Life is a rollercoaster ride!

So, it's been a long time since I've written anything on here. My computer took a nose dive to the land of confusion and can't decide if it wants to start or turn off. I also found out I'm pregnant and have been riding that rollercoaster. 

R and I are very happy and looking forward to meeting our little one. I didn't anticipate how tiring growing a new life is. I am finally seeming to move past the morning sickness and exhaustion so I'm planning on being around the world of the conscious again.

It's also baking season and I'm hoping to experiment with some gluten free cookies, as well as more savory baking. I'm looking forward to being back in the game and providing all kinds of yummy updates for you! In so far as my phone will let me post!

Take care and see you soon!

Kitchen Experimenting

Once again I'm getting creative in the kitchen.

Ok not too terribly creative....and for once my exploits have yielded something decently healthy for frequent consumption.

I'm a huge fan of the Amy's Tofu Scramble breakfast burrito. I'm not so huge a fan of the price. So I decided I was going to figure out how to make one myself

I grabbed a few containers of a great tofu, by Cleveland Tofu, and looked up a few dozen recipes online, and took a little of what I liked from each. 

I came up with a vegan breakfast scramble, that I can make into a burrito, and I actually like it better than the Amy's version. 

Tofu Scramble

4 servings

1 lb extra firm, non silken tofu

1 medium onion

½ green bell pepper

½ tsp granulated garlic

½ tsp kosher salt

½ tsp tumeric

½ cup water

1 TBS olive oil

Fresh cracked black pepper

1. Drain tofu over night, or press for 1 hour

2. Crumble tofu into large skillet on medium heat

3. Combine garlic, salt, and tumeric until evenly mixed, and no clumps

4. Sprinkle spices over tofu, and stir, slowly adding water until a uniform color

5. Dice onion and green pepper, add to skillet and drizzle with olive oil

6. Cook over medium high heat, stirring frequently until onions are translucent and peppers are tender

7. Add pepper to taste and enjoy

Goes very well wrapped in a tortilla for a to go breakfast snack.

Can make and freeze wraps ahead of time:

Make wrap, be sure to warm tortilla first so it rolls nicely and doesn't crack apart.

put about ½ cup scramble in the middle of an 8 inch wrap, and roll up

Place on cookie sheet so not touching and let cool completely

Once cool place in freeze. Once frozen, wrap individually and store in airtight container in freezer.

The hardest part about this is not eating it all!

I plugged this into a few food calculators online, and as far as nutrition goes:
Per serving:
~135 Calories
~8 g carbs
~9 g fat
~9 g protein

Honeymoon in Scotland

A few people have been asking me to get some of our pictures from our honeymoon up. Well, here are a few.

On our third day we drove down to Loch Lomond, and stayed a cute little place called the Oak Tree Inn. Not too far away from there was Balloch Castle, a small castle, I think we actually have houses here bigger than it. Behind the castle was this nice paved path. We started to follow it, even though it start drizzling.

Balloch Castle path

 After a short while, we went off the paved path, and onto a well used dirt path. That dirt path kept narrowing, and narrowing until it practically disappeared!

Balloch Castle path

After a short ways of not really knowing if we were on the path or not, we came to this beauty! It was a perfect example of a babbling brook. I could have sat and listened to the melody of the stream, and forest around me, and watching the water play over the rocks as it tumbled it's way downstream for hours.

babbling brook beside the trail around Loch Lomond

I came to realize how people could have been considered kidnapped by the Fae, as mesmerizing as this bit of nature was, to have seen it 200 years ago or more, I can only imagine how entranced, and ensorcelled people may have been by it's beauty

Plus we found this stump. I have named it as being a gnome home. Standing there long enough, you could almost swear you saw something darting in and out of the leaves, dodging rain drops, and human eyes. 

After a while of following this stream, we rounded a group of trees to see Loch Lomond. In all it's glory, a foggy, over cast day, with a slightly misty rain. I was amazed at how clear the water was!

I don't think I have ever been moved so much by what I've seen as to say that it moved me to tears. Until this. Looking out over the loch, seeing the hills in the distance, standing with my husband behind me, holding me. I started crying. I still cry when I see this. I truly felt at peace, at home, and it's a feeling I will never forget.

After we left Loch Lomond, we traveled up A82 and made our way to Inverness. The picture below is what we saw that was just so perfect, we had to stop and take a picture.

Ah yes, the petrol station, with the most animated lady I've ever met! We stopped to gas, and to grab a bite to eat, they had a little carnival cart outside the station to buy hot food from. We were just going to get some chips and be on our way, but a group of construction workers came up to order their lunch. These were three young strapping lads, and one of them ordered black pudding.

I asked "What is black pudding?" and this lady looked at me completed flabbergasted! Her eyes grew round and wide as saucers, and with a cry of incredulity she asked, dumbfounded "Ye've ne'er 'ad black puddin?" in her beautiful brogue.

"We'll no, I haven't" I said, trying not to laugh at her amazement. "They don't exactly offer it where I'm from". 

"Och, weel I'll just have ta fix that up now won't I? I'll make you and your darlin' a wee sample to try" As she set about making her 'wee sample' she chatted with the construction lads, and told them about a special for next week. One of the lads said they wouldn't be there next week and that their project was done and they were heading back to another part of the country. To this, the lady said "Och, weel, ye'll just ha to come back wi'out yer clothes on" and kept on cooking. After about 10 seconds of the construction guys, my hubby and myself looking at each other shocked, she stopped dead in her tracks, spun around to face them with her eyes huge and her mouth hanging open slack at the realization of what she said. "I didnae mean it like that! I meant wi'out yer work clothes, in yer normal clothes!"

The laughter that ensued had me crying, and clutching my sides. She was by far the most animated lady I've ever met. If I ever go back, I WILL be going there again. She handed us our 'wee sample' of black pudding, she had made a sandwich out of it, and gave us a whole piece to split for free. It was very good! No, you don't want to know what's in it. We got back in our car, and kept traveling north, continuing to laugh randomly at the little lady from the Glencoe petrol station.

Ok, that's all for now, need to go make some bread!

Minion Birthday

So, my friend K's little girl turned two yesterday. Cutest little kiddo ever. She's using her manners, with a little prompting, she enjoys helping in the garden and around the house (I can't tell you how many times I've turned around to find her 'sweeping' the kitchen floor, or 'dusting' something), and will talk up a storm for you.

This adorable little blue eyed, blond curls of a little American Girl doll also LOVES minions. Like OMG every other word it seems is Minion. So for the birthday girl, her Momma and I decided I would make Minion cupcakes. I was super stoked, plus it gave me an excuse to buy a mini cupcake tin (everyone needs one those right?)

I looked up a few ideas online, and found pictures of people using Twinkies, and marshmallows, all sorts of different frostings, or fondant, and some painted on eyes, or used Smarties, or something else. I finally settled on how I wanted to put everything together, and took inventory for what I already had, and K and I headed off to the store.

I used a basic butter cream frosting, and about a half batch of the batter I used for K's birthday cupcakes last December. Plus, marshmallows, chocolate, candy eyes, black painting icing and sprinkles.

I started off by melting the chocolate, but of course I couldn't use my double boiler, because I used it with all sorts of fragrances and other things making lotions and candles last year, and yea well, didn't wanna risk it. No worries, we'll make this work the way my Momma taught me. A pan, and a bowl.

*DISCLAIMER* I don't really consider these candies as chocolates, but I can never get white chocolate to melt properly so I went with these.

Anywhoo....once it was all melted down, I added a splash of oil, and a pinch of vanilla, and started prepping the marshmallows. I found that if you just stick a toothpick in them, they pull off and get stuck in the chocolate, so I dipped the toothpick into the chocolate a little, then shoved it into my marshmallow, let it cool, and THEN dipped the marshmallow. Also...don't cover the whole marshmallow, because you'll have nothing to hold later without melting chocolate, and it makes it tricky getting the tooth pic out. Unless you want an excuse to eat half of your minions...then go ahead.

I used a styrofoam circle to hold the minions while they were cooling and drying, popping them in the fridge to hurry the process along since I'm not all THAT patient of a person.

How minions are born

Once I had all my Minions dipped, eyed, and haired, I started making cupcakes, and icing. I used Wilton Royal blue coloring to get the batter and icing as close to the shade of blue as their overalls and I could. 

Yay! First batch in mini cupcake tray!!!

After everything had cooled, and I took a break for dinner, I sat down and tried to draw the goggles and mouths on with a food writer pen. Thanks to the waxy nature of the chocolate, the pen tip just gummed up and didn't work for more than a tiny little mark that was REALLY faint any way. 

I tried to Google home made edible ink...and kept finding all these really cool ideas for making ink out of beets, and dryer lint, and walnuts, and all sorts of things, but not really what I was I going for. So I thought, well I have the black Wilton gel coloring, but it's too thick to paint on, so I'll try to water it down. Well that didn't work well, because the waxy-ness of the chocolate just had the water beading up and not drying. In the words of the minions "well, poop". 

I'm not sure what made me think of it, but I tried mixing some powdered sugar into the black water until it was about the consistency of an acrylic paint. Found my detail paint brush that I bought because I wanted to paint stemware, but never got around to it. I proceeded to paint, every minion's goggles, and mouths by hand, and assemble the cupcakes, while watching an outrageous comedy about a haunted house. 

MINIONS!!!!

WOW did they turn out pretty well! Some of them were a little wonky, some looked a little messed up, but overall, I had my own army of minions sitting on my coffee table.

The birthday girl, was so excited when she saw the minions that it didn't take her more than 5 minutes to snag one (after being told to wait) when no one was looking. K and I were in her kitchen getting dishes ready to set out and heard her say "I ate it". K and I looked at each other wondering what she was eating, and go into the other room to see this:

One very happy, Minion demolishing, birthday girl. Guess which one she snagged? The one I made with little piped stars on it so we could put her star candles in it for her to blow out....So we had to put the candles in a different one, but thankfully I had more cupcakes than minions.

Now that I've seen Despicable Me 2, I'm going to have to figure out how to do the new minions. Thinking, of cotton candy for the hair, and coconut for the teeth. If I ever actually make them, that is. I think I'm slightly minion-ed out for the time being. But we had one happy little birthday girl!

Motivation

We've all heard it at some point I'm sure. One of the ways to build motivation, and self confidence is to tell yourself the positives, normally while looking in a mirror. Kind of like this girl.

No I don't know this girl, this is a video I found on YouTube. Wish I did know her, she seems like an amazing, spunky little spit-fire.

I personally can't seem to bring myself to put on this kind of display, even when I'm home alone. To me, the whole "You're an amazing person, you can do this" pep talk in the mirror was cheesy as, well the best southern mac and cheese comfort dish you can dream up. Which when you're trying to live and eat better, that's not the best dream (*drools)....um yeah, side tracked by the gooey goodness there, Sorry. 

Some people do the whole post it note on the mirror, the door, the fridge, whatever. Well, post it notes are kind of like my will power, great for short bursts, but with only so much sticking power, they soon release their hold and flutter away, to fall and hide under some nearly immovable object....like the fridge, or stove.

So what's a creative girl to do? I realized when I walked in the bathroom earlier, that I already had the answer, I just wasn't using it to it's fullest possibility! 

And you can do this almost anywhere in the house!

What you need:

Dry or Wet erase Markers (here is one place you can get them)

A mirror or a Wall-pop 

Some self affirming sayings, or something that puts you in the right state of mind. 

If you use a wall pop, make sure the wall is really good and clean!

Then you can write what means something to you, Something that will help you get through what ever it is you need to get through. 

If you use a mirror, make sure you use a marker that you can read against the reflection. 

If you're dieting, put one on the fridge, and write your next weight goal, and what you're going to reward yourself with. See if that doesn't help you close the door and walk away!

If you need to remind yourself to not take things so seriously write something like "Smile at the clouds, Dance in the rain, Life's too short, not to have fun!"

If you have a white fridge, you can you use that too. That's what we did for the longest time. Works REALLY great for jotting down those "Oh,we need ___!" things when you remember because you reach for it and it's not there. Then when you go shopping, there's less of the "What on earth was it I said we needed??" moments. 

Please test it out first! Some fridges like ours, have little weird wriggely groves in the whole surface, that the dry erase ink can sink into, and it takes a lot of scrubbing to get it out. Some colors are also harder to complete erase than others. Green being one of them in my experience.

How do you motivate yourself? What tricks do you use to help make yourself feel better?

Summer Garden, Goals, and Ideas

Well, it's summer here in my part of the world. With the exception of the last week or so, it's been relatively mild and comfortable, hanging in the 70's but the humidity can't seem to make up it's mind. But all this means is my garden is THRIVING!

Small orange rose bush rescued from the mint

Acorn Squash

K and I have now planted carrots, onions, tomatoes, basil, eggplant, acorn squash, green beans, corn, cabbage, lettuce, broccoli, spinach, beets, radishes, green peppers, spicy peppers, zucchini, cucumber, spaghetti squash, and ambrosia melon. The carrots are just about ready to be pulled, and I'm impatiently waiting. We've got garlic growing all over the yard, and also waiting to harvest it. As well as mint....tons and tons of mint growing wild through my roses. So much, that I think I'll have enough to do everything from HappySimpleLiving's blog, and still have plenty left for a Mojito or two (*ahem* dozen) over the course of the summer.

Corn and green beans reaching for the sky!

I've read a lot that things like cabbage, and broccoli don't do too well with warm summer sun on them, so K and I strung up some string and cheesecloth to make a bit of a sun shade for our cold loving veggie bed, and it seems to be working OK. I just have to be careful when watering, and make sure to check it after a rain to make sure the cheesecloth isn't trying to push the plants back into the ground.

Happy Tomatoes and basil

Surprise! Apparently tomatoes will grow just about anywhere.

K and I planted about five tomatoes when we started seeds this spring. Now we have 25 plants. When the big garden was tilled by our husbands, apparently a tomato or two got tilled in, and they sprouted. We also found a volunteer growing out of a barrel where we dumped all the tiny rocks from the onion and carrot patch. So we now have a few varieties of what appear to be heirloom, beefsteak, roma, cherry, and a few unidentified tomatoes.

We also found a few pepper plants that popped up in the tilled ground, so those got transplanted as well.

The Ambrosia Melon we are growing is an experiment. Not sure how it's going to turn out, but since the plant cost me like $2 I'm not complaining. It looks like it's something like a cantaloupe, but it is supposed to be super sweet.

This past week we had a bit of a heat wave, getting up into the upper 80's but with high humidity it felt more like 90's. Our air conditioning is out, so we ended up spending about a week at my mother-in-law's house, taking advantage of her cool air. During this time, I ended up teaching her how to knit a dish cloth. She had one she loved that has just about reached the end of its useful life, so it was time for a new one. I ended up picking some thread for a few wash cloths for myself (I just can't bring myself to use such pretty things on dirty dishes) and worked right along side her while she made her first dish cloth. I must say, for her first time knitting in several years, she got right back into the swing of things very quickly. She picked a skein of red/blue/grey mix that when I looked at it on the shelf, I wasn't too much of a fan, but after she started knitting with it, it pulled a transformer on me and ended up looking pretty kick-ass! Enough that I'm planning on making a few out of the same stuff. 

A nice bright and cheery wash cloth!

I am now into my second batch of home made laundry soap, and I am loving it! Some stains that I thought were there for good have magically disappeared, and it rinses out so well there isn't anything left to irritate sensitive skin. Bonus - It works beautifully in my H.E. front loading washer. Next time I make a batch, I'll have to put up a tutorial on it. 

While reading around online for something...I think ideas for more wash cloths since I get bored pretty quickly, I stumbled across something I haven't thought about in a few years. Hot Process Soap.....but in a crock pot! Sign. Me. Up!

I love homemade soap, especially the kind with herbs and flowers in it. I stumbled across the blog Little House in the Suburbs and have been browsing through the wonderful entries there, getting my creative ideas flowing. So of course now I'm reading up on making soap in a crock pot, and the ratios, and what to do if it doesn't work, and how to tell if it's not working before waiting for it to set up. 

I'm hoping to have my first batch of crock pot soap in the next few weeks, (seriously, not standing over a hot pot of soap stirring away in summer, umm yes please), now I just have to decide if I'm going to make plain old soap, or if I'm going to do something fancy, like oatmeal and honey, or lavender chamomile, or even a mint and lemon. This is especially exciting for me, because I'm always looking to find ways to pamper myself, without spending all the extra money at the store. Also because this year I'm really trying to cut back on our seeming dependence on store bought items, and be more proactive incorporating nature into our lives. What more wonderfully pampering way to incorporate some of our summer garden into our winter lives than including some of the herbs and flowers in the soap we will use all winter? Add to that the scrumptious wash cloths, maybe some homemade candles, and hey, who needs the spa?

Well, that's all for now folks. Need to get off of here before I get any more ideas and try to do too much at once!

Faith, spirit, and nature

Some days, things just fall into place. You feel whole, connected. Your body seems to hum with an energy that is but isn't there. Something so beautiful and perfect you feel your eyes tear up, your heart swells, and an overwhelming sense of peace settles around your shoulders like a favorite warm blanket. 

Yesterday, the air reminded me of Scotland, humid, but cool and breezy. Scotland was the first place I truly felt this overwhelming surety of who I am, and what it means to be me. To the point my soul cried "This is home, I am home!". The sense that my spirit, my body, and my mind were in sync, and for a brief moment, even the stars and time could move nothing unless I willed it. I felt what I have long believed, in so profound of a moment, that it no longer was a belief, but became a soul deep knowledge. 

Yesterday, I had a similar feeling, not as strong, but an echo of what I had felt before. Even if we hadn't already planned it, I would have found myself outside and in the garden, or the woods. Barefoot, bare hands, sinking into the damp ground, with the breeze a gentle brush against the face. 

K came over, and we got the side bed weeded and planted. We were able to put corn, green beans, acorn squash, tomatoes, basil, carrots and onions in the ground. We will be putting some eggplant in as well in the side garden. The carrots, tomatoes, and basil are all showing, but nothing else will sprout for a while yet. I am looking forward to dinners made with freshly picked food, shared with loved ones. 

Some people may wonder why go through the trouble of doing all this when you can just buy it. Well, there's many reasons, but only a few are very important to me.

The most important is that for me, working in the garden is very spiritual. Some people pray, some people meditate, some dance, or use rhythm and find that solace the soul is looking for. Gardens, nearby woodlands, and rivers have always been my solace. There is a sense of wonder, a sense of peace when in nature. It's where we came from, before there were cities, before there were modern conveniences, we lived in and with nature. There is a harmony that I have not found elsewhere. When you let nature set the pace of life, life is more full. There's less stress, and it's easier to accept that what will happen will happen, and we can't control everything, as much as some of us may want to. 

Part of the spiritual aspect is all of the sensory input, that when I focus on it, or simply sit surrounded by it creates a very humbling feeling. As humans, we tend to forget how important the earth around us is and that in one way or another we all depend on nature. Getting my hands into the soil, knowing that what I have my hands in provides life to the plants that will be put there, and thus to me. The scent of the plants is to me the scent of life. The sound of the breeze, and the air around me that carries the sound of leaves rustling, or birds singing, lifts my spirit. 

Another reason this is so special to me, is that working with the earth reminds me of loved ones, and cherished memories. Memories that come bursting through the misty reaches of my mind to stand bold, front and center when I'm in nature. Remembering my mother, and my grandmother taking walks and pointing out different plants, with my mother sometimes explaining a medicinal use of the plant if she knew it. Memories of my grandfather carefully saving and cataloging seeds from his favorite plants, or taking the time and care to paint leaves of prized plants one at a time to protect them from some pest, or blight. Friends that I remember talking to their plants, encouraging them grow, and thrive, and the excited phone calls when a bloom appeared. 

http://tattoos-and-doodles.blogspot.com/2012/01/triskel-plant.html

Another is it fills a special part in my heart. My faith. My belief that life is sacred, and deserving of reverence. As a Druid, there is so much more than simply having a spiritual connection, there is an underlying, fundamental belief, in love, wisdom, and creativity, all of which I find in the garden. The proof that our lives are more connected than they appear on the surface. The peace that is present when all is in harmony. In my experience, some of the most wonderful moments of freeing the soul have been found setting roots into the soil.

All of this sums up to the fact that I do this because it's who I am. 

Gardening, Family, Life, and Feeding the birds

OK, so this post has been in the works for over two months now, so it'll be a long one. Some info and pictures are at least two months old, but still worth adding.

In one of my earlier posts "Reflections, A New Year, and New Experiments, I mentioned something about goals I had for the year. One of those was growing and canning more of our own food. To that end, we have been working on getting some vegetable beds ready to grow yummy tomatoes, and corn, and squash, and green beans among many other things.

Since our lives are fairly busy right now, and we have friends who want to grow their own veggies too, we've been sharing the work. K and her daughter have been coming over and helping clear out rocks....lots and lots of rocks, and plant seedlings, all while teaching her adorable little lady bug about playing in the dirt, playing in the water from the hose, and splashing in the puddles made by the hose.

Dirty bottom, and playing in the hose water :)

One of the delays in working in the garden was the cracking, and spewing forth of water from our 75 gallon fish tank on April 26th. Probably about 45 minutes or so after my husband left for work, and after I had been asleep about 4 hours. Thinking back now, it was rather comical. To my sleeping brain, the first crack sounded like the linen cupboard door being closed, so I just rolled over and went back to sleep. Some time later, probably about 5 or 10 minutes, I heard another crack, groaned and rolled over wondering what on earth he was getting in the cupboard for again, then I heard the sound of liquid running and splashing....and it didn't stop. I yelled out "Please tell me that's you going to the bathroom?!" silence....well (random string of expletives).

So I get up and check the bathroom and nothing, head out to living room and as I'm walking down the hall I realize my cat is sitting on the arm of the couch staring raptly at the fish tank. As I walk past the tank I feel cold, wet, squishy carpet, and look down to see 5 streams of water coming out of the bottom back of the tank! Hence the comical running around trying to figure out what to do save the water, the fish and the floor, which at this point splashed when I stepped on it, since about 1/4 of the water was on the floor.

The crack going from bottom right to the top of the tank. Still have the pretty backing on.

I managed to grab one of those 5 gallon buckets and catch one stream of water that was wicking around and out the side, but I had to figure out a way to channel the water that was still pouring out the back, right towards the power outlets. First thing I saw...was a gallon ziplock bag....don't know why I thought that would work, but after standing there for about a minute trying to figure out how to get it to stay, I decided that was BS. I went to the kitchen and grabbed our small cutting board and managed to wedge that between the tank and the wall and redirect the water into the bucket, which was filling up really fast. So while that was filling I called the hubby to get him to come home. Then called K and the conversation went something like this...

K: Hi (cautiously because I normally don't call that early)
Me: Do you have towels (Duh...they wouldn't)
K: Yeah, I have a lot of towels. Why?
Me: My fish tank sprung a leak....
K: What!? Ok I'll grab my towels, and I have this little green that I can grab and suck water out of the floor
Me: That sounds great...

So our day that Friday revolved around sucking fish water out of the tank, and the floor. Well, at least the floor got a good scrubbing, courtesy of A bringing a brand spankin new carpet cleaner over, and the  fish tank got a thorough cleaning. We got a new tank, and actually got pretty lucky. We got a new 75 gallon tank, stand, lid and light for about $500.00 from a local pet store. Still a hefty chunk to have to drop like that, but we had to put the fish somewhere, and the tub wasn't an option!

New tank, still a little cloudy after transferring all the fish and decorations over. The guy below is our bottom feeder....aptly named Moby in the old tank. Yes, he takes up over half of the 23 inches of the tank from top to bottom. Probably closer to 20 when you count the pebbles on the bottom.

We've managed to chisel and scrounge out two beds. A small one between our driveway and a larger one at the back of our house. We realized that the one at the back of the house actually ends up in the shade by about 2:30 right now. Our neighbor's trees are hugely tall, and without the leaves, we didn't notice how far the shadows are thrown.  I'm confident that as we get further into summer, and the sun shifts, it'll be more in the sun.

So, we got both beds tilled, fertilized, and some peat moss turned in to the soil in an effort to break up the clay, and add some nutrients. The side bed is going to be home to some corn, and tomatoes, and green beans, and squash. The back bed pictured above is going to be home to lots of stuff, including zucchini, cucumbers, herbs, onions, cabbage, lettuce, spinach, spaghetti squash, and more that I can't think of at the moment.

Fast forward about a month, life continues to throw curve balls our way, including finding out we need to completely replace our AC unit (which if you notice is in the middle of the vegetable bed against the house.....yeah anyone else see tender young plants getting squashed by the workmen? Not intentionally of course!

Of course during all of this, I had a wish granted, and in the manner of wishes, not in a way I expected. Mid March I ended up taking over watching A's boys while she was at work. Not a week or so before I was thinking, "I'd really love to spend more time with A and her two kids". Yea...be careful what you wish for!

One week, we went to a local park and fed the birds! Both the boys and I ended up with little birds on our hands pecking seeds up! It was one of those rare, magical moments that just resonates with a hidden place in your soul. 

For as much as those kids push, and try to get what they want (what kid doesn't?) I love them. There were definitely the 'Aww' moments, sporadic at first, but with increasing frequency towards the end. Last Monday, the youngest practically marched up to me and said "We (his brother and himself) should do the chores so you guys can rest". Mom's voice popped into my head "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth" (What does that really mean any way??) so I jumped on the chance. They came up with a list of chores they could do. This listed included:

Run the vacuum

Clean the cat liter box

Clean off table after dinner

Take out trash/recyclables

Help with laundry

Water the plants

Pick up and organize the shoes by the front door

Help with dishes

Set the table

sweep the kitchen

pick up trash

pick  up toys

read a book

pick up and put back pillows and blankets on couch

Well I added the read the book one ;). What we did was make a chore cup, printed out the chores and cut them up. Then the boys would each pull a chore out of the cup, do it, and race to see who got done first, then pull the next one out until they were all done! I also made little lucky stars for them to transfer, along with the completed chore to the completed cup. The rule was that if they did all their chores, all week, and without complaining, they would be allowed to play video games on the weekend. We did this all week and it worked wonderfully. A is continuing this even though I'm not watching them anymore. 

Sorry this took so long to get up, but here it is in all it's un-edited glory! I'll be working on another post shortly about the garden, and how it's progressing.

Dreams are one of the driving factors of life. Dreams of the future, unfulfilled dreams, even nightmares, all drive us in one direction or another. It's up to us to choose which dreams to chase, and which need to be left behind. 

Experience Life Firsthand

I'm here today to 'beat a dead horse'. Many other blogs, articles, news casts etc have covered this same topic many times, which much more research, but I read something today that just tipped me over boiling. I started to type out a status on Facebook, and realized it was going to be just too long, so I moved over here.

WARNING: Expletives NOT deleted (for those sensitive enough to be offended), and opinions that could be offensive to some are expressed.


Vent/Rant:
I almost got sucked into a debate about which is better, paying for cable or internet+Hulu/Netflix. Both sides were vicious. How about instead of spending hours watching TV every day, and arguing over the most convenient/cheapest way, we boot our asses off the couch, go learn something new, make something, better our lives, and our children's in the process? In general...use our bodies and brains in the manner they were intended to be used.

How long has mankind lived without TV? Thousands of years. How long has man kind lived fully? Thousands of years. How long has TV (broadcasts) been around? Less than 100 years. I think it wasn't until the 50's that TV became commercialized. Now, how many of you hear yourself saying "I can't live without TV"? I ask you, why not? Because you need to know what happens next? Make it up for yourself, I promise you'll love the ending a hell of a lot better. Because you would be bored without it? Fuck that! You know all those things you say you want to do but never have time to? Well no TV means you'll have a lot more time to do things you want to do. Because you want to live vicariously through the TV because they have what you can't? Quit whining, quit being selfish, and go grab life and mold it to what you want it to be instead of wishing it were better. Because you don't think you can come up with stuff to do? Well here's a few ideas to get you started. Talk a walk in the woods, check out a local farmers market, play tag with the kids, plant a garden, read a book, make up a story in a round robin style, learn a new hobby, pick up a hobby you set aside, solve a puzzle, invite people over for dinner and TALK, feed the birds, go fishing, go explore your town, try a new recipe, volunteer somewhere, take up yoga, make home improvements, go to the library, the list can go on and on.

Now, I know that it's easier to plop kids down in front of the TV, or video games, and let them do their thing, especially when you just really need to get something done, and I think that's ok in moderation, but as someone who has little ones in her life, and loves them, how can you stand that blank, glassy eyed expression when they tune in and zone out? All of us, but kids especially, have absorbent minds. Some how, even if we can't recall everything, the things we see sink in to those minds. What do you want sinking in the little ones in your life minds, into your mind? Yes, there's some damn good programming out there for learning, for all ages. However I firmly believe that the best learning is done when experienced first hand. Yes, use TV, the internet, and smart phones to enhance your life. I use mine frequently to look up how to do something, or I'll stumble across an article that shows me something I'd never thought of before, or to help me figure out what something I've never experienced before is. Then walk away from them and go learn for yourself.

I think one of the big things about opting to watch someone else do things on TV, instead of opting to do it yourself, is that it removes the fear of failure, or the feelings of insecurity when we don't measure up to some of those awful societal standards of perfection. Can't really fail or be bad at anything if you just watch from the sidelines. But how will you know if you'll be good at it? You won't. Point blank, plain and simple, end of discussion. Unless you try. Unless you try many times, and fail. Then LEARN from your failures, grow from your experiences. YOU experienced them, and no one else can take that experience away.

Instead of living our lives through a box that flashes and makes all manner of sounds (yes I realize the irony as I'm currently in front of a computer), how about we actually get OUT there and live our lives? Yes, I love watching sci-fi, yes I like playing video games, and there are times when all I want to do is veg out, but damn it all I'm not plugged in to the things. Meet up with friends, play with the kids in your life (four legged and hairy included), and spend time EXPERIENCING life for yourself. Experience a scene of nature so beautiful and perfect you actually tear up. Experience what it's like to have a wild bird land on your hand. Experience new sounds, smells, and tastes at an ethnic restaurant. Experience the pride in completing something you've never done before. Experience the frustration when something doesn't work, and revel in it, because you are living.

Instead of asking, "What should I watch?", ask instead "How should I experience life today?" Let life inspire you. Who knows, you just might inspire someone else.

Cheesecake! Oh and Red Velvet Cake...Together

So, we had company for dinner last Saturday night. We have also been looking for an 'excuse' to try to make some French style food. One of the people that came for dinner LOVES cheesecake. I love to bake cheesecake (ok I love to eat it too, but really trying to watch what I eat). Match made in heaven!

So I started looking for some good ideas for a cheesecake to try. I wanted to do something different, something I had never done before. While browsing around on Pinterest, I saw this picture of a Red Velvet Cheesecake. I knew I had to try it!!

Picture from 1-800-Baskets.com

Now, I've made all the components before, but never thought of combining them. Luscious creamy cheesecake, with decadent moist red velvet, plus tangy sweet and smooth cream cheese frosting. YUMMY!

While, I think I could have done better with the Red Velvet part, I LOVE the recipes I use for cheesecake and cream cheese frosting. I'm going to have to experiment and make some more red velvet cake to see what I like the best. I think the best red velvet that I liked was from a local bakery. It was a really heavy, dense cake, almost like cutting through a piece of fudge, than cake, and the flavor was AMAZING! Plus it was so moist, it didn't crumb up much. Sadly that won't work for this cheesecake.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: I didn't really remember to take pics, so if you're looking for a step by step tutorial, please let me know. I know a few people who would be MORE than happy for me to make another cheesecake :)

So to break it down, we have a few basic parts that need to be made

1. The cheesecake
2. The red velvet cake
3. The red velvet cake crumbs
4. The cream cheese frosting

I've had much success with my cheesecakes before. Everyone who's tried them has loved them (talk about an ego boost). What I love about them is they are nice and dense, without a lot of cheesy flavor, and not too sweet, while not being a heavy cake, like when they are made with flour.

The Cheesecake

So for the cheesecake... I was a little nervous because I've never made a crust-less cheesecake before. I actually normally make a double thick crust and pre-bake it before filling it with the batter and baking again. So I held my breath, made the batter, poured it into my spring form pan, and waited impatiently for it to finish baking, and cooling, and chilling. 

The Red Velvet Cake

For the red velvet cake layer I used the Joy of Cooking cake recipe since it is, at least in my mind, one of the tried-and-true, stand the test of time recipes. It's good, just not what I was looking for. I really wouldn't suggest a box mix for this part, since they tend to turn out light and fluffy, and probably wouldn't support the weight of the cheesecake. You also want to make sure your flavor of cake is going to contrast the flavor of the cheesecake, while at the same time complimenting it. So if you make a Vanilla cheesecake, you're probably going to want a stronger flavor cake, like Red Velvet, or Black Forest. Also consider the type of cheesecake you're making. If it's a really moist cheesecake, then you'll probably want to go for a dryer cake, and vice-verse if the cheesecake is a drier, flour type cake. 

I decided on the thickness I wanted for the red velvet layers, and carefully cut my cakes to size. A good trick for this, is once you decide where you need to cut, find something you can use to measure that height repeatedly, and poke toothpicks into the cake at the height all around the cake, about two inches apart. This way, when you go to cut the cake, you have a guide to follow to help you get a nice even layer. I think it's better than buying one of those flimsy cake leveler things anyway. I go all the way around the cake, keeping the knife if the same spot and turning the cake so that I score a line all the way around, this way I know it's going to match up BEFORE I start slicing my cake apart. I also use a LONG bread knife, so that way it goes most of the way through. Less work. 

The Crumb Coating

In order to make the crumb coating, I needed enough cake to have the inside layers, and enough left to crumble up. I ended up using two cakes, the same diameter as my spring form cheesecake. Since I made the red velvet cakes first, and they were cool by time the cheesecake was in the oven, I was able to sit and crumble the left over cake by hand. I found that I had to cut off the top edge of the cake, because it was a bit too dry to crumble nicely, and shave off the top layer across the dome of the cake because it somehow was too moist. 

Let the crumbling commence! I just sat and crumbled by hand, while listening to some fun music since I wanted my crumbs to be a little less than uniform. If you have little ones, I'm sure they'd love to help. If you want a REALLY fine crumb, then get a mesh strainer, like what you would strain stock through to help catch all the little bits of herbs and stuff so you have clear broth. Rub the cake over this and it will break up into a really fine, uniform crumb. Set the crumbs aside, yes you will probably have a lot, that's a good thing!

The Cream Cheese Frosting

I used the Joy of Cooking cream cheese frosting because it's simple, and I know I like it. Well, I know it's a good base. I normally add some buttermilk to help make it not so overpoweringly sweet. I though about adding coconut flakes, but decided against it since they would add one more layer of texture to an already varied cake. I made a double batch, since I knew I would have plenty of cake crumbs left over.

Assemble the Cake!

This ended up not being as scary as it sounds. The trick I found, was to make sure the cheesecake, and red velvet were nice and cold before handling them. If you have time, leave them in the fridge for a few hours. If not, then pop them in the freezer for about 30 minutes (Assuming both are already cooled to room temp!) or until they are cold enough to handle. 

Un-mold the cheesecake from the spring form pan, and use a long frosting spatula to separate the cake from the bottom of the pan. On your serving plate, or cardboard cake round, place the piece you decided to use as the bottom cake layer, cut side up. With the cheesecake loosened, but still on the bottom of the spring form, position the cheesecake near the cake layer, Flip the cake layer over so the cut side is on the top of the cheesecake, then place the serving plate over the cake layer. 

Carefully, holding all three pieces, flip everything right side up together so the cheesecake is on top of the cake layer, with the bottom of the spring form pan on the top. Now you should be able to carefully pull the pan off the cheesecake. If it sticks, get your long spatula hot with tap water, and carefully slide it between the cheesecake and the pan. If the cheesecake is cold enough the pan bottom should slip right off. If it's too cold (like if you forgot about it in the freezer because one or more of life's little distractions got involved) then just wait a while for it to warm up, or carefully put HOT clean wash cloths on the pan bottom to help it unstick. 

Now simply lay the last cake layer on top, and trim and edges that stick out. I had to trim the cheesecake very slightly all the way around. 

Frosting and Crumb Coating

I made sure the frosting was at room temp before starting.

Put a crumb coat on the cake, and put it in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to set up. If you don't know how to crumb coat, then check out this information from Wilton for a little more info. 

Since I wanted part of the top to be clean and crumb free when all done, I cut a circle of parchment paper, positioned it on the top of the cake, and pressed it in gently. This kept the crumbs off the top of the cake so I could pipe icing on later. I left about a 1/2 inch ring exposed so the crumbs would cover the top just a smidge. Once the parchment was in place, I put a final layer of icing around the cake, making it as even as possible, but I didn't pay much attention to how smooth it was. 

This part is MESSY!!!

Get some more parchment paper, or some newspaper to cover the table, scoop up a handful of your crumbs and press them into the side of the cake. Let whatever doesn't stick drop down, then press in another handful. Scoop up the stuff that fell, and keep going, adding in more crumbs as you go. Make sure to get the top of the cake if you're crumbing that too. 

When you're all done, set aside the remaining crumbs. They make great cake pops later. 

Once you have all the stray crumbs brushed off the parchment on top, carefully and slowly peel the parchment off, and pip on frosting as desired. 

If piping cream cheese frosting, remember it warms up and goes all floppy much much faster than butter cream, so keep your frosting in the fridge, and only put a little bit in your pastry bag at a time. 

So, what do you think? I think I did pretty well for my first time trying this without anything to follow other than a picture. I think next time, I might make a chocolate cake, so it turns out more like an Oreo.

Like I said earlier, let me know if you want a more detailed step-by-step tutorial.