Boys!

This is how different my boys are!

Spring is in the air!

Little Things

Photo: Pottery barn

It is a cold, overcast day here which has begged us to veg out in front of the television and computer. I have been window shopping online and found this beautiful 3-tier stand. I think it would look perfect in my kitchen on the black buffet.
The problem with saving money for something big is that there is nothing left for the pretties that I love so much. But I do find a certain amount of satisfaction just looking at things and dreaming about what I want the house to look like! Sometimes it's the small things isn't it?

I did do something productive today. I made croutons with the sourdough bread from the bread debacle of the other day. It turned out quite good all buttery and salty. Here is the recipe:

Homemade Croutons

1 stick butter (don't be afraid of the butter people)

1/4 cup olive oil

3-4 cloves garlic

I was going to use dried rosemary too but couldn't find any

melt above ingredients in sauce pan

meanwhile cut bread into little bite sized cubes and place on a parchment paper lined sheet pan. pour butter mixture over bread and toss. place pan in a preheated 350 oven for 15 minutes. get it out and toss it around again, then bake for another 15 minutes. get out of oven and sprinkle with coarse sea salts.

The finished product makes you realize all that butter was worth it! Your whole house will smell like garlic-infused butter and even your kids who stated point blank that they were not going to try it will come back for seconds. We ate it as a snack today (because that's how we role) but it would be good with tomato bisque or on a salad.

Bread

About a week ago I ordered a bread starter from here. It came in this past Friday and I was so excited to see what I could do with it! Saturday night I fed and watered it according to the instructions and by Sunday afternoon (after a few more feedings) it was ready to go. I combined it with ingredients for a Rustic Sourdough bread (it sounds good doesn't it) and put it in my bread maker and hit the dough option with visions of yummy, crusty, bread that I can serve with pasta, at a dinner party with all my friends over, and everyone would gush: You made this? Yes, I did.

Well about an hour later I went back to look at it. And it looked just the same! Not a round ball of kneaded dough, just a heaping pile of flour! So I got the whole thing out of the bread maker and tried to save most of the chalky sludge oozing down the side. I kneaded it by hand for ten minutes. I was looking for the dough to become kinda shiny like the directions say, but it never did.

After letting it rise for a few hours (also according to directions) and baking it in a preheated oven for required amount of time. This is what I got (see above photo). No, it isn't a doorstop or some kind of medieval weapon, it is my supposed to be light, fluffy melt in your mouth loaf of bread. So what went wrong my bread making friends? Did I knead it too long? Let it rise for too long or not long enough?

I am going to make another loaf next weekend. I am nothing if not persistent. And I could really use some advice and or suggestions.

Square foot Garden

not my garden photo found here

containergardening.wordpress.com/.../

We are going to try again this year to grow a garden. Every year around this time I get an "itch" to start planting things. I come from a long line of farmers and gardeners so I think it's in my blood. Or it should be. To date I haven't been very successful with actually keeping the plants alive. But every year I try. We are going to plant a square foot garden and I found a cool design from this site. It has all kinds of useful information and makes things sound so straight forward and, dare I say, easy, that I think even a novice like me could make a go of it.
This is what we are going to grow: Kale, green beans, broccoli, arugula, eggplant, hot peppers, bell peppers, leeks, cucumbers, leaf lettuce, spinach, okra, and of course tomatoes. The list looks pretty lofty but we are optimists at heart.
Of course, we always have our local farmers market that we will continue to support. And a csa that may deliver right to our front door (wouldn't that be nice)! We may end up bursting at the seams with fresh produce this summer, in which case we may need to seriously consider investing in a deep freeze. I can think of nothing I would like more than to provide local, whole, organic food for my family. Can anyone say super mom award?
Does anyone else have plans for a garden this summer? I would love to hear any plans or ideas!

I am also going to plant a little kitchen herb garden and guess where I am going to plant it? In an old wheelbarrow. It is my husband's idea and I think its great. Just drill a few hole in the bottom for irrigation and then add soil and herbs. Super easy and unique too. I love it!

Soccer Time!

Soccer season is upon us again. The boys are both so excited to be playing this year, they have been talking about it for days! After a hectic search through the house to find socks, shin guards, cleats and soccer balls (I am determined to be better organized next time) we made a mad dash to the field. The nice thing about small town living is that we live all of two minutes away.

M ompletely took me by surprise! He dribbled, he hustled, he took the ball away from his opponent. He was super soccer player extraordinaire! My mouth hung open in shock. Is this the same boy who last year danced and sang his way across the field and avoided contact with the ball at all costs? M's got game!

And N has talked a big game up until this point but when field time is actually required would rather sit on my lap, eat his snack, go get a drink or whine. Last night he ran drills and he dribbled and he didn't whine, complain or bemoan his fate once!

It was so much fun to watch them play. My mommy heart swelled with pride. They are both getting so big and changing so fast, sometimes I feel like I can't keep up! I know this time in our lives is going to fly by and I just want to capture it and them and hold them close. I hope they always know how much I love them!

Spring Dreamin'

We got just a glimpse of spring this weekend.

Just enough of warm floating down to kiss our skin and give us joy that tasted like sweetness

melting on our tongues.

We spent hours in it.

Hours and hours of lying on a blanket on the still dead grass watching the sky float by.

We giggled,

we laughed,

we were delirious with the fever.

We talked silly nonsense (as we often do) and made plans for this weather.

We are going to hike,

explore,

discover!

I felt it,

the rebirth that always comes with this time of year.

My boys felt it too.

I wrote this afew weeks ago, but since it was such a happy day for us I wanted to share it again at Tuesdays Unwrapped.

Chili Cook Off

After months of planning, meetings, talking with local business owners, and hours and hours of cataloging, organizing and getting things ready. The day of the Chili Cook off (which is a fundraiser for our school) finally arrived. There were a lot of very talented and dedicated people who helped make the fundraiser a success and I'm glad that I was able to be a part of it.
It was exciting to see the community come together toward a common goal. The money raised goes directly to the dedicated teachers who help us educate our children. The hours that I spent at the school were tiring and I have to admit that I am glad that it is over! But the thank-yous that I heard from all the teachers made it worth it!
My husband and I entered our Vegetarian Chili again this year and won third place (again) against nine other local chili makers. There were 500+ people in attendance with enough chili to feed everyone. That's a lot of chili!!

Here is the recipe adapted from a chili recipe from allrecipes.com

VEGETARIAN CHILI

INGREDIENTS
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Chalot, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon tumeric
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 red bell peppers, chopped
• 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 sliced dried chilies (soaked)
• 2 (4 ounce) cans chopped green chile peppers, drained
• 2 (12 ounce) packages vegetarian burger crumbles
• 3 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, crushed
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper (also cayenne if desired)
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans
• 1 package green giant frozen corn (non-buttered)
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion, and season with bay leaves, cumin, oregano, and salt. Cook and stir until onion is tender, then mix in the celery, green bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, garlic, and green chile peppers. When vegetables are heated through, mix in the vegetarian burger crumbles. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 5 minutes.
2. Mix the tomatoes into the pot. Season chili with chili powder and pepper. Stir in the kidney beans, garbanzo beans, and black beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 45 minutes. Stir in the corn, and continue cooking 5 minutes before serving.
Nutritional Information
Amount Per Serving Calories: 342 Total Fat: 7.7g Cholesterol: 0mg