A little man's best friend....

Adventures of Rollin.....

Rollin has been busy this week getting into all kinds of mischief while Mommy tries to sneak away and lie down any chance I can get. I found him in his favorite naughty spot...climbing bookshelves....... later he emerged from my bathroom with red lipstick all over his head. We wiped it off, but it wouldn't come totally off. No time for a bath before we had to take Nina to school and errands, so away we went with lipstick hair. One of the few things organized in my house right now is my closet, and he took my shoes out of their boxes and pranced around in heels like a pro. He loves makeup and blowdrying his hair and high heels more than the girls. He is all boy though when it comes to his new love of matchbox cars and any kind of shovel or digger. He loves to run free at Sela's horseback riding lessons. The sawdust pile grew huge this week, so he had to dig around in that. Breathing sawdust with a cold and cough was not so good for me. And why can't I kick this crazy bug? Hmmm.

Nina is on the mend....

After nine days of being very sick and listless, Nina finally started to regain strength today. I have never seen any of the kids so ill and I was so worried about her. I slept so close to her I could feel her breath because she seemed so fragile. She was so sweet and so tired, but even on her worst days, she would whisper little funnies to me and have me totally cracking up. My experience thus far with sick kids has been that after about a day, even with symptoms, they are romping around the house, much to my astonishment. But, no so this time. The naturopath said this flu is particularly long and drawn out and lots of symptoms show up as it runs its course. Zig also got sick and said it feels horrible and had such sympathy for little Nina's situation. Rollin and I had much milder cases and I am already feeling almost back to normal, just a nagging cough. Super Sela has been the only one who remained 100 percent untouched by the virus. We all started taking garlic again (the deodorized kind) and hope to ride out the rest of this winter healthy. We'll see. But, I am just feeling so thankful today for nina's improved health. She still went to sleep at 5pm totally exhausted, but it's a huge improvement.

Chicken Noodle Soup

As I mentined previously, we're out of school this week. So far, it's been just fantastic. Two lovely sunny days and we are so thankful. Darcie and Geoff came over yesterday with their kids and we just laid on a pallet outside for hours while the kids played. Good times.

I've decided to let the girls plan the weekly menu this week since they are out of school. They are going through their cookbooks and selecting recipes that appeal to them. Tonight was no surprise, Chicken Noodle Soup.

We have made a lot of chicken noodle soup this year, not because I love it. It's not my favorite. But it does last for a couple of days, it is extremely healthy, and it guarantees a joyous mealtime. We have fun making it too...this part I do enjoy. Here is our method:

We begin with a rotisserie chicken. Sela gets two bowls and places all the chicken pieces worthy of the soup in one bowl and the other bones and scraps in the other. She probably gets twice the amount of chicken off as I do when I do the same job. She is so thorough and she really likes to do it. She loves finding the wishing bone and making a wish with Nina.


















While she does that, I chop garlic, an onion, two carrots, and two or three celery sticks.

Nina wipes and slices mushrooms which I will saute' and put in the soup last. Mushrooms are just for me, I love them in the soup.




















Once Sela has enough bones and other stuff, I start making stock with my veggies scraps, plus others I've saved, some spices, and peppercorns.


















Then I saute the chopped veggies. When the broth is good and ready (about 20 minutes), I strain it (reserving all the bones and veggies for Max) and add it to the sauteed veggies. Then we add Sela's chicken. I season with salt and pepper and add fresh herbs...usually thyme or parsley. Then we add the noodles (already boiled) and not just any noodles. Lisa, a friend of mine, makes the best chicken noodle soup. The noodles taste homemade...more dumpling like than pasta-like. The difference for me is huge! I finally called and asked her where to find these noodles and she directed me to this brand I had never before seen or heard of. I bought 8 bags, just in case they were in short supply. I think it makes all the difference. They were found at just a regular grocery store around here, something like a Safeway. They are Mrs. Weiss's egg Kluski egg dumpling noodles. They come dried and they are just so yummy. I like chicken noodle soup so much more because of them.














And finally, sometimes I add a couple dallops of pesto for more flavor. I find CNS bland sometimes, so I try to bring the flavor up a notch . I will also add chopped greens if I have them.



This whole process takes us an hour or so, but it's a very harmonious time in the kitchen because everyone has their specialty and there's no arguing as to who does what. Nina would never lay hands on a chicken and Sela likes it that way :) No one fights me for an onion to chop either.

We feel the love....

We received some very sweet packages in the mail from grandparents and great-grandparents this Valentine's Day and the girls and Rollin are so appreciative. Dad's came first, and it really touched me and made me miss him very much. He and I have a special bond when it comes to fishing. He had Mom take a picture of him with the fishing rods he bought for Sela, Nina, and I for our upcoming visit to Texas. He had also collected shells on the beach and wrapped them all up in tissue for the girls to let them know what was waiting for them in April. They just loved it and can't wait to go shelling when we get to the beach. I hope they can find more shells, because as of today, Rollin has managed to step on or break at least half...to the shrieks and shrills of his sisters. Poor little guy. They just aren't as flexible as wooden blocks.















Mom sent the girls a yummy box of chocolates and heart cookie cutters and some super cute valentine's kitchen towels. The chocolates were devoured by all of us. Luckily it was a small box, for our own good!

Babcia Tina sent the girls a lovely package with some darling purses with animals inside and porcelain bears. They girls also loved the carefully chosen cards. They kept saying how happy they were and how much they love and miss Babcia.

















Maw Maw's package came today and as soon as I saw who it was from, my mouth began to water for the homemade fudge I hoped would be inside. The girls have come to look forward with anticipation to this yummy treat from their great grandmother. She also had little valentines for each of them and charm bracelets for the girls. Nina has been asking for a charm bracelet since Sela got one for her birthday so she squealed when she saw it.

So, thank you to everyone. We did not expect anything, but what wonderful surprises. Lately the FED EX man has only been delivering mole traps (another story for another post) and roof samples for the chicken coup, so the girls were happy to see something a bit more exciting :)

We love you all and again, we appreciate all the sweet gestures this valentine's day.

p.s. Zig also felt the love (or at least that's what I told the kids!) when we decorated his car at work on Valentine's Day. Shoe polishing a car sure takes me back to the good ole days. I'm such a loving wife. Some spouses make candlelight dinners...isn't letting the kiddies color daddy's car almost as special?

the honey jar

After months of scheming, Rollin finally pulled a fast one when I was out of the kitchen. He pulled the chair to the counter, climbed up, and started going to town in the honey jar. When I came in and saw the sheer delight in his eyes, I just coundn't be upset. I let him enjoy a bit more honey and then cleaned both he and the honey jar up. Now don't you want to come and have some bread and honey at our house? Just kidding, it's all clean and sterile :)
























Rollin loves to have "jobs" like his sisters, especially in the kitchen. His favorite right now is putting paper liners in the muffin tins. His other favorite job, understandably, is sprinkling sugar...on anything.

Rollin in "lovey" heaven

I found Rollin burrowing in silky heaven on the floor of the laundry room.


This is the life.

Valentine making, crafting, needle felting, school parties and a lovely tea party

For the past two weeks, the girls have been so busy with Valentine's Day preparations. With the cold nights and early sunset coupled with no distraction from television, our evenings are usually spent around the kitchen table(which is currently my desk until we move our furniture over). Many personalized valentines were created with lots of glue, paper, stickers, modge podge, glitter, magazine clippings, etc. I always feel happy inside when I see the girls engaged in a project and being creative.

Sela was beaming on Friday afternoon as she told me about how she was called out of class to the gym by Mr. Hogle, the PE teacher. She had made him a button with all kinds of fun words describing him. He wanted to thank her (for his only handmade valentine) and did so in front of an entire class of, gasp, older kids. When she came in he thanked her and they all clapped for her. To say that it made her week is an understatement. Thank goodness for thoughtful teachers.

Darcie's girls invited us to a Sweetheart Valentine Tea Party on Wednesday. Oooh, we love tea parties! I loved catching up with Darcie...we talked at length about our shared desires for the simple, unhurried life. The girls played so well and so long. At the end of dinner, Rollin and Ceci had a little salad eating party of their own.




Nina had a Valentine's Day party at preschool. I volunteered to help and the stars must have been aligned, because Rollin slept in the car for the entire party. That was my plan, but typically, things don't work out so perfectly. So I was able to focus on Nina and her little friends for an hour. I enjoyed that very much.
























I went to Seattle this week with my friend Suzanne who is teaching me lots about using roving to create lovely felt objects. We did some shopping for our art class on Friday. We taught the kids to make felt animals using roving (unspun wool). Suzanne read them a story about the whole process that takes place to create wool, starting with shearing the sheep. Then each of the children made their own animal by making the roving into felt, a process using water and soap and lots of rubbing. The kids seem to really enjoy it, and after we came home, we started making our own little farm. I embellished the animals by needle felting, which I showed Sela how to do. We got a little carried away so at 10:30 pm, the house was quite messy, there was roving all over the place, but we had the beginnings of a nice little farm of felted animlals. So fun.


Saturday was sunny and we all worked in the yard for the bulk of the day. It was a great feeling to have cool air and sun and just to work outside. We we made a lot of progress. We were basically just trimming and raking and cutting dead plants back to make room for new growth. Little buds and flowers are coming up everywhere. Spring is within our grasp, and I am so excited to see what types of beautiful plants will be popping up all over.

Menu

I planned my menu for the week, but never quite got it posted. A few things changed, so this is what we actually ended up eating this week. I'm just happy to have meals on the table during this marathon week. For Valentine's Day I had a whole festive menu planned, but we ended up spending way too much time driving around trying to find white shoe polish to "decorate" Zig's car. Everyone was starving when we finally arrived home so I had to rely on something easy and fast. Things have been going full speed around here and I am wiped out. Looking forward to our mid-winter weeklong break this week. No school, no where to be, no lunches to pack, and no meetings or volunteering. And, a little sun in the forecast. Ahhhhhh.

I am horrible at coming up with meals to take others, and there are many times I really want to help someone out. Finding a dish that would appeal to most, as well as be easy to transport for some reason always seems like a headache. I don't cook much meat and other people don't eat so many vegetables, so most of my easy one dish meals won't always work for other families. Anyway, I had families I really wanted to cook for this week and I wanted to make something kid-friendly and familiar. I used a recipe from a friend for the Tortellini soup and both families said they loved it and everyone ate it. One of the gals runs a daycare and somehow shared it with all the kids, who also loved it. So, I think I found my new "go-to" meal.

Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup
10 cups chicken broth
28 ounce can diced tomatoes with juice
6oz can tomato paste
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup butter
1 1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 pint heavy cream
1 1/2 lbs three cheese tortellini, cooked

Combine chicken broth, basil, oregano, tomatoes, past and puree in a pan. In a separate pan, make a roux by melting butter on medium heat and adding flour. Once it turns lumpy, add it to the soup. COmbine soup and roux until thick. Add tortellini. Add cream at the end.

As with most recipes, I use them as a guide. I modified this each time I made it. I combined the broth and tomatoes in a stockpot and with an immersion blender, loosly pureed the mixture so there wouldn't be tomato chunks. Then I added spices, probably more than listed on the recipe, and the roux. Next I added the tortellini and maybe about a half cup of half and half. I added a bit of pesto at the end one of the days I made it. But, it was plenty creamy and tasty without so much cream. I do love cream, but it wasn't needed in such a large quantity here.


Monday: Creamy Tortellini Tomato Soup, mixed green salad, parmesan crostini
Tuesday: See Monday :)
Wednesday: Dinner at Darcie's (Delicious Shephards Pie)
Thursday: Mushroom and Ricotta Toasts, Green salad, grapefruit
Friday: Tacos (I was feeling like we already had so much cheese with the soup so I suspended the pizza this week)
Saturday: Quinoa Rice Bowls (quinoa, caribbean black beans, RoastedButternut Squash, potatoes and parsnips and cheese sprinkled on top)
Sunday: Hominy White Bean Chili, cornbread, green salad, passion fruit smoothies (we're starting to get antsy for spring, hence the tropical drink)

Busy Bees

We've been busy as can be around here. I was without my computer and phone for the last few days. We've been working hard on Valentine's projects, baking, cleaning and organizing. The girls want to make Valentine's for everyone. Sela's latest project was making pins for her teacher, Mrs. Struthers, and PE teacher, Mr. Hogle.

We finished Nina's memory game valentines and they turned out so cute. We've already played the game several times with Nina. She cries if she doesn't get the match for her favorite buddy, Ravi.

On Monday I cleaned out the entire garage, loaded the car full with stuff to donate, made dinner for us and another family, caught up on thank you notes, dropped off the stuff, took Nina to find a bathing suit for our trip to Granny's, decopaged a little table for the playroom, cleaned the playroom, planned my week, did most of the laundry (is it ever all done?), read the ensign, and finally went to bed at midnight. It's scary what I might get done if I had no computer and phone.

Today we did some baking. We made Valentine's ginger cookies and I made a huge batch of granola. Zig has been looking forward to having some fresh homemade granola. I made a bunch back in December when I was testing out recipes but then I've been a slacker since then. Nothing in the stores tastes better than homemade. I actually don't even like granola unless it is homemade. So, I got to it tonight and we have plenty for awhile.


The rest of this week is pretty busy with school stuff. I am in charge of the auction project for Sela's class and we have art docent this week as well. And then I was called to be song leader in the primary at church. Sigh. It's a lot of work, well at least for now, because I have no clue what I'm doing. I am trying to be excited, but I'm just not....yet. I'm overwhelmed with it, but I know it will get better and the kids are really great.

This week's menu

It's already Wednesday...the weeks fly by.

Monday: Lentil Sloppy Joes (leftovers)
Tuesday: Baked Potatoes, Broccoli, Salad
Wednesday: Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
Thursday: Roasted Red Pepper, Mushroom Veggie Quiche, salad
FRiday: Homemade Pizza
Saturday: Mushroom Ricotta Toasts, salad
Sunday: Salmon Burgers, roasted butternut squash, salad

Valentine Factory

Tonight we had an all girls Family Home Evening. The fun began once little Rollie went to sleep. We made Valentines for 3 hours and enjoyed some super delish ice cream sundaes. I helped Sela with a few of hers because she has to make 25. Actually, I helped her because it was so much fun! Nina made a few cards for her friends and did a little stamping. Mostly she entertained us with her jokes and silliness. We are going to make little memory games for each of Nina's classmates....I just need a few more items before we can begin those.

The Tiniest Jockey

Cheese Making with Sela

Sela and I got busy in our kitchen lab this weekend and tried to make cheese. In one of my new cookbooks (which I love), How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, there is a wonderful little passage about making fresh cheese. I was reading the cookbook in bed one night and started talking to Sela about making cheese. Mark Bittman, the author said even your first attempt will be better than anything you can buy in the store. That definitely piqued my interest. Sela was very excited. Raw milk is said to have a better flavor than pasturized milk. I don't drink milk, but I went on a hunt for the elusive bottle of raw milk. Most stores don't carry raw milk, but we found it at Whole Foods. I was quite surprised to find it cost $12.99 a gallon. Seems like it would be simpler to produce raw milk, thus less expensive, but what do I know. I wanted good cheese though, so raw milk we did buy!

The process of making cheese was seriously fun! Very, very simple. Sela did most every bit, except pouring the hot milk into the cheesecloth covered colander. I think she might use this for her science project this year. The one mistake we made was not adding enough salt. The cookbooks said salt optional, so I put a pinch in, but it needed more. It still tastes wonderful for our first attempt and being able to eat our own homemade cheese is just soooo Little House on the Prairie!

The first step is boiling raw milk until the bubbles come up the side.
The buttermilk is added and Sela vigorously stirred.
The curds and whey begin to separate
The colander is lined with cheesecloth
The hot milk mixture is poured into the colander. Whey drains out, curds remain.
Sela squeezing the liquid out of the cheese.
Twisting the cheesecloth squeezes more liquid out and forms a ball.
Then, the cheese hangs suspended in the air for an hour to set.
Off comes the cheesecloth.
Fresh Cheese!
Let's try it on pizza.
We mixed the fresh cheese with some other grated cheeses.
It passed the test!