Not Sugar

I'd forgotten how wonderful homemade playdough is!

I haven't purchased white flour in years (trust me - it doesn't work with whole wheat flour), and I've been meaning to do it for ages so we could finally make the best, soft, moist, colorful playdough around. Cora had never helped me before (that's how long it's been!). We had to make purple and pink, naturally. :)

While putting the few easy ingredients together, she insisted that pile of granular white stuff was sugar. I assured her no, it wasn't. Yes, it was. NO, it wasn't! I often find myself arguing with this certain three year old...she is one stubborn gal. (For example, I can't teach her letters or numbers because she'll refuse to agree that that letter is an S, and she can write it herself, she knows how to do it, etc...let's just say she's not receptive to any teaching from me!)

So I let her taste a pinch of salt. Just because she insisted it was sugar.

And what did she say?

I was ready for her to make a big scene and say YUCk and ask for a drink.

Watching her face, I know she didn't like it, but she didn't want to admit it. So she smiled a big smile and said, "Mmm, that's yummy!" (Sigh....) I just can't win.

Well, it was a good day because we ended up with some great (salty) playdough!

Meatless

I've been trying to keep meat to a minimum in our menu lately - due to cost or just due to overconsumption, I'm not sure which. I just feel like we eat ALOT of chicken and hamburger (mostly). We have the occasional pork, stew meat, salmon, etc...but researching more types of protein has made me adventurous. And for someone who hates to cook, that's saying alot! I tried a couple of recipes lately that we all really liked and thought I'd share them:

Black Bean and Quinoa Enchilada Bake

The kids will eat just about anything with quinoa in it, hooray!

Curried Red Lentil Soup

My sister-in-law introduced us to this one and we loved it. Lentils cook so quickly and have a great texture once they are cooked. (I think so, anyway!) We left out the ginger and chickpeas.

And this Indian Red Lentil Soup is on the menu for tonight!

We'll let you know how it goes. :)

Yum

We love Hawaiian Haystacks, but have you ever had

Mexican Haystacks?

Oh my, these were good...especially with our homemade salsa.

I wouldn't say the kids loved it, but wow, that mango combined with fresh cilantro was amazing. I guess I'm on a cilantro kick lately.

Picture and recipe found here.

We added other toppings like cheese, lettuce and tomato. And for next time? Black beans too.

Lately

Well, I thought things would slow down a bit with two in school. Not so.

Last weekend I fought off a bad sore throat, which within hours became a cold, then became sinus issues, which then ended in a MAJOR migraine, the likes of which I haven't had in about two years. Not fun. I have some amazing friends who took the older kids on two different days so I could recover, while Travis was gone literally all weekend at church conferences and meetings. Just glad that's over.

After school hours have been CRAZY too, but it's really all my fault. Three dance classes, karate, soccer, my orchestra rehearsal...what was I thinking? It's alot even without bringing a 5-week old baby along. He gets nursed on the run in the van quite frequently, poor little guy.

Anywho, this isn't my child below, but one adorable nephew who will be moving to Utah this week with his family. We had to spend some time with him and his sister at Grandma's house before they leave!

Love those muscles...

Another cousin and Cora collaborating on a project - too cute: 

And yes, that bumblebee headband has gone with her everywhere lately:

Meanwhile, this little guy falls asleep in my arms every day. I just love it, he is so sweet.

Baby giggles and smiles while they are drifting off to sleep are pretty much the cutest things in the world...

And today this girl (no bumblebee, but THREE headbands instead), finally got to go to "her preschool", as she calls it. It's a little co-op with some friends her age, once a week. I know she will LOVE it, since she cries every day when the kids (and some neighborhood friends) all get on the bus without her. She insisted on using big sister's old backpack, of course, even though it's as big as she is.

I mentioned before that we've been eating alot of homemade salsa, and after many experiments here are all our fave ingredients, minus the tomatoes. Between our garden and ones from our CSA farm, we've used plenty of different tomatoes this year. My favorite from our garden is the "Black Krim" tomato, almost purple/deep red inside and very sweet and rich. Our large yellow ones have been very sweet as well. I LOVE them!

Onion, garlic, cucumber, any kind of peppers, cilantro, a sprinkling of sea salt, loads of tomatoes, and...tomatillos! Purple, yellow, and green (below), they're an interesting addition to our diet that I'd never seen before this summer.

After being refrigerated, all this cold salsa has been awfully refreshing to eat!

We're having a mid-90s heat wave, which hardly feels like fall, what about you??

Blossoms

What I've been waiting all summer long for...

This bright afternoon lighting's way too harsh, but mornings and evenings are quite consumed by a little person lately. :)

Our sunflowers are easily 9 or 10 feet high. Crazy!!

Enjoy the last weekend of summer vacation (unless you've started school already)! We spent a fun day at OMSI today - their Mummies of the World exhibit was unreal. Big sis thought it was pretty cool, even though I was a bit creeped out at times.

Aaaand, if you need a way to use up your zucchini, check these out, they all sound amazing:

35 Zucchini Recipes

Especially this one...Chocolate Fudge Zucchini Cookies. You'll thank me later. (I made them Tuesday and I'll admit they rivaled my favorite Nutella cookies.)

We've also made banana bread like crazy, these awesome Blueberry Coconut Muffins, and I tried my hand at homemade salsa because we've gotten a million tomatillos from our CSA farm recently. It turned out yummy and refreshing. After searching lots of recipes on line, I just threw some stuff in a blender: a few tomatoes, one cucumber, one onion, a few garlic cloves, a dozen tomatillos, one red pepper, one green pepper, and some sea salt at the end. Tasty! Nothing spicy, because I know my kids won't eat it. Next time I'd love to add some cilantro and other herbs I didn't have on hand.

Lately

We're at least halfway through the summer...you do realize that, right?

I felt like I've spent it just waiting around for this baby...and I'll be waiting around for another three weeks! Gah! But no matter how large and cumbersome I feel, I've been trying to keep things fun for the kids by crossing things off our "Summer Fun List" right and left.

Lately, we've:

*Finished two weeks of swimming lessons. Big sis made HUGE progress and I can tell it gave her some confidence. Little brother on the other hand...he refused to get his face even close to the water for the whole two weeks. Frustrating.

*Saw another hilarious magician at the library. AND some awesome dancers who showcased dances from Tahiti, Fiji, New Zealand, Hawaii, Samoa...I'm sure I forgot an island in there somewhere. But when the guys danced with and spun knives with fire at both ends? That was especially cool. At least little brother thought so.

*Been enjoying some AWESOME warm weather. I don't recall any summer staying so warm for such a consistent period of time. Weeks of sunshine - hooray!

*Tried a fun science experiment with cabbage:

We've done this food coloring experiment with daisies, but the cabbage worked even faster. Within 30-45 minutes, it looked like this:

A couple hours later:

And the next day, they were super colorful! (And stinky. Time to toss them.)

*Enjoyed our church's Pioneer Day, a day to remember and honor the Mormon Pioneers who journeyed to Utah. The kids got tokens after doing some cute activities, then bought candy at the "candy store" with the tokens. They. loved. it. And their rag dolls below:

Panning for "gold": 

Loving the "petting zoo":

These girls came home begging for a pet rabbit.

*Said goodbye to a little friend who is moving, celebrating with her and other friends at the park:

Oh the drama. This girl tests my patience to the extreme.

Waiting to surprise their friend:

The "SURPRISE!!" moment:

Cute friends:

*Since I've been getting a bag of plums every week from our CSA farm, I made this Balsamic Stone Fruit Sundae for dessert tonight, adding peaches and cherries. The adults liked it, kids not so much. I must say that one plum seemed to soak up ALOT of the vinegar, which literally made my mouth pucker and eyes water...maybe a little less balsamic next time.

*As of last week, I now have three new nieces. Yay! One was born in April, one in May, and one in July. I'm next!

*Did you follow the Royal Birth news today?

*Have you seen this Catching Fire trailer yet??

Ok, that's enough - hope you've been enjoying your summer!

We're halfway to September.

Fairy Food (and more)

Somehow books like these seem to jump off the library shelves and into my oldest's arms every time we visit...which is at least twice a week. 

Whether it's food or crafts, she always wants to be making something. Though it tires me out, I love that she's so creative. While she marks each and every recipe or craft she wants to make, I always opt for the easiest things to make...so this is her "Flower Petal Punch":

water

mint leaves

assorted flower petals

sparkling water

Gatorade

thinly sliced lemon

We had all but the sparkling water!

And speaking of recipes, our zucchinis are on (plus more from our CSA farm), so we just had this Zucchini Lasagna for dinner. Loved it! I would add a bit of meat to it next time, but it was yummy even without. Last week I also received red currants from the farm, so soon I'll be trying one of these tasty desserts:

Red Currant Banana Tart

Red Currant Walnut Sheet Cake

Red Currant Sour Cream Tart

Ever baked with currants? All the recipes I find are foreign and their measurements are in grams. I'm up for a challenge, maybe...

Yummy Eats

This summer I did something I've wanted to do for years, I just hadn't ever done my research and pulled the trigger: I subscribed to a CSA! And I love it. I'm not an "adventurous" cook and, frankly, I hate to be in the kitchen at all. Who has time to fix meals and eat when there are so many other things to be doing?? That's pretty much been my mantra all my life. Fruit and cold cereal make me just perfectly happy!

I knew joining a CSA would force me to try new foods and research new recipes, while eating more local and seasonal produce at the same time. I enjoy talking with the two women (mother and daughter) who run the farm I subscribe to. Each week they give me a bag of good stuff (like below) and eggs from their chickens every other week. Add our own garden to the mix of produce and we've got a full fridge. Heavenly!

A normal week's selection from the farm would include an array of things like this:
a couple heads of lettuce
green onions (or one HUGE one)
garlic bulbs
fennel
1 or 2 summer squash
cabbage
bok choy
fresh thyme sprigs
fresh spearmint
fresh rosemary
1 acorn squash
snap peas
a big bag of kale....

And so on. It will change throughout the summer. Awesome, right? And this is only a HALF share. I'd be super stressed if I'd signed up for a full share, which would mean twice as much fresh produce that I'd have to figure out how to use within one week before it goes bad. So. A half share has worked out perfectly.

I also enjoy sitting down with the kids for dinner, trying something new along with them. We laugh and talk about what the heck it is we're eating and what we do or don't like about it. Sometimes dinner is fantastic, sometimes it's a flop! Here's a smattering of recipes I've tried due to having some new kinds of produce in the house:
Bok Choy Apple Slaw with Green Onions
Kale Chips (always wanted to make these, but just needed a kick in the butt)
Strawberry Banana Spearmint Smoothies + Popsicles
Roasted Squash with Fresh Thyme and Parmesan (below)

...and of course endless (I do mean ENDLESS) salads and stir fry dishes with a TON of veggies. We ate salad before, but not like this. I love it. I'm in the kitchen alot more, but it's been educational, you could say. And besides carrots, I haven't had to buy veggies in over a month. The share we bought continues over 22 weeks, and I'm excited to be surprised with new produce each week. Yum!

Have you ever thought of (or do you already subscribe to) a CSA? Look up one near you with Local Harvest.org.

What's Making Me Happy Right This Moment

* A couple days of rain and clouds to give me relief from the allergies!

* 27-week kicks and squirms in my belly (even though this boy MUST be crowding my tailbone, because it HURTS while standing, walking, even flipping over in bed...ouch.)

* These lovely pink azaleas! Can it fit any more buds on each branch?? I love it. Plus there are white, red and lavender azaleas soon to bloom around the yard too. Can't wait!

* This yellow bush, a hybrid between a rhodo and azalea. The yellow color of these flowers is much more "mustardy" than this pic shows. And oh how I love mustard yellow. :)

* Our calla lilies, which are in a few bunches around the yard. They are so pristine and lovely! (And those fragrant lilacs in the background aren't too shabby...it's a "mini" lilac bush, but still smells wonderful.)

* This amazing rhubarb and strawberry crumble, topped with homemade whipped cream. I posted the recipe here two years ago. I used honey instead of sugar and about half the butter. Tart and tangy! Yum.

* And these sillies with green smoothie mustaches...sorta gross, sorta cute, you choose...

* Dreaming of where to put some dahlia bulbs a friend and her husband delivered...can't wait to see those babies pop up late summer!

* That same friend quenched my random 4am Sprite craving I had a couple weeks ago. And I do mean random - we never have soda in the house, except for birthdays/special occasions. She remembered I'd mentioned it on Facebook and showed up at my door with a can of Sprite yesterday. She's. plain. awesome.

* AND finding a library book that's been missing for three months and I was about to pay $16.99 for. I could've sworn I'd already looked under the couch a million times...but there it was, hiding for this perfect moment in order to make me EXTREMELY happy. :)

What's making YOU happy today, right this moment??