicks and goslings.







Next, we went to a park and ate a picnic lunch, explored the playground and pond, and skipped rocks on the water.

















Finally, we ended our day with a surprise stop to a frozen yogurt place, and let the children pick their own toppings.... (Nerds + jelly beans + red hots + gummy bears + rainbow sprinkles + Reeces Pieces + M&M's + chocolate sprinkles.....oh lovely sugar high).



A gorgeous weekend with my dearest loves.

Breaking for Spring

It's Spring Break!  The joy of this week is not being set to a strict school schedule, being able to do fun activities as a family, getting the chance to really spend time with all four of my children.  The challenges are...not being tied to the strict school schedule, having the pressure of coming up with fun family activities, and spending EVERY WAKING MOMENT with my four darling children.  Yes, my friends, it's that time of the year.  Love it or hate it, it is what it is.  For me, Spring Break essentially started on Friday afternoon when school let out (NINE DAYS TOTAL of no school....), and so far we've had some challenges, but mostly we're having a really great time together.

This morning we packed up our bikes and went riding across this mile-long dam that has been paved as a wide biking/running trail.  This is a dam that we pass often in our daily travels, and every time my children see it they shout "The Mountain of NOCK-DOOR!!!" at the top of their lungs.  No one is sure why it is called that, but there you have it.  We've never taken our bikes up there, so when we got to the center of the dam and could see the road off in the distance, we all put our fists in the air and shouted "THE MOUNTAIN OF NOCK-DOOR!!!!!!!!".  This may or may not have drawn looks from passers by.  Move along folks, nothing to see here.


This was taken at the very end of the trail when we got back to the car.  We're not sure why Daisy was sad.  We're also not sure why, even though she was wailing, she chose to pose with the boys anyway.  Four-year-olds are amazing creatures.


These are some free-form stuffed animals that my children designed a few weeks ago.  They call them "Puffels" (any Club Penguin fans in the house?)


If you are familiar with Club Penguin, you will be wondering why there is no "puff-ball" shape among this lot.  I was wondering too.  My children thought that this was perfectly rational, and their free-form thinking delighted me, so we just went with it.  Love those little spur-of-the-moment projects that actually please everyone.



I have a few thoughts on sauerkraut for tomorrow.  But for now, hurrah for Puffels!  And googly eyes!  And happy children!!  And saying a prayer for patience for tomorrow and the rest of this week.....six days till school starts again.

Spring

There are purple blooms on trees, a green haze of newly emerged leaves.  I've been scrubbing the house with windows open, enjoying the smell of new spring.

Today, however, it is chilly and raining.  I can't seem to get quite warm after my early morning run.  Billy and I ate lunch with Daisy, Max and Sparky at school (lunch times starting as early as 10:30!)  It was supposed to be the Texas Day "cook-out", but since the weather did not permit, we ate in the cafeteria instead.



Now that we are back home for naptime, I wish nothing more than for my pajamas, a wool blanket, a cup of hot tea, an afternoon movie.  Dinner will certainly be a large pot of chili.

Spring loves nothing more than to tease.

playing with fire -- fabric flowers

Last night, my friend Angela came over and we spent the evening making these vintage-inspired fabric flowers.



There are so many tutorials for fabric flowers out there, but this one appealed to me the most -- not only because I love the steam-punk/distressed look, but also because you get to play with FIRE, don't have to cut out perfect shapes, and can kind of just make it all up as you go along.

We followed this tutorial, but used a glue-gun instead of stitching.  This worked well, except on the thinner fabrics when I burned my fingers with seeping hot glue.  Next week we intend to glue beads, buttons, or other fun things in the middles to complete the flowers, then glue alligator clips to the back to turn them into hair accessories.  Right now I'm just enjoying looking at them!




Unrelated, but Billy and I have been having lots of fun thinking of things to put in our new dehydrator (we got this one, because I figured "go big or go home") (don't I always figure that?)  (Seriously though, with 4 children, I need the biggest dehydrator to keep up with demand!)  One of the first things we made were these sweet potato chips.  Billy loved them and snacked away the morning, not realizing that these chips were actually "grow-food".




A sprinkle of sea salt and a drizzle of olive oil before going in to dehydrate for about 12 hours....simple and delicious.

Chalkboard Labels

A few days ago, I noticed that my countertops were looking a little dingy.  I started out by wiping them down a little...spot cleaning...next thing I knew, I had the bleach out, everything had been moved from counters to the island and kitchen table, I was putting things away that I never use but have just made the counter their "home", re-organizing to make my kitchen more efficient.....and suddenly I had an idea spark from something I'd seen on a blog somewhere: chalkboard labels.  At first I thought I'd have to go out and buy some chalkboard paint, but then I remembered that I have something even better -- chalkboard contact paper.  About 5 minutes later (using a compass for perfect circles) I had turned a bunch of quart-sized jars into my dry-goods/bulk food station:



I love having these all out where I can see them, and know at a glance if I am low on supplies.



Had I known that I was doing a kitchen overhaul, I would have photographed "before" and "after", but here's what the counter by the sink looks like now.



I've got fruit out for the children to easily access for fresh snacks, and my water kefir (with sugar and raisins -- no lemons or ginger this time) is fermenting out where I can see it so that I won't forget it in the pantry (jar with cheesecloth, 2nd to far right).  The flip-top soda-bottle at the furthest right is a batch of dried cherry kefir getting a 2nd fermentation to build up the fizz and complex B vitamins.  To the far left is the sugar jar, and the next over is Irish Cut (steel cut) oats.

I didn't photograph the rest of my kitchen, but I'm so happy with the final result.  After putting away all of the things that I don't use on a regular basis, I feel like there's room to breathe, and so much more counterspace.  Everything is easier to keep clean and neat, because it's not all crowded anymore.  I'm not a super "organized" kind of person (that's Greg's half of our relationship), but periodic full-on re-ordering like this refreshes my soul.  I guess I'm just weird like that.

Yay clean kitchen!

Raw Tacos

I love tacos.  I love them pretty much any way, but usually I make them with about half ground beef and half beans (red or black).  I was skeptical of being able to recreate one of my favorite comfort foods as a raw dish, but I finally took the plunge....and loved them!



Here, I've used raw walnuts mixed with taco seasonings.  For the rice, I modified Ani Phyo's recipe for "Sushi Rice" (from her book: Ani's Raw Food Essentials) using parsnips with a bit of apple cider vinegar and macadamia nuts.  For the Chipotle "Cheese" Sauce, I pureed soaked cashews with a bit of water, lemon juice, a canned chipotle (not raw), and some nutritional yeast to make it "cheesy".  I also threw together a quick Cherry Tomato Salsa/pico de gallo to put over the top.  Served in Romaine lettuce boats, they were delicious, but I look forward to eventually having a dehydrator to make chips or wraps to make it more of a true "taco".  So much fun with raw food!


Raw Walnut "Tacos" with Parsnip "Rice" and Spicy Chipotle "Cheese" Sauce

Serves: 2 people (or at least two people my size.  I had this for lunch two days in a row.)


NOTE: The cashews for the "cheese" sauce need to be soaked 5 or 6 hours (or overnight) before making this, to plan that into your timeline.  If you have a high-speed blender, you might be able to forgo the soak time, but I have not tried this since I have a "regular" KitchenAid blender.

Taco meat
3/4 cup raw walnuts
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Braggs Liquid Aminos, Nama Shoyu, or soy sauce (not raw)
Salt to taste

Pulse nuts, chili powder and cumin in food processor.  Add olive oil and Braggs and pulse until the nuts are in crumbles and resemble taco meat.  Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Rice
1-1/2 cups peeled and diced parsnips (alternately turnips or jicama can be used, although I have not tried either -- if you use jicama you will probably have to squeeze it out [after processing it] with cheese cloth, through a strainer, or with a nutmilk bag to get rid of some excess moisture before adding seasoning)
1/2 cup macadamia (or pine nuts, sunflower seeds, etc.)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Combine parsnips, macadamia nuts and salt in food processor.  Pulse into rice sized fluffy bits.  Add vinegar and pulse one or two more times to combine.

Spicy Chipotle Cheese Sauce
1/2 cup cashews
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons water (or as needed)
1 canned chipotle chili (to make this completely raw, soak 1 dried chipotle in water at room temperature for 1 hour.  Reserve soaking water and use in place of the 2 tablespoons of water in this recipe)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (or as needed for "cheesiness")

Soak cashews for 5-6 hours or overnight.  Drain and add to blender along with lemon juice, water, and chipotle chili.  Blend until the sauce has become creamy (you may have to stop the blender several times to scrape down the sides, but keep at it -- it will all come together!)  Add water as needed.  Once it has become a creamy sauce, add nutritional yeast and blend to combine.  Taste and add salt and/or more yeast to taste.  If you are chilling this to use later, it will thicken up considerably.  I added a little water to the amount I intended to eat when I was ready to use it so that I could make an attractive "drizzle".  This is also delicious left thick and used as a dip for crudités.

Cherry Tomato Pico De Gallo
1/4 cup cherry tomatoes sliced in half
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion (or white or yellow or scallions....)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
chopped fresh jalapeno to taste
salt to taste
cubed 1/4 of an avocado (optional)

Combine all in a small bowl.

Arrange your meal on large Romaine lettuce leaves.  Enjoy!

Thinking of flowers....and a little bit of music

Lately I've been looking at a lot of fabric flower tutorials (delicate, t-shirt, felt, and my favorite -- burned), ...not sure why I haven't started on any yet, because they're just SO DARN CUTE!  And I have ever so many fabric scraps in my scrap basket... I think I'll set up a little kit for myself to keep by the couch, so when I crash there to unwind at the end of the day, I won't have to exert any brain power to do a little hand-work.

I've got another raw recipe for you tomorrow, but for now, here's some recent videos from our church band doing a few more covers...my favorite is the a capella one -- made me feel a little melancholy (in a good way) about my choir and ensamble days in middle and high school.  So much fun!  (I am obviously the one in the hot pink leggings and slouchy cream colored knit hat to the far left.)  :-)

Apple Pie Chia Seed Pudding with Coconut Whipped Cream

For the past two months I've been slowly incorporating more and more raw food into my life.  If you've been following me on Pinterest, you may have picked up on that based on all of the raw recipes I've been pinning.  Now, of course, a raw meal can easily be as simple as some sliced carrots and celery with a handful of almonds, or a giant salad of romaine hearts sprinkled with sunflower seeds and chopped pecans.  I, however, have the heart of a cook.  I crave adventure, fun flavor combinations, and variety.

Recently I've been playing around with the ancient energy food: Chia seed (I've always had a love for tapioca pudding -- this is the raw answer to that craving).  I am so fascinated by the ability the charcoal colored seed has to swell up and surround itself with water -- essentially turning itself into a pearl-filled pudding with nothing more than a soak in some liquid.

Yesterday I came up with this tasty "Apple Pie" inspired pudding that can serve as breakfast, lunch, or an afternoon snack.  Dessert for lunch -- what could be better?

If you like tapioca pudding, I think will love this!  Not only is does it taste delicious, but the Chia seed (rich in Omega 3 fatty acid) and coconut cream (full of dietary fiber, good fats, potassium and vitamin C among other things) are energizing live food that will give a great boost to your day.




Apple Pie Chia Pudding with Coconut Whipped Cream


Approximately 360 calories.  Click here for a complete nutritional analysis.


Free of refined sugar, gluten, and dairy.  Can also be nut free if pecans are omitted from topping.


(NOTE: The can of coconut milk for the Coconut Whipped Cream needs to chill in the refrigerator overnight, and the Chia pudding needs to set up for at least 20 minutes before eating, so take that into account before starting this recipe.)


Makes: 1 serving

Chia Pudding
1/2 cup almond milk (or milk of choice)
2 tablespoons Chia seed (I use this one -- best price I've found on Amazon)
A pinch each of cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg
1 tablespoon diced dried apples (and some finely chopped or grated fresh apple, if you'd like)
Splash of maple syrup, honey, agave nectar or Stevia if needed

Coconut Whipped Cream
1 can coconut milk (I like Taste of Thai brand -- your results may vary with other brands)
splash maple syrup, honey, agave nectar or Stevia
1/4 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

Topping
Cinnamon
Freshly grated nutmeg
Finely chopped pecans
Finely chopped dried apples


To make the whipped cream:
Put the can of coconut milk in the refrigerator 8 hours or overnight.  (Haven't tried putting it in the freezer for a shorter time period, but if you have success with that, let me know.)  Open the can of chilled coconut milk, and you will find that the top has solidified into a thick cream.  Scoop cream off the top, leaving the watery part for shakes or some other use.  Add to taste: maple syrup (my favorite!) or your sweetener of choice.  Add vanilla if desired.  Whip with a fork or a whisk until fully combined.   Put cream back in the refrigerator until you're ready to use it.  It will get thicker the colder it gets.

To make the pudding:
Combine milk, Chia seed, cinnamon, nutmeg, and dried (and/or fresh) apples.  Taste for sweetness and stir in a little bit of your sweetener of choice if needed.  Allow it to set up on the counter for 15 minutes, or in the refrigerator if you'd like to leave it longer (I've done this the night before to have it ready for breakfast).



To assemble:
Give the pudding a good stir with a fork, breaking up clumps.  Top the pudding with a few spoonfuls of the coconut whipped cream.  Sprinkle with the toppings.  Enjoy!!



If you have a favorite way to eat Chia seed, let me know!

A collection of FO's

One of the benefits of slowly chipping away at several projects at once... is that at some point, you suddenly have a week of finishing.  This past week was one of those times.  So satisfying, and yet at the same time...what do I work on now?


A "Get Well Soon" scarf for a brother who's broken leg has already mended... (woven on my cute little Schacht Cricket loom from Spunky Eclectic)




My 3rd One Row Handspun Scarf (actually 4th, if you include the one that Alke sent me a few years ago!)  It's the PERFECT mindless project.  Might just cast on for another...



It's not quite long enough to tie, but it's perfect for tucking into my coat and folding down into a little shawl collar, kind of like a faux-dickie.  (Which amuses me, because a dickie is basically a faux shirt....)


And finally, I finished this pair of socks.  They are knit in Jojoland Melody (purchased from my LYS), and knit according to the basic 64-stitch sock pattern in my head.


Twisted rib cuff detail


Heel gusset detail



Maybe it's time to dig out a few UFO's......................

Note Cards: Creative Afternoon

A few weeks ago, my older three children were in a funk (Billy was napping).  Obviously, it was time for a project.  I pulled out some stamping sets that they'd forgotten about, cut a stack of cardstock into blank note-cards, and got them started.













Quiet, focused, creative play.  It's a beautiful thing.