The Good Life

Have you ever...

• waited months for a book from your local library? Then stay up all night to try to finish reading it?
• woke up to happy, laughing children, just to discover your head hurts so bad you feel that you are going blind in one eye?
• tried to cook breakfast, but are so slow that your 5yr old takes over and it tastes delicious? (He even spread my popover with butter and jelly)
• been surprised by husband with a thoughtful gift? NO special occasion?
• had almost everything turn out just the way you hoped?

That's kinda what my day has been like. Wonderful!
Check out these cute little chocolates! Aren't they adorable? Yes... I'm still a choc-aholic, guess I always will be.

Happy Birthday Bella

Today we celebrated Bella's first birthday! It truly is amazing how fast time passes, and how much our lives have changed in a single year. She has brought so much joy to our little family.

Bella is not yet walking, but I think we're getting close. Also, her teeth are finally starting to come in... ALL. AT. ONCE. Yes, poor babe. Her first two came in about 3 weeks ago, her top two about 3 days ago, and her gums are swollen, promising to reveal more teeth very soon. She hasn't been eating too much, but that didn't stop her from digging into some birthday chocolate cream pie.

Happy Birthday Bella!

Farm Tour

This past weekend we headed up North for the 9th annual Skagit Valley Farm Tour. Skagit Valley is about 1.5 hours North of Seattle, and absolutely beautiful. There were a total of 16 operating farms to visit, including Alpaca farms, a Shellfish Farm, and a Creamery, just to name a few. Being that we had a very late start... call it lack of better planning... we only visited two. Which was plenty! We met a young Highland Heifer, her hair felt almost human-like. Then we were able to taste Highland Beef, which was very lean and tasty. It felt rather strange to stand in a barn, petting a young heifer, while chewing on one of her ancestors.

Higland Cattle

Noah was able to pet baby farm animals, hold 5 day old chicks, come nose to nose with a goat, and chase free range hens all over the farm. Those hens were relieved to see Noah climb back into our car. We were able to see Free Range Chickens, Free Range Turkeys, and a slew of other farm animals and activities. Despite the cold, wet day, it was educational and fun. Before we left we purchased some eggs, sausage, and a chuck roast. YUM!

Free Range Hens

BANG-BANG

I WANT to go outside, really I do. I will bang on this old, leaking, single-pane glass window until my mother gets the point. Hopefully it will break, then I'll have an easy escape route. Even Noah cheers me on. I don't care if it is cold and wet out there, besides, I like to squish my hands in the dirt. Cat-poop?? Well, it's just like dirt to me. I love to catch bugs, and let them crawl on me, but for some strange reason, they don't crawl so well after I've tenderly lifted them out of the dirt. Oh yeah, there are some tasty treats out there too... rocks, leaves, grass, and many other small not yet identified objects. Sometimes I'm so quick, mom has no chance of prying the delicious yumminess from my lips. OHHH, how I long to be outside!

Nifty Trick

This is so totally cool! If I were the neat, organized person that I have been raised to be, I would have planned this out a little better and taken a before/after photo for you to see... but this is no time to dwaddle on my short-comings.
Okay, on to this totally fabulous trick my favorite Tea gal clued me in on.
Did you know that you can clean/remove the old tea stains from your white mugs? Maybe you already know this...

Pour in a little vinegar, and scrub-a dub-dub. TA-DA!!! White again. Who knew?? I surely didn't!

In Preparation

The weather is cooling, and Autumn is just around the corner! September 23 to be exact.

This year we've had to do more prepping for Fall than previous years. Both kids need warm clothes. After so many years in Hawaii, it always amazing me how much stuff we need to prepare for cool, wet weather. Jackets, warm clothes, shoes, socks, undies... etc. Phew, this is quite a challenge for a mother who does not like to shop!

Our house will hopefully be a little cozier this winter too. We will have the windows replaced and the chimney cleaned to be able to enjoy a nice warm fire! To be honest, I'm afraid of the fireplace, worried I might burn the house down. But... we've always dreamed of owning a home with a fireplace. Now we have two, so we are going to start using them.

Autumn is my favorite time of the year for baking. The smells and warmth of home baked goods warm our spirits and our home! Here is a picture of the baked Italian plums from our tree. I used a Danish sweet yeast dough recipe, which was a little dry, but still very good. Something so simple and plain, but very tasty!


Enjoy snuggling in this cooler weather!

Wild Garden

The garden is a serious mess! Things are growing everywhere, including the weeds. It is hard to believe that Fall is just around the corner, and soon the garden will be empty, and the sky will be grey.



Today I finally harvested a few of our beets. They didn't get that big, but we have quite a few of them.



I am able to pick a container full of tomatoes every other day or so. Nothing beats the taste of home grown tomatoes, ripened on the vine. I sure will miss these during the winter.



Jaime picking Italian plums from our tree. He picked an entire bag full, and there are still plenty on the tree!! I hope to make a dessert from my childhood with these.

HELLO!!!

I cannot believe how quickly Bella is growing!

She can crawl, but prefers to scoot around town on her bottom. She pulls herself to a standing position to cruise the furniture, but has trouble getting back to a sitting position once her legs tire. Eating just may be her favorite past time. She eats anything and everything.

Today

Today was an awesome day!

Noah and I got along quite nicely, and worked together to clean up our basement! Then Noah scraped moss off of our back steps, and attempted to mow the lawn. He was so cute! Our push mower is tough to push through thick grass, and he insisted it would be easy if I would only spray WD-40... like Dad always does.

Thank you for your hard work Noah!

I can't believe how big and strong you have become in 5 short years.

Cabbage

We harvested our first Red Cabbage yesterday!! I really didn't think any of them would be eatable. They were/are terribly infested with aphids; but after peeling away the outer leaves, not a bug in site! I quartered it, just to be sure, and again... NO BUGS! Soooo, for dinner we enjoyed one of my favorite dishes... German style cooked Red Cabbage.

Vacation from a Vacation

Have you ever noticed how exhausting a vacation is? After all of the traveling, hiking, playing, swimming, eating...YES, I think I need a vacation from our vacation!

We had such a wonderful trip to Hawaii to visit my in-laws and attend a family reunion.

It's amazing how much change is all around us, yet how much things stay the same. The island of Oahu feels more and more cramped every time we visit. Many of our 'old' favorite eatery's have closed down to make way for a 'new' store. In the last 15yrs, Kmart, Walmart, Sam's Club, Costco, Home Depot, Circuit City, Best Buy and others have made their way to the islands. With this last trip, I learned that Whole Foods, Target, and Walgreens will also show up soon. The smaller 'Mom and Pop' shops are closing down...they just can't compete. It's scary to watch these gigantic retailers emerging on every corner, every spare piece of land. Yes, they have given the people of Hawaii more choices and competitive pricing... but come on, how much 'stuff' do we really need??

On a lighter note, there is still plenty of beauty all around. We enjoyed the beach almost daily, and did a little hiking. Noah loved being out in nature and exploring. Bella loved sitting on the beach, digging in the sand and occasionally sneaking a rock into her mouth.

We arrived home to cooler weather, a little rain, and a garden that somehow survived my absence. Yippeee!! Our first day home was spent doing laundry, grocery shopping, checking email, sorting snail mail, and unpacking. It's good to be home!

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?

Play with your Food

Okay, I realize this breaks all the rules...

Noah is not a big eater, but he loves creating his own culinary delights.

Case in point:

Our neighbor brought us a bowl of raspberries from her backyard, so I put them on the table this morning to eat with our breakfast. Noah asked of we could make jam out of them, I told him we don't have enough to make jam, maybe later in the summer we can do that. I'll just make my own then, Says Noah.

He smashed several raspberries, added some white sugar, chocolate milk, and some huckleberry syrup. Then... HE ASKED ME TO TASTE IT! What's a Mom supposed to do??? Well taste it of course. He saved the rest for Dad... this should be interesting. I think he named it Raspberry-Chocolate jam syrup.

Update

Sorry for the lack posts...

Do you see what I see????

YES!!! We have little baby broccoli, and tiny little tomatoes!!

Okay, so I realize that this is turning into a bit of a garden blog, but that's okay for now. My mother commented that she'd like to see more pictures of her grandchildren. Ummm kids??? Oh yeah, they still live here too, just haven't taken very many pictures of them lately.

Life actually came to a stand still for about 2 weeks because we got sick, but we're feeling better.

Other news:

-Noah is home for the summer. It's been a challenge to keep him occupied, but we're finally finding a bit of a routine and getting into a daily groove. Since I'm not currently working,(of course I'm working!! Darn hard too I might add) I mean holding down a job that pays cashola, I thought it might be fun to have Noah home for the summer. After all, this may be the only summer we have this opportunity. Soon he'll be older, and won't want to hang out with his ole mamma.

-We have a visitor coming! Suga Ray will be stopping by for a few days on his way home to Okinawa. He's originally from Maine. We worked together briefly in Hawaii and have been friends ever since. We're excited to see him! It's always fun to have visitors!!

-My beautiful sister Fatima finished Grad School and earned an MPA at the Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs, University of Washington. Congratulations Fatima! She is moving to Philly to be with her husband who moved earlier this year for work. We'll miss you guys!

Fatima & Bella

Feeding Time!

Sweet potato with apple

Making baby food is so much fun! I love watching Bella's face squish up as she tries something new. Then she smiles, or not, and grunts and kicks and reaches for another taste.

TJ's Cloth Bag Incentive

Have you ever been to Trader Joe's? If you have ever lived or visited the West Coast, chances are you have. I love that store... sort of. I mean I do...but... it just seems that nothing in there is local, and everything is excessively packaged. Even the fruit & vegetables are sold in plastic-like tray containers. But... I love that store, especially since they have the cheapest organic strawberries. I love it because they have reasonable prices, and a different selection compared to your run-of-the- mill grocery chain. This is particularly true for yummy treats. Not that I have a sweet tooth or anything.. AHEM. Most importantly, the employees are always super friendly and helpful. Really, they are. Unfortunately, since I'm trying, really trying, to eat a more local diet, as well as cut back on buying packaged convenience food items, my visits to TJ's have become more and more infrequent.

I have been trying to cut back on convenience items by making more things from scratch. Hopefully our garden will help too. I've been buying from the bulk bins at 'regular' grocery stores and reusing my plastic bags, (one of these days I'll purchase some reusable produce bags.) And, of course I'm still using my cloth bags. I rarely see others use cloth bags. My store of choice gives a 5 cent discount for each bag you bring. Nothing huge, but a small incentive none-the-less.

Last week I went to TJ's to grab a few yummy treats and convenience items. I know, I know, BAD. But I did, and guess what? I was very pleasantly surprised that TJ's has the best cloth bag incentive I've come across. As I was being checked-out, the cashier slapped a little piece of paper on the counter which asked for my name and phone number. I was skeptical. I will NOT be giving out my name and phone number, thank you very much. What's this for? I asked. He smiled and explained that since I brought cloth bags, I could enter to win a $10 coupon. Hot diggy damn! That could cover my sweet tooth for several days! Grinning from ear to ear, I quickly scribbled my name and number on the little piece of paper. Only after the excitement had subsided, did I bother to hope that my information would be kept private. Oh Well, I'm a sucker, what can I say. Isn't it a great incentive to use cloth bags? I think so. The little container that held all of the entries was nearly full, so obviously a lot more people than I realized are using their cloth bags too... YIPPEEEE

Growing like MAD!

Finally planted my tomatoes


Corn (aren't they CUTE!?!?)

Potatoes


Kale & Beets (I'm in desperate need of Kale recipes!)


Carrots & Onions

Lettuce

Cabbage, Broccoli, Cauliflower (See my gardening sidekick at the left?)

Invitation

Earlier this week Noah handed me a handwritten invitation to a Tea Party hosted by his class.

It's gonna be pretty delicious. There's gonna be HOT & COLD Tea!! And.... we are making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!! OH yeah, and we have to bring our own cups.
Last night before falling asleep, Noah calls me to his room. He claims he has something very important to tell me.
You know you have to dress pretty fancy for our Tea Party Mom. I'm really serious about that. Okay, that is very important! Especially since my wardrobe is in need of a serious overhaul!! I figured he'd forget by morning. No such luck.
This morning as I was getting ready to take him to school, he comes into my bathroom. Are you making yourself stylish? UMMM... Stylish....ummm nope, not really.
MOM!!!! You have to be stylish for the Tea Party!!! OH.... Yeah... Right...Of course! So I ask Noah what I should wear. He goes to my closet and picks out the one skirt that I own. He thinks all girls/women wear dresses. Naturally he picks out my one old work skirt. This is pretty stylish... I think? Bella Baby needs to be stylish too!

Soooo... I'm off to a wonderful Tea Party!



More flowers in the garden have bloomed!

Slug-Fest

In one of my gardening books from the library, I read a tip... to keep slugs at bay, water only in the morning. Slugs will come out at night, when it is cool, and much away at your garden. Soooo... I of course watered only in the morning, because I... UMMM... follow directions ever so carefully, but mostly because this made sense to me.

The past few days we've had some cooler weather and a bit of rain. The garden is oh so happy! Things are growing like mad! This morning, the rain slowed long enough for me to go gallivanting in the garden. DARNING! (darnet)As Noah would say, there were little holes on my lettuce greens! And... I found the culprit, or should I say the culprits??? There were tiny little slugs happily munching away. I didn't have the heart to squash them, they were just too cute, so I put them in my yard waste bin. Then... as I was checking out the radish, I found the Big Bad Momma of the slugs. She was eating my radish!!! The top part that was sticking out of the ground! OHHHH It's on!! Did I squash her? No, I just couldn't. I'm the girl who used to collect huge long earth worms and snails on my way to the bus-stop as a school-girl. So, she got tossed into the yard bin too... to live another day, munching on something other than my greens.

See the big munch marks???

Bella

I just couldn't resist posting another photo of Bella.

She's growing so fast.

First Harvest

Last night we enjoyed our first salad from the lettuce greens planted in the garden. To my surprise, there were tiny little radishes attached to some of the greens. I double checked my seeds and sure enough, the Micro Greens Mix includes Cherry Belle Radish! Those were gobbled before we got any pictures.

Check out this little flower! I have no idea what it is.

Garden Update

Things are (to my surprise) actually growing in the garden! Earlier this week, I thinned out the Red Cabbage, Broccoli, and Cauliflower. Very traumatic experience! Snipping all of those perfect little plants. It had to be done, for the good of the remaining plants. The kale, beets, onions and carrots are all doing well and growing!


lettuce name, with heart shape around name with beets (sprouts too tiny to see)


broccoli & red cabbage sprout


Yesterday Jaime purchased two types of potato sets, he didn't get the names. One is a small red, and the other a larger yellow. I will be using old tires (as containers) that we found buried in our backyard. He also purchased some strawberry plants, TriStar & Alpine. He picked the white Alpine, which is supposed to have a sweet pineapple taste, and because it never turns red, the birds will leave it alone, thinking it hasn't ripened yet. I'll believe when I see it! Noah loves strawberries! I keep trying to convert him to raspberries, my favorite, but it hasn't happened yet. =)

On the other side of the yard, I'm still digging... forever digging and weeding and pulling huge blackberry roots. Not to mention I'm still finding more GARBAGE! EWWW This new spot will be home to our pumpkin, watermelon, corn, and rhubarb. I haven't started my tomato seeds yet, and I think it may be too late. Maybe I'll just buy a few plants... (sign) We've also planted our raspberry and blueberry bush from last year, which have lived in pots until last week. They both have flowers! Yippeee!! Last year we had about 5 raspberries, and no blueberries. Thank goodness for the two huge blueberry bushes behind my mailbox across the street!

Strata

Do you have a large family to feed? Breakfast/Brunch guests coming over but you don't have the time to prepare a gourmet feast?
Try Strata. You prepare it the night before, then bake it in the morning.

Never heard of it?
Me either... I was perusing my latest cookbook from the library, 'Sunset 2004 Recipe Annual', and I ran across a recipe for Sicilian-Style Strata.

My version is only slightly altered:

1 (1lb) loaf of bread cut into 1 inch cubes (use whatever you have) I used sour dough
8 ounces of ham or prosciutto (use more or less depending on your taste)

half of a red bell pepper, diced

1/4 cup sliced green onion

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 diced tomatoes

1/4 cup chopped olives (I omitted)

1/2 cup shredded cheddar

6 eggs

3 cups milk

1/2-3/4 teaspoon salt (how salty is your ham?)

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

chopped parsley

drained capers

In a lightly oiled 9x13 baking dish, layer:

-half of cubed bread

-ham

-bell pepper

-green onion

-parmesan cheese

Then layer with

-remaining bread

-tomatoes

-olives

-cheddar

Whisk

-eggs

-milk

-salt & pepper

-mustard

pour over layered ingredients, cover and refrigerate till morning.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 40-50 minutes.

Garnish with parsley and capers

I love the versatility of this dish! You can use any type of bread, cheese and veggies. Whatever you like, whatever you have on hand.

T(ea)

I do not like Coffee. I do not like it Hot or Cold. I do not like it with Cream or Sugar. I do not like Coffee. I won't drink Coffee. Not now, not ever. I do not like Coffee!! Yes, my mother thinks I may have been switched at birth.

Way back in January, right after the New Year, Jaime surprised me with my very own glass teapot! I had mentioned to him that grocery bought tea in the bag was great, but that I wanted to venture into loose tea. This glass teapot has an infuser. Now, the only thing missing??? Yep, the tea. Yes, my lovely teapot sat in it's box...for four long months, through the coldest weather of the year! Jaime has tried to drag me out to a local tea lounge on his delivery route for months, but the idea of dragging my hyper little spider man to a quaint, relaxing tea lounge, just didn't seem right, or like fun for that matter. Today, while Jaime was at work, he picked out three different teas for me and surprised me when he got home!
-Pu-erh Ginger
-Honeybush
-Chamomile (an old favorite)
So thoughtful! Of course as soon as we had the two rascals tucked in, I put on a pot of hot water. After gulping, I mean sipping two big mugs full, my entire body feels completely relaxed, and I swear I'm a bit light-headed. UMMM Maybe it's just exhaustion? No no no, it's the Tea, I'm sure of it! This tea was so good. The Pu-erh that is. Rich and smooth, without a bitter aftertaste. Can't wait to try the others!

Happy Earth Day!

In celebration of Earth Day, we spent a beautiful day outdoors. Gardening, finding bugs, riding bikes and skateboards. The best part was just sitting in the warm sun. The news had forecasted rain for this weekend, but both days were beautiful! We also enjoyed our first backyard family BBQ.

I found the most wonderful book at the library!

SUNFLOWER HOUSES, Garden Discoveries for Children of All Ages by Sharon Lovejoy.

It has many great ideas on getting your little ones involved with the garden. Things such as writing their name with a heart around it with plants. (We did this with lettuce and beets. I will post a photo once the sprouts grow a bit more.) Creating sunflower houses..(yes, really), or a tee pee using poles, beans, gourds. Or, use hollowed out gourds for bird houses. These are just a few of my favorites.

We also spent some time discussing with Noah what Earth Day means to us, and asked him what we can do to better take care of the Earth. He sort of gets it! He's all about the 3 R's, and turning off the lights. Now... we just need to stop wasting so much water, and work on phasing out some of our 'convenience items'. Slowly but surely, we'll get there.