Stone Soup

This Summer, the boys and I decided to have "Open Table" night every Monday. This means all the neighborhood kids can come by on Monday and have dinner at our house. I decided to add a wrinkle and make dinner something everyone could help make as well.

Tonight, we read Stone Soup. For anyone unfamiliar with the story, it involves a soldier on his way home from a war. He stops at a farm house, asking if they can spare any food and give him a place to stay for the night. The farmer sadly tells him they have very little food because of the war and poor harvest that year, so they can't help the soldier. The soldier plucks out a stone from his pocket and tells them he can make a delicious soup from it.

First, fill a pot with water and add the stone. (Then change your mind, drain the water, and decide to saute some stuff first).


















Next, add a wee bit of bacon (it was "salted beef" in the story - figured salted pork would do just fine):














Then add onions:














Then carrots:














Then add water, potatoes (oops, no picture) and salt:














Then cook for about half an hour or so. Add sliced cabbage and cook another half hour or so (like all the precise, specific directions here? This is a very exacting dish, let me tell you).

Enlist some child labor to make rolls:



















Serve:

Last day of school

Today has been a complete whirlwind. The boys were antsy, nervous and excited this morning from the moment each got out of bed. "I'm going to be a FIRST grader today!" "No more school for THREE WHOLE MONTHS!" I got them both off to school and somehow managed to pry a very, very troubled Arden off of me with reassurances that today would be a good day (poor sweetie). Then I scurried through a huge list of errands, since this was my last two hour child free week day time for the next three months. I mailed off the apron, bought some daikon radish and rice sprinkles at the local asian market, bought some things at the drug store, and dropped off books at the library.

Then I swung back around to pick up Arden, who was literally bouncing up and down yelling, "today was the best day ever!" over and over again. Once he gave his teacher a full body hug (the kind that resembles a monkey clinging on to it's mama with hands and feet) and he hugged all his classmates, we walked hand in hand to the car and drove home. Now, he's been despondent at the thought of missing all of his friends during the Summer, actually crying himself to sleep several nights. Dan came up with the best idea: make up some cards with Arden's name, address and phone number and hand them out to everyone on the last day of school. I printed out quarter sheets of paper that read: "I'm going to miss you this Summer! Arden X, address, phone number". I figured a small sheet of paper might get lost in the shuffle of the last school day, so we rolled up each paper and tied them with colorful yarn. He really is going to miss every single child in his class, and several asked for his phone number so the idea was a really good one.

Off we went to have lunch together, the last we'll have on a school day since next year he goes for a full day along with Ryan. Then back to school for a talent show put on by the upper grades, complete with singing, dancing, Tae Kwon Do, and a gymnastics routine set to "White and Nerdy" by Weird Al Yankovic. The Principal thanked everyone for a wonderful year, the bell rang, and suddenly I had a First grader and a Third grader. Sniff!

Both are flying on adrenaline at the moment, so the rest of the day will be interesting. Tonight we're making whole wheat waffles with crushed berries, yogurt and whipped cream for toppings as a special treat, and hopefully soon after that they will crash and fall asleep. Then I have work to do.

Tomorrow is the first day of Summer. Am I prepared in any way? Nope. Ought to be interesting.

Two ways to tell it's Spring time

Asparagus spear, peeking out of the ground. I just planted 25 crowns and am impatiently watching as all these beautiful green bits make their way out of the ground. Can't wait until next year when I can start harvesting.

Arden and his "Hairy Harry" plant from Kindergarten. He gave it a flat top right before coming home from school. I love it!

Shocked, stunned, and amazed

This is what Ryan had for dinner tonight. Voluntarily, even. You are looking at: brown rice, green onion, egg, carrot, nori (tried for the very first time!), sesame seeds, pickled ginger, and avocado, all topped with a citrus-soy dressing. Dan and I thought it was delicious but were less sure Ryan, who is not the most adventurous eater in the world, would want any. Shows how much we know. He had seconds and demanded I make this again soon. The recipe comes from Super Natural Cooking, which I'm liking quite a bit. Can't wait to try more from this cookbook, if only to see what else he'll try.

Milestone

Ryan lost his first tooth today. I think he's officially the oldest kid in his school to lose a tooth at a few months past eight, but he's alway run on his own personal timetable. I can't get over how different he looks! The tooth is in an envelope inside his favorite jacket, which he lost today, so the Tooth Fairy is waiting a day for him to search (which coincidentally gives us time to find a dollar coin to pop under his pillow tomorrow night). I've already showed him how to slip a straw into the gap, but I haven't showed him how to squirt water through. Some things are better figured out on your own.

Happy Easter

I'm a bit in between on celebrating anything religious today - still figuring out where I am and what I believe. But today feels like Spring and renewal and life, and that I'm happy to celebrate to the hilt, regardless of anything else on top of it. Today the boys woke up to Easter baskets filled with colored foam sheets, water balloons, bubbles, glow in the dark bracelets, pinwheels, ceremonial chocolate bunnies (must bite off the ears first), and tiny wooden birdhouses. We all had pancakes with berries and yogurt for breakfast, then spent the morning baking a humongous beehive bread. We all had fun rolling out strips of dough, twisting them together, then wrapping them around a pyrex bowl to bake. The boys attacked the loaf less than a moment after I took this picture, and I don't blame them! It was delicious. It was a beautiful, sunny day today - perfect for watching the boys run through the breeze laughing and chasing each other. They had their fair share of fighting today as well, but I savored those perfect moments of sunshine, flowers, and innocence.

I got several requests for the Beehive Bread recipe, so here 'tis. The bread is sweet and rich with just a touch of lemon and goes really well with just a dab of sweet butter.

Beehive Bread
adapted from "Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads"

5 1/2 to 6 cups bread flour (I used unbleached all purpose flour)
1 package dry yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup milk, warmed
1 Tb grated lemon peel
5 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 egg, beaten, mixed with 1 tsp milk

1 baking sheet
ovenproof glass or metal mixing bowl - 9" wide by 4" deep

Mix 2 cups flour, yeast, salt and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Stir in the milk and lemon peel. Beat until mixture is smooth. Add in eggs, one at a time, mixing after each is added. Stir in the butter.

Add flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough can be lifted from the bowl easily (you may have flour remaining).

Knead the dough about 10 minutes, until it is smooth and elastic. Cover top of bowl with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and let dough rise until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Take dough out of the bowl and knead for 2-3 minutes. Put back in the bowl, cover, and place in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Shaping - the fun part!

Turn bowl over and cover with aluminum foil, pressing down to smooth the surface. Rub generously with butter and place on top of a baking dish without sides.

Take the dough out of the refrigerator. It'll be cold and pretty hard, so work it with your hands for a little while to get it moving well again. Roll dough into a thick snake and cut into 20 pieces. Roll each piece into ropes about 18 - 20 inches long and about 3/8" thick with narrowed ends. Take two ropes, pinch the ends together, and twist them together.

Wrap each twist around the bowl, starting from the bottom rim. As you add another twist, pinch the ends and overlap them a little to blend them in. Keep wrapping until you run out of dough. You might not get all the way to the top, which still looks great. If you need to have a solid bottom start from the center top and spiral around from there and down.

Cover with a cloth and let rise for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Carefully brush the bread all over with the egg mixture. Bake until golden brown all over, 25-30 minutes. You may need to turn the bread around once to get all sides evenly golden. Put the bowl on a cooling rack and let cool.

When the bread is at room temperature you can either leave it on the bowl (I did), take out the bowl and crumple up some foil to hold up the center, or flip the bread over to use as a basket. If you want a basket you may want to bake it flipped side up for another 5 minutes or so to firm up the inside edges a little.

Place bread in a conspicuous location and bask, then tear off a bit to enjoy.

Day two: Winter Vacation

We made the coolest three dimensional snowflakes. I used plain old printer paper, folded in half lengthwise. Then I folded each edge down to make a triangle to measure out each smaller square. The boys used bits of tape and staples to put them all together, and they came out so nicely!

Then we went to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry - known as OMSI around these parts. We have a family membership to the children's museum back in Southern California that had a nice plus: it applied to all the other children's and science museums throughout the country. We go as often as we can, making the $75 membership more than worth it. We've already seen the Star Wars exhibit (Ryan was on cloud nine the whole time), so we went quickly to the Innovation Station where the boys got to throw balls inside with impunity. This was Arden's favorite exhibit, bar none. We could have spent all day there. But Ryan had other plans. First the Physics lab, and then the Chemistry Lab, which he has now decided is the coolest place in the whole museum. Not sure if this is due to the protective glasses or the magnets and liquid nitrogen. I promised both boys that we'd go back with Dan next week when he has time off.

Dinner tonight was tacos. Ryan helped grind the meat (big sale on chuck a few weeks back, so I bought a few roasts and froze them), then I made the taco meat and cut up tomatoes, onions, and lettuce and shredded the cheese. Flour tortillas only needed warming up, and oranges got cut into easy to eat slices. Recipe for the taco meat (which could just as easily be made from ground turkey or even vegetable "crumbles", though I'd add a bit of fat to saute the onions and garlic) here:

Taco meat
serves 4

1 pound lean ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
dash cayenne (good-sized dash)
1 teaspoon salt
dash black pepper
1/3 cup kechup*

Crumble meat into a pan over medium - high heat. Add onions and garlic, and cook until meat lightly browned. Add spices and tomato, but not kechup yet. Continue to cook for 5 minutes or until tomatoes are disintegrated. Add kechup, stir, and cook for a few more minutes to let flavors meld.

* Yes, I actually said kechup. No, this is not in any way authentic. But it gives a nice bit of sweet/sour to the mix, and helps bind everything together so it's similar to fast food taco meat. Feel free to leave it out - the mix will be looser but still delicious.

Happy Halloween!

Sorry I've been a bit absent in blogging. Busy, busy week here with Special Education meetings, evaluations, much last minute sewing, and getting the house ready for guests. At least I was able to finish Arden's Pirate costume in time. He loved every detail, from the jabot down to the fake boot covers to the hat (which he wears all the time right now). Ryan opted for a Harry Potter look with no scar ("too scary") and had a blast waving his wand around at anyone nearby.

Trick or Treaters were everywhere tonight. Grown-ups huddled together at the end of each driveway, waiting for excited ghosts and princesses and zombies to get their candy. One house was covered in orange lights, spiderwebs, gravestones, and ghosts. At another house, a man had a telescope out and helped each child take a look at the stars. But I think the best treat tonight may well have been this tiny bit of paper that the boys barely noticed.

Had a small party today

Emphasis on the word small. Arden has really been getting into the whole concept of a tea party lately. He's had me making utensils out of pipe cleaner, made a table and matching chairs out of Legos for all of his friends, and wants to invite the whole Kindergarten class to tea. Figured it was about time he got an honest to goodness tea set of his very own. To the left, you see his honored guest, "my friend". Arden conferred very seriously with him about the menu, how the plates and cups should be arranged, and what they should have to drink. It was adorable to watch.

First, we set up the food. I cut "eensy tiny" cubes of cheese and found a cocoa lid that was the right size for a tray. Then I rolled a slice of bread until it was thin, spread it with butter, sprinkled cinnamon sugar, rolled it up and sliced, making cinnamon rolls. Arden and his friend decided on chocolate milk, so that went into the tea pot (which actually pours!). I can't get over how incredibly small everything is - look at the size of the fork Arden is holding! The tea set and ideas came from this book - much fun, and I love the whole series.

Small update on Tabby. The labs came back positive for cancer. Tabby had a hemangiosarcoma, a cancer of the blood vessels. This kind of cancer is rare in cats, but it often recurs in the same spot. She had some bruised looking areas near the tumor which may mean spreading, but we just don't know. So I'll be watching the area where the tumor was very carefully to see if anything comes back. The life expectancy post surgery is about 11 months, so it's a waiting game for now. I'm glad she got the surgery - she's much more comfortable, and if nothing else it bought her a bit more time. Not so great news, but better than hearing that she had something aggressive and fast growing. For now, I'm going to treat Tabby like a queen and get in all the snuggling I can.

It fits!

Wonder of wonders. Two "whitest white" cycles in the old front loader and things were nicely felted. I did have to do some tailoring, though - had to cut off almost 5 inches on each side (overlapped) and stitch the edges together again so that it would fit well. That's what I get for subbing yarn and not doing the slightest bit of math. Oops. Arden loves this hat. Ryan...not so much. He really wants one of the off the rack pirate hats, so that's what we'll do.

Of course, that means I have three extra skeins of Patons Classic Wool in black lying around. Guess I'll have to make one of these for Dan (the horror!)


Speaking of things knit for Dan, I managed to finish his socks last night over at Carrie's house. These were made with the yarn I dyed way back when for the Dye O Rama swap (remember?), but sadly they've been lying in my yarn basket for a while. The weather is finally starting to show signs of getting cooler, so I figured it was time to finish these puppies. They fit Dan perfectly, and he loves the colors. Success! Now, what to do with the rest of the skein.....decisions, decisions.

Hmmmm.....

Think this will fit him?

Arrrrrr

We went on an adventure today. My mother in law is moving a few blocks away today and has been in and out with boxes and the moving truck, so I figured the boys could use a day out and about. We rode a trolley (yeah, they call it a streetcar - whatever) to one of the coolest parks I've ever seen. Jamison Square is right smack dab in the middle of the metro area, surrounded by businesses and people rushing from here to there. Then there's this open spot filled with children playing in and on a "tidepool" of water that fills and empties then fills again, a bit like the tide. Ryan and Arden kicked off their shoes and ran out to play faster than I could find a chair. Much splashing and running and chasing later and they finally ate lunch (said lunch looking so good, evidently, that a 4 year old who had been playing nearby came over and snagged some cheese and a mini carrot after asking very politely).

Then we rode the trolley over to Powells. How do I describe a bookstore so large you actually need a map to find your way around? It's the size of a city block, with four stories. Oh, and that's not big enough for all the books they sell - there are branches for Home & Garden and Technical books as well. It's a bookworms dream come true. I shouldn't be allowed in there with money or a credit card.

Naturally, Powells has a Cafe. We found it and got some treats : carrot cake for Ryan, an eclair for Arden, and a wee almond tart for me, and we plopped down by the window to watch the cars go by. Fortified by sweets, we ventured onward into the Rose room and therein the much fabled Children's Section. The boys saw a display on pirates and it was all over. We came home with a book for each and enough pirate gear to make Johhny Depp happy (well, minus the eyeliner, anyway). Here they are, in all their pirate-y glory:

Want to guess what I'm making for Halloween costumes this year?

Back to School

It's that time of year again. All around me I see moms scurrying here and there, buying clothes and backpacks and school supplies and generally looking harried and rushed. I'm getting ready as well - took the boys to get haircuts today, went clothes shopping, got Arden a backpack (which he loved dearly on sight), and I'm trying to figure out lunches ahead of time. Thankfully the PTA put together a group buy for school supplies that each parent pays for on the first day of school (a whopping $22 per student - not bad!), so I don't have to hunt down glue sticks, paper, pencils, etc. Oh, and both boys want me to make them cloth napkins to go with their lunchboxes. Nevermind that we just found out Arden won't be having lunch at school (he's going to morning session from 8:00 - 10:40). He still needs a napkin, thank you very much.

This year will be bittersweet since Arden is going off to Kindergarten. I can't believe my little guy has gotten so big! He can't wait to start, and I just want to give him a great big hug and tell him to stop growing so fast. He looks so much older in his new clothes, proudly carrying a backpack. Sigh. Time goes so quickly.

Picnic in the park

Ryan and Arden have eagerly been awaiting the arrival of their Laptop Lunchboxes. Both of them were attracted to the itty bitty boxes and drawn in by all the colors. I was hoping lunch would be a bit less of a struggle this year.

The box arrived right before lunch, and they were both thrilled! We decided that a picnic lunch in the park was in order, to "break in" the new lunchboxes. We all started putting things in the different sections, with both the boys coming up with some pretty good ideas. It was hard finding enough to fill out the sections - they're really big! The larger ones hold 1 1/2 cups and the smaller ones 1/2 cup, which is a lot of food. I, sadly, have no bento box container for myself, so I made do with a cloth bag and some saran wrap for my sandwich (cue violins).

The booklet that comes with the lunchboxes has a lot of really good information in it. A few recipes at the end, too, which both of the boys are excited about. We're trying "Fruit Triangle Treats" for snack this afternoon. There's a lot about choosing healthy foods, reducing waste, and a great set of lunch ideas and combinations to try.

Wanted to add that having all the containers open and all the food where the boys could see everything right when they opened the lunchboxes really made the food more appealing. It helped Ryan especially, as he's a really visual little guy and has a hard time with lunches that are all wrapped up. He kept telling me how much better he liked having it all where he could see everything. And Arden ate so much more than he usually does, I think because using the spoon (which has a cool star and moon and sun in the clear plastic) was so fun and because he liked all the itty bitty containers. It was wonderful seeing them so happy and excited about lunch. Well worth the rather large investment, I think.

Arden's lunch on the left - apple slices (dipped in orange juice so they don't brown), crackers, Havarti cheese cubes, hazelnut spread in the covered container, and pistachios.

Ryan's lunch on the right- ham sandwich on wheat with some lettuce from the garden, crackers, mini carrots, pistachios and hazelnut spread in the covered container.

After lunch, the boys played for a while - at least until Ryan noticed some ripe blackberries. We quickly emptied out Arden's lunchbox and filled it to the brim with ripe berries. Can I say how much I love being able to pick berries just a few blocks away from my house? Ahhhh...I love it here :-)

Playing in the yard

Can you tell the boys love having a back yard and actual, bona fide plants and trees to play with? They love climbing the tree out in front, and can't wait until it's time to water the lawn so they can play with the hose or the sprinkler.

I've been playing in the yard, too. It's been balmy and sunny and just plain gorgeous here for the past few weeks. I keep wanting to update but getting caught up in weeding and planning my garden and watching the butterflies and hummingbirds. Finally got around to sitting back and enjoying the quieter pace of life here. Bit of a change of pace for me, but I really like it :-)

How did my tiny little guy become SEVEN years old already?

Ryan is growing up so very quickly. It really does seem like just yesterday he was a baby so small he didn't fit in any of the clothes we brought to the hospital. Since then he's grown like a weed, soaking up the world around him along the way at lightning speed (which is the speed he does everything, hence my dad's nickname for him, Rocket Boy). He is a builder of all things Lego, especially rocketships and machines of all shapes and sizes. He loves reading Dr. Seuss, especially Marvin K. Mooney, Will You Please Go Now! He loves broccoli. His favorite color is red. Just last night he used chopsticks for the first time, grinning proudly all the way. He has taught me patience and acceptance and centered my life in ways I never knew existed.

I love you more than life itself, little guy.

Happy Birthday!

All finished

The presents are complete and wrapped. The food is prepped for tomorrow. The house is clean. After the boys are in bed Dan and I will do an hour long yoga set and then fill the boy's stockings before drifting off to bed. For once in my life there isn't anything last minute that needs to be done, no worry that someone won't get a completed gift. It's a lovely feeling, though somehow strange. I'm so used to being up late Christmas Eve, scrambling to finsh something gift-ish for the next day that it's almost tradition. Have to admit, I could get used to this.

Happy Holidays, everyone.

Leaf hunting with the boys

Today there was only a paltry amount of homework. More importantly, there are leaves falling all around our townhouse complex...leaves that must be sorted, exclaimed over, and collected. Or "hunted", as my youngest likes to call it. So off we went, the three of us equipped with baskets, to see what we could find. Out in my neck of Southern California there aren't a lot of trees that actually turn color in the Fall, but as luck would have it there are several within walking distance. Each leaf was held up and displayed by the boys, each waiting for a thumbs up that this leaf was a good one. Cries of "look! I found one with lots of colors!" were heard over and over. I was humbled at the look of awe on each of the boys faces as they looked at the next leaf.

I was able to get a quick picture of both of them together. Hard to get them to stop moving long enough to snap a picture, especially when they wanted to move. This one really shows both their personalities well, and also shows how close they are in size despite being two years apart. Amazing, both of them. I'm so glad I got a chance to go leaf hunting with them today.