FoooooooooD!

I've been feeling pretty uncreative in the kitchen lately and have wanted to make some healthier things that the kids like as much as we do. Renna (who is two) is pretty sensitive to any kind of spice or sauce and since I was the same as a kid I really understand. Certain things would make my tongue feel like it was burning, like.. on fire. Cinnamon gum was completely out for me.

I got an idea on Sunday at potluck when I had a stir-fry veggie/sausage dish made by Heather Shaver (so I was told) and it was just so fresh and flavorful it made me feel good. So when I got my own ingredients the basic idea was to cook some meat and then throw veggies in (lots of color!) and let the veggies just cook in a little water and the juice from the cooked meat. Hence, the kids would like the "no spiceness" of it and actually, it didn't need anything more. (The meat that I used was turkey ham and then turkey bacon... the turkey bacon was cheaper and I didn't have to bother with tons of hot grease to pour out of the pan, but you could use any meat or mushrooms instead or just veggies... or more meat.. you get the idea.)

I'd picked up a few things at Walmart for just such a mean when I saw the "Mandarin sauce" for not very much and it didn't have MSG or High Fructose corn syrup. (It does have sugar, but a little sugar isn't a big deal and the drizzle over the veggies was probably much less than the amount of sugar I'd put in a cup of tea.)
The other thing that is super yummy for this meal is the whole wheat linguine to act as the chow mein noodles... I picked up that idea from Rachel Ray.

I call this quick and easy recipe the "Rainbow-veggie whatever-kind-of-meat steamed stir-fry with whole-wheat-linguine and mandarin-sauce drizzle" OR the RVWKMSSFWWLMSD.

That's right folks! AND it's so quick that you can make it even before you say it's name.

Definitely a winner. I should write a cookbook. ;]

Art work...

This was a commission from last February 2009... I couldn't remember if I'd posted pictures.. or could find them and I have a hard time explaining what my art IS. Of course, even if people see this in person they often still don't know how I'm doing it. Which.. of course is perfectly fine! I like being original. :]

The lady that bought this wanted a floral arrangement that was Victorian in essence. I pulled out my old books from school when I took a quarter of floral design and "arranged" the flowers in an asymmetric design. Victorian floral arrangements liked to have arrange the flowers in a very overflowing way. The Peony and status and Lilies and old fashioned baby's breathe are all pretty appropriate for the period as well.

The colors that she wanted were a gold (hence the Lilies) and rose pink and sage green... the purple I just added because I liked it.

As you can see, the black poster-board paper is the closest thing to the viewer. First I cut all the shapes from the black and then layer the strips of paper on the back side. And this next picture is what the back looks like. Yes, this is what I see the whole time I'm working. I do sections at a time and then flip it over to make sure I didn't make a mistake (as in let the raw edge of any of the paper show... just the folded edges are supposed to show) and if what I was envisioning actually worked.



I use photo safe tape over the paper strips after I've glued each one down one at a time. Sometimes I have to take out a section if it is totally weird looking and other times I turn it over to check and it's different than what I've planned but it still looks good. In that way the art sometimes has a mind of it's own which is pretty fun for me. :]


And there it is... not as impressive as seeing a giant version in all it's dimensions on the wall, but you get the general idea. :] Some day these are going to be worth a lot more than I'm able to sell them for right now.... why are artists usually only appreciated after they are dead?

Crafts for Babes

The project? BEADING!

The dilemma? Needles with children. Okay, so what do you use that a child from 18 months to whatever would like to use to bead?

Pipecleaners!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, that's right. It's brillient because the beads don't fall off every which way and the kids don't need a needle that can slip off of the thread or elastic. The other great things about pipecleaner beading is that you can shape them into anything you want to shape them into. (Here's another place you can have the kids shape letters.) Renna isn't into beading as much as Lily was at this age (and younger!), but she did it for a little while and the pipecleaner really helped. Lily actually could use a needle and thread at 18 months, but she is probably unusual that way

Okay, so what we did with the beaded strands is hang them from our lights that are above the art/school/craft/whatever room.


Here's a farther back view of the decor in our craft room. Of course, you could make beaded pipecleaner ornaments or chains for garlands or whatever. It's just a fun thing to keep them busy and it's always nice to be able to display what they've made. :]

Edible school!

As "Scrimpalicious says about wearing a uniform" aprons are a great thing to start out with. For me, it keeps me going when I'd want to sit down and leave something undone... the apron reminds me to persevere. My Mom made me this one along with some for the girls as well!


Lily is just four now and I've begun to teach her her letters. One letter a week and we are only on week two. Last week we worked repeatedly on the sounds of A and recognizing the letter in words and so forth. She wrote "A" a little, but wasn't into that quite as much as she really likes to be able to do something well immediately. When she's older though it will be physically easier for her to write letters and I'll help her more specifically with that. Now we are mainly doing recognition and sound.
What better way to teach her about the letter "B" than to Bake some B's! And "A's" too. :] After our school today she was remembering the sounds quite well.. and then would eat a cookie. "Can I have another one?" "Yes, find an 'A'..... what sound does an 'A' make?" Then she'd sing the "A" song like our fridge alphabet! She's doing really well so far and this is only the second week! I'm only doing school with her like three times a week, but that seemed appropriate for pre-school and just to get us used to homeschooling. :]


The girls pretty much had cookies as their food of choice for lunch, BUT these cookies are whole wheat and are essentially as healthy (or more so) than a breakfast bar! I've made them forever and all different shapes. Gingerbread men and stars are the usual preferred shape. Youssef calls these cookies "hardy" and this is the first time I've made them into letters!

Want the recipe?

Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl--

4 cups flour (I use whole Wheat.. you can add a cup of white if you want or make it all in white.. it just won't be good for you anymore!)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp. ground cloves(You can also add more spices like Allspice or Ginger or whatever if you want it even more zingy.)

In a separate bowl mix up the "wet" ingredients.

1/2 cup soft butter
1/2 cup honey (or brown sugar)
1 cup molasses
1 egg

Now add a half a cup of the "dry" mixture at a time into the molasses mixture until the cookie dough feels *just* able to be rolled out and still soft and light feeling. The remainder of the flour mixture can be periodically sprinkled on the table to always keep it from *just* shy of sticking. (If you put too much of the flour mixture into the dough it will get too heavy and dense, so don't over due it... just use enough to let you roll it out.)

Roll out to about 1/4 inch thick.. I've done thicker and also thinner, but this is probably the nicest thickness. Cook on 350 for 7 to 9 minutes. If you like soft cookies remember that it will come out softer than how it will be when it cools, so if the first batch comes out of the oven the texture that you like, set the timer for a minute or two less than that and it will cool into the texture that you like.

After they helped make and eat the cookies I had to clean up! I just took these pictures in case someone is out there who feels like they can't have their kids "help" with things like this because of the mess. Yes... there is a mess, but it's okay to let it go until the end and do a big clean up afterward! (Anyway, I made "C" and "D" cookies as well so this one mess created edible school for the next two weeks as well too! Oh, and I did make her name in cookies. Fun fun!)

Renna got away for a minute after "helping" with the flour and powered the couch with her handprints! Needless to say, I did some vacuuming after cookie baking as well, but the girls helped to pick up toys and just like everything else it all ends up being a teaching moment for them and a growth in patience and so forth for me. ;] It's amazing though how well children respond when you are calm and encouraging to them... how well they learn and obey and just how happy in general they are! ... and then so am I. :]

Conversations with Renna