Suburban Homestead

How We Homeschool - Week 10

IN THE CAR THIS WEEK

Come On Seabiscuit!

"Who would have believed that a knobby-kneed little colt called Seabiscuit would become one of the most celebrated racehorses of all time? Although Seabiscuit was the grandson of the legendary Man O' War, he was neither handsome nor graceful. His head was too big, his legs were too short, and his gallop was awkward. During the depths of the Great Depression, Seabiscuit won against incredible odds and uplifted the hearts of Americans from the streets to the White House. Ralph Moody recounts the thrilling tale of the plucky horse who refused to quit, the down-on-his-luck jockey who didn't let horrendous accidents keep him out of the saddle, and the taciturn trainer who brought out the best in both."

MONDAY

9:30 – 3:00 Homeschool in the Forest Today was the annual HARVEST FESTIVAL where familes join in at the end of the day. It was a cold, damp morning so they bundled themselves up well, and I packed their lunches with warm meals and hot tea. 

Each family was asked to bring one dish inspired by the forest or harvest. Each group of kids worked during their day to prepare one item - like tea brewed from freshly picked forest berries.

The tween boys made truffles from elderberries and cocoa, and formed them into the shapes of various woodland scat, ya know, just for extra credit.

 

Buckwheat dough was available to wrap on found sticks and to roast over the fire.

 

After the harvest festival, we headed home to pick up our friend for play time. She couldn't really wait to do homework and in doing so, took on the task of teaching division to my kids. I love it when that happens!

TUESDAY

9:00 - 12:00 Last day in our 8-week series of Drawing out Arithmetic and Language Arts. When I drop them off, D is SO EXCITED to teach them about the Pythagorean theorem. D is the best!

Final message from language arts teacher, sent 11/21: 

"I just wanted to say I am proud of your children, and how much progress they have made in a difficult subject area.  Writing is hard work for most people (there are a few for whom it comes naturally and easily, but not most!)  They learned how to take notes in 2 different outline forms and use these to write paragraphs; to avoid using banned (boring!) words; to use interesting, colorful verbs, adverbs, and adjectives (and how to find synonyms in a thesaurus or online); how to add who-which clauses to add interest and variance to their writing; and have a greater understanding of the literature forms of fables and myths. They also practiced public speaking on a regular basis, and got better at making eye contact with appropriate pauses.  Keep up the good work, and please try to continue in these practices in all your subjects as you educate your children! Your children are treasures, and I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas."

12:00 - 2:00 Open studio art class for the big kids

1:00 - 4:00 PreK for Tiny Buns

2:15 - 3:15 Music for 10yo. He's back on the piano learning a Christmas song and happy.

10yo comes home and knocks out some math homework, Tiny Buns plays a board game with E, and Beanie pulls out an old Kiwi Crate and continues working on the projects. 

WEDNESDAY

It's raining today so our tennis class is canceled. Our Spanish tutor calls in sick. We play around the house until it's time to head to science and poetry.

11:45 - 12:45 7yo science class (while 10yos bake and play)

1:00 - 4:00 Tiny Buns does PreK

1:00 - 2:30 10yo's science class, they review their first semester anatomy work. 

1:00 - 2:00 Beanie's poetry class:

3:00 - 5:00 Beanie is at her grandma's house. They bake an appetizer and work on needlepoint. 

THURSDAY

8:15 - 9:15 Daddy takes 10yo to math tutor

9:30 – 3:00 Homeschool 4-wheel drive - the 10yo's second day a week in nature. Run by the same organization as Monday's class, this group happens have only boys enrolled at this time, which I love. It's great to see them just go off on a wild adventure with a great male leader. This week's summary:

"We went to Madrone Canyon (Baltimore Canyon Open Space for a super rainy day - we ended up focusing on shelter.  Beyond learning some essentials for rainy day clothing, we found an amazing redwood cave, thanks to Quinn's explorations.  We all crawled in and some of us stayed for a song, and some for snack.  It was completely dry, making it suprising to come out and see it still raining.  A little farther along the trail and we found a partially made debris shelter...well, as you can imagine an hour later, we had a nearly water proof shelter to eat lunch in.  Pretty amazing to see everyone working together to bring it to form.  C. was stoked (as was I) when we saw an Ensatina salamander walking in the leaves of the big leaf maple (which was our roofing material)  Funny how much time we spent building it, ate lunch in it and then took off.  As the rain let up, we made our way to Dawn Falls.  Since the water wasn't quite falling, some of the boys decided to see what else they could make "fall" over the rock ledge - plenty of sticks went flying into an already giant pile of sticks and logs at the base.  I look forward to a return trip when the water is really flowing."

9:00 - 10:30 Beanie has her second private art class. This week her teacher takes her down the street to the local cafe where they work on pen sketching. I set her up with a bagel and hot cocoa before Tiny Buns and I leave them alone for the morning. 

10:30 - 11:30 Tiny Buns and I pick up Beanie and together we walk across the street and hang out at the library for a while.

1:00 - 4:00 PreK for Tiny Buns

1:15 - 2:15 French immersion for Beanie. The kids work on building a play candy store and are all so proud to show off their work when it's time for pick-up

3:00 Pick-up the 10yo and am greeted by a soaking wet kid. He loved their day in the canyon but begs to go home for a hot shower and downtime.

 

FRIDAY

Our county libraries have started stocking these PLAYAWAYs and we've checked a couple out. The kids love them and enjoy listening to them while working on something with their hands, or just hanging-out by themselves. 

She's listening to:

9:00 - 10:00 Family Spanish class. J plays Who Is It? with the kids, but in Spanish! It's the perfect game for them at this stage, utilizing colors and facial characteristics. 

 

12:00 - 4:30 San Francisco Zoo! Our sitter has to go for a school project and offers to take the kids for the afternoon. I exercise and do some Christmas shopping. 

EXTENDED LEARNING (aka THE WEEKEND)

Daddy set his dusty keyboard up in the 10yo's room for use. He's super into it and I find him practicing without any nudging. :)

Inspired by a catapult she crafted from a Kiwi Crate, Beanie and Tiny Buns build a castle in the playroom.

On Sunday we head to The Dickens Fair for our annual tradition!

Fabulous Friday

I realized this week that I wasn't clear in defining my dessert criteria in last Friday's post. (Not that anyone is losing sleep over this one, but...) It's not that I will only eat a fruit dessert if it's in the form of a crisp/cobbler/crumble, it's that I'll only eat a fruit dessert that doesn't contain chocolate if it is in the form of a crisp/cobbler/crumble.

Because I love fruit with chocolate! (Unless that fruit is an orange, of course.)

This all dawned on me when I remembered this other incredible dessert that was also served at the Shrine of the Rhubarb Coffee Cake (aka A Clean Well-Lighted Cafe, c. 1990) -- the equally intoxicating Raspberry Tart. I know it doesn't sound too fancy, I mean we see fruit tarts everywhere, right? But this tart was special because underneath its layer of French buttercream was a thin layer of dark chocolate. Simple yet brilliant.

So I gave it a shot today and I will say it tasted great to us considering all things. Like...considering I chose to use gluten-free flour in the crust (super crumbly)...considering I used too much chocolate (thick layer hard to break)...considering my vanilla cream layer jelled up before I could pour it into tart (think school pick-up), considering all these near disasters, it still tasked great. It didn't cut great, it didn't hold together great, but all the flavors came together well, and we loved it. This is definitely one worth me working on. In the meantime, all you need to take away from this is that every fruit tart could benefit greatly from a 5oz. layer of dark chocolate in it. Oh, and that a molded Eames chair can also serve as an excellent backdrop for a colorful dessert.

Happy Friday!

 

Fabulous Friday / Accidental Genius

I didn't post much this week, although that's not because I haven't been online. I've been behind the scenes these last few days, making changes to the look of this blog, changes I'm excited to share in the next few days (hopefully). Friday night's dessert is worth coming out for. Strawberry-Coconut Meringue. I've made it before and it was incredible! I made it Friday night cutting out half the recipe's sugar, and it was still incredible!

We started out with Sweet Potato, Brie and Kale Quesidillas, an adaptation from this post.

The dessert came from a great book my SIL gave me a short time after we got chickens and I started this blog. Notice the subtitle. :)

This book is filled with great recipes and photography, especially for fans of backyard chickens. Such a great gift!

Honestly, half the sugar didn't stop us from licking our plates - literally! Adapted from original recipe found here.

MERINGUE

4 egg whites

Pinch of salt

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut

FILLING

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt

2 teaspoons tablespoons sugar

2 cups halved fresh strawberries, quarted

DIRECTIONS

Toss strawberries with two teaspoons of sugar and set aside to maserate.

To make the meringue: Preheat oven to 300ºF. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Beat the egg whites with the salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until soft peaks form. Beat in the cornstarch, lemon juice, and vanilla and continue beating until firm peaks form. With the mixer running, very slowly beat in the sugar (this should take about 1 minute). Continue beating until the egg whites are stiff and glossy and the sugar has dissolved. Gently fold in 1/4 cup of the coconut. 

Pile the meringue in the center of the parchment paper and spread evenly making a circle shape 6" in diameter (it will puff and expand as it bakes to about 8 inches in diameter). Gently smooth the top and sides of the meringue. Sprinkle the top and sides with the remaining 1/2 cup of coconut. 

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until the coconut is golden brown and the meringue is firm on the outside. Slide the meringue and parchment paper onto a wire rack and cool completely. Gently peel off the parchment paper. 

To make the filling: Beat the heavy cream in a medium bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until soft peaks form. Add the yogurt and sugar. Continue beating until firm, but not stiff, peaks form. Pile the cream in center of the cooled meringue; top with the strawberries and natural juices. 

 

Serves 5 - 8, depending on how much willpower you do or do not have. ;)

 

The Accidental Tourist

I made a big, big mistake recently when I accidentally booked our trip to Disneyland the week after our school district's ski week. I don't know how it happened exactly (honest truth), but it did, and so we just decided to roll with it. Last week we stayed local while everyone else was traveling, and now that school is back in, we are down south introducing the three-year-old to places like The Madonna Inn, Disneyland and Santa Barbara.

Last night we spent the night in the Jungle Rock room at The Madonna Inn in San Luis Obispo. You can imagine the kids excitement when they first walked in...

Fabulous Friday

Buttered Popcorn Cookies.

I was curious too. But for some reason, when I returned to The Smitten Kitchen's cookbook this morning, I expected to see *chocolate chips* in my list of ingredients.

Isn't that what I'd seen? Hadn't that been the appeal and cause for my return this week?

Apparently not. On closer inspection, those little brown spots in Deb's cookies/pictures turned out to be nothing more than the tops of cookies cooked to golden brown perfection. :(

And so I thought, "What the heck..." and "Who cares?!" and "I'm putting chocolate chips into my buttered popcorn cookies!"

I actually baked half the dough to exact instruction, and then baked the second half with 3/4 C of milk chocolate morsels folded in. Both were great, but the buttered popcorn cookies with chocolate were just that much more fun!

You can Google Smitten Kitchen's Buttered Popcorn Cookies recipe, but please don't forget to add 1-1/2 C of chocolate chips to your batter. ;)

Cauliflower Crust Pizza

Discovering pizza crust made from not much more than cauliflower and mozzarella cheese has been a total game changer for us. I'm proud to say I eat pizza again, and super proud of my kids for their whole-hearted dedication in helping us to demolish a tray of this at dinner time.

Here is the recipe I follow quadrupal to make a sheet of pizza.

(Vegan) Granola Bars

I have long been a fan of homemade granola bars.

I'm not saying I've ever actually made them, I'm just saying I've always really liked the idea of it.

Organic "bars" run a little high with just six to a box and price tags running you around $6. Don't get me started on all the packaging and extra sugar... blah, blah. What's my problem(?)...I need to start making homemade granola bars.

Soooo...last week in the throes of early, onset veganism (no commitments yet), I tried to find a good recipe. Did I want to trust all the vegans online that claimed their recipe was the best? Or did I want to go straight to the queen and see if I couldn't modify her dairy fortified recipe?

Knock, knock - Hey, Ina!

I was super relieved to see that Mrs. Garten's tried and true granola bars only contained 3 T of dairy/butter. An easy fix, no? I wondered if three tablespoons of peanut butter might not be a good swap and so I gave it my best.

Is subbing peanut butter for regular butter a well-documented vegan trick? Because it worked SO well and I want to claim this brilliance as my own!

Once all the moving parts had been toasted, melted and tossed, I found a really strong young man, with super big "muskles" to help me with the heavy pushing part.

Focus on the food, you can't actually eat her.

These were so divine. And the added dark chocolate made them a much healthier dessert-type food than I would normally reach for after dark. Here's how I did it:

Vegan Granola Bars

Ingredients

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut, loosely packed
• 1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
• 1/4 cup ground flax seed
• 3 tablespoons peanut butter
• 2/3 cup honey
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup chopped dried figs
• 1/2 cup chopped unsalted pumpkin or sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Using vegan butter, grease a 8 x 12-inch baking dish and line it with parchment paper.

Toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ and flax seed.

Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.

Place the peanut butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Cook and stir for a minute, then pour over the toasted oatmeal mixture. Add the dried figs, seeds and dark chocolate and mix well.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Cover with another sheet of parchment paper and firmly press mixture down flat and evenly into pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown. Cool for at least 2 to 3 hours before cutting into squares. Serve at room temperature.

** I played around with this recipe some more this week, most recently removing the brown sugar, halfing the honey and adding in two vegan egg substitutes before baking. So far so good! Of course, each revision is less sweet than the batch before it, and maybe a bit more crumbly, but I love that I'm taking down the sugar content for all of us.

My Week as a Vegan

It's true. I did the unthinkable (for me, at least) and cut all animal products out of my life for one week.

For seven days, I completely changed my eating habits to a plant-based diet, rich in raw fruits and vegetable, nuts and seeds.

And I lived to blog about it.

{baked kale chips}

It all started the minute I picked up T. Colin Campbell's, The China Study, and began reading about research compiled over decades of studying the eating habits and health of people in rural China.

Crazy, crazy stuff...

What I once thought was an impossible task, turned out to be a really interesting experiment. It was not the slightest bit difficult, and surprisingly, exercising restraint did not factor into any of it. When you are highly motivated (in my case, by the research), change proves easy.

I observed immediate benefits to the change in diet, none of which I'm willing to share on this forum. ;)

With my motivation and confidence building daily, I found myself eating more vegetables in any given day than I probably ever had before in my life. What's not to love about that?! While my main goal was just to avoid dairy, meat and H-U-N-G-E-R, I was happily surprised at the insane quantities of fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains I had to take in just to keep up.

{quinoa with asparagus, carmalized onions, raisins + toasted pinenuts}

I couldn't help but feel like a poster child for healthy living - I felt lighter (because I was), healthier and little ailments that I might normally feel during the day, ceased to exist.

And then I had to travel to Denver on business... :(

I'm back home now, and back to a mostly vegan diet (just cream in my coffee - I can't drop that one yet). With the exception of a night out on the town with friends, where vegan and/or low-dairy vegetarian options were nowhere to be seen (I ordered the salmon), I'm back to enjoying the *good life*.

Did I really just write that? Who am I?!

What I read in The China Study, and what originally motivated me to abruptly switch to a plant based diet, is not what motivates me today. Daddy did a lot of additional research in the study's findings and I'm not convinced that those living in rural China have better health only because they eat a plant based diet. There are other factors that I'd love to see studied as well - stress, for example. But I certainly saw immediate benefits in my own body, and that is enough to motivate me towards a lifetime of change and (even) healthier eating.

(But no matter what, I will never stop loving my chickens.)

Zucchini *Pasta*

I was recently speaking to a woman, swapping success stories in the garden and kitchen, and she shared a great idea for a no-pasta *pasta*.

She told me how to make an all vegetable *pasta* dish that I would swear tasted like a hearty bowl of meaty goodness. I listened, I committed, and then I made it for dinner.

I've already made this dish twice in the past four days. The first time I julienned four zucchinis by hand, which took some time. The second time, I used my Mandoline (duh) and the job was done in seconds. Following her instructions, I made sure to remove the center part of the vegetable as it doesn't hold up well when blanched.

I then prepared a sauce, simply using a jar of my favorite red, adding some onions and artichoke hearts.

Once my sauce was ready to go, I blanched the zucchini for 5 - 10 seconds, just until I started to notice it brighten in color. Then I quickly removed it and drained it, and immediately served it up topped with sauce and shredded cheese.

I'm really excited about this new dish because it's super healthful and the zucchini adds a great crunch. It also solves part of the 'what-do-we-do-with-all-this-frickin'-zucchini' issue.

Road Trip Itinerary

I'm operating without my favorite appendage this week. My computer is in the shop and won't be reattached for a couple days. So while we've been keeping busy trying to use up all the Meyer lemons that the five year old picked from our tree and filled her wheelbarrow with, I'll focus on something equally exciting - our next getaway.

I've been planning a road trip for us. We will be headed down south for no real reason other than we have the time off so why not?

We decided to head towards Palm Springs, a destination that none of us have ever been to.

Our first stop will be in Santa Barbara where I discovered El Capitan Canyon via Ciao Bambino, an incredible site for exploring how and where to travel with kids.  I booked us in one of their cedar cabins, although I would have loved one of their safari tents, had one still been available.

Discovering and booking El Capitan really set the tone for the rest of the trip. I now had my heart set on the unexpected. I wanted a unique, adventure infused with kitschy roadside stops and lots of greasy diner food.

Which brings me to our second stop, The Farmer's Daughter Hotel, in the heart of L.A.  Because, really - with a name like that, why would I put my family anywhere else?

Our original plans of hitting Palm Springs on day three were delayed a day when I went in search of the wild side by googling "PALM+SPRINGS+TRAILER+MOTEL".

I had no idea what would pop up, but I had my fingers crossed for some sort of Airstream trailer park where we could live out one of my our greatest fantasies of traveling in a silver bullet.

Instead, I found this.

(Cue the crickets)

And without a moment of hesitation, I had us signed up for a night in The New World. I can't wait to eat dinner here and to photograph our kids on the front steps of our trashed trailer, eating Twinkies for breakfast, their sweet faces kissed by the morning sun as it rises up over Joshua Tree.  I hope to also take in some arts and culture, either here, here or here.

OK, everyone back in the car, time to head into Palm Springs.

I'm most excited about this leg of the trip. As I researched where to stay and what to do, I kept feeling like I was looking into some sort of fantastical alternative lifestyle designed specifically for me. When I die and go to (my) heaven, it's going to look like Palm Springs.

In my mind, VRBO.com is really the only way to go when traveling with kids, and in this desert paradise, the nightly rental prices are very reasonable. I would be happy staying in any one of these three places. While there, I want to do so many things, like take the kids to this park, or to ride on this thing. I must spend an afternoon with just Daddy here, followed by dinner here. Needless to say, visiting Trina is a must, as well as all the surrounding mid-century home furnishings stores. Just for a look...

(Exhale.)

Last, but certainly not least, the long drive home... which we will break-up with a night at this funky spot.  I'm thinking either the Caveman for the boys or maybe Floral Fantasy for the girls. (Just for the record, we've actually already stayed in Old Mill and it was awesome, especially when we flipped the switch and all the waterfalls and mechanical people started moving around the room.)

I had so much fun throwing this last minute trip together. It was a great reminder that there is so much great stuff in all our backyards, you just need to do a little research and the payoff can be huge!

Big ol' Spicy Drumsticks

I know I'm a bit late to *the game* on this, but I have to share a bit o' *accidental genius* that happened in my kitchen yesterday while I was trying to whip up some of the Pioneer Woman's Spicy Wings.

Here's how it all went wrong so right:

PW's recipe calls for 2lbs. of drummettes - the drumstick looking half of the chicken wing.

I went to two stores late in the Superbowl Sunday afternoon and between the two, I could only scrape together 1lb. of those drummettes, seeing as everyone in town was making wings. With a heavy heart, I bought regular, full-size drumsticks and allowed myself to start panicking.

Cinnamon Ice Cream

Two lifetimes ago, I worked in a restaurant. Many restaurants, actually. And out of the hundreds of evenings I spent walking the floors, slinging giant white plates of hot French/Italian/American food at people, there was one night (just ONE!) when a special Tarte Tatine was offered with, not the predictable vanilla ice cream, but cinnamon ice cream!!!

It left quite the impression on me. The flavor was not subtle at all - it was big - VERY BIG! In fact, it reminded me of a creamy, frozen version of my mother's go-to breath freshener in the '70's - Big Red gum.

Being too young at the time to know an ice cream maker from crock-pot, I bought a half gallon of Dreyer's ice cream, let it soften until I could blend in heaping scoops of spice, and re-froze it. In the morning, I ran to the freezer, (maybe I'd have ice cream with my coffee,) but was shocked to find my half-gallon of ice cream had shrunk during the night to little more than a pints worth. That morning, I was awoken to an undeniable reality of cheaply made, mass produced food: additives. In this case, the additive was a lot of air!

That was a long time ago now, and since then I've tried several brands/versions of cinnamon ice cream, but found them all to only *hint* at the spice. For me to be able to relive that first taste of cinnamon ice cream, that creamy cold scoop of *Big Red*, I needed to take matters into my own hands. Thankfully, it's simple. Here's how I do it:

 

Cinnamon Ice Cream

1 cup of very cold whole milk

2 cups of very cold whipping cream

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1-2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Mix all ingredients and turn in your home ice cream maker per manufacturers instructions. (My ice cream maker is by Cuisinart and I mix it for about 20 minutes before storing it in the freezer for several hours before serving.)

Vine-Ripened Tomatoes in January?

I don't quite know what the deal is on this one, but I harvested about 50 Sun Gold and Cherry tomatoes on New Years Eve.

Did this happen for anyone else in Northern California? I ripped out most of my tomato plants months ago and only had two still planted (for no other reason than shear laziness). I had been walking past those remaining two for ages, never really allowing the visual information of colorful fruit to fully register.

Duh.

And then it just sort of hit me. So I tried one and it was delicious. As I went to pull them off the vine, I hardly had to put a bit of effort into the harvest. It was as if my approaching body heat gave them cause to jump ship themselves - they were literally dripping!

I baked a large pasta dish that night and just threw them on top before finishing it all off with bread crumbs and baking. Such a treat!

This day last year: "Olive Oil Muffins"

Christmas Brunch

This Christmas morning, we ate the same tart I made last year, only I used my recently-made pomegranate jelly instead of quince. And instead of topping the tart with circular cuts of pie dough, I used *North Pole Animals*.

Of course, there was also eggs, bacon, sausage and coffee. But you can't really form any of those into cute, cold-weather loving animal shapes, now can you. Enjoy your food!

Chicken Pot Pie

Growing up, I remember four rotating dinners upon my TV dinner tray: Kraft mac-n-cheese, fish sticks, spaghetti marinara and chicken pot pie.

Three out of four came from a box.

I loved them all, but there was something special about those chicken pot pies -- they were all mine, and I didn't have to share the contents of my little tin tray with anyone. There were no family style dilemas to be had while eating pot pie - it allowed for total culinary independence, and that was empowering. I ate a lot of those little pies, served up on a folding fiberglass TV dinner tray, inlayed with maple leaves and little gold squiggles. Janet, Chrissy and Jack Tripper, along with George and Weezie Jefferson, were there with me for every last bite.

Flash forward thirty years and I still love me some chicken pot pie comfort food in the winter! The only difference now is, I make my pies from scratch.

Christmas Wrapping

I'm sitting here with a heavy heart. The seven year old casually told us tonight that he had been in the (forbidden) basement.

"Oh," I responded, trying desperately to channel Buddha, "when did you do that?"

"On Thanksgiving. I was playing hide-n-go-seek with the cousins."

And that was that.

There was no mention of the big red firetruck for his baby brother, of a pair of Lalaloopsy dolls for his sister, or of the giant roll of brown craft paper that has always been Santa's signature wrapping. Just a nonchalant kinda "Hey, I finally got to see what's on the other side of that door that's always locked."

(sigh.)

I can take it all back and start over, I just hope he still *believes*.

On the bright side, I had not yet started my *signature wrapping* which means I can actually still return the items.

My *signature wrapping* is where I remove all the commercial packaging from the presents, so that Christmas can be less about twist-ties, locating buried screwdrivers and piles of trash, and more about the joy of a much desired new toy. Here are some photos I took last year, but never posted.

Guest Bath - Before + After

I've been helping a couple friends with some interior design projects and pulled this Makelike 'Lush' wallpaper for one of their entryways.

I thought it would just be incredible on all four walls, enveloping one into a cozy dream-like state before moving them towards a calmer, more subdude living area.

It didn't end up making the final cut for said entryway...but somehow, it ended up making it's way into our guest bath.

For me, it was a haunting pattern. I just couldn't get it out of my mind. I found relief when I held a sample of it up in the guest bathroom - I just knew it would be a great addition.

But I delayed in pulling the trigger, and I'm glad I did because several days later, I found it offered on a sample sale site for 50% off. Into cart. Checkout, please!

This day last year: "What I Saw At SFMOMA"

Taco Pie

I haven't been doing a whole lot of cooking lately.  What I have been doing, in the food department, is working my way through all the canned and boxed products that line the shelves of my kitchen cupboards, freezer and refrigerator.  That's right, I'm trying to eat up all the food we already do have, and buy as little as possible.

Paella, rice, lentil soup, frozen gnocchi/peas/meat - is what's for dinner this month.

And it's worked out fine.  With the start of school, a broken irrigation system (read: garden nearly dead) and a husband that is doing the paleo diet, there just hasn't been much to get excited about in the kitchen lately.  For the past month, I've been a short order cook, and happy to be so. My shelves are beginning to look bare. :)

That all changed the other day when I was frolicking around the internet and saw the marriage of two beautiful words: Taco + Pie.  Mmmm...

The only problem was, after researching various Taco Pie recipes, I realized I didn't have any of the called-for ingredients in my dwindling stock-pile. So to prepare it, guilt-free, I knew I had to make some modifications -- I had to add some canned ingredients that weren't originally called for (but were burning a hole in my cupboard).  The end result was pretty tasty, easy to make and a definite family pleaser (although the wee ones would barely admit it).

Most of the Taco Pie recipes I research are pretty simple: dough, beef, taco seasoning, sour cream, chips and cheese.  I took mine up a notch by adding an onion, a can of black beans, sweet potato puree (YA-I-DID!!), reducing the cheese by almost half, and serving it with chopped greens, avocado and tomato.

Preparing the dough and sauteing the beef with onions.

After transferring the drained, beef mixture to the pie dish, I spread and even layer of sweet potato puree on top, added crumpled tortilla chips and shredded cheese.

30 minutes later - Tada!

 

TACO PIE

1 can of Crescent Rolls

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 onion, diced

1 teaspoon of kosher salt

1 package of taco seasoning, preferably Frontera's Taco Skillet Sauce

1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed.

1 can of sweet potato puree

2 handfuls of tortilla chips

5 oz. package of finely shredded mild Cheddar cheese

Garnish ideas: iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, salsa, guacamole, etc.

DIRECTIONS:

Set the oven to 350 degrees

Spray a 9 inch glass pie plate with cooking spray. Line the pie plate with the Crescent Rolls, making sure to overlap, fill any gaps and bringing dough up to edge.

In a pan, heat some oil and lightly saute the onion, then add ground beef. Season with salt and cook until beef is browned and barely any pink remains. Remove from heat and add beans and taco seasoning.

With a slotted spoon, transfer beef mixture to pie dish, discard juices.  Top beef with sweet potato puree, evenly spreading to edges of dish with a spatula. Top with crumbled tortilla chips and then shredded cheese.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Serve with chopped iceberg lettuce, avocado, guacamole, tomatoes, salsa or anything else you think might add to the dish.

Missoni for Target

I had a post all ready to go for this morning, letting you know that I was out...that I was at Target for the Missoni *drop*...that I wanted everyone out of my way - "hey, hands off, Lady! That zig-zag picture frame is mine!"

But then something amazing happened. I had a really bad dream... that lead to something really good!

I dreamt that I *skipped school* to do my shopping online but that the Target website had sold out.

And then I woke up. It was 3:45am and I remembered the online promise of Target: "We'll be up bright and early!"

I thought: In order for them to fulfill their promise, they must mean, bright and early East Coast time, right?

And so I tippy-toed downstairs and got online. Missoni for Target, bright and early. :D

I came, I shopped, I knocked it out of frickin' park with a new 28" zig zag bike.

As I type, it's 5:47am.  Ebay is filled with overpriced Missoni for Target products, and target.com is down, experiencing technical difficulties.

Something tells me I was just part of something very big in the design world.

But the best part is, I don't have to take two hours out of my day to drive to the nearest store.  My shopping is all done.  My zig-zag velour running suit is on it's way and I'm just sipping coffee, catching-up on *stuff* wondering why I don't wake up at 4am more often. You certainly can get a crap-load done when you don't have kids to tend to.

Here are some other beautiful items from the collection to get you started this morning:

 

Zucchini Bread Experiment

If you've ever had a zucchini plant, chances are you are an expert at making zucchini bread.

I planted four varieties this year and am grateful that only one of them is really *doing its thing*, the other three are producing at a vastly slower rate.

And yet, I'm still needing to get crafty with zucchinis on an almost daily basis. I've grilled them, done lots of bread, fritters, and then took four days off to watch this giant zucchini take over the yard.

In an effort to keep trying new things, to challenge myself with healthier choices, I decided to take a tried and true recipe for zucchini bread, and to replace every possible ingredient with something a bit *better*.

I felt like the changes I made were pretty significant overall, and was worried that the differences between the two recipes would be striking.  I mean, if they weren't, then why wouldn't everyone substitute whole grain flour for white, olive oil for for vegetable, and eliminate over half the sugar?!?

But I was pleasantly surprised.  While the tried and true recipe was incredibly good, the healtier option was great as well, just *different*.  And while you'd want to serve the original recipe to your guests, you will absolutely want to make the modified version for your kids!  I also made the recipe into muffins and froze them for a later date, something I love to do (with my 15 sq-ft-didn't-know-you-needed-one, deep-freezer).

Here's what I did:

 

A Healthier Zucchini Bread

Ingredients

• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup of squash puree (optional. I used persimmon, but pumpkin would work too).
• 1 cup sugar (NOT 2-1/4!!! :)
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

1. Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
2. Sift whole wheat flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
3. Beat eggs, extra virgin olive oil, puree, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.
4. Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

Yo, Nigella, You Forgot the Egg!

The other day, *someone* (under four feet tall) was disappointed in me for not doing more of *something* (what, I can't remember). All that matters is my comeback:

"Look at Mama... ah-ah-ah... Right here - look into my eyes... Do you know that there are FOUR zucchini plants in our backyard right now?  Do you have any idea what that means?!?  It means this summer, it's all about zucchini, and not a lot else!!  In fact, it's the Summer of the Crooked Neck Squash!  Didn't know that, did ya??  It's the whole reason you are in summer camp - so I can effectively, and efficiently, use up all this zucchini.  So no, I can't do XY or Z for you this season.  I have to bake 1,213 more batches of zucchini bread for freezing. Afterall, winter is almost here!!!"

Thank you to one of my oldest friends, Sunny, for directing me to Nigella's Zucchini Fritters.  This delicious recipe offered us a respite from the usual stuff. I was able to quickly make a batch of these for dinner last week, and shared them with another old friend who came to dinner (hi, Jenny!).  I continued to power through the batter the next day when I realized the obvious - zucchini fritters are even better when you put an egg on top!

Rosemary Ice Cream with Olive Oil

I grew up in a family of ice cream lovers. I have little to no memories of eating cookies or cake outside of birthday celebrations, but there was always ice cream in the freezer. The times seemed to dictate our simple tastes - there was chocolate, or vanilla.

And while I'm still right at home with either of those classics (Haagen Daz only, please!), I can not say I'm not secretly addicted to the extravagant blends of Ben and Jerry's, or the glossy recipe pages of artisan ice cream books.

I've managed to pick-up a couple this year. :)

I purchased Ciao Bella's book while in Crate and Barrel only because I love their gelato. But Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home is a coffee table worthy piece, filled with the most intoxicating photography (aka: *dessert porn*).  Just flipping through the pages I found myself with curious yearnings for Sweet Potato Ice Cream (?), Beet Ice Cream with Mascarpone and Poppy Seeds (!?), even Gorgonzola Dolce Ice Cream with Candied Walnuts (!?!) 

Who am I?  What has become of me?

A couple weeks ago I found myself dessert-less and in need of knowing what Rosemary and Olive Oil Gelato tasted like.  Ciao Bella had the recipe but lucky for all you, I botched it, rendering it a *modified* recipe that I can now share online.

It was incredibly good!  Not something that I would necessarily choose over a bowl of Haagen Daz, but so unique and interesting that it stands to be the ideal dessert to serve to guests on a Summer night, right after some sort of fabulous Italian dinner. Benissimo!

 

Rosemary and Olive Oil Ice Cream

1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh rosemary

1 cup of whole milk, well chilled

2 cups heavy cream, well chilled

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1-2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

In a medium bowl or container, combine the rosemary and milk. Cover and refrigerate fore 48 hours, stirring the mixture after 24 hours and gain just before straining.

Strain the rosemary-infused milk into a large heavy-bottom saucepan, pressing on the solids to extract all the flavored milk mixture. Discard rosemary and add cream, sugar, olive oil and vanilla.

Pour mixture into the container of an ice cream machine and churn according to the manufacturer's instructions. Freeze for 1-2 hours before serving.

For A High Protein, Mid-Day Buzz

I started P90X yesterday. 

Which means I'm on day two. Of 90. In other words, I have 88 days to go.

It's actually my second time doing the program.  Only because I had such success the first time, am I doing it again. Daddy did it with me last year, and while it was exhausting at times, the payoff was huge. I dropped 10% of my body weight, and got to my pre-baby target weight.  There is a part of me that wants to share my before and after pictures right now, but I'm smart enough to know that this is the internet and that would just be a really stupid idea.

I haven't worked out consistently in the year since I completed the program, but if you can believe it, the weight has not come back on. Weird, I know. But I can't complain. :)

Needless to say, baking rich savory dishes and sweet treats just isn't high on my list of things to do this summer.  It's all about the body-builders diet and ridiculously high amounts of lean protein that I will be lucky to hold down.  That said, I made a *recovery shake* after today's work-out that was incredible just because of one simple ingredient:

instant coffee.

I blended my usual 12oz. of non-fat milk with a frozen banana, a tablespoon of peanut butter and instead of a scoop of protein powder (don't tell Tony), I added a package of Starbucks VIA (aka: instant coffee granules). The end result was completely addicting.

What a perfect discovery to make at four o'clock in the afternoon.

Accidental Genius - Frittata Edition

I'm here today to tell you that you really should try to make more frittata.

Really.

Ever since my rainbow chard came into it's own earlier this month, I've been meaning to *do it*...you know, make a frittata.  But I slacked and hemmed and hawed because rainbow chard is just not titillating to me the way beets, tomatoes, artichokes and corn are. So it took my purple cauliflower to come in before I had no choice but to get cooking. I'm so glad I did.

Minutes from the garden, and using (some) eggs that were fresh from the chicken's butt still warm, I made a to-die-for-quality frittata that has me excited to make more and more.  It was hearty with its chunks of cauliflower and so savory with peppered bacon and smoked gouda. The chard added an unexpected crunch to it, making it that much more interesting. Frittata is so wonderful to have this time of year when vegetable are in abundance, because you can make one with just about anything but the kitchen sink. Here's how I did mine:

Swiss Chard + Bacon Frittata

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1 head of cauliflower, cut into small bites

3 cups of Swiss chard, chopped

6 bacon strips (preferably seasoned with pepper), diced

2 cups shredded smoke gouda cheese (you can really use whatever is on hand)

8 eggs, lightly beaten (or 10 home laid eggs)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9" round baking dish. 

2. With a couple tablespoons of olive oil, saute onion until tender but not yet browning. Add cauliflower and cook for several minutes. Add swiss chard and saute until chard is just wilted. Remove from heat.

3. In a second saucepan, saute bacon until lightly brown, but still soft. Remove from heat.

4. Toss chard mixture with cheese and bacon and spread evenly into baking dish. Pour eggs evenly throughout the dish. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until the center of frittata is cooked through and edges are golden brown. Let cool but serve warm.