A Yummy, Treaty Recipe

Last night we were all wanting something "treaty" after dinner.

This has become my go-to, ready-in-a-moment treat over the last couple months.

Adapted from the Happy Herbivore's Instant Cookie Dough recipe, it is just that perfect combination:

1 cup rolled oats
2 T cocoa powder
2 T almond butter (or any other nut butter)
2 T maple syrup (even better with the dark Grade B)
1 cup frozen berries (blueberries or raspberries are our favorites - the photos are of a batch with crushed up
 raspberries)

Mix the oats, cocoa, almond butter, and maple syrup together until fully blended.  Then stir in the frozen berries.  Great both right away and later after sitting in the fridge.  The kids like it as a treat in their lunchboxes, too.

Yum.

Sour Cherry Almond Muffins

While it was fun to pick the cherries, I had no idea what I was going to do with them.  The extent of my sour cherry knowledge in baking is the amazing Sour Cherry Danish at The Baker's Wife in Minneapolis that I was not even going to attempt to replicate.

My friend Anna gave me a sour cherry almond muffin recipe with the cherries.  I loved the flavor combo idea but was looking for something a little healthier (they had lots of sour cream and butter which I'm sure made them taste all the better!)...  Instead I adapted the Strawberry Cupcakes recipe from Lindsay Nixon's Happy Herbivore cookbook and am so happy with how they came out.

Here you go:

Ingredients:
2 cups of white wheat flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup applesauce
1 cup raw sugar
1 cup vanilla almond milk
1 overflowing tsp almond extract
1 1/2 cups pitted sour cherries
1 handful sliced almonds
1 handful chocolate chips (optional)

Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in one bowl.

In a separate bowl, whisk applesauce, sugar, milk, and extract until well blended.

Gradually pour the dry mixture into the wet, stirring until just combined.

Scoop into muffin tins, top with sliced almonds, and bake for 15-25 minutes, until toothpick inserted into the center come out clean.

These are especially good right out of the oven when the cherries are still warm.

Enjoy!

Green Smoothies

We've been on a bit of a smoothie kick around here.  

Our 'green' smoothies usually look more brown than green.  Poop colored sometimes, actually.  I tend to go heavier on the berries and a bit lighter on the greens since that seems to get the kids more interested.  We have, though, experimented with chard, kale, and spinach so far.  And amazingly, the kids have loved (most of) them.  Usually with a banana, a bunch of frozen strawberries, and some almonds or ground flax seed.

Today I was feeling a little anemic and remembered that to best absorb iron from these leafy greens you are supposed to add a little citrus.  This beautiful green came from a mix of a banana, an orange (peeled and dumped right in whole), about a third of a bag of spinach, and enough almond milk and water to blend it up nice and smooth.

I have to say I was incredibly surprised at how great it tasted!  The Dad declared it one of the best so far.  The kids drank it even though it obviously had 'leaves' in it.  I was scared to go so green - I don't like my smoothie tasting like salad - but am now looking forward to another one tomorrow for breakfast.

Just a little something going on around here right now...

Domestication

Pumpkin Muffins with dried cranberries, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds.

 

The Dad and I had a conversation yesterday morning that went something like this:

Him: So, what do you want to do today?

Me: Really?  If I could do anything?  Some baking, some cleaning, some sewing, and some sitting and reading with E.

And really?  I was completely serious.

Even better?  I got to do it all.

Plus a little tromping in the woods.

And the motivation continues: I bought paint this morning for a bedroom project that's been in process for a while.  The first can of many as we begin (soon!) to go through the house room by room and finally add some color!

A new fleecy poncho for E.

Stay tuned.

After Homemade Granola Bars, You Can Never Go Back

Oh. My. Goodness.

I bought this Annabel Karmel cookbook shortly before E started Kindergarten, all motivated to pack fun and creative lunches every day.  While I have mostly managed to stay away from the standard PB&J so far, I had yet to actually follow one of the recipes in the book before Friday.  I have used some of her great ideas, but hadn't actually made anything specific.

Until these homemade granola bars.  So easy to customize, we used honey and brown sugar, oats, cheerios, almonds, raisins, sunflower seeds, and chocolate chips.

Ignoring the fact that I smooshed them a little too much cramming them into a storage container, these things are amazing.  And so, so easy.  And really, after tasting them and reluctantly sharing them with the kids, I don't see how I can ever buy another pre-packaged granola bar again.

30 Days of Summer :: Day 20

I had the good fortune this weekend of being able to hang out in a coffee shop for a bit all by myself.

A great iced mocha, a good book (that makes me feel like a much better mom in comparison), and an amazing almond croissant.

I have picked up numerous habits and lessons from my husband over the last decade. One of my favorites being how to order in a restaurant when you're not really sure what you want.

I eyed the bakery case - scone? chocolate croissant? It all looked good, although I wasn't sure what everything was.

So I asked, "Is there one thing in there that is better than everything else?"

"The almond croissant is amazing."

"I'll take it."

And it was.

Sometimes, the waitress or counter staff isn't quite so opinionated. Or accommodating. Maybe they are worried about admitting that some items just aren't as good. They'll give me the "Oh, everything here is good." That doesn't really help.

But most of the time, when they do recommend something, they are spot on. And I greatly appreciate it.

Is she really 5 now?

We celebrated E's 5th birthday yesterday with a Wizard of Oz themed party.

A table decked out with three yards of this fabric as the table cloth, matching cups, napkins, and plates from Birthday Express, some repurposed yellow brick road pieces, and some fun jingly rainbow trees.

I even found Wizard of Oz confetti on Etsy!

I made my first, somewhat sorry, attempt at a doll cake. Can you see that the layers were slowly sliding to the side?

And the much promised Dorothy Dress. Which she is wearing for the second day in a row and has already requested to wear again tomorrow. Made a size or two too big so that it will fit for a long, long while.

"Am I really 5 now?", she said to me last night after the lights were out.

"Because I really still feel like I'm 4."
"I should be as big as Noah. That's how big real 5-year-olds are."
"Oh sweetie," I told her, "you have all year to grow as big as a 5 year old."

Holy Guacamole

A little late for Cinco de Mayo, we whipped up some fresh guacamole last night before dinner. And I had flashbacks to when The Dad worked over on the West Side of St. Paul in an hispanic neighborhood flooded with Mexican restaurants.

Six months of his year (or what felt like that) was dedicated to the planning of a huge Cinco de Mayo festival. In 2004, E's duedate coincided with the festival. The Dad kept telling her (through my belly) that she needed to hang on just a little longer. She obliged and was 6 days late, born the week after when things had calmed down and he could take time off. She used to be so cooperative!

He worked there for almost six years and totally exhausted any love he had of Mexican food before. Three years later, he can finally appreciate it again.


Last night, we broke open the three perfectly ripe avacados on the counter, mashed them with half a sweet onion, 2 tomatoes, and a little sea salt. And voila! The best guac I have had in a very long time. Gone almost before dinner was even on the table.

A Snowy Morning

Another snow day when I was really watching for Spring. I just couldn't bring myself to take the kids outside until after lunch. So, instead:

A favorite book of The Dad's from his childhood that I finally scored on eBay.

Yummy oatmeal cranberry scones - made yummier when I accidently jumped ahead reading the directions and added 1 1/4 cups of dried cranberries instead of 1/2 cup (it called for 1 1/4 cups of oats).

My first attempt at goat cheese popovers. These will definitely be made again!

And a floor full of vintage Fisher Price Little People playsets waiting to be sold.

All before 11 AM.

Chocolate

I have become a bit of a chocolate snob over the last couple years, much preferring Green and Black's to your standard grocery store (think Snickers or Hershey's) candy bar.


A year ago, some friends from NYC came to visit and brought us our first box of boutique chocolates. I was fascinated by the intricate art printed on each piece and the little fold out paper describing each flavor, not to mention the incredibly rich taste!


The Dad took E up to New York yesterday to see Mary Poppins on Broadway with her grandmother and brought me home these. My first taste of Jacques Torres was impressive. And I am proud to say that there has only been one taste so far. These are chocolates to be savored - made easier by the fact that they are almost too pretty to eat. Yum.

Celebrating Milestones

My daughter is a storyteller. A pretender. A make-believer. She is constantly changing clothes and characters. I know, when she tells me something that doesn't seem quite plausible, to ask her "Really? Is that the truth or pretend?" Lately, I have begun asking her "Is that Truth or Moonshine?"

Last week, we finished Ramona the Pest. In one of the last chapters, Ramona loses her first tooth. For a couple days now, E has been walking around pretending she has a loose tooth. When a friend came over yesterday, E said to her "I have a loose tooth!". And I added "Just for pretend. Right?"

Today when I picked her up at school, she said "Mama, want to see my loose tooth?" And she opened her mouth and showed me. Her loose tooth. No moonshine.

I almost cried.

She asked if we could have a celebration. And then she spent the rest of the day talking about how she is almost grown up because she is old enough to have a loose tooth. Mama, people will think I'm, like, eight!

So tonight, we celebrated. A yummy vanilla cake, at her request, from the beautiful cookbook Apples for Jam. And tonight I go to bed knowing that my little girl is not quite so little and wondering how long I can put off this 'growing up' thing...

10 Things I'm Loving Right Now

1. This book - I've been trying to get it from Amazon for months and finally found a used copy from the Strand. Such fabulously inspiring photos - I now have a three page list of things to do around the house.

2. That O spontaneously reaches out for a snuggle and says "I love you too."


3. Going through the boxes from my parents' storage locker (currently taking over our porch), taking a little trip down memory lane, and then either recycling the papers, passing things on to the kids, or boxing things back up for a garage sale.

4. Our new tradition of saying "Grace" at dinner and then going around and each giving one thing we are thankful for, though 9 times out of 10 O says "Pirates".

5. Reconnecting with folks from all different times of my life on Facebook. Here I thought it was just for teenagers and college students...


6. Watching my youngest come into his own in his first real "class".

7. Doing something every day to make the house look a little nicer.

8. Having one of the kids fall asleep in my arms while rocking before bed. I always hold them a little longer and snuggle a little closer when this happens.


9. This new-ish Michael Miller fabric line. Hmmm... Placemats and napkins?

10. Reading Ramona the Pest with E at bedtime and still remembering what comes next.

Snow Day

Today we had our first official snow day.

Unfortunately, it was more of a gray-snow-covered-by-freezing-rain-giving-way-to-slush-day. The kids didn't seem to mind and tromped through yard with abandon.

I love this little acorn hat (as we call it). O's Great Aunt knit it for him two winters ago and I am cramming his big ol' head into it for as long as possible.

We all warmed up afterwards with hot cocoa and popcorn. What is a snow day without hot cocoa and popcorn??

A few years ago, before we had a microwave, I searched and searched for an air popper and couldn't find one anywhere. I finally found this one at a garage sale for $5. The kids love to watch the corn pop and I love knowing exactly what the ingredients are!