MommyCoddle

my last recipe box

I find myself wondering when that pit in my stomach will disappear in those moments when I realize my grandmother is no longer just around the corner, putting on soup at her kitchen stove, deadheading the roses along the driveway, or balancing her checkbook in the back living room. There are days that life just happens and the fact that she is missing from it, seems to be part of what's normal. And then there are days where her absences brings a tightness to my throat and a welling of tears in my eyes. Or days that I forget she is gone and I catch myself thinking that we should head there for lunch, or stop by to tell her there are three ducklings taking up residence in our downstairs bathroom once again, because I know she'll laugh and be excited for the girls.

A few weekends ago, my cousins and I sat in my living room, enjoying a glass of wine together and reminiscing. I made the comment that while I was thankful her passing was quick, and not a long, drawn-out decline, it also made it difficult for me to grasp it all. It was too easy to remember her healthy, strong, and just fine. Wasn't it just last week that we were sitting together on the bench under the Sweet Gum tree? Or checking in with each other to see who needed cat food from the feed mill?

Last week, I sat in the kitchen with her big wooden recipe box in front of me. I was looking for a few family-favorite recipes. Of course, pouring over your grandmother's recipe box is not exactly the best thing to do to lift your spirits, but there was still a sweetness to it all. The greasy recipe cards typed up on a typewriter, the little slips of paper with her handwriting-- recipes from Terry, NancyAnn, Paige....

Judging by the recipe box and the recipes inside, I can tell my grandmother has had this for a really long time. I'm guessing it's been the recipe box that's been sitting on her counter for as long as any can remember.

When I went home that afternoon, to file away my copied recipes, I remembered that I'd had it on my mind lately to organize my recipe box. I have a recipe box on top of my stove full of a some favorite recipes, as well as some I've never tried, some I've clipped from magazines. And I also have a stack of notecards scattered in a drawer. And  a file folder of recipes stashed between the cookbooks on my shelf. And a few blowing around the top of my dresser upstairs.

I decided it's time to start my last recipe box. The one that will sit on my counter for as long as anyone can remember.

Several months ago, I bought myself a new recipe box with this in mind. But it has been sitting empty on my countertop. After going through my grandmother's recipe box, I realized how much of her is inside that box. Her handwriting. Her favorites. My favorites. Family favorites.

So I'm slowly cooking and baking my way through my disorganized, mismatched collection of recipes. When something is a standard, a classic in my kitchen, I move it to it's new, final home. Eventually, I hope to have my own recipe box full of recipes--tattered and splotched from years of use. That they'll become our family favorites. Passed down. Collected. Copied. Loved.

ONE simple question, no. 6

This weather has me all confused. This morning as I put on jeans and a pair of long sleeves, I actually thought about starting a small fire in the woodstove and wondered where my knitting bag was. What?! It's June 18th! Hardly time to be thinking about sticky, hot wool and kindling for the woodstove.

But before I know it, I'll be dripping in sweat, swearing at our lack of air-conditioning and feeling faint at the idea of turning on a stove or standing over a bubbling pot.

Over the past few months I've become quite attached to the idea of preparing dinner ahead of time--whether it be in the slow cooker, or my lovely red dutch oven, a Christmas gift from my mother. Nothing makes me feel more organized and in control of my afternoons than having dinner slowly cooking away, with just a few last-minute preps to get dinner on the table. Some of my least-glamorous parenting moments come in that wacky hour or so before Dan gets home from work, and I'm scrambling to get dinner on the table.

So in the spirit of  keeping the temperatures low in the kitchen, and freeing up more time to enjoy the perks of summer, I'd love it if you'd share your favorite go-to "make ahead" meal. It can be a slow-cooker recipe. A dutch oven recipe. A freeze ahead of time, bake later recipe. Anything to keep the temperatures low and savor the summer, which seems to be slipping through my fingers. (Sandy, I hope you'll share some of the recipes you sent me in your email!)

a run for my money

Well, I am officially three days into my grocery challenge and things are so far, so good. I'm sure it will get a lot more "creative" as the week wears on. Sunday night we had breakfast for dinner--eggs, some potatoes, bacon and I used some Bisquick baking mix to make some cinnamon swirly kind of biscuits. It is a riff off of something that the woman who cooks for my grandmother used to make. I've never officially asked for the recipe, but knowing her--there is bisquick involved.

I just mixed together bisquick and milk until I got a dough-like consistency. Then I made up a brown sugar-cinnamon filling, which I added some oats to this time, for something different. I rolled it out flat, added the filling and rolled it back up. and cut it into two-inch rolls. After it baked, I made a little confectioner sugar icing--which I'd leave off next time. But otherwise, yummy and good.

I think this week will be a good exercise for a number of reasons. I'm not looking to make this a habit--the skimping on groceries and fresh produce. This is just an exercise that I'm hoping will bring some new perspective.

Already I find myself watching portions and the "I can always go get more" mentality is quickly changing. We are so blessed, you know? To be able to have so many food resources at our fingertips. And I love the creativity that goes in to using what I have on hand. It stretches me. We'll see exactly how much it stretches me at the end of the week.

Thank you all for your thoughts and ideas and encouragement on this experiment. I'd love to hear from those of you that have decided to join in--hear how your week is going so far.

Other random bits:

**I have a guest blog post over at the National Wildlife Federation's Green Hour blog. Go check it out, if you're looking for a simple way to get your kids outdoors.

**I've created an archive of my good things lists. It will always appear at the bottom of the list. I often find myself wishing I'd done this in the past, so I hope it will be helpful for all of you, too. If I found the good thing through someone else's blog, you'll notice a little "pop-up" that appears over the good thing, when you place your cursor over it. (did that make sense?)

**It's a new month over at habit, which means we have a new group of guests. Come by and see!

**Several of you asked for the granola recipe I use. It is my grandmother's recipe and you can find it in this post. (I make a half recipe). It is really simple and easily customized to your tastes.

**My two year old is giving me a run for my money lately--in the form of telling me "nope" for everything I ask her to do, giving herself a mullet, and nakedness. In fact, I was lucky to find a picture to post with her somewhat clothed. I count it progress if I can keep her dressed through breakfast. It's going to be an interesting summer. (Thank goodness I believe that nakedness is the best technique for potty training! :) And I'm going to have to figure out how to deal with the mullet later today.

Up for a challenge?

Last week, I went to the grocery store and spent almost $200.

I wanted to pass out. I felt sick to my stomach. So much money sucked out of our bank account. Even with my menus carefully planned out, list in-hand, I still spent way more than I anticipated. And it's like that almost every week.

I know groceries are a necessity. It's not like I'm getting my hair highlighted and my nails done. We must have groceries. But still. It is so much money. And despite some great tips, I'm still spending too much.

Driving home from an errand today, I began to think how nice it would be if I could just take one week off from grocery shopping. Right now, I plan my menus on Monday morning and the girls and I head to the groceryafter breakfast and shop for the week. I get just what I need for the week, save for a few staples or pantry re-stocking, and the occasional impulse buy.

But back to my idea about taking a week off....

You know it's not like my cupboards are bare except for the things I'm putting in each week. They are still stocked with rice and beans and cans of soup and pastas and..... There are the odd cuts of meat and frozen breads in my freezer. I have flour. And sugar. And yeast. And butter.

It's just that I often ignore those things in my pantry for what I feel like making that week.

I'm not using what I have.

So here's my challenge for this week. My own mini no-spend challenge. I'm not going to the grocery store next week. (And I'm not going to stock up this weekend either--no cheating.) I'm going to make do with what I have in my cupboards and freezer. I'm going to get creative. I'm going to do my best to put together some meals with what I have on hand. I'm going to save a little money this week.

Sometimes my best meals are the ones created when I think "I have nothing to make for dinner".

So as I head in to next week, here are a few things I'm allowing:

1. I'm allowing myself to buy milk for the week (a necessity for my children), a bag of coffee beans (c'mon, I'm not crazy), and I'm going to refill the propane tank on my grill.
2. If someone invites me to dinner. I'm going to say yes. :)
3. I'm going to buy two quarts of strawberries at the farmers' market tomorrow.

Here's what I'm slightly concerned about:

1. I have no fresh greens in my fridge. But I do have frozen varieties.
2. I still think I'd rather go with a meal of rice and beans than break into the deer sausage my grandmother kept passing on to us. Which has been sitting in my freezer since, well....deer season. Yuck.
3. I hope I can make enough to eat for meals, plus leftovers for Dan's lunches.

All next week, I'll let you know what I make each night for dinner. In the midst of my normal posts, I'll keep you updated on how it's going and whether or not I'm making it. Ugh. I'm nervous. But I know it will be fine. I like a little mini-challenge.

Anyone brave enough to join me? And by the way. We have lots of granola.

home economics, revisited

To call this recipe a healthy snack would probably fall somewhere in the same category as calling that strawberry whipped cream pretzel Jello creation, a salad. But I'm pretty sure I recall my sixth grade home economics teacher, Judy Ludy, pronouncing this treat a healthy after school snack.

I do remember it was the first thing I brought home from that middle school kitchen, found deep in the belly of the building, covered in orange and brown laminate everything. Three kitchens, divided by rolling worktables and a row of stoves, we were set free in the land of open flames and sharp knives. A group of five chefs, in royal blue aprons, elbow to elbow in each kitchen. We shared the work, fought over the most exciting parts of the recipe, and whined when someone didn't wash their own dishes.

It the end, we each sampled a small square, divided up the rest and tucked it in a flimsy plastic sandwich bag, that we shoved inside that outside pocket of our backpacks, among pencil points and tiny spiral notebooks.

By the time we got on the bus, it was a warm misshapen mess that we had to peel from the wrapper, but the joy of tasting that peanut buttery goodness was worth all the wait--while others peeked over green vinyl seat backs to see what they were missing, and what they'd be making when their turn came at the kitchens.

Judy Ludy's Healthy After School Snack (with revisions)

1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. light corn syrup*
1/2 c.  + 2 Tablespoons creamy peanut (or a heaping half cup)

3 scant cups of cereal**. (the original calls for Corn Flakes, which is really the best for a simple crunch. When I made this batch, I only had multi-grain cheerios on hand. It was pretty darn good, too.)

* The old-school recipe calls for corn syrup. However, I often swap it out for honey. This makes for an equally gooey, sweet result, with slightly more "teeth stuck together, chew for one minute before swallowing" end results.

Stir together sugar and corn syrup (honey) and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. When the mixture begins to bubble (just a nice easy boil around the edges, not a rolling, aggressive boil) remove from heat and stir in peanut butter until melted and smooth. Pour over cereal. Stir to coat and press into an 8 x 8 pan. Cool and cut into bars. It can be stored in the refrigerator, if you want, but I find it best to bring it back to room temperature or else it is really difficult to cut (and chew, for that matter).

If you're really wild and crazy, you can melt chocolate bits over the bars.

**One more thought: now, after years of making this recipe, I often add the cereal directly to the peanut butter mixture and play with the amount I add. Adding less cereal will obviously give you more of a soft, candy-like result, which is sometimes kind of yummy, too.

showered with inspiration

I guess you never know when something as simple as disappearing for 15 minutes can inspire such creativity. The other day, my children had one of those blissful days where they seemed to get along all day--they played, they sang, they drew pictures, they went outside, they dressed up. It was magical.

So when I told the two of them I was slipping away for a quick shower, they must have realized this was their chance to sneak into the kitchen and get creative. A few weeks ago, Emma created this little snack, and she's been riffing off that idea ever since.

But they really outdid themselves this time:

pretzels, sandwiched around peanut butter sprinkled with brown sugar, chocolate chips and sprinkles.

I won't discuss the mess, or how hard smashed sprinkles are to remove from white kitchen linoleum floors, or how mysteriously empty the chocolate chip bag was, or the ring of wet chocolate around their lips, or how much brown sugar was sprinkled across the table top, or how they reached into the pretzel jar with fingers covered in peanut butter, or how I'd mopped the kitchen floor on my hands and knees that morning.....

I will say, they tasted pretty good, in small doses.

Meanwhile, I've had a little list of things I've wanted to share with you burning a hole in my back pocket. And now, this morning, I can't find that list anywhere....but I do remember a few:

Have you seen the new Lotta Jansdotter, Simple Sewing For Baby book? Lotta + babies + crafting? Be still my heart. Be watching here for a little review/giveaway coming up soon. Meanwhile, if you're lucky enough to be close, Lotta is hosting a Launch Party in her Brooklyn, NY studio, Friday, May 8th from 6-9pm.

Also, the people at Peek, who so generously donated a Peek to giveaway on this blog a few months ago, emailed me and asked me to mention their new promo for mother's day. And since they're such nice people, and really this Peek is just right for someone like my mom, who wants to be connected but is better with a scaled down version of this fancy-schmancy smartphone stuff, this could be a great little Mom's day gift. Just puttin' out the word.

And because it's been a really long time since I've shared some flickr favorites. Here's a little photographic inspiration for your Thursday morning. Hoping it's sunnier than mine! C'mon sun. Show your face.

(click on the photo for photo credits)

another simple question

Since my last simple question was such a success, I have another one for you this evening:

What is your dinner style? Buffet? Family style? Serve yourself?

Let me explain....for me, the moments right before we sit down to a meal can be pure chaos. Kids are whining for dinner, Dan is walking in the door, I'm still counting out forks and napkins, and realizing I forgot to put out everyone's drinks.

And I'm notoriously guilty of calling everyone in for dinner way too early--so that they're champing at the bit, mulling around the kitchen, and I'm still running around getting things together. (In my defense, it seems like the days I wait until every detail is taken care of, "people" lolly-gag too long and end up sitting down  to a table full of cold food.)

I used to be a fan of the "buffet style" dinner, where I'd serve everything up from the stove and pass out plates to people sitting at the table. But sometimes, this gets a little crazy--the lack of counter space, the ones waiting for their plates to be fixed, hungry little ones digging in (and sometimes devouring) before we've even said grace, the getting up and down every time something is forgotten or someone needs more.

So lately, I've been bringing everything to the table and serving it up family style. It makes for a full table but it seems to make for less trips up and down and a smoother transition into dinner. I *think*.

But I'd love to hear your style.

How do you get everything on the table, get settled and enjoy a family meal?

creative juices

Sometimes, when I disappear from my blog, it's because something is sucking all the creative juices out of my body, leaving me feeling empty; like I have nothing to say, nothing worth sharing, nothing worth noting. Other times, when I disappear, it's because I'm up to my elbows in life--schooling, gardening, children, cleaning, laundry, knitting.

Thankfully, this time I can say my short absence is due to the later. I've actually been sitting in front a sewing machine--something I haven't done in a really long time. I've been stitching little things, by hand. I've been reading, lingering outside when the sun shows its face from behind the clouds, attacking a closet full of smelly laundry, exercising, taking pictures, cooking*....all good things.

Yesterday, I took a big bowl of scraps out to the chickens. I have to confess not everything in the bowl was completely spent. But I went to the grocery store yesterday and needed some fridge space. And these were the leftovers from last week's meals. It has been interesting to see which things disappear first--the rice I threw in after the picture was taken, the moldy pancakes (which I suspect disappeared into the mouth of a four-legged beast), the tomatoes and pepper seeds.

Dan is building me a compost bin this weekend, finally, and I have a feeling I'll have a lot of clucking and scratching and pecking going on around it.

I also defrosted the last batch of summer berries. I didn't freeze very many, and I'm regretting that now. I'll have to remind myself of this come hot, sticky, summertime, when I don't really feel like being in the kitchen. But there's nothing better than summer berries in the freezer.

Dan left me an online shopping cart full of seeds he wants to order for the garden. I've added the flowers I want for a cutting garden and the neighbor is going to plow our plot with his tractor this weekend, if things dry out.

Spring is definitely showing its face around here.

*I made this Everyday Food recipe last night, swapped out the shells with orzo pasta. It was killer good.*

five senses

I have to admit, I'm often a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants homeschooler. In fact, I remember being the same way when I was an elementary school teacher. Not so much that I'm not prepared, as much as I'm often struck with an idea when we're in the middle of something else, and I scramble to pull it together.

That happened this morning when we were reading a (very boring) thrifted Science textbook, while we waited for the mobile veterinarian to make a visit to our little farm. The first chapter talked about how we learn about the world around us and discussed using our five senses.

It gave me the idea to let the girls play a little blind-folded guessing game, using all their senses except sight, to figure out what all the items were on my mystery tray.

While they played in the other room, I wandered around the kitchen  looking for things that had texture and smell, sound, and even flavor. (I clued them in when they were safe to taste something. Though I did let them taste the clothespin, just for fun!)

I blindfolded both girls and sat them down at the kitchen table. We worked through the tray of objects and I had them whisper in my ear what they thought each item was. (Whispering was key, because Mary tends to just guess whatever Emma guesses. And I was anxious to see how well she'd do at this game.) 

They loved it and it was fun to see how well they did with their guessing, and what clued them in to what each object was.

Later this afternoon, while Emma was drawing at the dining room table, I gave her a few small circles and asked her to make some observations in each circle based upon her five senses. She was in "a mood" at the moment and gave me a head slumped down on the table, "when can I get back to what I want to do?" kind of effort, but I think I'll try it again tonight, when I'm in the kitchen making supper.

So now after all this, I'm not sure if my girls know more about their five senses, or more about how much fun it is to blindfold each other and make them stick their hands in unknown bowls of food.

Hopefully, a little something was learned along the way.

protein + whole grains

For some reason, my eldest child seems to always give me a rough go of things for several weeks right around her birthday. I remember it when she turned six. And it happened again this January when she turned seven. Maybe it's coincidence. Maybe not. But this year, to be honest, it was a particularly tough several weeks.

It was one of those parenting seasons where I began to question all the decisions I was making for her, wonder if I was somehow "wronging" her, and how I'd failed as a parent. I found myself faced with situations where there was nothing in my parenting bag of tools and tricks that seemed to work.

Eventually, things began to settle down. I think a big part of it, was my change in perspective, which seemed to have a calming effect on our home.

Dan and I also began to notice a pattern. Many of our tough episodes with her seemed to be related to food--whether she was flat-out hungry or coming off some sort of sugary-high. So my focus began to shift, and I realized that I needed to start making some eating habit changes around our house.

On one particularly rough evening, I called Emily and we talked about all this. By the end of the conversation, she encouraged me to focus on two things: getting protein in at every meal (and snack), and making the transition to more whole wheat and grains.

I also started counting points, like I mentioned before, which always helps me be more mindful of where the calories are going, and keeps more filling foods in our diet.

And I have to tell you, the changes have been really good. The rough season appears to be behind us. And on the rare occasion that it shows its ugly head, she's in a much better place to be able to deal with it, and move on.  Me, too.

So I'm back to meal-planning. I'm getting very familiar with my Cooking Light magazine again and delving into out my grandmother's old Moosewood Cookbook.

But you all never fail me...what are some of your best high protein snacks, or whole grain meals and dishes? What's your favorite way to cook with beans? What resources, magazines or cookbooks do you like best? (have you seen this super natural recipe search?? It's great!)  I'd love to have some more recipes and ideas in my repertoire, I think most of us would. Share a link, a post, a recipe. And hopefully, I'll have some time to combine them all into one place so that they are easily accessible for all of you, too.

Thank you, friends.

chocolate covered granola OR not enough protein at lunch

They say that necessity is the mother of invention.

And there was definitely some inventing going on in my kitchen today. But I'm not sure how much necessity played into the inventing--unless you count a necessity for chocolate, or a necessity to use up the chocolate that was melting in my microwave.

I did not start out planning to make chocolate granola. I started out planning to make this simple peanut butter fudge-ish recipe that I have been making since high school.

I unwrapped the chocolate, started its slow melt in the microwave, started melting a little bit of butter in the pan and went to the kitchen table to get the new container of peanut butter out of my Target bag...

Apparently I didn't bring home the bag that was carrying my peanut butter, a packing envelope and two cans of soup.

Can I pause for a small tirade, just for a second?

 It really bugs me the way Target checkout people don't put your bags in your cart for you. The minute they hand you a receipt they start on the next person in line. Leaving my stack of bags to get muddled in with the next person's stack of bags and before I know it, in the hub-bub of getting my two older girls away from the gift registry computers or the tubes of candy that have spinning fans on the tops, and my toddler slipped back down into the straps of the shopping cart and back into her coat and hat...I've somehow lost track of how many bags I should be leaving the store with. Could you please, just put my bags in my cart for me? Or give me ten more seconds of attention before you move on to the next person so you know I know where all my bags are?

(Or maybe I could have just remembered my reusable bags so that I recognized which bags are mine.)

Anyway.

No peanut butter. At this point, I begin to think that God must be saving me from myself and doesn't want me making a recipe that begins with chocolate, peanut butter and butter....but I also don't want to waste the expensive melted chocolate that is sitting in my microwave.

I begin to literally walk from cupboard to cupboard, opening the doors, looking inside and trying to determine what I could possibly coat with chocolate.

I considered pretzels. But felt it was too time-consuming.

I considered cereal, but didn't like the ones I had to choose from.

I considered uncooked pasta. Though not for long.

Then I saw the large glass jar of granola sitting on my counter. I love granola. I like chocolate. How would they be together? I will confess to having a momentary daydream of how this was going to make a great story when my instant-success chocolate granola home-based business was featured on the Food Network.

I lined a baking sheet with parchment paper, poured about two cups of my granola into the melted chocolate and spread it out in a thin layer on the baking sheet.

Then, crazy woman that I am, I added sprinkles. (For the enjoyment of my children, of course.)

I let it cool, broke it into chunks, tasted a piece, bagged it up and stuck it back in my cupboard.

The results--pretty good. Nothing to write home about. (though obviously something to blog about). I think it has potential though. I'd prefer a better granola to chocolate ratio. As in more granola, less chocolate. But I really like the idea of it. And the sprinkles just look happy. I feel like this could have some good gift-giving potential, if I could figure out my ratios. I could see it wrapped in little parchment lined boxes.

I'm not sure what it is with my kitchen wackiness lately. First the paper-punch crackers. Now chocolate granola. I think tomorrow I'll do something really traditional, like make chicken noodle soup and a loaf of bread, just to get my feet back on the ground and my head out of the clouds. That and have some more protein at lunch, so I don't find myself in the kitchen at three in the afternoon trying to figure out what to cover in chocolate.

cause for celebration

I feel like a proud mother. Or maybe a proud mother hen. We've been waiting for this day since September. And lately, with all the spring-like weather, and rooster hanky-panky, I had a feeling it would be happening soon. We even gave them a freshly cleaned out coop and fluffed up those nesting boxes, just as a little encouragement.

Someone else in this house has been anticipating this day even more than me.

So when I woke up Friday morning to, "MOM!!! WAKE UP! You are going to scream your pants off!" I knew what was coming before I even opened my eyes.

(And yes, Emma does wake up before me some times. And she sneaks downstairs and does things like burn toast and set off the smoke alarm (Thursday), or sit and draw pictures at the kitchen table, or bring all the outside barn cats into the mudroom for "snuggling". )

On Friday, she must have sensed it was THE day, because she got up, got dressed and went to let the chickens out and check for eggs, very early.

And she was right!

EGGS!!! WE HAVE EGGS, people! Three of them, in fact. And two of them later in the day--because, you know she checked almost hourly. That's one egg from every hen.

I feel so proud.

And we're keeping track--the official "chicken chart" has been placed on the kitchen wall and a tally system is in place. So far, we've collected eight eggs. And Dan, to the shock of our children, fried up a few of those eggs Sunday morning. The girls, apparently, are on an egg strike.

And when I went to the grocery store on Sunday afternoon, I walked right on by those shelves of eggs. There's nothing like the feeling of producing your own food, even just a little bit.

Gets me excited for this year's garden.

And makes me want to give these hens a day at the spa or something...for all their egg-laying work.

a few notes

While I was away, I kept a few notes of the things I had been doing, tucked in my back pocket. I....

...cleaned the house. And watched it get dirty again.
...filled the bird feeders. Twice.
...thought about sewing. But didn't.
...watched Emma on ice skates on my grandparents' pond.
...had habit withdrawal.
...played a game of memory.
...cooked in my dutch oven. Three times.
...nursed a black eye.
...made soup.
...bought new books. And fell in love with homeschooling again.
...got a better internet connection.
...thanked my husband for a freshly painted pantry.
...administered Tylenol.

...mourned the end of a favorite magazine.
...fussed with my camera settings.
...thought about writing that children's book.
...told my girls the story.
...took a nap. Or two. Or three.
...made spring rolls.
...confiscated angry notes to little sisters.

...gave everyone in the family a haircut.
...started a new book .
...finished a project.

...knit.
...paid bills.
...bought a wing in the library in library fines.

...removed peanuts from nostrils.
...created and shipped out ten valentine crafts for babycenter.
...baked granola.

...made ambitious garden plans. Extremely ambitious.
...turned a fridge door into a dry erase board.
...got overwhelmed by messes. And then recovered.

...fixed a woodstove door that fell off in my hands. Again.
...watched a heron fly low across the yard.
...nursed a rooster with a sore toe.

...ignored the laundry and watched a movie with the girls.
...enjoyed empty moments in my day.
...missed all of YOU!

Hi! I'm back. Yay.

Glimpses of Reality, Followed by Inspiration

I believe a few glimpses of reality are nice every once in awhile. Healthy, even. Here are a few glimpses of reality from my day:

I am making grilled cheese sandwiches while I write this post. My laptop is sitting on the counter beside the stove.

My girls are watching a movie about penguins. And I'm okay with that. Because our morning was full or play and creativity.

I'm listening to Diana Krall on the radio show Art of The Song which reminds me of a boyfriend in college. Which I didn't think of until just this instant. (this is a new-found favorite on the radio and gets my inner singer, songwriter stirred up.)

This is where the girls spent most of the morning. A secret club meets under there. In order to get in, you must be wearing a tee shirt with the name of your favorite sport on it. Mary's says horseback riding. Emma's says soccer. And you must bring a sketch book. If I could fit, I'd be in that club, too.

Later, the girls commandeered the bathroom. Which, when the door is shut, is the warmest spot in the house--when the furnace is working, of course. Which isn't something you can count on.

That's Elizabeth, trying to get into the club. Yes, she's wearing underwear, over her clothes, which is another post to come. Yes, you'd break an ankle trying to get into that room. You should try to navigate it in the middle of the night. Yes, their beds are unmade. Morning "chores" were postponed this morning.

That's my kitchen table yesterday, about thirty minutes after I should have been elbow-deep in dinner prep. Instead I'm up to my elbows in red and pink and hearts and cupids and fancy paper and pipe cleaners. I'm working on some crafts for a new section on babycenter's website. They need 10 crafts, designed, instructions written out, and shipped to be professionally photographed in 7 days. Am I crazy? My deadline is tomorrow.

And now some inspiration to balance out my reality:

**Molly's photography in this post about her new restaurant, Delancy.
**Ali Edward's office tour. I'm getting Dan to build me some of those wooden bins on the wall, asap!
**Kristin's handmade doll clothes, which I think would be great to make for the girls' new dolls. I've already reserved the book from the library.
**This peek at Heather's new work. Stunning.
**Cassi's button clips.
**This post over at Ordinary Courage. It's actually her take on Oprah's latest magazine cover, but her thoughts on addiction, body image are really eye-opening. I'm not sure anyone could read the post without taking something positive away from it.

And back to reality......I burned the second side of the grilled cheese. Bummer.

No "Naan"-Sense bread

I've been trying to write this post for four days, but we've been busy. You know, learning to read the newspaper, pulling all the cushions off the sofa and jumping on them, those sorts of things.

Now there's just way too much to share, too many pictures to show, so I'm going to have to pace myself and stick with the original post.

But first I just want to whine about the fact  that I am really dying this year without a sewing machine. Mine is broken, thanks to a nasty attempt at sewing with knits. The machine is not worth the repair that is needed and a new machine is nowhere in the budget right now.

And of course, THIS would be the holiday where my children are asking, begging, for the majority of their gifts to be handmade. Little House on the Prairie bonnets. Little House on the Prairie aprons, Little House on The Prairie sleeping caps, dresses....I'm dying, folks. Anyone have a sewing machine they want to rent me for a week?? Ugh.

Anyway, I'll figure it out.

I'm having a hard time with the Christmas shopping this year. Feeling like my children really don't need much, you know? And they aren't asking for a lot either, which is kind refreshing.

Will you tell me what you are getting for your children this holiday season?

It always gives me ideas and if nothing else, late winter brings several birthdays in this house and I'm always looking for ideas. Do tell, and I promise I'll keep the secret.

My original intent with this post was to share a new recipe for Naan and to share my ugly, poorly lit, "Mom can you stop taking pictures of the bread so we can eat?" photograph .

I've been on this Naan-kick lately. It tastes so good with everything--soup, stew, salad, pasta. And I'm always buying the painfully expensive package of it at my grocery store. I figured there had to be a way to make it at home.

So I went to my Joy of Cooking cookbook which has yet to fail me. And lo and behold (which sounds like something my mom would say), there it was. I even had all the ingredients.

It is so simple,turns out so yummy, and is so dangerous. Just what my waistline needs--a simple, easy-to-make white bread.

Here is the recipe from The Joy of Cooking, with my commentary:

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Combine in the bowl of a heavy duty mixer:
2 cups bread flour
1/2 teas. salt
1 1/4 teas. active dry yeast

Add:
2 Tbsp. melted butter or vegetable oil (I used oil)
3/4 cup yogurt or buttermilk, at room temperature (I used b'milk and helped it along to get it to room temp via the microwave. Because room temperature in my house, is the same as the inside of my refrigerator. I'm not kidding.)
1 teas to 1Tbl of water, as needed (for me, it took way more than 1 T. to get my soft ball of dough formed)

Mix on low speed until a soft ball of dough is formed. Knead by hand or on the low speed of a mixer with the dough hook until the dough is smooth and elastic. (I recommend not kneading it on top of the spot where your children just spilled hot cocoa mix. Just a recommendation. Though turned out rather tasty.)

Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and turn once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for about 1 1/2 hours. (this is where I take my dough in near the woodstove. I will say, the first time it hardly rose at all. But I went with it and it still turned out fine. Bubbly and good.)

Punch the dough down and divide equally into four pieces. Roll into balls, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. (or while you go outside and lock in the chickens for the night.)

Place a baking stone(wish I had one) or inverted baking sheet (have one) in the oven and preheat to 475 degrees. Roll out each ball of dough into an oval 8-10 inches long and 1/4 inch thick. Brush the tops with melted butter.
Add toppings, if desired--poppy seeds, scallions, etc.

Place the dough topping side up with as many ovals as will fit without touching directly onto the baking sonte or sheet. Bake until each oval gets puffy and just begins to turn golden 6-7 minutes. Remove from the oven and bake remaining dough. Drizzle over the baked bread, 1T melted butter (optional).

Serve warm.

Now go forth and bake Naan. I'll catch up more next week.