Play with your food

from February 2011

As you can see, it took me over a month to recover from snow week. It was THAT bad. This past week has more than made up for it though. My daughter had a week long ‘winter break’ from school and it’s been 70 degrees and sunny EVERY SINGLE DAY! When we weren’t outside playing, we were in the kitchen playing with our food. It’s amazing how much more likely kids are to eat dishes that are presented in unique and fun ways. They’re even MORE likely to try food they’ve had a hand in preparing. Case in point: potato mice.

Sure, the kids may have eaten a plain old baked potato, but they’re still talking about these 3 days later. We got the recipe from this Mom and Me Cookbook, by Annabel Karmel and they were really tasty. You remove the inside of the potatoes, mash them with butter, milk and cheese, and then fill the potatoes back up with the mashed potato mixture. You then add more shredded cheese on top and broil the potatoes a few minutes until golden brown. My daughter had a blast giving the mice eyes, whiskers, ears, a nose and a tail. They were so cute, she didn’t want to eat them (but she eventually did).

From the same cookbook, we also made this recipe for Avocado Frog Dip.

We took rolled up turkey, the frog dip, warm pita bread strips, and a plate full of raw veggies outside and had a picnic on our porch. Now THAT’S fun, simple food!

Slow Food

Le Creuset, I love you so!! I found this 5.5 qt Le Creuset Dutch Oven the week before my birthday at Tuesday Morning for only $150. ONLY? I know, it sounds like a ridiculous amount of money, but these French Ovens usually cost $230 (on sale) and I’ve been pining for one for years. What makes these pots so highly coveted? After all, a cast iron skillet only costs about $20. These lovelies have two layers of enamel on top of the cast iron, which is a BREEZE to clean up, and is ideal for slow-cooking just about anything. Soup, stew, chili, you name it. No more burning the mirepoix at the bottom of my stock pot! You can brown a chicken in the dutch oven and then stick the entire pot in the oven to roast. They come with a 99 year warranty, so I fully expect to will it to my favorite grandchild. All this and they’re beautiful to look at too.

Over the weekend, we roasted this free-range, organic chicken using this recipe aptly titled the,”Best Roasted Chicken in the freaking world. Period.” I then made chicken stock with the remains.

Beans and rice, rice and beans

I made a huge pot of Cuban Black Beans on Wednesday and I CANNOT GET ENOUGH! I soaked 1 pound of dried black beans ($1.49) in water for about 8 hours, drained the beans and then simmered them in fresh water with half an onion and half a green pepper for 2-3 hours. I chopped the remaining onion and pepper, which I then sauteed in bacon grease for 15 minutes or so. I also made a garlic paste by smashing 7 garlic cloves together with a pinch of sea salt. When the beans were tender, I added the sauteed green peppers, onions, bacon grease, and garlic paste to the pot, along with the juice of 1 lime. I also added a pinch of salt, oregano, cumin, and a tablespoon or two of red wine vinegar. I served the beans with rice, avocado, salsa, sour cream, shredded cheese, and pickled jalapenos. The second night, we made whole wheat burritos out of the leftovers. Today, I had more rice and beans for lunch and I look forward to devouring the rest tomorrow. Seriously good, seriously cheap, and the kids liked it!

Taste a little of the summer

“Taste a little of the summer, taste a little of the summer, my grandma put it all in jars.” That’s a line from a Greg Brown song, Canned Goods, one of my all-time favorites. My grandma used to can the vegetables my grandfather grew in his garden. My husband is a volunteer at Sugar Creek Garden twice a week and has brought home quite a bounty of summer veggies. Cucumbers and tomatoes and okra, oh my!

 I’ve never canned, but should probably learn how. I really don’t cook much over the summer. All I seem to crave is watermelon and peaches. In fact, I could be a raw foodist from June-August if I didn’t have kids and a husband to feed. Wait a minute, raw foodists don’t eat ice cream, do they? Never mind.

Last night, I did cook my favorite braised cabbage recipe and prepared some mac & cheese from a box (gasp). I also tried out this new okra recipe, which was SO easy and deeeeeelicious! Tonight, I have no idea what I’m going to cook. I might cook the same Caponata recipe I made over the weekend so I can use up the eggplant Alan brought home from the garden. I’ll probably buy some bread to spread the caponata on, though last week we just put it on top of nachos, along with some Lemon Feta Dip and hummus. The Decatur Farmer’s Market is this afternoon and Pearson Farm will be selling the last of their Georgia peaches. I’m not sure what else we’ll eat. Maybe ice cream? Let’s see, that’s a veggie, a fruit, a carb, and dairy. Sounds good to me. I can just hear my mom asking, “What about PROTEIN?”

School started back yesterday, which is why I have a moment to blog. The boy is napping (don’t be jealous, he woke up at 5:40 a.m.) and the girl is enjoying the heck out of her first week of school. Who doesn’t love the start of the school year? Brand new school supplies, back-to-school clothes, and classmates. Imagine the possibilities.

We had a lovely summer break and spent lots of time at Lake Chatuge.

Alan picked these wild blackberries while we were there.

Grandma Ashe baked a blackberry cobbler, which I’ll surely dream about all winter.

We hired goats and sheep to eat invasive vegetation behind our church, which was a sight to behold. They ate kudzu and poison ivy like it was chocolate. The company is called EweniversallyGreen and the owner, Brian Cash, can be reached at 678-595-0147.

We must have paid the animals 2 dozen visits while they were there working.
We were sad to see them go.

Jonathan's birthday

July 2nd, 2011

Three years ago, my bald baby boy came barreling into the world on his due date, and I’ve been chasing after him ever since. He’s loud and fast and has a penchant for headbutting. He breaks things just to see how they’re put together. His favorite song is Kick Drum Heart by the Avett Brothers. He has a habit of sticking his bottom out and chanting, “I got my boo bootay,” like he’s in a hip hop video, and I’m sure he’s going to get suspended from preschool for being a bad influence. He adores his big sister and follows her every move. “Every family has a kid who won’t eat,” and in our house, Jonny is that kid. He’ll eat sweets, of course, and especially loved the dirt on his cake. He gets away with a lot because of this smile.

Jonny's first day of preschool

Planting seeds, in more ways than one.

Summerlicious

We're gearing up for summer vacation. This summer I hope to focus on the rhythm of our days. I'd like to give the kids (and myself) something fun to look forward to each week, but also balance busy, physical activities with quiet, creative ones. In my experience, the joy of summer dissipates quickly when you don't build a little structure into your day. Our house is small and tends to feel even smaller when we don't get out of the house before noon. Here's our summer bucket list (so far):

*Invite one of Lil's friends over to make body art with homemade Henna 

*Start a writing club with Lil
*Start Lil's own gratitude journal and "hunt" for gifts to be grateful for together.

*Decorate t-shirts with fabric paint

*Practice hula hooping

*Beginning embroidery - buy burlap, an embroidery hoop, a blunt sewing needle, and embroidery floss 

*Write letters 

*Catch lightning bugs
*Stay up late (every now and then) and study the night sky

*Weekly movie night - FINALLY get around to watching Up & Toy Story I.

*Set up a scavenger hunt with a map and hidden treasures

*Braves games

*Water balloon fight, running through sprinklers, and the Slip 'N Slide

*Write a song with the kids - piano and guitar

*Visit Daddy at work

*Camping (even backyard camping will do)

*Spend lots of time with Grandma, Granddad, aunts, uncles, and cousins at Lake Chatuge
*Take Jonny-boy fishing 

*Visit Cochran Mill Nature Center (20 miles south of Atlanta)

*Visit Noah's Ark Animal Rehabilitation Center

*Blueberry picking at Hard Labor Creek

*Hike up Arabia Mountain 

*See Martha Speaks at Atlanta Center for Puppetry Arts (July 19-31st)

*Visit Squire Boone Caverns, near Corydon, Indiana, while we're visiting the grandparents in Louisville.

*Meet Aunt Jessica at Aunt Helen and Uncle Jim's house in the corn fields of Indiana

I recently purchased an incredible book entitled Making Make-Believe, by MaryAnn F. Kohl and have gleaned all sorts of creative ideas for our summer vacation. I'm think my kids will be thrilled to make their own TV out of a cardboard box, crawl inside and host their own show; create a miniature garden in a pan with real plants, dirt, rocks and toys; make an edible goldfish container using jello, mandarin oranges, gummy worms, star fruit, etc.; build a sticky cracker cottage (much like a gingerbread house, but with graham crackers and peanut butter); and make our own purple mural, inspired by Harold and the Purple Crayon (one of Jonny's favorite books). The author also recommends setting up a play office, a flower shop, a carpenter's workshop, and my personal favorite: Let's Play Window Washer, because we all know how messy the house gets with everybody home 24-7. Hmmmm, how about let's play housekeeper, let's play masseuse, and then let's play naptime? Notice in the picture above how Jonny is being forced to play make-believe with his big sister dictating every single move.