Quickies!

Hey everyone! It's been a busy week and will probably be an even busier weekend! My husband's parents arrive this afternoon from Scotland to spend a couple of weeks in California. We are all very excited (luckily my in-laws are super great!) but that does mean that the few odd jobs we hadn't finished when we moved in needed to get done this week.

And I cleaned the twins room. Scary!

Between the cleaning and a few touch ups that needed finishing, I also had a couple of meals to deliver (one more still this weekend to the new neighbors across the street!) and super-nutrient rich snacks to bake (so there's something in the cupboard for Mum and Dad if they wake up hungry--jet lag sucks!) and our bento boxes arrived (yay!) so I've been having fun with those.

Whew! No wonder I'm sleepy at 9:45 a.m.!

Anyway, my neighbor sent me this first recipe after I requested it when she served these "cookies" during a party at her house. These things are amazing! Trust me, if your kids like Goldfish crackers, they will LOVE these! (I'm not sure where she got this recipe but, when I find out, I'll credit the maker.)

Cheese Cookies

2 C. Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1/2 C. Margarine
1 C. Flour
1/4 tsp. Salt

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Combine the ingredients, blending together with fork or pastry blender. Roll into one inch balls. Place on a cookie sheet an inch or so apart. Bake 12-15 minutes. Makes about 50 cookies.

These were super yummy! I think that I will try to make them with butter and see what happens. I think they'd also be really great if you added 1/2 tsp. each of garlic powder and dried parsley flakes.

It's September so, for me, it's time to start making soup. Sometimes that means soup in ten minutes and I'm loathe to serve up condensed so here's a go to recipe that takes almost no time to prepare and it's a favorite in our house! I think this one came from Real Simple magazine YEARS ago but I can find the original article.

Easy French Onion Soup

Good quality beef broth
Dry sherry
French's Fried Onions
Baguette, sliced thick and toasted
One clove of garlic, peeled and sliced in half lengthwise
Sliced Swiss or Gruyere cheese

Rub cut side of garlic all over the toasted baguette. Discard garlic.

Put a handful of onions in the bottom of each oven safe bowl. Fill bowls halfway with broth and add a tablespoon of sherry to each.

Top with baguettes and cheese and broil until the cheese is melted and the soup is hot.

Easy, right? I like this one with a bit of roast beef from the deli, a tomato salad and tea. It's great, too, because you can make this for yourself if you are dining alone or for a group of people. Just be sure you use good ingredients! I like the Trader Joe's beef broth but, whatever you use, make sure you like the flavor and watch that salt content.

Okay, we've had our meal, what about dessert? If you like chocolate, you're gonna love this one from Nigella Lawson!

Super Easy Pistachio Fudge

1 bag chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk
2 Tbsp. butter
1 C. pistachios, shelled and roughly chopped.

Melt the chocolate chips and mix with the milk and butter. Stir in pistachios.

Pour into and 8x8 inch pan that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Allow to cool then refrigerate until firm.

Cut into 1 inch squares for packaging or store in the fridge.

I LOVE this recipe, especially with roasted and salted pistachios. The sweet from the chocolate and the salty from the nuts makes this fudge irresistible!


So, there you have it! Three easy, quick recipes that you can make in no time and totally impress your friends and family!

Also, no sewing this week since I am getting ready for guests but I do have a tip for you. The boxes that Capri Sun juice pouches come in are too sturdy to waste! They also happen to be the perfect size for sorting your spices or as separators in your kitchen utensil drawers! Simple empty the box and cut in half lengthwise. There is a crease in the cardboard that you can follow. Use packing tape to secure the ends that you opened to get the pouches out and, voila! perfect storage for spice bottles, medicine bottles, baking ingredients, chip bags, forks and spoons and whatever else you can think of!

I'll add more when I get the chance but...

Until tomorrow, enjoy today!

Love from Sarah

I had forgotten how much time homework can take out of the day.

I'm not talking about the normal stuff I've been used to with the kids. Spelling words, writing sentences, coloring. Oh, no. I'm talking about big time, grown up, actual work homework.

Tommy had piles of homework last night, poor kid, and secretly, I'm really glad for it. No, I'm not happy he had to stay up late and slave away but it did make him realize that school is work and you have to put in the time for the reward.

Last night's toughest homework by far was math. I don't know if any of you have a 6th grader but they're doing pre-algebra in 6th grade now. Big time stuff. Luckily for my kid, I like math but it has taken me three weeks to figure out how to help my son learn it. Last night, though, something really clicked for him and, watching him finally get it after weeks of stressing and struggling, was awe inspiring.

I'm still really pumped from it.

His homework centered around converting mixed numbers into decimals and vice versa and I could tell that he hadn't picked it up in class at all. (That's one of the toughest things about his class being big and full of boys--the teacher doesn't really have a lot of time left for one on one tutoring.) Tommy being Tommy, he just figured out a method that looked something like what the teacher had written on the board and ran with it. Unfortunately, it was the wrong method so we had to sit together and work through all of it again.

At first, he was irritated and frustrated (who wouldn't be?) that all of the work he'd put in was wrong but about an hour into doing it the right way, you could tell that he really got it. Don't tell him this but at one point, he even looked like he was enjoying it. I know, weird. :)**

We were up past his bedtime at the dining room table working on that homework but I know he's proud of the work he put in and I know he'll be proud when he gets it back and it has a big "A" on it. He's worried about his grades but I'm not, really, because he's working. He's trying and he's figuring it out. He'll get it and I'll be proud of the grades he gets on his report card because my boy is really working for them.

**I was enjoying it, too. :) If you're looking for homework help and aids, I'm adding a section to the amazon store that has some good ones!

Until tomorrow, enjoy today!

Love from Sarah

Ten years together!

DH and I at Murray Farm last weekend, in a picture taken by our daughter :)

Today is the tenth anniversary of the day my husband and I met!

What a shock! It is both funny and awesome that we can look back at a decade together. We spent a little time earlier just talking about that day and the way our relationship blossomed into the family we are now.

Then we celebrated, by taking our four kids to lunch at Burger King.

Life is good.

Until tomorrow, enjoy today!

Love from Sarah

September 11

9-11.

Isn't it amazing that sometimes it just takes three digits stop you cold.

I seem to forget, in the business of life, that just being here, under one roof with the husband and children I love, is a blessing, the biggest blessing. See, DH and I, like all couples, have had rough patches and I am so thankful that none of those rough patches ever wore through the fabric of our marriage. Thank goodness He knows my heart because I could never put into words how thankful I am to Him for blessing me with this family.

DH and I will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of the day we met this weekend. It is almost more that my brain can wrap around, especially considering all that has happened, all the changes we've seen. I think it's safe to say that those who knew us separately before we met would see massive changes in the people we've become and I hope that they would say they are mostly good. I know I'm a better woman because of the man my husband is and I'd never have been able to change in this way, had the Lord not decided to send DH and I on the same path.

My children. I don't know what I have done in this life that I deserve them but I thank God daily that He chose me to be their mother.

Talking about my own family reminds me of others that I don't know, families I've never met. I know that other families were shattered that day in New York, across the nation and around the world and my heart goes out to them. I will never forget. Never.

I also know that that day was the beginning of a war that we are still fighting and my thoughts and prayers are with those who have been fighting that fight and who will continue to fight it.

To those people: I want you to know that I am thankful for you. I am grateful that God gave you the courage, love and conviction to fight for America, to protect me, my children and freedom.

The anniversary of 9-11 stirred something in most people. My facebook page, for example, is full of people talking about how they heard the news, how they reacted and their opinions on the actions of the government in the years since. I know that there are plenty of bloggers out there telling their own stories, as well.

There are many opinions on how to best honor those who died that day. I don't know which one is the right one. I only know that I will honor those people, and those who've died since in this war, by living, by being grateful, by thanking God for what He's given me and by remembering.

Until tomorrow, enjoy today!

Love from Sarah

Oh, bento!

Having four school age children means that I am super busy in the morning when everyone needs help getting ready to go. I'm always working on my time management skills and have it down now.

I get up before 6:00 to make the kids' school lunches and then I spend some time with my DH, having breakfast with him before I see him off to work. Then, I wake up the girls first (they take a little longer to get moving) and then Tommy, getting them all to the table for some sort of homemade breakfast (I bake a lot and freeze half so there's always something ready with a minute of microwave time).

Then, it's the mad rush of finding school clothes (why are there never enough matching socks when you're running late?), making sure everyone has backpacks, homework and clean faces and teeth.

It's an adventure every single morning.

The lunches give me a special kind of grief because, no matter what kind of sandwich I send, there is always at least one child who brings the whole thing back. I got up early to fix that thing and she/he didn't eat it?! Ugh!

The root of the matter is that they are sick and tired of sandwiches every day and can you blame them? They go to lunch with their classmates who have a different menu every day because they eat hot lunch. Meanwhile, their only surprise is what kind of cookie or flavor of juice pouch I've sent them that day.

It's almost enough to make you feel sorry for the kids!

Recently, I've been really curious about trying out bento boxes. The Japanese do so much artfully and lunch is no exception.

In Japan, they are called obento, which refers to the packed meals (usually lunch) that are carried in boxes that have internal, sometimes removable, dividers. The base of the Japanese bento is usually rice but I wasn't sure that my kids would go for that right away.

So I cruised the fount of knowledge (ie, the internet) and found that lots of western parents are packing bentos for their kids. These boxes, some of which are pictured here, contain everything from mac and cheese to corn on the cob, dried fruit to fruit kabobs. My kids (and I) could really get into this!

I went online to a bulk retailer and bought a container of bento boxes. I got five blue, stackable bentos (these ones) for about$28.oo, after tax and shipping. Compare prices and you'll see that the costs on these gorgeous little boxes can vary widely. One of the biggest benefits having a big family is that we will use all of the boxes, one for each kid and a spare if DH decides he wants to take lunch to work. If you don't have a large family, maybe a friend or neighbor is interested in bento. Ordering the boxes in bulk is definitely the way to go for beginners!

The girls helped me pick the boxes out and are excited to start "bentoing" so, while the boxes won't arrive until next week, I have told them that I'll put together "practice" bentos with our ikea plastic storage stuff. Now I'll finally have a use for the smallest boxes that are perfect for dips for veggie sticks!

Probably the coolest part of the bento box is that it is really filled with, in many cases, leftovers or pre-homemade items. Not only are you feeding your kids a healthy meal with more variety that your typical brown bag. It's a wonderful way to save money and be environmentally conscious at the same time. I really love that we can teach our kids that little things can make a big impact, both at home and globally!


I mentioned that bento making can be a kind of an art form and I wasn't kidding. In Japan, many homemakers try to "outdo" their friends and neighbors by making a better bento. As far as competitions go, I really don't think there's a loser here. The kids get to eat like (really healthy) royalty and the moms get to express themselves creatively.

That's what I try to do every time I set out to come up with a new recipe.

Of course bento making appeals to me!

I'll be keeping you up to date on our bento making adventures but you should really check out a few blogs by people who know what they are doing: Lunch in a Box, Leo's Lunch Box and Adventures in Bento Making. That's where I found the beautiful pictures on this blog.

One more thing I noticed while cruising around the 'net: bentos can be made in those cute little snack boxes and containers we usually reserve for things like a buncha grapes or goldfish. You probably already have the perfect, snack-size bento box in your cabinet. Give it a try!

Until tomorrow, enjoy today!

Love from Sarah

I've been doing a lot of sewing lately to be ready for the craft bazaar that my children's school is having this fall, not to mention that it's helping me clear out my fabric stash! I've also found out about a craft fair at the Riverwalk being held in October and I want to have plenty of items made by then so that I can participate. Because of my love for cooking and baking, I decided to fill my booth with all kinds of things to use in the kitchen.

Here are a few of the aprons I've done so far. I haven't got the foggiest idea what to charge for them, of course, but they were fun to make and I'm looking forward to making lots more!

I was also thinking that oven mitts, moppines (that towel/potholder Rachel Ray uses on her show) and coasters would be nice additions to the booth. I think I should add other items as well but I'm not sure what.

I couldn't pass up this el Dia de los Muertos fabric. I bought it in blue, black and red!

I love the green swirls on the field of this apron and the skull fabric was a find also.

Ruffles! I love ruffles! My friend came over yesterday and saw this one. "You wear these?!" she asked. She thought they were too pretty to cook in. :)

I really like the fabric combination on this one. It's so pretty and feminine!

AMY BUTLER! I have several Amy Butler fabrics (my couch quilt is made from them) and I just love the way she puts designs and color together. I'm a huge fan!

Anyway, so that's Wednesday's blog, even though it was published on Thursday! I'll be back later today but...

Until then, enjoy today!

Love from Sarah

Attack of the giant apple pie!

So, here they are, the pictures I promised you of that giant pie. I know you've all been on pins and needles! :)

For the record, we still have tons left, even after I tried to make a dent in it with the gigantic piece I tried to eat for dessert. The recipe was pretty simple, just your average pie, tripled, but peeling 4 pounds of apples stunk. I think I'll only make this guy for special occasions, or if we go back to the farm!

the "arty" photo
the juices puddled up after I pulled off the spring form, perfect for slurping up with extra crust!

So, new news is that I have finally figured out the steps I need to take to get a temporary sellers permit so that I can be a part of the craft fair at the Riverwalk in October. I've been sewing up a storm to get ready for the fair at the kids' school but I wanted to be part of the event at the park. It just sounds like a nice day, don't you think?

I've been making a lot of aprons and I think I'll also do other sewn items, like pot holders and coasters, moppines, just things I like doing and that are useful in my favorite room of the house, the kitchen. I want to get a few more made and I'll take some pictures so you all can see what I've been up to in my cave, er, sewing corner.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll have something more interesting for you to read but...

Until tomorrow, enjoy today!

Love from Sarah

Labor Day, 2009

The weather here has been beautiful today! It's not too warm (and showing signs of cooling down--thank God for autumn), just a little breezy, the sun is shining and the birds are singing.

Would you like to know how I spent my day?

I was held hostage by a book! Not a great work of literary fiction, mind you, just a bit of chick lit, but I was so into it, I didn't even think about moving outside. I just had to finish it, you know?

Anyway, needless to say, I didn't accomplish that much today but I did make a pretty impressively large apple pie last night. Holy moley, was it big! The recipe called for 4 pounds of apples! Because we'd been to Murray Family Farm on Saturday, I had more than enough apples to do the job.

A normal pie tin would never have held this behemoth. I had to bake it in a spring form pan. Let me know if you'd like the recipe!

**I actually tried to upload a picture of the beast but something is horrible wrong with my computer and it's not allowing me to do it. I'll try again tomorrow.

Oh, and did you notice that in yesterday's blog I used the word "treat" three times in the same paragraph? No, I didn't proofread it, obviously. Oh well, I may have pledged to put a new blog up every day but I never promised they'd be good!

And, yes, I did finish the book.

Until tomorrow, enjoy today!

Love from Sarah

One delicious weekend!

Sundays usually begin in our house with a rush as all six of us scramble around getting ready for church which begins at nine. That means we all need to have breakfast and be washed and ready in our Sunday finest to leave the house by 8:30.

This is typically pretty stressful.

However, this week, I decided to try something new and made breakfast last night: yummy, home made granola bars with yogurt and fruit. The granola bars, my first attempt and my own "guessing at it" recipe, turned our really nice, chewy and just a little crumbly, which we loved for stirring into our yogurt. I flavored the plain yogurt with brown sugar and vanilla and sliced a few of the strawberries we got yesterday at Murray Farm to make a well rounded yet sweet breakfast.

This, with my illy coffee (that I got for 50% off at William Sonoma), was a beautiful way to begin the day.

My plan may have backfired just a touch, though, because with all the free time not spent making pancakes and sausage or whatever else I usually make on Sunday morning, I was a little lazy in checking the wardrobe selections of my older children. When we got to church, I realized my son was wearing flip flops.

Oh, well, at least we had breakfast first!

Saturday was a nice family day, as well. We decided to try out Murray Family Farm, on the 58 between Bakersfield and Tehachapi. A. was going to skip it since there were football games to watch but decided that hanging out with the kids and I sounded like more fun. I'm so glad he changed his mind because we really did have a nice time.

We went to the petting zoo, which was not all that exciting but the girls were especially fond of those little goats. They were just so cute! The boy, of course, was too cool for a petting zoo, but he loves his family so he went along like the good sport he is!

Then, we played in the Human Ant Farm, the Asparagus Maze and the Berry Play Area. It was still a bit warm out but we managed to enjoy running around outside, despite the heat.

Playing was fun, of course, but the real treat was the Indoor Market. Oh, what a treat! There were yummy treats everywhere we looked and the kids couldn't believe it when they were able to try everything. Samples of everything were perfect for the kiddos, since some of the fruit and treats were ones they had never tried. Em especially like the samples and would have finished the figs, had we not pulled her into duty carrying grapes!

We bought a couple of varieties of cherry tomatoes, two varieties of grapes (Concord! Yum! As soon as I publish this, I plan to sit on the back porch and eat my grapes while reading a book. Blissful!), LOTS of strawberries, over 5 pounds of Granny Smiths (for apple pie) and onions and peppers.

Oh, and Tommy found some beef jerky he was excited about (that the dog found last night while we were sleeping and ate!).

So, all in all, a successful day!

Since I had such a fun day yesterday, I'm putting up two recipes: one for Chewy Granola Bars and one for the soup I promised you yesterday.

Here they are:

Chewy Granola Bars

2 C. Oats

3/4 C. Sunflower Seeds

1 C. Raw Sliced Almonds

1/4 C. Brown Sugar

1/2 C. Honey

4 Tbsp. Butter

2 tsp. Vanilla

1/2 tsp Sea Salt

1/2 tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

1 to 1 1/2 C. Dried Fruit (I used apricots, which I chopped and cranberries)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a baking dish, mix the oats, sunflower seeds and almonds. Toast them in the oven for 12-14 minutes, stirring often. Don't allow them to get overly browned.

When they are done, remove from oven and put in a mixing bowl. Set this aside. Once the baking dish has cooled, line it carefully with foil and then pray the foil lightly with nonstick spray. Lower oven temperature to 300 degrees.

In a saucepan over low to medium heat, mix the brown sugar, honey, butter, vanilla, salt and pumpkin pie spice. Stirring very often, bring the mixture to a simmer. It will be a warm toffee color and will smell wonderful!

Pour the brown sugar mixture into the oats and add the dried fruit. Mix very well, making sure to coat all of the ingredients. Then dump the granola into the prepared baking dish and press evenly and firmly so that the bars don't fall apart.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until light golden brown.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for a couple of hours in the pan, set on a rack. Then, using the foil to pick up the bars and being careful not to break them, lift it out of the pan and transfer it to the rack.

Allow to rest 30 minutes to an hour and then carefully remove the foil. Once the foil was removed, I allowed mine to rest overnight in the oven (which was cool by then). I then cut them into 12 equal sized bars and wrapped six in plastic wrap. We ate the other six for breakfast. YUMMY!

Tuscan White Bean Soup

2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 Cloves of Garlic, minced

2 tsp. Dried Parsley

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Pepper

1 tsp. Dried Red Pepper Flakes

1 Can of Cannelini Beans, drained and rinsed

2 Cups Vegetable Broth

1/4 Cup Cream

Warm the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, parsley, salt, pepper and dried red pepper flakes. Saute until the garlic is tender. Do not allow to burn!

Add the beans and stir well, coating them with the garlic mixture. Once the beans are warm, add the broth and allow the soup to come to a simmer. Remove from heat and, use a masher to quickly mash the beans. For a smoother consistency, use an immersion blender.

Add the cream and whisk it in. Serve while warm.

I served this yummy soup with paninis made with swiss cheese and thick slices of tomato and a gorgeous plum for dessert. It would be wonderful with your favorite type of sandwich also!

Enjoy!

Until tomorrow, enjoy today!

Love from Sarah

First time...again

I seem to have been flitting around for so long now. I'm trying to find a sturdy branch to land on. There are so many incredibly beautiful blogs, both funny and inspiring, that it's a little daunting to be doing this again but, I'll do my very best.

Here are my goals:

1. Publish one blog, every single day. (This is lofty for me but I'm committed now.)
   
2. Publish one new recipe, every week. (I will try to make them original recipes but there are those out there that are simply to wonderful not to share. I'll be sharing those delightful treats as I find them.)
   
3. Publish one new sewing project, every week. (Ooh, another tough one, but as I like to say, if it's not a little bit difficult, or a little bit scary, it wouldn't be exciting.)

Whew! Sounds tough but, well, it'll be fun, I know it.

For now, I'm going to leave you with a few of my favorite photos of the past few years and I'll be back tomorrow with a wonderful, super simple recipe for my Tuscan White Bean Soup.

This is a path through on of the many parks in the Czech Republic capitol of Prague. What a glorious city! One day, I'll tell you all about my visit but for now, enjoy this little bit of peace that is taste of what you'd find strolling through the green corridors of the city's parks.

A fishing boat, already in with the days catch, anchored in the small bay by Playa Hermosa in Costa Rica. There are actually two Playa Hermosas in CR. One is world reknowned for it's great surfing. The other, the one I visited, is just north of Playa del Coco and is a very quiet, very serene place to visit. The seafood, by the way, is mouthwatering.

Some boys jumping off of the rocks around a natural swimming hole. We biked for just ten minutes or so from La Fortuna to find this locals spot. The water was so beautiful, like liquid crystal...and, no, I didn't jump of of the cliffs. I left that to the professionals.

A bridge through the jungle near Volcan Arenal, near the village of La Fortuna in Costa Rica. In order to see the volcano erupt, which it does nightly, we had to drive and then hike a bit through the jungle. I have never tasted air so sweet and the eruption was so beautiful, we went back again the next night.

My darling daughter at White Sands National Monument in New Mexico. I just love family trips and this photo is from one of my favorites, a road trip I took with my children through a small slice of the American Southwest. We saw family, took a tour of a UFO museum and got to visit White Sands, a favorite destination of mine from childhood. The sight of all of those white gypsom sand dunes going on for miles and miles is really beyond belief. One day, I'll tell you all about the "alien" museum!

Until tomorrow, enjoy today!

With love from Sarah