Real Chocolate Syrup, dairy and corn syrup free!

 Before I get started, if you look to the right, you will see that you can now subscribe to my blog via email.  I know some of you noticed this already, because the number of email subscriptions that I can see on my end is growing!  You can also follow the blog using your existing Google, Yahoo or Twitter account, just scroll down a bit to the bottom of the right hand column for that option.

By now most people reading this know that we make a lot of our daily food from scratch.  We both enjoy cooking, but there are other reasons. Sometimes due to family food allergies, usually because it tastes better, almost always because it is healthier.  There is a 4th reason that only applies to some of the recipes, and that is because even if a healthy, allergy friendly version is readily available and affordable, dumping a few ingredients in a pot and stirring is ten thousand times easier than taking 4 small kids to the grocery store to buy, for example, chocolate syrup.

So that's how this recipe happened for the first time.  Added bonuses for us are that it is non dairy (some dairy free versions are at most grocery stores) and high fructose corn syrup free (not so readily available at the store) and while it does contain plenty of sugar, it's a bit more chocolatey and a touch less sweet. But those last 3 are just the reasons that I keep making it, batch after batch. It all started with me not wanting to drag the 4 minions out to the store on a cold, rainy evening.

It's so easy that I bet you'll start making your own, too.

Allergy Friendly Chocolate Syrup

1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
dash of salt
2 tsp. vanilla

Combine everything except the vanilla in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Stir constantly with a whisk until the mixture starts to simmer and thicken.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Let it cool a little, but you can enjoy it warm over ice cream or brownies or cold in chocolate milk (or rice milk, or soy milk).  Make sure you store it in the fridge.  We put ours in an empty ketchup bottle that we washed out and saved because it is easy to squirt onto or into things, but a mason jar or tupperware work too.

Thanks for stopping by!

Dessert and Drink for the winter blahs, part 2

I guess technically the last post, with the Cranberry Currant Pie recipe, was the dessert, and this one is the drinks.  Oh well.  As you may have read about here, I pretty much had my ass handed to me by daily life last week.  So I took an extra day to get around to posting my favorite holiday drink recipes.  It'll be worth it, I promise.  You may even find something here that becomes a holiday favorite of your own.  Help yourself, share with your friends, and if you do find something that you love, leave me a comment, follow my blog by email or whatever your preferred method is, share my post on Facebook or pin me on Pinterest.  It will inspire me to keep the recipes coming while I finish putting together a couple of free sewing and craft tutorials that I'm working on!

On to the important stuff.  My current favorite, which I'm sipping happily while I put this post together, is Holiday Cranberry Mulled Wine.  I love red wine, and I don't generally like especially sweet drinks (although if sweet is your thing, there is a decadent, rich Peppermint Kiss recipe later in this post).  So this drink is toasty warm and tangy. The other thing about this recipe is that it is fast to make as far as mulled wines go.  The recipe calls for unsweetened cranberry juice.  Look for it in the natural foods section of the store if you can't find it in the juice aisle, or at a health food store. It will have a completely different flavor (one that is too sweet for me) if you use a cranberry blend or cranberry juice cocktail.

Holiday Cranberry Mulled Wine

1 1/2 cups unsweetened cranberry juice (I use R.W. Knudsen brand)
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
4 whole cloves
1/2 tsp allspice
1 cinnamon stick
2 cups dry red wine

Mix everything except the wine in a saucepan over medium heat.  Stir until the sugar dissolves,  then bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes, uncovered.
Remove from the heat and stir in the wine.  Serve warm.  If you like, you can garnish with a cinnamon stick.


If you prefer something sweeter, actually quite a bit sweeter, the Peppermint Kiss may be the drink for you.  I don't care for drinks this rich very often but once in a while, usually on Christmas day, I have a serious craving for one.  It's almost like a dessert by itself.


The Peppermint Kiss

1/4 cup half & half
1 1/2 oz Godiva chocolate liqueur
1 1/2 oz creme de cocoa (dark)
splash of peppermint schnapps

Toss it in a shaker and give it it hell. I recommend putting it in a martini glass rimmed with peppermint schnapps and crushed peppermint candy. 'Cause you deserve it that way, that's why!


My last offering for this post is the Spiced Pear on the Rocks.  This is a favorite of mine in the fall as well as the spring. Splurge on the vanilla vodka and really good unsweetened pear juice!


Spiced Pear on the Rocks

Using a lemon wedge to wet the edge, rim a glass with cinnamon sugar.
Pour equal parts vanilla vodka and pear juice (again, I use R.W. Knudsen brand) in a shaker with ice and a generous pinch of powdered sugar. 
Shake away. 
Pour, over ice, into prepared glass.

A variation that I also enjoy is to use a chilled martini glass instead and add a splash of dry vermouth, for a Spiced Pear Martini.  Be careful, they go down really easily!

Dessert and Drinks for the winter blahs

I'm not a big fan of the winter months, and that's putting it mildly.  I don't like to be cold, I don't like slushing through snow with kids, trying to be on time for preschool when I'd rather be at home with a hot cup of coffee on a warm couch.  I can admit that right after a fresh snowfall, it is beautiful.  But then the cars drive through it and just leave ugly, slippery grey slush all over and eventually I also have to venture out in the mess, and the magic of the pristine scenery is lost. Winter holidays are great, I'll admit that. I'm working on enjoying Valentine's Day more, which you can read about here, and I love Christmas.  It's a favorite holiday of mine for several reasons, including the snacks and spirits! There are a few staple dessert and drink recipes that I don't make throughout the year, but, as a general rule, save for the several weeks encompassing Thanksgiving and  Christmas. Once in a while, when the glow of December has faded but the first glimmer of spring hasn't arrived, I treat myself to one of my favorite winter holiday desserts or cocktails (or both) to temporarily warm me up.  We haven't had much in the way of winter this year, but it's been pretty cold off and on which is enough to inspire me to have some dessert and booze.

This is one that is requested by other family members at gatherings during the fall and early winter, Cranberry Currant Pie.  It is made with tangy fresh cranberries, and the tiny dried Zante currants (also simply called currants) add interest and a bit of sweetness. For some reason, I always use the pie crust trimmings to cut out little stars for the top and sprinkle it with coarse sugar, so it has sort of become the signature look for this pie in our family. As an added bonus, this recipe is allergy friendly for my oldest daughter. In addition to the various fruits and vegetables that she cannot eat, this pie is also dairy, egg and nut free and is suitable for vegan baking.

Start with your favorite pie crust. Make sure you have enough for 2 crusts, one for the bottom crust and one to put on top. Usually, I just use Pillsbury pie crust. They are readily available, easy and also free of dairy, eggs and nuts. Plus, I have not yet perfected from-scratch pie crust like my grandmother's!

You will also need:

3 cups of fresh cranberries
3/4 to 1 cup of dried currants
1 cup sugar
1/8 tsp salt
5 tbsp. cornstarch
1/3 cup water
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp orange extract
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Start by preheating the oven to 375 degrees.  Prepare the bottom crust by rolling it out and placing it in a 9 inch pie plate.

Rinse the cranberries and currants in cold water, then chop them coarsely by putting them in a food processor and pulsing a few times.  You don't want to crush or puree them, just roughly chop them up a little bit.  Pour them into the pie crust and set aside for now.

Using a whisk, mix the sugar, salt, cornstarch, cinnamon and nutmeg together in a mixing bowl.  Add the water, lemon juice and vanilla & orange extracts.  This mixture will probably be pretty thick, and that's fine. 

Pour this over the cranberries in the pie plate, as evenly as you can.  Since the mixture is thick, it may seem to sit on top, but it's ok, it will settle in and distribute itself while the pie bakes.

Top with the second crust and trim off the excess from the edges.  Crimp or pinch around the edges to seal.  I use the scraps of crust to roll out again and cut out little stars (or whatever shape you prefer).  Brush the backs of the stars with water and lay them out across the top of the pie. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Bake in the preheated oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.  Check on it after about 35 minutes, and if the edges are starting to brown too early, cover them with strips of aluminum foil to keep them from burning during the rest of the baking time.

Once the pie is finished, cool completely on a wire baking rack before slicing.


Check back tomorrow for my favorite cranberry drink recipes, and I'd love to know what you think of the pie!

I Need a Drink...Seriously...

Where to begin.  The end of last week Cassidy missed 2 days of school to have some testing done, which was quite a process.  We ended the weekend a bit drained, but this week started well enough.  As you may know from my Valentine's Day post, last year's "V-Day is as much fun as VD" nightmare, which you can read about here, did not repeat itself, plus I got to make some cute clothes for the kids.  On Monday, the 3 younger kids delivered their valentines to preschool, and I didn't even forget the cupcakes I signed up to bring for River's class.  The afternoon went well despite Mark and I having stomach aches, I got my V-Day blog posted and when I took Cassidy and Chloe to ballet I got to chat with my friends at the dance studio. Their daughter is in Chloe's ballet class, and they share my sarcasm and lack of subtlety, so that is always a treat. Probably more so for us than for those sitting around us, but whatever. Chloe is having some significant health issues and has some appointments coming up, so it was nice to unload some of that stress on someone as well...thanks, Tricia!

At this point, I should add that if you are really only here for the martini recipe ,more power to you, just scroll down to the bottom of this post.  If you want to know why I needed it in particular this evening, read on.

Then it started.  Exactly 30 minutes after I packed up the girls and left the dance studio, River and Chloe stood on opposite corners of the living room rug (the only area rug in our hardwood floored house with the exception of a little heart shaped throw rug in the girls' room) and literally took turns puking towards each other for a full minute.  That might not sound like long, but for 2 vomiting kids, it's plenty long enough.  They were like a matched pair of fountains. Fountains of nastiness. So we dealt with that and got their hair washed and everyone into pajamas.  Both of them wanted something to drink, so we filled up their cups and put all 4 kids to bed.  Chloe was in our bed, and Quinn was snuggled up in there with her.  River and Cassidy were in their room, and since River wasn't feeling well, Cassidy offered to stay down (she sleeps in the top bunk of the bunk bed, Chloe is usually in the bottom, River has the trundle bed) and read to her.  As soon as Mark and I finished steam cleaning the rug, putting the nastiness from the clean-up effort in the washing machine and sat down on the couch, River threw up again.  This time all over the only other (tiny) rug in the house and all over Cassidy, poor kid.  I helped Cass get cleaned up, Mark put River in the tub (again) and as he was dressing her in clean pjs and I was cleaning up the rest of the mess and getting ready to set up the Stomach Virus System (seriously, we have it down to a science.  It's a post in and of itself, but one for another day..."How to Survive a Stomach Bug with Small Children"...), Chloe hurls all over our bed.  Luckily, Quinn dashed out of the way in time and into the dry safety of his own room.  This time, Mark cleaned the room while I bathed the kid.  Then he dressed her and cuddled with her while I tucked River back in and set up our room to survive the night.  None of the 4 of us got much sleep, as it continued through the night, but at least Cass and Quinn did, and they never got sick.

The next day, Tuesday, Cass went to school and by 10am, the sick girls were perking up some.  Then Quinn was standing on River's bed (which is not allowed) and he fell, landing with his chest right on the corner of the trundle drawer.  We seriously thought he may have cracked a rib, but after examining him and keeping an eye on him for a couple of hours decided it was just badly bruised. An hour later, when he finally started moving around again and came running down the hall, he slammed into the corner of a table with his hip, laying himself out flat on the floor.  Another ice pack and rest, and we moved on. Before Cassidy even got home from school, he had tripped in the living room and busted the whole side of his lip open.  More blood, note to self-get RED washcloths for these accidents, like my mom always told me to, so he doesn't see the blood on it, more ice in the form of a popsicle, then Cassidy got home. Mark had to work late, so I was solo for dinner and bedtime again.  Chloe fell asleep on the couch, so I just moved her into bed.   By the time I was getting the other kids' teeth brushed, she had woken up with a nightmare about medical testing that she will be having in the next month or so.  She ended up waiting for Daddy to come home from a late job before she could sleep again, and even then it had to be in our room with me.  At least this time there was no vomit involved.

She woke up 4 more times that night crying and shaking. It sucked for her the most, and both of us started Wednesday off with very little sleep.  Despite this, all 4 kids went to school/preschool, and I managed to get my oil changed, ship out some packages to customers of mine from my Etsy shop, stop at the grocery store and finalize the details of the donations that I have planned for the preschool fundraiser next month, all in the 2 hours that the little ones are at preschool.  Things seemed to be looking up. When I picked the kids up from preschool, the twins' teacher noted that they had a special treat, cupcakes, at snack time, and Chloe had refused to eat.  She was withdrawn all the way home, and didn't start to come around until she got to snuggle in her Daddy's lap for almost an hour. What it boiled down to was that the pain in her throat, chest and stomach (part of the reason for the doctor's appointments coming up) is now so bad that she didn't want to swallow.  I coaxed her into a snack, and Mark dropped Cassidy off from school then went to work for the night.

In the 4 hours between Mark leaving and bedtime, Quinn took a header off the couch while playing tug of war with the dog and landed squarely on the back of his head on the hardwood floor, Cassidy threw an uncharacteristic and huge tantrum which included screaming at her currently emotionally fragile sister for trying to comfort her (seriously, what the hell?) River fell off the kitchen stool and limped for almost an hour, Quinn stood on one of River's new birthday gifts, breaking it and hurting his leg (not the one he slammed into the table on Tuesday, the other leg), I tripped and fell on the basement stairs (I freaking HATE those stairs), and Chloe, poor, sweet Chloe, calmly and sadly explained to me that until her nightmares stop, she just isn't going to sleep anymore.  I swear, I couldn't make this stuff up. It was like a parody of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. But when you have kids, shit happens and you have days like this, hopefully not often, and sometimes you just have to suck it up.  Everyone goes to bed.  Tomorrow is another day, plus I'm working, so Grammie (that's my mom) is taking the 3 little minions while Cassidy is at school.  Thanks, Mom! Again with Chloe's nightmares all night, but the world doesn't stop for this stuff. On to Thursday.

The day starts with another freak out from Cassidy.  It turns out a kid at school is giving her a hard time. We offer coping strategies, but she still has to go to school.  She has already missed so much this year, including last week, with her own health issues, procedures and trips to the O.R. for scopes. Mark manages to have her laughing by the time he drops her off, scoring major daddy (and husband) points. Mom picks up the other kids, early even, and the rest of the day starts. It goes pretty well, I got some work done despite a migraine creeping in (is it any wonder at this point in the week?), and Cassidy had a great day after all.  Then I talk to my mom when I pick the kids up.  She is aware of Chloe's physical concerns, which include pain, fatigue and not having gained any weight for 17 months (she's 4 1/2, so that is a major concern.  It even won us an expedited appointment with the gastroenterology specialist at AI DuPont).  Mom was ready today with some of Chloe's favorite foods.  The problem, however, is that Chloe is now experiencing distinct episodes of dysphagia, or food getting stuck in her esophagus.  She had complained of the sensation recently, but now it is happening to the point that she is gagging and coughing and the food isn't moving. It hasn't blocked her airway yet, and it has eventually moved down on it's own, but it still isn't good. My mom is a nurse practitioner and has worked in women's health as well as pediatrics (the 2 sort of go together), and she is alarmed and concerned by this development, as am I.  The 3rd time it happened with bacon, she took it away and gave Chloe macaroni and cheese.  That got stuck for a while, too,  the only thing that Chloe swallowed easily all day was applesauce. The experience was understandably frightening to Chloe.  Remember that she is afraid to sleep right now because of nightmares about testing procedures that are related to her pain and physical issues.  Now, she is also afraid to eat.  She refused all food until 9pm, at which point she ate a little applesauce.  I made some chocolate pudding, but after a few bites she was afraid that it was too thick, and she said that she was too tired anyway and went to bed.  But since she was afraid to sleep, she just laid there, exhausted and hungry, until Mark came home at 10:30.  He brought more applesauce, yogurt and pudding for the next few days, and she finally felt secure enough to fall asleep in my arms.  A few nightmares later, and it was morning again.

I woke up to the Billie Dog limping badly on one hind leg, but it seemed to get better as she moved around and has resolved now, thank goodness. Mark worked all day again, from 9am-10:30pm, only coming home for lunch.  Chloe ate no solid food all day, only yogurt and applesauce in small amounts.  Quinn managed to avoid hurting himself, but River somehow slid face first off the couch and had a whopping bloody nose.  Cassidy didn't have much appetite and by bedtime needed her medication to control the muscle spams in her lower abdomen.  Now everyone, including the dog, is asleep, and Mama needs a drink in a serious way.  I've earned it today, and the whole week.  I'm not sure when we will have some concrete answers for Chloe, or when Cassidy's pain will be better controlled, or when Quinn and River will learn a little more caution.  But I am sure that I will enjoy a couple of my delicious Blueberry-Pomegranate Martinis.  I also feel better having dumped all of that out in the open, so if you read through all of it, you deserve a martini, too!  Even if you just scrolled down, I hope you enjoy the drink :)

Blueberry-Pomegranate Martini

In a cocktail shaker with ice, combine:

1/2 cup vodka
1/2 cup blueberry-pom juice (I use Pom brand, usually in the produce section)
the juice of 1 lime
a splash of vermouth

Shake it up and pour into a chilled glass.  Feeling fancy?  Rim the glass with pomegranate sugar and add some fresh blueberries for garnish.  You deserve it.  As for me, tonight, I'm considering drinking it straight out of the shaker...

Country White Bread

I love making yeast bread.  I know that some people feel that it's a pain, don't like waiting for it to rise, etc.  Not me.  Aside from the fact that I prefer fresh bread  made from basic ingredients about a million to one over store bought mystery loaves, I actually enjoy the process of kneading the dough and punching it down after the first rise.  In fact, lately I've found the idea of punching in general to be very therapeutic.  Perhaps I'm a little extra cranky and sleep deprived.  Since I don't walk around punching everyone that inspires me with such thoughts, the bread dough will do nicely.  I have a couple of favorite white bread recipes.  I bake most of the bread that we eat, and of the 2 recipes that I use the most, my current favorite is a dense, slightly sweet old fashioned country white bread with a soft crust.  Since the whole family eats this stuff, it is egg, dairy and nut free.  This recipe makes 2 loaves, so when I'm using it I bake bread twice a week for our family.

If you haven't baked yeast bread before, don't be scared off.  This is an easy recipe, I promise.  You do need to stick around while the dough rises, but I never understood why that was such a big deal for other people.  You stick around the house, you don't have to stand there for an hour and stare at the dough.  It's not like I don't have anything else to do.  Vacuum the house, clean the bathroom, do some laundry.  Even better, fill up a sippy cup and a coffee mug and snuggle up with your kid and a favorite book. Take a nap, have a beer, whatever.  Just set a timer so you don't forget to check on the dough!


Country White Bread
yield: 2 loaves

Ingredients

2 cups warm water (make sure it's warm, for the yeast!)
1 1/2 tbsp active dry yeast (if you don't buy in bulk, this is 2 packets of yeast)
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tsp salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
about 6 cups of flour

Stir the sugar into the water until dissolved.  Add the yeast and set aside for about 10 minutes until it looks creamy.
In the mean time, generously grease a mixing bowl  (I use vegetable oil) and set it aside, too.
Once the yeast mixture looks creamy, stir in the salt and oil, then add the flour a cup or so at a time.
Once the dough is well formed, sprinkle a little flour on the counter and knead the dough until it is smooth.
Now put it in the greased mixing bowl, and flip it over once.  This lightly greases the top to help keep it from drying out during the first rise.  Cover the bowl with a clean, damp kitchen towel and leave it somewhere warm (most house temperatures are fine, as long as it is above 65 degrees) for about an hour, or longer if needed.  The dough should rise enough to roughly double in size.
Next, punch the dough down (Just give it a good punch right in the middle, and watch it deflate a bit. For extra fun, pretend it is someone annoying that you thought about punching this week!), then flour the counter again and knead the dough for a few minutes.
Divide in half and shape each piece into a loaf, and place each in a greased loaf pan.
Cover again with the clean towel and leave again to rise.  Usually this takes half an hour to an hour.  The bread is ready when it is nicely mounded and probably about an inch above the edge of the pans.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

That's all there is to it.  You can remove it from the pans as soon as you can touch it, and let it cool on a wire rack.  This bread freezes well, although we rarely need to freeze any because it gets eaten so fast!

Valentine's Day, Part 2

I have to admit that posting about the torturous process of last year's Valentine preparations was somewhat cleansing.  Rehashing it made me really thankful that I started early and had the Big Kick machine to help cut out all of the shapes for most of them.  The twins, in addition to helping with the assembly process, signed all of their own valentines this year.  Once I got the supplies ready, Cassidy did hers all by herself,  I made River's for her, which was fine with her as long as they had a gnome theme.  Everything in River's world has a gnome theme.  In fact, she is planning on being a gnome when she grows up.

Since the Valentine's themselves were finished with a few days to spare this year, I had a little extra time to let the kids come up with Valentine themed clothing ideas and do some sewing for them.  It was nice because the kids got to come up with the ideas themselves, and then I got to sketch them and disappear into my sewing studio for a few hours to actually make the ideas into clothing.  Plus, since all of my kids are tall and thin, we always have pants and leggings that are a couple of inches too short by the time they actually fit in the waist.  Projects like these are perfect for adding embellishments to the hem of a pair of pants to make them longer and get a little extra wear out of them.




Quinn wanted a Yoda shirt with a heart.  Lucky for him, I had a plain grey shirt that he had landed a big stain right in the middle of the first time he wore it.  I had saved a picture on my phone of one that he liked, but I can't remember where I originally found it.  I just drew out the basic applique shapes by hand and stitched them on, covering the stain.  He loves it, and I'm pretty fond of it myself.











Chloe wanted to wear her favorite ladybug pillowcase dress, but to go with it she asked for black leggings with "BIG ruffles" and a headband with a "BIG heart".  I did my best.  The ruffles are a bit too big for my taste, but the little ladybug is happy, and she does look pretty darn cute.  It's exactly what she wanted.  Sometimes, you have give up grown up taste in exchange for an extra BIG smile from your kid. Totally worth it.















River, I suppose because of her obsession with gnomes, loves red and white polkadot fabric.  She calls it "toadstool fabric".  She asked for a "toadstool fabric comfy shirt" with hearts on it, and "valentine pants".  The shirt was easy enough. I just made a basic peasant top with cute elastic detail on the sleeves. The sleeves aren't really 2 different lengths, by the way.  The picture was just taken at a funky angle.  I don't know what "valentine pants" are, but I dug out a pair of Cassidy's old white jeans with heart shaped pockets.  They were too short for River, so I just added a polkadot band around the cuff that matched her shirt while adding the needed length.  This is what it looked like in the end.  I tried to get a picture of it on her, but she is too fast for the camera! You can see a close up of the appliques at the top of this post.








Cassidy just wanted a headband with heart antennae on it, and she also declined having her picture taken.  Given what the kid has been through lately, including this past week, I didn't push the issue.

As I mentioned, before I could get down to the fun of creating these clothes for the minions, we had to complete their valentines for all of their classmates.  Chloe thought up her own, Quinn and Cassidy adapted theirs from pictures they found online, and River just asked for a gnome theme.  This is what the final products looked like:


Chloe's were little pink handbags made of card stock (cut out on the Big Kick, thank goodness). We stamped a message on the inside, "Friends are flowers that never fade", and attached a small packet of wildflower seeds in each one.  For projects like these with the kids, those scrapbooking glue dots are awesome!  Then she signed them and folded them closed, sealing each one with a heart sticker.  Enjoyable and painless for everyone involved, just like it should be.

Quinn's were little plastic sandbox shovels with a scoop of mini Swedish fish attached with a bag.  The tags (you guessed it, I cut them out with the machine!) said "I Dig You" with each child's name.  He signed them on the back of the tags.  I gathered the supplies while he signed his name, then he got to help me scoop the candy and I bagged them.  Again, a smooth and pleasant process for both of us.  We finished all of those the weekend before last, which meant fewer to get done the day before everyone needed them for classroom parties.








Cassidy was even easier.   I busted out about 20 paper hearts on the now famous Big Kick, and punched the holes to attach the pipe cleaner arms and legs on 3 hearts at a time.  I used a heart shaped paper punch to cut the smaller hearts for the hands and feet.  then I gave all of it to Cassidy along with a pack of big googly eyes, a pen and some glue.  She did the rest herself, including stapling a pack of heart shaped fruit snacks to the back of each one.  She is very proud of them, had fun and they are super cute.  Oh, and all of the teachers got little bags with the ingredients to make one s'more.  For the bag toppers, I just printed them out on postcard sheets, folded them in half and stapled them on after we filled the bags assembly line style.























For River's, I got to disappear into my studio with a giant bag of Hershey's kisses, never a bad thing in my opinion.  For each valentine, I put together 3 gnome kisses.  You can find the project instructions including an easy way to make a template for the hats here.  River did get to pick the felt colors for the hats.  She chose pale pink, bright pink and red.  We also got a large Hershey's kiss for each of her 3 teachers and made big gnome kisses out of those.  I cut out the felt hats one night while I was watching a movie with the kids, and on Friday I assembled the kisses.  For a while I had a cute but creepy little gnome army marching across my craft table.  See the big kisses in the back? Then on Saturday, I bagged them all.  For the bag toppers, I cranked out more shapes on my machine and stamped them with little girl gnomes and the words "To gnome you is to love you".  I wasn't wild about stapling them together for 2 and 3 year old kids, so I just used the hole puncher to make 2 holes in each and tied a ribbon in them to hold everything together.  Then I printed stickers out on the computer that read "Gnome kisses for Valentine's Day, From River".  Little Bean got to help stick those on the backs, so I guess she did help a little.





















So that was it.  And I even had time to throw together the cupcakes that I signed up to bring to River's class party.  We survived the preparations without any kid broken hearts, and without me needing a martini last night.  I mean, I had one anyway, but not because of V-day crafting hell.  It was Blueberry-pomegranate, if you must know, and it was delicious.  Maybe, just maybe, I'll share that recipe with you later this week!

My love-hate relationship with Valentines day

February 14th. It's coming. I should start off by saying that my husband and I don't really celebrate Valentine's Day.  We usually get a bottle of wine, but the truth is that we just like wine, and we have it most of the time, not just on February 14th.  It's not that I harbor any bitterness about the day, or that we don't have anything to celebrate.  On the contrary, it seems sort of pointless because we treat each other well and are openly loving pretty much every day, which makes it feel more like an over hyped Hallmark holiday.  Like everyone else, we have our moods and pissy moments and we don't always agree. But generally speaking we are irritatingly happy and in love with each other, 11 years (8 of them married) and 4 kids into the whole thing.  So, to each their own, go crazy celebrating, even tell me all about it the next day.  The whole thing just doesn't do much for me, which in this case is a good thing, I think.

However, as a parent, I love Valentine's Day with the kids.  It means themed crafts, fun food, extra thought into why we love each other and planning valentines for school.  I also HATE it.  But only for the couple of days that I spend prepping all of the supplies for the valentines that they all make for their classmates. It was fun when Cassidy was the only kid in school, and in a small preschool class. We would whip up a dozen valentines, then just bake cookies and tape paper hearts onto the wall. On Valentine's Day, even if Cassidy had preschool, it didn't start until 9am.  We also had not yet discovered her eosinophilic disease triggered by massive a-typical food allergies (more on that in another post), so fun little heart themed breakfasts consisted of bread and jam, Valentine themed "eggs in a window" and as a special treat, fancy marshmallows, and it looked like this:

Pretty cute, huh?  It was certainly enjoyed by all.  Then came last year.  Cassidy was in kindergarten along with something like 24 classmates.  And the twins were in preschool.  They had 10 classmates, for a total class size of 12.  Of course, when it comes to something like making valentines, all of the classmates get one from each of the twins (including each other), and at that age they also like to give one to themselves.  Add it up, people.  24 for Cassidy's class and another 24 for the twins' class, for a total of 48 valentines.  No problem, I think to myself.  Mark is always telling me that it is OK to take a holiday off from all things handmade.  I usually argue that the kids are only this little once, and I really want to do this stuff with them, which is generally true. However, I'm starting to see the light a bit now, faced with 4 dozen valentines, undoubtedly in 3 different styles. So I decide that this year, we'll swing by the drugstore and everyone can pick out a box of valentines. I announce, in my best perky mom voice, "How would you guys like to go to the store with Mommy so that you can pick out valentines for your friends?"

Silence. 3 sets of wide, unblinking eyes. A feeling of confusion hanging in the air. (theirs and mine...)
Then Cassidy, with all of her 6 year old wisdom, speaks up for the group.
"Oh, you mean the crafty store.  Don't we need to decide on a project and make a list first?" This time, the wide eyes and stunned silence are on my end.  I ask her what she means, and her reply is simple.  We all have to decide what kind of valentines we want to make this year. The twins nod in agreement.  Yes, Mommy.  This year, we get to make valentines, too!  I force another perky smile, and explain that with so many valentines needed this year, I thought we could pick out some really cool ones from the store, and I begin to rattle off a list of heavily branded characters that adorn the drugstore valentines.  Mickey Mouse.  Strawberry Shortcake. Hot Wheels. Spiderman.  Hello Kitty.  As I pause to take a breath, I realize that it is way too quiet, with no happy squeals coming from the kids, no excited questions about additional favorite characters and their availability.  I glance up at Cassidy, and see a trembling chin and wide green eyes welling up with tears. "But...we can't make them this year?  We always make them.  Please, mommy?" and then the tears actually start to roll down her cheeks.  Within seconds, the twins follow her lead. I'm completely stuck.  I try to explain that it's the thought that counts, but they aren't buying it.  I cave in, wipe away tears, and we decide on which valentines each child wants to make for their classmates.

Chloe went with flowers, specifically made from 3 hearts held together at the pointy end by a lollipop. Quinn wanted dinosaurs, and we found a cute idea online that had little plastic ones leaving heart shaped footprints. Cassidy, finally allowed to chew gum on rare occasions, was determined to incorporate that into hers, so we made butterflies with a stick of gum for the body and hearts for the wings. I think we found all 3 ideas on the Family Fun website. Please excuse the terrible background.  I originally just took pictures to text message to Grammie and throw up on Facebook for a few friends.

All of them were very cute, and the kids were very happy with them.  They could also pretty much assemble the projects themselves, at least once I did the basic prep work, like cutting out the peices and neatly writing on them  Also, since I refused to pay $7 for a miniscule heart stamp or buy a $20 set of stamps which included a tiny heart, I carved one out of a pencil eraser.  It was really fast and easy, and I'm pretty sure the website that had the project on it suggested the idea.  So overall, a piece of cake, right?  All of you preschool and elementary school teachers out there are laughing out loud at THAT comment, aren't you?

Quinn's each needed 1 heart, Cassidy's needed 2 each and Chloe's needed 3 each, plus a leaf.  Let me save you a little math, folks. That totals 12 leaves and a whopping 96 hearts, all traced onto cardstock around my heart shaped cookie cutter and cut out by hand, one at a time. It took an insane amount of time, and my hand is cramping up just thinking about it.  In a nutshell, it sucked.

I both experiment with and make a living creating many different things in many different mediums.  But I don't scrapbook or do much in the way of paper craft like that.  I like to make my own plantable paper with seeds in it from shredded junk mail, and I occasionally make a card to go with a baby shower gift, but that's about it.  So I didn't own a die cutting machine to streamline the process. I do now.  Not a snazzy, fancy computerized one.  I have a Sizzix Big Kick, and I got it on sale.  I also buy the used dies most of the time on Craigslist or Ebay. But rest assured, this year when V-Day rolled around, I was ready!  I also use it to make pretty felt and satin flower hair accessories, like this:

I'll post a tutorial on making these soon, I promise!

So for Valentine's Day this year, everyone either picked a project or came up with an idea on their own, and I made my crafty store list early.  This year, all 4 kids have school, which means instead of 48, we have 58, and Cassidy really wants to do something for her teachers, including the art, gym, library, music and regular class teachers as well as the school nurse who she sees fairly often these days. She shared this plan with her younger siblings, so now they all jumped on that bandwagon. Add 14 teacher valentine treats to the list.  That damn die cutting machine was worth EVERY PENNY, for this holiday alone.  I used it to prep for 3 sets of valentines and half of the teacher surprises, without a single hand cramp!

Maybe by the time I write my next post with pictures of the valentines for this year, I will have lost some of my disdain for the holiday of love...

Mmmmm...Muffins!

On Monday mornings, I like to get up and make fresh muffins before I pack Cassidy's lunch.  It's nice to start the week with a fresh, warm breakfast for the kids, especially when we all still want to stay in bed a little later, like we did over the weekend.  Also, they are easy to grab and take in the car for Mark and I, so we don't end up buying a $5 muffin at some coffee shop during our morning errands!  If they are cool enough, Cassidy loves them packed in her school lunch, and all 4 oft he kids like to have the leftovers for a snack after school, so with 6 of us, a batch of 12 muffins is perfect!  Somehow, I've gotten out of the habit recently, including this week.  But I needed to bake bread for the week on Monday afternoon, and I found myself really wishing that I had a muffin to snack on while I was waiting for the dough to rise. I promised myself that I would get back into the swing of things, so this morning I baked up a batch.

Among the recipes that I use frequently for muffins, the kids have 3 favorites. In no particular order, they are: oatmeal-chocolate chip, cinnamon french puff and classic blueberry (or really, any berry that we have in the fridge that needs to be consumed).  Today, we didn't have an berries left to use up, and I didn't drag myself out of bed early enough to make french puff muffins.  They only take about 15 extra minutes, but I was already cutting it pretty close, so oatmeal-chocolate chip won this round.  Mmmmm...don't they look good?

Sometimes, I find oatmeal bread or muffins to be a little on the dry side.  Trial and error with  ingredients usually in my pantry eventually created this recipe.  For those of you with food allergies, like my daughter, this recipe is free of dairy, eggs and nuts (provided you use allergen free chocolate chips).  If food allergies are not a problem in your house, you can make them just the same, using regular milk and whatever chocolate chips you usually use.  There is a slight crispness to the outside from the brown sugar in the batter, and the inside is moist enough that no butter is needed, which is a bonus if you are grabbing one on the go.  You would never know that they are allergen free!

What you need:
(makes 12 muffins)

1 cup of flour
1 cup of oats (old fashioned or quick cooking, either will be fine)
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup chocolate chips (allergen free, if you need them, or whatever you usually use)
3/4 cup soy milk (or dairy milk, if that works for you)
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla

Spray a 12 cup muffin pan with non stick spray.  I like Pam baking spray, it is allergen free for us, and has never failed me. Muffin or cupcake papers are ok, but if you use them, be aware of the fact that the delicious crisped crust will only be on top.  With baking spray, it will be on the sides and bottom too...yum!

Combine the flour, oats, both sugars, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and chocolate chips in a bowl with a whisk until well blended.

Add the milk, vegetable oil and vanilla and stir until just blended.  Just use a wooden spoon, and don't over mix!

Divide evenly into the prepared muffin pan.  For me, a 1/4 cup measuring cup is the perfect scoop for this particular recipe.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Let them cool for 10 or 15 minutes before removing from the pan, then dig in!

Let me know what you think.  These are definitely a family favorite for us, and one of my own staple allergy friendly recipes.

Waste Free Wednesday!

Let's talk lunch.  Every Wednesday I get up even earlier than usual, because on Wednesdays I have to pack 3 lunches instead of just one. Next school year, when the twins start kindergarten, I will be packing 3 lunches every single week day, and 4 lunches on the 2 days a week that the little peanut has preschool. I'm not an early morning person as it is, but I do feel good about making sure my kids, when eating away from home, have a safe and nutritious meal.  That doesn't mean I'm not cursing the sun for staying in bed longer than I do on those cold, dark mornings, but it is one of the things that I get up and do no matter what.  It's more nutritious because they eat fresh fruit and veggies, a sandwich or homemade soup and often baked goods made here, and therefore free of all of the extra salt, sugar and weird, unpronounceable and unnecessary crap that is in prepared packaged food from the store.  Sometimes I toss in oreos or something like that as a treat, but generally they eat what we call "real food".  Safe, because of some serious and necessary dietary restrictions for my oldest daughter. More on that in another post. 

So that is one part of stumbling, bleary eyed and half asleep, into the kitchen to pack lunch before the sun comes up, and yet feeling good that it is the right thing to do and also, for us, a necessity. **Feel free to leave a comment if you have interest in future posts about packing fun and healthy lunches that kids actually eat!** In the mean time, that brings me to the actual reason for posting today.  From my perspective, packing food from home has no down side.  It's healthier, cheaper, and easier to tailor to picky eaters or food allergies and sensitivities.  I have actually heard the argument, however, that it is more wasteful.  Once I stopped chuckling, I realized that this was being presented as an actual argument.

On one hand, I could sort of understand.  According to the EPA, "The average American school-age child throws away 67 pounds of lunch waste a year. With the population of kids in the US alone accounting for over 70 million, that’s over 4.6 billion pounds of waste that could be easily avoided."  I remember taking a family trip to the zoo with my husband and all 4 kids.  For each kid we packed pretzels, a sandwich, some grapes and carrot sticks with a little tub of hummus to dip.  Mark and I had veggie wraps and celery with hummus.  Grand total? 20...yes 20 plastic baggies...in addition to 6 single use plastic hummus containers and a stack of paper napkins. Yikes. Passing that giant landfill on the way in and out of Philly didn't make me feel any better. Thank goodness everyone had sippy cups or thermoses, and we packed everything in a reusable insulated lunch tote.  That was over 2 years ago, and that day is still fresh in my mind. The point here is that it certainly can be more wasteful, but it doesn't have to be, and it doesn't have to be difficult, either.

Now, I'm not opposed to taking short cuts for convenience sometimes.  In fact, I think it is necessary for the sake of sanity.  We cloth diapered our kids, but certainly used more disposables with each new addition to the family. But when it comes to something like packing lunches, the little plastic baggies aren't saving me any time, and neither are the paper napkins.  We have a system now that works so well for us, and is essentially waste free. First of all, each kid has their own insulated lunch tote.  I made the ones that our kids carry, but there is certainly no shortage of cute and durable ones available in stores or online. You could buy brown paper bags, but why?  They are cheap, but buying pack after pack for the number of years that a lunch tote will last makes them actually cost more, plus they end up in a landfill, if you do a little reading you will find that paper doesn't break down any faster than anything else in a landfill. A head of lettuce takes 7 years to decompose in a landfill environment.  Just saying...



Moving on.  Plenty of people already carry reusable lunch boxes, bags or totes.  The nitty gritty of what I'm getting to is coming up now.  Reusable snack bags.  Sandwich wraps.  Bento boxes. Thermoses. This is what we pack food in now.  There is absolutely no difference in the amount of time it takes to stick a handfull of pretzels into a reusable cloth baggie vs. a plastic sandwich baggie.  No difference in sealing the velcro top vs. sealing the ziploc top. Much cuter and just as easy for your kid to open. Reusable.  No waste.  No landfill. Same deal as the brown paper bags and lunch boxes, the reusable option costs more up front, but over the course of a year, it's no more expensive, and actually is likely to save some money.  For sandwiches, we use sandwich wraps. You can find them in different sizes and shapes, but ours are basically a square that you lay the sandwich on, then fold opposite corners over (on ours they fasten with velcro) to hold the sandwich in.  Added bonus, when my kids unwrap the sandwich, they use the open mat as a placemat on the dirty public table.  As far as clean up, they stuff everything back into the lunch box and bring it home.  After school, I brush the crumbs out of anything that needs it.  Anything that is icky (Juice from grapes in the snack bag, mayo on the sandwich wrap, etc.) I just toss in the laundry pile.  Machine wash and dry, no special care needed.  Everything is lined with rip-stop nylon.  If they have something really juicy, I just use small Tupperware type containers (pudding, for example, is too wet for the nylon snack bags.  Although I doubt most people would use a ziploc bag for pudding anyway...) We invested in a decent hot food thermos, a flip straw drink thermos and a bento box for each child. Laptop Lunches makes great bento box sets.  The lunch totes that I sell in my etsy shop, like the one pictured above, are insulated, machine washable, and designed to fit Laptop Lunch bento boxes perfectly.  These items will last close to forever.  I'm pretty sure my mom still has my old school thermos in her basement someplace.  Last but not least, each kid has a set of 5 (one for each day of the week) lunchbox napkins.  These are small (about 11 inches square) cloth napkins we use exclusively for packing lunches. Since there is one for each day of the week, they go into the laundry pile as needed and as long as you do laundry once a week,you should be fine.