Category Archives: Food

Week in the Life, Friday

It seems like she says a new word every day.  She started saying Galen this week (“Gah-len”).  He covered his face with a sheet this morning and said, “peek…” and she pulled it off and said, “a-boo!”

I had a garlic-y roast slowly cooking in the crockpot all day, filling the house with it’s rich savory aroma.

Posters for 4H, one finished and one still in progress.

We’re growing a lot of our own starts this year.  The seedlings are coming along.  Many were transplanted into bigger containers today.

They are very fond of cat’s cradle and other string games.

More yarn for the blanket.

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Food, Gardens, Homeschooling, Kids, Life, photography, snapshots
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aglow

Oh, Mr. Bear, shouldn’t you be slumbering??  Not lumbering through my garden, clawing at the snow?

clementine candles; star lanterns; borax snowflakes; gingerbread cookies with cinnamon icing

We’ve had so much snow already this year!  Our Solstice celebration was magical.  The music!  There was music everywhere; banjos, mandolins, an accordion, penny whistle, voices singing out into the candle lit night with powdered sugar snow sifting through the clouds.

There have been so many magic moments this holiday season.  Hardships too of course, but so much beauty to compensate.  Last week everyone was invited to watch Galen and Mairi’s ballet class.  Unbeknownst to us, their teacher had invited a violinist to play Christmas carols for them to dance to.  It was marvelous.  Such a simple little thing, but so moving.

Will I ever get over the heart-aching joy of watching Iain perform, just as poignant each and every time?  Somehow I don’t think so.

And now I must be off!  There is still much baking, sewing, wrapping and merry making to be done!

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celebrations and festivals, crafts, doll making, Food, Holidays, Kids, Life, snapshots, toy making, Waldorf
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long weekend

   Last weekend.  Thanksgiving.  I’m completely incapable of posting things in a timely manner at the moment.  We had our first big snow of the season.  I think the final reading on Galen’s snow gauge was 17″.  The day before the storm we brought in all the leeks from the garden and made a snack of the last of the baby carrots.  I’m still not ready to let the garden go for the year.  And actually the snow has melted enough now and some of the plants are tall enough that I’ve managed to chip away enough ice to wrench the garden gate open to gather frozen leaves of kale and collards.

I’ve just finished reading Wigwam in the City to see if and how it would fit into our studies.  The woodcut illustrations by Gil Miret partially inspired some of our recent wood block carving and printing experiments.  We made gratitude prayer flags in preparation for Thanksgiving, featuring apple prints, potato prints and yes, some woodcuts as well.  These were some early attempts.  After a good bit of playing the boys are starting to get more satisfying results.

I’m now reading Inkheart at Iain’s request.  We like to share the books we love with one another whenever possible.  Both Iain and Elijah are big Cornelia Funke fans, so I’ve read several of her books already.

Knitting wise, top secret knitting project #1 is in need of buttons.  Top secret knitting project #2 is completely done.  Top secret knitting project #3 is just absurd.  Casting on to size 3 needles, with lace weight yarn, at the end of November absurd.  Let’s put it this way, it might be wise of my sister to call and remind me how very much I love her.  I’m not even going to specify which sister.  After-all, I figure I should be getting something out of this.

Baby girl had her first solid food at Thanksgiving dinner.  I’ve been putting her off because we have so many issues with food allergies and sensitivities that I wanted to wait until gut permeability was less of an issue.  She turned 8 month old the day before and Galen had his heart set on sharing our feast with her.  To celebrate she had her first taste of our home-grown butternut squash.  The yell pictured above was one of excitement, not distress.  This girl makes me laugh.  She has since tried some of the spice free applesauce that Galen lovingly made especially for her and some of the aforementioned garden greens pureed with yet more squash.

We found what we believe to be wolf tracks crossing our driveway Thanksgiving morning!  There have been rumors of there possibly being some in the area, but up until now we hadn’t seen any convincing evidence that they were so very close to our home.  So very close.  We measured print and gait.  Much too big for coyotes and fresh too, they appeared within a couple hours of our driveway being plowed.

I can’t believe we’re almost a week into Advent already!

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baby things, Books, celebrations and festivals, crafts, Food, Gardens, Holidays, Homeschooling, Kids
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extreme pumpkin carving

He says it’s tradition.  I maintain that we are intelligent enough and creative enough to come up with better traditions…

I wanted a print of Seraphina’s hand for her baby book.  And I thought if it went well we’d do a print on her pumpkin as well.  Conventional wisdom is to try to get a baby’s hand print while they are sleeping.  I set everything up, down to putting her to sleep on a towel and rolling her sleeve up before she drifted off.  And of course she woke as soon as we attempted it.  squish, squish…green paint ooooozing.  She laughed when we rubbed it off and laughed when we painted more on.  Instead of hand prints, we got grab prints, and one smeared little foot mark.

Last year we grew our own Jack ‘O Lanterns.  This year I prioritized using that space for edibles.  Apparently my children have very expensive taste in pumpkins.  I’m planning on finding room for big pumpkins again next year! (we did grow lots of pie pumpkins this year and they are amazingly delicious)  We saved seeds from these as we carved, some to roast and some to plant.  I think we’ll try growing them around the edges of Sunflower Field.  That’s what we call our wiffle ball field, with the wall of sunflowers marking the edge.

There was so much flesh leftover from these big beasts that I made a batch of pumpkin butter.  We had a few warm nights where we huddled together under sleeping bags on the porch and read bedtime stories by flashlight and the glow of jack o’ lanterns.

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celebrations and festivals, crafts, Food, Gardens, Kids
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garden fresh

Kale and parsley salad topped with the lemon-tahini dressing from the Oh She Glows Cookbook and roasted butternut squash.  Absolutely delicious!  Our squash this year has been amazingly flavorful.

Our neighbor remarked that it was like perpetual summer in our garden.  While that may be a bit of an overstatement, it’s true that we’ve been slowly working to extend the season.  Things are winding down, but there is still a lot of goodness coming in from the garden.  I think the ever-blooming strawberries are the most startling of the enchanted garden sights.  Despite several frosts the nasturtiums that remain in a somewhat sheltered corner are still blooming.  Almost all of the leaves have been stripped from the trees around us, but the calendula and all of the pansies and violas under Seraphina’s tree bloom on.   

We had one blissful, beautiful, warm and calm day.  I spent the afternoon in the garden.  I could use weeks upon weeks of that kind of afternoon, both because there is so much more to be done and because it soothes and nourishes my soul in a way that little else can.  When my children are grown I’m going to spend my days tending my garden and my nights knitting away, with occasional breaks to bake pumpkin bread for my grandchildren, using the fresh pumpkins that they help me to harvest.  Granted I haven’t a clue as to how exactly I’m going to fund this lifestyle, but do let me have my little day dream!

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Food, Gardens, Life, recipes
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yarn along, etc.

I’m currently reading The Complete Sherlock Holmes.  A dear friend gave us some very special books from her own collection and this was among them.  They were ostensibly a gift for the children, who are greatly enjoying most of the volumes, but I pulled this one aside, as I realized I had never read it (no, I don’t count enjoying the show Sherlock, though enjoy it I do).  There is this great kind of undercurrent of humor in the writing.  I was considering having the older boys read it.  We recently did a block on the Victorian and Edwardian eras.  Whenever we work with a certain time period I like to expose them to music, art and literature of the time.  As I’m reading it, it’s brought up all of these questions in my mind about whether I’m ok with endorsing murder stories as a form of entertainment (do as I say, not as I do!).  I admittedly watch some shows and read some books that are essentially murder mysteries and yet the idea of my children doing the same thing makes me uneasy.  Also some of it is gruesome, too much so for a sensitive 12 year old, at least.  Thirdly, it is extremely, wildly offensive to basically all non-Caucasian peoples.  And while I as an adult recognize it as a product of the time period, I try to keep the bigotry the kids are exposed to at a minimum.  It’s just one of my little quirks.  I think I’m going to hold on to this one a little longer, until I know that they can read it with full understanding of what’s going on.

I did read an excerpt aloud to them last week.  We were working on a creative writing project with emphasis on using descriptive words to really paint a picture for the reader and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is pretty much unparallelled on that front.

The knitting- I’m back to working on Iain’s birthday sweater.  And by that I mean that I’m hoping that posting about it will motivate me to pick it back up again.  This pullover has a serious case of Second-Sleeveitis.  I’m looking forward to knitting the yoke, but I just can’t seem to convince myself to cast on for that second sleeve that needs to be knitted beforehand.  Will you judge me if I confess that the only reason I’m even considering going back to it now is that I really want the needles it’s on for an entirely different project?

Remember this little set?  She outgrew the longies ages ago, but this wee sweater has seen a lot of wear.  She wore it at less then a week old and she’s still wearing it now.  I think this will be one of the last times though.  I’m considering a new vest or short sleeved sweater for layering in wintertime.

And some pictures of this year’s dragon bread….

All of the photos were taken prior to baking.  Everyone made their own loaf this year.

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baby things, celebrations and festivals, Food, Holidays, Homeschooling, Kids, WIP, Yarn Crafts
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simple cookery: roasted red pepper soup

We sometimes stop in at this discount grocery store.  Mostly it’s full of processed food that we wouldn’t eat anyway.  And sometimes you come across completely disgusting food, well beyond what can actually be rightfully deemed “food”.  But usually there is a thing or two worth having at a decently low price.  And every once in a while an amazing find that makes it totally worth while to stop by whenever we’re in town.  Like our most recent trip where we came home with a 40 lb. box of organic bananas for $6 and an entire case of organic red peppers for $7 all in near perfect condition.  Amazing, right?  It takes a little work and hustle to get it all preserved before it has a chance to go bad, but it’s totally worth the effort.

We sliced and dried some of the bananas in the oven and froze the rest in chunks to be used in smoothies and things in the future.  Most of the peppers were frozen raw-some in chunks (to be used primarily for kabobs) and some sliced (for stir-fries and the like).  They keep quite well that way.

But first thing first, I made some soup!  A big pot of soup- some to eat and some to freeze for later.

Roasted Red Pepper Soup

2 onions

1 extra large zucchini (or 2 medium, or 3 small)

3 cloves garlic

balsamic vinegar

broth

salt

oil

15 red peppers

1 tsp red pepper flakes

bunch of fresh basil

bunch of fresh parsley

Slice the onions.  Saute them in oil until translucent. Add in the garlic, cook for a minute or so stirring frequently.  Add a good glug of balsamic vinegar- use care, it’s going to sizzle quite a bit!  Allow the sauce of vinegar and onion juices to thicken.  Add the zucchini* and red pepper flakes.  Add enough broth to just cover everything.  Simmer until the zucchini is soft.  While this cooks, roast your peppers.  Slice them in half.  Remove the stem. Scoop out the seeds.  Broil them on a cookie sheet until the skin bubbles and they get a bit browned.  Flip and cook the other side.  Strip the leaves of the herbs and add them along with the peppers to the broth.  Puree the whole thing, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

*I used a Vitamix to blend my soup.  If you aren’t using some sort of high powered blending device, you might want to consider peeling both the zucchini and the peppers.  You may also need to cook the peppers in the broth for a while to soften them.

We’re in the final week of summer vacation and I’m both trying to prepare and trying to say “yes” as much as possible…getting my lessons plans in order, trying to get the house set up to accommodate everything, switching out baby clothes for the next size up (yet again), wondering where everyone else’s cold weather clothing got to, trying to keep up with the garden and the harvesting and the processing of food.  I’ve been spending a lot of time working to get my homeschooling binder in order, updating our calendar and trying to wrap my brain around new schedules; work two days a week for the big boys, multiple dance classes, multiple riding lessons, other possible classes- all of the related shows and special events and the things that come and go; in the last month between us we’ve had 8 doctors appointments, most of them 45 minutes to an hour away.  That’s not counting the all day affair that is traveling to our geneticist, which took place in the last days of July.  I’m having trouble trying to figure out where to fit in all of the dentist and eye doctor appointments that need to be scheduled, amongst all of the appointments with the other doctors and specialists and how are we to still have time for anything else?  It’s all rather stressful.  So far there are only 3 appointments scheduled for September.  But that’s mostly because we’re supposed to be going away for a while, so they can’t be scheduled for a bit.  Did I mention that I’m trying to plan a trip?  Right.  There is a lot of planning for that.  And then there are the yes things…meeting friends at the pond for yet another “last swim”? Yes.  Make ice cream for the third day in a row? sure, why not.  Work on that ridiculously messy big project? go for it.  Sometimes the yeses are stressful too (for me anyway), but worth it.

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Food, Homeschooling, Housewifery, recipes
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Welcoming Seraphina

Our littlest one was officially welcomed into the world and into our community with a shower of blessings and rose petals.  As with our vow renewal, it rained and the ceremony had to be moved indoors at the last minute.  I planned everything in pastels.  A friend showed up unexpectedly bearing huge bouquets of flowers in the brightest and boldest of hues; a complete riot, so entirely different from everything I had imagined and completely perfect.

Our Sweet Wild Violet wore the gown and bonnet I made for her sister 5 years earlier.  It was a bit too warm to add in the stockings as well.  I love that they both were able to wear it.  Still I wanted to make her something special of her own.  The party was to be an all day event.  Since it didn’t seem practical to keep her in the gown all day, a party dress was in order!  I decided to give the Lizzy Dress another go using the chart this time.  The yarn is Knit Picks Diadem in ‘Azurite’, blue, blue…deep blue…like the ocean and the sky, her eyes when she was tiny, her beautifully formed umbilical cord, our birth tub!

Rosebud had a new frock of her own to coordinate.  I modified this pattern for the bodice.  Originally I pictured it with a floral skirt, featuring hints of that same blue.  I think there was a specific Liberty of London print that I kept seeing in my mind whenever I closed my eyes.  Then I remembered this amazing single yard of green Radiance, cotton silk blend, that I had tucked away for a special occasion.  I thought the combination a bit daring really.  The silhouette has kind of a regency feel with the empire waist, scooped neck, slightly puffed sleeves, but the striking colors make me think of some of the really bold fashions that started appearing in the 1920′s.  Kind of a The House of Eliott vibe.  Together they put me in mind of the skyline around our home…treetops reaching up into the deep blue of an early autumn sky.  She looked a tiny goddess in it.

I wanted to get some really nice photos of my girls in their dresses, but I didn’t take most of the candid shots that day.  The pictures of Seraphina in her gown and most of the decorative detail ones are mine, but most of the rest were taken by other people as my camera got passed around throughout the day.  I’ll have to try to get some better ones for posterity’s sake.

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baby things, celebrations and festivals, Food, Kids, sewing, Yarn Crafts
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staycation

The pictures above were sent to me by my husband.  This weekend we packed Steve and Iain up and sent them off to a campground for a kind of right-of-passage, special father and son bonding adventure.  From what I hear they’ve sent most of the weekend fishing, kayaking and eating s’mores.  Oh, and drinking coffee.  The boy had a decaf at the local co-op, very grown up.

Meanwhile the rest of us are keeping the home fires burning and having a bit of a holiday ourselves, full of little treats, old movies, long walks hunting for wildflowers and junk food- of the slightly more wholesome, home-made variety- we’re working on perfecting our grain-free pizza crust recipe.  On Friday night, after we got the little ones off to bed, with our Sweet Wild Violet sleeping beside us, Elijah and I made milkshakes (with coconut milk ice cream) and watched The Music Man.  Then we stayed up late looking at horse books and talking.  He’s going to keep a horse for me to learn to ride on when he has a stable of his own.  I’ve set him the task of finding a breed that resembles a Clydesdale, but with more the stature of say a large German Shepherd, the intelligence of a dolphin, loyalty of a puppy and temperament of a lamb.  He says he’ll have to get back to me on that one.

The weekend is almost over now, with a crazy busy week ahead.  I’m so glad we took this time to recharge and connect a little.

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Food, Kids, Life
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Feeding Our Families ~ Summer

Breakfast sausages made with garlic scapes, mint, basil, cilantro and red pepper flakes, served with steamed greens and roasted onions.

Two months worth of a belated post!  Right now I’m trying to eat from the garden as much as possible.  Simple is best – steamed broccoli topped with garlic scapes sauteed in ghee.  Proponents of the kitchen garden always like to go on and on about the ease of eating fresh picked.  But the fact is, it’s just a big old lie!  Is it tastier?  No doubt about it.  More nutritious?  Absolutely.  Easier then cracking open a plastic bin of triple wash spinach?  ennnt. nope. sorry.    I’ve been trying to make lunches almost exclusively from the garden.  It’s a balancing act.  I want to make the most of it, but I also can’t devote what sometimes turns into hours for a single meal, every day.

If I’m being perfectly honest there have been times when growing a garden has actually caused us to eat worse.  Busy times where it was just too much trouble to harvest, wash and prep.  Instead we would end up eating whatever was available inside, which obviously wouldn’t be fresh produce, because why would I buy fresh produce when there was so much already growing outside?  So far this year we’ve managed to avoid that.

Cobb Salad

A summer slaw; finely sliced collard greens, tender young broccoli shoots, fresh mint, basil and cilantro, with a sweet and tangy lime dressing.

I’ve started season specific pinterest boards to help with meal planning inspiration: Summer Meal Planning, Autumn Meal Planning and Winter Meal Planning – spring is still far enough off that I’m not really thinking about it yet.  Because clearly the 5 different food specific boards I already had: Putting Food By, Sweet Stuff, For Baking Day, the Whole30 Compliant Recipes board I was invited to join and just plain Food, not to mention my food heavy travel board: On the Road Again, were not enough.  On these boards I’m gathering ideas that I’d like to use for our seasonal dinner meal plan, but also season specific treats and recipes for special events occurring in that season.  Party food, birthday food, holiday food, everyday food, recipes for anticipated garden surplus…anything that I come across and think I might need is right there.

Pesto sweet potato noddles with chicken and broccoli from the garden, eaten on the porch.  Pure summer.

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Feeding Our Families, Food, Gardens, Herbs, recipes
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