Cole: "Mom, I think you get more wrinkles every day."
Reese: "Ow, I just hit myself in the sperm!"
Reuben: "Mine tea brown just like a toot-toot!"
It's not altogether a bad thing that Sean hasn't learned to talk yet.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Friday, November 7, 2008
In Which I Shamelessly Self-Promote
In a moment of whimsy recently, we decided to try something new this holiday season: A Handmade Christmas. I've been actually thinking about the idea since last fall, when I saw one of the posh buyhandmade.org tags on the Four Little Men & Twins blog. Such a cool idea; I just didn't know if I could do it. Nothing but handmade gifts? No lego sets for the boys? (I might just cave on this one yet.) I mulled over the idea for a full 9 months before mentioning it cautiously to Justin....knowing that he would pounce on it. Guess what? He pounced on it. So here we are, planning our handmade Christmas, and having more fun than I could have anticipated!
The rules: to give only handmade gifts this year--but the gifts don't have to be made by OUR hands. (Thank goodness. I told Justin he would be getting a painted rock, a knitted flask cozy and a box of fudge....and he just might be....) We wanted to also support our local (and not-so-local...I have an etsy fetish) crafters. So we will be avoiding the mall this year (yay!) and hitting many of the craft fairs instead (yay yay!). We are also coming up with new ideas every single day of things we DO want to try to make ourselves. I'm dying to post pictures, but some of them will have to wait, since I know there are family members who read this blog. You will have to check back after Christmas for some of our more-hilarious (I mean: unique) gifts!
And we have something to offer, too. For the past several years we have been making these beautiful wooden family plaques. They are handcarved with your specific last name and wedding year, and they make a lovely gift for Christmas, anniversaries, birthdays, or housewarmings. The length of the plaque is dependant on your specific information, but each one measures 8" high and is 3/4" thick. The edges are sanded to look rustic, and each sign is fitted with hanging wire.
Here's a few we've done: the photos aren't fabulous, but I will try to get some better ones to post soon:
The rules: to give only handmade gifts this year--but the gifts don't have to be made by OUR hands. (Thank goodness. I told Justin he would be getting a painted rock, a knitted flask cozy and a box of fudge....and he just might be....) We wanted to also support our local (and not-so-local...I have an etsy fetish) crafters. So we will be avoiding the mall this year (yay!) and hitting many of the craft fairs instead (yay yay!). We are also coming up with new ideas every single day of things we DO want to try to make ourselves. I'm dying to post pictures, but some of them will have to wait, since I know there are family members who read this blog. You will have to check back after Christmas for some of our more-hilarious (I mean: unique) gifts!
And we have something to offer, too. For the past several years we have been making these beautiful wooden family plaques. They are handcarved with your specific last name and wedding year, and they make a lovely gift for Christmas, anniversaries, birthdays, or housewarmings. The length of the plaque is dependant on your specific information, but each one measures 8" high and is 3/4" thick. The edges are sanded to look rustic, and each sign is fitted with hanging wire.
Here's a few we've done: the photos aren't fabulous, but I will try to get some better ones to post soon:
For any readers that would like one, we will be accepting orders this year through November 30th (for delivery by Christmas). You can leave a comment here with your contact information, or email us at familysigns@live.com to place your order. Individual plaques are $30; order three or more and they are $25 a piece (shipping extra).
Your turn! If you have a handmade product you are selling this holiday season, I would love to hear about it and post a sidebar with your info to pass onto other readers. Ready, go!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Child Critic's Review of Odwalla Superfood
Quote of the Day:
"We're drinking motor oil with just a touch of poison in it."
--Cole, age 7
"We're drinking motor oil with just a touch of poison in it."
--Cole, age 7
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Back To Basics
Judi: I dare say: you've given me a bit of a Fat Head with your lovely comment about searching out my recipes. Truth-be-told, I've neglected my freezer far too long, and my children have been subsisting almost entirely on the 160 lbs of jonagolds we picked a week and a half ago. They are actually to the point of begging me NOT to serve them apples anymore. Whoops. With Justin's help (I get dopey if I'm out of the kitchen too long) I finally made a meal plan yesterday--with plans to restock the upright built right in! Here's what's on the docket for this week:
Wednesday: my famous Hot & Sour Soup and potstickers (two batches--when it's available I eat this soup three meals a day, and for dessert)
Thursday: Homemade Spaghetti and salad (two batches--each batch makes about 12 servings, so we should get four meals out of this)
Friday: Brittany's Black Bean Soup and homemade cornbread (three batches--another favorite, and one that freezes well)
Saturday: ...taking a break from cooking...we'll have appetizers for dinner....
Sunday: Enchiladas Verdes (four batches; two pans for Sunday and two pans for the freezer)
Whew! When I started making my grocery list, I calculated that I needed 31 cups of chicken stock just for the next five days. 31 cups! I buy plenty of packaged stock, don't get me wrong, but with these numbers, it's worth making my own.
I think that people don't make their own stock anymore because they think it's scary, or time-consuming, but the truth is that it's easy and does most of its own work. Here's what I do:
Buy a whole chicken. Bring it home, unwrap it, rinse it under cold water and pull all the "extras" out of the cavity (I usually just toss these). Now at this point, you can decide whether you want to boil the whole chicken, boil part of the chicken, or roast the chicken. Boiling the whole chicken gives the most flavor, but you won't get to use any of the meat. Boiling part of the chicken gives you more bang for your buck, but it takes a few extra minutes since you have to cut off the breastmeat or whatever else you'd like to save. Roasting the chicken first makes the flavors deeper, and you can use some of the roasted meat before making your stock, but it will make a dark brown broth, which isn't suitable for some recipes that require a clear broth. You can't really make a "wrong choice" here, but it's worth thinking about what your end product will be.
Today I wanted a good clear broth (asian soups don't lend themselves to roasted stock) and the benefit of some of the meat, too. I carved my raw chicken and saved the breastmeat and thighs in a freezer bag to use later this week in the enchiladas. Everything else went in the stockpot. Now chop one onion, one carrot, and one rib of celery into chunky (like 2") pieces and toss those in, too. Add cold water to your pot until it covers all of that goodness by about an inch. Throw in 5 or 6 black peppercorns and a couple of sprigs of fresh parsley (or dried, in a pinch). Now, these are my two secret ingredients: seaweed and a splash of white wine. The wine (or you can use vinegar) in your cold water will work to draw calcium out of the bones--which we get excited about in our house, since we are sort of anti-dairy. And the seaweed adds so many amazing mineral and nutritional properties, but you won't notice the taste in the final product. I keep a small package of Kombu in my cupboard, and add a small piece to the water whenever I make stock. Don't wash it before adding it though, as you'll scrape off the white film--which contains much of the seaweed's nutritional makeup.
That's about it! See, now wasn't that easy? Set your heat a little past medium and check your (uncovered) pot anytime you happen to pass through the kitchen. Don't stir the pot at all, and don't let it come to a rolling boil. Once it really starts to bubble, it will develop a foamy cover on top, which you can skim off gently with a slotted spoon. At that point, go ahead and turn the heat down to medium-lowish and simmer gently, still uncovered, for a few hours while you go about your day. It will be done when two to three hours have passed, and you notice the level of the liquid has dropped about an inch. All the flavor should be gone from your chicken and vegetables. You can try a bit of chicken--if it doesn't taste completely bland and lifeless, keep cooking. You want all that goodness in your stock. Once you determine it's done, go ahead and pour it--through a colander or strainer--into a large bowl and let it cool. Refrigerating the stock overnight will set all the fat on the surface, and you can easily remove it before transferring your stock to the freezer. Just remember to portion it into smaller containers if you don't have plans to use the whole batch at once.
Yum! So economical, and good for the bod, too. I'm sitting here looking at the label of my Pacific Natural Foods Organic Free Range Chicken Broth, and it says: Organic chicken broth (filtered water, organic chicken), organic chicken flavor (organic chicken flavor, sea salt), natural chicken flavor (chicken stock, salt) sea salt, organic evaporated cane juice, organic onion powder, turmeric, organic flavor.
Now, does that make any sense to anyone else out there?
Know what's in my stock? Water, free-range chicken, carrots, celery, onion, black pepper, dried parsley flakes, kombu, vinegar. I like that ingredient list a whole lot better.
Wednesday: my famous Hot & Sour Soup and potstickers (two batches--when it's available I eat this soup three meals a day, and for dessert)
Thursday: Homemade Spaghetti and salad (two batches--each batch makes about 12 servings, so we should get four meals out of this)
Friday: Brittany's Black Bean Soup and homemade cornbread (three batches--another favorite, and one that freezes well)
Saturday: ...taking a break from cooking...we'll have appetizers for dinner....
Sunday: Enchiladas Verdes (four batches; two pans for Sunday and two pans for the freezer)
Whew! When I started making my grocery list, I calculated that I needed 31 cups of chicken stock just for the next five days. 31 cups! I buy plenty of packaged stock, don't get me wrong, but with these numbers, it's worth making my own.
I think that people don't make their own stock anymore because they think it's scary, or time-consuming, but the truth is that it's easy and does most of its own work. Here's what I do:
Buy a whole chicken. Bring it home, unwrap it, rinse it under cold water and pull all the "extras" out of the cavity (I usually just toss these). Now at this point, you can decide whether you want to boil the whole chicken, boil part of the chicken, or roast the chicken. Boiling the whole chicken gives the most flavor, but you won't get to use any of the meat. Boiling part of the chicken gives you more bang for your buck, but it takes a few extra minutes since you have to cut off the breastmeat or whatever else you'd like to save. Roasting the chicken first makes the flavors deeper, and you can use some of the roasted meat before making your stock, but it will make a dark brown broth, which isn't suitable for some recipes that require a clear broth. You can't really make a "wrong choice" here, but it's worth thinking about what your end product will be.
Today I wanted a good clear broth (asian soups don't lend themselves to roasted stock) and the benefit of some of the meat, too. I carved my raw chicken and saved the breastmeat and thighs in a freezer bag to use later this week in the enchiladas. Everything else went in the stockpot. Now chop one onion, one carrot, and one rib of celery into chunky (like 2") pieces and toss those in, too. Add cold water to your pot until it covers all of that goodness by about an inch. Throw in 5 or 6 black peppercorns and a couple of sprigs of fresh parsley (or dried, in a pinch). Now, these are my two secret ingredients: seaweed and a splash of white wine. The wine (or you can use vinegar) in your cold water will work to draw calcium out of the bones--which we get excited about in our house, since we are sort of anti-dairy. And the seaweed adds so many amazing mineral and nutritional properties, but you won't notice the taste in the final product. I keep a small package of Kombu in my cupboard, and add a small piece to the water whenever I make stock. Don't wash it before adding it though, as you'll scrape off the white film--which contains much of the seaweed's nutritional makeup.
That's about it! See, now wasn't that easy? Set your heat a little past medium and check your (uncovered) pot anytime you happen to pass through the kitchen. Don't stir the pot at all, and don't let it come to a rolling boil. Once it really starts to bubble, it will develop a foamy cover on top, which you can skim off gently with a slotted spoon. At that point, go ahead and turn the heat down to medium-lowish and simmer gently, still uncovered, for a few hours while you go about your day. It will be done when two to three hours have passed, and you notice the level of the liquid has dropped about an inch. All the flavor should be gone from your chicken and vegetables. You can try a bit of chicken--if it doesn't taste completely bland and lifeless, keep cooking. You want all that goodness in your stock. Once you determine it's done, go ahead and pour it--through a colander or strainer--into a large bowl and let it cool. Refrigerating the stock overnight will set all the fat on the surface, and you can easily remove it before transferring your stock to the freezer. Just remember to portion it into smaller containers if you don't have plans to use the whole batch at once.
Yum! So economical, and good for the bod, too. I'm sitting here looking at the label of my Pacific Natural Foods Organic Free Range Chicken Broth, and it says: Organic chicken broth (filtered water, organic chicken), organic chicken flavor (organic chicken flavor, sea salt), natural chicken flavor (chicken stock, salt) sea salt, organic evaporated cane juice, organic onion powder, turmeric, organic flavor.
Now, does that make any sense to anyone else out there?
Know what's in my stock? Water, free-range chicken, carrots, celery, onion, black pepper, dried parsley flakes, kombu, vinegar. I like that ingredient list a whole lot better.
Heard Around The House
Mama: "If you put the clean dishes on your head, they're not clean anymore."
Cole: "I'm just like an orphan!"
Daddy: "....I'm thinking of making it my new profession, actually. I'm sure organized crime needs Project Managers..."
Cole: "I'm just like an orphan!"
Daddy: "....I'm thinking of making it my new profession, actually. I'm sure organized crime needs Project Managers..."
Thursday, October 16, 2008
NC-17
Quote of the Day:
Mama (as Daddy comes in the back door from work): "So howzit in the world today?"
Daddy: "Not suitable for younger audiences..."
Mama (as Daddy comes in the back door from work): "So howzit in the world today?"
Daddy: "Not suitable for younger audiences..."
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