Knitting and Kidlets

I asked for blog suggestions on Facebook this morning and thus far, I've gotten only one response.  "Knitting??? What's going on the with the kiddos?"  So here you go, Kelly...

Knitting:
The vast majority of my knitting in recent days has been gift knitting.  That's why there's no real update or information about it.  I will say this - the project I'm putting most of my effort into is made with yarn from recycled pop bottles and is crazy soft.  It's also deep charcoal grey, which I'm absolutely loving!  The pattern is simple enough that I can knit it without looking at my needles, but interesting enough to make a pretty finished fabric.  That's really all I can say - I'm not sure if the intended recipient is a reader or not.

I have one other gift knit in progress - it's green, a wool blend and has cables.  The recipient of that one is a reader, so that's all you're getting there, too. 

I did spend a few minutes last week learning how to make a ballband dishcloth.  For those of you who don't know what that is, here's a link to a photo.  I've always been afraid of working with two colors at once and have only done it in one project (but in that project I was making stripes, so I just carried the unused yarn up the side), this is different.  I've spend a lot of time on Ravelry and other sites looking at these cloths and waiting until I felt ready to try them.  But then I realized what I was doing - I have a tendency to put off anything I'm unsure of and I know myself well enough to know that if I didn't just jump it, it was never going to happen.  So I grabbed two contrasting yarns from my stash and set to work.  Remember a few sentences ago when I said I spent "a few minutes?"  Yeah, that's not an exaggeration.  It was super easy and I felt like a colossal fool for being so nervous about it. 

I did rip out the one I started, but not because it wasn't going well.  I ripped it because I'd just grabbed two yarns from my stash and they didn't work well together.  But I bought orange and black yarn this past weekend, so I'm hoping there's a Halloween colored ballband cloth in my near future. 

As far as the kidlets, there's not a lot of change going on.  The Boy has been itching to find someone to play D & D with, so we're looking into a game store nearby that hosts lots of groups for everything from Magic games to D & D and everything in between.  I'm hoping to get him involved either there or a youth center around the corner.  He has a hard time meeting people and socializing is not his forte, so I have been pushing him to pick something to get involved with.

Scooter has decided to learn Draconic (the language of the dragons) and has been studying a lot.  We found and printed a Draconic alphabet, as well as a list of over 100 common words for her to work with.  I'm sure that'll be a great asset to her when she's applying to colleges...

Pibb has been reading a series called, "The Last Apprentice" by Joseph Delaney.  The books are between 200 and 400 pages each and there are seven or eight, although he's not finished with the series, so I imagine there will be more.  He spends most of his time either playing with Legos and Bionicles or reading.  It's very gratifying to see him enjoy reading - it was extremely difficult to teach him to read.  He was convince he couldn't do it for a really long time. 

Midge is struggling with the same thing.  He knows the letters and he knows some words, but he's sure he isn't able to do it, so he barely tries.  We've just started a program of learning 10 new Dolch sight words each week.  Every day he has activities with the words (one day he gets to play with my alphabet stamps and "write" each word in his word journal, one day he gets to write the words with colored pasta, etc...)  The idea is that by the end of each week, he'll have learned 10 new words, learning all 220 Dolch words and 95 commonly used nouns by the end of the school year.  He's also had more interest in reading lately, asking for two or three chapter books each day and I think that's a good motivator for him.  He wants to know the stories, but I don't have time to spend 5 hours a day just reading to him, so he's having to try to read them on his own. 

Pookie is sweet, as always.  His main focus lately seems to be Legos and following his brothers around.  He's been paying attention when the bigger kids do school and has started recognizing letters and sounds without my formally teaching them to him.  He also knows all the numbers 0-9 and can write them on his own.  He loves to pretend to visit the ice cream store and is constantly bringing us pretend ice cream to eat.  Maybe I should take him to Cold Stone again....

And now I need to go make breakfast burritos (for lunch), but I'll be back tomorrow with a recipe!

Menu Plan 10/16 - 10/29

First off, let me apologize for the lack of posts around here lately.  There's no real reason for it, I guess I just got sidetracked.  We did get a lot done this past week or so and school has gone pretty smoothly lately, so maybe it's not such a bad thing.  I am, however, determined to pick up the pace a bit and hope to post at least every other day, if not daily. 

Today I'm posting our menu plan with links to a few of the recipes. Also, I'm listing a movie for each day.  Coming up to a holiday, such as Halloween, The Boy likes to list all the holiday appropriate movies we own and put them in a hat, draw one movie for each day and make a schedule for us.  That way we don't miss out on anything.  So here's my list of meals and movies for the rest of October.  Enjoy!

10/16
B - Basic muffins with streusel topping
L - Roasted potatoes
D - BBQ meatball subs, chips
M - Simpson's Treehouse of Horror, season 2

10/17
B - Pancakes
L  - Sandwiches
D - Cheeseburger calzone, chips
M - We actually skipped the movie, but it was supposed to be Halloweentown.

10/18
B - Eggs or cereal, milk
L - Spaghetti O's
D - Bowtie Lasagna, steamed broccoli, breadsticks (Since I'm linking the recipe directly, let me just point out my modifications... I'm using medium shells instead of farfalle this time (the store was out) and I use only half the sour cream called for - it's enough.  This recipe is very filling and a single batch is plenty for all of us and reheats well the next day for lunch.)
M - Frankenstein (1931, black and white)

10/19
B - Breakfast burritos
L - Sandwiches
D - Pigs in blankets, baked beans
M - Halloweentown 2

10/20
B - Eggs or cereal, milk
L - Cheesy pasta with broccoli
D - Mushroom and Swiss Sliders, oven fries
M - The Wolfman (1941, black and white)

10/21
B - Eggs to order, toast, milk
L - Sandwiches
D - Apricot glazed pork loin, green beans, potatoes au gratin
M - Say Cheese and Die/The Ghost Next Door (Goosebumps)

10/22
B - Peanut butter baked oatmeal
L - Corn dog muffins
D - French toast, sausage
M - The Nightmare Before Christmas

10/23
B - Granola
L - Eggs salad sandwiches
D - Bean and sausage mush, fries (recipe below)
M - Gremlins 2

10/24
B - Pancakes
L - Roasted potatoes
D - Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, corn
M - Corpse Bride

10/25
B - Eggs or cereal, milk
L - Grilled cheese sandwiches
D - Black pepper and molasses pulled chicken sandwiches, veggie tray
M - How I Got My Shrunken Head/Cry of the Cat (Goosebumps)

10/26
B - Pop up pancakes
L - Sandwiches, baby carrots
D - Broccoli cheese soup, biscuits
M - Simpson's Treehouse of Horror, seasons 3 & 4

10/27
B - Eggs or cereal, milk
L - Cheesy pasta with broccoli
D - Sweet and sour meatballs over rice, fortune cookies
M - The Haunted Mansion

10/28
B - Eggs or cereal, milk
L - Sandwiches
D - BBQ pulled pork, green beans, scalloped potatoes
M - Simpson's Treehouse of Horror, seasons 5 & 6

10/29
B - Basic muffins with streusel topping
L - Soup and crackers
D - Taco salad, quesadillas
M - Beetlejuice

There's been some curiosity as to exactly what bean and sausage mush is, so I'm posting the recipe.  This is one that Bryant made before we were together and, if I recall correctly, came from a book of game recipes.  We don't always have venison on hand, so we often make it with sausage instead.

For 8 servings:
2 packages of rope sausage or kielbasa
2 or 3 28 oz cans of baked beans, any flavor
Fries, potato wedges, slices, etc... Whatever shape of potato you like, cooked as desired (this isn't great with mashed potatoes, though, so use something with some texture to it)

Slice the sausage up fairly thin (1/2 inch slices) and fry it until it's caramelized and hot all the way through.  Dump in the beans and heat thoroughly.  Serve the bean and sausage mush over fries.  That's it.  Very simple, inexpensive and filling. 

As always, leave a comment if you want a particular recipe. 

Bagels

Years ago I was kicking around some recipe site (I don't even remember which one) and found a recipe for dinner rolls.   I was seriously nervous about working with yeast, but the rolls looked really good and fairly simple, so  I gathered my courage and gave it a shot.

In the years since then, I've made hundreds of rolls and countless loaves of bread.  And then there are the pita breads and bagels...  I even went so far as to stop buying bread products of any kind for a short while, I just made my own.  There is nothing, and I mean nothing on earth, like taking a bite out of  fresh, hot bread from your own oven. 

Today I'm sharing my go-to bagel recipe.  I have others, but this is the recipe I come back to time and again.  If you're like I was, a little nervous about working with yeast, this is a great place to start.  These are almost impossible to mess up and the end product is guaranteed to make you popular with whoever you choose to share them with.

Bagels
4 C bread flour (do not substitute all-purpose flour)
1 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp vegetable or olive oil
2 tsp instant yeast
1 1/4 - 1 1/2 C warm water

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl, using only the 1 1/4 C water to start.  Don't worry about soaking the yeast, instant yeast doesn't need it and you'd be hard pressed to find regular yeast in most grocery stores.  The dough should feel stiff, but add the extra water if the dough is crazy stiff or there's flour in the bottom of the bowl that you can't mix in.  Plop the dough out onto the counter and knead it for about 10 minutes or until it's uniform and smooth.  Cut the dough into 8 equal size pieces and let them rest for no less than 10 minutes, preferably 20 minutes.

Working one piece of dough at a time, roll it out onto the counter and make a snake just longer than both of your hands side by side (or long enough to wrap around one of your hands).  Overlap the ends and roll/squish them together to form a circular bagel-to-be.  Don't worry if they're not perfectly round, one bite and you won't care what shape they are!

Let the bagels rest again for about 20 minutes.  While they're napping, go ahead and get a large pot of water onto the stove.  Salt it and bring it to a good, rolling boil.  A rolling boil means that even when you're stirring the water, it's constantly moving and bubbling.  It's important that the water be fully boiling to get the maximum rise and deliciousness out of your bagels. 

After that 20 minutes, your bagels are starting to look a little puffy, so it's time to get the oven heated up and bagels into the water.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Working just one or two at a time, gently drop the bagels into the water.  They might sink at first, but fear not, they'll pop back up to the top in just a few seconds.  If they sink, your water probably wasn't hot enough.  Let them boil for one minute, flip them over and let them boil for another minute.  Pull them out and put them on a greased baking sheet while the next set of bagels boil.  You want them fairly dry when they go into the oven, so don't skip the drying time.  When the next set of bagels is done, take the ones you already did and put them on a greased baking sheet (the one you're actually going to cook them on).  Repeat this process until all of your bagels have been boiled. 

Put the tray of bagels into the oven and leave them be for 10 minutes.  Flip them over with a spatula or tongs (be gentle) and let them bake another 10 minutes. 

Now just let them cool for no less than 10 minutes, grab the cream cheese and prepare to feast on a delicious treat.

You can add whatever toppings you like (sesame seeds, poppy seeds, onion, etc...) - just have a dry plate handy with whatever you like spread out on it.  When the bagels come out of the water, lay them down in the plate, picking up some of the good stuff.  Start them in the oven topping side up, then flip and finish them topping side down.  When they come out of the oven, flip them back over.  If you want cinnamon sugar bagels, bake them plain, brush melted butter on top and then dip them into a plate of cinnamon sugar.  Allow to cool as above. 

This recipe makes 8 bagels and fills a standard size cookie sheet.  I often make a double batch, so when I flip the bagels, I also take the tray from the bottom rack and switch it with the tray on the top rack.  Or, you can do just one tray at a time, if you're more comfortable with it. 

Paper Flowers

I love the idea of recycling.  Not just because it's good for the Earth, but because I love the idea that you can take something out of it's intended purpose and turn it into something completely different.  It reaffirms for me that change isn't always a bad thing and helps me remember that anything can be beautiful, even if it didn't start out that way.

A treasure trove of recycled paper tutorials is the website How About Orange.  Seriously, if you've got a few minutes, pop on over to her site and click the "DIY Tutorials" button on the top.  I'll wait...

I came across this tutorial a few days ago and have been making paper flowers ever since! These are fabulous because they require no special tools or techniques.  I used paper, scissors, a pencil and a thin knitting needle (although you could easily use a skewer or other thin stick).  I did also make a template for myself out of some old cracker boxes I'd been holding onto.  For the large flower I used a Cheez-It box and for the smaller one, a whole wheat saltines box was the perfect size.  Making the template was by far the most time consuming part of this project, but I knew I'd want to make several so it made sense for me.  If you just want to try one or two, use the printed pattern as your template and skip that step entirely.

For the first flower, I pulled out my trusty old issue of House Beautiful (Dec/Jan 2010).  It was love at first fold...

But then I wanted to try one with scrapbooking paper, too...  This paper is a little heavier than catalog or magazine pages, so it was a little easier to keep the edges curled, but not so heavy that it was hard to work with. 

Those are both the large size, so for the smaller ones I opted for catalog pages.  The first one was from the cover of Knit Pick's autumn yarns catalog (BTW, I highly recommend Knit Picks to anyone with any interest in knitting or crochet - they have amazing yarns at really affordable prices, plus tons of free or very inexpensive patterns).  This paper is very thin, so it was a little harder to score it without ripping through and you can see in the picture that the lines are very obvious, especially on the smallest set of petals.

And lastly, one from a Premier Jewelry catalog (my sister is a salesperson for them and I happened to have an older catalog kicking around - fashionable and affordable!).  I have to say that this paper is about the perfect weight for this project.  It's not quite as heavy as scrapbook paper, but thicker than catalog or magazine  pages typically are.  It was easy to cut, easy to fold and held the curls really well. 

  These flowers are currently decorating my Sharpie dish, you can see them in a few of the pictures, but I can imagine all kinds of lovely uses for them - wreaths, on gifts, strung together as a garland, even boutonnieres! 

Potatoes

Here's another poem that's been languishing in my completed works file for far too long.  It's one of my favorites and I hope you'll enjoy it, too. 

Of the Potato
No one ever writes
in praise of the potato
It lacks the firm jewel-skinned
sweet fleshed allure of the apple -
wholesome, like a sleeping virgin
all ripe and waxed and shiny

Nor does the potato
have the slick green sex appeal
of the avocado,
like a pneumatic Martian pin-up
with a California accent

Even among vegetables
the potato's rank is humble
How can it compete
with the richly colored and musically named
broccoli and zucchini
or the fleshy, glossy aubergine
or even lettuce, when freshly washed
glittering smugly in the background
like a society wife
(never mind the wilted edges)

The potato looks rather
like a pleasantly plump woman -
lumpy, with worn brown hands
and a dirt smudged apron

No one ever seduced
a well dressed man
by feeding him potatoes

They are ushered away
from polite tables
and pointed in the direction
of immigrants and the poor

And when do they have time to write
in praise of the potato

For the love of books

As homeschoolers, and as curious people, we spend a lot of time at the library.  Sometimes we're in a hurry and we just grab our books and go, but more often we take our time.  We like to peruse the shelves and let the books choose us.  I rarely have a plan when I go to the library; I like to run my fingers over the books' spines and wait until one grabs my attention.  And what amazes me is that this method of selection has often yielded books that are completely perfect to my situation at that moment. 

We make a point of going to the library every other week and we always come away with full arms (I actually had to limit the number of books the kids were borrowing because it was getting to be too much to carry!).  Below is a list of our most recent treasures.

For The Boy:
Wings of Wrath by C. S. Friedman
Rune Warriors - Sword of Doom by James Jennewein and Tom S. Parker
The Wizard Heir by Cinda Williams Chima (part of the Heir Trilogy)

For Scooter:
Tales of Deltora by Emily Rodda and Marc McBride
Dork Diaries - Tales from a Not-so-Fabulous Life by Rachel Renee Russell
Poppy and Ereth by Avi (she's a big fan of his writing)
Strange Happenings by Avi

For Pibb:
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Groosham Grange by Anthony Horowitz

For Midge:
Michigan Chillers #14: Bionic Bats of Bay City by Jonathon Rand
Michigan Chillers #9: Sinister Spiders of Saginaw
The Ultimate Guide to the X-Men from DK

For Pookie:
Scooby Doo's Search for Scooby Snacks by Robin Wasserman
Transformers Armada: The Unicron Battles by Andrew Donkin
The Fire Cat by Esther Averill
Sheep in a Shop by Nancy Shaw
Cowerdly Clyde by Bill Peet
The Trial of Cardigan Jones by Tim Egan
Richard Scarry's Favorite Storybook Ever by Richard Scarry
Travelling Babies by Kathryn O. Gilbrath
Could Be Worse by James Stevenson

And for me:
Odder Than Ever by Bruce Coville

We also picked up a few DVDS:
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
Race to Witch Mountain
Star Wars Clone Wars

You may have noticed the list of books on the sidebar - those are the books I'm reading for my 100 books in 1001 days goal.  I'm not counting books read to Midge or Pookie in this list, nor am I counting craft and recipe books.  That list is only for books I've actually read for myself. 

I'm looking forward to sharing my reading list.  Feel free to leave comments with suggestions - I'd love to know what you are reading and enjoying!

Special

It seems like just yesterday I was making my way through a pregnancy filled with partial bed rest and blood pressure problems.  Then that magical day came and Midge was born. A month early, he was unable to breathe on his own.  The doctors told us his lungs were "sticky" on the inside and he didn't have the strength to push them open on his own. 

One of the most difficult things I've ever done was leaving my tiny baby in the hospital when I went home.  The NICU nurses were amazing and they helped us figure out how to manage breastfeeding him while taking care of three other young children at home, 45 minutes away from the hospital.  We saw other parents struggling with even tinier, sicker babies.  We saw twins that would have easily fit in the palm of my hand.  That perspective helped me handle my grief at having to leave him alone in that big scary hospital. 

On the night we left him for the first time, I cried so hard I could barely see to walk out of the hospital.  Bryant held my hand and pointed to the sky.  The moon was nearly full and it glowed, a brilliant reddish orange.  We agreed right then that a moon like that was special.  A special moon for our special boy.

Today, that special boy turns 7 years old and we were right all those years ago - he is special.  He's sweet and loving and very opinionated when it comes to fashion.  He wears mismatched socks on a regular basis (yesterday it was one black ankle sock with one knee high white, red and green glittery striped sock) and prefers to wear button down shirts and ties with jeans.  He sleeps with a blue teddy bear named Buford (AKA Buffy) on a bed with orange sheets. 

Happy birthday, my sweet little boy!  We love you!

Split Pea and Ham Soup

I love autumn - it's the season of pumpkins, baked goods and soups.  Today I want to share one of my favorite soup recipes.  This is the ultimate fall/winter dinner and is served very often in my house.  It has a fairly long ingredient list, but don't let that scare you.  This soup comes together very quickly and is completely worth the minimal effort involved. 

Split Pea and Ham Soup
16 oz dried split peas, rinsed and picked through
1 meaty ham bone, 2 ham hocks or 2 C diced ham
3 carrots, peeled and sliced (you can use parsnips for some or all of the carrots, if you'd prefer)
1/2 C onion, chopped
2 ribs celery, plus leaves, chopped
1 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1/4 C fresh parsley, chopped or 2 Tbsp dried flakes
1 T seasoned salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 1/2 quarts hot water

Layer all the ingredients in your slow cooker in the order they're listed.  Resist the urge to stir the ingredients together - you'll just have to trust me on this one.  Don't stir.

Cover and cook on high heat 4 - 5 hours or low heat 8 - 10 hours or  until peas are very soft and meat falls off the bone. Don't stir the soup at all during cooking, don't even take the lid off.  Just let it cook and become the beautifully delicious soup it was destined to be.  Remove bones (if using) and bay leaf, then stir the soup immediately before serving. 

You can mash the peas a bit to thicken the soup up, if you like.  I often just give it a stir and serve it as it is.  Regardless, it's delicious.  And it freezes well, so feel free to make a full batch and freeze half of it for later, if that's more your style. 

In the heat of summer, when I dream of cooler weather, I always imagine myself curled up on the couch with a bowl of this soup to warm me. 

Broccoli Casserole

When Bryant and I started following the South Beach Diet, I found quite a few recipes that caught my eye.  This is one of them.  Even though we aren't following the Diet anymore, I still make this often - by itself for lunch or as a side dish for dinner.  Delicious!

You'll need fresh broccoli, onion, olive oil (or canola, but olive is really so much better), pepper (if you want it), Parmesan cheese and either cheddar or a blend of shredded cheeses. 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

I often make this in a 9 X 9 Pyrex dish, but any appropriately sized baking dish will work.  Chop fresh broccoli into bite size pieces (I use stems and florets) - enough to make a good solid layer across the bottom of your dish.  Don't worry about overcrowding, just don't fill the dish.  Next, grab an onion and cut thin slivers to cook with the broccoli.  Again, how much you use is entirely up to you.  I like onion, so I use a lot.  When I make it for all of us, I go a little easier on it. 

The next step is to season the veggies, so grab your pepper mill and go nuts.  Then a small drizzle of olive oil - not enough to make it greasy, just enough to keep it from sticking.  Give it a quick stir and pop it into the oven.  After about 10 - 12 minutes, give it a stir and then bake for another 10 minutes or so. 

Now comes the fun part - sprinkle on some Parmesan (fresh or from a can - fresh is better, but canned is good, too) and then some cheddar or a mix of your favorite shredded cheeses.  Stick the pan back into the oven, just long enough for the cheese to get all gooey and melty. 

Simple, healthy and delicious!

Menu Plan 10/2 - 10/15

10/2 B - Eggs or cereal, with milk
L - Out - we had lunch out while we were grocery shopping
D - Hot dogs, fries, baked beans

10/3
B - Pancakes
L - Roasted potatoes
D - Beef pot roast with potatoes and carrots, whole wheat pull apart rolls

10/4
B - Skillet Breakfast
L - Stir-fried green beans
D - Brats, potato salad, baked beans

10/5
B - Eggs or cereal, milk
L - Soup and crackers
D - Tacos, tortilla chips

10/6
B - Peanut butter baked oatmeal, milk
L - Broccoli Casserole
D - Pan fried chicken breasts, stuffing, corn

10/7 (Midge's Birthday)
B - Overnight cinnamon rolls
L - Toy Story shaped macaroni and cheese
D - Pizza and chips, cake and ice cream, pop

10/8
B - Eggs or cereal, milk
L - Homemade bagels, cream cheese
D - Brownie Stew, mashed potatoes, breadsticks

10/9
B - Eggs or cereal, milk
L - Sandwiches, baby carrots
D - Apricot glazed pork, green beans, mashed potatoes

10/10
B - Pancakes
L - Roasted Potatoes
D - Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, corn

10/11
B - Eggs or cereal, milk
L - Chicken salad in homemade pitas
D - Split pea and ham soup, dinner rolls

10/12
B - Streusel topped muffins
L - Sandwiches
D - Flank steak and pepper fajitas, tortilla chips

10/13
B - Eggs to order, toast
L - Creamy ranch potatoes
D - Chili, rolls

10/14
B - Eggs or cereal, milk
L - Grilled cheese and tomato soup
D - Spaghetti, garlic toast, broccoli

10/15
B - Peanut butter baked oatmeal
L - Sandwiches
D - Hot dogs, fries, baked beans

As always, if you want a recipe, let me know and I'll be happy to post it.