Best Gifts of 2011

Bear with me, I do love a good list...

5.  Cooking good food with my mom
4.  Finally getting a full night's sleep
3.  Mr. B showing his sign language to his cousins...nothing cuter than a pack of little boys signing "tickle" to one another :)
2.  Husband, D, driving all over town to find the book, Twas the Night Before Christmas, on Christmas Eve for our family tradition (I forgot it in the packing)

Insert Drum Roll here....

1.  On Christmas Eve morning, Mr. B woke up and saw his grandma and without missing a beat said "Grandma" for the first time

The Compromise:  Untold time preparing for the holidays including lists, shopping, wrapping, discussions, emails, planning, scheduling


The Sweet Reward:  None of the "work" above led to the best parts, which is a loving family together for the holidays...that's when the best parts happened...Smiling again.


Love and Happiness with Unexpected Surprises,
T

Traditions to Soothe the Spirit

As my regular readers know, I have had an emotional time lately and in some ways Mr. B makes it worse.  With motherhood comes sentimentalness (yep, I made up that word.....a little hobby of mine).  I look at him and wish that he will never know the sadness or pain in the world and instead only the joys, hopes, and dreams.  As my wise husband, D, responded the other day...We will protect him from all of it for as long as we can, but then when he finds out, it will be okay...(paraphrased a bit).


Well traditions and family are my answer this year....the soothing my spirit craves.  I thought I would share those with you...both new and old...as a way to lighten the mood of my blog and add a little holiday cheer to the world.  I am a part of this world like all of you and thus adding happiness is also my duty.

First, old traditions from my childhood.  My parents loved the holidays. They could get a bit silly, in the way kids love.

1. To You, From Me....read the gift tag...this was a special present to the whole family...basically if you were holding the gift it was "to you" and if someone else was holding it they also read "to you"...This tradition began in my mom's family when she was younger and is the reason we have so many board games
2. Playing games after dinner on any holiday even if we ate later than planned (we are not very prompt :)) 
3. The Ugly Present...invented in my generation during my childhood, yet has been around so long it seems like it began with the universe.  This was a specially wrapped present that used all the odd bits and scraps of paper and the ugly bows, such as olive green and fuschia, that always came in the bag of bows.  My dad's job was to exclaim over its beauty, while we snickered.
4. Rice porridge for breakfast...easy recipe:  throw a bunch of rice in big pot, add water, cook all morning while everyone unwraps presents, add water as needed.  when cooked through (no time frame at all because longer simply means a little softer) add real butter and sugar to taste.  A bowl of this tastes like my childhood memories

New traditions:

1. Donate one toy to a charity...and of course take a picture during this...he is so young that so far this confuses him
2. Christmas Eve...before bed...Mr. B unwraps one present and it is pajamas from mama and dada to wear the next morning
3. Read Robert Sabuda's pop-up book of Twas the Night Before Christmas
4. Go to bed and wake up to have a relaxed morning in new pajamas with family

Yep, that did the trick, I am smiling already.

Happy Holidays!
Hug those you love plus some!!!

Love,
T

Just Sharing My Thoughts with the World

The Compromise:  My heart is sad....[swallow hard].........

The Sweet Reward:  My standard format seems a bit trite for this, so let me just share my thoughts...that seems a bit more .....something.....

My heart is sad and the past few days the lullaby I wrote (at least I think I did...I hope I am not breaking a copyright here...feel free to share with others, but give me credit and a link back to my blog)  Yes, I know that blogs can include sound....good job technology, but trust me here, no one except my son, Mr. B, ....oh and husband, D, who is held captive by the baby monitor wants to hear my vocal cords vibrate.  So, here it is in the mostly original form, sometimes I ad lib a bit more.  The chorus...well I am not so creative, so I have to put it in there a few too many times and the same logic holds for the non-rhyming format.  Lately I am singing it to more than just Mr. B, so I hope you find it meaningful as well.

Chorus:
Go to sleep and good night
Go to sleep my little Mr. B

Chorus

Close your eyes, Close your eyes
Close your eyes and go to sleep

It is time, It is time
It is time to quiet down

Chorus

You are safe, you are safe
You are safe right in my arms

Chorus

I'll be here, I'll be here
I'll be here when you awake

Chorus

A few thoughts this time of year

Hold everyone who needs it
Check on those who are alone
Be patient and listen to others
A cup of coffee is a kind gesture
Comfort the sad
Accept others...always
Remember it should be a season of joy
So, if it isn't for you find a laughing child
Reach out
Remember to give and to love and that
Others want to give, so receive and be loved.

Love,
me

The Exclamation Point to My Day

The Compromise:  I took some time away from a full day with Mr. B to drizzle white chocolate and dark chocolate and a sprinkle of Kosher salt over popcorn and dip a few pretzel rods in semi-sweet chocolate (sad story that ends in, I ran out of dark chocolate...I might have ate it all recently...shhh don't tell anyone) to enjoy at a holiday celebration...I think I am becoming obsessed with salty, sweet popcorn yum.  Is there a 12 step for this one?... Secretly, I hope not.

The Sweet Reward:  After a day long exercise session chasing my toddler and finally getting him to dreamy land, I had a pyrex measuring  cup coated in chocolate needing cleaning.  Far be it from me the practically perfect compromising mother, to leave a dish unwashed....(sarcasm is one of my favorite perfumes)  In a moment of inspiration, I poured in milk and microwaved (ooo, didn't expect a green moment in a chocolate post).  To reward myself for doing the dishes dish, I am enjoying homemade hot chocolate while I blog....now that is a sweet reward for a compromising mother.

Love always...covered in chocolate,
Tracy

Mostly a SAHM

I blogged for a long time telepathically...didn't you just love the one I did about how to live through a bad day where the only thing you desire most is a shower by yourself...before I actually began blogging.  In those days I liked to daydream (btw, this was before Mr. B was verbal so daydreaming was a wonderful joy unmatched by Calgon).  I would dream about silly things like imagining my little bundle snuggled in my arms as a superhero (the power to snuggle into any shoulder and make the bearer of said shoulder become very sleepy...you are getting sleepy very sleepy...oh wait that's me).  Or I would dream about real delusions like "hmmm, if I ever do blog what will I call myself?"  I know, it's very junior high to spend more time contemplating a title than content...Did I mention I was even more sleep deprived then?  I toyed with the name the Mostly Everything Mother, such as Mostly SAHM, Mostly vegetarian, Mostly homemade, Mostly green, Mostly unplugged, Mostly unprocessed, Mostly rested.  You get the pattern right?  I realized after stewing (a long term habit) that all those adjectives were not my purpose as a blogger.  I started wearing the blogger hat to give thoughts, ideas, and courage to others as I forged my journey as a mother wanting to create what I see as the best for my family.  So the real story is within the compromises that I make on a daily basis because you can not have it all.  Please refer to my self description of my efforts to do everything and my poor kitchen floor (dark brown was probably not the best choice for a clutzy baker).  Also, Mostly began to sound very negative to me and I do not feel negative about this journey and the title of mostly sounds like I am failing.

Well, today is another story.  I am feeling a little negative, not a crying day, but a heavy heart day.  I love staying home with my son.  Even on a bad day, it is the best thing I have ever done and it doesn't matter what we do all day; playing at the park or cleaning the house.  From the beginning, the plan was that I would work a little bit for so many reasons that I could write a novel (that no one would buy).  Today is not that day. Right now, I am working much more than usual, so I am a Mostly missing my son all the time Mother. This awareness, this sadness absorbs me right now.  There are,  of course, compromises involved (that is my thing right).  Not blogging as frequently, my house is not a pretty sight, there are raisins and slivered almonds all over the floor (that happened on D's turn to be mommy today), sleep is hard to get as my thoughts do not quiet easily, and Mr. B misses me, but worst of all he does not miss me as much as I wish.  I worked full-time from 3-6 months of his life and oh did he miss me then.  I can still feel him nuzzled and cuddled with me all evening on the couch until bedtime.  Now he is a toddler running around seeking independence and the next shiny object to stop and say oooo, oooo too.

The Compromise:  I miss Mr.B...enuf said.

The Sweet Reward:  .....Mr. B has a strong bond with family who helps care for him and well.....I will get back to you, but for now I think I will get a few quality minutes with husband, D.  He did clean up the almond raisin snack mess on the floor just now without a word from me.  In my house that spells love.

Happy St. Nick's Day!!!

A day late, I know, but yet another compromisef

The Compromise:  Take time in a busy week to make a sweet/salty treat for people you like for St. Nick's Day, which turns out to be a day to work two jobs for a normally SAHM.  Thus, the second compromise is blogging about the yumminess one day later when finally recovered from sugar coma.

The Sweet Reward:  A great new sweet salty treat, my favorite kind, that is truly addictive, yet no recipe needed.

First, make popcorn in a good quantity...I did at least 3 gallons...I like a lot of people :) and when I make it again, I will like even more people :) Spread/spill the popcorn on a large countertop covered in wax paper.

Then melt some white chocolate or white almond bark. There is a difference, but I like both. I used the bark this time.  For my quantity of popcorn, I melted one pound. This was enough to drizzle all the popcorn and create a few bonus pieces with a little more.  If you want to make something more candy-ish I would double the amount of coating.   Melting in the microwave and stopping to stir frequently works well for me and saves a little electricity.  Use a spoon to drizzle over the popcorn.  If you want more even coating, stir the popcorn and if you like unique, unevenness just leave it.  No matter which you like, sprinkle with kosher salt. Sorry, I do not have a measurement of how much I use.  Sprinkle with your fingers as you season other foods, but maybe a little lighter.

 Sorry no pic.  Not only did everyone gobble it up, but a white on white food means no contrast.  Of course, this does make it the ultimate holiday food...think white snow. 

A few ideas to step it up a notch

1. drizzle dark or semi-sweet chocolate after white chocolate
2. sprinkle on crushed up oreos (idea from anonymous source)
3. stir in nuts prior to drizzling
4. stir in dried fruits such as cranberries after drizzling and the color contrast will be amazing
5. stir in pretzels for extra sweet and salty yum
6. first make caramel popcorn then drizzle white chocolate then call your doctor for an insulin shot

Sweet and saltily yours,
Tracy
 

Ginger Carrot Soup...A Great way to warm up

Time has been stretched so thin lately that it is at risk of breaking, so I continue to write blog entries in my head...Effective right?  Well, here is one that has been bouncing around so long that I really need to get it out, so I can make room in my head for thinking about important things like how to get caught up on laundry or sleep training (more on that later)....oh so tired.

This recipe is so easy that anyone can fit it into a busy schedule.  I do not mind recipes that take a long time as long as I do not have to baby it the whole time...That probably explains my love of baking sourdough (when life slows a bit, I am contemplating a tutorial that makes the process as simple as I can).

Carrot Ginger Soup is perfect for this time of year...As I type it is dreary and rainy outside, a sure sign that Winter is looming. Soup is of course warming and ginger has natural warming properties.  By the way, this is one of those recipes that is not clear cut, but more of a cooking process that I am hoping to explain so that you can adjust how you like.

First, decide on one television show you love (I watch only one per week, myself).  While watching, peel and chunk up (about the size of a carrot stick from your fifth grade lunch pail) as many carrots as you can stopping when your fingers turn orange and put directly in your crock pot.  Actually, I fill mine leaving 1 to 1.5 inches of space. So, for my 5 quart it took 5 pounds of carrots (so I am guessing you can estimate about 1 pound of carrots per quart of crock pot).  Now, fill with either vege stock or plain water until the carrots are all just barely covered.  If using plain water, add a spice ball with 1 Tablespoon Thyme, 4 bay leaves broken in half, and 20 peppercorns).  Cook on low for 8 hours.  My husband, D (he is a great sous chef), did all this the night before and refrigerated, so the next morning I basically just put the liner back in and turned on the crock pot.  I did add 3 Tablespoons of grated ginger at this point.  (If you are not a ginger lover add just 2 T at first reserving the other for adjusting the flavor when they are cooked) When carrots are tender, take out spice ball if you used it and add one can of coconut milk (do not use the light version.  You will not taste coconut just get a creamy taste that hits your tongue right after the bright carrot flavor and pungent ginger) and 2-3 Tablespoons of brown sugar (please use real stuff. I have always enjoyed C & H pure cane sugar, affordable and yummy!).  blend until smooth using either an immersion blender or a separate blender.  I prefer the immersion type for ease of clean up and because its fun!

Eat as is, enjoying the beautiful orange hue or add a dollop of something creamy. We love homemade plain greek yogurt, but I imagine creme fraiche would put this over the top.

And please do not tell people just how easy this recipe is, but then you may need to change the name to something like Carrot Ala Ginger...wow I am not so good at the fancy shmancy...I will stick to simplicity...

The Compromise:  Orange fingers and so much yummy soup, you will begin contemplating a deep freezer purchase...mine is getting a little full....shhhh don't tell D.
 
The Sweet Reward:  A healthy soup you really can not stop eating...serve it with good bread and everyone will be happy.  I just made a new one, Swedish Limpa, which is a rye bread with orange rind, fennel, and caraway.  One slice toasted with this soup and I could forget about the dreary outside for an evening :)

PS I think I have a photo somewhere, which I will attempt to locate when I have free hands again.....

Enjoy,
Tracy 

Post Holiday Aplogy

Blogging went lower on my list than usual, but let me explain before I get a slew of rotten tomatoes coming my way.  Although given my newbie status in blogging world, I think it would only be a handful. So, have at it and throw your tomatoes of wrath...I will make lemonade tomato soup (yep, still on my soup kick. The family is well, but cold has set in here in the Midwest and the only cure I have is hot soup...I am working on a few new and yummy soup recipes...they are even new to my usual repertoire...ooh fancy words)...All right incoming apology in math language...I have an unhealthy love of math...I actually like word problems and computing in my head.  Now, I have really skewed your image of me...Here goes with the math

1 Thanksgiving + 1000 square foot house + 1 bathroom + good weather but pocket sized back yard + 2 infants + basement play room for the 4 kids but scary basement steps + a vegetarian roasting a turkey (more on that compromise later) + 4 tables + borrowing chairs from two family members + fitting many pans into my oven (thank goodness for a three rack one) + Oven door/attached rack breaks in the open position while still in use + curious Mr. B wanting to see/play in fire pit in back yard = no blogging for almost a week and a needed break for The Compromising Mother

The Compromise : If you are still uncertain please re-read above section


The Sweet Reward:  Mr. B did get a 2 hour afternoon nap (although bedtime was late) and lots of family enjoyed lots of food...including savory bread pudding made with my homemade sourdough...see link below...not my recipe but yummy :) I used a mixture of sharp cheddar, asiago, and romano...it smelled so good baking.


http://www.sourdoughhome.com/cheesybreadpudding.html

Sorry no pic, but the picture on this link is what mine looked like...and I saved time by cutting up bread one week ahead and freezing in the baking dish I planned to use and pre-shredding the cheese.

A late night list

I think, I have a serious addiction to list making, but more specifically to the moment of satisfaction when I get to cross something off the list.  Given an opportunity to make any type of list, I am all in.  My thoughts during meals with my 17 month old have been revolving around his interesting eating habits.  By this I do not mean the way he eats yogurt with his fingers and a slurping movement.  He eats almost everything, except meat, and so many things I think that most toddlers do not like.  By the way, I do try to be a realist and this time my sil K helped by reminding me that this too could change.  But, I am throwing caution to the wind to make a list off the top of my head of the unusual or interesting things that Mr. B eats.

1. prunes, stewed, whole, etc
2. pomegrante seeds..this is a new food and the unchewed ones are interesting later.
3. tofu...straight out of the package...well he does like it cut in cubes before he hoovers it up
4. all beans
5. spinach
6. shrimp
7. avocado
8. buckwheat
9. kamut...the only non gmo wheat...awesome
10. quiona
11. strong flavored cheeses...I don't even know if he likes American cheese
12. mango
13. papaya
14. mushrooms
15. edamame
16. kale
17. collard greens
18. sorrel greens
19. swiss chard
20. cranberries
21. homemade sourdough bread
22. broccoli
23. onions
24. plain homemade yogurt
25. ground flax
26. lemons
27. raw tomatoes
28. goat cheese
29. scallops...I regret this one...expensive...and I hate to share these...just ask my husband D
30. blueberries...yes I know every little one loves these, but maybe you have never seen them snatched from the grocery cart and almost spilled all over the floor.

The Compromise:  The grocery bill
The Sweet Reward:  A healthy kid and an opportunity to blog a list.  :)

Co-Sleeping...It's Okay

Warning:  I am currently upset and thus my grammar, spelling, and likely my usual wit will suffer (I do hope I am witty, but can't utilize brain cells for that discussion right now).

First off, here is a link to the article that sparked my explosion of emotion (although I am calming as my head is working to return to its typical logical state) http://news.yahoo.com/milwaukee-runs-provocative-ads-wake-parents-dangers-co-213117311.html

Milwaukee has a high infant mortality rate, purported to be worse than third world countries in some portions of their population. While this is definitely alarming, I am concerned that their new ad campaign will simply serve to create a bad and ill conceived impression  that co-sleeping is inherently dangerous. I am here to bring this act out of the closet and tell you it is not dangerous.  Both, my child, husband, and I have all lived to tell the tale.  And we are all happy, well rested, and well fed, especially my son Mr. B, who enjoyed the cozy co-sleeping that allowed ease of breast feeding.  He has never had a drop of formula and I do believe that co-sleeping was helpful in achieving this aspiration that initially I was not sure we would complete (a year long goal is lofty for new parents, so often I would focus on one day or one hour at a time, when I was tired).  I have a good friend and mother to 4 wonderful and healthy and well adjusted children and guess what K co-slept with all her kids.  Amazing I know.  She is the inspiration and possible originator (I am a little foggy here) of the saying that as long as everyone in the family is fed, rested, and recently bathed then everything is okay.

By the way, my co-slept son who is soon to be 17 months old is currently sleeping in his crib alone for a long afternoon nap...and yes he is well fed and growing appropriately.  I do hope that Milwaukee does not next show a bottle of poison as an anti-vegetarian ad.  I can not predict my emotional response or the explosion that I will have on this blog.

If you are one of those people who likes to do research and not just let media spoon feed you, here are some interesting links.

U.S. infant mortality rate compared to the rest of the world  This is not a pretty thing...and co-sleeping of course when done correctly is not the reason. How about lack of quality pre-natal care or coverage for this care?

Dr. Sears, yes a real doctor, discusses co-sleeping, how to do it safely and the benefits


The Compromise: Co-Sleeping with your infant for the best interest of everyone in your family and other people not understanding.  Thus, feeling like you have to hide this.

The Sweet Reward:  The Milwaukee ad could get people to start talking about SAFE ways to do this (fingers crossed here).  My family is happy, well rested, fed, and yes my son sleeps well and on his own now.

I have never typed so fast and so emotionally....
Tracy  

PS my post title is not witty...I mentioned that though...

Refried Beans without the frying

Yes, It's possible and you wouldn't even know the difference. We love refried beans, but I dislike the full process and I will not compromise and buy canned beans.  Yet, still love them and you know how I love anything easy that meets one of my aspirations.  Well, beans are a healthy protein and my toddler loves them.  As it turns out, I have to give my husband D, who also loves anything easy, the credit for this one. Due to a really long afternoon nap (thanks to ongoing Mr. B illness and daylight savings time being undone or is it done or is it just now started....moving on), grocery shopping had to happen during the last part of dinner prep.  D finished up Mexican night with quesadillas, homemade yogurt and hot sauce for dipping, salad, and beans. The pinto beans were ready in the crock pot, but needed mashing.  D didn't want to mash the 2 pounds of beans (I made a lot because my deep freezer stock was gone), so he got a bright idea, you know a light bulb moment. He got out the hand mixer and went to town on those beans directly in the crock pot.  Since you can soak and then cook (on low for about 8 hours) in the crock pot, this became a truly one pot dish (only one dirtied), low use of energy, more nutrient, cheaper, and easier side dish...  Oh and you wouldn't believe how they looked, just like the authentic from the restaurant style...mostly mashed with a few partial bits of bean to let you know they are homemade and give it the hearty texture....Yummm....better than canned.

The Compromise:   Can't think of one here. This is a total winner.  Even if you work, just soak beans overnight, change water and turn on in morning.  Come home from work, let your electric hand mixer do the work and a few minutes later, ready to go.  Oh and while making the rest of dinner, put the lid back on and they will stay warm.

The Sweet Reward: Fat free, no weird additives or chemicals, could be sodium free if you want, easy, green, healthy, yummy.......and with a cheese quesadilla and avacado, it could be your dinner tonight...or tomorrow if your beans aren't soaking yet ;)
 

What we eat...

Often people wonder what we eat and whether or not we get enough iron or protein. Those questions are now specifically tied to Mr. B, who yes is a vegetarian, whether by choice or not does not matter, it just is. 

So we recently enjoyed a meal that was yummy, healthy, and yes fulfilled all the nutrients that people worry I do not get.  In fact, I wonder if it had more iron and protein than what most people eat for dinner.  And it was so good, that after the third time having it for a meal, my husband emailed me from work to thank me for the delicious lunch.  So are you ready for this delicious meal....Black-Eyed Peas with a little butter and salt (cooked in the crock pot), homemade baked macaroni and cheese made with of course butter, milk, and cheese but also Barilla higher protein pasta, and Sauteed Mixed Greens from our garden (including Swiss Chard, Kale, Sorrel, and Collards) ...lightly sauteed with onion and garlic then topped with a drizzle of Sorghum (full of iron) and a splash of red wine vinegar. It was so yummy and so good altogether and yes reheated leftovers of it put a smile on everyone's faces. Oh and to answer any lingering doubt, my 16 month old son ate it all happily.  In fact, he loved the black eye peas so much he would pick them up one by one with his fingers and rapidly bring to his mouth over and over.  He even ate them cold one day for lunch while we out doing errands.

The Compromise:  A little planning ahead and getting the hairy eye ball or look of concern from people when they find out you don't eat meat, which is doubled when a poor innocent little human is involved, poor Mr. B


The Sweet Reward:  Healthy, nutritious food, and a kiddo who eats just about anything, he loves tofu straight from the package and plain, homemade yogurt nothing sweet needed.

I am hoping to tantilize you all by discussing things to come, like the yogurt and mac n cheese discussed above. Also, my quest to make my family well with soup has continued, so I plan a few posts of my recent soup concepts...not full recipes as they are works in progress...much like myself :)

Healthily yours,
Tracy 

Homemade, easy granola

Usually I like to make a ginger granola or a cinnamon one depending on what strikes my fancy.  I make huge batches, which means I can make one of each and it lasts two adults most of the winter.  We tend to eat granola probably once but maybe twice a week.  I also like to make in the Spring before it gets too hot, so that I have it to last during the summer.  Simply store in freezer or fridge to keep fresh, which maintains nutrients and prevents anything going rancid...you know that yuck taste you get when you try a bag of nuts that got pushed to the back of your pantry for too long

Here are the ingredients

9 cups of old fashioned oats (I ran out of sunflower seeds, so typically I do 8 cups of oats and one cup of sunflower seeds)
1 1/2 cups of wheat germ
1 1/2 cups of oat bran
1 cup of sesame seeds
1 1/2 cups of sliced almond (or any preferred nut chopped up)
1 cup of ground flax seeds (I was low so I omitted this with no problem...make sure to grind otherwise there is no point in eating flax since your stomach can not digest unless ground...although they go rancid in this state, so do not leave in your cupboard for more than a couple of weeks)

1 cup of packed brown sugar (buy C&H brand and you know it is real cane sugar...no I get no revenue from saying that, still just a working for free blogger :) and happily)
1 Tablespoon of fresh ginger grated
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup of crystallized ginger chopped

Mix all dry ingredients together in the first grouping.

This close up shows off all the texture

Separately mix seasonings in a small bowl with brown sugar, pour boiling water over this.

Stir this mixture into oat mixture.

Spread onto to rimmed baking sheets that are either greased or lined with Silpats (the latter means it is free of extra fats), mixture will be 3/4 inch thick. If you like clusters then squeeze the mixture as you go.  Sounds weird but works.

This close up is to show the clumps you can get with squeezing the granola

Bake at 350.  I bake it for 45-60 minutes, but check at 30 and stir for even browning and bake until a nice golden granola color is achieved.

Let cool in pans. Stir in crystallized ginger and any preferred dried fruit (or add the fruit to your bowl as you eat it...dried apricots is great with the ginger version.)

Options::
Feel free to tailor to your preferences by replacing an equal amount of dry ingredient with what you like in seeds nuts or grains.

The cinnamon version...leave out all forms of ginger and add 1-2 Tablespoons to the seasonings...so yummy and goes great with golden raisins (I dislike black ones...one of probably two foods I can not stand...weird...oh except  most meats...yuck) or dried cranberries.

Sleep Training: Saga #23

1.5 hours of:

rocking
walking
bouncing
one poopy diaper change
3 "time alone" aka sit in crib for one minute to calm down when aggressively kissing mom to avoid sleeping
Constant shushing sound
11 oz of milk
second filling of bottle gave in and warmed it
4 times dog came in and out of bedroom
yelled at whining dog
plethora of M and M's aka my drug of  choice
3 times "I mean it this time. It's time for night night."

Finally napping
Then 45 minutes later a little more bouncing.
and napping again.....


1.5 hours of work for 1.5 hours of napping = unusually bad afternoon.

Oh to Be Young

The other night while rocking Mr. B to sleep, he giggled in his sleep.  Not smiled, but an actual cute giggle.  I wonder what a 16 month old could dream about to make him giggle.
 
Then, tonight he fell asleep during dinner (because the little guy was too interested in the zoo, his buddy I, and then later his dog, T, to take naps today).  Yep, he slumped over asleep with a green bean in his mouth.  I should probably confess to my husband, D, that I did the same thing as a kid.  Or maybe I should save that story for a cold winter night with a cup of Mexican hot chocolate....mmmmm.....oh yeah, funny sleeping stories, I lost myself in chocolate world for a minute.......Gotta go the kitchen now

Dreamily yours,
T

My new Love...sorry D...it was a lovely marriage

Actually it is a threesome that I am lusting after...myself, a salted caramel apple, and a caramel apple covered in crushed pretzels.  Mmmmmmm....I need you....I can't live without you....oops a little drool on my keyboard.
I found these ideas on one of my favorite blogs. The Pioneer Woman...She seems so genuinely herself, a bit of blogger inspiration for me.  So, back to my new love affair.  I have 6 days until Halloween, a messy house due to next item, ongoing family illness, work to do, diapers to wash, a playdate, weekly bread baking, disinfectant all purpose cleaner to mix up, a costume to make, and apparently I now need (yep, I mean need) to make these apples.  Just take a look at this picture
my new love.

I know the combinations sound odd, but let me explain.  On family vacation this year, my husband D and I shared a concrete with crushed pretzels in the front seat while Mr. B napped in his carseat in the backseat.  It was so heavenly, soothing all my taste buds.  I regretted "sharing" it with D, although I think my son missing out added a guilty pleasure component to the overall yum.

So, please do yourself a favor and try this.

My husband, D, just brought me a salted caramel (ok, so I won't leave him for a caramel apple).  I thought it was meant as a request to not add another task of making caramel apples to a busy week.  Instead, he said go ahead and make them, "But please don't get the kitchen sticky!" He knows me well and brings me caramels.  He's definitely a keeper.  Thanks D! Love you!!

Laundry Confessions...My Soap Opera

No this is not a post detailing my never ending piles of laundry...no one really wants to hear about anyone else's literal dirty laundry.

As I was taking sun bleached cloth diapers off the line today, I noticed they do not look as good as they once did. The cloth inserts are developing holes and general wear and tear, likely worsened by the occasional tumbling in our gas dryer. I love to see the white diapers hanging on the line since it appeals to my frugal and green sensibilities.  The honest or as I call it, I can't tell a lie to save my soul, side of me must admit that this has not occurred with every diaper cycle recently.  Due to weather, ongoing family illness, and working hours I made a laundry compromise to use the gas dryer more often.  I really enjoyed hanging almost all of our laundry on the line this Summer.  It saved us money and became a new way to be green, plus I learned a new skill...aka I got good at it.  I know just how to hang most things to prevent wrinkles and we found out that only towels are a problem.  The first use of each sun dried towel provided an after shower exfoliation (they were scratchy).  So, I am back to machine drying most things since the cool of Autumn does not keep up with the frequency of my loads even though I have two long clothes lines. 

Diapers due to poop stains and durability get on the line as often as possible.  I wash diapers every other day and each time about 2/3 of the diaper stash is washed.  So, I figure in his 16 months of life, I have washed each diaper 160 times...Wow!!!  I really should be amazed they only have holes in them.  The thing is I want them to last through potty training (yep, that's the frugal and green part of me again) and since as you know Mr. B is of the boy persausian this will not likely be anytime soon.  If each diaper has been used on average 160 times, I wonder how many diaper changes I have done so far?  I am currently refusing to do that math.  If I change my mind, you all will be the first to know.

BTW, the laundry confessions will likely continue since our washing machine appears to be dying.  This should come as no surprise since it has been in hospice for several years now.

Sincerely,
Mr. B's laundry service

A Yummy way to stay warm while camping

A while back, I learned an interesting social service provided in Canada.  To help the homeless, warm baked potatoes are given away inside a new tube sock in the evening. It serves many purposes including warmth for the night, food the next day, and a new sock.  What an awesome idea!!! Cost efficient, humanitarian...what's not to love. Thus, I quickly adopted this idea for my own use.  Several years ago, I started with two white potatoes baked in a camp fire.  One for my feet and one for my trunk to stay warm in my sleeping bag and the next morning for yummy, warming campfire hashbrowns.  This weekend during a family camping trip, we tried it, but with a new twist.  We didn't actually need the warmth (ironic, given the weather shift that has me huddled under a blanket right now).  This time I used sweet potatoes with the intent of soup.  Although I must confess I have never made this type of soup, I love a challenge and tend to prefer cooking without recipes.  Because measuring spoons do not get packed for camping, I am estimating the amounts based on sight, so feel free to season to taste. 

By the way, one compliment I received is "I just want to bathe in it."  It was yummy and soothing and as I savored its warmth it blanketed my mouth and stomach in every important way.  I am adding this to my winter repertoire...black bean, chili, minestrone, squash, Provincial White Bean Soup, Kidney Bean and Kale Soup, Black Eyed Pea and Greens, etc.  I make a very large batch of each and deep freeze, typically only making each 1-2 times per year. 

So without further ado, here is my new Sweet Potato Soup, which serves 10 adults a good sized serving. Cut in half if this is too much for you.  I will probably double this the next time I make it.

Bake in either your oven (great way to decrease potentially wasted energy when preheating for baking bread) or a campfire or your fire pit out back when you have friends over, 6 pounds of sweet potatoes. 
Peel potatoes, waiting until a little cooled if you  like your fingertips to remain in place.

Chop 1 lb of onions and cook in oil in a large soup pot
When beginning to brown add 2 prunes (next time I will likely try 8 prunes)...this adds depth of flavor and natural sweetness, much like my homemade BBQ sauce.
Then add 1 Tablespoon of each of the following sweet curry powder, Chinese 5 spice powder, garlic powder, and ground ginger (the kind in the jar). Also add 1/2 Tablespoon black pepper. Stir and cook for one minute. Then deglaze pan with 1/2 cup of orange juice.
Add all the potatoes and 1 quart of vegetarian stock.
When warm, puree with an immersion blender (small and easy to take camping if you have electricity at your cite)
Then add, one more quart of vegetarian stock and 1 cup of cream or half and half (we used the latter since we had it already for camp coffee.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy either alone as we did or with a dollop of creme fraiche or candied orange peel.

Sorry there are no pictures, it was a busy weekend...3 families, 2 dogs, 1 playground, 1 festival, 2 loaves of homemade bread...yum, loud neighbors, 2 hours drive each way, 1 stroller strapped to the roof of a car, 1 pack n play (seriously recommended when camping with a little one), and 1 visit to medical professionals ;) yep, that's how we roll.

BBQ Sauce with a Twist

Warning: This recipe contains something quite unexpected.

We do not eat meat and thus I must find ways to add depth of flavor so that my sauces will meet the taste my imagination creates.  A few odd things that I use are garlic in multiple forms, blackstrap molasses, button mushrooms, and .....the secret ingredient for today......prunes for natural sweetness, the depth that comes from the drying process, a pleasing purpley brown caste to the final product, and thick sumptuous texture.

So here goes, this is my basic BBQ sauce and I will describe how to alter it to fit your taste and style...or if you are low on the style quotient then just go with the recipe, but instead of basic call it Original, that'll get people wondering and expecting something yummy.

BTW, this makes a large quantity, but you can easily cut it in 1/2 or 1/4, just taste and adjust the basic seasonings.  It's all in the eye of the beholder taste of the eater.

12 oz package of dried pitted prunes
1 1/4 cups of boiling water
8 cloves garlic peeled
1 large onion
1 Tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
3 Tablespoons of chopped chipoltes in adobo
1/4 cup dijon mustard, honey, molasses, worsteshire, packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons allspice
3 Tablespoons of paprika (smoked would be awesome)
2 cups apple cider vinegar
all the prune liquid

Pour boiling water over prunes and leave to steep in the bowl for 20-30 minutes.

Chunk up the onion and add along with garlic to full size food processor and run blade until finely chopped.

Add all the remaining ingredients except the last two.

I am not usually this neat and organized with the food processor, but I wanted a cool picture.

Now while the machine is running add the last two ingredients to increase the smoothness of the sauce.

Now find the pan in your cupboard that is just barely the right size as I have done here (see final picture for full proof.)  It increases the fun, but if you would like life to be slightly easier and of course less messy...not that I know much about that...please use a bigger pan.

Turn on to medium low heat and add 10 small cans (6 oz) of tomato paste or 5 (12 oz) cans or 3 (18 oz) plus one 6 oz can.  (tomato paste has a raw, undeveloped taste that begs for a bit of cooking...in addition facilitates the digestion of the lycopene)

Cook for a few minutes

Then add all of the contents of the food processor, stirring, and then cook gently on low for 10-15 minutes.

For a more mustard based sauce, double or triple the dijon mustard.
For a sweeter sauce, double the brown sugar and molasses.
For a deep but not sweet sauce, double the molasses.
For a spicy sauce, increase chipoltes to 1/2 cup and add to taste any ground hot pepper

The final sauce bubbling away....yummm, where's my bean burger!!

I was pairing this one with black beans and ribs for some meat eaters.  So, I made a sweet and deep sauce....very yummy!!!

Yes, this does make quite a large quantity of sauce.  I was cooking for a large crowd of 65 people, but I find that in order to have more homemade foods free of HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup)...try to find a good BBQ sauce without it in your normal store with a reasonable cost.  Therefore, I like to make sauces in large quantity because they take time, yet make later cooking of healthy and homemade dishes simple and quick.  This sauce freezes well.  I personally find a deep freeze essential in maintaining our healthy family.  Of course, you could cut all ingredients in half, but if you are getting out your food processor, might as well go for it.

The Compromise:  Prunes in your BBQ sauce, yep people might start calling you a nutrition freak

The Sweet Reward:  Yummy food that is healthier and one less reason to run to the store during summer grilling.

Easy Carmelized Onions

Yep, this is the solid truth.  They are easy.  I found a crock pot version of making caramelized onions and my life has never been the same again.  It is so easy that I do not even look up the recipe on the website anymore. I just do it.  First slice as many onions as you can fit in your largest crock pot leaving at least one inch of space at the top.  I have a large one, so typically I my husband, D, slices up about 4 pounds of whatever onions we have on hand (I cry when I run out so we always have some.  Actually, I also cry when I slice them. Typically, I can not even get through the second one, so my knight in shining armor comes to my rescue. Thanks D for doing what I can't). Last time he found out the mandolin (we just have a cheap one) worked like a charm. Have not tried my beloved food processor yet, but guessing it would be helpful too.  Put all the onions in crock pot, add one stick of melted salted butter (or add a bit of salt if unsalted butter is what you have on hand).  Turn it to low and let it go overnight or for about 8 hours.  They are cooked, yummy, and even have a bit of liquid. The onion liquid is perfect if turning this into soup or stirring them cooled into sour cream for the best french onion dip you have ever had.  Or you can take the lid off and turn crock to high for about one hour, stirring occasionally.

They are essentially steaming so they are not quite as tasty as the original method in the pan. Thus, I use this method when they are going in something, such as dip, soup, sandwiches, or pizza. For pasta and appetizers, I still prefer the energy draining method on the stove top.

The compromise:  Your house will smell like White Castle

The sweet reward: so many caramelized onions and they keep for a really long time in the fridge ready for an easy meal.  And you look so cool when you have the neighbors over for pizza night and you have a big bowl of these yummies.

Our pizza toppings from a dinner with good friends

I can not resist bowls full of yummy things

Toppings include from the top: tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, basil from my garden, arugula from my garden, garden pesto, caramelized onions, mushrooms, regular mozzarella, dried figs sliced, black olives, homemade BBQ sauce (recipe coming soon), slivered almonds, cream cheese, golden raisins, blue cheese.  We love the combo of golden raisin, mozzarella or feta, almonds, and a sweet spicy sauce

D's hot sauces....love the still life...the pretty girl upfront is peach habanero (so yummy)

Coffee for Babies...or just the grinder

As I was grinding coffee beans today--a much needed first second third task of the morning...Mr. B and well visiting a certain room always come first...  Back on track, I promise ;) As I was grinding those fragrant beans (I do love all kinds of bean...I am sure that I mentioned that), I remembered the trick that I figured out that saved my baby food making, yet somehow was nowhere to be found in my research.  Here's the thing:  my first inspiration to become a blogger was the frustration (mother of all invention, right?) I developed when encountering a lack of knowledge about how to make homemade baby food.  I dislike processed food, meat, additives..... so it just was obvious that I should make my baby food, but how?  So, of course I turned to the internet.  But, with being a busy mom of a 2 month old, this was easier said than done.  I had plenty of time since I planned to wait until he was 6 months old to make sure that breast milk continued to be his primary nutrient, but I knew that at 3 months old, I was back to work full-time. I found information on nutrients, when to start each food (even unusual ones like kiwi or kamut), recipes, and how to introduce.  I was so excited, until I tried making the cereals, which is the traditional first foods to offer.  I ground them in my mini food processor per the recommendation.  Then, I cooked and cooked and cooked them down, adding more water as I went, but still there were small bits of grain.  So, like a broken record I put the cooked grains back in the mini chopper (I am smart like that) with very little progress.  As luck would have it, my kiddo was particular about texture (which continued past one year of age...oh no do not give me smooth yogurt with chunks of soft fruit. I will eat them separately.).  This only marginally worked for the typical first grains of oatmeal and rice. The problem began wtih barley and continued well into kamut, until one day I was grinding spices for chili, and I had a relevation (my made up word for a small revelation).  I began grinding all his grains in the coffee grinder and life as we knew it changed and my kiddo began happily eating rice, barley, oatmeal, kamut, quiona, millet, buckwheat, flax seed, winter wheat berries....Life was easier and I knew in that moment that my previous frustration and my new found inspiration from the coffee grinder would probably lead me to become a blogger.  It only took 7 more months to get the courage and time to put my fingers in action.

The Compromise: Not being able to find all the information and ideas I needed to put my aspiration of homemade baby food into action in an easy fashion and thus resorting to trial and error, lots of error.

The Sweet Reward:  I am a blogger now...and well you know the rest of the story.

Yours trully, coffee inspired on a daily basis,
Tracy

Baby Food is not for Hypocrits

I made almost all of Mr. B's food and I learned a great deal along the way.  I made this compromise in our lives because it fit a few of my aspirations including homemade food, nutritious food, cost effective, organic when possible, and green lifestyle.  In addition, I have seen what comes out of a jar...YUCK...the colors are unnatural and everything tastes like canned food.  This foodies definitely could not do that to my little sprout who has been used to a yummy variety of food while still in my womb, but that made me realize another problem. What if the food I make is not very good either? What if lack of salt leads to lack of flavor?  So, my golden rule was that I would not feed him anything that I would not eat myself.  So, yes, I taste everything.  This decision led to a turning point in my life. He began foods in winter time and I did not realize just how unavailable some foods are no matter where you shop.  No plums....well how about prunes.  But, I had never eaten a whole dried plum, just chopped up in stuff (btw, this is a cliffhanger).  So, my husband, D, gave me the necessary courage and we downed one together (no problem for D who had done this before).  Guess what I found out, I like them.  Now we buy them just to eat them and yet I still picture my grandmother eating them out of the bag with a fork because she didn't want to touch them.  That translated into my young brain as a disgusting food, so I am now surprised to find out I like them.

The Compromise:  Trying all baby food I give to my son, which includes prunes.

The Sweet Reward: I LIKE prunes...still sounds weird.

Well, this topic came up again this past weekend when Mr. B got Montezuma's Revenge on top of still getting over croup...pour guy right.  We picked up Pedialyte as that seemed the route to go. No matter what he would not drink it, I do not like it warm, I do not like it cold, I do not like it watered down, I do not like it in a sippy cup, I do not like it in a bottle, I do NOT like it Mr. B I am.  (Sorry Seuss).  So, I remembered my rule and decided to try it...We had Walgreen's brand fruit punch.  It actually wasn't as bad as I imagined.  Drinkable with a vitamin type aftertaste, but not overly sweet.  My guess is that because Mr. B has never had artificial flavors, it was just gross to him because he happily drank the honey water I made for him instead and later milk once he could hold his cookies...and dinner for that matter.

The Compromise:  Drinking Pedialyte

The Sweet Reward: A kiddo who prefers natural tastes...that's my boy


If anyone has a homemade recipe for a similar drink to treat little ones when it comes out both ends, please post the recipe or website link in the comments section. I would love to have a more natural remedy ready in a pinch because that's when these things occur, which explains a quick trip to buy the dreaded Pedialyte. Even in his dehydrated, puny, weak, pale state he found plenty of strength to push it away.

Autumn Ginger Apple Salad

This is the promised recipe.  The one that led me to find out that apples may come shellacked, what food producers tell you is a same animal  insect by-product, so vegetarians and vegans in particular be warned.  Wow, I sound depressing today, maybe it is the gloomy rain.  Actually, I love rain...the smell, the sound, the calming effect, the coziness, the filtered light that can be perfect for my eyes and mood and taking pictures :)

Speaking of pictures. I love my new camera, but I am still getting in the routine of downloading pictures to my computer and thus I am getting a log jam of blog posts again.  It truly is unfortunate that I can not telepathically blog as I tend to write posts in my head while walking or driving.  Okay, here it is.  There is peanut butter in this, so if you have an allergy, simply leave it out. In this it is more for depth of flavor, umami on the tongue (I love this word...I have a love of words that sound interesting...check out this website I just found and plan to explore more in the future...What is umami? .... yes curiosity does get this cat sometimes, but satisfaction certainly brings me back).  You could sub tahini for the peanut butter.  Here is another interesting tidbit.  I agree that food allergies are frightening and I am so thankful we do not deal with that.  If you do I have a good website in my list for you.  The new theory is that we are overprotecting our kids from foods and need to introduce them sooner rather than later to prevent allergies and build immune response.  So armed with this new knowledge and my pediatrician's blessing (which I don't typically get given my unusual parenting choices at times), we tried  (gave it in the morning on a weekday with carseat ready and phone ready in case an emergency loomed...the only emergency was needing more PB quickly...yep he is a PB fiend and certainly not allergic) PB very early. I think Mr. B was 10 months old.

Okay without further ado, I am really good at tangents. Here is the recipe

1/2 cup greek yogurt (we make our own so my thickness might be different than store bought, so adjust as needed to your taste)
3 Tablespoons peanut butter (we like natural type, so you have to work harder at stirring...good exercise for flabby arms...no comments on my arms please)
1 Tablespoon Honey (any sweetner of choice could be subbed
1 Tablespoon Brown Sugar
1-3 teaspoons of ground ginger to taste (the kind in the jar...we love Penzey's brand...look for them in my website list...we are lucky to have a local store front though)
If you love ginger top with chopped crystallized ginger, about 1/4 of a cup

Top with granola if you like a little crunch like I do.

Dip about 3/4 of a 3 lb bag of apples, into boiling water for 20 seconds to melt away wax and shellac.  Dry and rub with a towel to remove extra residue.

Chop apples.

Stir together all other ingredients, except toppings.  Add to chopped apples in a pretty bowl.

Serve immediately, although leftovers are fabulous.  I ate the leftovers for the next two days...yum.

Here is a picture of the leftovers topped with homemade ginger granola, sitting in dappled light in my window.

Apples...For Carnivores Only? :(

Compromise:  Buying organic less often to suit time constraints and the economy, but not compromising on healthy food groups and non-meat home.  :)  Yep, parenting always involves compromises and don't believe people who tell you otherwise.

Sweet Reward:  A yummy, healthy apple salad that I love to make but with a new twist...recipe to come.

1. Buy Apples check
2. Read Label
3. See Shellac
4. Freak out, but be happy had already planned to dunk in boiling water for 30 seconds to remove wax coating that disgusts me when I buy apples every time.
5. Do research on Shellac read this info about "Food Grade" Shellac
6. Get even more concerned
7. Non-meat house now has animal product
8. Think to self Hmmm, we do have milk and honey in our house...and oh how I love cheese...mama taught me everything is better with cheese...sorry to anyone not from Midwest, but seems to be in our nature
9. Don't know what to do now
10. Ahhhh.......answer =  blog about it...the weapon of all self-respecting SAHM or anyone with a computer and internet connection.

Have I ever mentioned my addiction to list making....my favorite part is the crossing off when an item is completed...pure and natural satisfaction at its finest...Although husband, D, thinks I overdo it...warning: a story is coming your way...one time after writing out a to-do list and feeling a little self pride, D, who was standing next to me, gave me an unwarranted pinch.  I look over to see him cross off a final item he had added to the list "Pinch wife!"....Yep, that's how we roll around her.  The Compromising Mother gets pinched...now is that his compromise or mine?

The Final Sweet Reward = A new apple salad recipe to share with all of you that held up so well I ate leftovers for the next two days and it didn't turn weird colors or get watery...my new fall treat...although the extra dipped in boiling water apples are a dull brownish, reddish type color in my fridge...yeah, yeah, I get why they coat my apples, but do we really need a bug's secretions in our daily diet...

T

How to Feed a Toddler with Infant Food

In my baby food making mode, I typically made a large amount at a time so that my efforts were even more beneficial. Even when he was eating only a few spoonfuls at each meal, I would cook up 3 pounds of sweet potatoes to freeze up, for example.  We still have some foods and although Mr. B is officially a toddler, given his zombie style walking all over my house, I will not waste all this carefully prepared homemade food.  It is most green to simply use what you already have. So, here are the situations when it is helpful. 

1. Toddler dislikes adult meal and you really want him to have a full belly so he will be happy and sleep well
2. Toddler loves to dip foods....fruit purees match with waffles...vege and bean purees with anything savory..and you feel good knowing that ketchup is not a part of your life
3. You get a call at 7 am asking that you work and only have enough time to throw a few frozen cubes in a container
4. Squash purees make a great "sauce" for mini pizza
5. Vegetable purees make a quick pasta or rice sauce
6. throw together grains, protein, and vege chunks or puree with a bit of water or broth for healthy toddler soup
7. Put a frozen cube of anything in a safety feeder for healthy gnawing when cutting teeth
8. Easy meal on the road since frozen cubes will thaw at room temperature fairly quick

The Compromise:  Leftover baby food that you put your heart and soul into and thus can not bear to feed to the landfill or your compost

The Sweet Reward: Easy healthy food ready in minutes.

The Joys of Croup

Yep, you read that right.  I have been a little too busy for sake of myself, my family, and well anyone who dares to get in my path.  NO worries, I am not dangerous, unless you are a chocolate bar. Well, beware, but you should have known better than be in my house :)  I have been using my telepathic means of blog posting that I have mentioned in a previous post and been honing ever since.  What that means in real English is that I am giving you a short tidbit tonight early this morning as I stay up late working on my computer doing my job.  The tidbit is the joys of croup.  Although Mr. B continues to have coughing bouts, he is so much better and beginning to be his ornery, dirty boy self again.  By dirty I mean that he wore 6 different pants today due to levels of dirtiness and wetness that I could not allow to continue each time for sanitary and health reasons (i.e., some messiness on the clothing of a toddler is normal...if you can't live with that please wait a few years to visit us).  Wow, I really get tangential at 2 am, better bring a road map.  Back to croup.  One of the best treatments is steam.  Easy solution to this is let your kiddo play in the bathroom while you shower.   We are as green as we can be, so showers are not usually long.  But, croup improves with 20 minute steams.  So, I have been taking one for the team and suffering through thoroughly enjoying long, hot showers, while Mr. B  plays with his bath toys and occasionally sings to me or giggles or gets too quiet (the latter sometimes means he is unrolling all the toilet paper).  He is so cute like that.  I wonder if I can come up with another good excuse this winter so that I can quiet beat into submission the green side of my conscience in order to continue long, hot showers....

The Problem: Croup

The Compromise:  Kiddo needs 20 minute steams to control congestion and get the junk out of his lungs (and nose...don't worry I won't get graphic)

The Sweet Reward:  Long, Hot Showers for a tired mama

Stay tuned for more recipes I have been working on.....

A Kid Is Still A Kid

I think, it must be ingrained in the collective conscious of humans. Yep, all kids really are cut from the same cloth...we just try to influence in the ways that we think are healthiest.  And each family's view of healthiest is and should be different, but you can not deny the kidness in all kids.  I still remember Mr. B's first exposure to mac-n-cheese, the all American delicacy. We were at a fish fry and I was feeding him squash and beans and some sort of grain when he reached over and grabbed a whole fist full of yellow stuff that I am certain previously lived in a box.  Of course, the entire contents of said fist were shoved into the respective mouth over and over and over again.  Baby Happiness!  Well, it happened again on an outing where we had two kid's meals with a package.  Being the sensible mother, I decided to bring Mr. B's lunch and I would have the kid's meal, so as not to waste.  Well, the only option for non-meat eaters was a PB&J, heavy on the J, on white bread that we can call Angel Floss, extra light on the nutrients. Guess who does not eat that stuff, but grabbed for it shoving a gooey, sticky fist into his mouth.  I think, we can be frank here.  Kids are kids and somehow in their brain they love the junk we want them to hate.  My kiddo eats my homemade sourdough bread, quiona, tofu cubes, blueberries, kale, and whole fruits, yet he loves mac n cheese from the box and white unnaturally bleached bread. Does he not know all the research I have done to determine the best ways to meet his nutrient needs, that fermented sourdough unlocks more nutrients, and that HFCS is pure evil and included in most foods?

The Compromise:  Eating the pre-made not very tasty kid's meal sandwich, finding out the kiddo wants it instead, and thus less nutrients for everyone as he steals the food I was supposed to have and ignores the well balanced food I packed)

The Sweet Reward:   An excuse to make only french fries dipped in honey mustard my lunch...(too bad they were cafeteria style crinkly cut instead of crispy skinny fries....mmmmmm....hungry....did I mention my best nutrition tip is to NOT own a deep fryer)

Love,
Mom of still normal kiddo (even if other people think we are weird)  

Cloth Diapering Decision

If you follow my blog, you may be shocked to hear that cloth diapering required a decision, given my aspiration to be as green as possible.  My husband, D, lovingly was devil's advocate for this one.  Thanks D!  To maintain absorbency and clean smell (both essential in our world), you do two full cycle washes (first cold, second hot) and an extra rinse.  Then, either hang to dry or machine dry.  D wondered about the total cost to the environment, something I try to consider with all my decisions.  With the amount of water we would be using, washing diapers every other day, we wondered what is the total hit the environment would take.  This math requires something akin to quantum physics as you must consider environmental impact of manufacturing cloth versus plastic diapers, landfill intake of both (our covers may have to end up there at some point), water usage to clean one and manufacture the other, fuel usage to deliver either option to store and then to my home, electrical usage of modern washing for the cloth option, water usage to spray off the diapers (just use your imagination here), and even energy used to create, design, and advertise both products.  The list is endless, so we hired an out of work mathematician...oh that's what math majors do after college. They help out confused bloggers.  Instead we focused on our biggest concern of cloth diapers, which is and was the water usage.  Given we live in the Midwest where water is more plentiful and we are not overall wasters of water, the environmental impact seemed acceptable.  Add to that our good fortune that we live in a city without water meters and instead a "system" for charging residents for predicted water usage (I am thinking of digging my own personal lake...;) This means that our water cost is consistent every month no matter what we do.  (really this is our city's attempt to get people to bathe more often)

so, cloth it is after debating the water issue.

The Compromise:  Using much more water and a bit of time

 The Sweet Reward: so much more money in my pocket book, no weird chemicals on Mr. B's patootie, getting a little sunshine when hanging them to dry, no last minute diaper runs where you come home with 20 100 dollars worth of "must haves"

My fav cloth diaper source: Cotton Babies

BTW, Since diapering seems to take over my world at times, I am sure I will have more for you on this topic late.  I am sure the fact that Mr. B is again diaperless (to "take care" of a sore bum following consumption of grapes again) has nothing to do with why my thoughts are floating to diaper matters. 

PS Mr. B just couldn't resist the grapes offered up in the hand of his best bud :)  Yep, that's how we roll.

The Real Gooey Butter Cake

The title alone tells of my first compromise.

Compromise:  Making possibly the least healthy cake.

The Sweet Reward:  Do I really need to tell you?

This happens to be so quintessentially St. Louis that it is an absolute must on a visit or celebration of the Gateway City.

I do not like cake mixes...they are overly processed and likely contain the cheapest ingredients (ironic given the real ingredients are not expensive).  Yet, I needed to make this for a St. Louis themed night, so the best option was to at least make it homemade and maintain enough self-control to not eat most of the pan. I did lovingly lick the beaters.  Don't give me that hairy eye ball, you would too.

This is not my own recipe, but here is the link I used 

Homemade Gooey Butter Cake 
on a side note, this is a fun site.

It was rich, buttery, sweet, evenly moist texture, a nice but not too thick crumbly crust, appropriate amount of goo, thin top layer of crisp, and a beautiful golden color.

Eat me!!! Eat me!!!

If you don't mind ignoring what you know about nutrition, please do try this.  

By the way, this one lacks cream cheese which seems to allow the buttery flavor to fully shine.

Oh and without a cake mix it still only took about 15 minutes to mix up.

It met with rave reviews from man, woman, and child (aka Mr. B...at least he shared with his best bud the dog)

Kidney Bean Kale Soup

This may sound redundant, but I am getting sick of all the sickness in our house, so I am trying to cure it with food, specifically soup.  I have been making soups (including Provencial White Bean Soup already posted and a simple white bean, spinach, onion ones and defrosting previous ones, such as last winter's chili from my deep freeze.  Last year I realized how limited my time was with an infant, so I made two stock pots of chili at the same time.  Voila chili for an entire winter with one afternoon's worth of work!!!

I have been creating new soups to add to our normal reptoire and documenting my method and recipes as best I can to share with others.  Since I had already decided my bean for this week would be kidney beans, it made sense to center a soup around this.  I also noticed that my kale was ready to harvest again, so in it went in my imagination (that's where I concoct new recipes before actually cooking).  This soup is warming thanks to the bit of paprika and so comforting with a silky broth thanks to the fire roasted tomatoes (you should try them).

1 lb dried Red Kidney Beans
4 Bay leaves borken in half
1 1/2 teaspoons whole fennel seeds
1 teaspoon dried whole thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 1/2 large onions chopped
4 cloves of garlic thinnly sliced

2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper (I used a pepper medley mix)
1 teaspoon dried whole thyme
1-2 teaspoons paprika (I used Hungarian.  Some have a bit of a kick to them so add to your taste preference)

6 oz. can tomato paste
2 cans fire roasted tomatoes

8 cups of liquid (drain beans and reserve cooking liquid and add enough water to get total amount)
1/2 of cooked beans (reserve in either refrigerator or freezer for later use or add them all for a more hearty soup)
large bunch of kale chopped (I stack leaves on cutting board and due a few slices every 3 inches goign same direction as stem, then slice 1/4 inch thick)

If you don't like kale, spinach would be yummy

Soak beans overnight, rinse and add fresh water covering by 2 inches. Add the next four ingredients.  Bring to a boil (Note: you must boil any red beans for a few minutes and then either finish on the stove about 2 hours on simmer or in the crock pot for 8-10 hours).

When beans are almost done, heat enough oil to cover bottom of stock pot and when it looks shimmery add onions and saute until translucent.  Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds longer.

Add next 4 ingredients and saute for one minute.  Add tomato paste, stirring well, and cook for 2 minutes.

Add Fire roasted tomatoes with their liquid and add the 8 cups of liquid.

Bring to a low boil and add beans and kale.  It will look like more kale than you can imagine, but it really cooks down. It amazes me every time.

 Cook until the Kale is tender but still a vibrant green as the picture below shows.  It took about 5 minutes for mine to get tender.

 I love this picture...Mmmm...come to mama!!!

We enjoyed a big bowl of this soup topped with grated parmesean along with homemade sourdough cornbread on the side (still tweaking that recipe, so you have to be patient for that one).  It would be fabulous with pasta in it as well, just make sure that you add the pasta each time you eat it, otherwise the pasta swells and gets soggy as it soaks up all the liquid.  Everyone loved it including Mr. B although he prefers broth and chunky stuff seperate when eating soup.  Yep, he's already forming strong opinions.