Morning Independence

Faces and shapes = taste better!

Elias loves to wake up early and he wakes up hungry. Eva loves to sleep in and nurse. This creates a problem...especially on those days Craig is up early and out the door cycling. The solution has come about with age. Elias is now old enough and big enough to open the refrigerator, pour pre-measured milk, and in general grab a snack for breakfast.

We have been trying to place some kind of morning snack in the refrigerator or on the table where he can immediately access it in the morning. He loves this! It is a surprise to see what we made and I think the feeling of independence is heady. So here are some of the morning ideas:

Sunshine fruit.

Hard boiled eggs (pre-peeled)
Cheese (cubed or cut into fun shapes)
Muffins/rolls
Fruits
Cereal with milk in a cup
Nuts/seeds
Yogurt with chopped fruit/seeds

The trick is to make them simple to eat; no heating or mixing. Just add milk or sprinkle fruit/seeds. Shapes and faces, colors and dips are always favorites. Sometimes these are his breakfast and at other times they are a start until I can get up and make something hot!

Change on the Horizon

A few minutes of reading.

As most of you know Craig has decided to leave his current job and take a position working from home. This was a tough decision as Craig was not looking to change jobs; he likes his boss, his coworkers and has worked there for 7 years. He had lots of vacation time, a flexible schedule, coworkers to go to the gym with and all that comes with a good job. The move to a work at home position is exciting! It goes along with our desire to home school and eventually move out of town on a larger piece of land. It explores new areas of programming and he is looking forward to working on the new projects. He will be traveling once a month for a couple of days, but otherwise will be home.

It should be fascinating to discover how the kids, Craig and I deal with the challenges of this new situation. Craig does a remarkable job working from home on an occasional basis. Elias is thrilled to know he is here and will come out for a quick break once in a while. I hope that Elias' willingness to let him work will be maintained on a long term basis. Craig says he gets more done at home because no one comes in to take him away to another project. He also feels guilty not concentrating on work since we are around and the sooner he gets done the sooner he can be with us. This might wear off with time, but we can hope not!

We do spend a couple mornings in town which will allow Craig several hours of uninterrupted work. If things are too hectic or noisy around here he can also go get a cup of coffee at a cafe with wireless access. In preparation for this new job we have placed a wireless router in the house. This will hopefully allow him to get the quiet needed or be involved as he desires. He can work with Elias at the table, go watch us play outside on the porch or get away to the back bedroom.

There are some many benefits to working at home. Craig's bike rides will be more than commutes and a couple longer rides. He can now stay out of the middle of town and ride the more scenic, hilly routes. If it is cold, he can leave in the afternoon and on a hot day he can ride in the morning. He can play more of a role in homeschooling, reading or watching here and there. Starting work earlier in the morning and having more time in the afternoons for family time. He won't be commuting an hour and a half a day.

The few drawbacks are merely things we will have to work towards: Going to the gym will take planning since it is a drive into town. Socializing in general will have to be something we are proactive about. Craig will try and meet his old coworkers at the gym, continue to ride with those he rides with and we will have to try and have company over more often. The lower vacation amount will be balanced by not having to take time off for me being sick or appointments.

So here we go onward with this new endeavor!

Knead and Rise

Finished rising, time to bake.

I have had numerous requests for this recipe and have finally decided to sit down, type it up and post. For those who have requested it, this is the loaf with apricots, cranberries, almonds and pumpkin seeds. Without these extra ingredients it is a perfect sandwich loaf or great for hamburger buns.

History: Around a year ago we discovered a lady at the farmers market who made whole grain (fresh ground flour) bread. We started picking this up every Saturday and enjoyed it. The loaves we bought at the store, even whole grain, never compared. I set out to develop a recipe comparable (and a bit cheaper than farmers market price). While I have yet to get a grain grinder, I have developed a fairly tasty loaf which we use for most our bread needs.

Multigrain Breadmachine Bread

3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup warm water
2 Tablespoons oil
2 Tablespoons honey or 1 1/2 Tablespoons agave nectar
1 egg

3 cups whole grain flour (I tend to use 1/2 Whole Wheat and 1/2 Whole Wheat Pastry)
1/2 cup 10 grain cereal like Bob's Red Mill (I use this and include my own flax, millet and amaranth)
1/4 cup of raw sunflower seeds
3 Tablespoons vital wheat gluten
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast
Up to 3/4 cup extra ingredients (dried fruit, nuts) if desired

Using a bread machine, place liquids in the bottom and the dry on top. I always use a dough cycle since cooking it in the machine made it denser than I like. Check the dough after a couple minutes and add more flour if it is sticking to the sides of the bin. After the dough is done (approx. 120 minutes), pull out and knead a minute or two. Shape and place on or in a greased pan. Cover and place in a warm area until doubled in size. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. If using this for sandwiches let cool before slicing, otherwise it tends to crumble.

Everyone Needs One

Sliding down snow on Mt Lemmon.

Sam has been dog sitting at a friend’s house this last week and boy have we noticed her absence! Having her home to talk to, tease, bounce ideas off or just smile takes up more of my time than I imagined. This is without even mentioning the help she provides. My showers were harder this week because she wasn't here to take Eva in the afternoon. Craig occupied the kids while dinner was prepared instead of taking turns helping me and watching them. Everyone thought we were nuts for taking in a teenager, but I am just wondering if we can live without her. She has definitely become my friend, helper and an integral member of this family.

Sam has grown so much in the last couple of years. She is now an avid cyclist, fluent in sign language, on the road to graduating in 3 years, taking college classes and in general becoming quite the confident, generous, loving woman. With all the clubs, classes and teenage events she has she still takes the time to help out, sit and talk and keep us in her life. I was told you look at a teenager’s life, but are not a part of it....she does do a good job of keeping us in (or at least making it seem like it!)

Spiced Up

Five or six years ago Craig and I made a bet...no soda for him, no coffee for me. In that time period I rediscovered Chai as my coffee substitute. The problem with Chai is two fold; it is too sweet whether you buy it at the store or a coffee house and it is expensive. At a good $4 to $5 a quart (half gallon with milk) it felt like you should just have it once in a while. So that is what I did and although I never considered it a very good coffee substitute it had its moments.

After the bet and a couple years ago I went to visit my brother in Colorado. We went to a wonderful Indian food restaurant where the Chai was served in a coffee pot and like coffee with unlimited refills. It was wonderful although still fairly sweet. They obviously made theirs from scratch and inspiration hit. I went home and after several tries created a Chai recipe of my own.

I now make Chai by the gallon with no sugar and therefore you can decide on the type of sweetener, how much and as dark as you like. My spices are bought in bulk and I have even sold some here and there. It is also made with rooibos tea and therefore it is naturally caffeine free. This brings the cost down considerably! I drink coffee the majority of the time, but Sam and Elias (not to mention several of our friends) consume Chai on a regular basis.

An Excercise in Coordination

Elias in his studiousness.

Elias has shown a new interest in writing lately. He will sit at the table with a page of traceable A's with such intensity he notices nothing around him. He has always had times where he concentrates on something to the exclusion of all else and it is amazing to watch in a four year old. Elias has written a few letters here and there in the last year and a half (his name, Eva's), but never with much desire to improve or go further. He does love dot-to-dots and with a new book of dot-to-dots his coordination and desire to count have increased. The coordination has led him to want to trace; pictures, stencils and as a progression his letters. Most of the books I have seen for preschool children are about writing the ABC's as you learn them. We have picked up several of these books to have around, but have never really given them to Elias.

I have always believed that you shouldn't link writing and reading. They are two different skills and where many young children show an interest in both; it seems that for some (my brothers included) the desire to read is there until the pressure of writing comes in. With the stress of learning both they lose the momentum for either. Writing should be a task you learn years after reading and when you have the desire to "write" something; a letter, lists, etc. The more you have read and seen writing the easier it will be to reproduce. I am a bit surprised that Elias is showing an interest in writing and wonder how much I should encourage it. It can be a frustrating endeavor and as he gets older and becomes more coordinated it will be easier to learn. As such I print the traceable letters and let him write his name on papers, drawings and other works of art, but as is my normal way let him lead the way and start the projects. The resources are there and it is his choice to pursue them.

As a side note, typing is yet another skill set and rests somewhere in the middle of reading and writing. Elias has been typing words since gaining the coordination to hunt and peck. He loves to reproduce words he knows, but rarely ventures to create new ones. His word count goes up all the time and he reinforces it by typing it on a word program his dad created for him. Favorite words are the names of family and friends, activities that we as a family enjoy, such as camp, bike, swing etc. and like most kids; animals.

Versatile Polenta!

Polenta is such a wonderful substance! It is fantastic served in its mush state with sautéed veggies, cooled and shaped and then grilled for towers, layered for lasagna or baked in a tart pan for a pizza.

The other night I was looking for dinner inspiration and came across a polenta pizza. With a few changes to accommodate the items in my kitchen I came up with this flavorful pizza! I used goat cheese and spinach for the sauce with fresh tomato, kalamata olives, fresh basil and mozzarella to top it off. It was perfect served with a green salad. It was a definite hit with Craig and Sam.

Recipe:

1 1/2 cups polenta cornmeal
2 cups cold water
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. parmesan cheese
3.5 oz. goat cheese
1 c. packed spinach leaves
Toppings of your choice

Preheat oven to 375 deg. Oil 10 inch tart pan (I used one with a removable base). Combine polenta with water in sauce pan. Bring to a boil and then simmer, stirring constantly for 5 minutes. Add grated parmesan cheese and cook a few more minutes. Add polenta to tart pan and spread evenly and up the edges. Bake until dry and crisp on the edges, about 30 minutes.

In a food processor puree the spinach and goat cheese. Spread this over the crust. Add your chosen toppings and bake until your cheese is melted. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with basil before serving.