Spring Planting

Assalamu alaikom

Coming out of winter always takes me some extra getting used to.  While most people around me are so excited for the longer days with more sunshine, I get a touch of anxiety adjusting to that feeling that I have to be more productive and have to deal with heat, sun, longer work hours.  I realize that's totally a personal perception, but I get those feelings especially in late February and early March when the time moves forward an hour.  It happens so fast here in Seattle that the days go from being from 8am-4:15pm to being from 6:30am-7:00pm.  I'd be happy to get rid of Daylight Saving Time! That would definitely help ease that seasonal adjustment; plus, sunsets after 9pm are just too late!

Now that it's April, I'm on board with spring and have started my garden.  My level of gardening varies year to year, but when I have a  younger school aged kid I like to give them a lot of exposure, and this year my youngest is 7 years old which is great for involvement AND learning!  This year we are planting from seed, from store-bought starts, and we're putting in flowers and herbs in addition to veggies.  

below: lavender with snapdragon flowers in back

 oregano and rosemary sharing a pot with snapdragons

 mint from last year

My friend scored some lemon balm from a community facebook page for free, and she kindly shared a bunch with me after I told her I wanted lemon balm to repel mosquitoes on our deck.  I potted some of those transplants: 

The pot on the right is lemon balm. Spearmint on the left

in the center is lemon balm. looks dinky but will be rockin in a few weeks insha'Allah

I went ahead and clipped my tulips to make a bouquet for inside (plus, I'm ready to use the pots for the herbs without those tulips shadowing over the little starts)

And finally, here's a look at the Mammoth sunflower seeds we're starting indoors in hopes of repeating our 8 foot tall sunflower from two years ago!

I'll post about my actual vegetable garden another time!

"And it is He who sends down rain from the sky, and We produce thereby the growth of all things. We produce from it greenery from which We produce grains arranged in layers. And from the palm trees - of its emerging fruit are clusters hanging low. And [We produce] gardens of grapevines and olives and pomegranates, similar yet varied. Look at [each of] its fruit when it yields and [at] its ripening. Indeed in that are signs for a people who believe." (Qur'an, 6:99)

This weekend's work

Some weekends I am really on top of things and get a lot of good food prep done.  This was one of those weekends.  I will recap for the sake of offering suggestions and encouragement to others and to remind myself of what things work for me.

The first good news is that the gluten free mix I make myself and store worked wonderfully in our standby pancake recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook that is a tradition in our family.  This good news goes perfectly with the other good news which is that I found and used the griddle attachment to our stove top which has been sitting in the garage since we moved in two years ago.  (You know some of those pancakes went to the freezer for after school snacks during the week)  To continue with the gluten-free theme, my daughter made a batch of iced cookies that just really hit the spot, and now we are both so excited to continue experimenting with our homemade flour mix in other dessert items.

So I got out my biggest pot, bought a 105oz (or so) can of tomatoes, an almost ridiculous amount of tomato paste, and 4 pounds of ground beef.  I stirred a pot of tomato sauce for a few hours on Saturday to achieve 4 portions of meat sauce for the freezer. Some for lasagna and some for spaghetti dinner.  I'm really excited about those.  That was a lot of meat sauce.

Another exciting adventure was making yogurt with one of my daughters Friday night.  It was a success and we are all enjoying the yummy yogurt even though it is not very thick.  I hear this is a common issue in homemade yogurt. Still working on that one.

To continue, I boiled and shredded a chicken breast to be dressed up and used for lunches, stocked up on fruits, veggies, and a few obligatory salty snack foods for the kids' lunches this week. 

I found a few recipes for the crockpot and made one of them.  It was a sesame chicken recipe that turned out kind of plain.  No one is going to ask for it again, but in a bind I could use it.

That's a lot of cooking and food handling.  Throw in a trip to Costco and Safeway, and we should be good for a while!  Tonight, Monday, there will be leftovers from the not-so-great sesame chicken plus some leftovers from the lunch restaurant we ate at.

A "Crow"tastrophe

My daughter saw a crow with his head stuck in the fence.  Here's what he looked like:

 



It was really a sad sight to see.  Our whole family went outside to check it out.  My husband was good enough to put some work gloves on and attempt a rescue:

 

 

Poor birdie flew a few feet then was still for a while.  We left it, and it was gone this morning when I went to look.  Aisha promptly offered that a coyote could have gotten it.  I was hoping it just needed a moment to recover and flew on his merry way :D

 

After looking at those first two pictures a little bit closer, I took the girls and went back to the fence to take a closer look.  I think the poor thing was badly injured and splattered and dripped blood around his body on the fence.  It definitely looks like blood.  A neighbor happened to be walking by at the time, so she and her two little ones helped us look and analyze.  

 





Homemade Cream of Mushroom

A couple of years ago I cut back on using canned cream of mushroom soup in recipes that called for them.  Instead I started making my own just for the sake of cutting back on processed foods.  It's been a while now since I've used a canned cream of mushroom and wanted to share the recipe I use in its place. 

Oh yes, mushrooms aren't something I keep in my fridge regularly so it is very likely that I wouldn't have any on hand when I needed the cream of mushroom soup.  I just make it anyway without the mushroom, and while you do lose that flavor, I just add a few extra shakes of seasonings like onion powder and garlic powder.

I plan to make a potato casserole tomorrow, Insha'Allah, and went ahead and made the cream sauce tonight so that I'll be that much ahead tomorrow. 

In a saucepan I melt 1/4 cup butter.
Add to that 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms and saute till they are soft, a few minutes.
Add 1/4 cup flour and blend well.  Cook and stir over medium heat to blend it all well. 
Add 1 cup milk (I use whole milk) and stir until the flour has mixed into the milk.
Sauce will thicken within a minute, and then you can add about 1/4 tsp salt and some pepper. I like to use white pepper. 
That's it.  You're left with a gloppy, goopy, creamy mushroom base!
Here's my picture... it's not glamorous!

Potato Casserole

Sometimes we're fortunate enough in this short life to find comfort and joy in simple things.  For me, today, that simple thing is a potato casserole that could always be found on the table at family gatherings at my grandparents' house.  I think it's my uncle's wife who made it first, but the recipe was shared and so the dish found its way into more and more homes.

My family is not so big on potatoes, but my friend's family more than makes up for what we lack in love for the root vegetable!  Small disclaimer: this is not health food!  It's a guilty indulgence that happens to feed a crowd very well with little effort.  The main ingredient, the potatoes, can be easily found in the freezer section of the grocery store.   For anyone wanting to cut their own potatoes, it's a small dice you're looking for.  Little cubes.   Here's the recipe. Share it, love it, and enjoy.   (and feel free to make healthier substitutions where you can)

Potato Casserole

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

Mix the following in a large bowl:

32 oz (2lbs) Southern Style Frozen Hash Browns

16 oz Sour Cream
10 oz grated sharp cheddar cheese (about 2 cups)
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 can cream of mushroom soup

Spread into a 9 * 12 baking dish.

Melt 1 stick of butter (8oz).  Add to the melted butter 2 cups Corn Flakes that have been crushed/crumbled and then spread on top of the potatoes.

Bake at 350 for an hour. 

A quick search for "potato casserole" on any recipe site (like www.allrecipes.com) will yield many variations on this recipe.

Click HERE for a printable version.

Crock Pot and Arabic Food

I started using a crock pot, aka slow cooker, only a few years ago.  I quickly noticed that most of the recipes for this appliance were full of canned foods, packets of seasonings, processed cheeses (lots and lots of it).  The meals were very typical "American" foods like shredded ____ (insert type of meat) from which you'd make tacos or sandwiches.  Others were for pots full of noodles, cream, cheese, milk, butter, and maybe some meat.  It was looking gross.

I've figured out a few things I can make successfully in the crock pot without compromising the quality of the meal.  And on top of that, I've figured out how to make a few Arabic dishes in there too!  And that's the main idea about today's post is to share with my friends how to use the crock pot to prepare some of the Arabic foods I've adapted for the crock pot.

The first one is easy; it's a boneless leg of lamb.  This is especially convenient for  days when company is coming because the oven is free for your veggies or other side dishes. 

Leg of Lamb:
Rinse and trim fat off of one leg of lamb (3-5lb).
Season with salt, pepper, garlic salt, and no more than 1/2tsp of allspice.
Sear the lamb in a hot skillet.
Transfer to a cold crock pot. Add 1/4 - 1/2 cup water to pot.
Turn it on High for an hour or two and then turn it to low for the remainder of the time.
4-5 hours of total cook time is usually perfect.  If you have a leg smaller than 3 lbs then cook it 3 hours, but the ones that are 4-5lbs can go 4-5 hours.

On a busy school day last year I decided to try prepping for the eggplant dish called Musa'ka and to put in the crockpot rather than have to bake it in the oven for 30-40 minutes.  I wanted to dish to be ready when we got home from being out all day rather than come home and have to preheat the oven and bake the dish.  It worked!

I made my ground beef, onion, green pepper and tomato paste mix.  I broiled the sliced eggplant under the broiler and lightly salted them.  Then I sprayed the crockpot with a nonstick spray and put the eggplant in.  After that I poured in the meat/onion/tomato mixture in.  You don't need to add extra water because the lid keeps the steam in.  And that is it.  I put it on low and it was plenty warm when we returned home 4 hours later.  If you like to top your Musa'ka with a béchamel sauce then this might not give a great result, however, I have read recipes where they say to take the lid off for 30 minutes at the end to allow cheese to cook up and not be gooey.

And finally, I made a great pot of Fasulieh bizZeit (green beans in olive oil) last night.

Green beans in oil:

Wash and trim 1.5 lbs green beans (I'm totally estimating on the amount.  I had a Ziploc bag full of beans from my neighbor's garden, so I just used all that up)

Snap the beans into smaller pieces and set aside.

Pour 2-3 Tbsp olive oil in the crock pot.

Slice a medium onion and put over the oil.  Chop a large tomato or 2-3 smaller ones and put over the onions.

Now put all the beans over the onions and tomatoes.  Sprinkle with a  1/2 teaspoon of sugar and a teaspoon of salt.

I cooked on high for 4 hours.  Results were fantastic.

I don't have any picture to post right now, but if I snap one I'll come back and add it.

Try some of your dishes in the crock pot and see if it can work for you!

Chicken Salad

Tasty Chicken Salad

4 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded or cubed
3 green onions sliced thinly
handful of pecans, chopped
craisins to taste (if desired)
2 or 3 celery stalks, chopped
3 Tbsp mayonnaise
3 Tbsp plain yogurt
Season with 1/4-1/2 tsp curry powder, salt and pepper.

You could just do the mayo and curry if you're not into the extras!

A few meal amendments in March

I didn't make a monthly meal plan in March on purpose.  I had a lot of overflow from January and February that I hadn't gotten around to making, so I was loosely using those meals as guides. 

In the meantime, I've come across a really neat website which has given me so many new ideas!!  All this access to information is great and tiresome at the same time.  I want to try new things, I try to fit them into my busy days, I compare them to other things I used to make and do.... sometimes "simpler" might be better!  So here are a few new things I've tried that have also improved the supply and quality of food in my home.

* boil a couple of dozen eggs on a Sunday and keep in the fridge for snacks or breakfasts

* bake 8-10 chicken breasts plainly seasoned.  shred 3-5 of them and make a chicken salad.  slice the rest or cube and freeze or keep in fridge for casseroles, fajitas, or soups.

* make a pot of chili with 2lbs of beef. freeze half and keep the rest for lunches or dinners. this also works for taco soup for a variety.

* wash a few head of the romaine hearts, dry, and keep in ziploc to make salad prep easier.  you could also slice up some veggies, just not too many in advance.

These few ideas helped me a lot in the last two weeks, and that along with some meal planning have kept things moving along smoothly.  I might try to simplify the actual cooking for the month of May, so I will hopefully make a thoughtful post on that later on. 

This is the great website from where I've gotten ideas, recipes, and inspiration!  I follow her on facebook and love to see what she packs for her kids' lunches!  I even bought some lunch boxes like the ones she uses because they're just too cool.  This recipe for granola bars lasts very little here.  Over half of it will disappear within 24 hours, masha'Allah, and the rest soon follows.  I've made it 3 times just this month.

I hope I can pass along just some of this excitement in making food planning easier on those of us who are in the thick of it.  My growing children need the benefit of wholesome foods, and of a good balance of protein vs. carbs.  It takes planning and dedication, but I do believe it is very worth it!

Carrot Soup (or Sweet Potato)

Here's the recipe to a delicious, invigorating, nourishing soup.  I thank my mom for the recipe.

Carrot Soup (or Sweet Potato Soup)
1/2 of a large onion, chopped
1" fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 tsp curry powder
1/4 cup rice
2T oil
3-4 sweet potatoes or 2lbs carrots, peeled and cubed
10 cups water or chicken broth

Saute onion and ginger till translucent. Add rice and curry; stir one minute. Add carrots (or potatoes) and broth. Simmer for about half an hour and then puree till smooth.

I wish I had a picture. 

February Meal Plan

 

It worked so great in January that I cannot go without it in February.  I did mostly follow the order on the list.  On the weekend I'd look ahead at the next 5-7 meals on the list and make a grocery list to match.  If there was anything I wanted to skip or replace I could easily do it.  A few dishes didn't get made in January, so I put them in February.  A couple of others were such hits that I'll be making them again.  I noted certain days of the week because those are days I'm out of the house and need dinner to be ready when I get back.  I picked foods that are either crock pot or easy to make ahead and reaheat.
Side note: I always make sides, so just because they're not listed doesn't mean we don't eat greens. 

February Meal Plan

1.      Hamburgers  Friday

2.      Koshari

3.      Grilled Salmon, veggies, rice

4.      Shepherd’s Pie

5.      Broccoli Soup w/ Cornbread   Tue

6.      Broiled Chicken, Veggies

7.      Crockpot: BBQ Zesty Chicken  Thurs

8.      Lentil Curry  Friday

9.      Kafta Waraq

10.   Roast Leg of Lamb  Sunday

11.   Whole roasted chicken in crockpot, salad, rice

12.   Molokhieh (when Abed is travelling)  Tuesday

13.   Mujaddara

14.   Chicken Paprika  Thursday

15.   Kafta Balls with veggies  Friday

16.   Chicken Nuggets in skillet  Saturday

17.   Malfoof  Sunday

18.   Musaka

19.   Fasulia, Rice  Tuesday

20.   Chicken Burgers

21.   Broccoli Rice Casserole  Thursday

22.   Baked potatoes  Friday

23.   Roast chicken pieces, potatoes, carrots, any other veggie  Saturday

24.   Spaghetti and Sauce, Salad

25.   Roasted veggies over pasta

26.   Italian chicken with rice (crockpot)

27.   Sloppy Joes

28.   Curried chickpeas, rice

this is a picture of my rice cooker with an attempt at making makloobeh in it.  i cooked the meat separately, oven-fried the eggplant separately, then combined everything in the rice cooker to cook.  it turned out great!  (makloobeh wasn't even on my january meal plan)

I've tried homemade cleaners before.  Some work just fine and others don't work so well.  I 've found myself saying there's a reason why cleaners, deoderants, shampoos, and soaps have been commercially produced (and with harsh chemicals).... because they work!

However, I'm willing to try, again, a very basic recipe for an all purpose cleaner I can use to spray my kitchen countertops and bathroom counters, too.  This one I found today is a little bit different than most of the others as it has a teaspoon of borax in it.

I found it on this website and have just mixed it up.  I also made sure to write out the recipe on an adhesive address label and have stuck that to the spray bottle so that I know what is in there for easy reference.

Here is the recipe:
Homemade All Purpose Cleaner Recipe
Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon borax
• 1/4 cup white vinegar
• 2 cups water
• 30 drops essential oil blend (see below)

Directions

1. Boil the water. Pour it into a large glass measuring cup or pitcher with a spout.
   
   
2. Add the borax and stir until dissolved.
   
3. Add the vinegar.
   
4. Let cool, then pour the mixture into a spray bottle.
   
5. Drop in the essential oils.

Handy Hint: Add the essential oils AFTER you pour the cleaner into the bottle because the essential oil's scent can "stick" to your measuring cup or pitcher.

Some Saturday Homework

I've been making bread using the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day for well over a year now, and I'm very happy with the simplicity, versatility, and ease of the whole system.  I absolutely love the taste of homemade bread.  It is so earthy and good, not airy and sticky like store bought breads.  For a long time I wasn't buying bread from the store at all, but I do now since it's easier to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on that type of bread.  This week I've made two batches of the honey whole wheat sandwich bread which comes out to four loaves.  I love it as toast and is soft enough to be used for sandwiches for anyone eating at home since it can be messy!  I saw this dough hook on amazon and think I could really use it to help get the dough mixed up with more ease!

For the end of the day I've pulled out my crockpot and filled it with ground beef that I browned with an onion to which I added a few cans of diced tomatoes, pinto beans, golden hominy, taco seasoning, and a packet of Ranch dressing.  And a cup of water.  This is now filling up the house with a yummy smell and I can continue running errands this afternoon like I did all morning!

I've recruited my kids into the new laundry system and had them begin by washing their sheets this morning.  It went over well!  I also printed out a guide of sorts that I will post in the laundry room.  Instead of messing with laminating them (which I don't have the right tools for) I will slip the sheets into page protectors and keep them posted on my bulletin board in the laundry room.
The details of the list are on this blog page.

 

Laundry Day

I'm crawling out of hibernation (although real hibernation is just now setting in for us here in Seattle) with a renewed spirit for blogging. It sure ebbs and flows, so hopefully I can churn out some useful posts before I decide this just a bunch of hooey.

I'm in the process of giving my laundry system a small tweaking.  Now that we're settled in a new house, and our routines are getting established, I think I can make the entire system more efficient.

A couple of years ago my son, who was 9 years old at the time, was interested in washing his own clothes.  I was pleased with his eagerness and showed him the ropes.  One down. Three to go!

The only flaw with that method is that the loads are too small and too far between.  I'd rather combine similar colors and types of clothes into large loads and have everyone pitch in with the laundry.   A lot of variables will affect how your laundry system works; number of little ones, types of activities, your own schedule, and how things flow in your home.  My laundry room is not anywhere close to the bedroom area and we don't have a laundry chute or anything fancy like that!  Thankfully, for now, I don't have any baby clothes or tiny socks to wash and dry.  Also, everyone who wears clothes knows how to put them away, and most of them take an active part in the process.  This is where this overhaul comes in... time to tailor it to work for me instead of me working for it!!

First thing I'm doing is going back to assigning bed sheet/towel day.  It used to be Mondays, but that was before I was homeschooling and Mondays were for major housecleaning.  Boy do Mondays look different these days.  I figured now that my 3 older children can handle it, they should all strip their beds on Saturday mornings and get one extra large load going in the morning.  The sheets can be dried and back in their rooms by lunch.  I will do my bedding on Sundays along with bath towels.

Second course of action I plan on using is something I've been doing for over 2 years now.  This habit formed *after* I began homeschooling thanks to the advice of other homeschooling moms.  I make sure to put a load in the washer first thing in the morning.  This means the basket comes downstairs with me when I go to fetch my first cup of coffee.  That load can be switched to the dryer (by a child) and then folded during our lunch time or just after we're done for the day.  If there is a lot of laundry for some reason, then I can squeeze in 2 or 3 loads by 4:00 if I need to.  This is where I'm trying to figure out how to get the kids more involved.  I might just bring the basket down and have them load the machine and switch them.  Or they can be in charge of certain loads that are already presorted thanks to the laundry baskets I have that have hanging bags to separate loads.

Today I gave the two middle children a little lesson on how to use the machines including how to sort loads, how much soap to use, and how to select the water temperature.  We went through appropriate dryer temperatures and times.  I will reinforce this by typing up (with pictures) a little "Laundry Protocol" chart to put up in the laundry room with information about each type of load and its settings.  (have I lost anyone yet?)  I got the idea for this laundry protocol list from a book called Large Family Logistics which I've been skimming for two days and am really enjoying.  Even if you don't have a "large family", I think the general advice for managing a home is fantastic.

Here's what I have so far for my list:

1.  Clothing gets sorted according to colors:

 Whites (hot water),

Reds/Pinks (warm water),

 Blacks/Dark Blues (cold water),

 Light Colors (warm water),

Multi Colors - stripes, patterns, mixture of bold and light colored clothing (warm water)

2.  Towels get washed by themselves

3.  Rags get washed with kitchen towels in hot water

4.  Look for stains, treat with stain remover, set a timer for 15 minutes, then start the washer

5.  Loosely fill the basket.

6.  If you use bleach in a load, the next load washed should be towels, whites or light colors so possible residue doesn’t ruin the next load’s clothes

7.  Hijabs, abayas, and silky dresses go in cold and delicate cycle. No dryer!

Line dry the following:

* Hijabs and abayas

 * Certain undergarments

 * Exercise clothing with spandex/stretch

 * Thin delicate tops of any kind

 * Jackets/coats/ski pants

 * Snow gloves, hats, scarves

 * Sweaters (ask mom, some of them can go in the dryer on delicate)

* Sports uniforms and cycling clothes

(I got inspiration for this list from this blog)

And finally, on this subject, I am in the process of fairly distributing chores.  I might have a laundry helper for one week and switch the next week.  This would cut down on confusion on whose turn it is or if someone got assigned a light day versus a busy laundry day.  The other person could have floor duty which would be my sweeper in the kitchen, breakfast area, and family room.  Yes, I think that sounds just right. 

Just like any task we undertake in life, it will yield a better result if it is well planned and if the right tools are used.  Looking at household work as 'systems' and setting up their structure in a well thought out way will hopefully make the task get done efficiently and well.

pizza for dinner

Sometimes the kids ask to make their own pizza's for dinner.  I'm not a big fan. It's kind of messy and takes a lot of time with setting it up, prepping the dough, and then baking it.  But I did give them the go-ahead last week, and since I have my homemade dough available in the fridge (thanks to http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/) I figured it would take as long. 

Here's how my artist fixed up her pie:

little art project~ what a hoot!

Last week my three girls stayed over at their grandpa's house while I ran an errand with my son, and my dad' wife set up such a neat art project for them to work on while I was gone.  She had found a magazine full of great looking projects and put it in my hand the week before.  I flipped through it, and all I could think of was how I knew there was no way on God's earth I would ever get all the materials, time, or patience to do ANY of those projects.  And they looked so unique and polished; not messy and headed for the trash.  I suggested maybe they could do these when the girls ever came over to their house, and wouldn't you know, the opportunity came up just days later. 

I can't wait to see future projects.  These are things I might put in frames or hang in our school room.  Here are a couple of pictures of the finished products.  I don't have any links or instructions because they came from this magazine she has. 

below, the whole gang gathered on the desk for a photo shoot



close up of a couple of owls and butterflies



this one has a little feather thing going on... so stylish

 also, they hot-glued sticks to them so that they could put them in vases or something

Simple White Cake

Assalamu alaikom

This recipe is specifically for a friend of mine who called me the other day needing a quick cake recipe for some guests.  I cannot believe I forgot about this one.  I use it to make cupcakes, but it can make a square 9*9 cake if you want.  It is delicious thanks to the butter and to, what I consider, a little too much sugar.  It seriously has a slight crunch on the crust when you first bite into it! 

So if you're ever in a pinch (and hopefully have butter, eggs, and milk) this is GREAT to make and decorate or frost as you like.  Today I made 6 batches of it for a Girl Scout function this Saturday.

No pictures today, but maybe after Saturday's event I'll come back and add one!

Ingredients:
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350*F.  Grease and flour a 9*9 cake pan or line a muffin pan with liners.
2.  In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and butter.  Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.  Combine flour and baking powder, add to the creamed mixture and mix well.  Finally stir in the milk until batter is smooth.  Pour or spoon batter in the pan.
3.  Bake 30-40 minutes for the cake or 22-25 minutes for cupcakes. 

I'm going to link to the website here at allrecipes.com.  You have to read some of the reviews to get a feel for how successfull this cake really is!  Some people add an extra 1/4 cup of milk which I haven't done.  I do recommend beating the heck out of each step as you go.  Beat the butter and sugar a LOT before you even start adding the eggs (one by one).   One lady said she dropped a spoonful of raspberry jam in the batter before baking ... I have to try that!!

Enjoy y'all.

Apple Whole Wheat Muffins

Apple Whole Wheat Muffins

taken from Rebel Recipes, University of Mississippi

Oven: 375 degrees
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg, slightly beaten
3/4 cup lowfat milk
1/4 oil
1/4 cup molasses
1 cup finely chopped apples (peeled)

Mix flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and sugar together.  Mix egg, milk, oil, and molasses together.  Add apples to dry mixture and mix well; then add liquid mixture and stir until well mixed.  Brush muffin tins with oil and bake until slightly brown, around 20 minutes. 

I had a guest over this morning and was able to whip these up in no time.  The house smelled delicious and it was an appreciated alternative to the more commonly found pound cake, donuts, bagels, or cookies!

Home activites for your kids

Does the thought of having your kids home for two weeks without school give you a little stress?  Do you wonder what you'll do with them, or more specifically, what they'll do with you?? Just kidding, hopefully they'll do nothing with you but fill your heart with love :D

My philosophy is that you as a parent don't need to resort to song and dance to entertain your children, rather you just want to provide a few things to jump start their imaginations and love for play that is already there.  They're kids after all!  (and by song and dance I'm talking about going to places where you have to pay and pay and pay out the nose for a few hours of 'entertainment')

Here are a few ideas that have worked for me that I hope might be useful for you or might give you an idea for something else you have handy. 

1.  Have some art supplies handy and structure the time they can use it if the mess stresses you out.  There are washable finger paints that are easy to wipe off of any table surface.  I've bought some inexpensive newsprint tablets of paper that the little ones can use as much as they want.  No fancy thick art paper, just a thinner type called newsprint.  There is a little plastic tub (with lid) hidden in one of my kitchen cabinets full of paint brushes, washable finger paints, a couple of trays of watercolors, and reused cans that I've saved from cooking to act as water cans.  Older kids know that they have to leave NO TRACE of their activity if I'm going to let them do it again, so they make sure to clean up really well.

2. Homemade Playdo (or the store bought type)  We set up at the kitchen table and use rolling pins, wooden utensils (like salad mixers, wooden fork), plastic characters from other toys (we some old Dora and Diego figures), and plastic toys like trees, animals, and other things you might have already.  You could make a jungle theme or any theme you want and set out the accessories that will give them a spark to work with.
Recipe for Homemade Playdo
5 cups flour
1 cup salt
2 T Alum (white spice you can find in grocery store)
1/4 cup oil
4 cups boiling water

Stir all together in a large mixing bowl.  You can separate the dough into smaller bowl and add food coloring.  Store in sealed plastic bags to keep fresh and moist.

3.  Have a sensory box.  The idea is to fill a container with dry materials that the little ones can sink their hands into and play in.  At preschools I've seen them at the kids' waist level so that they can walk up to the long table that is filled with sand or pebbles, rice, or soapy water at times.  Kids love to touch and move these things between their fingers.  At home, I found a tub that I could reuse and filled it with dry rice and green lentils.  Just yesterday I switched it out and filled it with different types of dry beans.  I used large white beans, black beans, red beans, pinto beans, and black-eyed peas.  Again, the big kids know to clean up completely, but for the toddler, well, I just brace myself and have the vacuum cleaner handy for when she's done.  I have used a beach blanket before for them so play on so that I could more easily shake out or throw away what got scattered out of the box.

Here is the updated box I just set up today and like more:

4.  Make fruit popsicles.  Ok, I know it's cold enough outside, but this is a quick and easy kitchen activity if you have anyone who is itching to make his/her own treat.  We poured our blend into these little containers that Nana gave us, but you can use ice cube trays if you want, too.

Recipe for fruit popsicles
1 cup frozen sliced bananas (it's ok if they're not frozen)

1 cup frozen strawberries, raspberries, sliced peaches or other fruit (we used the frozen tropical mix from Costco)

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract (i'd use a little less)

¼ to ½ cup milk (dairy, soy, rice, almond, or coconut)
In a food processor, pulse fruit until coarsely chopped. I used my blender, not food processor.
Add milk a little at a time through top of processor, and puree until creamy.
Serve immediately, or freeze in individual-size containers for later.
Yield: 4 servings
Recipe is courtesy of: http://www.mothering.com/recipes/better-ice-cream

5.  Free up the garage.  Ours has tools and toys around the perimeter b/c my husband parks his car inside.  When it's too cold or wet to play outside we just move his car out and play in there.  Sure, it's not huge, but for most kids it is plenty of room to play ball, ride scooters/trikes, jump on a small trampoline, or just to run and play.  I've even taken one of the space heaters to warm it up a little more in there on the really cold days.

6.   Have some quiet activities on hand. 
a) The most obvious one is books from the library.  Why don't all of you sit on the couch with a few piles of books and just sit down and relax for an hour?  Make some hot tea or hot chocolate and enjoy reading together.
b) Remember playing Mad Libs as a kid?  I just ordered two books and they're a HIT!!
http://www.amazon.com/Super-Silly-Mad-Libs-Junior/dp/0843107588/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1324133457&sr=8-4
c) Latch hook kits.  Definitely for ages 8 and up.  Maybe even 9 or 10 and up.  Don't tell anyone, but my son is really into the one I got him.  It's a picture of a pirate ship.  He's loving it.  What a great quiet, focusing, and productive activity!
http://www.amazon.com/Caron-Wonderart-Latch-Hook-Kit/dp/B0017WEDA8/ref=sr_1_10?s=arts-crafts&ie=UTF8&qid=1324133546&sr=1-10

I left out some big things like arts and crafts (glue, construction paper, etc..), scrapbooking, and bead activites b/c I figured those were obvious enough if you already have them at home. 

Alrighty, that's about all I have for now!

Crispy Kale!

I'm sure you've heard about how good kale is supposed to be for us with its calcium and super nutrients.  It's not a leaf I buy.  It's very thick and curly.  I'm just scared of it, to be honest.  I haven't seen it used in a recipe where I've thought it would be something we'd eat.  Until now.

I was watching the show Parenthood last week, and it was in the show twice!  Kale was in the show two times.  I grabbed one bunch at the store yesterday, and I fixed 'em up nice and crispy just a little while ago.  So so good.  I'll definitely make it again, insha'Allah.

Here's a pretty straight forward recipe from allrecipes: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/baked-kale-chips/detail.aspx

Try it out! Tip: you don't need too much oil or too much salt!! Yikes.  A little goes a long way.

Been in the kitchen tonight

Sometimes I wonder where that strong drive comes from; the one to just get myself busy in the kitchen and bake and bake and bake.  I do love it, but I HATE THE CLEANUP!!!!  Not only are there the baking utensils, bowls, mixers, pans, and other paraphenalia, but the regular family dishes continue to stream in as well as they did during dinner time tonight.  Grrr.... can't they all just vacate the building while I feel like baking?

I don't always have time in afternoons to bake (and my mornings are busy homeschooling), so I often wind up starting projects in the late evening.  Perfect for using up every last bit of energy I might have, having it run out exactly as I face a sink full of yet another round of hand-wash dishes (inevitably around 9pm).  Right, well I'm not here to complain, so I'll post a recipe of some Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins we're all loving around here at the moment.  I casually pass by the cute little "pie pumpkins" at the store, but I can't bring myself to bring one home to prepare for pie or muffins. I totally don't mind using Libby's canned pumpkin, but maybe I don't know what I'm missing out on.   These muffins really taste so much like a pumpkin pie (which I love), just in the form of a muffin.  This is the third time I make them in a month.  What I love is that this recipe makes about 18 muffins, so we dont' wipe them out all at once, and if I double the recipe I can freeze a ton for snacks another day.  Here is the recipe:
PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS
1/2 c butter or margarine, softened
1 c sugar
2 eggs
1 c canned pumpkin (without spice)
2 c all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips

Cream butter and sugar in mixing bowl. Add eggs, stir until smooth. Stir in pumpkin. In another bowl, combine flour, baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Stir to m ix. Pour into mixing bowl; stir until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips. Spoon into greased or paper-lined muffin cups until three-fourths full. Bake at 350* for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Sorry, I don't have any pictures right now.  They come up just perfect each time, though.  I bake mine a full 25 minutes, if not a few minutes more.

The other thing I baked was a cookie we call Snowballs.  They're also popularly known as Mexican Wedding Cookies, but my mom's husband has made these every year at Christmas time and calls them Snowballs, so I call them Snowballs, too.  I'll be sharing most of those cookies with some friends to whom I've promised some homemade goodies, and now that it's not 110 degrees all over the South I feel comfortable putting food in the mail! 

And now I'm craving peanut butter, so I think my next goody will have to be a new experiment of brownies with peanut butter... yummmmm.

(these are not my cookies, but yum)