five minutes a day

Introducing light whole wheat artisan bread! Last week I was in whole foods and I couldn't believe it...my favorite loaf from Macrina now costs 7 dollars! I think wheat prices must have risen quite a bit over the past couple of months. Can I just tell you how happy I felt that I don't need to buy bread anymore? The cost of bread is like pennies when you make it at home (I know I'm the last to figure that one out), not to mention tastes so much better, but the satisfaction of making it is even greater. Of course I would totally still be buying my favorite bread if I hadn't found this super easy method. Fun, fun.

Poor Mama pig and other ramblings

We are easing back into the routine today. Nina had school but Sela didn't. We went grocery shopping during preschool and stocked up on tons of veggies after eating those darn donuts! Then we spent some time at Farrel McWhirter park. Lots of baby animals and a few on the way. There is a pregnant pig there and boy did I feel for that poor mama. Outside of her stall, there was a sign saying she was due in early May! No wonder she looked so unhappy and uncomfortable. She was breathing heavy and kept twitching her legs around. I could relate to that restless leg feeling when you're trying to sleep at the end of pregnancy. Flies were buzzing around her head and she was just not happy. I hope those piggies come soon!




I learned something from Sela...these little plants they stuck in their back pockets are called horsetails. Sela and Rollin had some fun with that idea! Run along, little ponies.
Sela led us on a lovely hike/walk.



Springtime Curry...a new favorite.

Lots of projects!

We've all been busy this Memorial Day with projects large and small. Rollin and Nina were big helpers in the kitchen. After much hanging on my legs and under my feet in the kitchen, I plopped Rollie up on the counter and pulled a chair up to the counter for Nina. Then I introduced them to the lemon zester! After a little demo, they got to work zesting the lemons for a new recipe we tried out today (another Heather Swanson recipe). They also helped by tearing up spinach and breaking the broccoli heads. I am always amazed, though I shouldn't be by now, by just how much they enjoy working beside me doing simple and rather mundane kitchen tasks. They did so much today that they really felt like they made lunch. They were very excited to tell Dad "eat your food!" rather than the other way around :)



















Baked Pasta Casserole Recipe
(We made a few changes...we used less pasta and along with the spinach we added a bunch of broccoli. I'm sure we used more lemon zest, but that's just because it was so fun to zest.
extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 pound whole wheat pasta shells
sea salt
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 cups well-chopped fresh spinach
1 1/2 cups sliced almonds, lightly toasted
zest of 2 lemons
8 ounces mozzerella, shredded or torn into small pieces

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter/oil a large casserole dish or baking pan - something roughly equivalent to 13x9-inch pan.
Boil the pasta in salted water per package instructions. Drain pasta, toss with a glug of olive oil. Set aside.
In the meantime, heat a bit of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high. Saute the onions with a couple pinches of salt for a few minutes (or if you want a bit more depth of flavor until caramelized). Stir in garlic. Stir in spinach. Cook for just about 20 seconds, until the spinach collapses a bit. Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup of the almonds and 1/2 of the zest. Add to pasta and stir and stir - mixing extremely well, a minute or so.
Now sprinkle the bottom of baking dish with the rest of the zest. Add a layer of the pasta to the bottom of the baking pan, now sprinkle with some of the cheese, add more pasta, then more cheese. Finish with a layer of cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes or until cheese on top is bubbly and melty. Serve sprinkled with the remaining almonds.
Serves 8.



















Sela worked hard on her own little pumpkin patch. She weeded and raked and then planted four rows of pumpkins. Our neighbor, Austin, came over and helped her hoe and pull weeds for awhile.








I started a new batch of light whole wheat bread. Have I mentioned how hooked I am on making bread?! This dough took less than five minutes.
Zig and his power tools built a pen for our baby chicks.














For family home evening, we made baked donuts and had a picnic outside. I had wanted to try this recipe on a saturday morning, but with two rises, I'd have to get up really early. Evening was much better and the girls were able to help cut the donuts out.



These donuts were so delish I probably won't make them for a loooooong time! Dangerous.












And that was our Memorial Day.

Another day, another shiner for Rollin!

Oh my poor boy! It always happens in threes, doesn't it? Yesterday at church, Zig came to nursery to pick Rollin up. Rollin was so excited to see Zig, he ran at top speed across the nursery to meet Daddy. Unfortunately, he didn't see a little girl cruising across his path in a toy car, and from what Zig said, she pretty much swept Rollin off his feet and he landed smack on the ground. Zig thought his pride was mostly hurt because he cried quite a bit, but lo and behold today a little bruise showed up on his cheek and he has some carpet burn. I tried to get a picture, but you can hardly tell. The facial expression speaks volumes. Rollie is tired of getting hurt.



















We had a pretty mellow weekend. Yesterday, Sela had her 7 1/2 year old check-up (we're always about six months behind) and afterwards we had a little girls outing to find flip flops. I found a couple cute pairs at Lucy and the girls pretty much picked the first pair they saw at Macy's... but they're cute enough. We're ready for summer footwear regardless of our crazy weather! We also hit the farmer's market hoping that there might be cherries....but none yet. Our cherry tree has quite a few cherries growing on it so that's exciting, but I love the Rainier cherries and look so forward to them each summer.

Though the weather has been off and on lately, we had beautiful weather over the weekend. We got a suprise visit from Wendy and Dave out for a Saturday afternon ride on their Harley. So fun to see them! Tonight we've had fun just all sitting at the kitchen table doing our own thing. Zig is looking at seed catalogs. I was reading through my new bread book planning the recipes I'm going to try this week. Oooh, I can't wait! Sela made a village of little paper houses and Rollin was busy with his blocks. Nina was the only one in bed by ten. I love these days. They aren't frequent enough but they are so needed.

Another day, another tractor shows up.
The things I do for my sisters!
Whoa whoa! This swing comes back fast!
I guess I'll just push myself!
Today I taught Sela to make cherry lemonade icees by herself. We're still using those wonderful lemons from Babcia Tina! They've lasted so long.

Piles of weeds all around!

pizza pizza

On friday nights we make pizzas. I love doing it on Friday because I bake lots of little personal size pizza crusts and put them in the fridge for lunches over the weekend. It's the meal that keeps giving for a few days. I found my favorite crust recipe which I posted awhile back but tonight I was just craving something different. Not my typical tomato sauce/cheese/veggie pizza that I usually have.

Since the wraps with the white bean dip were so yummy (thanks erin!), I decided to try another white bean sauce for my pizza. It turned out very good and I had to keep myself from eating too much of it before I made my pizza. I just took a can of great northern beans, rinsed and drained them. Then I sauteed some chopped fresh rosemary in olive oil and added the white beans for a couple minutes. I dumped the warm beans and rosemary into my food processor and added a few glugs of olive oil, zest of a lemon and a couple squeezes of lemon juice, salt to taste and fresh thyme (because I had it).

For the pizza, I just spread the white bean sauce on the crust, topped it with a small handful of cheese, red peppers and tomatoes, and a few grinds of pepper. When it came out I drizzled olive oil on it and some fresh basil. Very satisfying. This might be my new pizza for awhile.

Because the pizzas were so healthy, I could justify the ice cream cones! It is a holiday weekend so we started celebrating tonight!

a quiet misty day

Ahhh, friday. No pre-school. No where to be. We've had lots of appointments this week..I've been getting caught up on dentist, doctor, and eye doctor exams for the kids. I'm just trying to get it all done before summer. Rollin got his very first shot this week, and honest to goodness, he didn't even know he got poked. He never even flinched or changed expression. Never turned to glance down at his leg or Dr. Candace. I was distracting him and all the sudden I looked and Dr. Candace was back at her desk. It was strange. Does this child feel pain? I'm not so sure.

I am so ready for summer and no schedule..I can hardly wait. Nina and Rollin have had a bit of a rough patch getting along lately. Especially on the rainy days when we spend more time inside. Yesterday, I made a run to the craft store to get some more supplies to keep them busy in the morning while I catch up on household stuff. They spent about three hours today painting and playing with clay. After some brief fireworks at the beginning (Rollin painted on Nina's masterpiece), they were complimenting each other and pretending to make play food and serve each other. Music to my ears. I also picked up some markers made especially for windows, mirrors and glass just to change things up a bit. Sela was so excited and started creating as soon as we got home from the bus. Later in the evening she left a little note for Zig by the handle of the sliding glass door so he could read it when he came home. It said "I love you Dady! You rok! You really do! WOW! You do!" Quite an enthusiastic welcome home after a long days work.

making cookies



nina's drawing is really coming along...I loved this one of the two little sailboats

walk those grumpies out

Sometimes the hours from around 6pm till bedtime are a little crazy depending on how busy the day has been and how tired everyone is. Taking a walk or going outside instantly turns cranky kids into pleasant little angels. We've been taking lots of walks lately :)






Zig saw us on the road tonight and stopped. We were admiring one of our neighbors gardens.