Yum!
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
1/29/12
1/26/12
24/365: Yogurt Smoothies
Ingredients:
1 or 2 ripe bananas (can be frozen)
1 cup frozen berries (we use strawberries and blueberries from the summer)
1 1/2 cups yogurt (Stonyfield Farms Organic Blueberry)
1/2 cup citrus juice such as OJ or grapefruit (pineapple would work too)
2-3 tbsp Wheat Germ
Put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend together. Use the leftovers to make yogurt popsicles. These are a hit at my house and they are so yummy and so good for their growing bodies. I love that they love to eat healthy! They love to eat junk too, but I just pretend they don't.
1/18/12
18/365: Choking it Down
Dinner tonight was pork chops with organic sweet potatoes and organic baked apples with cinnamon. The kids picked it out from our new cookbook. Olivia tried a bit of everything and told me she loved it. I was talking to Cameron about something and glanced at Olivia who looked as if she was gagging. I asked if she was okay and she said, "Yes, I just burped" but she seriously looked like she was going to lose her dinner. My darling daughter would rather throw up than tell me she didn't like what she was eating. I told her to stop eating it if it was going to make her gag, but thanked her for trying everything. I think she appreciated that!
After dinner Cameron made me some pop-up cards. Love this kid!
12/13/10
The Difference is Raw
Today I baked cookies for a cookie swap. When I bake I use organic, unprocessed and local ingredients. The friend who invited me to the swap has a similar food obsession when it comes to cooking for her family, but she told me not to use my expensive ingredients for the swap as the "quality" of the cookies I get will not be the same. I heeded her advice, but I knew my kids would be eating some of these cookies, so I made two batches.
In the first batch (left) I used all my organic flour, turbinado sugar and raw brown sugar, local farm fresh eggs, organic vanilla and grain-sweetened white chocolate chips. The only thing not organic were the macadamia nuts.
In the second batch (right) I used white processed sugar, my organic flour, processed brown sugar, my local eggs, organic vanilla and the same white chocolate and macadamia nuts.
I could not believe the difference! The raw sugar produced a cookie that was lighter in color, even though the sugar is darker in color, and a rounder, thicker cookie. The cookie on the right, with processed sugar, flattened out and just doesn't look as pretty to me. When I watched them bake you could see the grains of raw sugar melting during the baking process while the processed sugar had dissolved during mixing.
After a taste test, the one on the left tastes significantly better. It is softer, and the turbinado sugar makes the white chocolate and macadamia flavors more flavorful. I will never bake with white sugar again, and on this I shall not waver. My friends and family deserve a better tasting cookie!
In the first batch (left) I used all my organic flour, turbinado sugar and raw brown sugar, local farm fresh eggs, organic vanilla and grain-sweetened white chocolate chips. The only thing not organic were the macadamia nuts.
In the second batch (right) I used white processed sugar, my organic flour, processed brown sugar, my local eggs, organic vanilla and the same white chocolate and macadamia nuts.
I could not believe the difference! The raw sugar produced a cookie that was lighter in color, even though the sugar is darker in color, and a rounder, thicker cookie. The cookie on the right, with processed sugar, flattened out and just doesn't look as pretty to me. When I watched them bake you could see the grains of raw sugar melting during the baking process while the processed sugar had dissolved during mixing.
After a taste test, the one on the left tastes significantly better. It is softer, and the turbinado sugar makes the white chocolate and macadamia flavors more flavorful. I will never bake with white sugar again, and on this I shall not waver. My friends and family deserve a better tasting cookie!
6/21/10
Strawberry Season!!!!
I love strawberry season! We have a great farm right up the road and we have been picking three times so far. The kids have come with me every time and they absolutely love it! I'm so proud that they are beginning to really understand that food does not come out of a grocery store, or worse, a box!
My friend, Lindsay came with us on one of our strawberry adventures. She is a bus person at the restaurant where I moonlight, but more than that, she's a dear friend. She just graduated and will be going to college far far away, so we will be packing lots of fun into our summer before she goes. My kids adore her. They call her Lindsay Loo Who. (Well, to be fair, that's what I call her and they just picked up on it, but it's still cute!)
Just look at this sweet girl. The strawberries are pretty sweet too, but she is definitely sweeter!
We ran into a family from our church so I actually got a pretty awesome group photo! Yup, that's Little Cameron on my back. He has a great time way up there!
Lots of people ask what I do with all the strawberries I pick. I mean, we have been three times, and you can see above that we pick a lot of strawberries!
First, I hull the strawberries and wash them. Last year I used a straw, which worked well, but this year I invested in the Stem Gem and I am so glad that I did. It is awesome! After they are washed I lay them out on a cookie sheet and place them in the freezer until they are frozen. Then I transfer them to 1 quart freezer bags for our chest freezer. Strawberries will always thaw out and be mushy, but they are great for strawberry shortcake, pies, toppings for waffles or pancakes and tons of other tasty treats. We always save out a couple quarts each week for just plain eating!
Alright, gotta go to bed. We have an early morning of strawberry picking planned for tomorrow, ha ha!
10/19/09
Girls' Night Out
10/17/09
It's Late - Great Time for a Vegan Update
It is midnight on Saturday. What a busy, busy Friday I had.
First, I need to set an alarm. These late nights are messing with my internal clock. I awoke at 7:24 and jumped out of bed. My WHOLE family was sleeping, which, if you know us, is a miracle in itself. I came downstairs just in time for my first child to arrive. Phew! It was cold this morning. It would have been awful if they would have had to stand outside any longer than 10 seconds.
In addition to my own children today, I had three others. Yup, that's five children in my house today. After Maria's Mom, my friend Lauren, came to pick her up at 9:30, our busy day began! We were out of the house by 10 a.m., not to return for any substantial amount of time until 5 p.m. when I had to leave for work!
Cameron got a hair cut at 11. Gosh is he cute! Like a little Zac Efron. He did so well at the hair salon. His stylist thought he was very well behaved and absolutely adorable. Of course, I agreed.
When I got home I fed the two year olds and sent Cameron off with his Daddy to Pizza Hut with Grammy and Paw Paw. Apparently they had a wonderful time. I packed up the two year olds and the wee little baby and we headed to the playground. It was quite chilly, so we were not gone long.
When we got home it was nap time. Cameron came home to help me put the little ones to bed. By 12:15 they were all sound asleep which gave me some much needed time with my big boy. We headed out for some retail therapy. My new Vegan cook books arrived and I needed to stock up on kitchen tools and supplies so I could be ready for all these new recipes I'm going to try. We didn't get back until late afternoon, right before the little ones all awoke from their naps. By that time I needed to get ready for work. But I felt great! The shopping spree was just what I needed to lighten my mood and prepare me for a long night at work.
The last couple of nights we have had to leave my kids with Uncley Tyler. In the past this has gone off without a hitch, but for some reason Olivia has now taken to tantrums when left without Mommy or Daddy. Wednesday night she was so upset she put herself to bed. Last night she had her friend Beastie to help get her out of her mood. Tonight I left her with Daddy, so all was well in her world.
So, I just got home. It's after midnight and I can't seem to unwind. I had been avoiding all things computer since early this morning and thought this would be a good time to blog. If you haven't read my facebook in a while you may not know that I announced I would be going Vegan. I ordered some books and discovered that I cannot actually be a Vegan. I know, tragedy, right? It turns out that Vegans cannot wear wool. What??? After further research I do understand from a Vegan standpoint why, but I draw the line there. I may follow a more Vegan than vegetarian diet, but the wool thing has got me in a bind. I can't be a Vegan. Sorry if this disappoints anyone :)
Anyway, that's my midnight ramblings. Hopefully there will not be anymore busy days like this this week. I'm exhausted!
First, I need to set an alarm. These late nights are messing with my internal clock. I awoke at 7:24 and jumped out of bed. My WHOLE family was sleeping, which, if you know us, is a miracle in itself. I came downstairs just in time for my first child to arrive. Phew! It was cold this morning. It would have been awful if they would have had to stand outside any longer than 10 seconds.
In addition to my own children today, I had three others. Yup, that's five children in my house today. After Maria's Mom, my friend Lauren, came to pick her up at 9:30, our busy day began! We were out of the house by 10 a.m., not to return for any substantial amount of time until 5 p.m. when I had to leave for work!
Cameron got a hair cut at 11. Gosh is he cute! Like a little Zac Efron. He did so well at the hair salon. His stylist thought he was very well behaved and absolutely adorable. Of course, I agreed.
When I got home I fed the two year olds and sent Cameron off with his Daddy to Pizza Hut with Grammy and Paw Paw. Apparently they had a wonderful time. I packed up the two year olds and the wee little baby and we headed to the playground. It was quite chilly, so we were not gone long.
When we got home it was nap time. Cameron came home to help me put the little ones to bed. By 12:15 they were all sound asleep which gave me some much needed time with my big boy. We headed out for some retail therapy. My new Vegan cook books arrived and I needed to stock up on kitchen tools and supplies so I could be ready for all these new recipes I'm going to try. We didn't get back until late afternoon, right before the little ones all awoke from their naps. By that time I needed to get ready for work. But I felt great! The shopping spree was just what I needed to lighten my mood and prepare me for a long night at work.
The last couple of nights we have had to leave my kids with Uncley Tyler. In the past this has gone off without a hitch, but for some reason Olivia has now taken to tantrums when left without Mommy or Daddy. Wednesday night she was so upset she put herself to bed. Last night she had her friend Beastie to help get her out of her mood. Tonight I left her with Daddy, so all was well in her world.
So, I just got home. It's after midnight and I can't seem to unwind. I had been avoiding all things computer since early this morning and thought this would be a good time to blog. If you haven't read my facebook in a while you may not know that I announced I would be going Vegan. I ordered some books and discovered that I cannot actually be a Vegan. I know, tragedy, right? It turns out that Vegans cannot wear wool. What??? After further research I do understand from a Vegan standpoint why, but I draw the line there. I may follow a more Vegan than vegetarian diet, but the wool thing has got me in a bind. I can't be a Vegan. Sorry if this disappoints anyone :)
Anyway, that's my midnight ramblings. Hopefully there will not be anymore busy days like this this week. I'm exhausted!
8/3/09
Matt's Wild Cherry
This spring I bought a couple of Matt's Wild Cherry tomato seedlings from a local organic farmer, and I sure am glad that I did. They are growing quite nicely in my sad little garden. Cameron, Olivia, and I collected a small harvest this afternoon to put in this evenings dinner: a spinach and pasta alfredo that I made without a recipe, and I'm pretty proud of myself because it was delicious!
OK, so this photo doesn't really do it justice, but it really was yummy! And the best part is that Cameron and Olivia gobbled all the tomatoes right out of it. If we grow it, they will eat it!
Isn't she cute?
2/17/09
Pot Luck
My friend Renee introduced me to this wonderful group of mommies at story time this summer. Every Tuesday we all meet at my house for some Mommy conversation and some baby play. It is the highlight of my week!
Last night we had a pot luck dinner with Mommies, Daddies and kids. We were missing one family due to croup, but thank you for the eggplant parm. All the food was delicious and it was a lot of fun! So much fun that we are going to make it a monthly thing! Looking forward to March everyone!
2/11/09
Seriously!
Sometimes there is just too much cuteness for one Mama and one house to handle!
My big boy being silly.
Benji loving his oatmeal!
Kendall not loving her oatmeal!
Kendall feeding Olivia her oatmeal.
Olivia loving Kendall's oatmeal. (She did not eat her own)
My baby pretending to be Mommy to her baby.
She nursed her and rocked her to sleep.
Then she told me, "Shhh. Baby seepin!"
She nursed her and rocked her to sleep.
Then she told me, "Shhh. Baby seepin!"
11/22/08
Dinner with Family
When Cameron awoke from his nap yesterday he asked me if we could do something fun. My 
first thought was, "Hey, what do you mean? We always do something fun!" Instead, I said, "Sure!" To which Cameron replied, "I want to go to Grammy's house." Olivia quickly chimed in with, "Paw Paw's house." So, I called Damien to set it up. I was already making lasagna so I suggested inviting them over for dinner. Damien called back and told me we were all set so I told Cameron that Grammy and Paw Paw were coming over for dinner. He looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, "No, I want to go to their house." So, I called Damien to see if we could bring the lasagna to their house. Of course, they said yes!
After a delicious meal, Grammy brought out the special cookies she got for the kids. As I mentioned when they were eating them, I knew there was a reason I said no to Cameron when he asked for a peice of his Halloween candy that afternoon! These cookies were huge, and were
called "Frosted Sugar Cookies" which we all got good chuckle over. Especially after I told my story of how Cameron threw a fit when I told him no to candy. He stood in the middle of the kitchen and said, "But I want sugar!" Good times.
Anyway, the cookies were a boy and girl pilgrim, and the kids LOVED them. Thanks Grammy and Paw Paw! (And thanks for the photos, I forgot my camera)
first thought was, "Hey, what do you mean? We always do something fun!" Instead, I said, "Sure!" To which Cameron replied, "I want to go to Grammy's house." Olivia quickly chimed in with, "Paw Paw's house." So, I called Damien to set it up. I was already making lasagna so I suggested inviting them over for dinner. Damien called back and told me we were all set so I told Cameron that Grammy and Paw Paw were coming over for dinner. He looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, "No, I want to go to their house." So, I called Damien to see if we could bring the lasagna to their house. Of course, they said yes!After a delicious meal, Grammy brought out the special cookies she got for the kids. As I mentioned when they were eating them, I knew there was a reason I said no to Cameron when he asked for a peice of his Halloween candy that afternoon! These cookies were huge, and were
called "Frosted Sugar Cookies" which we all got good chuckle over. Especially after I told my story of how Cameron threw a fit when I told him no to candy. He stood in the middle of the kitchen and said, "But I want sugar!" Good times.Anyway, the cookies were a boy and girl pilgrim, and the kids LOVED them. Thanks Grammy and Paw Paw! (And thanks for the photos, I forgot my camera)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)