Chocolate Pudding

This is an incredibly easy chocolate pudding recipe from Mollie Katzen found in her Enchanted Broccoli Forest cookbook.

In medium bowl, mix:
3 Tbs of cornstarch
pinch of salt

In saucepan combine:
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3 Tbs brown sugar
2 cups milk

Mix constantly on low heat until all chocolate is melted, pour half into cornstarch mix, whisk vigorously until well incorporated, then pour back into saucepan and continue cooking for about 10 minutes. It will thicken and be glossy when ready.

Stir in 1/2 tsp of vanilla and chill.


Ours came out a bit lumpy. Probably a little overcooked and inconsistently stirred, but it tastes really chocolaty!! This will satisfy even the most intense chocolate craving. Be sure to use a good quality chocolate.

Noah enjoyed stirring, watching the milk turn into 'chocolate milk'.

I've even caught him stopping by the frig and trying to poke his little finger in for a taste test! So... I made up the rule of waiting until after dinner, and I broke it. Yeah, I did. Noah went out to play, and I broke my rule. I'm gonna get a ear full later on. UGH!!! Who makes silly rules like saving good sweet deserts until after dinner anyhow??

Cauliflower

Yesterday I finally harvested about half of our Cauliflower. It didn't get as big as the Broccoli, or as big as the supermarket variety, but it doesn't matter. It grew in my backyard! Hurray!!

I thought I would have to toss it into my compost due to a slight bug infestation, but after cutting it into smaller florets, and soaking it, things are eatable and just fine.

Farmers Market

I absolutely love this time of the year. All of my favorite fruits are in season. Berries and cherries, as well as peaches, nectarines and apricots. I think I could live off of fruit alone in these warm and sunny months. Okay, maybe I'll have to throw in some whip cream or ice cream...but that would do it. There is plenty to choose from at our local farmers market. Here is a picture of this weekends yummy treats. Well, what is left of it.
We purchased:
-red & green gooseberries (in the green carton)
-a bag of apricots
-peaches
-rainier cherries (so so so sweet and delicious)
-goat yogurt & chevre

I'm saving some of my gooseberries seeds, and will attempt to grow my own. I've read that they are easy to grow, so we'll see.

I'm not a big fan of goat products... ewww. But, I'm always up for trying something new, or trying something again, just to see if my tastes have changed, which they do all the time. The chevre from a local farmer (Port Madison Farm on Bainbridge) is outstanding! I love it so much that I recently broke down and purchased some at my grocery store in a desperate attempt to satisfy my craving for this rich and creamy cheese. HMMM, not the same... at all! I don't know what it is, but the store bought chevre is just not the same, although it is much cheaper. Soooo, now I just wait for the farmers market on the weekend and indulge myself.

What are some of your favorite summer eats?

New Arrival

Just as I had lost all hope... I discovered a little baby purple cauliflower in the garden.

Soooo EXCITING!!

This is the only one that hasn't been attacked by some type of bug. They're in close quarters, my cauliflower plants, so I'm sure it won't be long until the little buggies find this one too.

Spider Boy

MOM!!! MOM!!!!!!MOOOMMMM!! Come quick, we need your help!

Noah's eyes were alive with excitement, this could only mean one of two things

• he found a salamander
• he found a big spider
  

He led me to an old hollow cement cylinder that we found buried in our yard. He instructed me to look inside. I was nervous... is something going to jump out at me? Bite me? Scare me to death? Deep breath, I can handle this... after all, whatever it is, is much smaller than me, RIGHT??? Right. So I peek inside, and I see a spider. Not huge, but big enough to give me the heeby jeebies.

We need your help Mom! Great, why me??? So I help, trembling all along, ready to flee at any sign of a charging spider. She(yes I think she was a female) was a gentle one. Slowly climbed out of the cylinder, and allowed Noah to pick her up. Whew! Later in the evening, Noah was still playing this spider. I was worried he might smash her... She was crawling all over Noah's arms...I silently hoped she wouldn't bite Noah. She didn't, and we set her free at the end of the day. All ended Well...

My Childhood

Several weeks ago my sister was helping my dad sell off some of his furniture and belongings in preparation for his move back to his home state of Florida. While in the backyard shed, she discovered a box full of books from our childhood. She showed up at my house with this box, and we began to dig through it. Wow, these books really took us back. Noah dived right in and began thumbing through the pages, begging for someone to read him a book. About half of them are in German, so those I cannot read, but we've read through all the English books several times.

One night, after everyone had gone to bed, I couldn't sleep so I decided to look through this box again. I found several 'report cards' from our grade school days in an American school in Germany. Here are a few comments, Grades 1-3.

Grade 1: -Eva is a capable student and shows much potential.
-Eva is making progress, at times she can be a bit rough with other students. I'm sure she'll improve if you speak to her. (YIKES)

Grade 2: -Eva is a very good worker. She takes great pride in her work. (Ahh redemption)

Grade 3:-Eva did not study for Science and did not complete homework. (uh ohhh)

Thinking back, I can remember how much I loved school, at least I loved having friends, and playing on the playground during recess. Class time often felt torturous. Having to sit still, and not being able to talk to my neighbor was tough. So tough that I just couldn't help myself, and often got lectured about talking too much. Is there such a thing? MMMM not in my book. =)

Broccoli

I harvested the last of our broccoli yesterday. It's been pretty warm, and I think it was getting ready to bolt. This is about 4 heads or so... we had a total of about 15 heads.
Now... time to search for some yummy new broccoli recipes. Wonder if I can blanch it and freeze it?